How to Know Gods Will ?

 Transcribed by AI

The Window of Light programme for the illumination of your homes. Hello dear friends, we thank God that you are watching this programme. You are very welcome, and today is another day that God has given us to talk about His kingdom and to speak from His Word. We thank God for Brother Rasul who is present with us again. I also extend my greetings and respect to you, dear ones. It is an honour to be with Brother Khalil today, and we can share God's work and what God's will is with you and the beloved. Thank you very much. Brother Rasul mentioned the word "will of God". Today, we want to talk about the will of God, which is truly very, very important for us to understand in our lives. It is crucial that we comprehend what God wants from us. If we live according to the will of God, we believe that our problems will be lessened because the God we know, His will is always perfect and good. His will is benevolent; the will of God is good. Today, we want to start from the Word of God, from the Holy Bible, from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 3, verse 31. One day, Jesus Christ was speaking to the people, and many were gathered around Him. At that time, His mother and brothers came and stood outside, and they sent someone in to tell Him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." It is noted here that a large crowd was sitting around Him, and they informed Him that His mother and brothers were outside and wanted to see Him. Jesus answered, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" Then He looked at those seated in a circle around Him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." This means that Jesus Christ emphasised that doing God's will is even more significant than the relationship with our brothers and mothers. This is a great example for us of how important it is to recognise God's will in our lives and to proceed according to God's will. Amen.

God's will is indeed like this because His will, as we have said, is good for all of us. God's thoughts towards us are all about health, goodness, and the best things. Therefore, it is very difficult for us as human beings to figure out how we can move along the path of God's will. And perhaps the question arises: how did we stray from God's will? How can we come to know what His will is? Such questions often come up for many: what is this will, and how can we understand it? The topic we can focus on is that in our history, there was a time when we lived completely according to God's specific will. Our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, in the Garden of Eden, were fully aligned with God's will and lived according to it. But when they disobeyed and separated from God, they failed to carry out His specific will and made a choice that brought about consequences that continue to this day. We too find ourselves at a crossroads in our lives, where we have to decide whether this choice is mine or if it is God's specific will in this matter. It is very important for us to make the right choice when we find ourselves at this crossroads.

This is significant because the disciples of Jesus Christ found themselves at these crossroads too. They were caught in a dilemma about which path to choose. This is important for us. It is truly crucial that we understand that as human beings, when we do not want God's will, we do not move forward according to it; rather, we go astray. Our path can completely lead us in another direction. You mentioned that Adam and Eve had a question: does God's will impose on us humans? Does He force us, or do we also have a will? That is, does human will stand in opposition to God's will? It may stand in opposition, but does God impose it? For instance, it is mentioned that Adam had no choice but to obey God and had no concept of right and wrong; he had no understanding and no choice. You previously mentioned a perspective that before Adam and Eve obeyed God, they were under His will and were doing very well. They did not need to discern between right and wrong; there was no compulsion. If there had been, our situation today would be different. The choice was indeed part of our free will; God gave us the freedom to choose. There were two trees in the garden: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. God granted us this freedom, this will, so that we could choose for ourselves. He gave humans the law and told them that if they did this, what the consequences would be. They could know both right and wrong; they had this knowledge. So, based on this knowledge and understanding, they acted. After they made their choices, the situation changed, and new laws came into effect. God brought forth new laws, and this continues. Over time, the situation does not improve. In a fallen state, the situation worsens. The Bible presents two images at the beginning: being with God, which had quality; they walked with God, and everything was peaceful, reconciled, and good. And then there is disobedience or a change in circumstance, which leads to a fall. The first image is that the husband and wife blame each other. "He said this," "She did that." This is very familiar and common to us. Many times, we place the blame on one another. After the fall, the next generation sees brother murdering brother. Subsequent generations, for example, humanity continues to multiply. The story of Noah is mentioned. God regrets creating and wants to bring judgment. But His love and will desire that everything does not perish. There is salvation, and that is the ark of salvation. Ultimately, that shadow of the great salvation that God has for the future appears. Salvation comes in that way, and judgment is executed. But God's will is not that we be forced into anything.

I want to mention another point. Our God is a moral God. He is ethical, and His laws are moral. We live with sin, which is immoral, and we tend to go towards it. Within us, our flesh is the cause of this issue—the world we live in, and the darkness of Satan. Therefore, we have temptations to take paths that are immoral. But our God is a moral God. He wants us to live ethically, and His laws are intended for us to live in an ethical manner. Yes, yes. One of the topics mentioned here is about being forced or about how we must blindly follow God's will. But that is not the case. As you mentioned, God has indeed determined that path, that plan, and it is truly operational. However, this imposition and blind following comes from us because we must understand that God created us free and gave us will. We cannot perceive Him correctly in this manner. That is why misunderstandings arise about why we should want God's will, why we must necessarily follow it. Now let’s take a moment and return to the music.

Come, dear friends, let there be no enmity among us. Let there be no hostility among us. Life is sweet if we are not dead inside. Come, dear friends, let there be no enmity among us. The song of the nightingale should not be silent; I should not be mute. Come, dear friends, let there be no enmity among us. Why should I set fire to your hearts? Come, dear friends, let there be no enmity among us. We should not be dead inside. If there is no spirit among us, come, dear friends, let there be no enmity among us. Let there be no hostility among us. In the realm of the nations, there should be no enmity among us. Come, dear friends, let there be no enmity among us. Come, dear friends, let us not be enemies. Life is sweet if we do not love death.

Well, dear friends, we are talking about the will of God, and we said that understanding God's will is extremely important for each of us. In our daily lives, we want to say that it should be God's will, His will. But until we recognise God's will, how can we say we want to do that? We may say it verbally, but understanding God's will may allow a person to realise that God's will, because our God is good, is indeed good. Amen. And for us to move towards this, we need to learn from the Scriptures about understanding God's will. Interestingly, when I first came to faith, I would go for counsel, and I would say, "Well, I want to consult," in my own way. I wanted to get an answer from my leader, but they would say, "Well, go pray, spend time with God, see what happens, read the Word." I did not understand; I thought I needed to get something from them and go do it. I did not want to make a choice myself. But for us, the teaching of God's Word is that there are examples in the Scriptures that give us lessons. Many men and women in the Bible have their life stories recorded, and they are examples for us today to understand how we can comprehend the will of God.

We have a very well-known story in the Bible that our Muslim friends are also familiar with, which is the story of Balaam. Balaam was the king who lived in that region and wanted to curse the people of Israel. We will look at this part together. The essence of the story is that this king wanted Balaam to curse the people who had come out of Egypt. The king said, "Their numbers are greater than ours; they are stronger. Come and curse them for me, and whatever you say, God will listen." Now, Numbers 22:6 says, "So I urge you to come and curse this people for me, because they are stronger than I am. Perhaps I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that whoever you bless is blessed, and whoever you curse is cursed." The story continues that Balaam stayed there that night, and God came to Balaam. There was a conversation back and forth, and God revealed His will regarding this people—namely, the people of Israel—to Balaam. Balaam stayed there and started discussing with the representatives of the king, who offered him a large sum of money, gifts, and so on. Balaam said he would go and see if perhaps God's will might change. This happened several times. Eventually, Balaam realised the situation. He saw an angel, and he wanted to change his mind about God’s will, but because of the gifts and the money being offered to him, he wanted to follow his own choice and did not want to pursue God's will.

Therefore, understanding God's will from the Word of God is clear and evident to us because the Word of God is the heart of God, and what has been in God’s heart is recorded here as His specific will. We can understand this from the Word. Here, the word "curse" is mentioned. God’s will is never for us to curse anyone; His will is always good and excellent. For this reason, understanding God's will is one of the topics we wanted to discuss. Brother Rasul, for instance, what is the most important will of God for our friend Kamil in this programme? Well, the most significant of all is, if you want a perspective according to the Word of God, God wants us to repent and turn from our wicked ways and know the true and real God. God's will is our salvation. God's will is that we be present before Him on the Day of Judgment. God's will is that we live in peace, reconciliation, and harmony. There are many other topics that we could discuss one by one, but our programme time does not permit. Because there is a large collection, a big package of blessings, gifts, and promises that are God’s will for each one of us. Amen.

I think the entire package you mention includes the first topic, which is that God wants us to repent from our sins and obtain eternal salvation and become children of God. Because when we become children of God, we see that a father has a very loving and close relationship with his child and hides nothing from him. When God becomes our heavenly Father, we can easily understand His will from Him in accordance with His Word. Yes, the Gospel of John speaks about this. In John 1:12, it says, "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." According to your words, when we have this relationship of being children, we are much closer to the Father and can understand His heart and His will better. In Jesus Christ, He says that those who hear my words are my brothers and sisters and mother. When we become children of God, we become siblings with one another and children of God. In His presence, He does not hide anything from us; we can even ask Him questions. It is not the case that our friend who mentioned that we are forced to follow God’s will is correct. This is not right. God has given us will; He has given us free will, but the will that He gives to His children is very closely related to His will. This is something very wonderful.

We see in the Word of God that God converses with Moses. Moses tells Him, "I am not capable." In other instances, other prophets or David complain to God. This is an intimate relationship where we can ask Him questions. Sometimes, even in our refusals, such as when we consider Jonah—indeed, Jonah did not want God's command to go forth. God sent him to Nineveh to tell the people to repent from their sins and turn back. Instead of going to Nineveh, he went to Tarshish, completely contrary to what God commanded him. He did not want to go, but God did not abandon him. Even in our oppositions, such as Moses saying, "Lord, I cannot speak to the people," or Jonah opposing God's command. But God’s word says in Isaiah 46:10 that "My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please." This execution of His will is not coercion; it is accomplished by any means, whether we oppose or not, whether we carry it out with love or not. It will always be for God's plan to come to fruition, and it is for good. Everything is for our benefit. Even if bad things happen in the world due to sin, due to wickedness, God’s will is to turn it towards goodness. I think that is the best image God gives us of His will because He wants us to have an excellent life, a life full of blessings, joy, and goodness in His presence. This reveals God's will to us, and for us believers in Christ, understanding God's will through the Word of God and fellowship with the Holy Spirit is the best path to understanding God's will. Amen.

So, dear friends, as we experience, our own will as human beings is often not much of a will because there has always been some evil. We do not understand how we are broken, but God's will is excellent. We encourage you to read the Word of God, especially if you have not yet obtained eternal salvation and do not yet understand what God's will is for your life. You will read in His Word that it is God's will for you to become His children. When we become children of God, our heavenly Father tells us whatever He wills. Even in our times of opposition, God will guide those oppositions in a way that brings forth good and excellent results. Just like Jonah, who went completely against God's will, God used that story of Jonah in a very wonderful way, and something positive came from it. God saved the people of Nineveh. So, dear friends, we commend you to the complete will of God until next week. Goodbye, and may God bless you.