Now this morning, I like us to consider a subject that might be very dear to many of you. It’s a subject about seeking God’s will and following the guidance of God. Last Sunday, after the sermon, after service, I checked on the news, on the handphone, I realised that there is something interesting. It says here, temple predicts launch of fortune-telling app. This is about the temple in Southern Taiwan, in Pingtung county, er… about a temple called “Zheng Hai” temple. And I read about the temple. And the temple in charge said that some seven years ago, er… in 2005, they started an on-line divination service. In other words, anyone who wants to know Heaven’s will for them, you just need, just need to log on to the web and go to their website and they will provide for you an online fortune telling service. Now, after they have launch it, it is said that visitors to the temple increased by 30%. And so they are very excited about it, and they’re going to launch an iphone application on fortune telling come 2013. In other words, you can now seek God’s will on the go. Heaven’s will on the go. I thought it’s interesting because there are plenty of people today who want to know Heaven’s will. There are people who want to find out about what it… what is the future for them with regards to their romance, to commerce and general decisions of life. And even Christians today are challenged as to how to seek God’s will for them. Have you heard about the story about the farmer? Who one day decided that he wants to know God’s will for him. He’s always wanted to be a preacher. He’s always wanted to be a pastor. And so he lies down there on the meadow, he looks up into the skies, hoping that God will give him a sign. God will show him, His will. And so as he looks at the clouds, as he looks at the skies, something interesting happen in that the clouds began to converge together and form a beautiful “P” and a beautiful “C”. He saw those words: “PC” and he was excited. He says “God is telling me preach Christ.” And so he went out with great fervour, excitement and for the next 5 years, he went all around churches, preaching Christ. But everytime he preaches, people fall asleep and nobody ever invited him back to church. So he was very discouraged and he was saying to his friend, I don’t understand this, God wants me to preach Christ but why is it that I have never met with any success? His friends then say to him, “Well, John, why is it that you think God wants you to preach Christ?” He says, “Because 5 years ago, on the meadow I looked at the clouds and He said ‘PC’.” John, don’t you think God is saying to you, “Plant Corn?” (Laughter from congregation)

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You know we can seek God’s will looking into the skies, we can seek God’s will in so many ways, we think.

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Some of us, we… we do the Russian roulette thing with regards to the Bible. We take the Bible, we flip the pages and we randomly point to a particular verse and say that is the verse for me. How many of you have done that? All now ashamed of raising your hands. I’m sure you’ve tried that. I’m sure you must have attempted that somewhat. And there was a man who tried this. He wanted to know God’s will for his life and so he played the Bible roulette. He flipped the pages, he pointed to a random verse and the verse says ‘Judas went out and hang himself’. (Laughter from Congregation) He says “God you must be kidding. Don’t pull my leg. I will try again alright?” And so he tried the Bible roulette thing again and he pointed to another verse that says ‘Go and do likewise’. He says, “No you must be kidding! Let me try one last time alright. Please stop pulling my leg God.” And so he flipped and he pointed the finger and this time the verse read, ‘That which you do, do quickly’. (Laughter from Congregation) I suggest to you, looking into the clouds and doing Bible roulette is not the main way to seek God’s will. I have experienced what it feels like to be seeking God’s will. You may be sitting there, waiting, waiting and waiting. You may be very uncertain about your future and you may have anxiety that brews within you as well. And some of you today can absolutely understand how that feels. Because right now in your life, you are about to make some major decisions. You are at the crossroads of life. Maybe it’s with regards to your job. Maybe it’s with regards to marriage. Maybe it’s about having kids. Or some of you today are thinking about a total change in the direction of the career of your life.

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You’re thinking about your school. You’re thinking about a major purchase. You are at some major decisional junctions of life. And you realised trying to find out God’s will is quite a challenge. You do wish that God will give you an online app. That you could press and say this is my will for you. But let me say this, it doesn’t work like this.

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And I wish I heard this sermon that I’m about to preach many, many years ago when I was seeking God’s will. It would have helped me a big deal. But this morning, we’re here to help you how to discover God’s will for your life. And it’s exciting. It’s exciting to be able to walk this journey and be able to walk in the center of God’s will.

The Bible tells us that the will of God is good and acceptable and perfect. It means that it is good, it is pleasing and it is totally satisfying. The will of God is that which is perfect. However, the world doesn’t want you to know the will of God. The world wants you to depart from the will of God, it wants to deceive you. It wants to give you illusions because the world is under the control of the devil who is the father of all lies. But if you today are here and you say I want to know God’s will, I want to congratulate you, you are making a good decision. Because the Bible says God’s will is perfect. It’s good, it’s acceptable, it’s satisfying. So first of all, I’m happy for you if you want to know God’s will. Because the world tells you lies. The world spins for you lies, It gives you plenty of illusions to draw you away from God. This week if you have been on social media, this man would be familiar to you. Plenty of you share about his er… testimony and this man is a 40 years old man who has recently passed away. His name is Dr Richard Teo Keng Siang. He is a… quite an amazing man, coming from a poor family, poor average family. He studied medicine, rose to the top with regards to the field he is in - aesthetics medicine. Earned loads of money, got his Ferrari, was about to buy a house when he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. And he just passed away on the 18^th of October, just about 2 weeks ago. And thereafter, people have been sharing and eh… posting his testimony. Something that he spoke to dental students in January this year. And I like to share with you what Dr. Teo Keng Siang realised. He is a man who at the end of his life, realised what the world could offer is a mere illusion, it’s not real and he realised that it is the will of God that is perfect. Now, allow me to read exerts of his speech, to the dental students. He said: “I’m a typical product of today’s society. I’m a typical product of what the media portrays. From young, I’ve always been under the influence and impression that to be happy is to be successful. And to be successful is to be wealthy. So I led my life according to this motto. Coming from a poor average family back in those days, I was highly competitive, whether in sports, studies, leadership, I wanted it all. I’ve been there, done that but at the end of the day, it’s still about money. And that was what I did. Lipo-suction, breast augmentation, eyelid surgeries. You named it, we do it. It was very good money. My clinic when we started off, waiting time was about 1 week. Then it became 1 month and then 2 months and then 3 months. There was so much demand that people would literally queuing up to have aesthetic work done on them. So things were doing well. I’m there, my time has arrived.

0:09:44.2 I said:

“Ok I have so much spare cash, it’s time to get my first Ferrari.” And Ok, there comes my first Ferrari. I was looking for land to share with eh… some of my friends. I have a banker friend who makes 5 millions dollars a year, so I thought: Come, let’s come together, let’s buy some land and build our houses. I was at my prime, getting ready to enjoy.” And of course, disaster struck when he was diagnosed with Miliary Stage 4 lung cancer. Cancer was spreading all over the lungs on the CT scan.

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And then this is his reflection: “I thought true joy is about pursuing wealth but it’s not. Why? Let me put it to you this way. In my death bed, I found no joy whatsoever in whatever objects I had - my Ferrari, thinking of the land I was going to buy to build my bungalow, etc, having a successful business. It brought me zero comfort, zero joy, nothing at all. Do you think I can hold onto this piece of metal and it’s going to give true joy? Nah… it’s not going to happen. And that wasn’t true joy. And I found no joy at all on my death bed thinking of my Ferrari to hold on to it, “sayang” (Malay word meaning love) it. When I face death, when I had to, I strip myself off all stuff totally and I focus only on what is essential. The irony is that a lot of times, only when we learn how to die than we learned how to live. Don’t let society tell you how to live. Don’t let the media tell you what you are supposed to do, because that’s what happened to me. And I led this life thinking all these things are going to bring me happiness. I hope you will think about it and decide for yourself how you want to live your life. And most importantly, I think, true joy comes from knowing God. Not knowing about God, I mean you can read the Bible and know about God but knowing God personally. Getting a relationship with God, I think that’s the most important and that’s what I’ve learned.”

You see, the will of God is what truly satisfy.

0:12:19.9

The world is creating a mirage, an illusion to deceive you . It promises so much but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. I think Dr Richard Teo’s life and distillation of lesson could be summarised by Scripture where it says, ‘and the world passeth away and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever’. You see it’s the will of God that really, really matters.

0:12:55.0

And if you today like I said, are here to discover God’s will for you, I want to congratulate you, I want to say keep on pressing towards it and not be conformed to the world. Question we have today and that’s my objective of preaching this morning is this: How can I know God’s will? The title of this message is explanatory, self-explanatory. What is the secret of knowing God’s will? And if you could tell me at the end of the sermon what it is all about, I’ve done my job and I pray God will use it to bless your life.

The secret of knowing God’s will. What is it? For some of us, we think that the secret to knowing God’s will is to wait for a sign. Just like that farmer who lies down there on the meadow, waiting for the clouds to form “P” and “C”. I suggest to you that’s not the main way God leads us. Sure, God lead people in the past via signs. Didn’t he lead Gideon, via a sign? We sang where is the Gideon? Gideon was in a sense lead by the Lord by signs. But I’m not saying… I’m saying this is not the main way, a consistent way by which God would lead you in your life. Some of us think that the secret of knowing God’s will is to hear voices. Ohh… I hear God says this, I hear that voice says that. I can even hear my stomach tell me…rrrrrgh… now if you hear voices, it may not be from God. So I say to you, voices, though God does use voices in the past, it’s not necessarily the key nor the main way to discover God’s will.

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Some of us say, the secret of knowing God’s will is to interpret dreams. So you have some dreams last night and you wake up and you say can you tell me the meaning of these dreams. So you speak to your pastor, you speak to counsellor and you say that must be what God is saying to me. Now let me tell you the dreams can be because of the pizzas that you have last night. It may not be from the Lord. So it is a dangerous thing, an unreliable way to know God’s will from dreams. Some of us say, well, the secret to knowing God’s will is to wait for a certain feeling. You know the Cantonese, you need to have that feeling, “Mo feeling, mo tak.” (Cantonese dialect meaning it will not do if you don’t have the feeling) You must have that kind of a feeling to sense it…. Feelings are not reliable alright? I don’t think the key to discerning God’s will is via feelings. You say what is it?

0:15:32.0

I like to ask you, what do you think is the secret of knowing God’s will? You say, oh… I have one more, is to talk to your pastor. Your pastor knows God’s will because in his office, there is a crystal ball. It’s not this at all, I can tell you that. What is, my friends the key, the secret to knowing God’s will? Proverbs 3:5-6. That’s a verse, I need a description, yes, I know the words but I need the concept, alright, the concept. The key to knowing God’s will, the secret to knowing God’s will. And that’s why we need the message alright? The key to knowing God’s will is this statement. Very simple, it’s having the mind of Christ. My whole message is geared towards helping you see, that the secret of knowing God’s will is having the mind of Christ. Let’s look at what scripture has to say. In Romans 12:2, which is the basis of our thinking, Paul says the key to knowing the will of God is through the renewing of your mind. It’s through the renewing of your mind that you may now prove the will of God. Conversely, if there is no renewing of the mind, there is no consistent way for you to discern the will of God for you. The will of God is known in the mind. It’s in the mind, the renewing of the mind. A story is told of a man who was critically ill, and the doctor said to the son, the only way your father can survive is if he gets a brain transplant. Wah, that’s a new surgery never done before, but he says this is the only way your dad could be saved. So the son said, “Alright, sounds very expensive, how much does it cost?” Now let me show you what brains we use. So the doctor brought him to a place where the brains are stored. And it’s in 2 categories. Brains of men and brains of ladies. And he said to the son, to the man, well these are the options you can have. Literally or practically 2 options. You get a male brain or a female brain. Say, what’s the difference? Well the cost is very different. The male brain is a million dollars and the female brain is 500 thousand dollars. Wow, it’s half price! Why is it that the male brains are more expensive? The doctor says, oh, because they are new, never used before. (Laughter from congregation) You know there are many men today who don’t think. Never use their brains and Christian brains can even be more expensive, never even used before. When we come to discerning God’s will, I’m suggesting to you, the key, the secret to knowing God’s will is through the renewing of your mind.

0:18:38.2

Sure, we need to look at what God is showing us, around us, we need to pray, but I think this is the key - having the mind of Christ. Not just any mind, but the mind of Christ. A mind that is renewed, the word “renewed”, I’m sure you know is the word “renovated”. It’s updated. It’s changed. Not just your old ways of thinking but the new ways of thinking. God is saying that the main way by which you know God’s will is when your mind is so shaped and influenced by the Word of God that it is now able to access all the factors, all the influences around you and to… with the mind of Christ, discern what God is saying to you and what God wants you to do for that particular situation. That’s what it means. To have a mind that is so shaped, so influenced by Scriptures that it is thinking the way Christ will think. And that’s how God leads you in your life. You see God spoke to people in time past in many ways. Hebrews chapter 1, God says, He spoke to many people in many times, by different ways, some by voices, some signs, some through the Bible. But the Bible does say, in the last days, He speaks to us through His son, Jesus. And Jesus is known through the Scriptures. I’m suggesting to you today, God still speaks to us. He does and yes, He can choose to speak to you through voices or signs but today He speaks to us through primarily His Word. And whatever you learned, whatever you decide will never be in contradiction to the Word of God. Because that’s how God speaks to you today. And so your minds must be renewed, shaped and fashioned to think as Jesus would think. We have this acronym: WWJD - What Would Jesus Do? Really, it is a process possible only when the mind is renewed by the Word of God. The Bible says in Ephesians 4, verse 23, something interesting, not just the renewed of your mind, renewal of the mind, but to be renewed in a spirit of your mind. In other words, it’s with regards to the attitude of the mind. The posture of the mind, the bend, the er… inclination of the mind. It’s not just some verses that you memorised in your head, but the Word of God has shaped the way you think, your perspective. There was a young man, er… who is very, very meticulous. Very fussy that to him everything he does in life must have a Bible verse to prove it. So, when he fell in love with a girl, he was in turmoil. Because he would very much love to kiss his girlfriend “goodnight” but he can’t find a Bible verse for it. So for a long time, he searched the Bible to have a Bible verse justify kissing his girlfriend “goodnight”. Finally he found one, in the book of Romans, that says, greet one another with a holy kiss. (Laughter from congregation) He was excited about the verse, he went to his pastor and say, Pastor I’ve found a verse to justify kissing my girlfriend when I see her home. The pastor says, Son I’m so sorry, but this verse is er…. not applicable for dating setting, it is more used for a church setting. So the man was very dejected. In any case, he still went out with the girlfriend and it was about time to part with her at her home, at her doorstep when she now grabbed him and planted a kiss on his lips for 10 seconds. He was like struggling to catch his breath, he… (gasping sounds)… Bible verse, Bible verse, he was still thinking about the verse and the girl now held his face right in front of her and said, “Do unto others what you want others to do unto you.”  (Laughter form congregation) Well, I don’t think that’s the way we use the Bible, alright?  When we say the Scripture should shape our mind, it’s not just hiding some verses in our head and randomly throwing it out. But it’s having the Bible shaped the way you think. It’s about the mindset. It’s about perspective. It’s about the approach, the angle to life. And so the key way to knowing the will of God is having a mind that is so renewed that it thinks as Jesus would think, as governed by the Scriptures. You got it? So that you can apply the Word of God to various situations. That’s the way God wants to lead you in your life. This is what it is.

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My goal again to you, very simple, the secret of knowing God’s will is having the mind of Christ. That the Word of God will so fill your heart, will fill your mind, that it shapes the way you think and through that process, God leads you. Now this then demands some big changes in the way you seek God’s will. Paradigm shift, we called it. Big changes. Why? Because let me say this, most of us today who are seeking God’s will, we say to God, tell me. Agree? Tell me, what school to go to, what job to take up, tell me where is my spouse, tell me what I am supposed to do, tell me. But when you realise that the secret of knowing God’s will is having the mind of Christ, you change your prayer. Instead of saying God tell me, you now say, grow me.  Teach me. Change my mind. Renovate my thoughts. Shape my mind to be like Jesus. Grow me. It means instead of obsessing over the secret will of God, which we don’t know. It belongs to God, the Bible says, you today focus on the revealed will of God. The ones God has already spoken of in the Scriptures. Grow me Lord, in what you are saying in the Bible. It means today, instead of worrying and stressing and being anxious about the future which you cannot know. How many of you know if the stocks will rise and fall tomorrow. How many will know if it rains tomorrow? How many will know? The things of the future, none of us. None of us! The secret things belong unto the Lord and instead of obsessing over the future, the Bible actually tells us, be focused on what you have to do today. This is my will for you. It is in the Scriptures. Change, grow, develop and do what I have already revealed. It’s a paradigm shift. It means today you don’t pray for crystal ball, you pray for the mind of Christ.

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You don’t wait and say, God please drop a… you know how nice it would be if God’s will is revealed to you in an email every morning. What I’m saying is your secret will. Dear John, this is my will for you this morning, you will meet with this, this, this, this, this and this is what you need to do. How easy that would be. How easy it will be that on the day you are saved, or maybe on the day that you are baptised, the church gives you a crystal ball. And you take that crystal ball home and it says, everytime you rub 3 times and there will be that answer from God to you. Wouldn’t it be easier? But no, God doesn’t do that. God doesn’t give you a crystal ball but God wants to develop you, grow you, change you so that you have the mind of Christ. Now, this calls for a paradigm shift because most of us when we talk about knowing God’s will, we are always looking at this: God, tell me your secret will about the future, I want a crystal ball. You get it? But I’m suggesting to you, based on Romans 12:2, those who are hearing voices, those who are always looking to crystal ball kind of a life is not in sync with Romans 12:2. Romans 12:2 is saying, Lord grow me, teach me, show me your revealed will that I might obey in the present and thereby you change my mind to be more like Jesus. It’s a paradigm shift! It’s a different way of knowing God’s will altogether. You’ve got to get it. Let me help you get this.

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Let’s apply this to someone who is seeking a spouse. How many of you looking… ok, that’s a bad question to ask. (Laughter from congregation) Now that’s one way to look for potential spouses but let’s say you are single, you’re looking for a spouse. Let me say this, typically someone looking for a spouse, you would be there praying God tell me who is the secret, who is the person in your secret will, in the future, I need a crystal ball. You stand before the mirror and you say, mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all. You wish that God will drop a piece of paper through your window and say this is the one. And maybe at the back of it, give you the address, telephone and Facebook address. (Laughter from congregation) Maybe that’s the way you would want to know God’s will for your spouse. Or maybe you wish that when you step out of the door, the first girl you meet is the one you will marry. So you say, alright God, this is what you’ll do: I’ve been praying for 10 years, no answer, so tomorrow I’m going to open the door, step out and the first girl I meet, she will be my wife. And so the next morning you do it and when you see her, you say, no, no, no, no! (Laughter from congregation) I don’t suggest that’s the way God leads you. I suggest this, instead of obsessing over the future who you do not know, focus on the present of who you know, yourself. Focus on the present on being the person God wants you to be. He doesn’t tell you who he or she is, but he does tell you who He wants you to be. And instead of sitting there anxiously waiting and fretting over it and even going to the extent of murmuring, complaining, God why is it that you have not given me a spouse? Focus yourself on obeying God in what He has revealed to you today.

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Deal with sins in your life. Grow in Jesus. Fellowship with God’s people. Be active in ministries. Serve others. Go and fellowship. Go and evangelise. And that is what God wants you to focus. Now as you do these what God wants you to do, it may be in the process of obeying God, God reveals to you the 2^nd step. He may reveal to you the 3^rd step, the 4^th step, and eventually reveal to you the person He wants you to be with. Now I’m not saying this is something you do and “bao jiak” (Dialect words meaning guaranteed), there will be a spouse given to you. There is no promise like this from the Bible. There is no promise like this from me. Even if He doesn’t give you a spouse at the end of the day, this is His will for you already. But I’ve heard of so many examples, where people are seeking a spouse and they devote themselves to obeying God, they devote themselves to living the life God wants them to live and the person they fellowship with, the person that they reach out to, eventually becomes his spouse or her spouse. It works that way. It may, I’m not saying it will. But don’t do this as a trade. God, you see I’m doing this ah, you must give me a spouse. It’s a different mindset altogether. But you see, it’s a change on focusing on the future which is not in our hands to doing what God wants for us today. I think the best guarantee that God will lead you tomorrow is that you obey Him today.

Obeying Him with the mind of Christ. Maybe some of you today are seeking God’s will with regards to ministry. You’ve been to church, you recognise Jesus saved you for a higher purpose than what you were living for.  And you want to live for Jesus, you want your life to count. You may be even thinking about full time ministry and so what you are thinking about is this: God show me which Bible seminary I need to go to. God show me which church I need to be in. God show me how I can be somebody in the future. And you’re sitting there and waiting about the future. Good for you to plan, but far more important for you to actively devote yourself to what you are called to do today. And as you serve and you live and you respond to God today, He leads you tomorrow. I learned this personally in my life. Saved at 18, never had any doubt I want to serve Christ for the rest of my life. But I never really knew where I was going to go. I wanted to serve Him. And I thought I will serve Him in some rural countries somewhere off. But I never really had enough time or I never really devoted myself to worrying about the future. All I did was to do what I had to do in my life. Studying in medicine, reading and training myself in the Scriptures and in the ministry. Actively fellowshipping, doing what God wants me to do. And right up to the last six months of my bond, I was not even thinking about exactly where I was going to go. And then as we obey God in the first step of our life, He leads us into the next step.

My friends, it’s totally liberating for us to live this way. It’s liberating because you’re not anxious about the future. You’re doing what God wants you to do today and you can trust Him to lead you tomorrow.

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So many of us are living in unnecessary fears. No, it’s the renewing of the mind. It’s the mind of Christ. It is doing what He wants you to do today, that He will lead you for tomorrow. Let me say this apply even not just for big decisions, but also small decisions, you know? Some of us, we go to shopping malls and we stress over what brand of orange juice should I buy? So you stand in front of the counter and says, there is Sunkist, there is Orangina, God you got to show me. And you stand there and you wait. God! You got to reveal to me! And you can’t decide and so you kneel down, God show me! And… no one does that! Anyone of you does…did that before? Because you want to know God’s will. You are waiting for a sign. You are waiting maybe for the orange juice to… I don’t know what can happen to orange juice. Or maybe you’re waiting for some piece of paper to land on the brand that you ought to buy. What eggs to buy? What rice to buy? What toothpaste to buy? Umm… where to go for holiday? All those decisions, do you sit and wait for those decisions? I suggest to you 95% of the decisions you made in your life are such kinds of decisions. Where we don’t really need to agonise, we don’t really need to sit down and think through so many things and pray and wait and wait, no, most of the time you make the decision the best you know how. I believe it is the mind of Christ thinking of all the Biblical reasons, converging together on that particular circumstance that God leads you, you see. You don’t wake up, thinking of, should I wake up on the right side or the left side? Because God may sovereignly determine that if I wake up on the right side, I may sprain my ankle. So I must pray and… eh… you don’t do that, you don’t! You don’t think about what bus to take, what time to wake up. It is all through the renewed mind. That’s how the Lord leads you.

Maybe today, you’re a child, teenager, and you want to know God’s will for you. Let me say this, what God wants you to know today is His revealed will and that is this: Children, obey your parents. How is God going to lead me? Let me say this, you obey your parents. Because God is going to lead you through your parents. Children, honour your parents, value what they say to you. If some of us, we are impatient and we feel that we are the only one who hears from God. Har… God speaks to you through authority and therefore it is His will for you to listen and obey your parents. Maybe today you’re looking for a new job because financially you are tight. Let me say this to you, instead of worrying about the future like we’ve been talking about, focus on being a good worker. Focus on submitting to your superior. Focus on being gracious to your subordinates. Focus on not being a “I” service worker, man-pleaser, but working with diligent and dignity and integrity. And God leads you in your next step. When there are needs around you, you don’t have to sit around and wait. Is this God’s will for me to serve the poor, reach the unsaved and encourage my brethrens. You don’t have to sit around waiting for these things. It’s the mind of Christ. What would Jesus do? Now, there are times when we really know not better, then you’ve got to pray. You’ve got to pray, God give me wisdom. James 1:5. But it’s always through the renewed mind. That’s how it works. That’s how it works. I want to challenge you this week. Last week I asked you to do your RPGs. To read, to pray, to grow. This week I want to challenge you, as you read and as you pray, ask God to change your mind. Renew your mind. That you may discern His will. And instead of saying God tell me, pray to Him: God grow me, teach me. I…I think if we understand this, it will make tremendous improvements in the way we live. Life…life becomes a joy. Several impacts I feel that will result as a, as a following of this paradigm shift. Number one, we’ll realise that God is not just here to give us information, but to effect transformation.

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You say what do I mean by that? Let me give you an example, I will playing Ninja-Go with my son. You know what’s Ninja-Go? If you do not know, you are of a different generation. Umm, Ninja-Go is a kind of an ipad game. You tap, tap, tap, tap, tap and the figurine keeps spinning and you beat off the other enemies. So it’s a simple game and I, I played Ninja-Go with my son. He learned it somewhere else and he wanted to play it. And when he plays it, he keeps losing. Because he doesn’t know how to do it well, so he passed it to me and say, Daddy, help me! Help me! And so I pressed on and of course, being more coordinated, we win, I win. And so I passed it back to Shawn and he say, “Don’t want Daddy, you keep playing, you keep playing, we want to win.” But I say, “Shawn, no, you got to play and I’m not going to play anymore, you got to play and this is how you play.” You say, why? Very simple, because my objective was not just to win the game. My objective is to develop his dexterity, his coordination and so on and so forth. I was not just helping him with some information, I want him to be transformed. I want him to grow. Same, maybe today as a parent, you want your kids to have all the right answers to exams. Wah…how you wish it could be for PSLE, for ‘O’ Levels coming up, ‘A’ Levels, you say, Wah… if only I could tell my son all the answers to the exam questions. But a good teacher, a good teacher doesn’t give all the right answers to the students. That’s not his job. A good teacher doesn’t give all the right answers. A good teacher coaches the person to develop and to discover the right answers. Would you want to ace your exams and fail in life?

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That’s not what a good teacher should do, isn’t it? Now God is not just here to give us information. He could do it so easily. Drop an email, drop a piece of paper. Write it on the sky. He could do all that. But He’s not here to give you information, He’s here to give you transformation, that your minds will be like that of His Son. That’s His supreme goal for you. It’s really neat when we understand the secret to knowing God’s will is the mind of Christ.

Another impact I feel this will develop in you is this: that you will realise that knowing God’s will is not a formula but it’s about the fellowship.  You see, some of us we reduce knowing God’s will to steps to follow as in a formula. Ahh… today we have plenty of things made easy. Cooking made easy. Computer made easy. Knowing God’s will, we also think it’s about formula. Step 1, step 2, step 3… and we think that God is some heavenly vending machine that you press some buttons and He must give you an answer. No, seeking God’s will is more than a formula. It’s about a relationship and intimacy, a fellowship with God that His Word will come into your life and by the Holy Spirit, He transforms your mind to apply those truths. I suggest to you, that the secret to knowing God’s will is having the mind of Christ and one of the key there is to realise knowing God’s will, the key to knowing God’s will is not knowing God’s will but knowing God. Because knowing God’s will can become an idol for us. All I want to know is God’s will and I do not want God. But the desire of God is that He wants you to draw close in intimate fellowship with Him that you may then find out His will. Carol mentioned, trust in the Lord with all thy heart and lean not unto thy own understanding. In all thy way, acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths. You see, leadership and guidance are found in fellowship and not just a formula. This Friday was Hari Raya, brought my son out to his favourite park - Botanic Garden, Jacob Ballas. This is a picture of him at the maze. This is a children’s maze at Jacob Ballas. And usually when we go to the maze, I like to say, Shawn can you go in on the other side and I will meet you right here waiting for you. And I will say to him, Shawn, it’s really easy, just go in, turn left, turn right, go straight and you could see it’s very easy. Daddy will be waiting here for you. But my son will always refuse. “No, daddy, you come with me. You come with me.” And he will drag me to follow him. A little kid understands that in the maze of life, what you need is more than a set of instructions. What you need is the person being with you. And yet there are many Christians today who say God I do not want to know you, I just want to know your will. Haha… the will has become an idol, folks! You want to know God’s will so that you can decide what to do. But God says No, my will is known in fellowship and not a formula. You want to know my will, draw near to me. And I will reveal to you a step at a time. That’s why we sing those songs: All the way my Saviour leads me. He doesn’t says, Jason, that is the road you take, you go there. But this is what it is, all the way, every step of my life, He guides me, He leads me. So at the end of life, I look back and says, truly all the way, my Saviour leads me. It is about a life of fellowship. Not about discovering some secret formula to know His will. And lastly can I say to you, when you know that the secret of knowing God’s will is found in the mind of Christ, it leads you to live a life of active obedience and not passive waiting. It’s exciting! I can live in active obedience today and not be anxious or worry about the future tomorrow. Huh… the best guarantee for guidance tomorrow is obedience today. Why? Because the Bible says the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. You take that first step, He leads you in the next step. You obey Him in the next step, He leads you in the further step. As you know His will for the present, you obey it, He leads you to the next step you are to take. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. And that’s why I think, the Bible says, the Word of God is like a lamp unto my feet. The lamp doesn’t shine very far. It’s right where you are, just one step ahead of you. That’s what the Word of God does. It guides you one step at a time. And as you actively obey step by step, He leads you into the desired future. My friends, I end with this slide, “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, God sees it.” You just take the first step and the next step and the next step.” Because the key, the secret to knowing God’s will is having the mind of Christ, shape by Scripture, applying the factors to any given situation. Take a step and trust Him for the next step. That’s what it is. I’ll encourage you today to live a life of fellowship with God and not just depending on some secret formula. I encourage you today to realise God is not here to just give you information but He wants to effect transformation. I want to encourage you today instead of sitting in passive waiting, take steps of active obedience. And realise that it is true, all the way my Saviour leads me. The secret of knowing God’s will is having the mind of Christ.

Let’s bow for a word of prayer.

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The will of God, often seen to be something mystical, far away, accessible only to some spiritual people, it’s a lie that the devil wants to perpetuate among us. The world wants to keep you from obeying God in the present. The devil wants to dupe you into uncertainty, fears and anxiety, worrying about the future. My friends, you can trust God with your future. Today, the will of God is clear. I hope to debunk all those myths and to help you realise that the secret of knowing God’s will for you is found in the mind of Christ. Wherever you are, whatever circumstance you are in, you should always look to God and say, Lord help me to read, to pray, to grow. Transform me by the renewing of my mind. Renovate my mind. Shape the way I think. Shape my values, shape my perspectives, in accordance to Jesus and His word. So that daily in my life, I will do your good pleasure. I will not just be wanting to know one area of my life but I will be obeying you in every aspect of my life. In that way Lord, I am a living sacrifice, pleasing, holy, acceptable in your sight. My friend, God’s word is crystal clear - read, pray, grow. And ask him to transform you by the renewing of your minds. No matter where you are today, burden with a need for a spouse, a job, directions in life, about a major purchase, you can trust God that as you take those steps of faith, He leads you onward. And all the way, my Saviour leads me. What a wonderful Saviour! Not just information, transformation. Not just passive waiting, active obedience. Not just a formula but a life- long fellowship with him. The mind of Christ, God will you give it to your people today? Father, we thank You that You are not someone who likes to hide things from us, but You revealed Your will to us in such clear manner, in the Scriptures. May we today learn to trust and obey for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey. May we all today be transformed in the renewing of our minds, that we may know experientially, the good, the acceptable, the perfect will of God. So bless Your people this day, we ask in Jesus’ name, Amen. God Bless.