31st Oct 26 | 04:00
Studies by Book
Discerning the ways of God
📖 Acts 17:15-15
Acts 17 - Series 02/Episode 23 - Sat 31st Oct 2026 - Discerning the ways of God - Acts 17:10-15 - MINISTRY IN BEREA - Romans 12:01-02
Acts 17:15 So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.
The believers in Berea, along with Paul and the team, decided that it would be better for Paul to leave Berea and travel by sea. https://thejordanvalley.com/2017/11/13/acts-16-18-the-second-missionary-journey/ I have attached this map to get an idea of the second missionary journey of Paul and the team. Paul was moving out of Macedonia to Achaia.
There was a specific direction from God to Paul to come to Macedonia. Acts 16:8-9 So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. (9) And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." Now, it was the Lord who was moving Paul to Athens, but when the decision was made for Paul to relocate to Athens (Achaia), there was no unique call from God as it happened for Paul and the team to come to Macedonia.
How are we to discern the ways of God? God sometimes gives clear and powerful direction through a vision or a specific experience. But He does not always guide us in such dramatic ways. We must learn to walk closely with Him, recognise His leading, and be ready to obey.
Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The way in which we can learn to know and walk in the will and ways of God is to start in the way of holiness. Our bodies need to be presented as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Are we living in holiness? Are we saying 'no' to sin in the body, or are we living in a state of compromise in our bodies? If there is besetting sin in our body, mind and spirit, then we will have difficulty hearing God.
Sin will harden our hearts, cloud our understanding, weaken our spiritual judgment, and disrupt our fellowship with God. Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. (2) But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. / Psalm 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear. Will we decide to renounce sin from our lives this very moment? If we do not, then we will struggle to hear God.
The second step that we must take to hear and know the ways of God is to renounce the ways of the world. The ways of the world are all about the self. The self in us manifests in three ways - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. I John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (16) For all that is in the world-the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life-is not of the Father but is of the world. (17) And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
The self in us must be taken to the cross, and there we must be crucified with Christ. If this is not happening, then we will struggle to hear God. Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
As we continue to be crucified with Christ, we are also learning to live for others and not for ourselves. This is where we will discern the ways of God. II Corinthians 4:10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. This life of dying to ourselves and living for others is an everyday, ongoing experience. Paul declares that he dies daily. I Corinthians 15:31 I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. This is how we put on the mind of Christ. Philippians 2:3-5 Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. (4) Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. (5) Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
This is how we will discern the ways of God.
Community Feedback
Reviews for Discerning the ways of God
☆☆☆☆☆
0 reviews
Leave a Review
No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.