The Fourfold Will of God: Know and Follow

Devotional

Day 1: When the Sun Rises East and Sets West

God’s sovereign will operates like the sun’s unchanging rhythm—fixed, purposeful, beyond human interference. It governs creation’s order, from seasons to the breath in our lungs. His decrees stand unshaken, whether in life’s blessings or mysteries that defy easy answers. Trusting this perfect will means resting in His authorship of all things, even when His purposes feel hidden. The same God who ordains the moon’s phases holds every detail of our stories. [26:28]

“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will.”
(Ephesians 1:11, NIV)

Reflection: What circumstance in your life feels chaotic or unexplained? How might God’s sovereign care over creation reshape your perspective on it?

Day 2: Boundaries That Breathe Life

God’s commands are not arbitrary rules but guardrails for flourishing. Like a parent marking safe play areas, His preceptive will protects us from the cliffs of self-destruction. Obedience becomes freedom when we see His law as a gift, not a burden—a path to intimacy with the One who designed our hearts. Every “do not” whispers, “I love you too much to let you wander.” [35:25]

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”
(Deuteronomy 29:29, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you treated God’s commands as restrictive instead of life-giving? What step could you take today to walk freely within His boundaries?

Day 3: The Weight of a Choice

God permits forks in the road—moments where our desires collide with His heart. Adam’s apple, Moses’ rock, Peter’s denial—each echoes the tension between divine patience and human frailty. His permissive will grants us agency, not approval, inviting us to partner with His redemptive work even in our stumbles. Every “yes” to Him rewrites a legacy. [39:44]

“In the past, he let all nations go their own way.”
(Acts 14:16, NIV)

Reflection: What current decision pits your immediate desires against God’s eternal purposes? How might choosing His way bless others beyond yourself?

Day 4: Molded by the Mind of Christ

Transformation begins when we swap culture’s noise for Scripture’s melody. Like batter taking a pan’s shape, our thinking conforms to whatever we feed it. God’s preferred will emerges not in dramatic signs but daily realignments—choosing mercy over grudges, integrity over shortcuts. A renewed mind sees His fingerprints in ordinary moments. [52:56]

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
(Romans 12:2, NIV)

Reflection: What media, relationships, or habits subtly shape your thinking? How can you intentionally feed your mind truth this week?

Day 5: Delight Writes the Story

God’s ultimate will isn’t a roadmap but a relationship. Jesus—the embodied “yes” to every promise—invites us into shared delight. When His joys become ours, our choices align with eternity’s rhythm. Judgment for the resistant, refinement for the redeemed—both reveal His relentless love. The end was written in the beginning: He gets the last word. [57:30]

“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
(Psalm 37:4, NIV)

Reflection: What mundane task or relationship could you reimagine today as an opportunity to delight in Christ? How does His faithfulness quiet your need for control?

Sermon Summary

God’s will names God’s desire for his creation, not a maze to solve. The will of God first shows up as his perfect will, long called his sovereign or decretive will. Ephesians 1:11 and Revelation 4:11 frame it: God works all things according to the counsel of his will and all things exist by his will. Isaiah 46 declares that God “will accomplish” his purpose, and Daniel 4 says no one can stay his hand. God’s perfect will governs the rise of the sun, the seasons, the giving and taking of life, and the very shaping of each person. Nothing changes it, nothing stops it.

God’s will then speaks as his preceptive will, the revealed commandments that shape thought and behavior. Deuteronomy 29:29 makes the split clear: the secret things belong to God, but the revealed things belong to his people so they may do them. The commands create a boundary for abundant life that only make sense and come alive in Christ. They are not a thumb on the soul, but a guardrail that frees.

God’s will next appears as his permissive will. God truly grants choice. He delights to give the opportunity to choose, though he never delights in disobedience. Permission is not approval. Adam and Eve, Israel’s demand for a king, Samson, Peter’s denial, and the nations walking in their own ways all sit inside this allowance. Yet Romans 8:28 holds: God bends even evil toward the good of his purpose.

God’s will finally presses as his preferred will. Ephesians 5:17 commands understanding it. Romans 12:2 calls for tested discernment that comes by a renewed mind. Six truths line up: God wants his people to know his will; they can know and apply it; folly is the refusal to do so; worldly thinking shapes worldly living; thinking biblically is a Spirit-driven process that transforms; and God’s will proves good, acceptable, and complete. Romans 12:9-21 paints its texture: genuine love, blessing persecutors, refusing vengeance, clinging to what is good with a holy glue. The preferred will of God aims at salvation, conformity to Christ, and kingdom-minded living. In the end, God’s will is not a place or an endeavor. God’s will is a person named Jesus. Be like him.

Key Takeaways

1. God’s will means God’s desire God’s will is not a riddle but God’s heart set toward his creation. Seeing will as desire reframes guidance from guessing to delighting in what delights God. Desire language pulls decision-making into relationship, not mere technique. Obedience grows where affection is clarified. [23:47]
2. The sovereign will is unstoppable God declares the end from the beginning and accomplishes his purpose. This truth steadies prayer and endurance, because outcomes finally answer to his counsel, not human leverage. Humility is not passivity, it is confidence that faithfulness participates in what cannot fail. Worship swells when control relaxes. [32:33]
3. Permission is not approval God allows true choices, but never delights in sin. Freedom without formation will drift into self, so the precepts and the Spirit teach a better delight. Romans 8:28 is not a shrug but a confession that God can write straight with crooked lines without calling the crooked good. Repentance joins that straightening. [40:27]
4. Discern the preferred will daily Ephesians 5:17 and Romans 12:2 call for minds renewed, not moods consulted. Understanding in Scripture means know and do, so discernment lands in practices, not merely opinions. Testing trains the conscience to recognize what is good, acceptable, and complete. Consistency beats intensity here. [47:20]
5. Think biblically to be transformed World-shaped thinking produces world-shaped living; Scripture-shaped thinking produces Christ-shaped living. Romans 12:9-21 turns doctrine into muscle memory, gluing the soul to what is good. The Spirit uses Scripture to burn away what is not like Jesus and to bear fruit that blesses neighbors. Formation follows focus. [52:31]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[09:55] - Why talk about God’s will
[13:47] - Two kinds of preaching
[16:54] - Expository and exegetical notes
[18:19] - Intentionality and Ephesians 5 theme
[20:59] - What is God’s will, really
[23:30] - Will defined as desire
[24:02] - God’s perfect sovereign will
[28:41] - Isaiah 46 and sovereignty
[31:36] - Daniel 4 and unstoppable purpose
[33:57] - God’s preceptive will in Scripture
[36:28] - God’s permissive will and free choice
[39:44] - Old and New Testament examples
[43:56] - God’s preferred will explained
[45:42] - Ephesians 5:17 and Romans 12:2
[52:56] - Romans 12:9-21 as case study
[55:08] - God’s will is good and complete
[57:30] - God’s will is Jesus-shaped
[59:48] - Q&A on consequences and discipline
[62:57] - Closing remarks and sign off

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Ephesians 5:17 (ESV): "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is."
- Romans 12:2 (ESV): "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."
- Romans 12:9-21 (ESV): A detailed call to genuine love, humility, and overcoming evil with good.

Observation Questions

Ephesians 5:17 contrasts foolishness with understanding God’s will. What specific action does this verse link to wisdom?
Romans 12:2 connects "renewing the mind" with discerning God’s will. What two outcomes result from this process?
In Romans 12:9-21, what repeated theme ties together commands like "bless those who persecute you" and "do not repay evil for evil"?

Interpretation Questions

Why does Romans 12:2 emphasize testing as part of discerning God’s will? How does this relate to daily choices?
How does the idea that "permission is not approval" (e.g., Israel demanding a king) reconcile with God’s sovereignty? [40:27]
The sermon states, "God’s will is a person named Jesus." How does this truth reframe the way we approach decision-making? [57:30]

Application Questions

"Thinking biblically produces Christ-shaped living." What is one practical step you can take this week to align your thoughts more closely with Scripture? [52:31]
When have you confused God’s permissive will (allowing a choice) with His approval of that choice? How did that affect your relationship with Him?
Romans 12:9-21 calls believers to "cling to what is good" like "holy glue." What specific relationship or situation in your life needs this kind of intentional, glue-like love?
The sermon warns against letting "world-shaped thinking" dictate our lives. What cultural value or habit do you need to actively reject to live more kingdom-minded? [50:27]
How can you cultivate a daily habit of "testing" your decisions against God’s preferred will (Romans 12:2)? Name a current decision where this practice is needed.

Sermon Clips

41s

“end with these three closing thoughts. God's will is not a place. God's will is not an endeavor. God's will is a person named Jesus. Be like him. This is delight. This is my son who I am well pleased. Know another way to say that? This is my son whom I delight. God's preferred will is a relationship with us. So here's a closing and sobering thought. God's will is going to be accomplished, but it includes judgment for the lost and refinement for the believer. This is the will of God for you. A little like Jesus.”

35s

“The preferred will of God ultimately is salvation for those who confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead. The preferred will of God is for us to be a part of his kingdom and and to think with a kingdom mindset. The preferred will of God is for his children to bring him glory, to make much of him. The preferred will of God is for his children to conform to his son, not the world. Not mold ourselves to the world through our thinking, but mold ourselves to his son. That's the preferred will.”

49s

“Here's the deal, and you might wanna write this down simple but true. God delights in giving us the opportunity to choose. God delights in giving us opportunity to choose. Without free will, we're nothing more than robots. And he's nothing more than a grand puppeteer pulling the strings, and that's not the God we read about in scripture. No matter what we choose, though, it will not alter or stop God's perfect will from being accomplished. So God gives us permission to make choices. That is his permissive will. He desires for us to choose him. But he doesn't force it.”

30s

“He didn't give us a list of rules just to plaster on the wall and let them stay there. Gave us a list of rules to follow. And he didn't give us a list of rules so that he could be a dictator with his thumb on us. He gave us a list of rules because those list of rules are really a boundary. And if we stay within the boundary, we're living the abundant life, and we find that life through Jesus Christ. If you try to obey the rules apart from Christ, you're gonna find yourself frustrated.”

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