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Understanding God’s Will
Romans 12:1-2
We usually look at this
passage and talk about surrender...but surrender to what?
The will of God in the end of v. 2!
Or we talk about separation...but separation unto what?
The will of God! And that
should be the greatest desire of our hearts:
to know and to do the will of God!
Good news: God isn't
playing keep a way with His will, and it isn't far off or hard to find.
1.
We need to seek the will of God God wants us to know His
will even more than we want to know it.
He said, “seek and ye shall find” / “seek me early and ye shall find
me” / “draw nigh to Me and I will draw nigh to you.” We need to seek God’s will
in whom we marry/where we go to college and what we do with our lives. Joke—Kimberly is the least
selfish person I know on earth.
Her folks overheard her praying one night before bed:
“Dear Lord, I ask nothing for myself, but please, give my momma, a
very handsome son-in-law!” Seriously, it’s not your
life…you belong to God…don’t settle for less than God’s best…seek His
perfect will for your life! You don’t have the right to
just decide what you’re gonna be,
and what you’re gonna do…seek His will!
And we all should seek His will for all decisions, big and small.
2.
We need to surrender to the will of God Eph. 6:6
Not with
eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of
God from the heart; Jesus is the very epitome
of this. He knew God’s will for
the end of His life, and in the
3.
We need to stand in the will of God Col. 4:12
…that ye may stand
perfect and complete in all the will of God. Once we know His will, we
need to surrender to it, and then stand firm in it, not drifting to the
right or the left. A
definition:
The
will of God is exactly what we would choose for our lives if we had
sense enough to choose it. God loves us more than we
love ourselves. He knows of
greater possibilities and more success that we could achieve, if only we’ll
seek and follow His plan! God is more qualified to
plot a course for our lives than we are.
Just imagine the advantage you’d have if you hand crafted a person to
your own design, and knew exactly what lay ahead for them throughout every
moment of their future!
Just
for fun-- Palindrome:
[a sentence spelled the same forwards and backwards]
A man, a plan, a
canal,
God in His Word has given
us several markers that we can go by…and when they line up we have a better
assurance of what God’s will is for our lives! The first marker:
·
Recognition
A.
It’s Real The first step is
recognizing that God has a will for your life.
It’s a very real thing we see throughout the Bible. Psalm 37:23
The steps of a good
man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Proverbs 3:6
In all thy ways
acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. I can’t know all the
details of God’s will for your life…but I know 1 thing:
God does have a plan for your life!
It’s a divine blueprint of you and your life, crafted by the One who
designed the universe w/out any plans!
What a powerful and
captivating thought, that God is so involved in something as small as little
ole’ me! Matthew 10:29
Are not two
sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground
without your Father. A sparrow is so
insignificant, and yet God has a plan for each of them!
How much more w/ us?! I wanted to know what a
farthing is, so I could tell you today--so, I looked it up:
it’s 1/10th of a drachma and 1/16th of a
denarius! So…now you know!
Evidently, it’s like a few cents at most in our economy.
God says, they are
practically worthless, and God has a plan for them [deductive
reasoning…arguing from the lesser to the greater]
We are the highest of God’s creation…made in His image…It’s
unthinkable that God would not have a plan for our lives! “His Eye is on the
Sparrow,” and you can know He’s watching you, too!
B.
It can be Refused God will not
make you do His will.
He has given us a free will to choose.
He didn’t force Adam and Eve to obey Him, but gave them a choice, and
it’s been that way ever since…why?
Because God wants people to choose to love, obey, and follow Him, not
slaves that do it by force! You can choose to be saved
or not. And once you do, you
have another choice: Will you do
the will of God? A huge # of Christians
today say they believe in God, but they choose to live their life their own
way. He’s ok for their eternity,
but not for their present! Some
may even seem successful, making money, or famous, or “happy”…but if they
aren’t in God’s will they are a failure!
The will of God is very real, it may be
refused, but…
C.
It’s always Right Romans 12:2
…that ye may prove
what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Young people, don’t wind up
my age or middle aged or older and be found saying, 'I’ve done a lot, but
not what was really important.'
[it’s never too late to turn around, by the way!] Ill.—imagine a guy who
likes to play the violin…he turns on a CD of Beethoven’s 5th
Symphony and begins to play at the same time...but he’s playing Yankee
Doodle. He can do that if he
wants, but there will be a real mess…big time discord in that house!
God has arranged a great
symphony for your life…don’t be found off in a corner playing Yankee
Doodle…but pay attention to the great Conductor and follow Him beat for
beat!
God’s will is real, can be refused, but is
always right!
·
Resolution You must resolve in advance
that once you know His will, you will do it.
Don’t work “with a net”…God doesn’t work that way! Ye are bought with a price,
and ye are not your own! If
you’re saved then you are God’s…you’re God’s twice:
you’re God’s by virtue of creation and again by virtue of redemption.
He made you, you rebelled, became lost in sin, and He bought you
back! John 7:17
If any man will do
his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I
speak of myself. Being willing comes first,
before the “doing.” Why is this?
I believe that sometimes if we knew what God had ahead for us it
would scare us…we wouldn’t be ready to accept that He could really do such
great things thru us. Some people are afraid of
God’s will…that it’s like Alka-Seltzer:
it’s good for you, but not too pleasant. [He’ll call me to ill.—imagine a loving
father w/ a teenage son. His son
says, can we spend the whole day together Saturday?
Do you think that father would say, “muahahaha…I’ve got him now, I’m
gonna think of everything he hates and just fill his day with it…he’s gonna
pull weeds and clean the gutters and scrub toilets, and he’s gonna eat
brussel sprouts!”
No, a loving father says,
“what a privilege that my son wants to please me and spend time with me…the
least I can do is make it a wonderful experience, ‘cuz then, at the end of
the day, he’ll love me even more!” Let me go on record:
Doing God’s will is “a wonderful life!” Our God is not some evil
personality/'cosmic killjoy' whose goal is to make you miserable…He loves
you, and has a wonderful plan, and wants you to know it…He’s not masking it
mysteriously…if you want to know it and are willing to do it [in advance],
He’ll say, “I hear that request and I hereby answer it…my will is:
______________________.” If God’s
will is for you to go to Africa, then you’ll be happy with that…you’ll want
to go there in a way you may not want to at this moment, and you’d be
happier there than in America, and safer!
The safest place on earth
is the middle of God’s will! One day a grandfather told
his grandson, “I’m leaving to run some errands, do you wanna come w/ me so
we can spend some time together?”
He asked, “Where are you going?”
He replied, “If you want to be with me, then it doesn’t matter!” God says, “Will you
surrender to my will?” You say,
“Well, what is it?” His reply,
“It doesn’t matter!”
Recognize God has a will for you, resolve
that you will do it…
·
Revelation When we walk in what light
we’ve been given, God gives us more light.
Some people don’t know God’s will for their future because they’re
not doing God’s will right now!
Why should He reveal His will about tomorrow if you’re not obeying Him
today? He said, “If you’re
faithful in least then you’ll be faithful in much!” A statement:
“The way to know
God’s will tomorrow is to do His will today!” Ill.—headlights on a car:
they only shine a little ways, but guess what, once you travel that
far, they reveal further down the road for you!
God doesn’t just lay it all
out for us…the “steps” of a good
man are ordered by the Lord. God called me to be a
pastor, but for years all He showed me to do was to run a bus route, work in
Jr. Church, etc., and then, when I was ready, He took me to the next level,
and the next! I know a little about God’s
will for you. That you pray and
read your Bible every day, and be faithful to Him and your church, and be
honest and hard working, etc.
And I also know 1 more thing…if you don’t, you won’t find out what else He
had in store for you! If you don’t do the basics
of His will, what makes you think He’ll send a smoking plane to write His
will out for you across the sky?! Another statement:
“God is more
concerned about your character than your career”
You cannot know God’s
personal will for your life if you disregard God’s moral will for your life. Being right with God comes
before being “right in the middle of His will”. If you have unconfessed sin
in your life and you pray for God’s will and direction, it’s a mockery!
You must walk in His moral will which you already know! 1 Thes. 4:3
For this is the
will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from
fornication: Sin in the life cuts the
phone line to heaven. Psalm 66:18
If I regard
iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: Pray a prayer like this:
“Lord, I want to know and do your will…nothing more, nothing less,
and nothing else! And if you'll
reveal it to me I promise in advance to do it!”
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