Introduction: Last week we began a series of lesson regarding the Will of God. We saw that the will of God for every believer is to be Transformed, to Serve as unto Christ, to give Thanks, and to no longer live in the Flesh.
According to the Bible, God has a will for every believer today. It is God’s intention for all of us to know His will for our lives so that we can be in God’s will. If Jesus Christ was to come back right now for His church, would we be found doing what should be doing? Regarding God’s will, we are either IN the will of God, or we are out of His Will. We are either doing what God wants done, or we are not doing what He wants done, there is no middle ground with God.
God’s will for man is:
- To Give ourselves to the Lord– II Corinthians 8:5 It’s a good thing to give our money to the cause of Christ however, God’s will for us is to give ourselves to Him FIRST, then give what we have.
When they first gave of themselves to the Lord:
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- They gave in their poverty- Vs 2 “their deep poverty abounded”. Freely and readily.
- They gave liberally- Vs 2 “riches of their liberality”. With open and free heart.
- They gave beyond their ability- Vs 3 “beyond their power”. No appeal, no pressure.
- They gave insistently- Vs 4 “praying with much entreaty”. they wanted to share in the “fellowship of ministering to the saints”.
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- A person can only give this way and in this manner when they FIRST give of themselves to the Lord. When a person really knows the Lord, and they are committed to live for the Lord, when they see a need arise, it’s not a bid deal, they just give of themselves and of what they have. That’s the reason why it is God’s will.
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- Acts 20:35 “I have showed you all things, how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive”.
- Galatians 6:2 “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”.
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- To Walk Circumspectly– Ephesians 5:15-17 to walk circumspectly (cautiously/carefully). The will of God here is to walk cautiously and carefully through life.
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- We can walk as Fools Vs 15- This person doesn’t walk being alert to the temptations and pitfalls of life. He is not strict, disciplined, and controlled.
- We can walk as Wise Vs 15- This person walks thoughtfully, spiritually minded, he knows Christ personally. This person walks strict, disciplined, and controlled.
- Colossians 2:6 “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him”
- I John 2:6 “he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked”.
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- To be Sanctified– I Thessalonians 4:3 to abstain from fornication: to know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor”. This is moral purity. We must resist the passion of lust: sex, pornographic material, exposure, looking, touching.
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- Doing this will cause us to loose part or all of our inheritance in heaven.
- I Corinthians 6:9 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor eliminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind…shall inherit the kingdom of God”.
- I Thessalonians 5:23 “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit, and should and body be preserved blameless unto the coving of our Lord Jesus Christ”.
- When a person step out in marriage, it extremely difficult to ever TRUST that person again. Pain and hurt always linger.
- God calls us to purity, holiness, lives that are set apart.
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IV. To Do Well– I Peter 2:13-15 “For so is the will of God. that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men”.
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- Our submission to every ordinance of man will put others to silence. The believer that continues to live for Christ by doing good will eventually silence the critics.
- Romans 13:1 “Let every should be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God”.
- Titus 3:1 “Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and power, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work”.
- Foolish men are ignorant to the fact that the powers that be are ordained of God, and that’s why they speak ill of those that are in positions of authority. Thats not the case for us, we know better.
- It is always better to do well, and it is the will of God.
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V. To Suffer for Well Doing– I Peter 3:17 We can either suffer for evil doing, or for well doing. According to this verse, God’s will is that we suffer for well doing. If we live lives that are holy, righteous, pure, upright, and above reproach, it won’t be difficult to suffer, the world will despise that.
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- Proverbs 29:27 “An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the ay is abomination to the wicked.
- Doing these things usually gets a believer mocking, ridicule, isolation, abuse, imprisonment, persecution.
- I John 3:13 “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you”.
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Conclusion: As a Christian, we want to the know what God’s will is for our lives. Knowing God’s will for our lives will allow us to do it, and to please God also. Lastly, when we are doing God’s will, God can reveal to a person His plan for their life, and that’s always a good thing.