God's Will Part 2

Text: Various

Title: Doing God's Will: Part 1

Series: Knowing God’s Will

I. Introduction:

A. Background:

We learned that knowing God's will requires work: we must prepare our hearts and understand what God is like.

1. the need to surrender our hearts, to trust in God's Sovereignty, to confess our sin, and to read, study and meditate on God's Word.

2. why we should obey God's Will,

3. God enables us to do His will

4. the way we do His will is also important.

5. we can know God’s will

a. it is not lost

b. He wants us to know it

c. It is revealed clearly in the bible

B. Proposition:

God’s will includes his universal or general will that applies to everyone and His specific will that applies to us personally

C. Main Divisions:

1. God's Universal Will

2. God’s Specific Will

3. Summary Knowing and Doing God’s Will

II. Exposition:

God's Universal Will: Applies to All People

A. God’s Universal will is clearly revealed in God’s Word. (Josh McDowell)

1. God wants us to love on another (John 13:34-35)

2. God wants us to pray regularly (1Thess 5:17)

3. we don’t have to pray about these things

4. there are main points of God’s universal will that are explicitly or plainly

spelled out in the Bible.

5. God’s Specific Will applies to us individually and is dependant on His universal will

a. if we are not obeying His universal will that applies to everyone, we should not expect Him to reveal His specific will to us

1. Salvation

a. God wants everyone to be saved from their sins

b. Joh 3:16-17 NKJV

(16) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

(17) For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

c. 1Ti 2:3-6 NKJV

(3) For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,

(4) who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

(5) For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,

(6) who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,

d. speaking of the Second Coming and judgment of the world and wicked:

1. 2Pe 3:9 NKJV

(9) The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

e. Eze 33:10-11 NKJV

(10) "Therefore you, O son of man, say to the house of Israel: 'Thus you say, "If our transgressions and our sins lie upon us, and we pine away in them, how can we then live?" '

(11) Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?'

f. in order to be related to Jesus, we must obey the will of God, to do this we must have a relationship with Jesus (Found God's Will)

1. Mar 3:31-35 NKJV

(31) Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.

(32) And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You."

(33) But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"

(34) And He looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!

(35) For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."

g. Sin separates us from God (James week 12)

1. We are all born spiritually separated from God, headed for hell.

a. Man was originally created perfect, that his spirit was in unbroken fellowship with God,

b. man disobeyed and sin entered and resulted in consequences [on the physical body (physical death, disease), on the spirit (separation from God) and on the soul (shame, fear, rebellion, evil desires).]

c. Now as a result, everyone is born disconnected from God and condemned to hell

f. we are sinners by physical birth (nature) (Rom 5:19) and by choice (Eph 2:3; Rom 1:21-32; 3:9-18; Tit 3:3)

1) Eph 2:1-3 NKJV

(1) And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,

(2) in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,

(3) among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

2) Psa 51:5 NKJV

(5) Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.

2. Because God is just and holy, He deals with sin and sinners as they deserve, condemning them and punishing them.

a. to approach Him one must separate from sin

b. sin separates us from God

c. sin must be paid for

1) Heb 9:22 NKJV

(22) And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.

d. Heb 10:8-14 NKJV

(8) Previously saying, "SACRIFICE AND OFFERING, BURNT OFFERINGS, AND OFFERINGS FOR SIN YOU DID NOT DESIRE, NOR HAD PLEASURE IN THEM" (which are offered according to the law),

(9) then He said, "BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD." He takes away the first that He may establish the second.

(10) By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

(11) And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

(12) But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God,

(13) from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool.

(14) For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.

1) “sanctify” to set apart from sin to God; to make holy

3. Only through trust in Jesus can we approach God

a) Heb 4:14-16 NKJV

(14) Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

(15) For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

(16) Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

b) Heb 7:19 NKJV

(19) for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

a. having our hope in Christ allows us to approach

4. Because of Jesus’ Sacrifice and work as the High Priest those who apply the value of His sacrifice on the cross, who believe the Gospel, can now approach God

a. Salvation and Sanctification allows us to come near to God

b. Heb 10:19-22 NKJV

(19) Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,

(20) by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,

(21) and having a High Priest over the house of God,

(22) let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

c. Eph 2:10-16 NKJV

(10) For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

(11) Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands

(12) that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

(13) But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

(14) For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation,

(15) having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace,

(16) and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

d. Jesus removes the separating sin and clears the path to approach God

e. Having a relationship with Jesus allows us to be divinely accepted (Eph 1:6), in right standing before God (1Cor1:30), secure, and dead to sin and alive to God (Rom 6:1-4)(PCT 359)

5. the unsaved cannot approach God because they don’t desire to and they are not able to because they are

1. condemned, guilty and sentenced to hell (Jo 3:18)

2. spiritually dead toward God (Eph 2:1; 4:18; Rom 1:21-23;3:11 1 Cor 2:9, 14)

3. helpless (Rom 5:6; Eph 2:8-9.)

4. they need to be saved from the guilt, penalty, ruin and bondage of sin (PCT 331)

6. we need Divine Forgiveness and Cleansing to apporach God

a. 1Jn 1:5-10

b. confession: agreeing with God about your sin (Psa 139:23-24; Rom c:27)

d. repentance: change of mind and attitude toward sin and God (Matt 21:29; PCT 316)

1. accepting personal responsibility (2 Cor 7:10; Prov 28:13)

2. seeking the forgiveness of God

3. seeking the forgiveness of people we have sinned against (Matt 5:23-24)

4. forgiving those who have wronged us when they repent (Matt 6:12, 14-15; Lk 17:3)

e. when we deal with our sin, God immedialtes forgives us and cleanses us

1. 1Jn 1:9 NKJV

(9) If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

2. Sharing the Gospel

a. those of us who are saved need to reach those who are not

b. getting people to heaven should be priority (Skip)

c. God wants them to be saved

d. He chooses to use us to reach those who don’t know Him (Rom 10:14-17)

e. Mat 28:19-20 NKJV

(19) Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

(20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

f. Act 1:8 NKJV

(8) But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

3. Being Spirit Filled (Eph 5:17-20)

a. the Holy Spirit indwells a person at salvation

1. 1Co 12:13 NKJV

(13) For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

2. Rom 8:9-11 NKJV

(9) But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

(10) And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

(11) But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

3. 1Co 6:19 NKJV

(19) Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

b. Allowing him to have more control of our life: our thoughts, motives, desires, attitudes, actions..

c. means letting God’s word dominate every part of our life (Col 3:16)

1. living continually under His influence and guidance

2. pursuing purity, confessing all known sins, dying to self; surrendering to God (JMSB on Eph 5:18)

d. means living carefully, using our life for God, understanding God’s will, being filled with the Spirit, giving thanks, submitting to each other, worshipping and praising God (Eph 5:15-21)

e. we have all we need to live holy (2 Pet 2:13)

a. we have God’s Holy Spirit in us (John 14:16)

f. Ephesians tells us how Spirit filled people should live

a. in our family (5:22-6:4)

b. in our jobs (6:5-9)

g. includes studying, obeying, applying, God’s word daily to our lives.

h. becoming Filled (PCT 210) from Real w7

1. dealing with known personal sins (Eph 4:30)

a. repenting and confessing sin (1John 1:9)

b. making right our wrong doings and seeking forgiveness of those whom we have offended (Matt 5:23-24)

c. forgiving those who have offended us and have repented and made right their wrongs (Matt 6:14-15)

2. giving ourselves to His direction and power (1Thess 5:19; Rom 6:11-13)

a. not resisting Him

3. relying on Him to do His job

4. with the fullness of God: his moral attributes (Eph 3:19) NET

5. filled by Christ (4:10) by means of the Spirit with the content of the fullness of God (NET)

i. remaining Filled

1. dealing with sin immediately; giving ourselves over to Him; depending on His direction and enablement

2. following His leading and obeying His commands (Rom 6:16-22; 8:14)

3. trusting Him (Gal 2:20; 6:16)

4. allowing Him to Sanctify us through Bible reading, prayer, worship, fellowship… (Psa 1:1-3; Jam 4:8-10; Psa 34)

5. avoiding what is evil (2Tim 2:19-22; 1Pet 2:11)

j. losing the Filling

1. the moment when we chose to sin

a. refusing to cooperate with Him

2. the Holy Spirit still remains with us forever

4. Application

a. Have you personally recognized your need for salvation, confessed to God about your sin?

b. Are you sharing the Gospel regularly?

c. Are you sprit filled, allowing the Holy Spirit to use God’s word to influence every area of your life?

5. Sanctification (Holiness and Purity)

a. Problem (Josh McDowell’s Handbook on counseling youth pg 281-288)

1. “75% of all girls have had sex during their teen-age years and 15% have had 4 or more partners”

2. average age for girl’s is falling: 1960—age 19; 1990— age 17

3. among youths who attend church: by age 18, 27% have engaged in sexual immorality

a. youth tend to become more sexually immoral as they get older

b. Sexual Purity

1. 1Th 4:3-5 NKJV

(3) For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;

(4) that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,

(5) not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

a. God wants believers to be set apart, holy from sin to holiness, and purity

b. context: sexual purity

c. “sanctification” G38

1. consecration, purification, holiness

2. the effect or behavior of

3. of the heart and life

4. separation to God

5. not only to the activity of the Holy Spirit in setting man apart unto salvation and transferring him into the ranks of the redeemed, but also to enabling him to be holy even as God is holy (2Th_2:13). (WSD)

d. “abstain” G568

1. to hold back, keep off, prevent

2. to be away, absent

3. to hold one’s self off voluntarily

e. “sexual immorality” porneia G4202

1. sexual sin

2. includes fornication (premarital sex, adultery) and is sin against God, one’s body (God’s temple) (1 Cor 6:12-20)

3. illicit or unlawful sexual activity

f. “possess”

1. acquire, get

a) to marry a wife

g. “vessel” or body

h. “honor”

1. value by which the price is fixed

2. respect

2. 1Jn 3:2-3 NKJV

(2) Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

(3) And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

a. the hope or confident expectation of seeing Jesus and being glorified should motivate us to purity

3. Stay away from sexual sin

a. means avoiding sexual acts that are wrong

1) acts like reading, watching, hearing

b. sex is God’s design to be used only in a marriage relationship (JMSB)

c. staying far away and doing whatever it takes to be pure

d. don’t be a slave to anything (1Cor 6:12)

e. don’t let lust take control of you

f. be different from the rest of the world, be set apart to God

4. Control or possess your body

a. keep yourself under control to honor God

1. watch how you dress, act, talk and think (JMSB)

2. applies to not just sex but also eating and any other activity that can take over our lifestyle

3. don’t dishonor God

4. our body is God’s holy temple; where He dwells

5. Subdue your passions

a. do not act like the unbelieving world, who is a slave to sin, Satan and the flesh

6. Don’t take advantage of others (1Thess 4:6)

a. don’t use others for your own personal reason

b. God created us in His image

c. we have been called to holiness (v.7)

7. 1Pe 1:13-16 NKJV

(13) Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

(14) as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance;

(15) but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,

(16) because it is written, "BE HOLY, FOR I AM HOLY."

8. Heb 12:12-17 NKJV

(12) Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees,

(13) and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

(14) Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord:

(15) looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

(16) lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

(17) For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

9. Sanctification is a work that God does in us as we obey Him (1 Thess 5:23; 3:11-13)

6. Obedience to Parents

a. includes seeking their counsel in the Lord

b. Eph 6:1-2 NKJV

(1) Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

(2) "HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER," which is the first commandment with promise:

c. Pro 1:8 NKJV

(8) My son, hear the instruction of your father, And do not forsake the law of your mother;

d. Pro 13:1 NKJV

(1) A wise son heeds his father's instruction, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

e. Prov 23:24; Deut 5:16; Exod 20:12

f. respect through obedience

g. appreciation and thanksgiving

1. valuing their wisdom and guidance

2. if we are wise, we will hear and not forsake our parent’s instruction and teaching and accept their discipline when we do wrong

h. when we submit to God and obey Him, we will then want to obey, listen, respect, honor our parents

i. does not mean blind obedience but having discernment

1. God wants us to walk in His laws and to keep His commands and to do them 2. we are only to obey our parents as long as we do not disobey God

j. We show our love for God and our parents when we chose to obey them

7. Application

a. Don’t expect God to reveal to you anything more if you are not sanctified and obeying your parents?

b. Are you staying away from sexual sin: this includes what you watch, read, listen to and how you dress?

c. Are you controlling your body? Speech? Desires?

d. Are you different from the unbelieving world or just like them?

e. Do you take advantage of others?

f. Do you respect and appreciate your parents?

8. Submission: Surrender, obedience, fall under/in rank

1. To God (James 4:7)

a. means commitment of our life, present and future to God

b. presenting ourselves as a living, holy acceptable sacrifice (Rom 12:1-2)

c. conforming to and obeying God’s will

d. Rom 6:12-14 NKJV

(12) Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

(13) And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

(14) For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

e. living as His children (Eph 5:18; Rom 6:1; 8:1-5; 13:13-14; Gal 5:16, 25; Col 2:6-7)

1) Col 1:9-10 NKJV

(9) For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;

(10) that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

2) 1Th 2:11-12 NKJV

(11) as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children,

(12) that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

3) 1Th 4:1-3 NKJV

(1) Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;

(2) for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

(3) For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;

4) Col 2:6-7 NLT

(6) And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him.

(7) Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.

f. becoming a disciple or follower of Christ

a. salvation brings new responsibilities

b. cost of being a disciple of Jesus

c. Forsaking all for Jesus (Luke 14:26, 33)

1) setting aside and leaving behind everything that is first place in our lives other than Jesus (Matt 6:24)

2) taking up the cross (Lk 14:27): symbol of humiliation and death; denying self

3) following and becoming more like Jesus

4) Luk 14:26-27 NKJV

(26) "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.

(27) And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

2. To Government

a. 1Pe 2:13-15 NKJV

(13) Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme,

(14) or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.

(15) For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men

b. living humbly among unbelievers for God’s sake—honoring and glorifying God

c. means being a good citizen.

d. not abusing our Christian freedom

e. includes the work place (Eph 6:5-8)

f. obeying every law of the land as long as it does not violate God’s commands

(Act 4:18-20)

1. by forbidding us to do God’s will or

a. preaching the Gospel

2. commanding us to do what God forbids

a. worshiping someone/thing other than God

g. being salt and light (Luke 14:34)

1. Mat 5:13-16 NKJV

(13) "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

(14) "You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.

(15) Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

(16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

a) Salt was used as seasoning or fertilizer or as a preservative (NET)

1) If salt ceased to be useful, it was thrown away.

2) With this illustration Jesus warned about a disciple who ceased to follow him.

3) Genuine salt can never lose its flavor.

b) impure salt with other minerals would loose it’s effectiveness

(JMSB)

c) light is our witness before the world by our good works, righteousness, and godly living (Devo 12/4/06)

h. 1Pe 2:17 NKJV

(17) Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

1. honoring all people

2. loving believers

3. fearing God

9. Suffering

a. 1Pe 3:13-17 NKJV

(13) And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?

(14) But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. "AND DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THEIR THREATS, NOR BE TROUBLED."

(15) But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

(16) having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.

(17) For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.

b. for doing good, living a godly life in obedience to God

1. sanctifying or setting apart and being devoted to God

2. being ready to give a defense

3. having a good conscience

4. 1Pe 5:6-10 NKJV

(6) Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,

(7) casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

(8) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

(9) Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

(10) But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

5. 1Pe 4:12-19 NKJV

(12) Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you;

(13) but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy.

(14) If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.

(15) But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's matters.

(16) Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.

(17) For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?

(18) Now "IF THE RIGHTEOUS ONE IS SCARCELY SAVED, WHERE WILL THE UNGODLY AND THE SINNER APPEAR?"

(19) Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

6. 1Pe 1:3-7 NKJV

(3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,

(4) to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,

(5) who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

(6) In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials,

(7) that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ,

a) suffering tests the realness of our faith

b) we are called to rejoice greatly in times of suffering

1) joy not dependant on changing circumstances

7. we should expect suffering (2 Tim 3:12; John 15:18-21, 24, Act 14:22; John 16:1-3)

8. suffering comes with faith in Christ (Phil 1:27-29)

9. Peter, Paul, Stephen, and Jesus all suffered for doing God’s will (Act 4)

10. comes when we confront the world for Christ

11. we should be willing to be bold and suffer persecution

a. Col 1:24 NKJV

(24) I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,

12. suffering not just to suffer but for Jesus’ purpose and glory

a. Gal 6:17 NKJV

(17) From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

10. Application

a. If you want to know God’s specific will for you life you must be willing to submit to Him and to authority

b. Are you living a holy and acceptable life that is in agreement with God’s will?

c. Are you willing to give up your future, your plans and desires for what God has to

offer?

d. Are you willing to give up your personal rights for God?

e. Are you willing to suffer if need be, for doing good, for obeying God’s will?

f. If you obey God’s will, you can expect suffering, persecution and rejection.

11. Summary: God’s Universal Will

a. God’s will is clearly revealed to us through His Word

b. God may not reveal anything specific about your life until you obey Him in the area of salvation

c. We should seek to know and obey His will not mater what it is

1. His will is not lost, waiting to be found

2. He wants us all to know it

d. God’s universal will applies to everyone

e. Salvation

f. Sharing the Gospel

g. Being Spirit Filled

h. Sanctification (Holiness and Purity)

i. Obedience to Parents

j. Submission To God and Authority

k. Suffering

III. Summation:

We learned that God’s will is clearly revealed to us through His Word, that God may not reveal anything specific about your life until you obey His General Will, that We should seek to know and obey His will not matter what it is, that God’s will includes his universal or general will that applies to everyone and His specific will that applies to us personally, that God’s Specific Will is dependant on His universal will

IV. Invitation:

Have you done the first step in knowing God’s will— do you have a personal relationship with Him? Because God is just and holy, He deals with sin and sinners as they deserve, condemning them and punishing them. That is why God sent Jesus. He paid our fine so that we could escape eternal punishment and separation from God. To have a real relationship with God and escape hell, one must agree with God about their sin and trust that Jesus died to pay for their sin. Have you done that?