LUKE 12:47-48 WISE STEWARDS KNOW THE MASTERS WILL2013 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 12:47-48 Wise Stewards Know The Masters Will

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You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2013.

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Well, last week we began a series that we're going to be spending some time in over the next few weeks. As we're going through the Gospel of Luke here in chapter 12, the Lord really exploded this passage in my heart. And there's lots of different angles and things that God has really laid aside for us to consider over the next few weeks.

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Last week we began this Faithful and Wise Steward series by looking at the reality that you are a steward.

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And you need to know that you are a steward, that God has entrusted you with resources and he's given you instruction along with those resources in order to accomplish his will. And so the encouragement was to be a faithful steward and to be a wise steward as Jesus was addressing the believers as he was talking to them.

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Well, this morning we're investigating a little bit further this idea of being a wise steward. And I would suggest to you, as the title of this message says, wise stewards know the master's will. Wise stewards know the master's will. And so as we begin this morning, of course, the question is, are you a wise steward? And do you know God's will?

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Do you know God's will for your life? As you are here this morning, are you familiar with, are you aware of what God desires for your life? Are you aware of His will for your life? And are you there in the midst of that walking in His will?

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Now as we talk about the will of God, it is kind of a big subject and we're not going to be able to cover every aspect of it this morning because there is a lot of aspects to it. But as we think about the will of God, I think we have a misconception about it and we tend to think of it as this big mystery.

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You know, who could ever know the will of God? Like it's something that's just far out there that nobody could ever know God's will in their life. But as we will see in the scriptures today, I think that's not actually what the Bible says and we need to correct our thinking regarding that. I like what John MacArthur wrote about that. He says, as believers, if we do not know God's will, what are we? He says, are we uninformed?

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And he answers, no. Are we just searching? Again, he answers, no. Instead, he says, we are being foolish. He suggests we are being foolish if we do not know God's will. I think that's something that we don't typically think about or we don't approach the will of God that way. But as we will see in the scriptures we'll study today,

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Well, we can know. In fact, God expects us to know his will and he wants us to walk in it. Now, as we began this series last week, we talked about a steward and I defined it for you this way. A steward is a servant entrusted with resources and instruction to accomplish the master's will.

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You are a steward, which means this is you. You are a servant. God has entrusted you with resources. We went through a lot of those as an example for you last week, of those things that God has entrusted to you. But this week, we're going on with that second part, the instruction to accomplish the master's will. Along with the resources God gives you, he gives you instruction, and that is his will, his plan for you.

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And a wise steward knows that plan. The instruction is his will. Notice there in verse 47, it says, and that servant who knew his master's will. There's this expectation as Jesus is giving this illustration of a master and a steward. The expectation is that the steward knows the master's will.

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And the steward is held accountable to the master's will. In the same way, you and I as stewards, we are expected to know God's will and we will be held accountable to God's will.

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And so we want to spend some time examining this idea of the will of God this morning. We're going to jump around to some different passages this morning to get a good understanding of that. And along the way, also, I'm going to be sharing quite a bit of references to verses. And just like last week, I would encourage you to have a pen and paper ready to write down those references and to spend time later on examining these things on your own so that you can have a good grasp of

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of what God's will is that you could be a wise steward. So wise stewards know the master's will. There's three things I want to hit this morning to help us understand that. And the first thing is that we are to know God's will for everyone. Now for that, please turn with me to Ephesians chapter 5. You and I

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With this expectation that we are to know God's will, we really need to start with the general revelation that God has given regarding his will. The general revelation he's given to all believers saying, this is my will for you as a believer in Jesus. And we can see that begin to unfold in Ephesians chapter 5. I want to look with you at verse 15 through 17 and then we'll move on to some other things. It says,

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Paul says in this passage here that we are to walk circumspectly, that we're not to be foolish, but that we are to be wise. Now again,

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In Luke chapter 12, we're talking about being a wise steward. That's what Jesus is calling us to be. And so Paul says here, you need to be wise in the way that you walk and that you walk in such a way that you redeem the time because the days are evil. And in order to do that, he says in verse 17, therefore, do not be unwise. Do not be foolish.

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But instead, understand what the will of the Lord is. It's foolish for you to not understand God's will, Paul says. It's unwise. It's not a good thing if you don't understand. Instead of being foolish, instead of being unwise, Paul says, learn to understand what God's will is.

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Now the scriptures have quite a bit to say about the will of God. In fact, quite a lot more than I expected when I first began to put together the study for this morning.

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There's a great wealth of knowledge about the will of God in the scriptures that are very clear and specific that we can look to. And so I want to share with you some of those things. And I'm going to go through them pretty quickly. And so again, I encourage you to take some notes, write these things down and revisit them later. But I want you to get a good picture of what the Bible says about the will of God for your life and for the lives of all believers.

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So what is God's will for you? Well, first of all, it's very clear in the scriptures that we can know God's will is that you would be saved. God's will is that you would find salvation in Jesus Christ. In John chapter 1, verse 12 and 13, it says, but as many as received him, that is Jesus, to them he gave the right to become children of God to those who believe in his name, who were born not of

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blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God that those who believe in Jesus Christ are born again and John says this isn't man's will it's not the will of the flesh it's not a physical or natural birth it's something that is done of the will of God

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We also know from 2 Peter chapter 3 that God is not willing that any should perish. God's will is that you, all people, would be saved. That they would not perish, but they would find everlasting life by believing in Jesus. By receiving Him as Savior and Lord and receiving the forgiveness of sins and the promise of everlasting life. That is God's will for you. And if you desire to know God's will,

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This is where it has to start. It has to start with salvation, where you believe in Jesus. He died upon the cross for you, for your sin, for my sin, paid the penalty, received the judgment that we were owed. And in doing so, he provided himself as the Savior, that by faith and trusting in him, we could have everlasting life.

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We could be forgiven and set free from the bondage to sin and death and the guilt that goes along with that. And it's God's will for you to receive that. He wants you to receive the salvation that he offers. So that's very clear in the scriptures. We can understand that quite easily.

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We also can understand that it's God's will for you to be spirit-filled. So not just something happening at the beginning of your life, being born again by the Spirit of God, but that you would walk continually then, being filled with the Holy Spirit. If you're still there in Ephesians chapter 5, you can see that as you go on to the next verse, verse 18. It says, "...and do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit."

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So Paul says in verse 17, understand God's will. Verse 18, be filled with the Spirit. God's will is for you to be Spirit-filled. Now, Pastor Tom shared a couple weeks ago on this very passage and talked about how to be filled with the Spirit and what that looks like in our life. And if you were not here, if you haven't heard the message, please make sure that you do.

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You can get the message online or you can check with the sound booth and they can give you the CD. But it's very important and timely for us as a body, for where we are and what God is taking us through. It's important for us to understand the things that he shared.

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And so the things he shared, let me just run through the points really quickly. He says, in order to be filled with the Spirit, first of all, you have to have true encouragement, which is found in the scriptures. You need to be involved in the reading and studying of the Word of God. Secondly, you need to have true worship and you need to be engaged in real times of worship and praise to the Lord.

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Thirdly, he said that you need to have true thankfulness, having a gratitude, a gratefulness to God and the things that he has done. And then fourthly, he said we need to have true submission, being submitted to one another in the fear of God. And these are all things that are found there in Ephesians chapter 5. And so God's will for you, you can know this is without question. God desires for you to be filled, to overflowing with the Holy Spirit.

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continually and constantly. That's God's will for you. To be saved, to be spirit-filled. Thirdly, we can see clearly from the scriptures, it's God's will that you would be sanctified. For this, I refer to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4. In verses 3 through 6, it says, For this is the will of God, your sanctification, that you should abstain from sexual immorality,

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That each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God. That no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. Here's what Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4. This is the will of God.

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It doesn't get much clearer than that. You want to know God's will for your life? Paul says, your sanctification. Here's what God desires for your life, that you would be sanctified. Now the word sanctified, we could understand it with the idea of being set apart. That you are set apart from sin,

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but also that you are set apart for God, that you are reserved and preserved for the things of God, disconnected from sin, but connected to the Lord and His work. And so the idea here is being set free. Now, Paul uses some specific examples. He says that you should abstain from sexual immorality. In order for you to be in the center of God's will, Paul says...

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You need to abstain from sexual sin. You need to keep yourself from impurity in that way that you need to separate, to be set apart, to be disconnected, set free from sexual sin. And this is something that is necessary for you to be in the will of God. Are you in the will of God? If you are continuing on in sin, if you're living in sin or continuing to practice sin,

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What Paul is pointing out here is that you are not in the will of God. And you will never be in the will of God as long as you continue to practice sin.

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Because God's will for you is that you would be sanctified. There needs to be repentance. There needs to be the turning away from sin. Not that we are perfect and that we never fall short, but that we don't continue to engage in practice sin, that we don't continue to give ourselves to sinful practices. There needs to be a break, a disconnect.

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Do you know how to possess your own vessel in sanctification and honor? Have you learned that? Have you learned to walk sanctified, set apart from sin? That's God's will for you. That's what God wants in your life. Well, another thing we can see clearly from the scriptures, what God desires for you, his will for your life, is that you would be an obedient employee.

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God's will for you is that you would be obedient in the workplace. Ephesians chapter 6, verse 5, Paul says this, "'Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart as to Christ, not with eye service as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.'"

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With goodwill, doing service as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

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Now here in this passage, Paul is directly addressing slaves. But as we understand that culture and the slavery that was there, we can easily transport that to today and understand that Paul is talking to employees dealing with their employers.

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And so as an employee, you can understand, here's what God's will is for you. Paul says, be obedient to those who are your masters or your bosses or supervisors, according to the flesh. Those who are your superiors in the workplace, Paul says, you are to be obedient to them. Now he gives some particular ways that you're to be obedient. He says, with fear and trembling.

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So there's to be a fear and trembling as a part of your obedience. And also he says in sincerity of heart, that it's a genuine obedience, that you genuinely desire to be obedient with fear and trembling. And then he goes on to say, even when they're not watching. He says, not with eye service as men pleasers, but as bond servants of Christ. And he connects this idea there in verse 6 of Ephesians 6.

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He says, doing the will of God from the heart. So it's very clear. Here's God's will for you. Be obedient in the workplace with a genuine, sincere heart. And not just when they are watching you. Not just when people are paying attention. Paul is saying, look, you need to be obedient in the workplace as unto the Lord. And he goes on to say, because it's the Lord who rewards and not your boss.

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And so here's what we need to understand in the workplace, that if you are only doing good or being obedient when they are watching, it's because you have this concept in your mind that your reward comes from your boss.

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And so you're thinking, well, hey, if I do good while they're watching, then that's going to affect my review. That's going to affect my raises. It'll affect my promotions. And, you know, I'll have something good coming because I'm doing good while they're watching. But hey, when they're not watching, I can cut some corners. I can skip some steps. I can do some things differently because they're not going to know any different and it won't affect my reviews and my raises and my promotions. But here's what Paul says. No, no, no. Your master is really God, right?

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And so you need to be obedient even when they're not watching because he's always watching. And he's the one who's the actual one who rewards you. He's the one who really gives you what you deserve. He's the one who really pays the bills. It's him that you're supposed to be seeking to please. And so the will of God for you is to be obedient in the workplace, whether or not your boss, your supervisor, or whoever is watching you.

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but that you would be obedient with a sincere heart as unto the Lord. It is God's will for you to obey your boss, even when they're not watching. What we can also see from 1 Peter 2, God's will for you is that you would be doing good. That you would be doing good. Now the context for this in 1 Peter 2, he says in verse 13, therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake.

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whether to the king of supreme or to governors, or as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good. Then he says, for this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men, as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God. Check out what Peter says. He says, here is the will of God.

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What is it? That by doing good, you would silence ignorant men or foolish men. What does it mean to do good? What is he talking about? Well, he's connecting it to what he just said previously, which is submit yourself to every ordinance of man. Submit yourself to every law of man is what Peter is saying.

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Submit yourself to the authorities of the land. Submit yourself to the king, to the governor, to whether it be national level or state level or city level or local level, whatever it might be, the authorities that are over you in the community, Peter says, submit yourself to them for this is the will of God that by doing good, that by following the laws, the ordinances of man, that you would silence the

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the ignorance of foolish men. Submit yourself to every ordinance of man. This is God's will for you. Now, this one might be a little bit tough to wrestle with as you begin to think about this. Every ordinance of man. How about speed limits? Is that an ordinance of man? How about taxes? We're in January, right? We're headed towards April. You're going to be working on your taxes pretty soon. Peter says, look, you need to be submitted to the authorities. You need to be

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that govern where you live. Now, of course, we know there's the exception. When the authorities try to tell you to do what God has told you not to do, or when the authorities tell you to not do what God has told you to do, then you have to obey God rather than man. But those aren't, you know, those aren't happening every day as much for us right now. Maybe later on that will. But for now, the majority of the ordinances, the laws that have been presented to us,

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Those are things that God would say, it's my will that you would obey those kings, those authorities, those ordinances of man. And that by doing so, you would silence the ignorant men, the foolish men. Because the idea here is that, well, you don't want to give them an accusation to say, well, look at all the Christians, man. They just disregard these laws. They just disregard. They just do whatever they want to do. Peter says, no, no, silence them.

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By following those ordinances, by being submitted to those authorities. So God's will, we're seeing, it's pretty clear in a lot of areas. For you to be saved, it's God's will that you be spirit-filled, that you would be set apart from sin, that you would be obedient in the workplace, that you'd be obedient in the community, doing good and submitting to authority. It's also God's will, we learn from 1 Peter chapter 4, it's God's will for some to suffer.

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And this one will be a little bit even more difficult for us to grapple with. But Peter says in 1 Peter 4.19, Therefore, let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good as to a faithful creator. Peter points out here, there are some who suffer according to the will of God. There's a lot of teaching that you could find here.

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That would not line up with what Peter says here. A lot of teaching that would say. You know hey as a believer in Jesus. You're a child of God. And there should never be suffering in your life. If you have enough faith. Or there should be never. You know no suffering in your life. If you have this type of prayer life. There should be no suffering. There should be no want or lack in your life. If these things are in place. But that teaching is not consistent with what the Bible says. Peter is very clear here.

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Let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to him in doing good as to a faithful creator. That there are those who is part of God's will are going to endure suffering. Now, Peter works up to this verse with some important points. In verse 12 of 1 Peter 4, he says, Do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as though some strange thing were happening to you.

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Now, isn't it interesting what happens when we go through a trial? When I go through some fiery trial, the first thing I think is, this is strange. Why is this happening? This is so unusual. It's so weird. Why would God allow this?

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Peter says, look, stop thinking about it that way. It's not a strange thing that you'll go through a fiery trial. In other words, it should be expected. We're going to experience trials and suffering. But he goes on to make a distinction. He says, look, there's one kind of suffering that

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That you're not to participate in. That you should not expect. And that is, hey, if you suffer as a murderer or as a thief or as an evildoer or as a busybody in other people's matters, that's not the kind of suffering that is in God's will. That's not what God wants from your life. And so if you're suffering as a result of your own sinfulness, that's a whole different matter. But he says if you're suffering because you're obedient to the Lord,

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If you're suffering because you're walking with God, because you are in his will and where he wants you to be, well, that's when he says, then commit your soul to the Lord in doing good as to a faithful creator. Because it's God's will for some to suffer. And if it's in God's will that you are and that you're suffering, he says, you need to trust God and keep on doing good. Even if you're in the midst of suffering, even, you know, because sometimes suffering will cause us to say, well,

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This is terrible. I can't stand this. Forget this. You know, I'm going to do what I want to do and forget what God wants me to do. But Peter says, no, don't walk away. Commit yourself to him. Keep on doing good. As to a faithful creator, he says, because God's faithful. He will provide. He will meet your needs. He will take care of you. It is his will for some to suffer.

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But God will be your faithful creator. So trust and rest in him and keep on doing good. Well, one last specific thing that we'll look at here in looking at the will of God in general for all believers, and that is to give thanks. It is God's will for you

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to give thanks. Here in 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, Paul says, Rejoice always. Notice these are continual things. Always be rejoicing, always be praying, and always be giving thanks, Paul says. This is God's will.

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Even if you're suffering, yes, even if you're suffering, rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. Our hearts need to be grateful to God. That's His will. That's part of what He desires from us.

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to be rejoicing, praying, and giving thanks. Now there's lots more things that we could look at from the scriptures, but those are some examples to help give you an understanding and some insight into what God's will is in general.

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for all believers. You could also look at the different commands that he gives us in the scriptures and understand that when he commands you to do something, it's because it's part of his will that you would be doing that. And so you could also understand the commands and many other things that you could consider regarding the will of God. But I share these seven things as an example.

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as a start here point. That if you desire to know God's will for your life, if you want to know where God wants you, how he wants you to live, how he wants you to be, this is the place to start. This is where you begin to know God's will for you. Where these specific things that he has revealed and he says quite clearly, this is my will for your life.

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Now this is important because usually when somebody is interested in finding out God's will, it's usually in the midst of a crisis or at a point where they need to make an important decision. And so you find yourself in the midst of a situation where you have to choose. And there's a variety of options that you get to choose. And it's like, well, which one does God want me to take?

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Or you're in the midst of a crisis and you're saying, why is this happening? And what is going on? What does God want through all of this? And it's usually at that time when people will ask, how do I know God's will for my life? But here's the thing. If you wait until that point to try to find out God's will for your life, it's going to be very difficult at that time to try to find and understand and begin to know at that time God's will for your life.

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No, what I want to suggest to you is you need to right now work on this. Right now, learn to be in the center of God's will. And it begins with these revealed things. Now, typically what happens when we're in the midst of a crisis and we want to know God's will, we turn up the scriptures and say, all right, God, what's your will? And we see these kinds of verses and we say, well,

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But that doesn't tell me if I should take this job or that job. So how does that help? And we think, that's not helpful. That doesn't help me decide. And so we tend to minimize these things because we want a specific answer to our specific situation. But what we need to understand is that this is where it starts. And we'll see that in just a moment as we head on into the next point. But if we don't start here with God's

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clearly revealed, this is my will for you, then to try to discern and understand what is God's specific will for my personal situation, it's going to be very difficult. It's going to be very hard because you haven't started with what he has clearly stated, this is my will for you. And so God's will for you is, well, it begins here, that you would be saved, that you would be spirit-filled.

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that you would be set apart from sin, obedient in the workplace, obedient in the community. Yes, even suffering for some, committing yourself to the Lord and giving thanks, rejoicing and praying continually. And so if you don't know God's will for your life, this is where you need to start. Get these things in order. Be submitted to the Lord in these things. And then you can move on to those personal areas of your life.

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What does God want for all believers? Well, there's some examples there. Point number two, you could turn with me now to Romans chapter 12. The second point regarding the will of God this morning is that you need to know God's will for you. That is you personally, you individually. God has a will, a plan, a purpose for you, and you need to know it. You need to find out what that is.

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Now, as we consider this, I'm sure you can understand that there's more to knowing God than following that list that I just had on the screen, right? Here's seven things. And now with these seven things, you'll always know what God wants you to do in whatever situation, right? If we expect that, that's not really reasonable to expect that. Because if you would think about it, it's not even possible to know a person like that, right? Can you imagine? Wouldn't it be nice?

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On your wedding day, you say, I do. They say, I do. And you get this little card. And on it, it has seven things. And if you learn these seven things, then you'll always know what your spouse wants. You'll always know what will please your spouse. You'll always know their will, what they would like. All you got to do is remember these seven things. Oh, sure. That would be nice, wouldn't it? But it doesn't work that way.

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In fact, even if you work really hard as a spouse and you come up with seven things, all right, this is what they like. This is what pleases them. Next week, you got to throw that card out and start over because it's a new situation, a new context, and everything's changing. There's not, you can't just memorize seven things and just know what God wants for your life.

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Now, married couples do get to know each other pretty well so that they can finish each other's sentences and know their likes and dislikes in a variety of situations. But that happens over decades of time. It happens over decades so that it takes a lot of time to get to know somebody that well. And the same principle applies to knowing God's will. Listen, if you want to know what pleases God,

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The best way to know God's will for your life is to know God. And that doesn't happen by memorizing a list or by flipping to a passage randomly or every once in a while. I think this is another misconception that we have as believers many times where we treat the Bible like a dictionary.

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Where it's like, okay, I have this situation in my life. Let me look in the index. Where's a verse that talks about that? Okay, Genesis. Okay, let me flip to Genesis. Okay, read that. Okay, and then next week. Okay, I have another situation. Let me go to the index. Where does it talk about that situation in my life? And let me flip to that. We treat it like a dictionary or like an encyclopedia. It's like, let me troubleshoot this. Let me look up this specific thing. But the Bible is not like a dictionary. It's not like an encyclopedia. It's not a troubleshooting manual.

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I would suggest to you that we need to treat the Bible more like a biography, where it's the record of God and his work with humanity. And so in order to understand God, we can't just flip to a verse here and there, but we need to have the whole counsel of God's word. Reading it in bits and pieces will never give you a complete understanding of God. We need to take the time to read it through.

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To get a good grasp of what all of the scriptures say. To understand because it's God revealing himself to us in his word. And so we need to be reading it completely. We need to be reading it consistently. Walking with God. Getting to know God. And that is the way that we will learn to know his will. That is the way that we will learn to know him. To know what pleases him and what he desires.

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Well, we can see that as well in Romans chapter 12. And look what Paul says in verse 1. He says, 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. 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.

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So Paul here talks about the will of God, but he is explaining in order for you to be in a position where you can discern what God's will is, you have to take these certain steps. You have to present yourself to God. You have to stop being conformed to the world. You have to renew your mind. And then he explains, you'll be able to understand what God's will is for you. So let me walk through this real quickly. First of all, he says, present yourself to the Lord.

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Present yourself to the Lord. There in verse 1, present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. In order to know God's will for your life personally, specifically, your specific situations, you need to start, first of all, by presenting yourself to God. The idea of saying, here I am, Lord.

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I like to use a little bit of a play on words here to help me understand this idea of presenting yourself to the Lord. I just changed the pronunciation a little bit. Instead of present yourself to the Lord, it's present yourself to the Lord. As in a Christmas present. You know, put a bow on your head and you say, here I am, Lord. I'm your Christmas present. That I'm yours.

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That you are free to do with me in my life what you want to do. Present your body, present yourself to the Lord as a living sacrifice. Are you familiar with that concept? Sacrifice? Do you know what happens to sacrifices? Maybe you watched that Scooby-Doo movie a couple years back.

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Where Scooby-Doo was going to be a sacrifice. And he was all excited about it. He'd tell Shaggy, I'm going to be your sacrifice. Now later on, you can tell me how to do a real Scooby-Doo impression, but that'll work for now. He's all happy and

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Shaggy said, hey, that's not a good thing that you're going to be a sacrifice. He didn't understand what it meant. Here, as Paul says, present yourself, your body as a living sacrifice. Do you understand what that means? It means you got to die to yourself. There's going to be some death involved. It's not an easy, casual thing. This is a serious thing. Before you can discern God's will, Paul says, you need to die to yourself.

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It's really not different than what Jesus said. We saw back in Luke chapter 9 verse 23. He said, if anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. There's this denial of self, this taking up the cross, that's dying to yourself. So you deny yourself, you die to yourself, and then you follow Jesus. That's what Paul means when he says, present your bodies as a living sacrifice. That you're giving yourself to God and saying, God,

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Here's the hopes and dreams I had for my life, but I'm dying to myself and I'm giving myself to you. And Lord, whatever hopes and dreams that you want, well, that's what I want to be fulfilled. Here's the goals that I had set, God. Here's the career path that I had lined up for me. Here's the education route that I wanted to take. Here's the place I wanted to live. Here's the kind of family I wanted to have. Here's what I want. Here's what I planned. Here's what I desired, right?

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Now you present your body as a living sacrifice to God and say, I'm dying to all of that. And I'm not going to force my way in any of those things. But God, I want you to accomplish your will and your purposes. I'm going to deny myself and what I want. And I want to be obedient to what you want. So Paul says, if you're going to discern the will of God, you start here. Present yourself to God. Die to yourself and offer yourself to the Lord.

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The second thing he goes on to say there in verse 2 is he says, and do not be conformed to this world. Do not be conformed to this world. Now, the wording in the Greek and the tense of the wording, it could actually be translated this way. Stop being conformed to this world.

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The idea is that you're already being conformed to this world. That that's the natural tendency. There's that pull there to be like the world, to be conformed to the world, and you need to put a stop to it. This isn't something that's new for our generation, where there's this strong desire to fit in with the world, or to be like the world, to be conformed to the world. Christians have always had to deal with this desire.

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with this temptation, with this natural tendency of wanting to be like the world. There's this pull that draws us in. And it's kind of like a car that's out of alignment. Have you ever driven a car that's out of alignment? You know, it always curves to the left or curves to the right. And if you're going to stay in your lane, you're going to have to hold the steering wheel like this so that you can go straight.

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Because it wants to just, boom, yank you this way. And you just got to constantly be steering so that you don't drift off out of the lane or off the road. That's the idea here. As Paul says, stop being conformed to the world. In other words, you're being pulled to be like the world. And the world is, well, it's ruled by the prince of the power of the air, right? Satan. And there's this seduction. There's this draw. There's this allure that desires seduction.

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Within us, there's these desires that just, we tend to be like the world. And so we think about things like the world does. We desire things that the world desires. The things that the world gets excited about, we get excited about. We're in this process of being conformed to the world. And Paul says, you got to put a stop to that. Turn the wheel. Don't just let it take you.

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But keep yourself on course. Stop being like the world. So first you present yourself to God as a living sacrifice. Then you stop being like the world. Thirdly, he goes on to say that you need to renew your mind. That you will be transformed as your mind is renewed. The renewing of the mind, we usually think of this as kind of like a long process.

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The mind will be renewed over a course of time. It'll happen to be complete many years down the road. And that's, of course, true. God's continuing to work in us. But at the same time, I would suggest we need to be careful that that doesn't just become an excuse for us to not renew our mind today. And so to help us understand that we need to renew our mind today, let me rephrase this. Renew your mind. It could also be put this way. Think differently.

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Start thinking differently than you used to. Start thinking differently than the world does. You will be transformed. Your life will be transformed when you start thinking differently. If you keep thinking the same way, the same things, you'll keep on being the same way, same person. But if you start thinking differently, you will be transformed. Well, how do you start thinking differently? Well, that's another study we could go into. We're not going to, but

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The Bible tells you what things you should think about, what things you should meditate on. Paul says, think on these things. The psalmist says, meditate on the word day and night. Or you could look back at the teaching of Jesus where we were just a couple weeks ago, where Jesus says, do not worry about what you're going to eat or what you're going to wear. Now, a lot of our thought process is regarding what we're going to eat and what we're going to wear. Jesus says, don't worry about that. Start thinking differently.

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Start listening to what he has to say. He says, start thinking about eternity. And so we need to redirect our minds to think on the things that God has instructed us to think on. In doing so, our mind is renewed and we will be transformed. Let me give you an example of how this works. This is just an example. There's much more to this in your life. And that's why I encourage you to spend some time and continue to

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consider these chapters and passages because there's much here for you. But one of the objectives with the shirts that we gave away a couple months ago is for this Romans 12, 1 and 2 process. So step one, Paul says, present yourself to the Lord.

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And so one of the things that we think is accomplished, that we understand, hey, God's doing a new work, that when you put on the shirt, again, on the front it says, Jesus loves you. Ask me how I know. On the back it says, ask me to pray for you. And when you put on that shirt and you're headed out to the grocery store, to the market, to the workplace, wherever, you're headed out, you're going out, the matter of putting on that shirt is a way of presenting yourself to God, right?

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Because just in the act of putting on the shirt, you're saying, okay, God, I'm willing to share with people if you would like to use me. I'm here. I'm about to go out and to take care of these errands and run and do these things. But I would like to be available for you, God. I'm presenting myself to you. And if you would like to interrupt my errands, interrupt my day, I'm presenting myself to you. Go ahead and do that. And if you want to use me to pray for someone or minister to someone or share with them about Jesus,

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I'm presenting myself to you. I'm making myself available to you. So that's one thing that's happening is you put on the shirt. But another thing that's happening is you are also, well, you're not being conformed to this world. And you know how you can tell? Because you put on the shirt, then you go into the restaurant and you're like, man, it's really uncomfortable. Why are all these people looking at me so weirdly strange? They're just staring me down. Why is this happening? Why is that happening?

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Because the world's recognizing, hey, that's different. What are you wearing? Why are you wearing that? Why are you wearing a billboard? I mean, what's going on with you? You're not like us. You're not fitting in like the rest of us. Can't you wear something less offensive? Can't you wear something less bold? Can't you just fit in a little bit better?

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We feel it. I don't know if you, maybe you haven't worn the shirts out, but if you go wear the shirts out, you can feel, I mean, there's this response. It's like the world recognizes you don't fit in. What's going on here? It's part of what happens in putting on the shirt. You're presenting yourself to God. You're also saying, hey world, I'm not going to be like you. I'm not going to walk with you. I'm not going to be conformed to you. But then it also helps you to renew your mind.

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Because here's what happens. You put on the shirt, you're presenting yourself to God, you're not being like the world, and now you start seeing people differently. And here's this person staring at you, and you're thinking, God, is this someone that you want me to pray for? Is this someone that's going to ask me? Is this someone that's going to respond? Is this going to be an opportunity? Now, previously, you might have been thinking, why is that guy mad-dogging me? I'm going to take him outside and show him what, you know...

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Or why is he in my way? You know, I just want to get through the line here and pay for my stuff. Why are they taking so long? Previously, our mind might have been in a different place, but in wearing the shirt, it helps us to think differently and to think, hey, maybe they're going to ask me. Or maybe you're thinking, maybe they're going to ask me, you know, but either way, you're thinking differently. You're thinking differently.

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And so that's just an example, but it's what Paul's talking about here. As we approach life, if you want to discern the will of God, you need to present yourself to God. Stop being like the world. Learn to think differently and see things the way that God sees them. And then what Paul says there at the end of verse 2 is that then you'll be able to prove

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He says that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. So these things will lead you to the point where then you will be able to prove what is the will of God. The word prove here, it means to recognize as genuine after examination. So you picture a jeweler, right? Checking out a gem, examining it. Is this real or is it fake?

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That's the idea here. After you've examined it, you can say, this is genuine. This is the real deal. In the same way, Paul says, look, when you've presented yourself to the Lord, you've stopped being conformed to the world and you've started to think differently, you've been renewed in your mind, then you're in a place where you'll be able to examine the situation ahead of you, the choices you have to make,

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And you'll be able to prove, you'll be able to recognize this is of the Lord. This is not of the Lord. Now that you've surrendered your life to God and turned away from the world, you're thinking differently. Now you're in a place to recognize God's will for you. And so again, I asked this morning, do you know that you are in God's will right now?

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Do you know what God's will is for your life? Now, I'm not saying that, you know, you should have the whole roadmap and for the rest of your life, you know exactly all that's going to happen and what God's will is for you. No, no, no. God's not going to reveal all of that to you. And I'm not suggesting that. But what I am suggesting is that you should be able to right now say, I know I'm right where God wants me to be. I'm right in the center of his will. We tend to think of that as the ideal.

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Like, yeah, in a perfect world, you know, that's how it would be. We would know that we're in God's will, but that rarely happens. No, that's not the picture that the Bible paints for us. God wants you to know his will for your life. Think about the Apostle Paul. What a great example for us. Over and over and over in his letters, he introduces himself as Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God.

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1 Corinthians 1, verse 1, he says, Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God. And then you can see 2 Corinthians 1, 1, Ephesians 1, 1, Colossians 1, 1, 2 Timothy 1, 1, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. Paul could say very clearly and confidently, I am an apostle by God's will. Right now where I am, he says, I'm in the center of God's will. I am doing what God wants me to do. I'm where God wants me to be by the will of God.

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Can you make that kind of a statement? Can you introduce yourself and say, hey, I'm Richard and I do what I do. I am where I am by the will of God. I'm right where God wants me to be. Hey, my name is Jake and I'm in the will of God right now. I mean, for us, this is so unusual, right? It kind of sounds like a bold statement. Like, how can you really say that? How can you know that? That seems so unusual for us. But that's what Paul says. Look,

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Present yourself to God. Stop being conformed to the world. Think differently and then you'll be able to discern. You'll be able to know like the Apostle Paul and say, yes, I am who I am. I do what I do because this is exactly what God's will is for my life. This is exactly where God wants me to be. Wise stewards know the master's will. And we saw the general revelation and we need to start there.

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There's very clear things. The Bible said, this is God's will for you. We need to start there in our life. But then there's also the personal things that are going on in your life and the decisions that you have to make and the situations that you face, the relationships that you have. And God has a will, a purpose, a plan for your life. And he wants you to know it. And he gives you the means and the instruction. So how you could know it. But again, if you're waiting to the midst of that crisis or you come to that

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turning point in the road it's like well which way does god want me to go if you're waiting until then to try to start to learn what god's will is you're going to be it's going to be very difficult it's going to be a world of hurt you need to start right now presenting yourself to god stop being conformed to the world start thinking differently now putting in place those things that are clearly revealed in the scriptures this is the will of god start abiding by those things

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So that when you come to that situation, then you'll be able to prove. You'll be able to examine it and recognize this is the genuine will of God. This is really what he wants for my life. That's a wise steward. One who knows God's will for their life. Well, the final point we'll just touch very quickly. And that is do God's will. You can turn with me to 1 Peter chapter 4. Do God's will. Because the thing is...

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Once we get to know God's will, you would think it'd be kind of automatic that then we would just walk in it. But we need that little bit of extra exhortation. Okay, now that you know it, now start doing it. Now that you know it, go forward and do what God has called you to do.

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Jesus said in Luke 12, 47, he says, the servant that knew his master's will and did not prepare himself or do according to his will shall be beaten with many stripes. He says, look, there's this servant. He knew what the master wanted, but he didn't do it. And there's going to be a penalty, a punishment as a result of that, Jesus is explaining. So we need this exhortation.

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Not only do you need to know, but also take that next step then and walk in it and do what God has called you to do. 1 Peter 4, verse 1 says, Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

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Peter says here, look, Christ suffered for us in the flesh. So you need to put on the same mind. Arm yourself, he says, with the same mind. Be prepared in advance. There's going to be some suffering as part of the will of God for your life. It's not always easy. You think about Jesus in the garden, Matthew 26. He's praying, Lord, if there's any other way, take this cup from me. But then he says, nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done.

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He submitted to the will of God. It's not always easy. Sometimes there's this prayer. Sometimes there's this wrestling. In fact, I would suggest to you, if you don't have those times where you're with God wrestling, okay, God, but if there's any other way, not my will though, but your will be done. If you don't have those wrestling times with God, you're probably not in his will. Peter says, look, Christ suffered for us. Arm yourself with the same mind because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin. But then he goes on to say that he should no longer live the rest of his time.

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So the idea here is that you should no longer live the rest of your life following the lusts of men, but instead pursuing the will of God. You need to be pursuing it. You need to be doing it. And then I love verse 3. He says, That first phrase there, we have spent enough.

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of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles. We've spent enough time, Peter says, in the things of this world. We've wasted enough time in the things of this life. It's time for us to be doing the will of God, to be pursuing His will, His plans, His purposes. So arm yourself with the same mind. And you could see all throughout Jesus's ministry,

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He said over and over again, look, I only do what the Father has called me to do. I'm here to do His will. Arm yourself with the same mind that you would do God's will. Jesus says in Matthew 7, 21, It's not enough to know what God wants.

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God requires that you live it out, that you put it in practice. It's not going to be easy. There's going to be some wrestling. There's going to be some suffering. So arm yourself with the mind of Christ. You're a steward. God has entrusted you with resources. And along with that, he's given you some instruction. Here's how I want you to live. Here's my will, my plan for you. And he will hold us accountable to that. How did we do with those resources and the instruction that he gave to us?

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We begin by knowing God's will for everyone. That's the easy place to start because it's clear, it's revealed. Then we grow in that and we learn to discern, to prove God's will for our own lives, for our own personal situations. But then we need to live it out and put it in practice. Let's pray. Lord, as we are here this morning, considering your will, I do pray, God, that you would help us

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to be right in the center of your will. And God, if there's areas of our lives that are outside of your will, where we're not sanctified, where we're not separated from the things of this world or the sin that you've called us out from, Lord, I pray that you would help us this morning to repent, Lord, that you would help us to separate, to turn away from sin, to follow you.

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God, if there's other areas that you want to bring some correction, you've already been speaking to people's hearts. Lord, I pray that they would be responding to that or that they would turn, that they would receive the correction, that they would be obedient to follow what you've clearly declared in the scriptures. And God, I pray for anyone who's at the crossroads and wanting to know your will. Lord, I pray that you would help them as they present themselves to you and

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Stop being like the world and learn to think differently. God, help them, show them. Let it be clear, your will, the direction you want them to go. Help them, Lord. And Lord, I pray for all of us. Lord, we know your will. Help us to do it. Help us to live it out.

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knowing that it's not always going to be easy. There will be difficulties, but God, we can trust you as our faithful creator, knowing that you desire what's best for us and everything that you desire in our lives is because you love us far greater than we could ever even know. And so Lord, help us to trust you in that and to be submitted to your will, to live it out. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.