Hey, God has told me what His will is for your life!
No, I'm not arrogant.
I hear so frequently something along the lines of "I just wish God would tell me what His will is for my life!" or, "I'm waiting on God to tell me what to do next because I don't want to make a big mistake".
Both of these are valid concerns, but when we use them as an excuse to forego what God has already spelled out for us we are in serious trouble.
He has told us what His will is for our lives.
The Word of God comes to us in two forms, Logos, or written word; and Rhema, the revealed, or spoken word.
Jesus is established in John 1:1 as the Logos, or written and established Word of God that was given to man at the beginning. He is also described as the bread from heaven, which we may eat of and never die:
Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." They said to Him, "Sir, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I Am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I say to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the WILL OF HIM who sent me. And this is THE WILL OF HIM who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but raise it up on the last day. FOr this is the WILL OF MY FATHER, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day." John 6:32-40
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Everything that Jesus taught is from God and we can "safely" follow it knowing that we are walking as He wants us to. And we are to follow His example.
Following are just a few of the scriptures that TELL US what the WILL OF GOD is for our lives:
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of god, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is THE WILL OF GOD, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Rom 12:1-2
For this is THE WILL OF GOD, your sanctification; that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but for holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. I Thes 4:3-8
Likewise the Spirit helps us in out weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, beccause the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to THE WILL OF GOD. Rom 8:26-27
And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is THE WILL OF GOD in christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it. I Thes 5:14-24
And God spoke all these words, saying, "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of egypt, out of the house of slavery.
You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them to serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the seam and al that is in them. and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's Exodus 20:1-17
"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. Matt 22:36-40
Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether if be the emperor as supreme, or the governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is THE WILL OF GOD, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor. I Pet 2:13-17
Grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself four out sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the WILL OF OUR GOD AND FATHER, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Gal 1:3-5
At that time Jesus declared, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children, yes, Father, for such was YOUR GRACIOUS WILL. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gently and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is east, and my burden is light." Matt 11:25-30
And He opened His mouth and taught them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for you reward is great in heaven for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matt 6:2-12
(Meek: enduring injury with patience and without resentment; Mourn: feel express grief/sorrow)
I taught on this in Sunday School a few weeks ago and was struck with something from our pastor's sermon that morning. When Jesus was praying in the garden prior to His arrest He told His disciples to pray that they would not enter temptation. This was following Jesus telling Peter that He had prayed for him.
"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." … And He came out and went, as was His custom, to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him. And when He came to the place, He said to them, "Pray that you may not enter into temptation." And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father if You are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven, strengthening Him. And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. And when He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, and He said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation." Lk 22:31-32, 39-46
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. I Cor 10:13
I find that I often forget to pray for myself and my brothers and sisters when things are going well! Jesus knew what kind of struggles and temptations His disciples were going to be facing and had been praying for them.
He set for us the perfect example.
There are several places in the New Testament where Paul says to pray for our leaders (I Tim 2:1-8; II Thes 3:1), for our fellow believers (1 Thes 5:25; Phil 1:9-11). And he says in I Cor 11:1, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."
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I admonish everyone of us, especially myself, to heed the instructions that God has laid down for us in Scripture. It is all ACCORDING TO HIS WILL.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you all.
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