The Will of God

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

 Rejoice always,  pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

What is the will of God? There are a lot of things in life we are not sure of God’s will. We make choices every day and those choices often lead us down a road that we regret or rejoice. Finding God’s will in every decision of life is not realistic. We often make our decision base on our state of mind, the information we have, or how we feel. We do know that a heart that desires God’s will follows the admonish of His word. It is His will to rejoice and praise Him for salvation, for the blood that He shed for our sins. It is also His will that we have a praying heart, keeping the communication channels always open to talk to Him. His will is done when in spite of what happens in life that we are to lift up our voices and give thanks, and lastly, it is the will of God that we be sanctified, set apart from the evil of this world, choosing good over evil. Made vessels unto holiness to be preserved blameless and holy at His coming. This is done, when we allow the Holy Spirit to have free access and control of our heart. “This is the will of God, even your sanctification”. We may not know what to do, but we can know to choose that which is good and acceptable to God.

Prayers That God Hears

Rev. 8:4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.

They call it bottled up prayers. Prayers that have ascended to the throne of God and appear to fall on deaf ears. Prayers seemly that never reached heaven in our life time. But John saw that the prayers of the saints were unleashed to the throne of God. Sometimes there are good reasons why our prayers are not answered. “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.” These prayers are more of a “Wish list” of things we want or think we need. God sometimes grants these prayers, but they often result with leanness of heart. But prayers that fulfill the purpose of God and glorify Him eventually find their way before the throne. Prayers for the souls who are lost in sin are at the top of the list. God desires that all will come to repentance. Prayers that call on God to make us pure and clean. This is the will of God, even your sanctification. For God to answer these prayers, calls for hearts to be open to truth. God continues to work in the hearts of men. He knocks, but we must be willing to open. We have a charge to pray for the sick and well being of others, but He knows what is best in every situation. Prayer is an essential element in the sustainability of the Christian life. It is our responsibility to pray, the rest is left with God who knows best.

Our Inheritance

Psalm 47. He shall choose our inheritance for us…”

Read this morning in a devotional that went with last nights sermon. “Some Plants die if they have too much sunshine. It may be that you are planted where you get but little. You are put there by your loving Husbandman, because it is only in that situation that you will bring fruit unto perfection”- Spurgeon. God, the all knowing chooses the valley we walk through because He knows what is best for us. Let us trust His will for our lives even when life does not seem fair. Our inheritance is His plan for our lives.

In The Name of Jesus

John 16:23 “Verily, verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you.”-

“In Jesus Name we pray” is often quoted at the end of a prayer request. Praying in Jesus Name is not some formula that guarantees that a request will be granted. It is easy to take this passage of scripture and insist that God grant our request just because we ask in Jesus Name. The Father desires to give us what we need, but He also knows what is good for us. The Father is not a “Santa Claus” that will give us all of our whims and fleshly desires. He will give us what we need to make us more like him. If we ask Him to give us of His Spirit, He will gladly pour it out to those who have surrendered their lives to Him. His Spirit will not be poured out to those who continue in their sin and desire only power to enhance their ego. Praying in Jesus Name is to recognized that He is Lord of our life and His desire is our desire. When we pray, we want the will of God to be done, and if we pray for the will of God, we can pray in Jesus Name and be confident that He will answer prayer. 

The Will of God

Matt. 26:39 And He went a little farther, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”-

Accepting the will of God is not always easy. Doing what is right can sometime bring about consequences that are unpleasant. We struggle with knowing what the will of God is for our life and for life’s situations. Our human reactions to life’s circumstances is to minimize the hurt or discomfort. We avoid anything that causes pain or suffering. We will go out of our way if we know the way will be hard. It is human nature, but our spirit is not subject to the flesh, but is submitting to that which is spiritual. The natural man will find the way of least resistance, the spiritual man will find the will of God and pursue it. The pursuit may lead to difficult times and suffering, but doing the will of God is to know God and to identify with Him. 

Transforming Power

Roman 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”-

The transforming power of God to change a life the is wrecked by sin and make it new again. A transformation that is permanent and everlasting. The heart is changed instantaneously by the grace of God. Old things are past away and all things become new. A new life is recreated in the person who puts their faith in Christ. Once I was blind, but now I see. Once I was lame, but now I walk, once I was deaf, but now I hear, once I was lost in darkness, but now I the light shines in my path. What a glorious transformation is made when we come to Christ. Then God begins a holy transformation in our lives as we present ourselves in complete surrender to His will, giving our lives in holy consecration, set apart, sanctified to live blameless without sin. We no longer conform to the ideology of this world, but we now see things through the eyes of God and righteousness. Over time as we walk with God, He shows us how to walk and how to live holy. He imparts the 3rd person of the holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit giving us the power to live acceptable and do the perfect will of God.