We just read the Apostle’s Creed. It was written in the 4th Century by a Council in Milan as an early statement of Christian belief. It is read regularly in some congregations.
However, I found a statement of belief that may fit how we truly believe based on our actions.
From Rick Gillespie-Mobley’s Sermon: Let’s Be Honest About What We Believe
“Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be if we had to stand up and say what we believe based on our game plan for life.
I believe in God the Father, maker of heaven and earth who is not worthy of me making two hours of week in my schedule to pray or talk to and to attend church. I believe in Jesus Christ his only Son, who has no right to tell me how to live my life after I get out of church.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried, but he should not expect me to make any kind of similar sacrifice on His behalf. I will tell off whom I want to tell off, and I will give when I feel like giving. If I do not want to do my part, then others just have to take up the slack for me whether they want to or not.
He sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from which he shall come to judge the living and the dead, with me being the exception because He knows my heart. I intend to one-day get serious about serving God, but until then he should not judge me. When I prefer gossip over sharing the word of God, that’s my business.”
The statement “what we believe based on our game plan for life” caused me to stop for a moment and think about my game plan for life. To me the term “game plan” seems like a sports term. Every team in every sport must have a game plan. A game plan is designed to lay out a strategy that will lead to winning the game. As the apostle Paul wrote, “Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!” (1 Corinthians 9:24)
How do we develop the game plan that will insure that we win? Reality is every participant in every sport needs a trainer and a manager. The same is true in our spiritual race. We need a trainer and a manager that knows what is necessary for us to win.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord.”--- (Jeremiah 29:11) God knows how to make us winners. However, we are responsible for listening to his instructions. To be winners we must follow his will.
Reality is we have been chasing his will for years. We ask questions like “Is it God’s will for me to marry; to switch jobs; to move; to leave?” We desire for God to be a fortuneteller, showing us our future so that we will not walk in error. But if He did that, it would minimize our need for him. God is not a fortuneteller but He has disclosed his will for our lives in his word.
Before we begin our search for God’s will, let us first understand what the word “will” means. The Greek has two meanings; a decision, a desire. This word is used 53 times in the New Testament in reference to God’s will.
God’s will is often a decision. Paul stated his desire to visit the believers in Rome but he understood that it would be God’s decision. Five times Paul introduced himself as an apostle chosen by God’s decision. Jesus stated that it was God’s decision for him to take on the form of man. It was God’s decision to hear the prayers of those who worship him and do, as He desires. It was God’s decision that his Son would die on the cross at Calvary. We cannot control God’s will as it is presented as his decision.
However, God’s game plan for our lives is based on his will for us in the form of his desires. Knowing God’s will for our lives is knowing God’s desires for our lives and acting accordingly. Therefore our first question must be; “How do I discover God’s desire for my life?”
Romans 12:2 “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
There are three actions we must take to discover God’s desire for our lives. First, we have to stop being a copy of the world and be a reflection of Jesus. We have to be different. Paul instructed us to “Let there be no sexual immorality, impurity, or greed among you. Such sins have no place among God’s people. Obscene stories, foolish talk, and coarse jokes—these are not for you.” (Ephesians 5:3-5) “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other. Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying. When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them. Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all! Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone. Dear friends, never take revenge. Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.” (Romans 12:9-21) Living this lifestyle will set us apart from the customs and behavior of the world.
Next, we have to let God do his work. We must surrender to him. Then God in the form of the Holy Spirit will begin the process of changing the way we think. What we think of ourselves is what we are. If we think we are an evil person then we are an evil person. If we think we are argumentative then we are. If we think we are lazy, impatient, and unloving then we are. Remember, we overcome the enemy by the word of our testimony.
God says you are a saint, a holy person acceptable to him. He says you are the head and not the tail. The Holy Spirit wants you to change the way you think about yourself. Then you will be transformed into a new person, one who can easily resist the behavior and customs of this world.
Once we have stopped mimicking the world and begin to let God change our way of thinking, thus transforming us into a new person, we will be ready to learn God’s desires for us. These desires He has for us are good, pleasing, and perfect.
We have turned our back on the world and have surrendered our thoughts to the Holy Spirit. God now begins his work in us.
Philippians 2:13 “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.”
God begins to line up our desires to his desires. We begin to want to please him. He gives us the energy to accomplish his pleasure through us.
The writer of Psalm 37:4 instructs us to “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” We are to enjoy our fellowship with God. When we do the desires of that inner person that lives within us, the spiritual side of us will be given all that is needed to live a life filled with peace and joy.
Once God has accomplished this work in us, our lives will be the reflection of his desires.
Peter 4:2 “You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.” Suddenly, now like Jesus, it’s not my desires but the desires of my heavenly Father that is important. Like a stallion, I am straining at the reins to do God’s will. I want his desires for my life to be my desires. Do you? Well, let’s understand what those desires are.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. Do not scoff at prophecies, but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. Stay away from every kind of evil.”
God’s desire is for us to be filled with joy. In our sermon on joy, we discovered that joy and happiness were two different things. Happiness was dependent on the circumstances that surrounded us. Joy came from within based on our relationship with Jesus. To be joyful is to be filled with joy. God’s desire is that we have that overflowing joy constantly.
God’s desire is for us to be constantly praying. He wants us to share with him our inner most struggles and worries. We are not to be worried but rather we are to be in prayer.
God’s desire is for us to be a people filled with thankfulness in spite of our circumstances. His desire is not for us to be thankful because of our circumstances but rather in the midst of our circumstances. We are to be a people of gratitude not a people of ungratefulness. Despite our circumstances, we are to be a light.
God’s desire is for you not to leave this building grumbling about what I taught. My messages are inspired by the Holy Spirit to encourage obedience to God. That is one of the meanings of prophecy. His desire is for you not to hold contempt toward his message. However, you have a responsibility to test everything that I have said. If you determine that I was in error then you are too allow me the benefit of being human. Disregard that teaching without resentment. That is God’s desire.
God’s desire is for us hold on to the good and release the evil. He wants to lead us by the Holy Spirit into walking the path of righteousness. And in doing so, we are not to stifle him, to extinguish the power that He has in our lives.
Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to assist us in life. It is God’s desire that we allow the Holy Spirit to accomplish his goal. Let us read
Romans 8:26-27 “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.”
We have already established the fact that God’s desire is for our desire to match his. However, there are times when we are at a state in our circumstances that we don’t know what to pray. But the Holy Spirit does. He acts as the conduit between our desires and God’s desires so that they will align with each other. This groaning within our spirit is one of the ways the Holy Spirit aides us and we are not to extinguish that fire burning within us.
He also assists us with a “prayer language.” 1 Corinthians 14:14 describes it this way: “For if I pray in tongues, my spirit is praying, but I don’t understand what I am saying.” I hope it does not come as a shock that our church belongs to a charismatic institution that believes in the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. Although we have never exhibited the gift of tongues makes it no less real. Perhaps there is no one willing to exhibit the gift or no one willing to interpret. But there is private language that allows you to verbally align yourself with the desires of God. It is God’s desire for us to walk in the supernatural aspect of the Holy Spirit. It is his desire for us to be filled, that is controlled, by the Spirit.
As we learned last week, something will control us. Let’s read 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 “God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways.”
God’s desire for you is to be set apart. That’s what holy means. And in order to be holy we must stay away from sexual sins. The root word for pornography comes from the term sexual sins. It includes immorality, fornication, marital unfaithfulness, adultery, and prostitution. If we give into these unhealthy desires, it separates us from God.
There is probably no greater tool being used by satan today than lust. People lust over possessions, status, and others. God says if we give into our lustful desires and cravings, we do not know him and his ways. It is only when we walk in God’s desire for us to be holy so that we can gain control and master our own body. Only then can we live in holiness and honor.
My last point today is found in 1 Peter 2:15 “It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you.”
God’s desire is for us to silence ignorant people. I don’t know about you but I like that one. I love to silence ignorant people. But let’s understand ignorance. I once had a teacher tell me that ignorance was not something of which to be ashamed. Ignorance simply means you do not know. It can be rectified.
Jesus once ran into a group of Pharisees who claimed that He got his power from satan. Jesus asked them how satan could be casting out satan. He pointed out that a kingdom divided against itself would fall. He pointed out their lack of knowledge, their ignorance. He silenced those making foolish accusations against him. God’s desire is that lives filled with good deeds would silence anyone who desires to slander us.
I am going to leave you with a prayer today. I pray that you will allow the Holy Spirit to transform your thinking. I pray that you will begin to apply God’s will to your life. I pray that you will always be filled with joy and filled with thankfulness. I pray that you will flee from all impurities. I pray that you will surrender control of your life to the Holy Spirit. Remember the Spirit pleads for us in harmony with God’s own desires for us. Surrender yourself to him.
