Read Ephesians 5:15-17 ESV
In order to do God's will we must first know his will. In order to have real satisfaction, rest, and contentment in the Christian life -- and there is no true rest outside the Christian life -- we must have the full assurance that we are doing the will of God.
The soul that loves God cannot be satisfied with anything less than this. As long as there is a doubt, there cannot be perfect contentment. We must have a perfect knowledge of God's will concerning us, or else we shall not fully know we are doing his will.
God has a wonderful plan for our lives and He desires to reveal it to us. Why then are so many Christians ignorant of God’s will? Why are so many out of God’s will? Why are so many confused about God’s will? In this lesson, we will learn three (3) Divine ways in knowing God’s Will for us.
I. DIVINE DEDICATION
» Consecration plays an important role in your growth toward God. But consecration has 2 parts; our part and God’s. Our part is the practical side of separating ourselves from sinful living. Our part is the topic of this section about how to repent.
» God’s part of our being consecrated is to prepare us for His use by actually making us holy. Note that in being prepared for holy use, God has to also prepare our body for being used in reach out the lost people.
» In other words, as true believers in Christ, the act of consecration involves our lives being a living sacrifice to Him; we are totally separated from the defilement of the world. Each day, we are to live out our lives as a “holy” and “royal” priesthood to the glory of God, for we are now God’s people.
Scripture:
» ROMANS 12:1 ESV — “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. ”
» JOSHUA 3:5 ESV — “Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.””
» 1 PETER 2:9-10 ESV — “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
II. DIVINE ISOLATION
» We all have a way of doing things that we are used to, but most of these are not in line with God’s ways. And though we have a choice which one to follow, it is much wiser to follow a path that we can trust. Why can we trust God’s ways and why are they better than the world’s (Isaiah 55:8-9; Luke 6:46-49)?
» God's command to separate from the world, however, does not mean that the Christian should isolate himself from society. Christians are to be the "salt of the earth" (Matthew 5:13). They are responsible to evangelize the world (Acts 1:8); therefore, separation from the world by no means should discourage earnest efforts to win the world to Christ. God Himself desires the salvation of the world (John 3:16).
» ROMANS 12:2a ESV — "Do not be conformed to this world.."
» 2 CORINTHIANS 6:14-17 ESV — "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 16 What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you."
III. DIVINE TRANSFORMATION
» As we learn of God and His ways by reading God’s Word, we will find that many of our thinking is in need of renewing. This change of mindsets will result in us becoming more and more Christ-like. What were the significant changes in your life when you started to learn about God’s ways?
» It is interesting to note that Paul says that we must be transformed by the renewing of our “minds.” The mind is the key to the Christian life. The reason why non-Christians do not respond to Christian truth is because they cannot discern spiritual truth (1 Corinthians 2:14).
» The gospel is a call for the unbeliever to repent of his sin and embrace Christ by faith. The Greek word translated “repentance” carries the notion of a change of mind. Our thinking must be changed (transformed) from old, ungodly ways of thinking into new, godly ways of thinking.
» What we know in our minds to be true forms a conviction in our hearts of that truth, and that conviction in our hearts translates into action. Therefore, we must first renew our minds.
» ROMANS 12:1-2 ESV — “… 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."
» JOHN 17:17 ESV — “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth."
» ROMANS 8:5-7 ESV — “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot."
CONCLUSION: God’s grace compels us to know His will for us. Jesus is the clear expression of God’s Perfect Will.
