I realize I am not the Holy Spirit, nor am I God, nor can I respond for you, but I must teach and preach in such a manner that God can cause you to respond. Tonight, I want to approach this Bible study in a different manner. I want us to use an example of a man who did respond to God's calling in his life and has encouraged us to follow in his footsteps.
The man is Paul. Did he respond? Yes, he did. In Acts 9:4-6, he responded with the question, Lord what will thou have me to do?” The answer came in verses 15-16.
I. Can We ask the Same Question? Lord What Will Thou have Me to Do?
1. Before we will ever ask that question, God must first get our attention.
a. He did with other Bible characters:
b. Peter, Moses, Paul, etc.
2. Sad, but it seems the only time we give our attention to God is in failure, heartache, or sorrow.
a. You can mark this fact down; God knows where you are spiritually. He knows what you're doing spiritually.
b. He knows how to get your attention. And He will.
3. To my knowledge, after God had Paul's attention, he asked the question?
a. Not the preacher, parents, apostles, but the Lord!
b. From that question on Paul never grew weary in well doing. He gave much warning to others about it.
c. He never backslid. That was a fear he had in his heart.
4. Paul did not mind giving his personal experiences and sharing what he had learned. Notice how much Paul uses the personal pronoun I or I am.
II. Can We Make the Same Statement as Paul?
1. Before we can answer yes or no, we need to know the statement.
2. After we know then, please answer for yourself.
3. Paul made many strong statements concerning him and his Lord. I want us to look at only three in this message.
a. It refers to being satisfied with him.
b. Serving him.
c. Suffering for him.
III. Being Satisfied with Christ
1. You can tell a lot about a man by what satisfies him.
2. That I may know him. What does that mean? Philippians 3:4-10
a. Paul did not glory in who he was. Verses 4-5. that did not satisfy him.
b. Paul did not glory in what he was. Touching the law blameless did not satisfy him.
c. Paul did not glory in what he had. He counted all things as loss.
3. What was the result of Paul knowing Christ?
a. Contentment in all things. Philippians 4:10-12
b. Persuaded of God's love for him. Romans 8:38
4. What satisfies you as a Christian? Is it Christ? You can have as much of Him as you want. There is no limit.
IV. Serving Christ
1. You can tell a lot about a man by what or whom he serves. His goals in life mean a lot. Paul said that he wanted to know and serve Christ.
2. His reason for living was that Christ might be magnified and glorified in his life.
a. Galatians 2:20
b. Philippians 1:20-23
3. 1 Corinthians 9:19-23
V. Suffering for Christ
1. He suffered for Christ because we are heirs of God. Romans 8:17
2. Paul wanted to truly know Christ. The only way to do that was to fellowship with the sufferings of Christ. Philippians 3:10
3. Paul knew it was better than to enjoy sin for a season. Hebrews 11:25
VI. Closing
1. Are we an example of Christ?
2. Are we satisfied with Him? Or do we seek outside satisfaction?
3. Are we serving Him?
4. Are we suffering for His cause?
5. You decide if you want to be an example?
