I want to follow through on something I promised the people at my church on Sunday Night, May 31. We had a study sheet that I never got around to filling out, leaving many blanks on the study sheet and on people's faces. The next few blogs I enter are going to be that study on the will of God - drawn out and open for discussion through the "comment" option at the end of each study entry. Anyone who reads this study may leave comments or ask questions, if you think I'm off base. It is possible that I won't explain myself as well as I think I did, and even more possible that someone might disagree with my observations. Either way, your insight and thoughtful consideration as to what I have said will be valued.
Let's start right in the nitty gritty of this issue of the will of God:
"IS IT IMPORTANT TO CARRY OUT GOD'S WILL?"
What does Matthew 7:21 say about doing God's will?
"Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."
- Jesus
Did Jesus mean that if you do not do the will of God, you will not enter heaven?
Many are going to say that they deserve to be in heaven because of what they did in God's Name, or in Jesus' Name. These things may seem very impressive to people, but to God there is only one thing that seems to matter: "Did you do what Jesus told you to do? Did you live out the will of God?"
If that is the measuring stick Jesus will use to separate the sheep from the goats, it becomes a truly vital thing to do the will of the Father.
Are you doing the will of God? Do you believe it is as important as what I have presented here? If not, why not? If so, how are you doing at this? What have you done this week because you believed it was the will of God for your life? Can we know God's will? How does God reveal His will to us?
Lots of questions, but all very important to answer for yourself if you have the desire to please God and spend eternity with Him in Heaven.
God Bless you as you consider the consequences of your answer to these questions.
5 comments:
Wow, I'm sorry that we missed Sunday night! I'm going to give this some thought and study before I comment...
Wow, I'm sorry that we missed Sunday night! I'm going to give this some thought and study before I comment...
is there an echo in here?? :)
I think that Jesus meant exactly what he said. I think that it is extremely important because I have faith that God always has my best interest in mind. Just as I expect my children to follow my will because I see a bigger picture then them--so does God. It comes down to honoring God. My children follow my will (usually) because they honor, respect and trust me as their parent to make decisions that are good for them. We honor God when we follow his will.
John 7:17 says: If anyone chooses to do God's will he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.
I don't know about you, but I don't want there to be anything false about me when I'm standing before Jesus! We need to know His will to know the truth of what He want for our lives, so that we can follow it and honor him.
We are supposed to reflect Jesus. I'm sure that Jesus wasn't too thrilled with God's will for His life here on Earth. I'm sure that if He would have thought that following God's will wasn't important he would have said something like--Thanks Dad for the advice on what you think I should do but I'm gonna have to go a different way here Pops. But Jesus understood that God's will this the best way.
As for myself, I try to follow God's will all of the time because I believe it is crucial. How am I doing with this?? 100 times better then 2 years ago, but I still have a ways to go! This week after hearing Scott's sermon on Sunday, I started thinking about the gifts that God has given me and I started asking myself what am I doing with them? So I prayed about this and the answer seemed to be that I should use them to serve...so I am tutoring a girl in my class this summer for free. I also held my tongue and didn't tell people exactly what I thought! I know that doesn't sound like much, but it's a big thing for me. I'm not always sure what God's will is, but I pray continually that it will be made clear to me. In My Utmost For His Highest it says that if we are saved and sanctified, God guides us by our every day choices and if we are about to choose what he does not want, He will give us a sense of doubt. Whenever there is doubt stop at once. I believe that the Spirit in me lets me know what I should and should not be doing--along with the word. I guess I just try to apply the word and that Spiritual "gut feeling" to the situations that come up in my life. I know that I get it wrong sometimes, but I's sure that I get it right sometimes too! :)
I think that Jesus wanted to point out that this is an impossible task. People, in their own strength and logic, can’t be certain that what they are doing is God’s will. The only way we can know “the will of my Father who is in heaven” is by the Spirit who searches the deep things of God and discloses it to us. We’re not alone in this. Holy Spirit will make things clear to us, all kinds of things. He is delighted to do this for us. He’s really good at it. He’s been making beauty out of chaos since Genesis 1:2. We are Loved by God, we receive His love, we are transformed by it and we extend it. Something about this reminds me of the Prodigal son, and his brother. One wasn’t doing the Father’s will, one was, but neither were in right relationship with him. Neither knew how much they were loved. Jesus came to say “It’s way more than you think.”
1 Corinthians 2:9-12: 9However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"— 10but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
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