God's Will: Where Oh Where Can I Find it?

[0:00] It's one of the biggest questions that we're going to ask, right? What is God's will for me? Maybe we don't ask this question, but we ask God, what school do you want me to attend?

[0:13] Which person do you want me to marry? Which house do you want me to buy? Which city do you want me to live in? Which kid do you want me to love more than the other?

[0:25] Just kidding. But these are all questions that we deal with at some point in our life. There's usually a time which comes before us where we start asking these questions.

[0:38] Should I leave my job for this other job? Sometimes within the spirals of a mind, we start to try to discern what is spiritual and what isn't spiritual.

[0:52] And we try to make our decisions on this qualification. I'll share something with you that this is actually a very important subject to me.

[1:05] When I was younger, I was in university, and I was trying to figure out my life like we all do at some point in our life, right? We're looking for all the answers that's going to unfold the perfection of our lives.

[1:17] And I was in my third year, and I was accepted to do with Athletes in Action to travel through Central America on a volleyball team.

[1:28] So they were putting together this Athletes in Action volleyball team and travel. I know I'm short, but I used to be athletic when I was younger. You know, 40 pounds lighter. But we were going to travel around Central America, and I thought that was a great opportunity to do this really godly thing.

[1:45] And yet at the same time, I got hired at this wonderful Christian sports camp. So I started thinking in my mind, where could I have the biggest influence or impact?

[1:57] Because obviously I wanted to please God, and I wanted to do what His will was for me. Do I go on this three-week athletic tour, or do I travel all summer and spend my time at camp?

[2:11] But what started to paralyze my thinking is I felt like if I chose the wrong thing, it would affect the rest of my life.

[2:23] It would affect who I would marry. Where would I live? What would I do for a career? All these thoughts started coming to my head because I felt I was at this crossroads. I had to make this really important decision, and I couldn't decide.

[2:37] So you know what I did? I did nothing. I did absolutely nothing. I was paralyzed with the fear of whether or not I was so afraid that one decision God would bless, one He would possibly curse, and I just couldn't do either of them.

[2:55] So I remember seeking out my pastor, asking him the right questions, and he gave me the regular platitudes. Well, did you pray? Read your Bible?

[3:07] Well, actually, my Bible doesn't say go to camp or go on a missions tour, right? So what am I supposed to do? So it was at that point I finally found a pastor who did explain to me what God's Word says on this issue, and it freed my life.

[3:26] And it is that teaching and that understanding of Scripture that He poured into me that I want to pour into you this Sunday. I think it's a really very real sentiment.

[3:41] About 10 years ago, one of my close friends called me, and he said, I married the wrong woman. I asked him why. He says, because everything else in my life is perfect.

[3:52] I've got a great career. I had a great time in schooling. I've got more money than I know what to do with. But there is a challenge in my home, and that is the one that is with my wife.

[4:05] And he immediately began to think, because there was a challenge in his life, that somehow he had married the wrong person, and he started to complain, maybe I'm not on God's plan A.

[4:19] And he started to seek in his life, where did I mess up? Not to skip to the end of the story, but the good news is, he's still married. He's got a great life. He's got five wonderful kids, and he's living for the Lord ever strongly with this.

[4:33] But it started to weigh up with him. I think it's inherent within us to think that there is some plan for us that if we don't figure it out, we're in big trouble, right?

[4:49] We think, well, I messed up plan A. Maybe I've got to go to plan B. Messed up plan B. Maybe I've got to go to plan C. I messed that up. Maybe, oh Lord, you will give me a plan that's not any further than double Z, right?

[5:05] And I'll tell you who this subject is very difficult for. The subject is very difficult for those of us at some point in our life have made disastrous choices.

[5:20] Some of us, we were disobedient, and we were living with certain consequences. Sometimes we made decisions out of sin and foolishness.

[5:33] And when you start thinking about God's will for my life, you start to think, how on earth could God ever have a will for my life because I'm such a mess?

[5:44] And when we get there, we start thinking, I am just relegated to this life that I have, and God is not really going to be a part of it because I made desperate choices.

[5:58] I was born into the wrong family or something deep and sinful that I did. Well, I want to share with you right here, right now, there is hope for you at no matter what place of life you are at.

[6:18] Before I go any further, I want to pray for you. I want to pray specifically for those of you who've made the wrong choice. At times in your life, you choose self over God, you choose yourself or possibly over your spouse, over the desires of your children, or you did and are suffering consequences because of those.

[6:45] I want to pray for God's mercy with you and that he would reveal himself and give you hope. Dear Lord, Heavenly Father, I don't know all the stories that reside here in this room today. As we come before your word, I know many of us are plagued by different pains, different thoughts.

[7:04] Some of us who are older, we wish we would have made the wrong, the other road, chosen the other road earlier in our life. Some of us, we were saved later after we were married and we're married to an unsaved spouse who doesn't seem to share the same joy or have the same effectual love for us that we desire them to have for us.

[7:31] Some of us, we chose sin, we chased the things of the world, we've now repented, but there's consequences involved. Others have done the right thing, but life has been painful.

[7:46] Lord, right now, I'm asking that you would give them an extra measure of grace this day. Through this grace, that you'd give them hope and strength to understand that you still have a wonderful will for them, a will that exalts you, glorifies you.

[8:03] Father, I pray that we would see things the way you see them and not the way we see them. So God, have mercy on us.

[8:17] Hear our confessions. Receive our repentance. We long for your love. In your name, amen.

[8:28] So when I say God's will, there's actually a traditional view that people seem to think that's what it means. And the premise is that for every one of our decisions, God has an ideal plan for us that he will make known for the attentive believer.

[8:51] You get that? That God has a plan, he wants us to know it, and he will reveal it. So instead of, rather than asking what is best for me or what will bring me the greatest amount of happiness, the Christian will often ask, what is God's will for me in this decision?

[9:08] What is the direction that God has for me? Given God's desire and ability to communicate, the believer can have confidence that God's will be known with certainty in each and every situation.

[9:25] And failure for us to discern what God's will is will often lead us feelings of anxiety, frustration, and discouragement.

[9:37] And we will start to ask the question, what am I doing wrong that I can't understand? Before I go any further, I want to give you a definition of the will of God. You will see in your bulletins, there's three words that you can put in.

[9:52] Scripture actually uses the will of God in three different occasions in three different ways. The first one is God's sovereign will. God's sovereign will. These are the things that God has ordained before time.

[10:09] This is where God's will is unchangeable and it is fixed. And ultimately, we understand this to be God's secret plan that determines everything that happens in the universe.

[10:22] So that's the first way Scripture uses the term God's will. An example of this is Daniel 4.35. God does according to His will among the hosts of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.

[10:38] That means God gets His will in heaven and here on earth, simply put. The second way, phrase will of God, is God's moral will. God's moral will.

[10:49] People will say this is God's will of desire. These are the things that God wants to happen. A. Example. Perfect. Genesis 1. God did not want Eve and Adam to partake of the fruit.

[11:03] Right? That was not His will. But that was His moral will. And throughout Scripture, He's revealed His commands and He's taught us how we are to behave and live.

[11:17] Deuteronomy 29.29 actually states, the secret thing belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us, to our children forever, that we may do all the words of the law.

[11:31] So that is God's moral will. Now the problem is when we understand that, it still doesn't tell us who am I to marry, where am I to work, what home am I to buy, how am I to raise my kids.

[11:45] And then there's the third will, which we assume is there, is called God's individual will. God's individual will.

[11:56] Which means God's ideal detailed life plan uniquely designed for every person. We understand that from passages such as Romans 12.2, which states, do not be conformed to the world, 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.

[12:25] Now God's guidance for decision making is given through the indwelling Holy Spirit who progressively reveals life, his plan for us.

[12:36] But how do we tell? I know you each have a story. I call them road signs. We tend to look for road signs, right? Looking for signs.

[12:48] Sometimes the sign is in the Word of God. We pray. Circumstances often dictate what we are going to do. We look for a feeling or a small voice.

[13:01] Sometimes we seek wise counsel. We look for common sense. And we try to figure out that if a few of these things can kind of say the same thing, we assume that's God's will, right?

[13:16] We're looking. How many signs can point to an area or a decision we assume that's God's will? Now, what are our motives for finding God's will?

[13:30] There's essentially four motives for finding God's will before I go any further. These are the four wills. One, we want to please God. Amen? I think as believers in Christ, we truly desire to please God.

[13:45] And we want what that's going to be. We want to know it. Other times, we seek God's will as we want perfect fulfillment. Amen? We want to know when is the right time to have our children.

[14:00] We want to know the right time to have our vacation. We want to know the right time to buy our house, right? Some of these are big life decisions. And we want that perfect fulfillment.

[14:15] Sometimes we want God's wills because we've got too many choices. We're just like, God, would you just tell me what to do so I can do it and be done with it? We just don't want to deal with it. And here's the fourth one, and this describes me, how I was when I was in university.

[14:32] We are cowards. We want God's will because we are cowards, right? There is this innate fear of failure in our life which we don't want to make the decision, so we're going to pass that decision on to God.

[14:47] Anybody ever been there? Right? All the time, right? So, well, let me tell you, when we have this viewpoint, there's a few problems. First of all, it's the premise that God has a perfect will for us.

[15:04] Nowhere in Scripture, nowhere in Scripture, nowhere in Scripture does it tell us that God has a perfect life for us. Do you know that? It's not there. It doesn't tell us that there's this perfect will that He wants from us.

[15:17] There's nothing in there that indicates this at all, that there is some sort of ideal, detailed life plan designed for each and every one of us. If there were, now this is where your brain starts to go a little bit wonky.

[15:33] Why is it we only think about God's will with really big decisions? What about where am I going to eat lunch tomorrow?

[15:44] Is that not just as important as the other big questions? We might not think it is, right? But say I'm a single guy, I'm in university, I've got limited cash flow, and I'm really desiring life, but I've got to go to lunch.

[16:02] Do I want to meet a girl who's a Wendy's kind of girl or a Burger King kind of girl, right? You know? Wouldn't that be important? Right? So all of a sudden, how do I get to work?

[16:16] Do I take a bus or do I take a car? Lord, what is your will in that? Maybe if I take a car, I might be more prone to an accident. You know, just all these things can start to really overwhelm your thought process.

[16:27] God, what is your will in this? The third problem is that it follows the premise that God is some sort of sneaky God that has hidden his will away for us.

[16:41] Maybe he's geocached it somewhere. And we have to figure out the right coordinates to find it, right? Right? So God, who wants us to know our will, seems to be this kind of God that doesn't want to really reveal it to us, but yet we have to search for it everywhere like it's some sort of treasure.

[17:01] And for some of us who've struggled to find out what God's will is and you look over at your neighbor whose life is working really well, we figure in, man, that guy must be really dialed in to God, right?

[17:12] The fourth wrong premise is we have to know the future and have everything settled in our life to have productive lives.

[17:28] Think about that. We actually believe in order to be productive before God, we have to have all these answers before we actually set out on our trip. And tied into the whole cowardly, attitude, when we have this traditional view of understanding God's will, it actually undermines personal responsibility, personal accountability, and initiative.

[17:56] How many here have ever gone to Christian college or school or did a year at Briarcrest or some of it, right? You guys all know the story, right? Maybe it was your roommate or maybe it was your friend across the hall who was kind of getting serious with that girl, right?

[18:11] You know, they went to chapel a couple of times and maybe went to a movie. Then all of a sudden he comes back all dejected. And what's that he hear? You know, you ask him, hey, what happened with you and Gloria?

[18:24] Well, she prayed about it and God told her I wasn't the guy. Right? We've heard that before, right? It's like, she's blaming her decision on God rather than the fact that he's a really lewd and sensitive guy.

[18:41] But we do that sometimes. We don't want that responsibility. So what happens when we're not sure? We start to look in all the wrong places.

[18:52] We go beyond Scripture. Traditionally, we look for signs. We look for feelings. Man, I feel really calm when I'm buying this house, man.

[19:03] I know it's beyond her budget but God must really want me to have it because I feel good about having a four-car garage and it's got the, you know, pool in the back and the hot tub, right?

[19:14] Some of those things are really easy. God, what do you want me to eat? If it was about my happiness, I'll be honest with you, I will eat M&M peanuts all day long. That's where everything came from because I feel good when I eat it.

[19:26] So that can't be the right way, right? But some of you might be saying, hey, BK, I don't do that. I don't look for feelings. I'm not looking for signs.

[19:38] Well, how many people here have used the terminology God led me to this school? God wants me to marry this person.

[19:54] God called me to this mission field. God said, what you're saying is God purposely and explicitly spoke to you and revealed His perfect will for you.

[20:09] We don't say that, but we just say we've had a strong feeling or a strong impression that one interprets as divine communication from God.

[20:19] God. But in fact, nowhere in Scripture, nowhere in Scripture does it encourage us to seek out God's will in that way.

[20:35] You know that? Nowhere. I'm not saying God won't do that. He might use a very particular impression or a radical feeling about something to drive us one way or the other.

[20:52] But if we start to seek those feelings to make those decisions, those subjective impressions, I guarantee you it will often lead to confusion, disappointment, and sometimes even spiritual tragedy.

[21:08] Many of us do this. And I bet you we can come together with a lot of stories that demonstrate our embarrassment, confusion, disappointment, and frustration.

[21:20] See, the problem with that, it enslaves us to the chains of hopeless subjectivism. So, how do we determine what God's will is for our life?

[21:36] Before I go any further, I want to make sure we're going to work from the premise that if God does have a will for us, He wants us to find it. Amen? If He's got a will, He wants us to find it.

[21:50] Number two, God wants us to know it, but He would expect Him to have communicated this to us. So how does God communicate to us?

[22:02] All right? So we're going to go look at the pages of Scripture today. What does God's Word say about His will?

[22:14] My introductory to this thinking is 2 Timothy 3, 15-17. And I'm going to read it, 2 Timothy 3, 15-17. This is Paul talking to Timothy, and he says, how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are all able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

[22:41] All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. And check out verse 17.

[22:52] It tells us why. So that the man or woman of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. Notice God is not saying for some good works or part of good works.

[23:08] He's telling us that we can put our faith in this Word of God if we desire to do good works unto Him. This will equip us.

[23:20] So what He's saying is, hey, pay attention to my Word, right? God's goal for us is to be competent and equipped for every good work.

[23:30] So, what is God's will? So the first one is, it is God's will that you be saved. You know that? It is God's will that you be saved.

[23:40] 1 Timothy 2, 3-4 says, this is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God, our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

[23:52] Amen? That is God's desire for us. 2 Peter 3, 9 says, the Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowest, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

[24:13] Do you know why Jesus Christ hasn't come back and has chosen to judge the world yet? Do you know why? He's still saving us. Amen? We know there's a wrath that is to come, and Scripture actually teaches that God is actually holding back that wrath and judgment because our sin is wicked.

[24:33] It is bad. Just even this morning, my wife and I were talking about what's going on in Syria. That's horrible, wicked stuff where they're poisoning children.

[24:47] That's the stuff to weep over. And she's asking, why isn't God doing anything about it? Scripture tells us he's holding back his wrath because he still wants some to be saved.

[25:02] Amen? Amen? It is the big reason why the world hasn't ended yet. Romans 1.18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

[25:21] The Word of God says that men before they know Christ are at enmity with God. What he's communicating there is there is no neutral.

[25:33] Maybe you're here, hey, I'm kind of neutral towards God, right? I've had friends that came with me that were atheists, I want to hear this. And I remember they were offended by the idea that God considered them enemies because God wasn't their enemy.

[25:52] But God says, if you are not for him, you are against me, you are living under the world's system. And because you're enemies, you're deserving judgment. But however, God with his great mercy stays his hand, giving every man a chance to repent and come to the saving knowledge of him.

[26:14] My friends, if you do not know God, you are an outsider, a foreigner, a rebel, who God desires to pour out his judgment on.

[26:31] But, he also wants you to repent. How do I do that? Romans 10, 9 and 10 simply states, because if you confess with your mouth that the Lord Jesus, that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart, that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

[26:51] For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. If you desire to have God's will, the first thing is you need to be saved.

[27:04] You need to know him as your Lord and personal Savior. And this can happen right here, right now, simply with your confession.

[27:17] So that is the first thing that God wants. It's God's will that you be saved. Secondly, it is God's will that you be Spirit-filled. It is God's will that you be Spirit-filled.

[27:28] And I'm going to answer that question, what in the world does Spirit-filled mean, right? If God's will was the number one question, God's meaning of what does it mean to be Spirit-filled is the second one. Let's take a look at Ephesians 5, 17-18.

[27:43] It says, therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Do not get drunk with wine, but that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit. It's a very simple meaning.

[27:57] It means to walk in the way which is consistent with the Spirit, which is in obedience to God. Amen? That's all it means. We are to walk in a manner worthy of our calling.

[28:14] We are to walk who we are. We are people of the book, the Bible. To walk in the Spirit is to walk according to the precepts that God has given us in His Word.

[28:29] Lord. If you have some charismatic friends and loved ones, often they will teach that it's some sort of mystical experience that the believer is to experience and that means to walk in a way that you're able to do miracles and experience of all sorts of truths.

[28:47] Unfortunately, that is not what the Bible teaches. There's this saying, and we're going to get to this in Ephesians, we see the word walk a lot.

[28:59] In the Jewish mindset, if I ask you, how is your walk? It's how is your way of life? How is your walk? How do you carry yourself?

[29:10] If you are not in the Word, if you're not Spirit-filled, why on earth would God reveal His will to you? It's His will that you walk in the Spirit.

[29:21] Here's an idea, a definition of filled. A lot of people think filled means it's like a glass and I have a water and I fill it up. You can get to a top with water, right? But that word filled actually means like a sail in a sailboat being filled with wind.

[29:40] So when we're talking about being filled in the Spirit, it's a life. As we walk in the Word, it's like we have a sailboat and we're being filled with the Spirit and that's what keeps us going.

[29:51] It's perpetual motion. It doesn't come to an end with pouring. So God wants us to be moving under His power, following Him and walking in that way.

[30:05] It means you have the love of God, you have the grace of God, you have the strength of God. And it happens at the moment you are granted salvation. Do you know that? As soon as you repent and confess that Lord Jesus Christ is Lord, He died for you, rose on the third day, you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and you have that same power, same as me who's been walking this faith for over 40 years.

[30:29] It's the same. We're given everything at that moment of salvation. There is no need to look and search for anything else. So that's the second element of knowing God's will.

[30:43] The third is God's will that you be sanctified. It is God's will that you be sanctified. So the first one, He desires you to be saved.

[30:54] Second one, He desires you to be spirit filled. The third one is God's will that you be sanctified. Let's take a look at 1 Thessalonians 4, 3-7. Couldn't be any clearer than this.

[31:08] For this is the will of God, your sanctification. I really dug deep in that, guys. Pulled out my Greek. I even thought maybe it's in Latin, right?

[31:20] Went everywhere and it still says the same. For this is the will of God, your sanctification. And how do I achieve that? Boy, this is a tough one, that you abstain from sexual immorality.

[31:34] That each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor. Not in the passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God, that no one transgresses and wrongs his brother in this matter.

[31:49] Because the Lord is an avenger of all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you, for God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.

[32:05] Sanctified means purity. God wants us pure, set apart for him and for his work.

[32:15] sex. So when God is calling us to abstain from sexual immorality, what does that mean? If you're not married, it means no sex.

[32:28] If you're married, it's only with your wife. That's the only place that God has blessed that sexual union. If you are married, it means unmarried, do not expose yourself to sex, whether it be pictures, thoughts, movies.

[32:49] We live in this crazy, crazy society. Do you know that? And I know it's been all over the news. We have this society that when Hugh Hefner, the guy who founded Playboy, dies, they're all counting him as some hero of liberation, and within the same week, guess what starts?

[33:08] The Me Too movement. That's how screwed up the world is. This, leads to this. This is what happens when you objectify women.

[33:20] You pursue women that are not your wives. Horrible, wicked things happen. If you want to know what God's will is, and if lust has control of you, you need to deal with it.

[33:35] You need to repent. You need to get a hold of your passions and desires. notice verse 4, that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness, in honor.

[33:52] I know it's tough. Just the other day, my wife and I were watching what we thought was this romantic movie about some kind of high school sweetheart, but eventually they get in there that the one's really not happy with their husband because he's not paying attention to, and all of a sudden that opens up the door to follow her childhood sweetheart.

[34:09] Like that, God blesses and there's a heavy, wonderful ending at the end of it. And it looks sweet, right? Hey, look, a nice romantic story. Ah, delete.

[34:23] See, the fact of that matter is we need to make sure that we honor God with our bodies. This means controlling the way we dress. Are we dressing to draw attention to our bodies?

[34:35] Are we able to control what we eat? If we are seeking to gratify our bodies, we are not seeking to glorify God. The reality is if you have done these things, you have partaken in these things, there is forgiveness.

[34:53] It begins with confessing your sins to God and giving Him control over our desires. For some people it might mean throwing out the computer.

[35:05] we have to give God control if we can't control it. You see, if there was one will and you blow it, if we believed in that, we would think that there is only garbage for us to settle for.

[35:22] But here is the great story. Sometimes God uses mistakes, God uses tragedies after we properly confessed our sin to God and sought His forgiveness, God will bless you.

[35:41] You know that? He will use you in ways that you can't imagine. Robert Murray McShane, who lived several hundred years ago, was a great Scottish minister and he was ordaining a young man named Dan Edwards.

[36:00] And he wrote, Do not forget the inner man, the heart. The Calvary officer knows that his life depends upon his saber, so he keeps it clean.

[36:12] Every stain he wipes off with the greatest care. He said, Mr. Edwards, you are God's chosen instrument. According to your purity, so shall be your success.

[36:24] It is not great talent, it is not great ideas that God uses. it is our likeness to Christ. A holy man or holy woman is an awesome weapon in the hands of God.

[36:42] I want you to be sharp as the sharpest saber that exists. And if there's an issue that you're struggling with that you can't get over because of the sanctification process, as a pastor, I will meet with you, I will pray for you, and we will help you move from what the world has control of, so you are given over to God for him to control you, amen?

[37:09] That's what we want. One pastor I know is the first thing he says, when couples come, why do you want to get married? They say, I believe it's God's will that we get married.

[37:19] Then he simply asks them, are you sexually involved in any way? If they are, why is God going to reveal his unrevealed will to you if you haven't followed his revealed will?

[37:35] So we know that it's God's will that we be what? Saved, right? God's will that we be spirit-filled, God's will that we be sanctified, and it is God's will that you be submissive, right?

[37:50] There's a little bit of submissive. 1 Peter 2, 13-15, it says, be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him, to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good work.

[38:09] For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. This is a call for us to live in obedience to those in authority above us, whether it be our bosses, whether it be our parents, whether it be our government.

[38:29] It means pay your taxes, pay your debts, obey your parents, and those that the Lord has given over you. Those are gifts of God. whether it be your elders here at church, people that really love you, they want the best for you, submit.

[38:50] I just had a tough conversation with someone I really love who thinks they have the world all figured out at the age of 22. I had to tell them they're making a decision that is absolutely going to be disastrous for their life.

[39:08] Disastrous. He simply says, he goes, you're making me feel foolish. I said, I'm not making you, I'm telling you that you are. And it's not because I said you were foolish, the decisions that you've made and the little work that you've done to figure life out is going to cause you destruction.

[39:28] so that is God's call to be submissive. And here's the fifth one. It is God's will that you suffer.

[39:43] It is God's will that you suffer. 1 Timothy 4.19 Therefore, let those who suffer according to God's will entrust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good.

[39:57] Indeed, 2 Timothy 3.12 tells us all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

[40:10] We might not get justice. We might not get fairness. Jesus Christ tells us that don't fret.

[40:25] You're not going to suffer because of you, but you are going to suffer because of me. Now, notice what he's saying. Suffer for doing right, not suffer for being a jerk, right?

[40:39] There's a guy that I know, he took over his father's business. His father had built up this wonderful business. It was a dry cleaning business. It had been in business for like 50 years, great reputation, and he sank it in under two.

[40:52] And this is how he did it. He would accost everybody with the gospel. Every person who came in, he just wouldn't give up. Now, we think sometimes that that's what God's calling us to be, right?

[41:05] We want people to know Jesus Christ. And he came from a horrible wicked past, and he would do all these things. And it wasn't because of Jesus. It became, he was kind of a jerk about it.

[41:19] You know, and eventually he confessed this with his brother, that they were rude to people, they were treating them differently if they were non-Christians, and as much as he wanted to see them coming to Christ, the greatest lesson that he will tell you that he learned was, I didn't lose the business because I was living some kind of righteous life.

[41:39] I was actually living kind of a rude, proud life, and I lost the business. So we have to be careful when we think, oh, we're doing this for Jesus, therefore, standing on a soapbox and yelling at my spouse, I'm suffering because they don't return love to me, right?

[41:56] You know, what God calls us to is to love if you happen to be married to someone who doesn't know Christ. My encouragement isn't always to leave Bible verses taped all over the house for them.

[42:09] It's to love them, to serve them, to honor them, to submit to them, as God would have you to. So that person go to work, say, man, my wife might be, complete religious zealot, but man, she loves me like no other woman.

[42:25] And I've seen those testimonies, my friend. I've got one buddy, he tried to do everything to get his wife to divorce him. You know that? He hated marriage. And finally, he's at the baptism, and he's sitting in the front seat in front of thousands of people, and she talks about her testimony, and guess who she's talking about?

[42:43] Him and what he's doing. And sure enough, God saved him right then and there, because he realized what an incredible wife that he has, that has endured so much that he's tried to do to ruin her life.

[42:58] You know, we often suffer from both within the Christian world and outside of the world. The reason is many are abandoning the word of God. They are not preaching a life-saving gospel, and sadly, you will hear more people telling you that God wants you to have a happy life, therefore, leave your spouse, leave your job, forget your kids, and go do what you want.

[43:23] But this is the sad reality, but it's also a good reality. Affliction brings salvation, and salvation brings affliction. It's a double-edged sword.

[43:36] So, BK, you've told me five things, five aspects of God's will, will, but you haven't told me how to make the next decision.

[43:50] What do I do? All right, you ready? I'm going to tell you what it is. Do what you want. Do what you want.

[44:03] Because God cares more for the person that you are than where you're at, where you're doing. You get that? It's who you are, what kind of person you are that God cares more about.

[44:17] And who you are in Christ will start dictating your choices in life, right? I've got a great friend of mine, he was on a great trajectory in a career, making more money than anybody should ever have at 20 years old.

[44:35] We're talking about millions of dollars that he's making. Christian, family, and his wife just simply said, you're losing us, you're losing us.

[44:46] There's no time for me, there's no time for your four kids, and although you feel great, like this guy was having a new car every week, and he gave it all up. Just gave it all up.

[44:59] Because he had to understand, what does the Bible call me to? And I can give you his phone number if you want to call him and ask him if there's any regrets in his life, he will say, not one.

[45:11] Not one. He's got four good kids, a couple of them are now married, one is doing a round-the-world missions trip, he couldn't be more thrilled. See, what the Bible teaches us in Psalm 37, it says, delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.

[45:30] You see, my friends, if you are immersed in the word, walking in the spirit, you are being sanctified, you are actually being controlled by the mind of God. You know that? It's going to make decisions easy for you.

[45:44] I'm a photographer, I've got this great career, I'm going to start out. What are you taking pictures of? That's going to make the decision for you, right? You see, as long as you don't pursue those things that are forbidden, God will mold your desires and his desires will become your desires.

[46:07] We're to keep moving along, God will open doors, God will close doors. Acts 16, 6 tells us that Paul was stopped by the Holy Spirit from going into Asia.

[46:18] We don't know why, but what's interesting, he didn't quit the mission. He kept going in a different direction. See, we are to seek biblical wisdom when making choices.

[46:30] Ephesians 5, 17 tells us, do not be foolish, be discerning. We just read a proverb that we are to seek wisdom. We are to make wise choices, not always the choices that feels the best.

[46:47] And the most beautiful thing about this is we can come back from wrong choices and foolish consequences. Amen? All by the grace of God. Let me pray for you right now.

[47:02] This is a hard word for some of us, Lord. Some of us it's hard because of regret we've been facing, but I pray that the souls here will be made free by your truth.

[47:16] I pray that you would give them a desire for your word in order to walk in the spirit. I pray for our young college students that are here. There is a culture that exists in schools that exemplifies chasing yourself, your needs, your wants, your emotions, because it feels good.

[47:43] Do it. Father, I pray that you would protect them. I pray that you'd give them solid friends that they can use as strength when temptation comes.

[47:59] Satan wants to steal virginities. Satan wants to destroy lives. And for those of you that are here who've made choices and are still living with consequences, pray that you would experience the grace of God and that you would be a voice of wisdom in those that are still young and impressionable.

[48:25] It's okay to let your life be a lighthouse to disaster. God redeems it. Made horrific choices in my past.

[48:37] And God and his good and wonderful love for me has redeemed me. He's redeemed my wife. These are the things that God wants.

[48:50] So I just pray that you protect each and every one of us as we make these decisions and may we take these words that you've told us Lord and bind them to our heart. We ask these things in your most holy, precious, and everlasting name.

[49:04] Amen. Amen.