Are You Doing God's Will?

Giving gifts is a curious activity. It seems like people always want to surprise the recipient with a gift. And so in order to give them a gift that they will like, you have to guess what that will be. You have to somehow conjure up in your mind what you think would please the other person. Now, last week you had an announcement here of a young couple who is planning to get married. It takes me back 35 years to a time when my wife and I got married, and we came into the presence that we received that we're now stacked in a room, and we sat down to open them. Now, a young couple doesn't really have anything, so you need about everything. Practical things, you know, like sheets, towels, something to cook on, maybe something to furnish your house with. You know, those kinds of things. And so it was interesting as we began to open the gifts, what some of our friends and well-meaning people in the church had decided that would please us. And we'll never forget, just a well-loving close friend had taken what little money he had, and he had bought us a tugboat minibar. A little tugboat that was made out of stainless steel with a little kind of gold color on it, and it had a kind of a little bottle. I guess you were supposed to put something in there. Strong drink. And that was sort of in the middle of the tugboat, and on the back were four little shot glasses. And we just looked at that, and we looked at each other, and we looked at that. And to this day, it's one of those things that you just, wow, was that a miss?

In 1 John 2 and verse 17, we are told something about what God wants as a gift. If you want to look at it from that perspective, or what pleases God. 1 John 2 and verse 17 says, And the world is passing away. Yes, not only the cosmos or the society, but the world, the lust that's here, all the passions, the physical universe, has a date with destiny. And it's going to pass away. But, continuing on, He who does the will of God abides forever. Now, that opens up all kinds of possibilities. The will of God. Hmm, what would please God?

If you wanted to make your life a gift to God, what do you think would make Him happy? What do you think would make Him want to open the door to the kingdom and let you live with Him forever? Will it be sort of like gifts that are given on anniversaries or weddings or birthdays or whatever? People give gifts and they try to surprise somebody with just that one thing they probably always wanted. Will we kind of use a roll of it ice where we're concerned with God and say, I'll bet it'll like this.

No, I don't know. I think over here, this is just going to really wow Him. Or is there something a little more solid and concrete that would help us please God? In Matthew 7 and verse 21, Jesus Himself gets involved because He is part of that decision-making process as to who will be in the kingdom. And He also is the one who will give the life, the eternal life. He personally has been given the responsibility of issuing eternal life to everyone who will be in the kingdom of God.

And so as part of that decision-making process, He says in Matthew 7 and verse 21, Not everyone who says to me, O Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but He who does the will of my Father in heaven. So we can see that entry through the door, through the gate into the kingdom, is by doing God's will. God's will is that which pleases God. Today, I'd like to ask you a question.

What exactly is the will of God and are you doing it? That's a good question for me. I ask myself this question all the time. What is the will of God and am I doing what God wants me to? Do I even know exactly what His will is?

Or am I guessing? Like when I bought a gift from my wife for an anniversary. I'm a guy. I'm trying to buy a gift for a woman. What would she want? I can't tell her. I can't ask her. I can't ask the girls. I just have to go get it by myself. I'm not God, you see. I'm not the Father. I'm not Jesus Christ. I'm not a God being. I'm just a human. But I've got to do their will. See the situation we could be in? We could be in a pretty precarious situation if we're not careful.

Can you write down the exact will of God in a phrase? Something just rolls off your mouth. And are you doing that in your life? The title of the sermon today is, Are You Doing God's Will? It's a very important question, as we've already seen. Because if we're not, we won't be in the kingdom. And if we are, the door will be opened to us. So let's examine this thing that really gains one entry into the kingdom of God.

What is it? How do we know what it is? How do I perform that which is God's will? Let's begin by going back to Ephesians 5 and verse 15. We're going to move pretty fast through some scriptures here. Some of them I'm just going to read to you. And in a very short time, you're going to get a surprise ending to this message. So be alert and be aware. Ephesians 5 and verse 15 says, See then that you walk circumspectly.

We have to walk. Remember this? Life of ours is symbolized by the six days of Israel coming out of Egypt. The six days of the days of unleavened bread. That seventh day is the miracle by which God gives us entry into the kingdom of God. But for six days, we've got to march out of Ramesses and get all the way over to the Dead Sea as far as we can. From sin. From our old human nature.

Can't just sit there in Ramesses and wait for the sea to open, because we won't be at the sea when it opens. So, see that you walk circumspectly, carefully, as the margin says. Not as fools, doing it foolishly, but as wise. Verse 16, Redeeming the time because the days are evil. Days are evil, short time, walk carefully. Verse 17, Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Very important for you to understand what the will of God is, and then to do it.

You know, Jesus said in the model prayer outline, right after, Thy kingdom come, He says, pray, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. On earth in my life, as it is in heaven. On earth in your life, as it is in heaven. On earth in the future lives that will come in the kingdom here on earth, in the millennial phase, in the second resurrection, as it is in heaven.

That goes hand in hand with the kingdom of God, doing the will of God and seeking the kingdom of God. See how those two are very ingrained into each other. The primary focus of our life is to be seeking the kingdom and His righteousness. Doing the will of God will allow us entry into that kingdom. So be wise, be careful as you walk and be walking. What is God's will? And am I doing it? That's a question that just keeps coming up and coming up.

What exactly? We're told to do it. What is it? Am I doing it? Well, we better know, because our eternal life or death hangs on the answers and whether or not we devote our lives to performing it.

The word will in the New Testament is translated from the Greek word thalema. And it just means a choice, a desire, or a pleasure. That which is your desire, that is your pleasure, that is your will.

It's what you want. It's what pleases a person. The Scripture in the Bible talks about, do those things that are pleasing in His sight. That means doing His will, those things that please Him. It can be said in other ways. But let's look at this from God's perspective for a moment. God has a mammoth investment in you. And that investment goes back billions of years. The light that's coming from the distant galaxies right now is at 13, I believe, 13.4 billion years ago.

That light left those galaxies. Now, we haven't seen the edge of space yet and they've just re-tweaked Hubble again. We don't know what we're going to get next. It may go for 14 or 15 million light years. I don't know. But what I'm seeing is there's been a lot of time that God has devoted to the physical creation.

And then this earth cooled about 4 billion years ago. And then life gradually was put on this earth by God in incremental creations. And ultimately, it eclipsed with you, with us as humans. In God's image, in His lightness, developing His character, He's put a lot of effort into this very intricate, detailed creation for a long, long time. Now, what do you think God's total focus is? What would make Him happy?

Why did Jesus Christ Himself come down from heaven, become a human being, live 31 and a half years, give His life, give everything He possibly could give? What do you think would make Him happy? Well, that would be His will. See? That which pleases Him. And the answer is bringing children into their family. That's what it's all about. That's what would make God happy. Let's look in Galatians 1 and verse 4 and see this from their perspective. Galatians 1 and verse 4.

Here Jesus is the one who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age. This present evil age is also this temporary life that we are stuck with and we are going to expire. But He's going to deliver us from that into eternal life. Notice, according to the will of our God and Father. That is God's will. That is what pleases Him.

That's what it's all about. Now listen to the next number of Scriptures. I'm just going to read you some excerpts here. And you can look them up later if you want to. But notice, or listen for God's will, His purpose. What pleases Him in these following passages? Bringing sons to glory. Hebrews 2.10. That you may become sons of light. John 12.36. That you may be sons of your Father in heaven.

Matthew 5.45. Sons of God. Sons of the resurrection. Luke 29.36. I will be a Father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters. 2 Corinthians 6.18. Having predestined us to the adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will. Ephesians 1.5. In bringing many sons to glory. Hebrews 2.10. We should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3.7. You know, these and many other passages like them express God's purpose, His desire, His motivation, His pleasure, His will for you.

That's what God wants. And Jesus said in Matthew 12.50, For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and my sister and my mother. You're family. You do the will of God and you're going to fulfill our purpose. Family. You're going to bring us pleasure. You're going to bring us fulfillment, satisfaction. That which we want so badly, you're going to give us by doing the will of God.

So how do we do the will of our Father in heaven? How exactly do we go about that? We find a clue given to us by Jesus Christ back in Matthew 21 and verse 28. He gave a kind of an allegory here and in it there are some clues. Matthew 21 and verse 28.

But what do you think? A man had two sons. Now we're going to have the classic good guy, bad guy. We're going to have the wheat and the tares, the sheep and the goats, the wise versions, the foolish versions. And here come two sons. It's a perennial theme in the Bible. He came to the first and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. And he answered and said, I will not. Now that's you and me, actually. God said, I want you to do my will. And we said, no. I have some things in this life that I've kind of wanted to do. And I'm busy about those things and they're very self-centered. They feel good. And no thank you.

But then afterward he regretted it and went. And at some point we say, oh, you know, that was a wrong, wrong approach. That was, I need to repent of that mentality, that self-serving mentality. I really do need to do what God wants me to do and God tells me to do. And so we repent, you see. And so then we go and do God's will. And notice here, he regretted it and he went. Remember the going, the traveling, the moving towards godliness out of sin? Verse 30, then came to the second and said likewise, and he answered and said, sure, I'll go, sir.

But he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father? Who did the will of his father? Of course, they answered and said the first. So one clue here is God's will involves doing. That's one thing Jesus is teaching us here. It's doing something, not just being a hearer and a believer, not just being a part of the true church, having the correct doctrines, knowing prophecy, but actually doing something. The clue continues in verse 31. Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots will enter the kingdom of God before you.

Why? Verse 32. Because John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him. There was a way of righteousness that God wanted and God teaches, but they didn't do it. And when you saw it, you did not afterward repent and believe him. He's referring to a previous event here. Let's pick it up and go back to it in Luke 7 and verse 29. We'll see this event that he's referring to. Luke 7 and verse 29. And when all the people heard him, Jesus, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John. They repented. They were tax collectors. They were thieves and cheats and other people, like you and me, that were carnal.

But they were baptized. They repented. Verse 30. But the Pharisees and the lawyers who said, oh yes, we'll do what you say. We'll do your will. We'll go. We're religious, in other words. But these rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him. So the will of God for them would have been repentance and baptism and a beginning of walking and a newness of life. They didn't want that. They didn't want to do God's will. In John chapter 1 and verse 11, we find this explained, I think, even clearer. The first verse says, in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

So this is talking about Jesus Christ. Now we skip down to John 1. 11. He came to his own, the Jews. He was a Jew. He was born as a Jew. He came to the Jews. And his own did not receive him. Verse 12 of John 1. But as many as received him, to them he gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in his name. Who were born or who were engendered from above, not of blood, not by human parents, not by the will of the flesh, nor by the will of man, but by or of the will of God.

The will of God. These were busy repenting. These were busy performing God's will in their lives. Jesus set an example of making God's will paramount in his life. He said in John 6.38, you don't have to turn there. For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. So he sets us that example, but what is God's will for us? He gives us two stronger clues in John 6, verse 39, the next verse.

This is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all he has given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up at the last day. That's clue number one. You see, the will of God is that all people would be coming into his family. That's God's will. That's what would please him, that nobody would be lost. Verse 40, another clue, this is the will of him who sent me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

So we see there, God's overall will is for us to be in the family. Christ's overall will, and all that he devoted himself for, is to give us life to be in that family.

Just like Christ did, you also must perform God's will for you. Let's go to 1 Peter 4 and verse 1. 1 Peter 4 and verse 1.

Now we've just seen how Christ did the will of the Father, and he did it beautifully. He and the Father have given everything they can to us as far as the opportunity to make that journey to the Kingdom. And now it's up to us to perform God's will in our daily life. 1 Peter 4 and verse 1. Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but live to do the will of God. So we have to set aside our passions and our lusts and those physical things that we would like to spend on ourselves. We have to set those aside and sacrifice those just as Jesus did, and instead live to do the will of God. Just like Jesus said, I came not to do my own will. I put that aside, I came to do my Father's will. So that which pleases God is that which will lead us to life. Conversely, that which leads us to death is not God's will. He doesn't want that. He doesn't want to see that. This is stated clearly in two passages. Again, I'll just read them to you. Matthew 18, 14. It is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish. That is not his will. That does not please him. 2 Peter 3, 9. Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Ah, there's a clue. Repentance. That's God's will that all should come to repentance and that none should die. So God's will includes repenting from death-promoting deeds and performing life-promoting deeds. What are life-promoting deeds? What are life-promoting deeds? Well, very simply, they're defined for us in 1 John 3 and verse 14. 1 John 3 and verse 14.

We know that we have passed from death to life. In other words, we know we have passed from having the eternal death penalty over us into pursuing life. How do we know this? Or when do we know this? We know this because we love the brethren, because we love our brothers and sisters.

So as we see, then, the life-promoting activity is loving others. Now, what are death-promoting deeds? Well, continue the verse. It'll tell us, He who does not love his brother abides in death. So here we get a really strong clue about what the will of God is, because it is performing life-encouraging or life-promoting deeds, and those are love for others. There's some more of God's will explained to us in Hebrews 13 and verse 15. We'll begin there. Hebrews 13 and verse 15. Again, if we're trying, and you really need to do this, you need at the end of your notes, to be able to write down the will of God in order to determine that we're looking at clues in the Bible to help us clearly understand what that is so that we can then walk and pursue that and be in the kingdom of God.

Here in Hebrews 13 and verse 15, it says, By him, Jesus Christ, then, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, confessing His name. Verse 16, But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. And what well pleased means? That's His will. That's what He wants. That's what pleases Him. So, doing good, praising God, and sharing, these are things that please God or fulfill His will. Dropping down now to verse 20.

Now may the God of peace, who brought again our Lord Jesus from the dead, the great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, verse 21, Make you perfect or complete to fulfill that purpose for which you have been created and called, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight through Jesus Christ.

You know, it's through Jesus Christ. He said, you know what? I am the vine, you're the branches. Without Me, you can't produce fruit. But He said, it is My Father's will that you bring forth fruit, and that your fruit abides. That you bring forth much fruit, and that that fruit remains. That that fruit remains. So we need to be developing this mind of God. Jesus, in Matthew 22, summarized the entire Bible. And He said, you know, the Bible sums up as, Love God with all your heart, soul and might, and love your neighbor as yourself. Now we could say, alright, I don't want to be in the Kingdom. I'm hearing this message. I want to be in the Kingdom, so I'm going to make a checklist. Do some good works. Pray. I don't know, some other things. We'll do the checklist. Did I do those things? Kind of, okay, I got them. Does it matter why you do them, or is it just that you do them? Let's take a look at whether any motive for doing these things is okay. Can you say, well, I just want to get myself saved. As long as I do the checklist, you know, for whatever reason, it's good enough. Well, let's look. Let's look at Ephesians 6 and verse 6.

Ephesians 6 and verse 6. It actually is a mentality that God wants us to develop, which is His own, and not a selfish mentality by just kind of doing things to fulfill a requirement. Ephesians 6, 6. Not with eye service as men pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ. Now, a bondservant is not somebody that somebody ran off, grabbed, and forced into slavery. This is a person who voluntarily came on his own and said, Hey, excuse me. I would like to create a bond with you, a contract with you, where I will serve you and I will perform your desires and your will. This is what I want to happen. I'm coming and I am the one initiating this. And so, He's saying, don't do these things with eye service or as men pleasers, trying to get some angle or some reward. But as one who is a bondservant of Christ, who came and said, Yes, I want to do this. Doing the will of God from the heart. No other reason, but that's who I am. That's what I want to be. I want to be like my Father in heaven. Verse 7, No kickbacks here, but doing it as we would to God.

So we see right there that motive is important. And really what God is after is not so much the checklist as it is the mentality and the heart. We are to develop the mind of Christ. Okay, so how does all this condense into what do I need to do? Specifically, what do you need to do today to do the will of God?

Well, let's examine a passage which defines God's will for daily life. It gives us 13 or 14 different points that we can actually focus on. Let's go back to 1 Thessalonians 4 and 3.

We'll pause here briefly. 1 Thessalonians 4 and 3 before going to 5 and 11. Because in chapter 4 and 3, it says, For this is the will of God. But it's not talking about the whole will of God. It's just the will of God in a particular matter. And I think it's important to mention this. Because we live in an age of sexual impurity. In fact, our age is all about that. When you go back to the very concept of evolution, evolution was devised and founded, psychology was devised and founded. Modern science, essentially, is based on the fact, or based on the desire for men to have, men and women, to have freedom in all areas of their life to be whatever they want to be.

And you can read about this in Romans, how man set aside God as creator so that he can be exposed to vile passions in various things. And so what kind of a society do we live in today? Well, it's just full of vile passions and they're just bubbling over. And as the Bible said, we are a nation or a culture that declares its sin as Sodom and hides it not. We're just almost proud of it, pushing it. And so we stop here and we find, this is the will of God, your sanctification. Now, the word sanctification isn't the same sanctification as being sanctified or set apart.

This word actually means purity. Talking about the purity of your body or the sanctity of your body for your mate or for your future mate or towards your brothers and sisters. That are around you. That you should abstain from sexual immorality. That each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor. So, that is one statement here that we see as the will of God in our life. And that purity is a gift, not only to God as obeying him, as one of his commandments, but also to our mate, future, present, etc.

And being pure in those ways. And also a gift to others around us by dealing with them and not harming or encroaching, spoiling their lives. Now, let's go on to 13 more in the next chapter. We'll go to 1 Thessalonians 5, verse 11 now. Here we find 13 focus items, and they're all about helping and serving others. Every one of them. As we begin in verse 11, it says, Therefore comfort each other. It didn't say, comfort yourself. It didn't say, just turn all the psalms and be comforted. Don't get yourself a comforter and curl up on the couch and be comforted.

Don't get people to comfort you. It's not about you. Therefore comfort each other. Aha! That's what we're to do. Next it says, and edify one another. The word edify is the root of a word that is used for edifice or building a building. So when it says, edify one another, it means construct or help everyone with their spiritual house.

Help everyone, encourage and help the growth of those around you. Not just yourself. It's not edifying oneself. But you know, it's back in Ephesians 11 verse 15, I believe, where the whole body edifies itself. It grows, in other words. The body is growing by the love which one part does for another.

Going on, just as you are doing. In verse 12, and we urge you, brethren, next is to recognize those... Self-recognition is kind of a hallmark of our age, isn't it? It's all about self, self-recognition. But here we're told to recognize those who labor among you. There are those who are doing things they need to be recognized. And we're recognizing here those who labor among you, those who are doing things that are honorable, that are noteworthy, things of substance and help. Those are what our minds ought to be on, and we ought to recognize those who labor among you.

And are over you in the Lord and admonish you. In verse 13, next, to esteem them. Now, one of the biggest things in our culture is self-esteem. You know, a person has a problem. Well, it's a lack of self-esteem. We need to fix that. Stick some badges and buttons on them and give them some award. I've had them on the back a lot. I've got to do something about your self-esteem.

You can't love others until you love yourself. You can't esteem others until you esteem yourself. You know, the old satanic mentality. But the Bible says, Esteem them very highly in love for their works sake. That means thinking about other people. Next, be at peace among yourselves. Be at peace among yourself means be part of a peace process that you're working at. And that you're bringing peace. Where there isn't peace, then you bring it.

And you be at peace among yourselves. Notice, selves, not peace among yourself. You don't go find a rock somewhere and sit on your rock and, oh, find yourself and I'm at peace here. We like to do that. Feels good when you do that.

But among yourselves, you see. Usually you say, well, I can't stand these people. I'm going to go climb in my box. I'm just getting to ignore them all. Now I'm having peace. No, that's not peace. We want peace among ourselves as a group.

Verse 14, Now we exhort you, brethren, to warn those who are unruly. There actually has to be a concern for others. If somebody is starting to spray, we don't say, oh, bummer, too bad, had your chance. You know? Scream as you go over the cliff.

No, you warn those who are going astray. Because you care about them. You're concerned about them. You think, oh, is there something I could say? Something that I could do? Some way that we can stop those who are unruly from being unruly. Encourage them, warn them. Next is, comfort the faint-hearted. There are those who become faint, and they say, you know, I don't know if I can keep going. I don't know if I can keep going in my faith. I don't know if I can keep going in my marriage. I don't know if I can keep going in my job. I don't know if I can keep going in life. You know? I'm just under so much strain. I'm faint-hearted. And you can get into an emotional state that just takes the strength out of you. Well, comfort the faint-hearted. Again, it's not for your own. It's not thinking of yourself, but it's for others. Next is, uphold the weak. You know, to uphold a weak, you don't just say, well, I think I'll send you a card. You know? You're weak. I'll pray for you. To uphold somebody who is weak, you know, somebody's weak. You uphold them. You get them. That means you're going to take them with you, aren't you? They're going to go on the journey with you. You're going to uphold them. They're going to have to lean on you for a while until they find their feet, until they get their strength. You're going to be actively involved in sacrificing, in devoting some time, some energy to that person.

Be patient with all. That's not just patient. Okay, I'm going to wait here. Be patient. Will you hurry up? Will you hurry up and quit sending? Okay, I'm being patient. Take your time. No, that's not what it's about. It means persevere. Persevere with all. Stay in there for the long haul. Okay, I'm holding up. You're getting heavy. Persevere in all of these things. Stick with it. See that no one renders evil for evil, but always pursue what is good for both yourselves and for all. See how inclusive that is? Pursue what is good. Pursue that which is good yourself, but not just for yourself. Pursue what's good for everybody. Verse 16, rejoice always. Verse 17, pray without ceasing. Verse 18, in everything, give thanks. That means to stop thinking of yourself for a minute and think about who gave you all those diapers at the diaper shower. Somebody had to actually go to the store and get 1,800 diapers, I believe, were given at the diaper shower. That's a lot of diapers. That costs money, too. Somebody took some time. Or somebody invites you to dinner. You give thanks. Wow! Somebody spent all day cleaning the house, going shopping, preparing the food, creating it for us, serving it. They're going to have to clean up the dishes. They're going to have to clean up the house. You put yourself in their shoes. Put yourself in God's shoes. Look at all that God has done. Thank you for that. That is an action. That is a selfless action where you're actually thinking of others. Now notice, of all of these things, what is said, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. There we have a lot of detail, don't we? For what we can do in any given day, in any given situation, as we pursue performing the will of God. Now caution, these are not R-A-Ks, random acts of kindness. All of a sudden, you just erupt into, oh, I'll help this old lady across the street. Wow! I did a selfless deed! That's great! Okay, check that one off for life. I'll go back to my selfish world, and then next week, oh, I gave $5 to a beggar! Wow! I don't know what got into me, but anyway, that's a good deed. See, these aren't random acts of kindness, but rather it's a mentality of doing what God would, of always performing the will of God. The mind of Christ was to perform God's will every time, all the time, forever. And that's what God wants to develop in you and me. That type of a mind, a mind that wants to do His will. Jesus said, he who endures to the end, doing the will of God, that person will be saved. He said to the church of Philadelphia, you have kept the Word. And what's God's Word? It's about love, isn't it? You've kept the Word of my perseverance. You always do it, and you keep on keeping on doing it. So, this mind of Christ does God's will always and forever. Let's go to Hebrews 10 and verse 36. Hebrews 10 and verse 36.

Verse 35, He says, do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. Verse 36, for you have need of endurance. You have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. Doing this will requires endurance, perseverance, and if we do that will, we will receive the promise of the kingdom of God. In conclusion, it is imperative that you know what the will of God is, exactly what the will of God is. That it's on the tip of your tongue. That it becomes the purpose for all that you do, your purpose for all that you are. It can't be some abstract thing that you wonder about and you hope that whatever you're doing is maybe what God's going to like. That won't cut it. The question is, can you state God's will for you, for your life, clearly and succinctly? Can you write down the phrase, God's will for my life is?

Again, your eternal life depends on you knowing what the will of God is and performing that will. As the Scripture says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Make sure that you know what that will is and make sure you're doing it.

I'd like to conclude with an assignment. Here's your assignment. And it comes from the Bible. Let's read it in Romans 12 and the first two verses. Romans 12, verses 1 and 2.

Verse 1 says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your body as a living sacrifice. Sacrifice all that self-will, die to it, get rid of it, and be holy, pleasing to God. What is that? That's the will. That's what God wants. Which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Notice that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. It is your responsibility to know and to prove what that perfect will of God is for you and your life. You must define it. You must know what it is. You must have it so clearly that it's on the forefront of your mind as you enter everything you do in a day. That it's the very purpose, the driving force behind your thoughts and your deeds as you live it. And today we've seen if you don't know God's will and don't do it, you are going to die.

So determine it. What is it? Prove it. Spend time today, this week. Don't delay. Once you have it, write it down. Post it on the fridge. Stick it on the mirror. More importantly, stick it right here. And let it lead and guide you as you live life. Then every day, focus on it. Pursue it. Persevere in it. Endure in it. And then you will live forever in the kingdom of God.