Morning Moments

Col. 1:8-11
Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit. [9] For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; [10] That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; [11] Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;

I would like to continue with the concept of "the knowledge of His will". How can we know the will of God? From the Bible! For example:

IT Is THE WILL OF GOD:

1. For ALL to come to repentance - 2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The word indicates CHANGE, so God wants us to change, turn about, and move in another direction. In fact He demands it, and is willing to give us the grace to do it.

2. For ALL to be saved - 1 Tim. 2:4
Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
Jesus is THE TRUTH and a personal knowledge of Him IS salvation. So, if man will acknowledge the need of and accept the conditions of THE TRUTH of salvation, he can be saved. It is JESUS who saves us, not the church, some sacrament, family, or anything or anyone else.

3. For ALL believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit - Ephes. 5:18
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Many are confused about being filled with the Spirit and want to attach something to this that God doesn't. To be filled with the Spirit is surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and having the Word of God dwell in you richly. THAT'S IT! I don't give a rip what anyone tells you, if it is not consistent with the Word of God, it is not the will of God.

4. For ALL believers to be sanctified - 1 Thes. 4:3
For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:
To be set apart for sacred use as a vessel that is cleansed, filled, and prepared for the Master's use. J. Sidlow Baxter put it this way: What I give, He takes; What He takes, He cleanses; What He cleanses He fills; What He fills He uses". THAT'S sanctification. As Jesus said to Peter, "He that has been bathed needs not to be wash save his feet." In other words, as we walk in the Spirit, in agreement with God, the blood of Jesus Christ keeps on cleansing from all sin, keeping us pure and perfecting us in holiness.

5. For ALL believers to remain in submission - 1 Peter 2:13
Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
This is so that we might live a quiet and peaceable life. Man's law is to be based upon God's law, and we are obligated to obey man's law as long as it does not violate the law of God. Daniel is a classic example: When commanded by the king not to pray, HE PRAYED. The United States, regardless of what Secular Progressives say, was founded upon the principles of the LAW OF GOD. We have the right and responsibility before God to remain faithful to the law of the land so long as it does not prevent us from doing the WILL of God.

6. For ALL believers to be thankful - 1 Thes. 5:18
In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
An attitude of gratitude to our Father, in the name of His Son, through the Eternal Spirit is to be the WAY OF LIFE for every believer. A thankful heart is an indication of a transformed life. Hence, there is no place for gripping, grumbling, criticism or complaining. BE - a continuous action - THANKFUL! Amen.

7. For ALL believers to be willing to suffer and maintain a right spirit in it - 1 Peter 2:15
For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
"Doing well" in suffering for His name's sake. You and I have the wonderful opportunity of "sharing" in the sufferings of our Lord. In whatever suffering we may be called upon to suffer, we are to be thankful and continue to rejoice that Jesus Christ is Lord and that what we are going through will turn out for His glory and our good.

NOW! The next time someone asks you about the will of God, you can answer CONFIDENTLY and not be put to confusion by the question. As Mary said to the servants about Jesus - "WHATEVER HE SAYS UNTO YOU - DO IT!"

BLESSINGS!