Week 3 – Steve Doolin – July 14, 2019
Romans 11:36 “For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.”
God is BIG.
Are you positioned to see the will of God in your life? The promise of Christ’s return should cause us to position ourselves in His will.
Big Question: How do we position ourselves in God’s will?
Point 1: We need to wake up!
“This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” Romans 13:11
Are you awake enough to pray to God? Are you disciplined enough to pray?
“The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.” 1 Peter 4:7
“For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded.” 1 Thessalonians 5:5-6
It is in this readiness that you start to see what the will of God might be in your life. Let’s get ready and wake up.
Point 2: We need to clean up!
“The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy.” Romans 13:12-13
The desires of evil and wrong-doing is in all of us.
C.S. Lewis a great theologian said in a quote:
“The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become – because He made us. He invented us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.” – C.S. Lewis
“God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.” 1 John 1:5b
But it means that we have a repentant heart and when we do wrong we immediately seek forgiveness for it and push towards what is right.
“Take no part in the worthless deeds of evil and darkness; instead expose them.” Ephesians 5:11
Every time the devil tempted Jesus he quoted Scripture in return.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin.” Hebrews 4:15
Instead expose your own sin to Christ and ask for forgiveness and repent. Change course direction.
This takes us back to verse 12 where it says.
“So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.”
How are you cleaning up? What is something that makes you stand out and look different in a dark and dirty world? Are you putting aside your dirty deeds?
Point 3: We need to grow up!
Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires. Romans 13:14
We all are facing a battle in our lives… It’s a battle against our evil desires. The battle is against the spiritual forces that are coming against us.
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, the authorities, the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12
Invest in yourself. Prepare for battle. Get ready.
What does your plan look like?
What if we did what verse 14 says and
“Instead, clothe ourselves with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
If we do this and do this regularly, then the thoughts of ways to indulge ourselves will be lessened.
“The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God will not protect you. To gain what which is worth having, it may be necessary to lose everything else.” – Bernadette Devlin
“Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2b
Podcast: Play in new window | Download