Participants: Mollie Steenson (Host), John Lomacang, Dee Casper
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY017038A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:11 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:39 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:50 Mending broken people 01:08 Hello, my precious friends. 01:10 Thank you so much for joining us today 01:12 and allowing us to come into your living room. 01:15 Thank you for that. 01:17 And also I wanted to just take a minute 01:19 to thank you for the years of support, 01:23 your love, your prayers 01:25 and your financial support of 3ABN. 01:28 If it wasn't for you, 01:29 this ministry would suffer severely, 01:31 but because of you 01:32 we are able to reach the whole world 01:35 with the undiluted messages of Revelation 14. 01:38 Thank you so much 01:39 for allowing us to be your friends 01:42 and to work with you. 01:44 We have an amazing program today. 01:46 We have got, I've got two guests 01:48 and this is the truth, 01:50 they have absolutely been sitting here bubbling over, 01:52 they just can't wait to get to the subject. 01:55 And our subject today is what, Pastor Lomacang? 01:58 The Right Action of the Will. The Right Action of the Will. 02:01 Right Action of the Will, 02:02 we're gonna answer a number of questions 02:04 and we're gonna end, 02:05 we're gonna hold on to the very end, 02:07 how to know the will of God and how to accomplish it. 02:10 But the right action of the will 02:11 is what this program is all about. 02:13 And Dee Casper, 02:14 you are the evangelism director I believe 02:17 of UnScene Media Group. 02:19 Thank you so much for being with us and Pastor Lomacang, 02:22 I didn't introduce you everybody knows you. 02:24 You're the pastor of the Thompsonville 02:26 Seventh-day Adventist Church 02:27 right here in Southern Illinois. 02:29 That's right. That's right. 02:30 And we just love and appreciate our pastor. 02:32 Dee, tell me a little of what you do 02:35 at UnScene Media before you talk to us 02:37 about the will of God? 02:38 Sure. 02:40 So our ministry is basically seeking 02:42 to make content to reach young people, 02:44 that's principled in Christ centered 02:46 for social media to basically 02:48 permeate social media with the gospel. 02:50 Part of what I do as evangelism director 02:52 is we run a school of evangelism as well. 02:54 We're training our young people 02:56 in filmmaking and in evangelism. 02:58 So I teach the Bible classes, 02:59 I preach on behalf of the ministry 03:01 and do all the networking and stuff 03:03 on behalf of the ministry as well. 03:04 Well, this is an exciting subject 03:07 that we're presenting today, 03:08 we're going to talk about today. 03:10 And the will, how we submit our will, 03:15 the purpose of our will, 03:17 so many aspects of our will that we want to look at, 03:21 but before we look into this and I'm going to come back, 03:24 and I'm going to ask this question 03:26 just what is the will? 03:28 And I'm going to have Pastor Lomacang and Dee delve 03:31 into this, 03:32 but before we look into this subject, 03:35 let's ask Mary Grace to come, 03:38 and she's going to play a beautiful song on the piano. 03:41 The name of the song is, "It Is Well With My Soul". 06:02 She always just amazes me, 06:04 she does such a wonderful job on that piano. 06:07 Thank you Mary Grace, very much. 06:09 Well, our opening question is, what is the will? 06:14 And so Pastor Lomacang, 06:15 I know that you want to jump into that one 06:18 so first let's look at what the will is? 06:21 Well, in a simple forthright direct answer, 06:27 the will is the governing power in the nature of man, 06:33 it's the governing power. 06:35 I like to use an illustration if you had a car with gears, 06:39 you know the manual shift 06:40 not, not many people use manual shift today, 06:43 we call it stick shift. 06:45 But when you get into the car that has a stick shift 06:48 you have to choose the gears, you go sequentially. 06:50 Hopeful you begin with one, two, three, four, 06:52 five or six speed whatever the choice is, 06:55 but you have to, you have to make a choice, 06:58 so the will is the governing power 07:01 in the nature of man. 07:02 Simply says, which one am I going to choose? 07:06 And then when you choose the gear, 07:09 it does what it's designed to do. 07:11 When you make a choice whether to go left or go right, 07:15 if you choose to go into the road of life, 07:17 everything on the road of life is there, 07:19 the road of death or darkness, 07:22 everything of death and darkness is there, 07:24 but the choice determines 07:25 what the following experience is going to be 07:27 in a simple straightforward point. 07:29 So it sounds like 07:30 our will is our choice making ability. 07:34 Right Dee? 07:35 Yeah. You want to expand on that? 07:37 Yeah, it is the power of choice, 07:38 it's kind of the way that I explain it to people 07:40 that when someone exercises their will, 07:42 they're basically exercising their ability 07:44 to choose for good, for bad, 07:47 for whatever else the option may be 07:49 but basically the power of choice. 07:51 Okay. 07:53 And also what I would add to that 07:54 is the will is not my tastes or my inclinations, 08:01 you know, sometimes people say, 08:02 "Well, I don't have a taste for that." 08:04 And sometimes you say, 08:05 "Well, you'll develop a taste for that." 08:07 Our taste is not our will, 08:11 our inclinations is not our will, 08:14 but our choice in a simple straightforward point 08:17 is what the will is all about. 08:19 When you use that power to choose, 08:22 then the outcome is predetermined, 08:24 you know, going back and we're going to have, 08:27 we're going to get deeply into the program, 08:29 but I'd like to begin by looking at some examples 08:31 of the wrong action of the will. 08:33 You know, we are in the condition 08:34 we're in today, the whole world, everyone, 08:37 we're born into the condition of our world today 08:39 because of the wrong action of the will. 08:41 And I think a good place to begin, 08:42 we talked about this collectively, 08:43 we like to begin to show how the great controversy began 08:49 when Lucifer decided 08:51 he was not going to put his will 08:53 on the side of God. 08:54 So the great controversy, 08:56 this is where we're going to began, 08:57 began in heaven and it was a great controversy 09:02 between God and Lucifer 09:06 and it began in the portals of heaven 09:08 by somebody making, 09:10 by using their will inappropriately. 09:11 Yes. Exactly. 09:13 Okay. That's the... 09:14 So that's the understatement. 09:15 That's based on the point we were going to make. 09:17 Yes. 09:18 No, I'm saying now expand on that. 09:19 Yeah. 09:21 Okay, you want to read Isaiah 14:12. 09:22 Isaiah 14, we will begin at verse 12, 09:25 this is kind of heaven's response 09:27 to the fall of Lucifer 09:28 and they're asking a question of sorts, 09:30 "How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, 09:32 son of the morning! 09:34 How you are cut down to the ground, 09:35 you who weakened the nations! 09:37 For you have said in your heart: 09:39 'I will ascend into heaven, 09:41 I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, 09:44 I will also sit on the mount of the congregation. 09:46 On the farthest sides of the north, 09:48 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds..." 09:51 and the scariest one is the end here, 09:53 "I will be like the Most High." 09:57 So he longed and coveted a position that wasn't his, 10:02 actually coveting the position of God. 10:04 Now he doesn't want the character of God, 10:06 he wants the position of God, there's a big difference. 10:07 He's not looking for another centered love 10:11 that he's lusting after, it's the position, 10:13 it's the power of God. 10:15 And he said over and over, 10:16 "I will, I will, I will, I will, I will." 10:19 He continue to expound I will. 10:22 He knew he had a will. 10:23 See, God created every one of us 10:25 with this free moral agency we use that term, 10:27 which simply means God created every one of you 10:29 with the ability to decide this is the choice 10:32 or this is the choice, free moral agency. 10:35 God does not force our will. 10:38 God does not control our will. 10:40 And I want to make that point clearly even further. 10:42 We think that God controls our will. 10:44 No. 10:45 We have to choose to give God our will 10:47 and then it becomes under His control 10:51 but He doesn't say, 10:53 "I'm gonna take these will 10:54 and make him do what I want to do." 10:55 We're not robots, when are not automatons. 10:57 God didn't set us into a particular position 11:00 and then we kept on doing things. 11:02 But Lucifer said over and over, 11:04 and what he did and there are five points 11:06 that are brought out here about what he did 11:07 and I brought them down to like about three. 11:10 He chose not to yield his will to God. 11:13 And you'll discover any time we fall, 11:16 it's a moment of choice what ever the temptation is, 11:19 it's a moment of choice, 11:21 and we consciously choose 11:24 to not yield our will to Christ. 11:28 The next thing we do, 11:30 when we choose not to yield our will to Christ, 11:32 we then choose to oppose the will of God. 11:37 I don't want that, I am opposed to that. 11:39 The other thing we do is which Lucifer did, 11:43 then the outcome of our choice is distorted 11:47 because I really don't believe 11:48 and we could expound this together, 11:50 I really don't believe 11:51 that anyone makes a choice thinking 11:53 that this choice is gonna end in my death 11:56 or in my destruction or in my failure. 12:00 And so what Lucifer did in all these ascending 12:03 the wrong action of the will, he said to us, 12:06 results in an exalted state he told that to Eve. 12:09 But it results really in a fallen state. 12:12 He also made it the wrong action of the will 12:15 does not result in the seat of your choice, 12:18 it results in the wrong seat. 12:20 And then the other thing, 12:22 the wrong action of the will does not take us higher, 12:24 it always takes us slower. 12:26 That was the next verse he says, 12:27 "That you will be cast down." 12:28 Even though he has... That's right. 12:30 There are 11 upward words used in that span of like 12:32 three verses, 11 of them. 12:34 And he has upward ambition in mind 12:36 at the expense of everyone else, 12:39 but in the end God's going to bring him down 12:40 and that's what actually ends up happening 12:42 is that reality check. 12:43 In Genesis 3, Eve had a choice to make, right? 12:47 And the way which Satan led her to make the wrong choice 12:50 was by first giving her false pictures of who God was, 12:54 her relationship with Him and how God treats her. 12:57 So by lies being sewn into her experience, 13:00 she then informed her will with lies and made bad choices 13:04 that led to her demise 13:06 that we're still having to contend with now, 13:08 and what God is trying to do is to speak truth 13:11 in our experience so that we'll make wise choices. 13:14 You kind of see that, that competing approach 13:17 carried out in Genesis 3. 13:20 And so, question? 13:21 Well, we were looking at what is the will? 13:24 The will is the governing power, 13:27 our governing power, 13:28 and you're saying that where you are right now, 13:31 where every one of us are right now 13:33 is it in direct relation to us using our will. 13:37 We have made choices 13:38 that have put us where we are right now, 13:40 we can't blame anybody else. 13:42 And you made the point that our choice 13:46 is using Satan and Eve as the example. 13:50 Our choices that we think we're making 13:53 that are going to exalt us. 13:55 Never once does it cross our mind 13:57 that our choices that we're making 13:59 are going to bring us down, 14:01 but these two examples the end result was...? 14:04 Failure. Failure. 14:06 And both rooted in false pictures of God, 14:09 somehow Satan... 14:10 this is why it's called the mystery of iniquity. 14:12 Somehow the person closest to God 14:14 developed thoughts about God that He is not fair, 14:16 that someone else is receiving something 14:18 that I should receive, 14:19 and it's the same approach he used with Eve, 14:21 both felt in similar ways, 14:22 distorted pictures of God led to action against God 14:25 and then into their own demise. 14:27 They exercise their power of choice wrongly 14:29 and it led to their demise. 14:30 And you find all that in the Bible, 14:31 even in the Book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel 18, 14:33 Ezekiel 33 were the Israelites keep saying to God, 14:36 "Your way is not fair." 14:38 Satan has always made it look like 14:40 God's way is not fair and, you know, 14:43 I wish we could look do a two hour program 14:45 on this topic, but let's just take the time 14:48 we have to use it efficiently. 14:51 Somebody may say, "I want to do right." 14:55 But desire for goodness and purity 15:00 if that's all you have 15:02 is not using your choice correctly. 15:07 If desire is all you have and you stop at desire, 15:11 you don't accomplish 15:13 what will be for your best good. 15:15 I want to lose weight but give me that box of donuts. 15:19 Or more specifically do nothing 15:22 even if you don't eat the box of donuts, 15:24 do nothing to accomplish what you desire. 15:26 Okay. 15:27 And so, I use these equations desire 15:29 plus the wrong actions equal failure. 15:32 Desire plus the right actions equal success. 15:35 But desire without action is failure. 15:39 There's actually a powerful quote on this 15:41 in Desire of Ages says 15:42 this very thing in Steps to Christ, 15:44 I said Desire of Ages, it's Steps to Christ 47.2 15:46 it starts with the word desire. 15:48 She says, "Desires for goodness and holiness are right 15:51 as far as they go, 15:52 but if you stop here they will avail nothing..." 15:54 That's right. 15:56 "Many will be lost while hoping and desiring to be Christians. 16:00 They do not come to the point of yielding the will to God. 16:02 They do not now choose to be Christians." 16:04 That's right. 16:06 And that's where the shortcoming happens. 16:08 In a Ministry of Healing she says also 16:10 with that quote augmented, she says, 16:11 "They do not choose to serve Him." 16:16 This is a powerful concept. Let's go to Joshua 24:15. 16:19 Joshua brings into view the... 16:23 And a profound example, 16:27 I've read this text so many times, 16:29 Joshua 24:15 and we all know it, you know, 16:32 choose this day whom you will serve, 16:34 but in looking at this with fresh eyes, 16:37 I'm gonna go ahead and break this down 16:39 in a very realistic way Joshua 24:15, 16:43 okay, it says and he says, 16:45 "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, 16:49 there's a word choose for yourselves this day 16:52 whom you will serve." 16:53 And then he brings out choices, choices of our past, he says, 16:56 "Whether the gods which your father served 16:58 that were on the other side of the river..." 17:00 Meaning the gods of your past, your relative's gods. 17:03 You know, sometimes people think 17:04 that that they can't choose another church 17:07 because this is the church of their relatives. 17:08 Right. 17:10 That's predisposed, 17:11 but we're not predisposed to choose 17:13 what our parents chose. 17:15 Any more than we are predisposed 17:17 to ride a horse and buggy 17:19 of our great, great, great, grandparents, 17:21 we choose something different, a modern vehicle. 17:23 So the Lord is saying here through Joshua, 17:26 you've got to choose to break away 17:28 from the choices your parents made. 17:29 So heredity doesn't mean it has to be cultivated. 17:33 So we can't blame our parents, then he also says, 17:36 "Or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell," 17:39 the present situation as you're in. 17:41 Sometimes you say, well, I have no choice, 17:42 look at the kind of world I live in. 17:44 You do have a choice. 17:45 He says, "You got to choose even the gods 17:48 in the land of the Amorites." 17:50 You could even choose them, 17:51 but you don't have to choose them, 17:53 you're not predisposed to choose them. 17:56 You can choose the true God, not the gods of the Amorites, 17:59 but then he says, 18:00 "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." 18:06 Now this is amazing point here. 18:09 Joshua didn't say, "We will do right." 18:13 He said, "We will serve the Lord." 18:16 And so often we make righteousness... 18:19 Now I'll look at the cameras, so often we make righteousness 18:22 what we do rather than who we serve. 18:25 We're going to bring this out even more. 18:27 Yes. 18:28 So much, so much we say, 18:29 this is what I want to do to be a good Adventist. 18:32 This is what I want to eat. This is how I want to dress. 18:35 This is how I want to worship. 18:37 When we're Christians whatever the denomination we see. 18:39 Well, here are the things 18:40 that identify us as good Baptist, 18:42 good Pentecostal, good Methodist, you know, 18:44 we have a tenet, a set of tenets 18:45 we want to live in harmony with. 18:47 So we choose what we want to do and not want to do, 18:49 not who we gonna, who we are going to serve. 18:51 Exactly. Two entirely different things. 18:53 Two entirely different things. 18:54 You wanna say something before I go further. 18:57 Yeah, I was just going to say that this idea of choice 19:00 is continually found in the scripture it remind, 19:01 what you shared initially reminding me of Genesis 4 19:04 with God talking to Cain, 19:05 the God was laying out before him that, 19:07 you know, sin is at the door, 19:10 but you should have mastery over it. 19:12 And he makes the point that why are you angry? 19:13 Why is your countenance falling, 19:15 if you do right will you not be blessed 19:16 and if wrong and so on, but then he says, 19:19 but if you do will we not be blessed 19:20 and he goes on and says, 19:22 "And if you do not sin lie at the door 19:23 and his desires for you but you should rule over it." 19:26 God is letting him know that the exercise of your will 19:28 can lead you to overcoming in this very moment. 19:31 And Joshua makes a similar appeal to the people 19:33 that your situation isn't really the issue here. 19:35 Right. 19:36 You can choose right regardless of what the situation may be 19:40 and just Genesis 4 was a reminder 19:43 that came to my mindful there. 19:44 You know, it makes me think of the many, many people 19:46 that are watching 3ABN in countries 19:50 where being a Christian can cost you your life 19:54 and they're having to make a choice 19:57 by an act of their will, 19:58 they make a choice that could cost them their lives, 20:00 they are choosing the Lord Jesus Christ 20:03 over what their whole, whole history is about 20:08 and everybody around them, 20:09 that's a choice by an act of your will to serve God. 20:14 And so, what Joshua said differently than Lucifer. 20:17 He said, Lucifer chose to serve his own desire. 20:20 He had all the exalted points that he want to focus on, 20:24 but in the end, no, you'll be brought down, 20:26 and we knew he was cast out, 20:28 as angels were cast out with him. 20:30 It never resulted in the good end. 20:31 But Joshua said, "We will serve the Lord." 20:35 There is the word again, "We will". 20:37 He made the choice to direct his will to serving the Lord 20:41 and when you serve the Lord... 20:44 that's the beautiful thing about when you serve the Lord, 20:46 I want to use this text more than once, 20:48 because the will of God is unlocked 20:50 when we decide to serve the Lord. 20:55 Example I could use when you go to a restaurant. 20:57 We talked about this prior to the program. 20:58 When you go to a restaurant you sit at the table. 21:00 We often refer to the person as a waitress or waiter, 21:03 and we refer to ourselves as a customer. 21:05 But I want to change those designations, 21:07 the waitress or waiter is the servant, 21:10 let me get even deeper the slave. 21:13 They don't bring to us 21:14 unless we tell them what to bring. 21:16 We tell them what we... 21:17 We do it politely, we don't say, 21:18 "Bring me a drink." 21:20 And we tell them what kind, what flavor, more ice, no ice, 21:25 less ice, and we are determined 21:28 that they bring us exactly what we ask for, 21:32 and even if they bring us what we ask for, 21:34 we don't like it we say, "I don't like it, 21:35 bring me something else." 21:37 And they have to, because the customer...? 21:39 Is the boss. 21:41 The customer is always right. Always right. 21:42 And so this happens 21:44 when you choose to serve the Lord, 21:46 so they're serving us. 21:47 In that sense, they're the slave, 21:49 we're the master. 21:50 And a person who doesn't get his master 21:55 who doesn't get what he wants 21:56 will not come back to that establishment. 21:58 My wife and I experienced that. 22:01 She didn't like a meal, she told the... 22:03 The waitress picked it up and the manager came 22:04 and said, "What would you like?" 22:06 He said, "I have potatoes for the evening, 22:07 and we have a squash for the morning, 22:10 then I serve together." 22:11 And she said, "I want both of them." 22:13 He said, "Done." 22:15 Because she was the master of the moment, 22:17 the slave is always subject to the master. 22:20 So when he said, "We will serve the Lord." 22:22 He put the Lord, you know, the Lord, 22:24 he didn't say we will serve God or the Savior, 22:27 we will serve the Lord and was the word Lord, 22:28 the landlord, he's the one in charge, 22:30 I don't want to go too far. Yeah. 22:32 I was just thinking that when you make the choice 22:34 to serve God, 22:35 in that choice comes the power and the ability to serve God. 22:39 In John 5, Jesus tells the man at the pool Bethesda, 22:42 he says, "Do you want to be made well." 22:43 And then he tells him to, 22:45 "Rise, take up your mat and walk." 22:47 And Ellen White quotes and refers to the situation 22:49 in Steps to Christ when she talks about 22:50 the action of the will after that, 22:52 but in this particular situation 22:55 when Jesus asked the man to rise, 22:56 take up his mat and walk, 22:58 he's asking him to do something that isn't possible seemingly. 23:02 That's right. 23:03 But by the man choosing to follow what God had asked, 23:07 power was provided to him to do what God had asked. 23:11 So when we choose to serve the Lord, 23:12 we receive power from God to serve the Lord, 23:15 if that makes sense. 23:17 So with every command that we have when we exercise 23:19 that power of choice, we receive power 23:21 to walk in the choice that we had. 23:22 Had he laid there on his mat 23:24 and said, you know, that I can't walk. 23:26 Had by an act of his will he chose not to do, 23:30 he would still, he would have still laid there 23:33 but he chose, by an act of his will 23:36 he chose to trust what Jesus has said. 23:40 And in so doing there was the unleashing 23:44 of the power of God for him, but that's a good point. 23:47 It's an act of belief, so the command itself 23:50 bears within it the power to obey, 23:52 but the act of belief secures the power to walk in it. 23:55 There you go. So we obey and God supplies. 23:58 Yes. Awesome principle. 23:59 And the Word of God is powerful, 24:01 is sharper than any two edged sword. 24:02 By the word of the Lord was the heavens made 24:04 and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth, 24:06 he spake and it was done. 24:08 This same power says, "Get up" 24:10 if he could create worlds that just hang out there 24:13 could he not enable those of us who are afflicted, 24:15 or are disabled in some area of our lives 24:19 to get up and walk. 24:20 And so many of us think that we say, 24:22 "Well, what does God want me to do?" 24:24 He just wants you to believe Him. 24:26 He wants you to believe that He can do 24:28 what He has asked you to do. 24:30 A lot of people say, Jesus says, 24:32 "If you love me, keep my commandments." 24:34 And they think, okay, well, now what are the commandments? 24:38 And so they want to itemize this righteousness now. 24:40 He says, "If you love me keep my commandments." 24:42 And then he gives you the power to do them, 24:45 Joshua and I use this text on a number of occasions 24:47 but it fits so wonderfully, Philippians 2:13. 24:51 When Joshua said, "We will serve the Lord." 24:53 He put the Lord in charge. He's a landlord of his life. 24:56 The landlord tells him what to do and how to do it. 24:59 But even deeper than that 25:01 the landlord comes in and does it. 25:03 Yeah. 25:05 "For it is God, Philippians 2:13, 25:06 for it is God which work is in you both to will 25:12 and to do of His good pleasure." 25:15 The thing about it is we sometimes say, 25:17 "If I could just figure out the will of God." 25:18 I'm not jumping ahead because I'm gonna leave 25:20 a hook at the very end. 25:22 If we could just figure out God's will, we'll do it. 25:24 And so we pray this prayer, 25:25 "Father, reveal Your will to me." 25:27 Like we say, "Lord, reveal Yourself to me." 25:30 And I learned as I continue to study, 25:32 you know, you can still learn after 30 years. 25:36 After continuing to stay in God's word, 25:38 I learned just recently 25:40 and I'll just thank you Lord for continued revelation. 25:43 I learned that God doesn't want to reveal Himself to us, 25:46 He wants to reveal Himself through us. 25:50 We will say, "Lord, show us the Father." 25:52 He wants to reveal Himself through us not to us, 25:55 in the very same way 25:57 He doesn't want to empower us to do. 26:00 He wants to be the power that comes in us and does, 26:04 for it is God who works in us both to will. 26:07 And to do. And to do of His good pleasure. 26:09 All right. 26:10 In Philippians 2 in that same place, 26:12 we talked about in Isaiah 14, 26:13 how Satan wanted to go up, up, up 26:15 at the expense of everyone else but God to bring him down. 26:18 The other side of the great controversy 26:20 is Jesus exercising His choice, 26:23 His choice was to become nothing. 26:26 According to Philippians 2:6, 26:28 "Being in the form of God, did not consider, 26:30 I like the NIV version 26:31 of this particular phrase better 26:33 that he didn't consider equality with God 26:34 something to be grasped the idea of robbery 26:37 kind of gets confusing for some folks. 26:39 "But he made Himself of no reputation, 26:40 taking the form of a bondservant, 26:42 and coming in the likeness of men. 26:44 And being found in appearance as a man, 26:45 He humbled Himself 26:46 and became obedient to the point of death, 26:49 even the death of the cross. 26:50 And therefore God is highly exalted him 26:53 and given him the name above every name, says all will bow." 26:55 So there's these two opposing views and motives and actions 27:00 in the great controversy of the exercise of the will. 27:03 Jesus chooses to lay down 27:04 aspects of His power to uplift everyone else, 27:08 and at the end He will be exalted 27:09 above every name. 27:11 And just continuing that great controversy theme, 27:13 I think is a powerful example of this 27:15 and that's what enables us to be able to will and do 27:18 because He walked indeed 27:19 and continually surrendered His will 27:22 to His Father every step of His life. 27:23 And how did He become equal with God? 27:25 He humbled Himself, and then what did He do? 27:27 He became a bondservant, another word for slave. 27:30 Yeah. 27:32 He became connected, He linked Himself, 27:34 He humbled Himself, said, I'm not going to do it, 27:37 My Father is going to do it. 27:39 That's why the Lord, 27:40 that's why God the Father allowed Jesus 27:43 to come in the form of human flesh, 27:47 the fallen nature of Adam. 27:49 Jesus came clothed in that fallen nature of Adam, 27:53 the same weak nature that we all have, 27:56 but He came to rely on His Father, 27:58 He became a bondservant. 28:00 And that's how the power was revealed through Him 28:03 because it was the Father working through Him. 28:05 What many people don't realize 28:06 is Jesus couldn't do anything of Himself 28:08 if He did anything of his own source of divinity, 28:11 His own source, the great controversy 28:13 would have been defeated 28:15 because we don't have the same source, 28:16 but what He did was He used the power of the Father, 28:19 "I come to do the will of the Father, 28:21 who sent me." 28:22 Matter of fact here it is, Hebrews 10:7, 28:27 "Behold, I come in the volume of the book it is written of Me 28:32 to do the will of God, to do thy will, O God." 28:35 He didn't come to accomplish His will, 28:37 so here's what I want to read this quotation 28:38 in The Ministry of Healing 174 to 176. 28:42 So what happens when we yield our will to God? 28:44 "Through the right exercise of the will 28:46 an entire change may be made in their lives." 28:50 What kind of change? Entire. 28:52 "By yielding up the will to Christ, 28:55 we ally ourselves with divine power. 28:59 We receive strength from above 29:01 to hold us steadfast a pure and noble life. 29:05 A life of victory over appetite and lust 29:09 is possible to everyone who will unite his weak 29:13 wavering human will 29:15 to the omnipotent unwavering will of God." 29:18 Isn't that powerful? That's powerful. 29:21 And so we're seeing here that Jesus humbled Himself. 29:27 Right. And He is exalted. 29:29 Yeah. That's right. 29:30 Every knee is going to bow, 29:31 every tongue is going to confess that He is Lord, 29:34 Satan who exalted himself, what is his end result? 29:39 He's gonna be cast down. Cast down. 29:40 But he was humbled. 29:42 That's another word I want to use. 29:43 But now we have to bring this home, 29:45 this program has got to touch 29:47 the needs of the people that are listening to it. 29:49 This isn't just beautiful words for you to hear, 29:52 our new concepts is for us to take to heart 29:55 and if you're seeing in your life 29:57 there is some exaltation oh, today, 29:59 let's pray and ask God to humble us 30:02 that God can flow through us. 30:04 and if you have a desire if you say it, 30:06 "Oh, I want to be a good person, 30:09 today is the day to put your will behind that." 30:10 That's right. 30:12 What are some obstacles 30:13 that could keep us from doing the very thing 30:18 that we're saying that we want to do? 30:19 I'm thinking about Paul in the 7th Chapter of Romans. 30:23 oh, the thing I want to do that I found out I can't do. 30:26 That's right. 30:27 He made it, he made it clear, Paul says, 30:28 for I know that in me Romans 7:18 to 24, 30:31 "I know that in me that is in my flesh 30:33 nothing good dwells, 30:34 for to will is present with me 30:37 but how to perform what is good I do not find, 30:41 for the good that I will to do." 30:43 I want to do that 30:44 but remember we said desire as far as it goes 30:46 if that's all you have, you can't do it. 30:48 I will to do he said, 30:50 "For the good I will to do verse 19, 30:52 I do not, but the evil 30:54 I will not to do that I practice. 30:57 Now if I do, what I will not to do, 30:59 it is no longer I who do it 31:01 but here is the key but sin that dwells in me." 31:05 Now let me expound on this very quickly. 31:07 Sin that dwells in me, you see, 31:11 Adam made a choice, he opened the door to sin. 31:14 Adam didn't just, 31:15 Adam did not choose to yield to his wife. 31:20 Adam chose... 31:22 Adam didn't choose what to eat? 31:24 Adam chose who to serve. 31:26 Right. 31:27 He didn't choose to yield to his wife's suggestion 31:29 although he did yield, 31:31 he, didn't choose what to eat although we ate, 31:33 he chose who to serve. 31:35 Romans 6:16, this is powerful. 31:39 "Do you not know 31:41 that to whom you present yourselves 31:43 slaves to obey, 31:45 you are that one slave whom you obey, 31:48 whether of sin leading to death 31:50 or of obedience leading to righteousness." 31:52 I want to make this point very carefully 31:53 so for those of you that want to break the things 31:55 that hold you. 31:56 Yes. 31:58 For those of you that are at that point 31:59 where you say, oh, lust, appetite, greed, anger. 32:05 For those of you that want to break that thing 32:07 that's holding you, Paul says, 32:10 "Whomever you present yourself to, 32:12 you become immediately that one slave." 32:16 Now the slave and the master concept is powerful 32:18 because the slave is always subject to the master. 32:22 The master is never... 32:24 The master never gives up control to the slave. 32:26 Right. 32:27 So Paul says here, when you present 32:28 you're immediately a slave, you are immediately a slave, 32:33 so Adam gave all of us the slavery nature. 32:37 I'm still holding on to the key point 32:39 I want to make 32:41 as we come toward the end of the program, 32:42 so what we have to do is you don't choose what to do, 32:45 you choose who to serve. 32:48 So the life of Jesus I think gives us a lot of answers 32:51 as to where the power is found. 32:53 Jesus lived a continually abiding independent life 32:56 upon the Father... 32:58 That's right. 32:59 Which allowed Him to overcome in human flesh, 33:00 Romans 8 gives the answer to Paul's desperate election 33:03 "Oh, wretched man that I am, 33:04 who will deliver me from this body of death?" 33:06 The answer is found 33:08 in the Ministry of the Holy Spirit, 33:09 attributing Christ obedient life 33:11 to the broken sinner. 33:12 That's right. 33:13 So in Romans 8:1 it says, 33:15 "There is therefore now no condemnation to those 33:16 who are in Christ Jesus." 33:18 Those who are resting in Jesus 33:20 and receiving His righteousness. 33:22 "Who do not walk according to the flesh, 33:24 but according to the spirit." 33:25 And I must get down to verse 3, 33:27 "For what the law could not do save us, 33:29 and it was weak to the flesh 33:30 because my flesh can't keep the law by default. 33:33 That's right. 33:34 God did on my behalf by sending Jesus 33:37 in the likeness of sinful flesh." 33:39 In flesh like mine that could have fallen, 33:41 "And on account of sin 33:43 Jesus condemned sin in the flesh." 33:45 He overcame sin in the flesh and here's why in verse 4 33:49 and He did that by continually abiding in the Father 33:52 and receiving strength to make the right decision 33:54 every step of the way, 33:55 but this is why He did this, verse 4, 33:58 "So that the righteous requirement of the law 34:00 might be fulfilled in us, 34:02 who do not walk according to the flesh 34:03 but according to the spirit." 34:05 By continually abiding in Christ, 34:07 by continually receiving power from God, 34:09 we receive the strength and the power to live the life 34:13 that Christ lived. 34:14 Christ lives His life in us, 34:17 but it is through continually abiding in Him 34:19 that the blood, you know, 34:21 I think Jesus mentioned John 15, 34:22 that you can't produce fruit apart from yourself 34:24 only if you abide in the vine 34:26 is that process of continually surrendering and abiding 34:29 that we receive power and fruit to overcome. 34:32 So I want to get back to this and thank you, 34:34 that's so beautiful, Christ is the answer. 34:38 I can do all things... 34:40 But it's only through Christ. 34:41 Through Christ who strengthens me. 34:45 We so often say, "Lord, I wanna do Your will." 34:48 I want to do Your will, I want to be a good Christian, 34:51 I want to eat right, I want to dress right, 34:54 I, you know, we put this big O I, Lucifer did that. 34:58 Learn from the one who couldn't do it. 35:00 He put that big I in the way, but I want to go further 35:03 because as I mentioned here, 35:04 when you choose whom you're going to serve, 35:08 then you start living out their agenda. 35:10 Right. 35:11 You go to Burger King, you get one thing, 35:13 you go to Wendy's, you get something else, 35:14 you go to McDonald's, you get something else. 35:15 You go to wherever you get, whatever is there, 35:18 you can't go to darkness 35:21 and try to live a life of light. 35:23 You can't choose light and expect darkness to show up, 35:27 it just doesn't work. 35:28 Paul when he said, that he chose righteousness, 35:34 obedience to righteousness or sin to death, 35:38 when you choose one, the other follows. 35:41 And so let's go and bring it down, 35:42 I want to kind of hit this point, 35:43 we gonna reemphasize it over and over. 35:45 The point is Joshua chose not what to do... 35:52 But who to serve. But who to serve. 35:53 Now here I'm gonna hit this 35:55 and we're gonna come back to this, 35:56 and I'm gonna emphasize it even further 35:57 at the end of the program. 35:59 We cannot choose what to do. 36:03 You cannot choose what to do. 36:04 That's the problem. 36:05 You're saying, I need to give up cigarettes, 36:08 need to give up alcohol, need to give up pornography, 36:10 need to give up stealing, need to give up lying. 36:12 I want to do this, I don't want to do that, 36:14 I want to do... I, I, I, I. 36:17 Joshua chose who to serve. 36:19 Paul says, this is who we serve. 36:22 When you choose who to serve, 36:25 and instead of what to do, 36:26 then the one whom you serve they choose what to do. 36:33 Now going back to slavery, an awful dark spot in humanity 36:38 on so many different continents including here in America. 36:42 But God has given me a beautiful picture of slavery, 36:45 because when we choose whom we serve, 36:48 they choose what we do. 36:50 They choose what we do. 36:51 In another words, 36:53 the slave never controls the master, 36:54 the master always controls the slave. 36:56 Now listen to this text in that context 36:58 of a good context of slavery, Romans 6:17 to 19, 37:06 "But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, 37:12 yet you obeyed from the heart 37:15 that form of doctrine to which you were delivered." 37:17 In other words, you heard about freedom 37:19 so in your heart you desired it. 37:21 Slaves that are bound, they hear about it, 37:23 oh, I just can't wait to be free. 37:25 You obeyed it in your heart, but you didn't, 37:27 you were not of able to obey it in your actions yet, 37:30 but look what happened. 37:32 "And having been set free... 37:33 Now you are set free having been set free from sin, 37:38 you're slave all over again, 37:39 you became slaves of righteousness." 37:43 So what's that mean now, 37:44 all of a sudden you no longer sinning, 37:46 you find yourself a slave to righteousness, 37:49 but now this is good slavery, because you're doing right, 37:52 you're not doing wrong, you're living right, 37:54 you're not living wrong, you're singing right, 37:55 you're not singing wrong, 37:57 everything that's right is now a joy in your life. 37:59 Because somebody is doing this 38:01 and you say, "How is this happening?" 38:03 It's God who is working in you 38:05 both to will and to do of His good pleasure. 38:06 You let him come in and Paul goes on to say, 38:08 he says, "I speak in human terms 38:09 because of the weakness of your flesh." 38:12 But then he says, 38:13 "For just as you presented your members 38:16 as slaves of uncleanness, 38:18 and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, 38:21 here's the choice. 38:24 So now present your members 38:26 as slaves of righteousness for holiness." 38:30 So the same cigarette lip that's the lip 38:33 that now sings the praises of God, 38:35 the same hand that turn the wrong channel 38:37 is the same hand that heals the hurts of others. 38:39 Your instruments, every aspect of your body 38:42 is now yielded to a different master 38:45 and he is the one empowering you to do right. 38:48 Make a point, Dee. 38:50 I was just thinking in my mind... 38:51 I didn't say make a point, make a point, 38:52 but you know what I'm saying. 38:54 Yeah, so I was just thinking 38:55 how many of us are wrestling with yet how? 38:57 How? How? 38:59 Like theory, theory about how. 39:01 The thing that informs the willingness to choose God 39:06 is an encounter with the true picture of God 39:09 and the love of God which is manifest in the life, 39:11 death, burial, resurrection, and righteous life of Jesus, 39:15 and Jesus says in Jeremiah Chapter 31, 39:18 it says in Jeremiah 31 that, 39:20 "I have loved you with an everlasting love 39:21 therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you to myself." 39:25 When we uplift the cross of Christ, 39:27 a desire awakens within our heart 39:29 to want to choose God. 39:31 'Cause you just want to know, how do I choose God, 39:32 what does that look like. 39:33 Our first response is to have an encounter 39:36 with the true gospel. 39:37 Paul says in Romans 10 39:39 that how are they going to receive 39:41 unless someone preaches? 39:43 And the whole context 39:44 of what that gospel should look like 39:45 is Romans 3 through 8 basically, 3 through 9 39:49 even of just painting this picture 39:50 of a suffering Messiah 39:52 who gave all for broken humanity 39:53 who could not restore themselves 39:55 and who promised would do for man 39:57 what He could not do for Himself. 39:59 But we encounter this amazing grace of God. 40:03 I would like to serve Him, 40:05 it wouldn't feel like bondage to serve Him. 40:07 Right. 40:09 It wouldn't feel like legalism or slavery to me 40:12 in a negative sense to be a slave of His 40:15 because I know Him, 40:16 I know He has my best interests at heart 40:18 and I know, He'd never leave me in a way 40:19 that would not be in my good. 40:21 And I think this is where 40:22 the uplifting of Christ in all of our ministry 40:23 can help people to prepare them to make that decision. 40:27 It says in Revelation 13 and 14, 40:28 there's these two contrasting views 40:30 of how people get worship. 40:31 The devil's looking for worship in Revelation 13 40:33 by coercion, manipulation, and death threats, 40:37 trying to deprive people of the ability to choose. 40:40 What does God do? 40:41 He preaches the everlasting gospel 40:43 to every nation, tribe, tongue and people 40:45 and their logical response and appeal 40:47 to the everlasting gospel 40:48 is to fear God and to give glory to Him 40:51 and to rejoice because the judgment has come 40:53 and you had no need to be ashamed. 40:55 And it causes Babylon to fall 40:58 and this is what restores us to God. 41:00 So God gives an invitation by showing His character, 41:03 Satan tries to malign the character of God 41:05 and coerce people into worship. 41:07 And I think that the model that God is using 41:09 is a model that we should use 41:10 and it will lead to people saying, 41:12 "Yes, I will choose God." 41:14 Wow. 41:15 I want to throw something 41:16 that's really going to be a hook here, 41:18 and I say hook not that because I discovered it, 41:20 but we are always slaves, 41:23 that's the fact of the matter is we are always slaves. 41:27 Yes. 41:29 There are two masters 41:30 we're going to serve one or the other. 41:31 You will either love the one and hate the other 41:34 or hold to the one and despise the other. 41:35 Right. 41:37 We are always slaves, so people say, well, 41:41 you know, there's no neutral place 41:42 so given to the idea that you are not a sinner 41:45 and you're not righteous, 41:46 you're just trying to figure out 41:47 which one you are. 41:49 If you choose not to be righteous, 41:50 you are a sinner. 41:52 I mean, that is you're on the road to death. 41:53 We're all sinners saved by grace, 41:54 but if you choose not the road of light, 41:56 you are on the road of darkness. 41:57 If you choose not to choose the road of darkness, 41:59 you're on the road of light. 42:00 We are always slaves. 42:02 So the beauty of it is in this going to this again, 42:06 a slave cannot free him or herself. 42:11 Now this is powerful, 42:13 which means if I become a slave to righteousness, 42:18 what am I going to do? 42:19 Righteousness. Righteousness. 42:21 Righteousness. 42:22 Because I can't free myself from it, 42:23 I am a slave to that. 42:25 Meaning now God is working in me 42:27 both to will and to do of His good pleasure. 42:29 Paul says it this way, 42:31 because we look at the sinful nature 42:32 it's no longer I who live, but he says this, 42:34 'cause there's one thing we still have left 42:35 that God is going to replace is the sinful flesh, 42:38 that's the one thing that still battling with us, 42:40 the simple flesh, 42:41 that's why you have to die every day, 42:43 you have to choose today, 42:44 choose you this day whom you will serve, 42:46 I die daily, all right. 42:49 That's how you have to do that. 42:50 Slaves cannot free themselves Paul says it this way, 42:53 2 Corinthians 12:9, "He said to me, 42:56 "My grace is sufficient for you, 42:58 my strength is made perfect in weakness." 43:02 So what do we do every day? 43:03 Therefore most gladly I rather boast in my, 43:07 in my weaknesses, in my infirmities, why? 43:10 That the power of Christ may rest on me. 43:14 So when you wake up in the morning 43:16 you say, "I'm weak, Lord, I am weak, but you are strong." 43:22 And we sing that song, live out thy life within me, 43:24 oh, Jesus, King of kings, that's what exactly we do. 43:27 We wake up in the morning 43:28 and we yield ourselves to Christ. 43:30 There's a quotation in Steps to Christ. 43:31 Do you have that one? Which one? 43:33 Where he says, you know, "Lord, I give you my heart, 43:36 take my heart for I cannot give it." 43:37 Yeah. 43:39 You know, this beautiful, 43:40 every day we have to wake up and say, 43:42 "Father, take my heart, I cannot give it." 43:45 And so before I wind up on the... 43:48 The slave is always going to do the work of the master. 43:51 And that we're continually dependent, 43:54 so that we as a people are continually dependent 43:57 to receive Christ's righteousness, 43:59 to receive Christ's obedience, 44:00 we don't create it, 44:01 we don't procure it with our deeds, 44:03 it's something that we're totally dependent 44:05 upon God to receive 44:07 and the fruit of that is obedience, 44:08 righteousness and so on. 44:10 You know, you're saying every morning you wake up 44:12 and how the proclamation that we want to make to God. 44:17 I'm just thinking of those that are that they say, 44:21 "I'm going to get up in the morning and pray. 44:23 I'm going to get up early in the morning. 44:25 I'm going to make a proclamation in the morning." 44:28 And then they sleep right through it, 44:30 and then they wake up and instead of doing 44:33 what they said the night before, 44:34 they were going to do, 44:36 it's like a battle goes on within you. 44:38 Have y'all ever had this battle? 44:40 Yeah. Can I go into this... 44:41 Sure, hit that. 44:42 The pot of gold here, this is Steps to Christ 47, 44:45 "Many are inquiring, 44:47 'How am I to make the surrender of myself to God?' 44:49 You desire to give yourself to Him, 44:50 but you are weak in moral power, 44:52 in slavery to doubt, 44:53 and controlled by the habits of your life of sin. 44:56 Your promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. 45:00 You cannot control your thoughts, 45:01 your impulses, your affections. 45:03 And the knowledge of your broken promises 45:05 and forfeited pledges weakens your confidence 45:08 in your own sincerity, 45:10 and causes you to feel that God can't accept you, 45:12 but you need not despair. 45:14 What you need to understand is the true force of the will. 45:18 This is the governing power in the nature of man, 45:21 the power of decision, or of choice. 45:23 Everything depends upon this. 45:25 The power of choice God has given to men, 45:27 and it's theirs to exercise. 45:29 That's right. 45:30 You cannot change your heart, 45:31 you cannot of yourself give to God its affections, 45:34 but you can choose to serve Him. 45:36 You can give Him your will, He will then work in you 45:39 to do into will according to His good pleasure. 45:42 And thus your whole nature will be brought 45:44 under the control of the Spirit of Christ, 45:47 your affections will be centered upon Him, 45:49 and your thoughts will be in harmony with Him." 45:51 So we can choose to serve Him. 45:54 Here's the answer to that 45:55 defeated morning proclamation 45:58 when you go to bed at night 45:59 say, "Lord, wake me up in the morning." 46:02 He set that clock, 46:04 "Lord, wake me up in the morning 46:05 so that I can pray here." 46:07 Heal me Christ's Spirit and the Savior. 46:08 Wake up and then give me the bonus 46:11 and the heart to get up 46:13 and do what it is that I know had to do. 46:16 Christ had this, right? 46:17 Christ woke up early sometimes, He would stay up all evenings 46:19 you can ask to receive Christ's discipline, 46:21 Christ's surrender, 46:23 Christ's longing to commune with the Father. 46:25 We can receive our deficiencies 46:27 through the Ministry of the Holy Spirit 46:28 that's the point that she makes. 46:30 And so when you, when you think about it 46:31 and I thank the Lord for that it says, 46:33 you've heard a demon possession or people being possessed. 46:36 What happens when we yield ourselves to Christ 46:38 and we ask Him to come in, here is the quote, 46:41 Temperance 1:13 paragraph 3, 46:45 "Your part is to put your will on the side of Christ, 46:48 when you yield your will to his, 46:51 he immediately takes possession of you 46:54 and works in you to will and to do of His good pleasure. 46:57 Your nature is brought 46:59 under the control of His spirit, 47:00 even your thoughts are subject to Him. 47:02 If you cannot control your impulses, 47:03 your emotions, and your desires, 47:05 you cannot control the will. 47:07 And thus, the entire change will be wrought in your life. 47:10 But when you yield your will to Christ, 47:12 your life is hid with Christ in God allied to the power 47:15 which is above all principalities, 47:18 you have a strength from God 47:19 that hold you fast to his strength, 47:21 a new life even the life of faith is possible to you. 47:26 So what about knowing the will of God? 47:29 How can we know the will of God, 47:31 Pastor Lomacang! 47:32 You thought I would never ask. 47:35 You wanna start with that, I will just head... 47:37 I will say this first and foremost, 47:38 it's when you wrestle 47:39 with what could be the will of God possibly be, 47:41 we know without a shadow of doubt 47:43 the immediate will of God is for you to be saved. 47:45 That's right. 47:46 Above all else God wants you to be saved, 47:48 He wants you to be free, healthy and whole in Jesus, 47:52 and so we know immediately 47:54 that God wants to commune with you, 47:55 to love you and to make you like Himself, 47:56 that's the immediate answer that we have. 47:58 Okay, so the will of God, when we say, 48:02 "Lord, what is Your will for my life? 48:04 What do You want me to do? 48:06 And we ask, you know, we ask pastors, 48:08 I've had people ask me, I have young people ask me, 48:09 I've had older people ask me, 48:11 I've had all people of all different races ask me, 48:15 Pastor John, I've been asking this question, 48:16 maybe you know, because I watch you on 3ABN, 48:18 maybe you know the answer. 48:19 What is God's will for my life? 48:21 Can you pray with me that God reveals His will 48:22 to my life? 48:23 And I said, "Now, let me ask you the question. 48:25 If God reveals His will to your life, 48:27 is that eternal life? 48:28 He said, "Well, no." 48:29 I said, "What is eternal life?" 48:31 This is life eternal that you may know 48:34 that they may know you 48:35 the only true God in Jesus whom you sent. 48:38 So what is eternal life? 48:39 To know God and Jesus. 48:43 And experiential knowledge not, not a head knowledge, 48:45 to commune with them to think deeply, yeah. 48:47 So follow this, to know, to have a connection 48:50 an intimate spiritual connection 48:51 with the Father and the Son, 48:52 that's so is eternal life to know God's will. 48:55 No, it's no God. 48:57 So how does that the answer to my question? 49:00 Does God know His will? 49:01 Yes. Yes. 49:03 The prayer He taught us to pray, 49:05 "Father, thy will be done on earth at is, as it is where? 49:09 In heaven." 49:11 So when we get to know God who knows His will 49:14 because His thoughts and our thoughts 49:16 are not the same. 49:17 When we get to know Him, what does He do? 49:20 He comes in and I go 49:21 but once again He comes into work in us both to will... 49:26 And to do. 49:28 And to do of His good pleasure, 49:29 so for those of you that are struggling, 49:32 look at the two contrasts. 49:34 Satan says, "I will" Jesus says, "Not my will, 49:37 but thy will be done." 49:39 He taught us to pray, 49:40 "Father thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." 49:42 So how is God... 49:44 How is a perfect good and perfect will of God 49:48 going to be accomplished in imperfect men? 49:50 How is a good and perfect will of God 49:51 going to be accomplished 49:53 in imperfect human beings like us? 49:54 By us receiving Him. 49:56 Who is perfect. Yes. 49:58 "Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect." 50:00 So when you receive the perfect Christ, 50:03 the perfect Christ comes in 50:05 and the perfect will He performs 50:07 through the imperfect man, 50:09 thereby making us perfect in the presence of His Father. 50:13 I want to share one scripture. Sure. 50:14 Sure, go for it. 50:16 And that would be Romans 12:2. 50:19 You've got it there. Go for Mollie. 50:21 May not conform to this world but be you transformed how, 50:25 by the renewing of your mind 50:27 that you may prove what it is that 50:30 good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 50:34 You want to know what the perfect will of God is. 50:36 That's right. 50:37 It has to do with your mind, doesn't it, Pastor Lomacang, 50:40 and renewing that mind 50:41 and what do you renew your mind with? 50:43 The word of God and prayer. 50:45 And you would want to naturally do that. 50:47 When you engage in communion with God and you seek God, 50:50 the best way to have quality time with Him 50:52 is in His word and in your prayer closet. 50:55 And I wanna hit text because it doesn't say, 50:57 that you may know what is that good 50:59 and acceptable and perfect will of God or you may prove, 51:02 you know what that word prove means, 51:03 that word prove means that you may display it. 51:06 'Cause God knows it, 51:08 He wants to display His will through us, 51:09 not just say, "Here Dee, here's My will, 51:12 check it out see if you like it. 51:14 Mollie, I'm sending you an email with My will 51:16 and see if you like it, if you like it, do it." 51:18 He says, "No, Mollie, if you get to know me 51:21 I'm gonna come in." 51:23 You know, we've got just such a short time 51:25 and I'm looking at you, Dee and you Pastor Lomacang, 51:29 do you feel like you're in the perfect place 51:31 in God's perfect will right now in your life? 51:33 Yes. 51:35 And how did that happen? 51:36 It didn't happen by you working it out 51:39 or getting advice from somebody else, 51:41 but by you yielding and submitting your life to Him 51:44 and allowing Him to direct your path. 51:46 That's right. And direct your staff... 51:47 You swept me off my feet. Yielded heart. 51:49 Yeah. 51:51 But we have got to take a short break 51:52 and I hate to do that. 51:54 Sure. 51:55 But I want both of you to be prepared 51:56 when we come back to give a closing thought 51:58 and to speak to the hearts of those that are saying, 52:01 "Oh, I want to do the perfect will of God, 52:04 I want to live godly in Christ Jesus." 52:09 And I want us to have something prepared 52:12 to help them to make that, that step forward. 52:15 But right now, we've got a short break, 52:18 we're going to take a short break, 52:19 but we'll be right back. |
Revised 2017-05-25