Do Whatever You Want, But Do These SIX Things First

THE SIX "S"s

PS 143.10  Teach me to DO Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

 

God’s will is a matter of obedience. It isn't a matter of knowing it; it is a matter of doing it. We don't ask God to reveal his will, we simply say, "Empower me to do it".

Luke 22:42 "Not my will but yours be done,"

John 4:34, he said, "I am come to do the will of him that sent me."

"Pray like this. Our father who art in heaven, your will be done."

PS 119 "Enable me, oh God, to do your will, to follow your path, to keep your commandments."

1. God's will is that you be Saved

1 Tim 2.3-4 This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

2 Peter 3:9. "The Lord is not slow about his promises as some count slowness, but is patient toward you not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance."

"This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, listen to him." God's will is that you embrace Christ. God's will is that you put your trust in Christ

So no person who has rejected Christ, no person who does not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ can ever know the will of God. It's pointless to seek the will of God in a marriage or a relationship or a job or a career or a life decision of any kind. 

If you're not saved, then you don't even have the right to ask God to disclose his will. No one who has not come to Christ in true repentance, no one who has not come to Christ in true saving faith has any claim on knowing God's will about anything else.

1 Corinthians 2:9. "Just as it is written," borrowed again from Isaiah, "things which eye have not seen and ear has not heard and which have not entered the heart of man." There are things that people can't see. There are things they can't hear. 

There are things they can't know. All that God has prepared for those who love him. What God has for those who love him, the people who don't love Him can't know. God's will starts, then, with being saved, which means committing your life in repentant faith to Jesus Christ as the Lord and savior. That's God's will. That's where it starts. If you're asking other questions and you haven't done that, you're not in a position to receive anything from God whatsoever.

2. God's will is not only that you be saved but Spirit-filled

Eph 5.17-18 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit,

 

A life of worship, a life of humility, a life of joy, a life made right in the family, a life made right in the environment of the world where you work and serve, everything finds its appropriate place when you are totally controlled by the Holy Spirit. And that's not mystical.

Whatever you do, you're going to do in the name of the Lord Jesus.

It means to be dominated by the word. The word is inseparable from the spirit. The spirit is the author of Scripture. He is the author. He is the interpreter. He is the applier. He is the enabler of his own word. So when we talk about being spirit-filled, we're talking about being controlled by the spirit. The spirit controls us when we're saturated with the truth, when we're saturated with the word, when the word dominates us, the spirit controls us. The word takes hold of our mind. The word takes hold of our emotions and the word takes hold of our will. Nothing mystical.

God's will, what is it? That you be saved and spirit-filled. Before you say, "Oh God, what girl should I marry?" Or, "Oh God, what guy should I marry?" Or, "Should I go there?" Or, "Should I go here or do this or do that?" These are the questions that are more foundational. God's will is that you be saved and spirit-filled.

3. That you be Sanctified – separated from Sin

1 Thess 4.3 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;

Now what does exactly that mean? Let's get real practical. Four things he says. One, that is, i.e., that you abstain from sexual immorality. Now we're getting real practical. Stay away from sex sins. Somebody says, "How far away?" Far enough away to be separated from all sexual sin - very practical. This is God's will. A couple wants to get married… "Are you engaged in sinful sexual behavior?" It's a direct approach. 

If yes… "Well, if you're conducting yourself knowingly out of the will of God and are unwilling to obey the will of God which is revealed, then why would you assume that it's the will of God for this relationship to go on?" "Are you committing sexual sin together? Because if you are... you're not in the will of God now. You’ve got to back up. Go back; reestablish that relationship on a pure level. And when you have been obedient to that which is known to be the will of God, you'll be in a position for God to disclose to you, pretty clearly, what is his will about what is not revealed." Stay away from sexual sin. Sexual sin is everywhere, always has been, there's nothing new under the sun, just comes in different forms. Stay away from sex sin. And he gets more specific, verse 4, "Each of you should know how to possess his own vessel," that's body, "in sanctification and honor." Handle your body to honor God. Handle your body in a pure way. Keep your body pure.

He goes further in verse 4, "Not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God." Don't act like the Godless. Don't act the way the world acts. Stay away from sex sin, handle your body to honor God like 1 Corinthians 9, beat it into submission if necessary. Don't act like godless pagans.

“If your eye causes you to sin…if your hand causes you to sin…”

v6 – don’t’ defraud… don’t take something from someone else that doesn’t belong to you…don’t let your physical activity exceed your commitment level.

If you reject this, you're not rejecting me. You're not rejecting the man who wrote that. You're rejecting the God who gave you his Holy Spirit so that you have the power to be pure.

4. That you be Submissive.

James 4.7, "Submit, therefore, to God." That's the first point of submission. "Submit, therefore, to God." Also, Eph 5 says, “Submit to one another." This is talking about humility, folks. Be submissive. Be submissive to God. Be submissive to one another. Wives, be submissive to your husbands. And husbands, be submissive, in the sense that you love your wives and you seek that which fulfills their desire.

Hebrews 13.7,17 to submit to those that are over you in the Lord, to submit to the pastors and elders of the church who lead and direct you. 1 Pet 2.13 It says, "Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, to kings, ones in authority, governors, etcetera. Verse 15, "For such is the will of God." It is God's will that you submit to the government so that you never, ever cause the gospel to bear a reproach.

You submit to government. You submit to the authority in the church. You submit in the family. You submit to one another. You submit to Christ as Lord. You submit to God. Humble submission, your life should be characterized in all things by humility, submissiveness, on all levels. That's the will of God. Humble yourselves, humble yourselves and in due time, God will lift you up. This is his will.

5. His will is that you Suffer.

While you're in 1 Peter.3.17, "It is better," writes Peter, "It is better if God should will it so that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong." God wills our suffering. That's right. God wills our suffering because he knows what it does for us. Back in chapter 2 verse 20 he says, "If you do what is right and suffer for it and endure that suffering, this finds favor with God." God is pleased when we suffer and we endure it. Chapter 4 verse 19, "Let those who suffer according to the will of God," that's what it says. "Let those who suffer according to the will of God," 1 Peter 4:19, "and trust their souls to a faithful creator in doing what is right." So you're doing what is right. You keep doing what is right. You start to suffer for doing what is right and you endure that suffering and trust in your soul to a faithful God. And you are, in a sense, following the example of Christ, who, being perfect, still suffered.

Suffering is part of what God wants to do in your life. Suffering is what perfects you. Not talking about sinful suffering. Suffering for doing what is wrong, that's discipline. God wants you to face this hostile world in such a godly fashion, living such a godly life that it will bring reproach and scorn and difficulty and alienation from family and friends and who knows where. And all of that suffering will cause God to perfect you. Can't have all joy, when you fall into various trials, they have a perfect work. 1 Peter 5:10, "After you've suffered awhile, the Lord make you mature, perfect." Suffering for righteousness' sake, living such a righteous life in and unrighteous world that the unrighteous world reacts when confronted by such virtue and such devotion and such truth as we live and proclaim for Christ. All who live Godly in this present world, 2 Timothy 3:12, will suffer persecution, some more than others. It is the will of God that you suffer for doing what is right, that you might thereby be humbled and strengthened.

6. God’s will is for you to be Saying Thanks.

That you be thankful. Listen to 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything, give thanks, for this is - what? God's will for you. A constantly grateful heart rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks. Constant joy, constant prayer filled with constant thanks. Is that what your life is like? Is that you? Are you just overwhelmed with thanks? Are you just pouring up thanks? This is the will of God for you. There's no mystery here folks. 

NO mystery at all. God's will is that you be saved, spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive, suffering, and saying thanks all the time. That's God's will.

SO….

If you're saved, spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive, suffering and thankful - you ready for this? Ask for whatever you want. Dream for whatever you want. Do whatever you want. Marry whomever you want. Go wherever you want. Work wherever you want. Choose whatever you want. You say, "Whoa. Are you sure?" Absolutely. Because if this is true of your life, guess who's controlling your “wants”. Do whatever you want.

Psalm 37:4, you ready for this? "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." That doesn't mean he'll fulfill yours, it means he'll plant his. You delight in the Lord, saved, spirit-filled, submissive, all of those things. You delight in the Lord and he will plant his desires in your heart.

Psalm 34.5. "Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in him and he'll do it. He'll fulfill it. He'll actually fulfill his will if you just delight in him and commit to him.