And uh in Jesus name we pray. Amen
Amen. All right. We're in romans chapter number 12 this evening. Look down your bibles at verse number one
Excuse me. Excuse me
It says I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of god that you present your bodies a living sacrifice
Holy acceptable unto god, which is your reasonable service and be not conformed to this world
But be transformed by the renewing of your mind
Look what it says they may prove
What is that good and acceptable and perfect will of god and what I want to preach on this evening?
Is when christians settle for less when christians settle for less in the text verse there's verse number two
Where it says that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of god here in romans chapter 12
We see that the apostle paul is basically instructing the believers to distinguish
Between these three layers of god's will right you have good acceptable and that which is perfect now
How do we define each of this or each of these? Excuse me
Well, this is the definition that I would give here and i'm not saying this is perfect
but I think this is pretty uh
Clear and it helps us to give it kind of gives us a template of what to look for first and foremost the perfect will
Is that which god originally intended for your life when you first got saved, okay?
I don't believe it's referring to the perfect will as in from the time you were born
You know what I mean to the time that you die because really the will of god for your life
The time that you're born is that you get saved
That's god's original intent for any human being the bible says that god is not willing that any should perish
But that all should come to repentance that they should come to the saving knowledge of jesus christ
That's god's will for every human being on this earth, but once salvation comes once a person believes on the lord jesus christ
They get saved. They actually have a perfect will tailored for their lives from god
This is what we would refer to as god's perfect will but then you have the acceptable will
And how how can we define that?
well, the acceptable will could be summarized as basically rejecting god's perfect will and settling for what we
Think is best, right?
You know, this is basically not being able to discern what god's perfect will is
And because of that we end up choosing something less than that which is perfect now
This doesn't mean that it's wicked or that it's evil or you know, god doesn't necessarily approve of it
It's just not his perfect will it's what the bible calls the acceptable will he will he will allow you to live in such a way
But it's not necessarily what he originally intended for you and we're going to give examples of this throughout the sermon here
The last one of course is the good will of god
and really this is the way I would define it as this could be when you know a person perpetually backslides
And becomes inconsistent and unfaithful in the christian life when that person is restored
They come back to church or they start reading their bibles again. They start living for serving god
They can still do the good will of god, but you know what?
Wouldn't you say that that person has already forfeited certain things in their life?
You know, they forfeited whether it's the perfect will of god
or they basically no longer qualify for even the acceptable will of god because of the fact that
One thing that god requires of us is that we're faithful, right?
You know a faithful man shall abound with blessing the bible says now, how do we distinguish which one we're in?
How do we figure out whether we have the good will of god the acceptable will of god
Or the perfect will of god what it tells us in roman chapter 12
It says in verse number one. I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of god that you present your bodies a living sacrifice
So how would we define the living sacrifice? This is an individual that is serving god, right? They're denying themselves
They're taking up their cross daily and following the lord
They obviously are trying to make christ the preeminent one in their personal lives
So in other words their lives their lives are basically centered around jesus christ and his will for their lives, right?
This is what's referred to as a living sacrifice. They're dying to self in order to live unto christ
It says in verse number two and be not conformed to this world
But be transformed by the renewing of your mind why that ye may prove
So in order for us to distinguish
Which one we're in we have to have renewed minds
In other words, we have to know what the bible says
You see to have a renewed mind is to have the bible brainwash us
Because of the fact that if we're not careful the bible says lean not unto thine own understanding
And all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths
But if we lean onto our own understanding we go according to our discernment with what we think is best
We're going to neglect the principles of the bible. We're not going to look towards the word of god
We're going to look towards our own experience our own wisdom, you know
We're not going to necessarily filter all the decisions we make based upon the word of god
And so that's why the bible says hey you need a renewing of your mind
That's why when a person first gets saved, they don't necessarily know what's best for them right for themselves
You know, they don't know what the word of god says they begin to make decisions that are not biblically based
They're what the bible calls a what babe in christ and a babe in christ doesn't necessarily have discernment. They haven't exercised
Their senses to discern between good and evil the bible says they haven't studied the word of god
They haven't been in church a whole long, you know for a long time. They don't know biblical principles
So what what is needed for that babe in christ faithfulness?
To the house of god to hear the preaching of god's word faithfulness to reading god's word so that their minds can be renewed
I mean, wouldn't you agree?
That you know if you get saved later on in life or even as a teenager
We have a lot of the world
You know embedded into our minds the world's philosophies the world's way of thinking and often we base our decisions in the things that we do
Off of the things that we've learned prior to christ
That's why it's important that we renew our minds
You know that we constantly figure out. Well, what does god have to say about this now? Look a babe in christ
Can't learn the word of god in one sitting, right?
It requires a lifetime it requires consistency
And faithfulness, you know being faithful to that which is little so that god can give them more knowledge more wisdom more discernment
But that's basically what it's telling us here. It's telling us. Hey make sure that you're constantly renewing your mind
Dying to self so that you're always making the right decision
You know, you need to make sure
That you are filtering your thoughts through the word of god so that you know that you're making the right decision
Folks, you know if you're not careful
Even christians can get off kilter and begin to make unbiblical decisions not because they have ill motives or ill intentions
Just simply because they're ill-advised
By whether the world, you know the media the news whatever it may be their friends their family
And the decisions they make may not be wicked or evil, but it's just not god's perfect will
And that's what we want as christians. Don't we we want to do what god tells us to do
We want god's best for our lives, right
But let me just say this is that when it comes to god's good acceptable and perfect will of god
Even god's goodwill is still better than satan's perfect will right?
You know, and i'm not undermining any of these i'm not saying oh man the acceptable will sucks
You know, oh man the goodwill of god. That's just horrible. You know, no all of them are good
All of them are great. All of them are god's will
It's just the layers in other words it's god's
You know acceptable and goodwill in case we're not able to fulfill that perfect will of god
And it really just shows the graciousness of god, does it not?
It really shows how gracious god is that even though you miss the train of god's perfect will hey god's like don't worry
You can still serve me earn rewards live a life
That's pleasing unto me and still be blessed by me by doing the acceptable or the goodwill of god. It's a great thing
And look I don't believe that any of these will minimize the amount of rewards that you get in heaven
Okay, what I believe this affects is your life here on earth
Okay. Now obviously anybody who's in the good or acceptable will of god can basically earn less rewards
By being inconsistent unfaithful, etc
So on and so forth, but let me just say this is that still god's goodwill is still better than satan's perfect
Will you know it is said of moses that he chose rather to suffer the afflictions
With the people of god than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season
Okay, and even though sin is pleasurable even though he understood that sin had its so-called perks at the end of the day
God suffering the afflictions with the people of god will render more rewards in the long run and he understood that okay
The bible says esteeming the reproach of christ greater riches than the treasures in egypt for he had respect unto the recompense of the
reward
And so, you know
None of these are bad. Okay, all of these are good, but I will say this we should strive for god's perfect. Will why not?
If it's available for us
Why not strive to have it why not strive to obtain it if that's what god wants for our lives?
Why not why not press towards the mark?
You know to receive that perfect will of god for our lives
The bible says that jesus christ came to give us life and life more abundantly
Okay, ephesians 2 7 says that in the age to come ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace
And his kindness toward us through christ. Jesus
Now, let me just say this. Let's talk about the christian's destination. Okay
And when i'm referring to christians i'm referring to people who are saved, you know, we're not you know
Some people use the term christian pretty loosely, you know, catholics are christian pentecostals are christian. Jehovah's witnesses are christian
We're talking about safe people. Okay people who've believed on the lord, you know, they have a destination
and
every christian
When once they get saved god has a plan for their lives. Okay
You know, this is what's referred to as predestination
And make no mistake about it. We believe in predestination. Amen
Now the calvinists have redefined the term predestination have they not?
You know, they have redefined it as to mean well god has predestined you for salvation, you know, god has you know
Supernaturally, you know just elected certain people to be saved and certain people to be dead
Obviously, this is a false teaching and it's very wicked because really if you think about it
If god has predestined certain people to be saved and others to be damned that means the child that's born according to their
Theological interpretation if that child is born and is you know not elected as soon as they die they split hell wide open
Even if they're a baby
Because the election the doctrine of election and look you talk to a calvinist bring that up
They will tiptoe around the tulips and beat around the bush
They'll tiptoe around the calvinist tulip and beat around the bush because they don't want to admit
That that's what they believe but that is what they believe
You know, it's a wicked teaching go to roman chapter 8 if you would roman chapter number 8
You know at salvation god has a plan for the rest of our lives and even for the end of our lives
When we are glorified look at roman chapter 8
And verse 28, let me make a comment before we read it
This is why it's it's here's the thing. It's you know, sometimes people think well I got saved later on in life
And I made a lot of bad decisions prior to salvation
You know, I got in bad relationships or I experimented with drugs or you know
I just did a lot of bad stupid stuff prior to salvation, you know, did I miss god's perfect will no you didn't
Because here's the thing look what romans 828 says and we know that all things work together for good
To them that love god
To them who are the called according to his purpose the bible says so the bible is teaching us that even though you made bad decisions
You have you know, uh, you know
You dated wrongly growing up or maybe you had a child out of wedlock or you experimented with drugs or you know
Whatever it is that you came out of
You know the bible is telling us here that god can still work together all those things work together for good
To them to love god so he can turn that into a blessing you understand and sometimes people get this this
Misconstrued thought and say well, you know, how can a person like that fulfill god's perfect will?
You know, they can't be a pastor
Well, then you have a twisted view of god's perfect will because you think it's being a pastor as god's perfect will
That's not true
That's the will for some people's lives but it's not for others
No, I think that's god's perfect will and you know people can forfeit. What about women?
You know what I mean, that's never god's will for any woman to be a pastor
you know
When we talk about god's perfect will it's it's a destination that god has for you, you know to earn rewards to serve him
To live a life of joy and fulfillment
You know a purpose for your life and it doesn't necessarily have to do with being a pastor
Or being an evangelist or a deacon it just has to do with you fulfilling his perfect will according to the uh
According to the will of god verse 29 says for whom he did for no
He also did predestinate
To be saved
No to be conformed to the image of his son
That he might be the firstborn among many brethren. You see god's will for every christian is that we become christ-like, right?
And more than that that we would conform 100 to the image of his son now, let's just be honest
That's never going to happen this side of eternity
Because we have the flesh the spirit lusted against the flesh the uh, the flesh lusted against the spirit
These are contrary one to the other so that you cannot do the things that you would we're still waiting for the redemption
Of our body at which point we will be like him the bible says, okay
You know the bible tells us when he shall appear we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is
This is referring to the process of glorification
When we die, we receive the redemptions of our body. We put off, uh corruption and we put on in corruption
The bible says in roman chapter 6 and verse number four
Therefore we are buried with them by baptism into death
That like us christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the father
Even so we also should walk in newness of life
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection
So really our lives can as christians could be summarized into three parts. Can they not?
justification
sanctification
glorification, okay
Justifications referring to the fact that the day that we get saved when we believe on the lord, okay?
Sanctification is the process that we experience throughout this time here on this earth where we live holy lives
We serve the lord, you know, we obey god's commandments and we're becoming more christ-like
Glorification is when we put off this corruption and we put on in corruption. We are glorified with christ, okay
Now what is that what is the sanctification process based off of whether we walk in the spirit, right?
Whether we win others to christ and disciple them whether we live holy lives, you know, we live for the eternal
And really it's the sanctification period that determines what type of resurrection we will experience
As well as the rewards we will receive at the judgment seat of christ. So let's talk about these three
Okay, and I know this is a real basic sermon, but this is something that is needed. Okay, especially for any I mean
This is for anybody
This is all across the board applicable to any of you
And really it's very important because if you get nothing from the sermon get this you need to learn how to distinguish between these three
Okay, and not just flippantly live the christian life, you know
I just you know
Make whatever decision and not adhere to wise counsel not adhere to the word of god
Just kind of make any kind of decision decision I want now look all things work together for good
But we want to make sure that we do the right decision still
So i'll just make a bad decision gotta work it out together for good as long as I love him
Yeah, but you know what in the process of that you're going to suffer the consequences of your bad decision
I'd rather just make the right decision. Okay
And have god layer blessing on top of blessing
I'd rather god layer a blessing on top of the blessing of just being obedient to god, right?
So let's talk about the wills of god not this will
You know
Talking about the wills of god what his will is for our life
Number one, of course as we mentioned is the perfect will of god
And this is defined as what god originally intended for your life as a believer now, here's the thing, okay?
Listen up
Some people wonder like well, how do I know?
If i'm in the perfect will of god or not, I mean don't you wonder that sometimes?
You know, obviously we enjoy the christian life. We love what we do
But sometimes we wonder like was this the did I miss out?
Did that train already leave how do I know if i'm in the perfect will of god and here's the answer you don't
You don't no one really knows if they're in the perfect will of god or not
You just know if you're not
Right
Think about that
So we don't really know like oh man, this is god's perfect will now look if you're to ask me pastor
Do you think you're doing god's perfect? Well, I would say, you know, I would conjecture. Yes
You know, I think i'm i'm doing god's perfect will I believe that train, you know, I I didn't miss that train
But you know I could have
Maybe god wanted me to be a pastor earlier
Maybe there's certain things that happen maybe some bad decisions that I made. I don't know
I don't know if this is god's perfect. Well, I would assume that it is I can't say 100 but I would say yes
But let me say this is that each of each and every one of us
If we're outside of the will of god would know that that's not the perfect will of god for our lives
You see what i'm saying? So you don't know if you're in the perfect will of god. You just know when you're not
And I believe it's like that for a reason, okay?
You know, you know when you're pressing towards the mark, but we also know when we're in sin
And let me say this is that no nobody in this world
Lives a perfect life
Obviously the perfect will of god is that you just remain sinless, right?
That we just do not sin
But here's the reality. There's not just men upon earth that do with good and sin and not
So I would say that there's times when we're in the perfect will of god when we're in the spirit
And then you know what when we walk in the flesh, obviously that's not god's perfect will and I would I would assert that
The longer you're in the flesh the longer you're out of the perfect will of god
So our lives should be characterized by striving to just obey god
Serve him and just assume I guess this is the perfect will of god for my life
You know
And I think god has it like that for a reason
I think he leaves that question mark in our lives for a reason because it really causes us to strive and to press towards the mark
It really causes us to say well if this is the perfect will of god
I want to make sure that I get the most out of it
I want to make sure that I stay in church that I keep reading my bible that I keep winning souls to the lord
That i'm praying that i'm serving that I keep sin out of my life
You know because if this is the will of god, I don't want to ruin it. I don't want to forfeit it
And so often in the christian life god will leave you with that question mark for a reason
You know
Because here's the thing if god said look this is what you have to do
In order to do the perfect will of god more people would be doing it
But because that question mark is left there in our lives
All we're left with to do is just well, I guess we just need to serve god
We just need to be in church and do that which we know we're supposed to do
And just assume hey, I guess, you know, since i'm doing everything that i'm supposed to by faith
I'm going to assume that I am in the perfect will of god. Okay
Now turn with me if you would to philippians chapter number one philippians chapter one
Now look I may ask some of you hey, do you think you're in the perfect will of god and you may say yeah
I'm 100 convinced that this is god's perfect will for my life and to you I say amen
Because let's say you're in god's good will or acceptable will I have no problem with you thinking you're in god's perfect will
Because if you're in god's if you think you're in god's perfect will that means you're filled with joy
You're content with what you have you're happy with your spouse or you're happy being single
You know, you're happy with the life that you have you're happy with your church. You're happy with your life
You're like man god has blessed me I think i'm in god's perfect will then you know what at that point doesn't matter
Just keep serving the lord
You understand
But we should strive for this perfect will of god
Look at philippians chapter one verse number nine
It says in this I pray that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and in all judgment
That ye may approve things that are excellent that ye may be sincere and without offense
Till the day of christ being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by jesus christ unto the glory and praise of god
Notice that it says
That paul is telling them. I want you to have knowledge and all judgment why so you can approve the things which are excellent
You know, there's a lot of people out there folks that go to church
They're independent fundamental baptists, but I guarantee you they're not doing the perfect will of god and they think they are
You know, you said well, didn't you just tell me that if I thought yeah, but here's the difference
They're not soul winning
They're not even reading their bibles. They're doing some devotional book
by some liberal pastor
You know, they're not living holy lives, but unfortunately they're being deceived by their lukewarm or even worse
Maybe an unsafe pastor and to thinking that they're doing the god's will you know?
When an actual when in actuality they're not and here's the sad thing is that they're going to climb the ladder
That they think is god's will and when they reach the end of that ladder they're recognized this is the wrong ladder
You know
It's important to have knowledge of the bible and it's important to have judgment
This is why I recommend every young man in our church mature grow up
Think like an adult
Okay
Think like an adult act like an adult
Make sure you make decisions like an adult mature
You know put away childish things
Make sure you grow up as a man mature in your mind and in your conduct because you want to be a man of judgment
You know the christian life is not a game folks
It's not a game. It's not something you should do flippantly. It's something that we should recognize
Hey, I need to make sure I have judgment and knowledge because I don't want to make a bad decision in my life
Hey young men, you want to make sure you don't that you marry the right girl
Right
And you stay away from the wrong one, but you know what you can't do that if you don't have judgment and knowledge
But if you lean onto your own understanding you might go for the wrong one
And at that point she was in god's will but she is now
If you marry her, right?
I will say this is that god's eyes run to and fro throughout the whole earth
To show himself strong on the behalf of those whose heart is perfect with him
So what does that cause us to do as christians? We want to have a perfect heart
Like oh man, I got to make sure I keep a perfect heart
So that's why that question mark is left there
You know what I mean to make sure well
If god's looking for people with a perfect heart a mature heart a complete heart heart that loves him
Then I need to strive to have that type of heart for the lord because I want him to show himself strong
I want him to set apart those that are godly for himself and I want to be amongst that group. You understand what i'm saying?
Now who's a good example of this right here what I believe a perfect example of this is the apostle paul
Go to second timothy chapter four now the apostle paul got saved later on in life, right?
He was part of a false religion. I mean he was zealous of the law
He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. This guy was persecuting the church
I mean he was delved deep into this false religion, but then he got saved
And look I like the apostle paul story because it's proof that even if you get saved later on in life
You can still do great things for god
And in fact, you can fulfill the perfect will of god for your life in spite of what took place prior to your salvation
Now a lot of people get stuck on their past
A lot of people are like well, you know, I made a lot of bad decisions. Yeah, but if you can't change it why dwell on it?
You know, I don't like fellowshiping with people who just dwell in the past all the time
You know, they're just bitter over the things that took
Place in the past. They're just always mad about what took place whether it's the decisions they made
Or the people that hurt them, you know, we need to forget the past and all of us have a sob story. Okay?
We all have a sob story of someone who did us wrong, you know
Your mom fed you with a slingshot because you're too ugly or whatever
You know once we get saved life is different folks
It's different obviously if you live according to god's will it's different
Okay
And you know, you don't see paul
Just dwelling upon his failures
I mean he was a persecutor. He was injurious
He was a blasphemer, but he obtained mercy because he did it ignorantly in unbelief and you know what god counted him what faithful
And that's why he put him into the ministry. So what was his you know ordination so to speak based upon was based upon his faithfulness
It's not because he persecuted christian he god didn't look and say well you persecuted christians
You know, therefore you can't serve me
No, he counted him faithful and therefore he put him into the ministry. This is why the quality of faithfulness is so important
In all three of these wills here, it's important to be consistent
To be consistent because when someone is faithful they go from one train station to the train station of god's opportunity
Okay, but if you're not consistent in church, you're not consistent in what god has already revealed to you
You're going to miss out on a lot of opportunities, okay?
Now look at second timothy chapter four verse six. It says for I am now ready to be offered
And the time of my departure is at hand. He's ready to die
Look at verse seven. I have fought a good fight
I have finished my course now. What course is he referring to referring to god's will?
Oh
The course that god gave him the tasks that god gave him he's like I finished it
I remain faithful. I serve god to the best of my ability
I you know utilize the grace of god in my life. I utilize the word of god in my life and you know what?
I finished my course
I have kept the faith
Henceforth there is later for me a crown of righteousness which the lord the righteous judge shall give me at that day
And not to me only but into all them also that love his appearing this is a great example of someone
Who I believe that even though he had a bad past he was still able to fulfill the perfect will of god for his life
Okay. Now look
You may sit there and say well, yeah, I missed out on the perfect will of god though. I know that I did
You know, you say you don't know if you're in the perfect will of god or not. Well, I do because i'm not
I made a lot of bad decisions. Okay, then this is what you do
You help your children fulfill the perfect will of god for their lives. Why not?
right
Look folks if I miss the train of god's perfect will then i'm going to make sure my son gets that train on time
I'm going to do everything in my power to make sure that my children
Fulfill the perfect will of god for their lives
Or at least that I set up the platform for them that I train them in such a way
That they're able to discern what is the perfect will of god for their lives, you know, obviously I can't control their will
When they grow up, but what I can do is create an environment conducive to wanting to fulfill god's will
A home that is appropriate serving the lord as for me in my house
We shall serve the lord type of environment
So that when he grows when he gets old, he already has an appetite for the will of god
He wants to serve the lord. He loves jesus christ. He loves souls and at that point he's like, all right you choose son
You choose what is it that you want to do the perfect acceptable or goodwill, but you know what?
Do the perfect one if the opportunity is there
Okay, so look if you missed out on that train, okay, stop whining about it. Give your children an opportunity to fulfill that perfect will
Look if you missed out on the train of god's perfect will when it comes to marriage, for example
Okay. All right. Why don't you train your children?
to find the right spouse
Right instead of dwelling on it yourself, why don't you help your children to do so you said well, I don't have children
Okay, why don't you help the young men in our church who have not yet married find the perfect will of god why not
You'll still be rewarded for that
You know the will of god doesn't determine whether you have eternal life or not. You can still earn rewards
It's just what it really determines how you live life here on this earth
Okay
And I guarantee you there's people who are doing the acceptable will of god
Who are actually going to earn more rewards than those who are in the perfect will of god
Okay, I guarantee it
The apostle paul is an example of that by the way, you know, he labored more than they all
More than the apostles the grace of god was not in vain for his life
You know in his life, and so that's a great example of someone who's fulfilling who fulfilled the perfect will of god
Now, how do we define the perfect will of god in practical terms? Well, here's a good way, you know, you marry, right?
And what i'm saying is, you know, you stay pure
and you
You you you stay pure till you hit the altar and then you marry right you have one wife
That's the perfect will of god for your life
right
That is god's perfect will for your life as a single young man as a single young lady
God's will for your life is that you remain pure
That you that you flee from fornication
And that you marry
One person you stay with them for the rest of your lives a believer by the way
That's god's perfect will
Now go with me if you want to ephesians chapter five ephesians chapter five
I don't know if i'm in god's perfect will well, you know what just keep serving the lord
Just keep serving god and you know, you might as well just assume that you are. Are you happy?
Do you have joy in your life? Yeah joy in my life. Okay. Have you been winning souls to the lord?
Yeah, I won a couple souls to the lord this week. Have you been reading your bible? Yes
I've been reading my bible. Are you staying you know clean? Are you are you living holy as to the best of my abilities?
Do you have any secret sins in your life not to the to my knowledge? Okay, then it sounds like you're in god's perfect will
Only those who are who are not doing those things they know they're not in god's will at all
You understand so better to wonder whether you're in god's perfect will and strive for the perfect will
Than to know that you're not in god's perfect will
And you're suffering the chastisement of the lord
forfeiting the perfect will of god
Let's talk about the acceptable will of god
And as I define it the acceptable will can be summarized as rejecting his perfect will and settling for what?
He thinks is best
This happens all the time. Okay
and
This really shows you the graciousness of god
You know where people just choose to go their own way
And they don't want god's perfect will and you know, here's the thing. It's not that they don't want god's perfect will
It's just that they don't really understand it
Because look if all of us got a clear view what god's perfect will was we'd be like, I don't want god's acceptable will
I want god's perfect will
But because they're not in the word, they don't ask for counsel they're not asking god for wisdom
They don't know so that's why they lean into their own understanding and they think they know what's best
And let me just say this is that this is why it's important as a brand new christian that you seek counsel
You understand what i'm saying?
Don't be a know-it-all
And let me just tell you a pet people of mine is people who think they just know everything
Okay
When they just they just know everything they know every doctrine they know all there is to know about life
They just can't be told they can't be taught. They can't be instructed
They can't you know obtain any wisdom because they have all the wisdom. They're the source of wisdom
Apparently and this is very common amongst young men. Let me just be honest with you
Young men who just think they know everything there is to know about life folks. It's false
And look I was in the same boat at one time, but I had to be taught bruce. You don't know everything
There's people out there who've been around the block who know more than you and you need to take advantage of that
by asking for counsel
And look i'm not saying like ask for counsel for what tie you should wear next sunday or something, you know, like
Hey, what kind of suit suit should I get? What kind of tie should I wear? How should I comb my hair?
I'm talking about it matters big decisions
On big matters on big decisions. You should get counsel if you're a young man, and you're not very experienced
Humble yourself and go ask someone who knows about that subject. Okay. Yeah, but you're not that much older than me pastor
Okay, then go ahead and risk making a stupid decision
And ruining your lifetime
Better to humble yourself and say I don't know much about this. Can you help me in this area?
What do you think I should do?
Okay
And look when I say ask for counsel, you know
The bible says in a multitude of counselors that are safety that doesn't mean
Go around ask a bunch of people until you get the answer you want
Right
Because that wasn't really what I was looking for. We're let me see here. Let me go to elisa's or something
Maybe he'll give me the answer that I want
No, let me go to glenn. No
No, the multitude of counselors basically means you have a plethora of men who have wisdom and experience that you can glean from
It's not looking for the answer that you want
Okay
You know don't be a know-it-all
Don't be a know-it-all, you know, if you think you know everything you probably don't know much
And i'll be honest with you. I resist people like that
You know
And often, you know when people act like they know a bunch of things
I don't even try to give that person any wisdom or any counsel whatsoever because I don't want to waste my time
I want to invest my time not waste it
And I invested in those who sincerely humbly asked pastor. What do you think I should do in this situation? Okay
The acceptable will referring to rejecting his perfect will but settling for what we think is best. Okay
Look what it says in verse number eight of ephesians five for you were sometimes darkness
But now are you light in the lord walk as children of light for the fruit of the spirit is in all goodness and righteousness
and truth
Proving what is acceptable unto the lord and have done fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them
Now go to number chapter 32 if you would number chapter 32
We're going to look at an example of this in the bible number chapter 32
Numbers chapter 32
And look i've said this before but this is a good way to really determine whether you're making good decisions or not is it
Are you making decisions based upon the eternal or the temporal?
You understand what i'm saying?
You know if you're making decisions whether uh, you know, oh man, should I?
make this decision because
You know
I just should I just get out of church period should I just start working on sundays?
because you know i'm just
Behind on my payments or behind on this. Well, obviously
God's not going to approve of that
Right?
He's not going to say yeah, go ahead and violate my rule my law
So you can provide for your family or whatever god's going to provide for your family if you fulfill his his loss
His commandments, okay
So we got to make sure that we think about these things and how they affect our spiritual life you understand
And you know, sometimes people say well, you know, I got to do what I got to do
I got to work on sundays got to pay the bills but folks as a christian
Listen to me as a christian. God can provide for all your needs
In tandem with you fulfilling god's will
So you don't have to have one without the other it's like well if I fulfill god's will
Then i'm not going to be able to pay the bills. I can't feed my family
I can't you know have the finances necessary to provide for us and to sustain us as a family. That's not true
makes zero sense
If you do god's will that's actually how you get provided for
Because god is the one who brings that provision
Seek ye first the kingdom of god and his righteousness and these things referring to food and raiment shall be added unto you
But it requires faith on your end to obey god in order to receive those things
But the person who leans into their own understanding and says no
I got to make sure I work I got to make sure I do this
They're not thinking biblically. They're not thinking eternally. They're not thinking spiritually, okay
But let's look at someone who basically did the acceptable will of god in the bible look at number chapter 32 verse number one
Now where are we at here in numbers the children of israel are about to inherit the promised land
The promised land is god's perfect will for their lives
I mean, it's a land flowing with milk and honey
Buildings that they did not build vineyards that they did not plant, you know, they have everything's just set for them
It's like moving into a house with all the furniture already in
The refrigerator's already filled
God's like all you have to do is go take it. This is god's perfect will right?
And they wander in the wilderness for years 40 years they finally get there
They're about to fulfill god's will
Perfect will look at verse one now the children of rubin and the children of gad had a very great multitude of cattle
And when they saw the land of jazer in the land of gilead that behold the place was a place of cattle
The children of gad and the children of rubin came and spake it to moses and to eliezer the priest and to the prince
of the congregation saying adaroth and dibon and jazer and nimra heshbon and elila
And shebam and nebo and beyon even the country which the lord smoked before the congregation of israel
Is a land for cattle and thy servants have cattle. See how he's trying to like sell it to him
He said hey, it's the land of cattle and lo and behold we got cattle
Wherefore said they if we have found grace in thy sight let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession
And bring us not over jordan
What in the world?
Hold on a second, you know a bunch of people just died, right?
Wait
You know the whole purpose of this trip that we're taking this road trip
This 40 year road trip that we took in the desert is just to get to the promised land
To cross jordan and go into the land flowing with milk and honey
And now that you're at the brink now that you're about to cross the jordan river. You're like actually
I think I want this land instead of this land
So how do we put it in today's terms? It's like
Give me the acceptable will of god not the perfect will of god
Are you serious
Did you not hear what god says he's going to give you?
Did you not hear about all the things and look these are the things that god is going to give them
They're thinking about well, what are we going to give our cattle?
Dude forget the cattle
Eat the cattle kill the cattle. What about you? What about your family?
This is pita
The first pita organization in the bible. They're like, well, you know, hey this land is good for our cat
Yeah, but what about the land? It's good for you though
You know
Am I imagining things or do I hear music am I dying am I going to heaven just kidding
I do hear music. I think that's someone's phone right now. Go ahead. Whoever it is. Just reach in. Okay, I won't look
Okay, just reach in turn it off. I'm not gonna look who is it? No, i'm just kidding. Look at verse 15
Okay
So they're saying don't bring us over jordan we rather just stay here
Verse 15 for if ye turn away from after him
He will yet again leave them in the wilderness and ye shall destroy all this people and they came near unto them and said
We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle and cities for our little ones by the way at this point
You know moses is rebuking them and saying look
Are you going to let your brethren go to war to fulfill the perfect will of god?
And you're just not going to like help them fight
You're just going to stay on this side and not help your brother and fight. So they reckon they see the problem
They're like, well that sounds pretty bad. You know what I mean? Like we're not cowards
We want them to inherit that land, but we just want this land, okay
Verse 17 says but we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of israel
Until we have brought them unto their place and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land
We will not return into our houses until the children of israel have inherited every man his inheritance so it seems pretty noble
But they're basically like, okay, we'll go over we'll fight with you guys
We'll make sure that you inherit that land, but we're just going to come back
It's like what?
So you're going to put in all that work
to fight
for something that you deserve because you're fighting for it and you're just going to
Give it to you know, the rest of the children of israel, okay?
Okay
The parallel to this or the equivalent would be that you work so hard to serve the lord
You work so it's like a young man who works hard to serve god
He's just going gun hook for the lord. He's faithful and then he's just like yeah, but I want to date this unsaved girl
You know, she's just really cute and I just
You know, I know she's not saved, but I just want to you know, I want to date her
I think I went over it's like dude, that's not god's perfect will
And he's like, well I want everyone else to marry like, you know a saved girl
But me, you know, I think I could I can't work with this right here, you know, obviously that that young man lacks wisdom
And it's not it's failing to understand that hey you've put in a lot of work to get where you're at
You need to marry a safe girl and just wait for the right one to come along. Okay?
He says in verse number 19 for we will not inherit with them on yonder side jordan or ford
Because our inheritance has fallen to us on this side jordan eastward
Listen to what he's what they're saying
Like we not only want to inherit what's coming right here, but anything even after that because it's not just you know
It's not just jericho that they're inherited
Ai and all the other surrounding cities the coming battles and all the cities that's going to be theirs that land
They're like we won't we don't want any of it. We just want this land here
And moses said to him
If you would do this thing
If you will go armed before the lord to war
And will go all of you armed over jordan before the lord until he hath driven out his enemies from before him
And the land be subdued before the lord then afterward ye shall return
And be guiltless before the lord and before israel and this land shall be your possession before the lord
He's saying okay god accepts that
If you're willing to go and fight and help your brother and gain the land that he has promised you and them
Then fine that's acceptable for him if this is what you want then this is what you can have pretty gracious of god
He's not angry with them. He's not punishing them. He's just saying if you want to settle for less, that's fine
And by the way, this shows you
Listen to me this shows you this shows us
That god gives us free will
Right because he's letting them choose
He's letting them choose
He's saying I want you to go into the promised land and they're like no we rather have this and god says, okay
Then you're guiltless before the lord as long as you fulfill god's will you're guiltless before the lord
Okay
sometimes people and let me say this, you know, like
There's a lot of applications to this obviously
That we can give and the reason I always give the young man application is because that's sometimes the most applicable thing
You know when it comes to a church because you know, we got a lot of young men here
Hey guys, don't settle for less
Do not settle for less and what I mean by less is hey don't settle for some unsaved girl
That's not god's will for your life. And look let's say you get with that unsaved individual and by the way vice versa
Okay, let's say you settle for that individual
And you get them saved
You know you get them saved you get married and you have children you live happily ever after that's acceptable
But it just wasn't god's perfect will
You took matters into your own hands. You didn't adhere to what the bible has to say about
You know being unequally yoked together with unbelievers, but because your heart is perfect with the lord
You're still serving god you're reading the bible you love the lord. You just lack wisdom. God says okay, that's permissible
That's acceptable
You just forfeited the perfect will of god though. Okay
It's sad, but it happens now
let me say this this is a sensitive subject, but
You know, I need to mention this sometimes people are forced
Into the acceptable will due to the will of others
You understand what i'm saying? Sometimes people are actually forced into the acceptable will
Not because of god, but because of the will of others. What do I mean by that?
Well, how about people who are raped?
Right, maybe a young lady who's raped
You know and or she's molested she's raped and then she has a child out of wedlock. That's not god's will
But because people have their own will another wicked individual
Took matters into their own hands violated another individual and now that you know
The young lady or whatever has a child out of wedlock wasn't god's will
But let me say this is that even then god can work that together for good
Go to first peter chapter two first peter chapter two
Two
First peter chapter two
And here here's the wickedness of calvinism
When something like that happens god, you know, they're like well god just that's what that was god's will for that woman to be raped
It's like what are you talking? You guys are perverse
To think that that's god's will for a woman to be raped to be molested, you know by some pervert wicked pedophile
He said well, you know, you know god is so sovereign that he even controls the wicked people and makes them molest people
That's their god
Not our god
You know our god gives us free will and that's why we should not accredit god for the evil doings of wicked people
Because they have their own will
And sometimes they force the acceptable will upon another individual's life
But you know what god can still work that out together for good that person can still fulfill the perfect will of god thereafter
Because that wasn't god's original will right look at first peter chapter 2 verse 20
For what glory is it if when you be buffeted for your faults you shall take it patiently
But if when you do well and suffer for it you take it patiently. This is acceptable with god
So what determines whether someone can continue to do god's will after such a traumatic experience how they respond to it
right
Because look folks the vast majority of people who are reprobates listen to me the vast majority of people were reprobates perverts or sodomites
They were molested themselves
But you know what there's people who are believers who are molested and then there's reprobates who are molested as well
What's the difference how they responded?
The person who became a reprobate became bitter towards god
Hated god to the point. They hated christ and rejected the gospel that were given over to a reprobate mind
the individual who got saved
Recognized that this wasn't god's fault. This is some evil individual's will against me or against
You know whoever and what do they do in in light of that they seek after god
They get saved they learn principles and god prepares a will for them
So I thought you said that if that wasn't
You know god's perfect will that's the acceptable will but here's the thing. Remember my first point. We don't really know really
right
And that doesn't mean that an individual who's the victim of molestation or rape can't live a fulfilled christian life
Filled with joy and filled with happiness with brothers and sisters in christ with the great church. It can happen
And it has happened and it will continue to happen
You know, but here it says this is acceptable with god verse 21 for even here unto
Were ye called because christ also suffered for us leaving us an example that ye should follow in his steps
Now what is he referring to he's referring to the fact that we should respond correctly, right?
You know when you go through a difficult time a traumatic experience at the hands of someone else's wicked will
What should be our response? Well, we should not charge god foolishly
And say well, this is god's fault. God did this to me, you know, it's god who allowed this in my life
Well, you know what if he allowed it in your life
It's not his fault that this wicked individual took advantage of you or wronged you or whatever it may be
Okay
And we should always recognize you know what god can work this out together for good
God still has my best interest in mind. I need to keep serving god no matter what happens. Okay?
Go to luke 15 and we're done
So we see the perfect will of god the acceptable will of god and then you have the goodwill of god
This is how I would define the goodwill will of god. This could be when we perpetually backslide and become unfaithful
You know, we sometimes forfeit the perfect will and no longer even qualify for his acceptable will
But we can still serve god at some capacity which is still good. Okay
and look
I don't want anyone in our church to be in this category though. It's not bad if you are
Because here's the thing is
You know, this is the way my father-in-law would teach it
And he was like an old-timer. So this might not even make any sense to you because technology is way different
How do you know what a polaroid picture is?
Okay, you guys know what that is. We were like polaroid picture. What is that?
It used to be this camp this massive camera
You know, they take a picture of you and then literally it'll print out the picture right then and there
I think we actually have something like that, right?
We're like a little smaller or something
And you'd have to like wait and go like this and then the more you look at it is like the more you know
Comes out and you see more of the picture
You just got to keep waiting and shaking it and then finally you get the clear picture that basically the individual took
and
My father-in-law would give the example of that being like god's perfect will
Where you know god takes the picture and the more you serve him the more you see of god's perfect will
The more that begins to be revealed the more you're faithful
But you know, if you toss that picture because you just grow impatient god has to retake the photo
And you know what a lot of christians when they backslide they get out of church
It's like god having to retake the photo over and over again
You know that first photo you're about 40 pounds lighter
But because you weren't willing to wait now, you know, you take the picture six times later just like wow, this is what i've become
You understand what i'm saying? I mean it's a carnal, uh illustration, but it drives the point, right?
You know, sometimes people when they get out of church for whatever reason
You know, it's like god has to retake that photo
And it doesn't mean they can't serve god when they come back but you know what the perfect will of god is long gone
It's long gone
And even to the point sometimes where the acceptable will is long gone
But that doesn't mean they can't serve god anymore because they can still come back when souls have great fellowship
Go to church have god's hand upon them in god's blessing in their lives if they choose to come back
But look this should be a motivation to us
Not to get out of god's will
I want to take the picture while i'm 40 pounds lighter. Amen
I want god's I want to see god's perfect will i'm not going to toss the photo
I want to keep you know
Going like this and staying faithful and soul winning and reading my bible and loving my wife and raising my children
And leading my church and doing everything I can that I know i'm supposed to do
So that the the perfect will of god can reveal itself little by little I never want to grow impatient with these things
To the point where I just get out of god's will
You know and look folks there's going to come time there's going to come a time in your life when you go through a hard
hard time
An extremely difficult time you're like well not me i'm strong enough. I'm strong in the lord and power is mine
Well, you know what there's going to come a time when god's going to put that to the test
It's going to come a time when god when god is going to put that to the test
He's going to stretch it beyond, you know, how you ever been stretched before okay
And it's going to push you to the limit
You know in order to strengthen you and help you in your christian faith don't get out of church
And the reason I say don't get out of church because the church is like a focal point for us as christians to determine whether
We're in the will of god or not
That's kind of how we determine that right?
from a a public perspective
You know, we know that if someone's in the will of god, they're in church
right
Obviously, we don't know what they do in their private time if they're even reading the bible soul winning or whatever it may be
But you know what if they're present in church you basically can can assess well they're going in the right direction
Because at least they're in church, right?
You know, we often say yeah so and so brother so and so has been doing good. He's been coming to church
And that's how we assess. Okay, this person's doing well
Don't get out of your bible. Don't get out of church. Don't stop working on your marriage
Don't stop working on, you know getting sin out of your life. Keep pressing towards the mark
You never want to be in this position and if you are now if you're like, well, this is me right now, okay
Well, just be faithful because you can still earn you know rewards
You can still have god's blessing upon your life. And if you're in this position, but you don't even know it
Don't even worry about it
Because the fact that you don't know the the fact that you are in god's god's will but you're not in his perfect
Will shows you that you have god's hand on your life
Because you're able to enjoy life you're able to enjoy serving the lord i'm not going to go through the scripture
I was going to read through luke 15 about the the prodigal son
Who basically got away from his father came back and you know what? He was he was welcomed with open arms
But let's just be honest. He lost a lot. He lost his inheritance
You know, whereas the son who stayed
Still had the inheritance there and this is a great picture of people who backslide when they come back
You know, we welcome them with open arms, but let's just be honest. They lost a lot
They lost time. They lost god's blessing
There's things that they lose, you know, and we never want to be in that position
so what's the what's the sermon this this this evening sermon simply this hey, let's just
Let's just keep serving the lord and seek to be in god's will no matter what which layer it is, right?
Just do god's will don't be bitter
If you made mistakes in the past or if someone violated you or defrauded you in some manner keep serving god now
Keep winning souls keep being faithful. Keep working on your marriage. Love your wife. Love your husband raise your children
And enjoy god's will to its fullest extent. Amen
Inspire your heads and have a word of prayer father. We thank you so much for your word. Thank you for your will
And no matter what layer
We may find ourselves in it's still good the blessing of the lord and maketh rich and he added no sorrow to it
There's no sorrow within the will of god. It's always a wonderful place to be in
And regardless if it's the good acceptable or perfect will of god
You know when we're here in church, I mean we're filled with joy
We enjoy fellowship with the brethren talking about doctrine just talking about life
And we leave church with a sense of joy and fulfillment
And a sense of contentment that only comes when we serve you and we're faithful to the things of god
Help us to remain in these areas lord. And of course help us as your people, you know, if we have children to
Right if we miss that train of the perfect will of god
Lord help us
To help our children not to miss that train that they would get on there and reach that predestinated
Location that you have for them and in jesus name we pray. Amen