How to Get in the Will of God and Stay There (Romans 12)

welcome to the lakewood church monday night bible study we are thrilled that you have joined us tonight we're going to study the bible together and i know that many of you are watching from the houston area from the united states and all over the world and we're just so glad that you're a part of the bible study tonight we love you we're praying for you we appreciate you sending in your prayer requests and your sweet and kind comments we thank you so much and so i just encourage you to get your bible download the outline from the lakewood church website follow along with us because it will have all the notes and the scriptures of course you don't have to have it it's just there for a help and hey i'm going to challenge you to invite your friends to be a part of this bible study they may not know about it and it would be so great if we have more people just watching and studying the bible together because it is so powerful and impactful to get the word of god into your life well tonight we're in a series we're continuing a series on the book of romans and tonight i'm going to teach from romans chapter 12. and actually this is one of my favorite chapters in the bible because it is so rich in practical application when it comes to just living a godly lifestyle on an everyday basis in fact years ago i did a series on just this one chapter and i called it how to get into the will of god and stay there and so that's going to be my subtitle tonight i know we all want to know how to get in the will of god how to stay there how to know what god wants and desires from us and so that's what we're going to talk about when the apostle paul wrote this chapter he made it so plain and simple where everyone could understand it and everyone would know the things that god expects of us this chapter is just packed full of principles that will help you to know how to act in your everyday life what the will of god is for your everyday life and it teaches us how to live that life that is pleasing to god and paul actually mentions 24 ways that we can walk in the will of god i know that's a lot but i told you this chapter is power packed full of godly principles and so i have actually listed the 24 points for you on the outline and i'm going to mention them first of all instead of reading the chapter but for the sake of time you know i can't talk about each of them alone but i will group them together according to the subject and just briefly touch on them so i hope that will bless you but let's just look at these 24 principles as i read them just think about what paul was saying what god is saying number one he said to offer your body as a living sacrifice to god be transformed by the renewing of your mind don't think of yourself more highly than you ought to use the gifts that god has given you love people with a sincere heart hate what is evil and hold on to that which is good be devoted to one another in love honor and prefer one another over yourselves maintain your zeal in serving the lord rejoice in the hope that god has given you be faithful in prayer be patient and steadfast in tribulation have a giving attitude be generous practice hospitality bless and pray for those who persecute you share in others people's other people's victories and their distresses live in harmony with one another avoid being proud and conceited do not return evil for evil live a life of integrity live at peace with every person do good to your enemies and this is a great way to end overcome evil with good all of those principles are found in the scriptures of chapter 12. and so you see how there are so many good things that can help us live on a daily basis and so we're going to just dive into them we're going to talk about them i'm going to do the best i can within the 45 minutes that we have and then i just encourage you to take the notes and and begin to study it i mean i literally could preach a sermon on every point but i'm not going to so you just have to understand that i'm just going to briefly touch on them to give you an idea of what the apostle paul is saying so let's let's start it is the will of god that you offer your body as a living sacrifice to god that you dedicate your life to him holy you know verse 1 says this therefore i urge you brothers and view of god's mercy to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to god this is your spiritual act of worship i like how paul said this first in view of god's mercy we should offer our bodies as a living sacrifice to god now what does that mean think about this because of god's great mercy jesus offered his life as a sacrifice for us he freed us from sin from death from the power of the devil if it weren't for jesus we wouldn't be where we are today we wouldn't have what we have today so in view of what god has done for us we owe our lives to jesus we owe our lives as a living sacrifice to him the amplified bible says this it says make a decisive dedication of your bodies presenting all of your members and faculties as a living sacrifice holy devoted consecrated and well pleasing to god i'm so glad that god doesn't require animal sacrifices from us like he did in the old testament you know what god wants living sacrifices he wants us to live for him to dedicate our lives to him that's our spiritual act of worship he wants us to serve him to obey him and to do what he has called us to do because we each have a purpose upon our lives and i want to encourage you under this point to decide that you're going to give god 100 of your life hey don't just give him part of your life don't be just uh you know partly in be all in with jesus give him your eyes and what you see give him your ears and what you hear give him your hands and do what he's called you to do give him your feet and only go where he wants you to go give yourself as a living sacrifice to god because in view of what god has done for us we owe our life for him and hey listen that doesn't mean that we're perfect but it does mean that when we mess up we are quick to repent we're quick to make things right and we get back up and we keep following jesus and we keep walking with him on a daily basis so the second point i want to make is this be transformed by the renewing of your mind that's what verse 2 says and it's it says this i'm going to read it to you do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind then then you will be able to test see when you do this you will be able to test and approve what god's will is for you his good his pleasing and his perfect will now we know that the word transformed means to be changed when we get born again the holy spirit transforms our spirit we become new on the inside we become new creatures in christ jesus jesus does a work in our spirit he removes our sins from us and he gives us his life and his nature but even though our hearts and our spirits are changed we need to change the way we think you see our mind needs to begin to think like god thinks to think his thoughts to understand his will god doesn't do this part for us i'm going to say that again god doesn't do this part for us he leaves it up to us it's our responsibility to renew our minds in the word of god you see the bible says in isaiah 55 that god's thoughts are not our thoughts his ways are not our ways and so when we come to the lord we need to know god's thoughts we need to understand how he thinks and begin to renew our mind to think as he thinks because as an unbeliever we were conformed to the world you know what i'm talking about we acted we talked like the world like everyone else does but when like everyone else did but god has given us the bible so we will be transformed in the way we think and act and talk so we will be conformed to the image of christ we will begin to act like jesus we will be the hands and feet of jesus that's our mission on this earth we are ambassadors for christ and not only that you know the bible will transform your personal life i mean when you find out that god wants to set you free from addictions that he wants to heal your body he wants to heal your broken heart that god has so much for you in his word and when you find that out you start living the abundant life that jesus died to give you that's the transformation that god wants to see in your life you know it's when my parents began to renew their minds concerning healing and miracles that changed their life the course of their life and the course of their ministry you see they didn't know about healing and miracles but when i was born with a crippling disease they began to transfer they began to be transformed by the renewing of their mind when they read the scriptures about how jesus went about doing good and healing all those who were oppressed of the evil one and so when they realized that god wanted to heal and he did heal today and he did miracles they prayed for me and god completely healed me by the time i was one year of age and then when my mother got terminal cancer in 1981 god healed her but you see they had to change their thinking they were in a church that that taught against healing and against miracles and sometimes we are in places in families where we've been taught things that really don't line up with the word of god they don't agree with the word of god people are well meaning because that's what they've been taught but there are times when we have to get into the word of god and find out do i believe all that god has given me do i really know what the word of god says about healing about restoration about my sins about walking and freedom from shame and guilt you see those are things we need to come to grips with on our own as we get into the word of god and renew our minds and of course the way to renew your mind is to just read the bible daily and get it into your spirit by meditating on it and then listening to the preaching and teaching of the word just like you're doing right now and as you do that the word of god will help to help you sift out your wrong thinking so that you can know god's listen good pleasing and perfect will for your life it's when you begin to obey the word of god that is set forth before you in his word that you begin to understand what god's will is for your own life the next point i want to bring up really combines two points that are related and it's this don't think too highly of yourself avoid being proud and conceited ouch that's a tough one isn't it verse 3 says this i'm going to read out of the passion bible don't live with a lofty mindset thinking you are too important to serve others but be willing to do menial tasks and identify with those who are humble-minded don't be smug or even think for a moment that you know it all and then verse 16. i want to go down to there the last part do not be proud but be willing to associate with people of low position do not be deceived i mean i'm sorry do not be conceited see god's will is that we keep a humble heart and mind and attitude that we have a teachable spirit that we don't ever come to the place where we think we know it all because we don't only god knows it all and we're all on this learning journey and as we walk with the lord we learn more and we gain more wisdom but we never know it all and it's so important to realize that and to realize that what the bible says in proverbs that pride comes before a fall and so we have to guard our hearts not think too highly of ourselves or even look down upon others first peter 5 5 says this it says all of you clothe yourself with humility toward one another think about that the bible talks about several things we're supposed to put off put off arguing put off uh pride and then it talks about things we're supposed to put on so think about that i'm gonna clothe myself with humility and it goes on to say clothe yourself with humility toward one another because god opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble you know i heard chuck swindoll say this there is no limit to what a person can do or how far he can go as long as he doesn't care who gets the credit i love that see if we if we just give god the credit for the success in our lives we won't think more highly than ours than we should we won't think of ourselves more highly than we should i like that so good okay we're going to the next point and you notice i'm going a little fast because we got a lot of points but anyway i hope you're getting this and it's blessing you the next point is this use the gifts that god has given you and just give yourself fully to them i'm going to explain that you know romans 12 4 through 8 talks about this and i'm going to read those scriptures to you it says so in christ we though many form one body talking about the body of christ and each member belongs to all the others we have different gifts according to the grace that has been given to us if your gift is prophesying then prophesy in accordance with your faith if it is serving then serve if it is teaching then teach if it is to encourage then give encouragement if it is giving then give generously if it is to lead then do it diligently if it is to show mercy then do it cheerfully you see we are one body the body of christ and each one of us have god-given gifts you know you may think i don't know of any gifts i have but if you think about it and ask god to show them to you he will because he has given everyone certain gifts you see we have different gifts because we are all needed in the body to build up the body of christ to bless others think about it this way there are certain things that you do better than others there are certain things that you do with ease they are god-given abilities they're just easy for you maybe hard for someone else see god gave you those gifts to bless other people and i like how the apostle paul said it he said whatever gift you have then use them in faith be generous be diligent and use them cheerfully you see when you begin to use your gifts you will develop them god will develop them and god will begin to use you more and more not just in church but on your job and to bless other people you know i knew as a young adult that i felt i was supposed to teach the bible i had such a love for the bible but you know i was insecure i was nervous to even think about you know doing that getting up in front of people but one day i just stepped out in faith and i began to teach just in small groups i would teach here or there and then i led a group a healing center for marriages here at lakewood for several years and i would teach the people and so as i begin to do that i'm sure that i wasn't very good at the beginning and i'm not saying i'm good now but i'm just saying that when i stepped out in faith i just did the best i could because i wanted to use the gift god gave me and see your gifts will never develop unless you begin to use them and so the more i taught the more that gift developed and the and the more i would should say the easier it became to study the bible and to prepare and then to get up and teach because for so long i was nervous but there came a day when i wasn't nervous anymore i wasn't as nervous and that things began began to become easy because i developed those gifts and so soon you know my dad asked me not soon i shouldn't say soon but after a few years my dad asked me to teach in the main sanctuary and then when my and and to do other things like the offerings and announcements and that that scared me at first too but i did it anyway because i felt that call upon my life and then when my daddy went to be with the lord you know i began to preach all the time and so when i stepped out in faith i gave god the opportunity to use me and when i took that opportunity my gifts began to develop and then god opened more doors and i'm just talking to somebody now and you're thinking i'm too insecure i don't feel qualified let me tell you something you're never going to feel qualified i'm telling you i still don't feel qualified but i feel anointed i know that i'm anointed i know that i'm called i know that god chose me if i went by my feelings and thinking that i was qualified oh man i wouldn't be where i am today if i hadn't stepped out in faith and just trusted god to help me i wouldn't be where i am today and so i want to encourage you whatever field you're in listen god wants to use the gifts that he has put in you the apostle paul told young timothy his son in the faith he said stir up the gifts that are in you and then another time he said don't neglect your gifts and ministry some of you are neglecting your gifts in ministry i'm just talking to you like a mother in the faith it's time to stir up your gifts don't neglect those things that god has put in you what are you waiting for listen you think i'm waiting on god no god is waiting on you to stand up to step out in faith and use the gifts that he has given you in the next point i i want to combine three points uh and and that the scriptures talk about let me see the scriptures are talking about the way we treat people so i was going to say and so let me just read them to you love people with a sincere heart be devoted to one another in love honor and prefer others above yourselves and that is from romans 12 9-10 in fact i'm going to read it to you real quick don't just pretend to love others really love them and then verse 10 love each other with genuine affection and take delight in honoring one another our love for one another should be genuine and without hypocrisy first john 3 18 says dear children let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth see sincere love doesn't just say i love you it shows love it means that you honor others you prefer others above yourselves you know in the early church in the book of acts the bible says that the believers they were devoted to three things the teaching of the word of god to prayer and to one another they were devoted to taking care of one another helping one another fellowshipping with one another watching over each other meeting each other's needs see love is seen or not seen in the way that you treat people i heard a minister say one time that the hardest place to walk in love is in your own home and if you can't do it in your own home you can't do it anywhere so i challenge you the best place to start walking in love and showing love is right where you live i like what joyce meyer said love is something you do on purpose because you don't always feel like loving people every day you see but you do it anyway love is not a feeling love is a doing love is an action the next point is this hate what is evil and cling to what is good that's romans 12 9. i'm going to read it to you out of the amplified bible it says loathe or hate all ungodliness turn and from wickedness and hold on to the good listen simply put we're to love god and what we're gonna we're to love what god loves and hate what god hates we need to hate sin and flee from it we can hate sin but we can still love this sinner we can hate injustice but we can seek what is right and good we need to hold on to the goodness of god and the word of god and do what it says and the bible is very clear it tells us the difference between people who seek evil and those who seek good it says there will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil but listen what's going to happen to you but there will be glory and honor and peace from god for all who do good when you hate evil and hold on to the good you're going to have a life full of the glory of god full of honor and full of peace that's powerful the next point is this the bible says to maintain your zeal and serving the lord that's from verse 11 and it says this never lag in zeal but keep your spiritual fervor serving the lord keep your spiritual fervor the amplified says this and i love it it says be a glow and burning with the spirit serving the lord another translation says this be on fire with the spirit we need to stay on fire for the lord to maintain our first love our zeal and our passion in serving god not to get complacent in the things of god and reading the word in our relationship with god and just take it for granted and and going to church we and even serving and serving the lord remember what jesus said to the church in laodicea it's in revelations 3 15 he said this i'm not pleased with you because you're just lukewarm you're not cold or you're not hot and i'd rather you be one or the other hey let's stay red hot for jesus let's maintain our passion all the days of our lives you know my father was a great example in this area to me because he was always passionate about serving god even during the hard times i never saw him waver he loved preaching he loved pastoring this church he was thrilled that god saved him and and called him to preach and he never forgot where he came from and what god delivered him from he grew up in poverty during the great depression he was selling popcorn in a theater when he accepted jesus christ as his savior at the age of 17 and right then he decided to preach on the streets and nursing homes at bible studies wherever he could he was so passionate about jesus and immediately you know he began to witness about the lord and then of course he pastored he and my mother founded lakewood church in 1959 he was passionate about jesus until he went to be with the lord even his last words in the time right before he went to be with the lord his last words were his mercy endures forever you see that's passion my dad lived in faith he lived with passion and he died with passion and he died in faith just like the people of old in hebrews 11. so maintain that that zeal if you start lagging in zeal hey remind yourself where you came from remember how jesus called you out of darkness into his marvelous light remember that you didn't choose god he chose you for a purpose and he's blessed you and he's anointed you and he put you on this earth for such a time as this amen for the next point i'm going to put together three points from one verse because they will relate together and it's this be joyful in hope be patient in trials and keep on praying i love this scripture especially when i'm going through something because it just infuses strength into me to know that i got to keep doing the same thing no matter what i'm going through it comes from verse 12 that simply says rejoice in our confident hope be patient and trouble and keep on praying there's something about hope that brings life and faith and joy into our hearts and our hope is not in man it's not in the world system it's not in politics our hope is in jesus christ he's the anchor of our soul it is in him the bible says that we live and move and have our being jesus is our everything and we may face seem excuse me seemingly hopeless situations but we don't have to despair because our hope is in the lord we can maintain our joy in the midst of trials because we always have hope because we always have god and let me remind you if you're going through a hard time right now reality is not finality let god have the final say in your situation you cannot look at things from your point of view only you have to learn to look at them from god's point of view with him all things are possible and if you say your situation is hopeless then you're saying your situation is too big for god and that's a lie listen with him all things are possible let god work in your life and give him the final say in your life and in your situation i think about abraham and sarah and how they could have given up so easily when god promised to give them a son but they didn't they kept hoping on in faith encouraging themselves and it wasn't the timing they thought but when they were older in age god fulfilled his promise to them he was faithful to them i think about the apostle paul how he was in a physical storm when he was on a ship and the bible says that neither sun or stars appeared for many days and the people on the boat not paul but the people on the boat finally gave up all hope of being saved but god had the final say he knew the apostle paul was on that ship and and paul trusted god paul didn't give up hope and an angel of the lord stood before paul one night and he said paul don't be afraid god is going to spare your life and the lives of all those who sail with you and he did he spared not only paul's life but everyone on that ship they made it to a little island called alt uh malt malta and on that island everybody got saved and got healed that's what god can do so he can take your situation turn it around for good and use what the enemy meant for evil as good in your life so never never ever give up hope and uh and i'm gonna back up a little bit never let me just say something never give up hope never give up on yourself there is there are so many people this and in the world today even right now with all that's going on and people are taking their lives they're committing suicide and that is not god's will for you if you are having these thoughts of i want to die or i don't want to live anymore or you are tormented with these thoughts i want to encourage you right now those thoughts are from satan the evil one because he does not want you to fulfill your purpose on this earth and i just take authority over those thoughts right now in the name of jesus and i set you free in jesus name and i'm just going to say to you right now don't even think about that anymore go see a a pastor a counselor go to the doctor whatever you need to do but don't remain in isolation don't keep quiet go talk to someone so if those thoughts come again because satan does come that's why we have to resist him steadfast those thoughts may come again but you have to be able to pick up the phone and say hey i'm having these thoughts talk to me call me go for a walk do whatever you need to do but don't succumb to the thoughts of the enemy i just felt like i needed to say that because god has a he's got a he's got his hand upon you and the enemy is fighting you because of the greatness that is in you amen another translation says to be steadfast in the time of trouble so we have to be steadfast wait on god to act stand fast on his word continue to pray i love that keep on praying just keep on praying your prayers are making a difference because the bible says the prayers of a righteous man they are powerful and they are effective they produce wonderful results so keep on praying every time you're praying you're chipping away at whatever adversity or opposition that you are facing today for the next point i'm going to combine two points and that is this be generous and hospitable generous and hospitable that's verse 13 and it says this share with god's people who are in need and practice hospitality so the the apostle paul encourages to have this attitude of gear giving and sharing and helping one another and i know it's so easy today to get caught up in our own busy world i mean we're all busy i think sometimes we're too busy and we need to say no to a lot of things that we say yes to and it stresses his house and out and then we don't have time to really uh be relaxed and take time with the lord and take time for ourselves and then we certainly don't have time to help others and i don't think that's the way god wants us to live god god wants us to think about other people to bear each other's burdens to be generous hospitable and to help help meet the needs of others and i don't think it's just giving money although that is so important but it may mean sacrificing your time to help people who are in need see we're blessed to be a blessing to others and i want to leave you with this thought first leave this point with this thought first peter 4 9 says offer hospitality to one another without grumbling so if you're going to help others do it without grumbling and complaining enjoy it and thank god that you are blessed enough to be able to bless other people it's it makes such a difference the next one are four principles in chapter 12 that have to do with dealing with persecution and people who mistreat us and this is what it says bless and pray for those who persecute you do not return evil for evil do good to your enemies overcome evil with good now let me read this scripture to you it's verse 14 and 17-21 bless those who persecute you don't curse them pray that god will bless them verse 17 do not repay anyone evil for evil do not take revenge my dear friends but leave room for god's wrath for it is written it is mine to avenge and i will repay says the lord on the contrary if your enemy is hungry feed him if he is thirsty give him something to drink and doing this you will heap burning coals on his head don't be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good wow that is not the world's way of doing things you see the world would say you know eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth that was the way it was in the old testament but not today jesus came with a new law to to love the lord your god with all your heart and love your and to love your neighbor and so paul knew exactly how our human nature would be to respond to those who persecute you so he said hey don't curse them don't curse them don't repay evil for evil bless them pray for them you see don't hurt them back because they hurt you we belong to the kingdom of god and we live by kingdom principles and really when you think about the apostle paul he isn't a prime example of what god can do with a hard-hearted person because he persecuted the church he took part in the killing and arresting of christians during his day and uh but i'm sure i've always thought that i'm sure that the church was praying for paul because they may have been hiding from him but they were probably praying for him too and you know what god got a hold of paul his name was saul then and he made him into this great apostle who wrote what two-thirds he wrote much much of the new testament don't quote me on that he wrote a lot of the new testament and so if we will obey god this is my point and we will bless and pray for those who persecute us god will soften their hearts and we can see the same people get saved and be used by god that's why you got to pray for them that's why you got to bless them it's for your own sake also second timothy 3 12 says everyone who wants to live a godly life in christ in jesus will be persecuted so the persecution is going to come but not only that people will be rude to you they'll mistreat you for no reason and when we choose to love people and turn the other cheek as the bible says god will bless us for having the right attitude see we don't have to get revenge because god said he'll vindicate you he will reward you and sometimes i admit these are things that are hard to walk out because we'd rather not bless them and pray for them but when you do it god's way when you do things god's way like he's asking us to do then you're chewing then excuse me then you're choosing god's highest and best path for your life and the holy spirit will help you walk it out he'll help you walk out the word if you'll just say jesus help me to walk out your word help me to pray for them begin by saying father i pray that you'd help them open their eyes help them not to be deceived and this is the key about doing this and obeying god then you will be full of joy and you'll you'll be full of peace instead of being full of hate and bitterness you'll be able to pray for your enemies and see god move in their lives see this is how you overcome evil with good light extinguishes the darkness it overcomes the evil and let me tell you something it may look like your enemy is prospering and being very successful and hurting you at times but if you will obey god their plans will never succeed you you're going to reap what you sow you sow evil you're gonna reap people you're so good you're gonna reap good so god will cause you to have the victory in the end i've seen this over and over in my own life he will reward you he will promote you and the bible says in psalm 23 5 23 5 that god prepares a table for us in the midst of our enemies so you'll be encouraged about that the next point talks about dealing with people also and it's this share in each other's victories and distresses that's from romans 12 15 and it says this rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn see when other people are blessed and when they're happy and they're promoted and they're celebrating we should rejoice with them we should guard against jealousy or envy your covetousness and don't allow those things to creep in because let me tell you something your time is coming your time is coming god will bless you and promote you for your faithfulness but on the other hand when people are hurting and grieving we should be empathetic and understanding with them sometimes that means just to sit with people in their heart and be there for them or we listen to them let them talk and get it out other times we just let them know we're praying for them that we love them or that we're there for them if they need anything and i i think we have to be very careful about being too light-hearted or giving pat answers like oh don't worry about that you shouldn't worry don't you know god works everything out everything will be okay hey that's true but let's mourn with those who mourn let's wait with those who weep when jesus looked at the masses of people who were following him the bible says that he was moved with compassion he met people on their level and so we need to be very understanding and empathetic about what people are going through and tell people things like this i hurt with you i love you i'm going to be praying for you and i'm not going to quit until you come through this that's being empathetic compassionate with people know put yourself in their shoes and then allow the compassion of god to flow out of you and encourage them without dismissing what they are going through all right we're going to do another point and it's this live in harmony with one another living that's what verse 16 says simply live in harmony with one another i think if there's ever a time that we need harmony and unity it's today in the world and in the even in the body of christ even in the body of christ is you know and as believers jesus called us to be one in him to walk in harmony with other believers that doesn't mean we agree with every believer on everything but it does mean that we never look down on anyone it does mean that we should lift and value one another the same if we're going to promote harmony and peace in the body of christ i think we have to be flexible we have to remember that we're all different but we are all god's children we may not think alike but we're still one in jesus christ we all have different strengths and listen we have different opinions we have different talents we have different abilities and we need to appreciate those things and one another we need to respect them we may not agree with everything but respect the person honor the person you can allow differences in others to irritate you and separate you from people and and bring strife and division or you can learn to appreciate those differences for the sake of unity and harmony i'm talking about in the body of christ the new living translation says this live in harmony with each other and don't think you know it all hey none of us know it all we're all still growing and learning the word of god the passion bible says live happily together in a spirit of harmony and be as mindful of another's worth as you are your own you know just because someone has a different opinion than you does not devalue their worth psalm 133 1 verse 1 yes it says how wonderful and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity and it goes on to say this is where the lord pronounces his blessing it's in unity that the blessing of god is received unity is a sign and a witness to the world of what jesus can do when we value and treat each other right it doesn't matter what race a person is it doesn't matter what church denomination a person is we are called to love one another and to walk in harmony with one another because we all belong to jesus we are all brothers and sisters in the body of christ we are all children of god and we must strive to walk in unity and harmony with one another we need to all do our part the next point is this live at peace with everyone what does that mean how can we do that verse 18 says it this way if it is possible if it is possible as far as it depends on you live at peace with every person notice paul said as far as it depends on you live at peace with everyone there are times when people refuse to live at peace with you or with me but it should never be because we have not done our part and we have tried to make things right or to bring peace in the situation jesus said in matthew 5 9 blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called sons of god psalm 34 14 says seek peace and pursue it that means you have to do actively do all you can to walk in peace with other people i've done this many times who i felt like you know we're at odds with me and and you know i've just seen how god has brought us together and and just done great healing and then there are other times i think about one person and uh he just got mad at me for a reason and and it's it was it was over money he wanted to borrow money and it was a lot of money and and i couldn't do that and so he got mad at me and so he never spoke to me after that and so i kept writing him and i kept calling him and he wouldn't answer my letters and he wouldn't answer my telephone calls but i sought peace as much as i could but i never heard from him again and so i did all i could and the rest is up to him and so that's what it means do your part and then the rest is up to them god will work on their hearts and so i do want to say this i'm not talking about putting yourself in a in a relationship that is harmful but let's just seek to be peacemakers amen the last one is this live in integrity live a life of integrity romans 12 17 it says this be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone that's integrity let me read it to you out of the amplified bible it says this it says take thought for what is honest and proper and noble aiming to be above reproach in the sight of everyone let's just point out four things there what is integrity it is being honest proper and noble aiming to be above reproach i love that definition from the bible god wants us to be honest and above reproach in all that we do and as i said before it doesn't mean we're perfect but it does mean that when we are wrong we admit it we repent and we make things right that's integrity when you do that we should have this spirit of excellence about us you know you will really walk in integrity if you you know obey the word but also listen to the holy spirit and follow the holy spirit who lives inside of you i mean you may want to do something that is wrong and the holy spirit in you will just you'll know the holy spirit is saying no no no and if you try to go against that you know you can justify and say well everybody else is doing it everybody lies a little bit everybody cheats a little but you know what if you're if you want to walk in integrity and be blessed you have to be willing to be different from everyone else and the holy spirit will help you walk in integrity if you'll listen to him when he speaks to you follow that peace inside of your heart we have to remember this that people in the world are not reading their bibles they're reading us can i say that again people in the world even christians are not reading their bibles many times they're reading us people should be able to see god in you to see honesty and excellence in the way that you live and treat people and do business it's so important we are ambassadors for christ and our very lives should draw people to god because of a life of character and integrity the bible says that daniel in the old testament extinct distinguished himself above all the other leaders and the land because he had an excellent spirit and the leaders tried to find fault with him because they didn't like him he served god he had great favor with the king so they tried to find fault with him and the bible says they could find no charge or corruption in him because he was faithful and trustworthy see that's excellence that's integrity to have that spirit of excellence when you're faithful when you're consistent and when you have that life of integrity and that excellent spirit god will promote you god blessed daniel in many many ways he gave him favor with the king he gave him the ability to interpret dreams he even rescued daniel out of the lion's den and he promoted him above all the other leaders who were jealous of him you see god is well able to bless you no matter what people try to do to you so let's try let's strive let's strive to walk in that excellence and be people of integrity because that is what god god desires for all of us all of these 24 ways we can practically walk out in our daily life and they are the will of god listen you may be thinking i want to get in the will of god i want to know what the will of god is we'll start with romans 12 start acting on the things that i taught you today start reading over it and meditating on it because they will bring great blessings and rewards into your life just like david god will promote you and i i do want to end with this thought when you do what's in the word of god what's written in god's word when you begin to do it seek it and walk in it and obey it that's when god will begin to show you what he has for your personal life but he's not going to just come and say i want you to be a businessman i want you to be a doctor i'm going to lay out your pla the my plan for your life until you show him that you're faithful to obey his word you can't get one before the other so start obeying god in what you know to do and you will see that god will begin to work in your life greatly and he will show you the way to go he will direct your steps the bible says he will open the right doors close the wrong doors and he will make the crooked places straight that's our god amen he's so powerful and he's so good and father we just thank you for your wonderful word today i thank you lord jesus that it's getting into our spirit and our minds are being transformed and father i thank you for the every person that is watching today that you will encourage their hearts and strengthen them that you will heal their bodies father i just thank you for the healing anointing even right now that is touching them driving out pain and cancer and all sickness and disease in the name of jesus i thank you for restoring their their strength and their health into them i pray that you would give them wisdom for the decisions that they have to make father i thank you for restoring hope into them for restoring their joy father for restoring their purpose and putting in their hearts the things that you want them to do the dreams father i just i pray that you'd stir up the gifts in them stir up the dreams that you have for them in the name of jesus we thank you that today is a turning point for them and they will see a difference in jesus name amen and amen well god bless you again thank you so much for tuning in hope to see you online this weekend and next monday god bless you you

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Length: 52min 18sec (3138 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 04 2021