Monday, October 19, 2009
Continuing the Series: Knowing and Doing the Will of God
Posted by The BallengersThis past Sunday Pastor Jon brought a follow-up message to the sermon series “Knowing and Doing the Will of God”. This series has been insightful for many people, because the “Will of God” is often a mystery.
Jon began this message by stating his main premise before beginning his talk was: “To know the will of God, you need to get as close as you possibly can to Him”.
So how do people draw near to God? Many people draw near to Him through prayer and fasting, others draw near through the reading and meditation of His Word, still others seek wise counsel and try to think with the mind of Christ. All of these methods are good and necessary but we must see how Christ drew near to God.
Most people who have been to church will have read the gospel before, but there are many times that we do not dwell on regarding Christ’s time with the Father. Christ got alone with God, whether He was in a garden, on a mountain, or in a boat. He sought after the Father’s will intently and it proved so definite in His life, that He said He could only do what He saw the Father doing (John 5:19).
We should be with other Christians for it is truly good to worship with those who love God, and we should desire the fellowship of a local church because it is expressed that we need to take of communion, have baptism, and be a part of (if necessary) church discipline; it’s expected of us. But we should not negate the times also necessary for us to be alone with our Father. Christians must be filled with the Holy Spirit if they are going to try and give of themselves. I have always heard the saying “Give out of your saucer, not your cup”, and that means that God should fill us up so much that we give out of an overflow of His love, but how many pass up that time to meet with Him and be filled. If we are to know and do the will of God we must spend time with Him and learn to know His thoughts for our purpose, and to know His love for our joy.
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Jon spoke from Matthew 22:15-22, reading how Christ taught on “rendering to Caesar what is Caesar’s” (Matthew 22:21). Jon explained how Caesar in the days of Rome would have been viewed as a god, and that the tribute the people paid to Rome would have been viewed as an offering, and also a confirmation of Caesar’s godhood.
Christ taught to “render to Caesar what is Caesar, and to render to God what is God’s” (Matthew 22:21). The Pharisees had sent their disciples to question and trap Christ (Matthew 22:15-17), and they accepted paying tribute to Caesar because they had misconstrued Jeremiah 27:6-7; they were applying a prophetical text about the Persians to Caesar’s position as a servant of God.
The best point that Jon made Sunday was stating what Christ had said “render to Caesar what is Caesar, and to God what is God’s”; Christ separated the two: saying that Caesar is one entity, and God is another, thus showing that Caesar was in fact not God. This is an amazing point and one that is easily overlooked while reading through the conversation of Christ and the Pharisee’s disciples.
Another amazing point was that Caesar’s image was on the coin; therefore it was Caesar’s and should be given to him. Christ said that whatever was God’s should be given to Him as well (Matthew 22:21), and being that man is made in the imago Dei (image of God), man is the Lord’s. We must, as Christians, render ourselves
(Romans 12:1-2) unto the Lord so that we may know and do His will, His good, pleasing, and perfect will.
Jon said “We must be driven to understand this...whatever we give our lives to is god”.
So what does God want? Jon answers with the first and greatest commandment: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5).
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For more study on this I would recommend Bill Hybels Holy Discontent, and to hear Jon’s sermon series on Knowing and Doing the Will of God, visit http://www.summitcharleston.com, and click on “Summitcasts” under the “Resources” section.
- Ballenger -
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Additional resource: Ray Vander Laan's "In the Dust of the Rabbi"
At this moment, who or to what gets most of my time, energy and passion? Mike Murdock writes, "You will only be remembered for you obsession."
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