I. Start Well by Learning the Will of God
Eph 5:15 Be very careful, then, how you live/walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Mk 1:35 having risen before daylight, He went out and...He prayed. 38 "Let us go...because for this purpose I have come forth" Mt 6:33
1 Kings 3:3 Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes except...6 You have shown great hesed to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart; 9 Give...understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil 14 So if you walk in My ways, to keep My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen your days." Why does God have me on the planet? Whose will shall I do? What is His will? Not WWJD? but WDGWMTD? See TOYL Purpose
II. Live Well by Evaluation, Execution and Perspiration
Executives do until done. Is God's will ever done? Heb 13:21
QT= Read, Reflect, Respond, Record 2Tim 3:16-17 Path; Off; Back on; Stay on. God's word incarnated in our thinking, feeling/values, actions We develop our relationship (availability & responsiveness) with God by listening and talking, communicating and appreciating Him. Cars Cuties Cash Dt 17:16 (king) shall not multiply horses for himself, nor cause the people to return to Egypt to multiply horses, for the LORD has said to you, ‘You shall not return that way again 17 Neither shall he multiply wives for himself, lest his heart turn away; nor shall he greatly multiply silver and gold for himself. 18 Also it shall be, when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write for himself a copy of this law in a book, from the one before the priests, the Levites. 19 And it shall be with him, and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God and be careful to observe all the words of this law and these statutes, (to do wholeheartedly) 20 that his heart may not be lifted above his brethren, that he may not turn aside from the commandment..and that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he and his children in the midst of Israel. 1Kg 10: 23 So King Solomon surpassed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. 26 gathered chariots and horsemen; he had 1,400 chariots and 12,000 horsemen 27 He made gold/silver as common in Jerusalem as stones...28 Also Solomon had horses imported from Egypt 11:1 But King Solomon loved many foreign women, as well as the daughter of Pharaoh: women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites 2 from the nations of whom the LORD had said to the children of Israel, "You shall not intermarry with them, nor they with you. Surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods." Solomon clung to these in love. 3 And he had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines; and his wives turned away his heart. 4 when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods; and his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.6 Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and did not fully follow the LORD, as did his father David.7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon. 8 And he did likewise for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods. 9 So the LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned from the LORD God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice Heb 10:35 your confidence, which has great reward.36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: 38 the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."
III. Finish Well by Transforming Desires to Value God's Will more than Life
Rm 12:1 present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may demonstrate what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Gal 5:24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.2:20; 6:14; Rm 6:12 Lk 9:23-26 Jm 12:27 Ecc 2:9 So I became great and excelled more than all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. 10 Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure, for my heart rejoiced in all my labor; and this was my reward from all my labor. 11 Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done And on the labor in which I had toiled; And indeed all was vanity and grasping for the wind. There was no profit under the sun. 24 Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. 26 For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; 11:9 Walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that for all these God will bring you into judgment. 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.
Questions for Reflection/Discussion/Response: - Is doing what we want doing evil in God's sight? How can we determine what is good or bad in God's sight? Which is more infectious?
- Does God have a will/desire for the big and/or little things of our lives? How can we know His will? Will His will/desire always happen?
- Is it foolish to explore things to try them out and see if we like them? Can we know God's subjective will if we're not doing His objective will?
- Why is it so difficult to finish well? What are the consequences of failing to kill deadly desires? Which desires are deadly?
- How are you planning to finish well in your walk with God? What resources do you have/need? What do you need to do differently?
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