## God's Will for 2001

## Ephesians 5:15-17

As we close the book on Y2K and consider the prospects of a New Year, our thoughts turn to the matter of time. The illustration of the old year and the New Year is one of an old man and a little baby. We ask ourselves, did we make the most of the year 2000? How can we make 2001 a more fruitful and productive year? Consider the admonition of the Apostle Paul in our text this morning.

Read: Eph. 5:15-17

I. Two Important Phrases

A. 'Redeeming the time'

1. Making the best possible use of the time we have.

2. Literally it means buying up every opportunity that we have.

B. 'Understanding what the will of the Lord is'

1. The two are interconnected.

2. We cannot possibly 'redeem the time' or make the best use of it if we do not know what the will of the Lord is.

3. The idea here is that without the knowledge of God's will, we will make the wrong choices about how to use our time.

C. This is of the utmost importance if we want the coming year to be a fruitful and productive year for the Lord!

II. How Has God Made His Will Known?

A. God appeared to Abraham in physical form and talked with him regarding His will and plan for Abraham's life.

B. He spoke to Moses with an audible voice from a bush that burned, but wasn't consumed.

C. He sent an angel down from heaven to instruct Gideon.

D. He personally spoke to young Samuel and called him by name in the wee hours of the night.

E. He spoke personally through a blinding light to Paul on the road to Damascus.

F. To many of the O.T. leaders and prophets God appeared in visions and dreams.

G. Are we to wait for voices or visions today in order to know God's will? NO!

(Heb 1:1-2) "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, {2} Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;"

1. We have the completed revelation of God to man.

2. We call it the Bible.

3. Here is where we will find the will of God for our lives now and for the future!

4. For the most part, God's will for us has already been revealed to us through His Word.

5. We don't have to seek guidance on what God has already commanded.

a. Salvation: 'Repent and believe the Gospel' cf Mk. 1:15

b. Baptism: 'The answer of a good conscience" cf 1 Pet. 3:21

c. Prayer: 'Pray without ceasing' cf 1 Th. 5:17

d. Witness: 'Ye shall be witnesses' cf Acts 1:8

e. Church Attendance: 'Forsake not the assembling of yourselves' cf Heb. 10:25

f. Giving: 'God loveth a cheerful giver' cf 2 Co. 9:7

g. Getting Along: 'Love one another' cf Jn 15:12

h. Worldiness: 'Love not the world' cf 1 Jn. 2:15

i. And the list goes on and on….

6. We also do not have to seek guidance on that which He has already forbidden.

a. God isn't going to just decide that it is all right for us to do wrong.

b. Sin will always be in opposition to God, regardless of what we may start to call it.

c. Homosexuality…fornication…adultery…

III. What Is Necessary For Us To Know God's Will In Specific Areas Of Our Lives?

A. We must be children of God.

1. The first step in knowing His will is knowing God…personally.

(John 10:1-5) "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. {2} But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. {3} To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. {4} And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. {5} And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers."

a. God gives direction to His children.

b. Note the emphasis on relationship in this parable.

c. "…He calleth His own sheep by name and leadeth them out…"

d. The direction comes after the relationship is established.

2. Note the benefit of knowing Christ as our personal Savior.

(John 10:23-28) "And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. {24} Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. {25} Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. {26} But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. {27} My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: {28} And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."

a. 'I know them'

b. 'They follow me'

c. 'I give unto them eternal life'

3. Consider Romans 10:9-10

(Rom 10:9-10) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. {10} For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."

a. We are born into the family of God when we put our faith and trust in the completed work of Christ.

b. When we repent…or change our thinking about sin.

c. Believe in our hearts…and confess with our mouth.

d. It is for 'whosoever'

(Rom 10:13) "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

4. We cannot expect to know God's will for our life if we haven't yielded our heart to Him.

B. We must be obedient to what God has already revealed to us through His Word.

1. Unless we begin to do His will, as we know it now, we will only become frustrated as we seek further direction.

2. God's revelation does not proceed more swiftly than our obedience.

(Prov 3:5-6) "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. {6} In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

a. If we trust in Him, He will direct our paths and…

b. Our trust in Him will be evidenced by our obedience to do His will now!

3. Before we ask God for more of His will to be revealed, we must ask ourselves if we have been obedient to all that He has already shown us.

C. We must be willing to do His will regardless.

1. Too often people want to consider God's will as they would a piece of property.

2. They want to look it over and then decide if they will take it or not.

3. We must first settle in our hearts that whatever the cost, we will do God's will...then He will make it known unto us.

4. Many times we are like the young man who was seeking God's will about who He would marry.

a. He told the Lord that he would flip a coin … heads = Judy tails = Jane

b. It came up heads, and he said, 'Lord, how about two out of three?'

5. He had settled what he was going to do; he just wanted God to notarize it.

6. If we want to know God's will for our lives, we must establish beforehand that we will be obedient to whatever He wants us to do.

Do we want God's will for the New Year? Have we met the conditions? Are we saved? Are we obedient? Are we willing?