Acts Of The Will
Yes, Lord, I will follow you (Luke 9:61, NLT).
The last couple of days we have talked about questions to ask ourselves before embarking on serving God. Today we're going to talk about our will. It's amazing how many times in the Bible that God indicates we are supposed to exercise our free wills in order to enter into an intimacy with Him.
An evangelist tells about a woman who came to him anxious about her salvation. He said to her, "Mrs. Franklin, how did you become Mrs. Franklin?"
She replied, "When the minister said, 'Wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband?' I said, 'Yes.'"
The evangelist then asked her, "Did you say, 'I hope so,' or 'I'll try to'?"
The woman quickly replied, "No. I said, 'I will.'"
Then pointing her to God's Word, the evangelist said, "God is asking you if you will receive His Son as your personal Savior. What will you say to that?
The woman's face lit up, and she exclaimed, "Why, how simple that is! Why didn't I say 'yes' a long time ago?"
Two little words, "I will," spoken by both the man and the woman result in marriage. So it is in becoming a Christian, who the Bible refers to as a bride, in marrying our heavenly Bridegroom, our Savior. One does not become a Christian until he exercises his "will" to receive Christ and says, in effect, "I do." Referring to our Lord's death on the cross for our sins, Jesus always stands ready and, in effect, says, "I did."
You have heard the old expression that "whosoever will" may enter into eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "Whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25).
God's grace, foreknowledge and predestination are all great and wonderful mysteries, and we cannot understand it all. But one thing we do know is that our will is involved, not just in receiving Christ, but in receiving all His precious promises. Even our praise to God is an act of our wills: "I WILL praise the LORD all my life; I WILL sing praise to my God as long as I live" (Psalm 146:2, NIV). Also, "I WILL bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Psalm 34:1, KJV).
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord, then go out and serve Him. But serve Him with power and strength. Serve Him with all of your will.
Praying that we all serve more often,
Pastor Mike
The last couple of days we have talked about questions to ask ourselves before embarking on serving God. Today we're going to talk about our will. It's amazing how many times in the Bible that God indicates we are supposed to exercise our free wills in order to enter into an intimacy with Him.
An evangelist tells about a woman who came to him anxious about her salvation. He said to her, "Mrs. Franklin, how did you become Mrs. Franklin?"
She replied, "When the minister said, 'Wilt thou have this man to be thy wedded husband?' I said, 'Yes.'"
The evangelist then asked her, "Did you say, 'I hope so,' or 'I'll try to'?"
The woman quickly replied, "No. I said, 'I will.'"
Then pointing her to God's Word, the evangelist said, "God is asking you if you will receive His Son as your personal Savior. What will you say to that?
The woman's face lit up, and she exclaimed, "Why, how simple that is! Why didn't I say 'yes' a long time ago?"
Two little words, "I will," spoken by both the man and the woman result in marriage. So it is in becoming a Christian, who the Bible refers to as a bride, in marrying our heavenly Bridegroom, our Savior. One does not become a Christian until he exercises his "will" to receive Christ and says, in effect, "I do." Referring to our Lord's death on the cross for our sins, Jesus always stands ready and, in effect, says, "I did."
You have heard the old expression that "whosoever will" may enter into eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, "Whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25).
God's grace, foreknowledge and predestination are all great and wonderful mysteries, and we cannot understand it all. But one thing we do know is that our will is involved, not just in receiving Christ, but in receiving all His precious promises. Even our praise to God is an act of our wills: "I WILL praise the LORD all my life; I WILL sing praise to my God as long as I live" (Psalm 146:2, NIV). Also, "I WILL bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth" (Psalm 34:1, KJV).
If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord, then go out and serve Him. But serve Him with power and strength. Serve Him with all of your will.
Praying that we all serve more often,
Pastor Mike
posted by Mike Sanderson @ 9:34 AM
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