The Disciple's Will

[0:00] Well, good morning again. If you've got your Bibles, we'll be turning this morning to the book of Galatians and chapter number 2. And if we ask this morning the question, what is God's will for my life?

[0:14] I believe that's probably one of the most popular questions in modern Christianity today, in Western Christianity. What's God's will for my life? Where do I go to school? Who do I marry? What job do I take? Where do I live? Which house do I buy?

[0:27] All of these questions that we're asking, and I think one of the reasons is because so many decisions that we make have such important consequences, could have grave consequences, or could have extremely positive consequences that are not specifically mentioned in the Bible.

[0:49] We have so many decisions, small decisions, big decisions, and all of these thoughts and questions that the Bible may not give specific guidance on.

[1:00] So here's the bad news. Countless people are confused and wondering, how do I find God's will for my life?

[1:13] And you know what the good news is? Here it is. Here's the good news. God's will is not lost. You know, so often we think, well, I've got to seek God's will, like we're on this cosmic Easter egg hunt.

[1:29] And God is up in heaven going, oh, getting warmer, getting warmer. Oh, no, you're getting colder. And we're constantly on this search for the will of God.

[1:41] And what if God's will is not some secret that we're having to go and figure out and uncover somewhere? And what if knowing God's will or that God has already made his will very clear to us?

[1:59] And what if God is actually more passionate about us doing that will than even us wanting to discover that will? Do you think that's the case? I know that to be the case because God wants us to do his will probably even more than we want to do his will, because there is always going to be some admixture of our will that will be seeping through, and we want to do what we want to do.

[2:25] And so the bottom line and the foundational truth that we're going to begin with this morning is God desires for me to follow his will so much.

[2:38] And this is what we've been going through so far in this series, abiding in God. And the truth is this. God wants so much for us to follow his will that he lives in us to accomplish his will.

[2:55] It's not just God laid out the plan and said, go figure it out, go find it out, and then go figure out how to do it. God wants us to accomplish his will so much that he lives in us to actually accomplish the will that he's given us to accomplish.

[3:14] And that's where we get back to our concentric circles that we have on our note sheet that we've been looking at every single week. Christ in us affecting all these different areas of our lives.

[3:28] Christ in us affecting our mind. Christ in us affecting our emotions. We've already talked about that. Christ in us affecting our body. We've already dealt with that. Christ in us affecting our will, which is where we're going to be today.

[3:44] Christ in us affecting our relationships. And Christ affecting our mission. I want us to dive into a really interesting passage this morning. It's in Galatians chapter 2, where we're going to see a confrontation between Paul and Peter.

[4:01] And they're actually butting heads. And Paul really reads Peter the riot act, so to speak. And he corrects Peter. And just a little bit of a background as we get to this is the churches in Galatia.

[4:19] The only letter that Paul actually writes to a group of churches, he writes to the churches of Galatia. These were Celtic people that come from Gaul, now living in Asia Minor.

[4:30] And these were Gentiles who had come to know Christ as their Savior. And so the Jews were there as well. Gentiles were there, all one in Christ.

[4:44] And some folks had crept in. We call them, they're called Judaizers. Primarily what they did was they had crept into the churches in Galatia.

[4:54] And were saying, that's awesome that you Gentiles are now trusting Christ. Because that's where salvation is. But in order to be acceptable to God, you men have to be circumcised.

[5:07] And you all have to follow the dietary and food laws of the Jews. And follow all the feast days. And really, you've got to become a good Jew in order to be acceptable to God.

[5:21] So that is what has been happening. And Paul steps in to correct this. Because what was happening was, the Galatian Gentile Christians had gone from pagan worship.

[5:37] And even the Jews who were there had gone from a works-based theology to grace. And now they were going back to works-based.

[5:48] Meaning you've got to add this and this and this. And you've got to abstain from that and that and that in order to please God. And Paul says that's not at all the way it is. And so these Gentiles were wondering, when I trust Christ, do I then need to come and be circumcised and follow these dietary laws and abstain from this and abstain from that in order to be saved?

[6:13] And the Judaizers were going, yep, that's exactly what you've got to do. And so there was some confusion there. And what would happen if you were a Jew and you would sit down at a meal with a Gentile, at this point in time we see Peter doing this.

[6:30] The Gentiles were eating food that the Jews should not have eaten as far as the Old Testament law was concerned. Well now, one in Christ, Jesus says, come to fulfill the law.

[6:43] And that has been done, those parts of the law have been done away with, the dietary laws. And so Peter and some of these other Christians would go and eat together with the Gentiles.

[6:53] And they were like, oh, pork, awesome, give me some of that bacon. And then the Judaizers come in and say, oh, wait a minute, you've got to follow the dietary laws in order to be a good Christian.

[7:04] And so what had happened was in Galatians chapter 2, starting with verse 11, we see where Peter and some of the other Jews were eating with these Gentiles.

[7:19] And in the middle of this context, when the Judaizers came in, Peter said, oh, well, let's, maybe they're going to look badly upon us, and so let's go and let's separate ourselves and let the Gentiles eat there and us good Jews are going to separate ourselves and eat by ourselves and leave them alone.

[7:42] And that's the middle of the context where we find ourselves in Galatians chapter 2, verse 11. And Paul just flat out calls Peter on it in Galatians chapter 2.

[7:54] In the middle of the context, we have one of the, I believe, the crown jewels of the New Testament. One of my favorite verses, one that I've memorized years ago, one that I've got highlighted in my Bible.

[8:07] and I believe a very, very important context. I hope it will lodge in your hearts, lodge in your minds, and really see how this affects or how Christ affects the way we are to live.

[8:23] It's verse number 20. But let's, to see the context, let's go back up to verse 11. Galatians chapter 2, verses 11 through 21.

[8:35] Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed. For before certain men came from James, he would eat with the Gentiles.

[8:47] But when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision, these Judaizers. And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite.

[8:59] Some of your Bibles may show dissimilation. They were hypocrite. That word means hypocrites. And so he says, the rest of the Jews played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy.

[9:15] But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter, and notice, because Peter was doing it in front of everybody else, how did Paul confront Peter?

[9:29] In front of everybody else. He didn't take him to a side and say, Peter, that's not right. What he did was, he said, I said to Peter before the whole crowd, if you, being a Jew, live in the manner of the Gentiles and not as Jews, meaning, at this point in the first century, Jewish Christians had abandoned the dietary laws as well they should have or as well they could have if they chose to, and as well as all the other things that went around the Old Testament law concerning Judaism.

[10:06] And so he says, Paul says, why have you abandoned that and lived like the Jews, which Paul said, nothing wrong with that, then why do you compel the Gentiles to live as Jews?

[10:17] He says, if you don't live as a Jew in relation to the dietary laws anymore, why are you trying to persuade the Jews, excuse me, the Gentiles to live as Jews?

[10:29] He says, we who are Jews by nature and not sinners of the Gentiles, knowing that a man is not justified, and here he goes, here he gets into the theology of why he confronts Peter, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.

[10:50] Even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law. So what these Judaizers had done is they had come in and they were adding back works, they were adding back behaviors that they said, well if you do perform these behaviors, then that's going to make you right and acceptable with God.

[11:14] And Paul says, it's not behavior that makes you acceptable to God, it's faith, and it's Christ that makes you acceptable to God. He says, and not by works of the law, for by the works of the law, what's the verdict?

[11:30] By behavior, by doing things, he says, no flesh, nobody, will be justified. But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin?

[11:50] Certainly not. For if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. for I, through the law, died to the law, in order that, he says, I might live to God.

[12:07] I have been, here it is, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.

[12:19] And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith, by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

[12:31] That's the, this is the cornerstone that we're going to be looking at today. And then he closes it out in verse 21, or where we're going to close it out in verse 21. Paul says, I do not set aside, or I'm not nullifying, I'm not setting aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes to the law, what is the logical conclusion?

[12:53] If, if I can be right with God through my behavior, then Jesus Christ died in vain. And that's what Paul is using as his argument and as his explanation to Peter, Peter, you guys stop that because it's not right and get back to what you were doing before and, and cut out this hypocrisy and don't worry about what those who think they're more spiritual think.

[13:21] He says, do what you know is right. And Galatians 2.20, if you don't have it underlined, if you don't have it highlighted in your Bible, go ahead and highlight it. Even those of you who are using your, your phone or your, your iPad, you can highlight it there too.

[13:38] And, because it's an important verse, it is, it is important. What Paul is saying there, and we're going to unpack that as we go. One mammoth verse, a huge verse that brings us in line in what it means for Christ to transform our lives, for Christ to transform our will and the way that we live.

[14:02] And I want to see some truths that I believe we're going to uncover as we're looking at these verses that help us to understand what it means for Christ to transform our will.

[14:13] And the first main point that I believe we see here is that Christ gives us a brand new identity. In the cross, Christ brings us or gives us a brand new identity.

[14:28] We were sinners, lost, and on the road to hell. But in Christ, we now are a new people. We have a brand new identity.

[14:38] That's where Galatians 2 starts it off. I have been crucified with Christ. He says, and it's not I, he says it's not I that no longer lives, he said it's but it's who?

[14:52] Christ that lives in me. That's our new identity, Christ in us. Probably the most concise picture that we have of this here in Galatians 20, but we've got that picture all over the Apostle Paul's writing, that it's Christ in us.

[15:09] We see that, in us, Christ in us, us in Christ, all throughout the New Testament and Paul's writings, and it all revolves around the cross.

[15:20] That's why Paul said later, he says, I glory in the cross of Christ. You might say, well that's weird. Paul, why would you glory in a form of torture?

[15:31] Why would you glory in a torture device? Well, it's because of what happened on the cross. Because it's what Christ accomplished on the cross that Paul glories.

[15:44] He took our sin, he paid our sin debt, and he defeated Satan. He defeated sin, and God proved that he was satisfied and he raised Jesus Christ from the dead.

[15:58] And that's why he is able to say later in Galatians 6, I boast in the cross of Christ. Because of what happens there. And what we see is we see a great exchange.

[16:11] at the cross. And the unity that we all have in Christ happened at the cross. The unity that was supposed to have been being displayed there in the churches of Galatia, where Peter and the other Jews were having fellowship with these new Gentile brothers and sisters in Christ.

[16:32] Eating together, enjoying their new relationship together, and then when these Judaizers come in, then they separated themselves.

[16:45] Paul says that is not right. So we have a great exchange and here's what we see as we're going through this. The great exchange that we see at the cross is when we come to Christ, we give him our sin.

[17:00] how do we come to Jesus? Jesus, I am a what? I am a sinner. I mean, I own it.

[17:12] I know that I have sinned and I come to you and present to you myself sin and all and Jesus takes care of it on the cross.

[17:22] So I give him my sin and he gives me what? He gives me his righteousness. That's the great exchange that happens at the cross. I come with my sin and I leave with the righteousness of Christ.

[17:35] That's what we all find in Jesus. That's what we see in 2 Corinthians 5.21. Let's look there. For he made him as Jesus Christ, him who knew no sin to be sin for us.

[17:51] Why? What was the purpose of Christ taking upon himself the sin of mankind? That we might become the righteousness of God in him. He exchanges or we exchange our sin for his righteousness.

[18:06] We give it all to him. He exchanges it with his righteousness and that's a great thing but it gets better. Not only do we give him our sin, he gives us his righteousness but we also give him our slavery and he gives us his freedom.

[18:24] sin. Because before Christ we were a slave to what? We were a slave to sin, we were a slave to the law. We were a slave to the law and a slave to sin but the whole picture in the New Testament is now we were once slaves to the law, slaves even to ourselves.

[18:42] Do you realize that? Slaves to ourselves. Because with our old sinful nature we could not do, we could only do that which was within our nature.

[18:54] We were slaves to the flesh. That's what it says in verse 19. Galatians 2 19 says, Paul says, for I through the law did what? He says, I died to the law.

[19:07] I was a slave to the law but in Christ I died to the law. What was the purpose of being crucified with Christ on the cross positionally and us dying to the law?

[19:23] So that we might be able to live for God. Because if we were still slaves to the law how could we live in freedom for God? So Paul says, we are no longer slaves to the law but what happened to the cross of Calvary gave us freedom.

[19:40] Also, at the cross I give him my defeat because how many does the Bible say are able to keep the law?

[19:52] No, not one. So we give him our defeat. There were so many Jews that had tried and tried. They never got the big picture. They were trying to keep the law thinking that the law would make them satisfiable to God.

[20:08] And then Jesus comes on the scene and says you can't do it. Paul says we're not justified by the law but we how many people realize their defeat?

[20:19] they were defeated. I can't live like that. I can't make it because I'm not that good. I'm not good enough. And God says that's my point exactly.

[20:30] That's why I'm going to show you you need a Savior. You need Jesus. You need someone. You need a guide who has no sin and who conquered sin and the grave and he gives us his victory.

[20:44] We give him our defeat. We come to him and say God I can't do it. And then he gives us Christ and says don't worry I'll do it through you. So he gives us the victory. It's not that the law is a bad thing.

[20:57] The law is a good thing because the law kept his people in check. The law was a beautiful picture of what God wanted to do through his people. It's just that we can't live up to it.

[21:08] But there's one who does live up to it. That's why it says in Romans 8 verses 3 and 4 Paul says for what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh.

[21:22] It couldn't make us do anything. It couldn't make us holy. For the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh. God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh on the account of sin.

[21:39] And what did he do? He condemned sin while he was in a human body. he condemned sin in the flesh that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.

[21:59] So we can actually fulfill the law through Christ. Vicariously we are able through Christ to fulfill the Old Testament law.

[22:11] Because remember he's living in us. And Christ in us affects every area of our life. And Christ living through us fulfills the law. He gives us the victory over the law.

[22:23] And next remember we were what under the law? We sat judged. So what we do is we give him our judgment and he gives us his mercy.

[22:35] And by doing that by coming to Christ by saying I under the law am judged I'm worthy of hell. And you know what we've already been declared guilty before we come to Christ.

[22:47] It's not when I die I hope my good deeds outweigh my bad deeds. And in no way is it that way. Because we are prejudged. Without Christ we are lost.

[22:59] So I give him my judgment and he gives me his mercy. According to Romans 3 no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by observing the law.

[23:11] at the cross Jesus does what? He pours out his mercy on us. I'm so glad that God doesn't give me what I deserve. It's by grace through faith.

[23:24] Because of our faith we are able to be placed into the family of God into the body of Christ. And we're so thankful for the mercy that he gives us.

[23:35] Not only that we give him our death because apart from Christ that's what we were. We were dead in our sin. So we give him our death and he gives us he exchanges our dead flesh destined to the lake of fire and he exchanges it for life.

[23:57] A brand new life. This is Romans 6. Romans 6 5. For if we have been united together in the likeness of his death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of his resurrection.

[24:16] So we died with Christ. That's the formula that we use when we baptize. Buried with him in the likeness of his death. And then what? Raised with him to walk in the newness of life.

[24:31] And so we see dead with him, dead with Christ on the cross. Certainly we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection. Knowing that Christ having been raised from the dead dies no more, death no longer has dominion over him.

[24:47] And then verse 10. For the death that he died, he died to sin once for all. But the life that he lives, he lives to God.

[25:00] So what Paul is saying is Christ died, and I died. Christ lives, and I live. Christ was raised, and I'm raised. We give him our death. He gives us eternal life.

[25:12] That's what happens at the cross. He gives us a brand new identity. We are Christians. We are one in Christ. We are no longer a lost sinner. We are part of the family of God, a brand new identity.

[25:26] It's like going one day from being a pauper nobody to becoming royalty. Literally, that's what happened to us.

[25:39] We became royalty the moment we trust Christ as our Savior, because now we are a child of the King. So what does that mean to unite our life with Christ?

[25:50] What we're saying is we no longer have a will? on the contrary, I don't believe that we don't have a will, but I believe that brings us to the next point, and I believe it's that our will is now lost in Him.

[26:08] We give up our will to take up His will. And so we release our will and allow Him to control us.

[26:22] it's not that Paul no longer had a will, but it's Christ living in Him. It's Christ's will. Galatians 2.20 is literally Paul saying, I have surrendered everything.

[26:34] I have surrendered my entire life. I've surrendered my will completely to Him. This is what it means to be identified with Christ. Not our will, not my will, but yours be done.

[26:47] It's Christ directs us now. And we've got to realize this. If you're a follower of Christ, you've got to remember and you've got to realize that we've literally sacrificed our right to make our own decisions.

[27:06] Now, can we? Sure. But what does Christ want in us? He wants His will to be done. Now, that brings us back to that question. How do we find out the will God?

[27:18] I'm glad you asked because we're going to get to that in a moment. And it's not as difficult as you think. It's not as nebulous as you think. And it's not like an Easter egg hunt where we've got to find His will that somebody hid and be so excited when we find that will.

[27:34] It's just that you and I don't call the shots anymore. God is the one that is doing it. Our will has been crucified with Christ. It's now Christ living through us and He lives in us.

[27:46] And so this brings us to the second main point and that is not only do we have a new identity but Christ gives us a new direction. We were wandering aimlessly in our sin doing our own thing before Christ.

[27:58] Now, in Christ, we have a new direction. Now, there's so many ways that people try to figure out the will of God, right? There's the random finger method.

[28:12] Any of you ever heard of the random finger method? Okay, God, please show me your will, what I am to do. Open, close eyes, open Bible to random passage, take finger, put on verse.

[28:28] Leave your fatherless children. I mean, that's about how that goes. And so, don't laugh. Some of you may have tried the random finger method.

[28:39] I know some who've tried that before. Well, where does God want me to read? open Bible point finger. And that's, well, I mean, that might work.

[28:49] God can do that if he wants. So there's a random finger method. There's the cast the fleece method. And we think, well, that's a biblical method, right?

[29:01] Well, God, if you want me to do this, then make this happen. But not everything in the Bible is meant for us to replicate or duplicate. Think about this.

[29:12] You say, well, that's a biblical method. Yes, Gideon did it. But what did Gideon casting the fleece show?

[29:28] It showed his lack of faith. faith. It literally showed his lack of faith because God had already told him what to do. And he didn't want to do it.

[29:40] He lacked faith. And so, well, God, if you really want me to do it, do this. God did it. And it's like, okay, God, yeah, but what do you really want me to do?

[29:51] Then he did it another time, and God showed him again. And so, really, the cast the fleece method shows a lack of faith. You know, there's the open door method. There's the closed door method.

[30:02] There's the still small voice method. You know, all of these things. But I think what those are are like a quick fix. And it's like going to McDonald's and wanting a fast food will of God.

[30:14] Finding God's will is not like that. And actually, I don't think, and we use that term, and we use it without really thinking about it.

[30:26] We use it like we use the term church, like we're saying, you know, we're going to church. And it's like saying the church is going to church. No, the church is us. This is a building. This is not the church.

[30:37] This is a building. This is the building where the church meets. But we still do that, and I still say that, and you still say that, and you know, there's nothing wrong with it. It's just we have to realize what we're really saying and what we really mean by it.

[30:48] And I think it's also the same thing when we say, well, I want to seek out God's will. Well, I think I've said this before, and I really believe that about 95%, and I'm just throwing that number out, but I believe the vast majority or 95% of God's will can be found in this book, the Bible.

[31:12] You say, well, it doesn't show me, tell me who to marry. It doesn't tell me what job to take. It doesn't tell me what city to live. No. But there's already enough of God's will plainly given to us that if we just did that, God will take care of the rest.

[31:33] And I think we're going to see that in just a moment as we continue through here. Let me give you what I feel is a biblical method for discovering the will of God.

[31:44] It's really not a method at all, but I believe it's the crux of what Paul is talking about in Galatians 2.20. I think we could call it the faith method. The faith method. God, what is your will?

[31:57] And by faith, we just simply follow that will. I know there's some of you going to say, well, now, pastor, that's easy for you to say.

[32:07] You know, you've been preaching this, and you know, this is a lot easier said than done. I know it's by faith, but it's really not that easy. But stick with me here for a moment, because when you get to the New Testament church and the Holy Spirit indwells God's people, nowhere really in the New Testament do you find God's people start looking for the will of God and start using Old Testament methods for finding out God's will.

[32:37] Matter of fact, we don't see any instructions in the New Testament for seeking out the will of God. Now, sometimes people point to Acts 1, where the choosing of the next apostle was going to be, where they cast lots to replace Judas.

[32:54] But remember, that was before the Holy Spirit was given. So instead, what we have is a picture of the Holy Spirit guiding His people and directing His people throughout the New Testament.

[33:07] And this is what we have in Galatians 2.20. Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. And who's doing the living? Not me. Not me.

[33:19] It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. See, faith is not only necessary for salvation.

[33:32] We live every day by faith. We live day by day, moment by moment, by faith. It's the only way we're able to live out our salvation. And it's by faith. And it's what he says in Galatians 2.16.

[33:46] And four times he talks about it. It's all by faith and faith alone. Look at Galatians 2.16. He says, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, for by the works of the law, no flesh shall be justified.

[34:14] See, the Christian life is not trying to figure out how to live the Christian life. The Christian life is trusting Christ to live it for us.

[34:26] That's what it is. Jesus, live out your life through me, and I'm simply every day doing what God's already told me to do. And as I'm living out that life, God's going to do the directing and guiding and show someone, bring someone to our life.

[34:39] And we might say, well, God, who do you want me to share the gospel with today? I don't care. Just go share the gospel. And God's going to send you the people who need to hear it. See the difference? Okay, God, I'm going to sit here on my couch and wait for you to tell me who to go share the gospel with today.

[34:55] I'm looking for your will. That is not how Paul did it. That is not how Peter did it. That is not how the New Testament church did it. The New Testament church said, God, you want me to share your gospel.

[35:08] So we're going to go out and we're going to do what? We're going to share the gospel. And God says, well, wait a minute. No, I don't want you to share it here. I want you to share it here. Okay, cool. I didn't have to wait and look for his will.

[35:20] I just went out and did his will, and then God directed me as I was doing it. You see the difference? We do what God has already told us to do. If you don't have a job and need to feed your family, do what?

[35:34] Get a job. And God is going to maybe say, you know what? You apply to 12 different places. Let God decide which job you get instead of staying awake at night and saying, well, you know what?

[35:50] I got two perfectly good choices. Just choose. You know, we worry ourselves to no end to think, well, one's God's will and one's not God's will.

[36:02] No, you know what God's will is? Men, for you to have a job. And let God do the directing and don't waste, I mean, don't fret all night about, well, if I do this one, I'm not going to be in God's will.

[36:17] No, if you have a job, you're in God's will. I think it's as simple as that. Now, you might, we're going to get over theological and say, well, pastor, I think there's only one job you can have that's God's will.

[36:31] I don't know. Maybe. But you know what? That's above my pay grade. I just go get a job and God guides me. And you know what?

[36:41] If God doesn't want me there, they'll fire me. So what's all the fretting about? Now, when it comes to other important things, who shall I marry?

[36:52] Well, you know what? That's not a big deal either. Yes, it is. It is. It's a huge deal. But the Bible tells you who to marry. Do you realize that? The Bible already tells you who to marry.

[37:06] Well, it doesn't say John or Harry or Beth or what. No. But it tells you what they're supposed to look like. Oh, maybe not six feet tall and dark hair, blonde hair, whatever.

[37:18] But it tells you how they're supposed to live. It tells you that they're supposed to be people of faith. It tells you they're supposed to love me. He tells you they're supposed to be, you're not supposed to be unequally yoked.

[37:29] He tells you all the, so really, he tells us who to marry. All we've got to do is find the person who fits that. Therein lies the rub, right? That's the hard part.

[37:40] And yes, I do believe that God is, if we are following him, trusting him, he is going to move us, direct us, guide us to the one person he wants us to have.

[37:54] That's what I believe. But I believe sometimes we fret too much about it and don't let God and don't let Christ do the directing through us. And sometimes we ignore his word because we find someone that makes our heart go pitter-patter, right?

[38:14] And maybe God already gave us his will towards that person and said, you know what, they're not living up to this, they're not living up to that, they're not living up to this. Well, then that kind of gives us a clue.

[38:28] Maybe they're not the one. So we could go through this all day and talk about the will of God. But I think we overcomplicate it. I think as simply as we can put it is, do what we know God has told us to do, and then go in that direction, and then let God make the course corrections as we are going.

[38:50] So at this point, we dive into a breakthrough, and I think it's this. Knowing God's will, I believe, is secondary to simply knowing God.

[39:06] And you know what? The little things, the little decisions we're going to make about where to live and do this and this and that and all the other, I think that's all secondary to knowing God.

[39:16] Because rather than lying awake at night thinking about all these decisions we have to make next week or next month, let's be concerned today about just knowing God.

[39:27] And God's going to take care of all the rest. Because everything else, I think, is kind of like a quick fix thing. Okay, God, I'll be happy when I know exactly what you want me to do. Well, God, you know, God doesn't always take us directly from point A to point B.

[39:44] You know, sometimes it's a little circuitous route. And I think that's not necessarily bad. I think what God is wanting to do is He's wanting to show us along the way how to trust Him and how to know Him more.

[39:59] And so it's not, okay, God, I pray that you give me today what I'm supposed to do with this tomorrow. I think God's saying, look, get to know me.

[40:10] Spend time with me. And we'll get to it. But I'm ready for you to get there. So I think we want the quick fix. We want to know exactly.

[40:21] We want to be. But that's not easy for us as human beings. I'm not saying it's easy. I'm just saying we need to get to know God completely before really we're able to see Him guide us through.

[40:36] And the will of God, I don't think is necessarily a road map. It's like, hey, God, give me the road map to your will. And when I'm 25, this is where you want me.

[40:48] When I'm 36, this is where you want me. And like God, we see God map out our life. Oh, we live it moment by moment in faith, trusting God, knowing God.

[40:59] So I don't think God's will is so much a road map as it is a relationship. Whereby Christ gradually overtakes our will to become one with Him.

[41:11] Now we're going to finish that sentence in a moment. So we notice that God doesn't always take us the quickest route or the most efficient route from point A to point B.

[41:24] From being a teenager to being retirement age. He doesn't take us so quickly from point A to point B and tell us what tomorrow holds. He just wants to trust Him for today as we grow into the image of Christ.

[41:40] So it's not a road map. It's a relationship whereby Christ gradually overtakes our will to become one as we trust Him first, we trust in His Word.

[41:52] We've got to first of all realize that we trust in His Word. As I said before, I think most of what we need to know about God's will is already contained in His Word.

[42:03] Then we pray for His desires. I think it's more important rather than us pray, God, what is your will for this? I think it's more important.

[42:14] God, give me your desire. And then finding the, air quote, will of God is going to simply be living out the desire of God.

[42:29] God, because what God desires is what? His will to be done. So we pray for His desires. Lord, help me replace my desires with Your desires. And I think this is the picture we see of God's filling our minds.

[42:44] He transforms our desires. Look at 2 Corinthians 5, 17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a, she is a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things become or become new.

[42:56] And we can follow our desires. Do you realize that? You can do whatever you want to do. If your want to do is what God wants to do.

[43:08] Does that make sense? Because look at this, verse 4 of Psalm 37. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you what? He'll give you the desires of your heart once your desires become His.

[43:21] And that's the whole point, I think. As Christ is in us, transforming our will, transforming our desires that are His desires, then it's just a simple next step.

[43:35] When our desires become His desires, He gives us our desires, which are, in fact, His desires. I know that made sense, right? Pray for His desires.

[43:45] Pray for us to want what He wants. And then, secondly, walk in His will. Walk in His will. You say, well, how do I walk in His will? The whole point is we don't know what His will is.

[43:58] No, I think the whole point is we've already been given His will in the Word. Read His Word. Study it. Memorize it. Put it in practice. Our Bible reading ought to be, okay, God, show me You.

[44:10] Help me to understand You today. And we see something, and we read it, and we say, God, give me the power and the strength to apply it to my life today, so that I can live this out today.

[44:21] So His will has been revealed to us through His Word. And we see the Apostle Paul in the New Testament like he's in a pinball machine, don't we?

[44:34] We do. Literally. Think about it. Did Paul know the will of God in everything and everywhere he would be? No.

[44:45] All Paul knew was God's will was for him to go and spread the Gospel. And so Paul goes here. God, no, closes the door. Paul says, God says, Paul, I don't want you here. I want you there.

[44:56] Okay. Okay. So Paul wants to go here. He gets shipwrecked, and he gets sent there. That was what? God revealing His will to Paul.

[45:08] And you're thinking, well, God, what's your will for this? I'm going to do this next week. And then all of a sudden you get sick, and you can't do that. What was God's will? God's will was that you didn't do it.

[45:20] And you say, well, Pastor, that's really too simple. Is it? You know, Paul was like in a pinball machine in the New Testament. Paul knew that he had one thing. Just go share the Gospel. And God was the one that, say, Paul, no, not here, go there.

[45:34] Oh, wait a minute. Stop this. Just do that. He was doing the will of God while God was directing him wherever he wanted to be. Back to the same old adage. A whole lot easier to steer a moving vehicle than it is to move a parked car.

[45:47] So just move, and let God direct you, and let God guide you. And then, nextly, instead of trying to figure out His will, I think this is the idea that we're trying to get across this morning.

[46:00] Instead of trying to figure out every minute point of the will of God for our lives, I think God intends us, rather, to become His will.

[46:14] For us to do His will. For us to become His way of carrying out His will. Because God's way of carrying out His will is using human beings to carry out His will.

[46:27] Listen to what Oswald Chambers said. He said to be so much in contact with God that you never need to ask Him to show you His will.

[46:39] Or what His will is to be nearing the final stage of your discipline. Let me read that again. To be so much in contact with God that you never need to ask Him to show you His will is to be nearing the final stage of your discipline in the life of faith.

[46:54] When you are rightly related to God, it's a life of freedom and liberty and delight. You are God's will. And your common sense decisions are His will.

[47:06] For you, unless He checks. Think about it. You're living for Christ? Just use your common sense and do it. If it's His will, He'll let you do it. If it's not, He'll check you.

[47:17] You decide things in perfect, delightful friendship with God, knowing that if your decisions are wrong, He will always check. And when He checks, you what? Stop it once.

[47:28] That's kind of the life that we live. We do what we already know is God's will and then use your common sense and then if God says, oh, wait a minute, I would rather you be here than there, then God's going to take you from here to there.

[47:43] And rather than sitting on your couch and twiddling your thumbs or in your recliner and saying, okay, God, I won't do anything until you tell me what to do. He's already told us what to do.

[47:54] The specifics will come as we are moving. Christ gives us a new identity, a new direction, and then in closing, He gives us a new purpose.

[48:05] So I want to take Galatians 2.20 back up again and see the overall context. He says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live. Paul surrendered his will to Christ, but Christ lives in me and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God and the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

[48:31] because what Paul is confronting Peter with is the fact that Peter had missed out on what God was doing among the Gentiles.

[48:42] If Peter wanted to know God's will, he should have just looked at what God was doing among the Gentiles. God was saving the Gentiles without them becoming Jews. And so he had missed out on that.

[48:54] God had already had a plan for what he was going to do among the Gentiles and Peter, by his actions, was not living out what he believed. And he was calling that entire will of God thing into question.

[49:08] And it's big for us to realize and it's huge. The question is this. So the question is no longer, I think if we understand what Paul is saying and what Paul was showing to Peter is, the question is no longer, God, what is your will for my life as if the universe revolves around us?

[49:28] As if God's will revolves around us. So instead of asking, God, what is your will for my life? I think we should be asking, God, what is your will for human history?

[49:42] God, what is your will for the world? And how can I align myself with that will? Which is what Peter should have been doing. If Peter had looked and said, God, what are you wanting to do in the world right now?

[50:00] In the lives of these Gentiles? And if Peter were to simply align himself with God, he'd have never had this confrontation with Paul. Because Peter would have been doing the will of God if he had just seen what God was doing and believed it.

[50:17] Rather than saying, oh, wait a minute, they're bringing all this into question. Maybe God's not. No, God was already showing what he was doing. Paul was saying, Peter, Christ lives in you. He directs.

[50:29] He guides. And we say, well, what does that mean? First of all, we live to magnify the grace of Christ. That's what verse 21 says. We live to magnify the grace of Christ. He says, Paul said, I do not set aside the grace of God.

[50:43] For if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. Paul is saying, we live to magnify the grace of Christ, not the law. We live to magnify the grace.

[50:54] Secondly, we work to accomplish the mission of Christ. That's why God has left us on planet Earth, is to accomplish his mission. So Paul is saying to Peter, Peter, you're hindering the advancement of the gospel among the Gentiles, among the nations that you are living by the way that you are taking your will into your own hands, and you're hindering the advancement of the gospel among the Gentiles.

[51:22] This is where we've got to come back to some seriousness in. What is God's will? God's will is for us to make disciples. And he will move us around this chessboard that we call life as we're doing that.

[51:37] Work to accomplish the mission of Christ. And finally, die to spread the gospel of Christ. That's what we see in Galatians 2.20.

[51:48] And then we're done. Paul says, I have been, what? Put to death. I died with Christ. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

[52:09] I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but it's Christ who gave himself. That word is literally surrendered his life for us.

[52:20] Christ died so that he might live in us. We die with him so that he might live through us. To share his life, we die to our own will.

[52:34] We take up his cross and follow him to spread the gospel of Christ. You know, it's not a mechanical formula. And I wish I could give you that and put it in your notes to say, if you want to know God's will for your life, then you've got to check these boxes and do these things.

[52:54] I think there's only one ingredient to doing God's will in your life. Get to know him. Get to know him.

[53:07] Do what he's already told you to do, and he will guide you, or as Oswald Chambers puts it, he will check you and stop you. If that's not what he wants you to do or where he wants you to do it.

[53:21] And then as Paul, let him guide you where he wants you. Let him send you where he wants you. And then, as we look back, we can say, that was the will of God.

[53:33] Rather than looking forward and saying, God, what is your will in this little, these little points here and there, just live for him and do what he's already told you. And then as we look back, and we can say, okay, God, that was your will.

[53:44] Doesn't that free us up? Rather than fretting over, missing his will, do what we already know to do. Figure out what pleases God, and then opt for something.

[53:59] Now again, trusting in his will, trusting in his desires, and all these things, trusting in his word. And then, let him lead us, guide us, close a door, open a door, move us, whatever he wants to do.

[54:14] And I pray that God makes us a people who wants God's will, and who sacrifices everything we have for it. As Paul said, I died with Christ so that he might live through me.

[54:28] Let's pray. Father, this morning, Lord, we know that getting to know you is a relationship, is a process. Knowing your will begins with knowing your word.

[54:43] And knowing specifically your will is primarily following you moment by moment, and allowing you to change our direction, to guide us, to move us, to shape us, to mold us.

[55:01] Father, as our will is lost in yours, as our will is surrendered to yours, Lord, may you accomplish your purpose and your mission in our lives.

[55:13] Lord, we pray this morning for the thousands and the thousands of people who have been displaced by Hurricane Harvey. Father, I cannot even begin to imagine what it would be like to lose your house, your belongings, and for some here in this state to have lost their belongings twice in such a short period of time.

[55:47] Lord, I pray that those who are there physically helping, that you would bless them, help them to be an aid to each one of those who are suffering, maybe suffering physically, but also suffering emotionally.

[56:05] Lord, I pray that you would lead us and guide us as to how we can help as well. I pray, Father, that you would strengthen our first responders, many who, a couple of our men who are there today, in the water and helping those and keeping people safe.

[56:31] Protect them, dear Father, we pray. Strengthen them. Lord, we thank you for what you're going to do, for what you're going to do through us, and may your will be done.

[56:45] Strengthen us today. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.