The Battle of the Wills.
LUKE 10:25-28 NLT: One day an expert in religious law
stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question:
“Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”26 Jesus
replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you
read it?”27 The man answered, “You must love the Lord
your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your
strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as
yourself.”28 “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will
live!” (NLT) The.
I. You need to recognize that Knowing God’s Will is
not enough.
a) ekpeirazo:
b) What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?
You must love the LORD your God with all your heart,
all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’
And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.
c) His problem wasn’t that he didn’t Know Gods Will,
his problem was doing it.
d) JUDGES 17:6 NASB: In those days there was no king
in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own
eyes.
e) JONAH 1:3 NIV: But Jonah ran away from the LORD
and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa,
where he found a ship bound for that port. After
paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for
Tarshish to flee from the LORD.
f) Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths
to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that
they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty
and the pursuit of Happiness.
II. You need to recognize that Knowing God’s Will
does not mean we Embrace it.
a) The man wanted to justify his actions, so he
asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor? His
question suggest he is more concerned with
appearing right than being right. I know none of you
have that problem but in some Churches people are
more concerned w/looking godly than w/living godly.
b) Knowing God’s Will and Embracing God’s Will are
not synonymous.
JAMES 4:17 ESV: So whoever knows the right thing to do
and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
Our greatest struggle is not in the realm of understanding
the will of God; it’s in the realm of obeying the God whose
will it is.” Chuck Swindoll
ROMANS 12:17 ESV: Repay no one evil for evil, but give
thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.
ROMANS 12:21 ESV: Do not be overcome by evil, but
overcome evil with good.
MATTHEW 5:16 NASB: Let your light shine before men
in such a way that they may see your good works, and
glorify your Father who is in heaven.
This is the Battle of the Wills. When I want to do what I
want to do even when I know what God wants me to do.
Romans 8:5 ESV: For those who live according to the flesh
set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live
according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the
Spirit.
c) LUKE 10:30-36 NLT: Jesus replied with a story: “A
Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to
Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They
stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him
half dead beside the road.31 “By chance a priest came
along. But when he saw the man lying there, he
crossed to the other side of the road and passed him
by. 32 A Temple assistant walked over and looked at
him lying there, but he also passed by on the other
side.33 “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and
when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him.
34 Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his
wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them.
Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him
to an inn, where he took care of him. 35 The next day
he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him,
‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this,
I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’36 “Now which of
these three would you say was a neighbor to the man
who was attacked by bandits?”
III. You need to recognize the Power of Doing God’s
Will.
a) Philippians 2:13 NLT: For God is working in you,
giving you the desire and the power to do what please
Him.
