THE WORD

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THE WORD

Al

The Preaching Ministry of Ashley River Baptist Church

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Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God Reality 6: You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing. Your adjustments and obedience will be COSTLY to you and those around you. YOU CANNOT STAY THE WAY YOU ARE AND GO WITH GOD. Everything has to be yielded to God! Adjusting one’s life to God is well worth the cost. God required major adjustments of His own Son. (2 Cor. 8:9). You have no choice! Making this adjustment may be your greatest single difficulty in following God. “My ways are higher than your ways” Isaiah 55:9 "You cannot serve both God and Money.” Matthew 6:24 The INVITATION: Join God in His work. The TASK: God-sized creating a crisis of belief. Your RESPONSE: First requirement is faith. The DEMONSTRATION of faith: Action 1st Action: the adjustment of your life to God. 2nd Action: obedience to what God asks of you. KINDS OF ADJUSTMENTS: Circumstances / Relationships / Thoughts / Commitments / Actions / Beliefs The EASY part: the mental decision The HARD part: taking an action that demonstrates your faith. “Don’t ever tell God something you will not do. That may be what He will ask you to do.” Adjusting is always to a Person. You adjust your life to God. Sooner or later you will have to make the major adjustments to join Him. TOTAL DEPENDENCE ON GOD: You must adjust from dependence on your abilities, gifts, likes and dislikes, and goals to complete dependence on God: His resources. This major adjustment is never easy to make. (John 15:5; 1 Cor. 15:10; Isaiah 46:9-11) WAITING ON THE LORD: Sometimes God requires you to wait on Him. (Ps. 37:34) Waiting on the Lord is not being INACTIVE! As you wait… PRAY: to know Him, His purposes, His ways. WATCH: circumstances, asking God to interpret them, revealing His perspective. Matthew 7:7-8 While you wait, continue doing the last thing God told you to do. REALITY: You will have to make major adjustments in your life to follow God. You must depend on Him to guide you in His way and in His timing to accomplish His purpose.

Reality 7: You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you. Isaiah 46:10-11 God Accomplishes His Work. Ex. 3:12 God’s affirmation comes after the obedience. What if the “door” closes? PAUL: Acts 16:6-10 Clarify what God said and identify what may have been your “additions” to what He said. Keep in place what God has said. Let Him work out the details in His timing. Do all you know to do. Then wait on the Lord until He tells you what to do next. Jesus said: “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” John 16:12-13

If you walk in a consistent relationship with God’s provision for you then you should never come to a time that you do not know the will of God. Jesus is your example. Moses’ Example: THE PATTERN - God speaks— Moses obeys — God accomplishes what He purposed to do. People of faith came to know God by experience when they obeyed Him and He accomplished His work through them. (Luke 10: 21-24). You Come to Know God: When God works through you to accomplish His purposes, you come to know God by experience in new and more intimate ways. “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14). Jesus identified Himself to His disciples in various ways but they could only truly know identity by experiencing Him in that capacity. Example: “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 6:35; 8:12; 10:9, 11; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1)

Summary

 God is at work in the world.  God takes the initiative to invite you to be involved with Him.  You cannot stay where you are and go with God in obedience to His will.  Major adjustments must come first. The adjustments are well worth the reward of experiencing God.  Once you have made the necessary adjustments, you can follow God in obedience.  When you obey Him, He accomplishes His work through you in such a way that you and everyone else know that God has been at work.  When you experience God working in and through you, you will come to know Him more fully. Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent” (John 17:3) Experiencing God Today: God longs for you to desire Him & His ways. Psalm 119:33-35 My Surrender to Accomplishing God’s Work Lord, I know I am too comfortable with life as usual. Forgive me. I want to see You working through my life. God, You have an assignment for me that is God-sized. I know that this means I will face a crisis of belief day by day. I must trust You to be who You say You are and to do what You have said You will do. To accomplish it, I must have the faith to make the adjustments You require in my life. I must adjust my life to You. I will obey You. Show me how. I am willing, Jesus. You may change my circumstances. You may change my relationships. You may change my thinking. You may change my commitments and priorities. You may change my actions. You have my permission to change my beliefs, even those I have so proudly held on to for these many years. Change whatever is necessary for me to carry out Your assignment. I depend entirely on You. I wait for Your call to action. I want to think Your thoughts, act in Your ways, and focus on Your purposes. Make me ready to obey. Thank You for caring enough about me to want to change me. I want to experience You. I seek to know your will and join you in your work. Work through me to accomplish all that You desire to accomplish. Do not let me give in to unpromising circumstances when You are speaking to me. Do not let me be impatient. Show me where I have been disobedient. Help me trust that You are always doing what is best for me. Give me patience to let you prepare me for the task You have assigned me. Place the Holy Spirit in my life to direct me according to Your ways, Your purposes, and Your work. Make our love relationship even more intimate than it already is. May I forever be found in your will. Thank you, dear Lord, for being so close to me. I surrender to You and Your will. I love You.