God has created you to fulfill a specific role in this world. There is no one else who can achieve completely what God has purposely created you to do.
The Apostle Peter gives us this admonition:
1 Peter 4:10
As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. God has gifted every one of us to perform a special mission for which we alone were created. How amazing is that? Wow! So, when you seek to discover God’s will for your life, pay attention to how He has gifted you. His plan for you will always be directly related to the gifts that He has bestowed upon you. The great news is that you will automatically be good at whatever it is that He has called you to do!
My Confession:
Because I have been saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Spirit, I can say I am a child of God, and want to do His will, and live His will for my life. I present my body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to my God, which is His perfect will for me.
This aspect of God’s will reveal His ultimate will hidden until He reveal it, because He is supreme Being of the universe, and of all things (Romans 13:1).
2) Explain the second aspect of God’s will
This aspect of God’s will is His perceptive or revealed will that God has chosen to reveal some of His will in the Bible. The perceptive will of God is God’s declared will concerning what we should or should not do.
3) Explain the third aspect of God’s will
This aspect of God’s will in the Bible is God’s permissive or perfect will. This describes God’s attitude and defines what is pleasing to Him, not our flesh. (Philippians 2:13)
4) How would you explain God’s sovereign will and God’s perfect will
The decreed will of God. This is God's eternal, foreordained plan and purpose, which will not change and cannot be thwarted. It includes our salvation (Ephesians 1:3-6, etc.) and His choice and calling of Israel (Romans 11:1-2, 29). God's covenant purposes and promises are a part of His decree, and He will not and cannot "change His mind" about these things (Exodus 32:13).
The Perceptive Will ofGodis the will of God for man. For example, God wills that man does notsin, that we do not lie, do not steal, etc. It is the will of God for man that is revealed through his Law (Exodus 20:1-17) where God is concerned with man following his precepts. It is also the will of God for us to be holy, repent, love, etc. (1 Pet. 1:16;Acts 17:30;John 13:34
Rom. 12:2, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." (Eph. 6:6), "not by way of eye service, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart."
1 Thess. 4:3-6, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality; 4 that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, 5 not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you."
Permissive Will
The Permissive Will of God is that will whichGoddoes not decree to occur, nor is it his will since it is not in accordance with hisLaw. God's permissive will is his will to permitsinto occur. God allows man to rebel against him, and in this God permits people to do such things as lie, steal, etc.
Jer. 19:5, "and have built the high places of Baal to burn their sons in the fire as burnt offerings to Baal, a thing which I never commanded or spoke of, nor did it ever enter My mind."
Luke 8:32, "Now there was a herd of many swine feeding there on the mountain; and the demons entreated Him to permit them to enter the swine. And He gave them permission."
Rom. 1:21-23, "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures."
A). “Usually, this kind of leprosy is only cured by prayer and fasting. You are one lucky guy!”
B). “Though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him.”
C). “See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
D). “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.”
Answer: (C) (Matthew 8:4)
2). Complete the passage: "On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, 'Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.' And He said to them, 'Go, tell that , "Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected".'"
Answer: Fox (Luke 13:32)
3). According to a Bible proverb, this is good medicine:
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Matthew 8:17
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
1 Peter 2:24
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Psalm 103:3
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Matthew 4:23
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
Matthew 8:3
And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Revelation 22:6
And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Father God, we come to You with praises in our hearts today, we thank You for Your grace and mercy today. You are an awesome God! We love You, Lord. We stand in agreement for Your will to be done in our life, just as it is said in “The Lord’s Prayer.” Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in US, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established. —2 Corinthians 13:1
There are two different witnesses talking to us in every situation. On one side, there’s the witness of the problem. Problems speak loud and clear, whether it’s pain, symptoms, bad reports, depression, or fear. It says, “Man, you’re sick! You won’t make it. You’re defeated.” On the other side is the witness of God’s Word. It says, “By Jesus’ stripes, you were healed. (Isa. 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24.) Thanks be unto God who always gives you the victory through the Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Cor. 2:14.) This is the victory that overcomes the world, even your faith. (1 John 5:4.)” But notice, it takes two witnesses for any of those words to stand. The word establish means “to cause to stand.”1 So God said, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses, let every word be established, or be made to stand.” The devil is on one side. God is on the other. And you’re in the middle. The side you line up with becomes the side with the majority vote. If you line up with the problem, it’s established in your life, and there’s little God can do about it. However, if you choose to line up with God’s Word, you’re on your way to victory. How do you line up? The witness you believe and verbally agree with is the one that becomes established in your life.
Confession: With my mouth, I establish the Word in my life. God sent His Word and healed me. I believe I’m healed according to His Word.
"What is the difference between God's sovereign will and God's perfect will?"
When speaking of God's will, many people see three different aspects of it in the Bible. The first aspect is known as God's decretive, sovereign, or hidden will. This is God's "ultimate" will. This facet of God's will comes out of the recognition of God's sovereignty and the other aspects of God's nature. This expression of God's will focuses on the fact that God sovereignly ordains everything that comes to pass. In other words, there is nothing that happens that is outside of God's sovereign will. This aspect of God's will is seen in verses likeEphesians 1:11, where we learn that God is the one "who works all things according to the counsel of His will," andJob 42:2, "I know that You can do everything, And that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You." This view of God's will is based on the fact that, because God is sovereign, His will can never be frustrated. Nothing happens that is beyond His control.
This understanding of His sovereign will does not imply that God causes everything to happen. Rather, it acknowledges that, because He is sovereign, He must at least permit or allow whatever happens to happen. This aspect of God's will acknowledges that, even when God passively permits things to happen, He must choose to permit them, because He always has the power and right to intervene. God can always decide to either permit or stop the actions and events of this world. Therefore, as He allows things to happen, He has "willed" them in this sense of the word.
While God's sovereign will is often hidden from us until after it comes to pass, there is another aspect of His will that is plain to us: His preceptive or revealed will. As the name implies, this facet of God's will means that God has chosen to reveal some of His will in the Bible. The preceptive will of God is God's declared will concerning what we should or should not do. For example, because of the revealed will of God, we can know that it is God's will that we do not steal, that we love our enemies, that we repent of our sins, and that we be holy as He is holy. This expression of God's will is revealed both in His Word and in our conscience, through which God has written His moral law upon the hearts of all men. The laws of God, whether found in Scripture or in our hearts, are binding upon us. We are accountable when we disobey them.
Understanding this aspect of God's will acknowledges that while we have the power and ability to disobey God's commands, we do not have the right to do so. Therefore, there is no excuse for our sin, and we cannot claim that by choosing to sin we are simply fulfilling God's sovereign decree or will. Judas was fulfilling God's sovereign will in betraying Christ, just as the Romans who crucified Him were. That does not justify their sins. They were no less evil or treacherous, and they were held accountable for their rejection of Christ (Acts 4:27-28). Even though in His sovereign will God allows or permits sin to happen, we are still accountable to Him for that sin. The third aspect of God's will that we see in the Bible is God's permissive or perfect will. This facet of God's will describes God's attitude and defines what is pleasing to Him. For example, while it is clear that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, it is also clear that He wills or decrees their death. This expression of God's will is revealed in the many verses of Scripture which indicate what God does and does not take pleasure in. For example, in1 Timothy 2:4we see that God desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth," yet we know that God's sovereign will is that "no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:44). If we are not careful, we can easily become preoccupied or even obsessed with finding the "will" of God for our lives. However, if the will we are seeking is His secret, hidden, or decretive will, we are on a foolish quest. God has not chosen to reveal that aspect of His will to us. What we should seek to know is the perceptive or revealed will of God. The true mark of spirituality is when we desire to know and live according to the will of God as revealed in Scripture, and that can be summarized as "be holy for I am Holy" (1 Peter 1:15-16). Our responsibility is to obey the revealed will of God and not to speculate on what His hidden will for us might be. While we should seek to be "led by the Holy Spirit," we must never forget that the Holy Spirit is primarily leading us to righteousness and to being conformed into the image of Christ so that our lives will glorify God. God calls us to live our lives by every word that proceeds from His mouth.
Living according to His revealed will should be the chief aim or purpose of our lives.Romans 12:1-2summarizes this truth, as we are called to present our "bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." To know the will of God, we should immerse ourselves in the written Word of God, saturating our minds with it, and praying that the Holy Spirit will transform us through the renewing of our minds, so that the result is what is good, acceptable and perfect—the will of God.
Please read these scriptures (Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 8:17; 1 Peter 2:24; Psalm 103:3; Matthew 4:23, 8:3. Revelation 22:6.
Week # 5: Weekly Prayer:
Father God, we come to You with praises in our hearts today, we thank You for Your grace and mercy today. You are an awesome God! We love You, Lord. We stand in agreement for Your will to be done in our life, just as it is said in "The Lord's Prayer." Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in US, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.
Quiz:
1). After healing a leper, Jesus said to him:
A). "Usually, this kind of leprosy is only cured by prayer and fasting. You are one lucky guy!"
B). "Though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."
C). "See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."
D). "I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work."
2). Complete the passage: "On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, 'Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.' And He said to them, 'Go, tell that , "Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected".'"
3). According to a Bible proverb, this is good medicine:
A. Sound sleep
B. Good nutrition
C. Exercise
D. A merry heart
Scripture Reading: Luke 17
Scripture reports that after the lepers were healed, one of them came back to give thanks, he came back to Jesus, what was the man doing? (Luke 17:15)
A). Screaming and dancing wildly about.
B). Praising God in a loud voice.
C). Crawling on his hands and knees.
D). Hanging his head in shame for he was a sinner.
According to this study: Questions:
1. Explain the first aspect of God's will
2. Explain the second aspect of God's will
3. Explain the third aspect of God's will
4. How would you explain God's sovereign will and God's perfect will?
One key component to finding God’s will is to seek the input of godly advisors in your life. If you don’t currently have 3-4 godly mentors, then I would highly recommend that you seek them out right away.
Think of it this way: you should understand that you are basically a composite of the five people you spend the most time with. So, then, it is vital that you choose those five people well. If you choose to surround yourself with godly advisors, they will be instrumental in helping you discern God’s plan for your life. But if you surround yourself with people who are far from God, your hope of finding His best for your life will be greatly diminished.
Proverbs 11:14
Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.
The church is designed to help you greatly with this. I would encourage you to be in church every single time the doors are opened. The more you involve yourself with a community of believers, the greater your chances will be of finding godly men and women who can help you discern God’s will.
1). After Ben-Hadad king of Syria sent his servant, with gift in hand, to inquire through the prophet Elisha as to whether or not God would grant him recovery from a sickness: Choose from A-D
A. The servant was stricken with leprosy when he stole the gift, which Elisha had refused to accept.
B.Elisha answered affirmatively without seeking God, and Elijah rebuked him for being presumptuous.
C.Elisha told the servant that Ben-Hadad had to dip himself seven times in a river in order to be cured.
D.The servant told Ben-Hadad that he would recover as Elisha had said, but then killed Ben-Hadad.
Answer: (D) (II Kings 8:15)
2). Malchus, whom Jesus wondrously healed, was:
A.The high priest's servant whose ear was cut off by Simon Peter.
B.A servant of the synagogue at Capernaum who previously had a withered arm.
C.The previously paralyzed servant of a Roman centurion.
D.A servant of Joseph of Arimathea whose healing was used by the Lord to lead Joseph to faith
Answer: (A) (John 18:10)
3). T or F: The expression, "starve a fever, feed a cold" is found in the Bible.
True ____ or Fasle
Answer False
Week # 4
Scripture Reading: Luke 17
According to Luke 17:14, what did Jesus say to the lepers when they called out. Choose from A-D
A “Go, show yourselves to the priests.”
B “Come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”
C “Repent of your sins and be baptized.”
D “If you had not sinned, you would not have been afflicted with leprosy.”
Answer: (G) (Luke 17:14)
According to this study: Questions:
1). Do we have to fast and pray for healing today?
No, we must believe God’s Word that says, “by Jesus’ stripes we are healed”, but it’s good to fast and pray for answers to our prayers too.
2). How can we take the “if” out of healing?
We take the “If” out when we truly trust and believe God’s Word, and then boldly say, “I am healed
3). Who does the healing?
It was the Father, dwelling inside Jesus, who did the work; and now days the Holy Spirit does the work through the Father. (Roman 8:11) says, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Matthew 8:17
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.
1 Peter 2:24
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.
Psalm 103:3
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;
Matthew 4:23
And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.
Matthew 8:3
And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Revelation 22:6
And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.
Father God, You are an awesome God, and we worship You forever. Thank You for Your mercy and grace today. Thank You for blessing each and every member of this community. Bless their family too, Lord. Thank You. Lord, we are so grateful for You revealing Your will to us. Help us to know Your will for our lives today in Jesus’ name, amen. Thank You, Lord. Lord God, Almighty, we ask that You would bless those who have lost loved ones through the storm, bless them with comfort from those around them. Bless this study, Lord, for our learning of Your Word and Your will for us. We stand in agreement with all who have asked for healing in their bodies, right now in Jesus’ name. Touch them from the crown of their head to the tip of their toes in Jesus’ name. We ask this in Your Son Jesus’ name. AMEN.
