Page 29 - Principles for Discipling Others-Student textbook

don’t want to find God’s will, because they are afraid, they will be stuck in something that will make
their lives miserable.

God has a special plan for each of our lives. He has a work He wants us to accomplish. And He wants to
direct us to accomplish His will for our lives. So let’s see how the Bible tells us God will guide us.

There are a number of verses in the Bible that clearly tell us about His perfect will for our lives. Let’s
look at some of them:

1. It is God’s will that all men be saved. The will of God is that no one perishes.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is
longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

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I Timothy 2:3-4 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to
be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Finding the will of God begins with a relationship with Jesus Christ. Without Christ, a person cannot
know the will of God. The will of God begins by salvation. To find the will of God, a person must first
have eternal life.

I John 2:17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God
abides forever.

Eternal life and the will of God are equated. Any endeavor in which you desire to share the plan of
salvation with others is certainly within His will. He wants everyone to know His name and what He has
done for them. Evangelism is His will.

2. It is God’s will for you to be filled or controlled by God’s Holy Spirit. The word “filled” means totally
“dominated by” or “controlled by”.

Ephesians 5: 17-21 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do
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not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another
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in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving
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thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to
one another out of reverence for Christ.

Every believer possesses the Holy Spirit. He comes into the life of a new believer at the moment he puts
his trust and faith in Christ. Paul in Romans 8:9 declares that if the Holy Spirit is not in the person, then
that person is not a believer. Just having the Holy Spirit indwelling you does not necessarily mean you
are being filled by the Spirit. Remember, filling means domination. It is a voluntary act of the will
whereby the believer gives the Holy Spirit total reign or total control in his life. If a Christian allows sin
to be in his life, or he is filled with self, then the Holy Spirit takes a back seat. He is no longer being
controlled or filled with the Spirit of God. So filling means confessing sin, and a willingness to allow the
Holy Spirit to control and direct your life in any way He so chooses. The spirit-filled life is nothing more
than saturation with the person of Christ. It is yielding one’s self to the Savior.

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