Submitting to Gods will

Sermon: Submitting to God's will
Sermon Teacher: Brother Justin Underwood
Sermon Dates: March 12, 2019; April 2, 2019; April 16, 2019; April 22, 2019.
Prayer Warrior: Brother Underwood
Premise: To help believers understand our duties and responsibilities as his people and the results of being obedient to God's will.
Scripture Reference: See the body of sermon.
Submitting to God's Will By: Justin H. Underwood

In life, we all walk along paths. Some people walk a lot further than others, and some don't even get the opportunity to walk at all.

That may sound sad, it may even sound unfair, but it's the truth. As we walk through, some people walk a lot faster than others, and some take their time wanting to enjoy the view.

There's an African proverb that best describes this journey: "If you want to go fast, you walk alone; if you want to go far, you learn to walk together."

As we walk, there will come to a fork in the road, and we have to choose whether we'll turn to the right, to the left, or do we keep straight?

Matthew 7:13-14 says," Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in there at:

Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

All of these paths are beaten and full of footsteps from previous travelers but only one path, if you look close enough, is enlightened by the footprints of Jesus.

Only when we take our time and enjoy the view that we can see the beauty of the Lord, and we can hear his voice clearly as the wind that blows — Prov. 4:18-27.

I'm pretty sure that we can all remember when we wore young wanted to get somewhere fast. When you're young, you walk fast through life and miss all the signs along the way.

Our elders would always say that we were trying to be grown before we've grown.

When we do that, we get lost, and it can become a point of no return for some. If only we learned…If only we learned!

The paths we choose in life reflect choosing our own will in life or submitting to God's will for our life.

Today's sermon is about "Submitting to God's will" and the eternal blessings in our life due to being obedient to God's will.

Many years ago, when in deep concern as to what was God's will, a young man ventured to ask a very godly older man how he would discern God's will.

Somewhat in amazement, he looked at the young man and said," Why I'd ask Him, and He would tell me — Ps: 25:4-5,9; 143:10; Isa. 42:16.

The dear old man meant it. He was not presumptuous at all. He lived very close to the Lord, had always followed in his footsteps, and always seemed to have the mind of the Spirit. — Ph: 1. 4:4-7.

God has promised to guide us by His word and Spirit, and His word says in Romans 8:14 that "As the Spirit of God leads many, they are the sons of God."

However, with most believers, it is not as simple or that straight forward! It is very reasonable to ask oneself the question: What if after much prayer and fasting, much waiting on the Lord, we still cannot see our way?

What have believers to do? Well, sometimes, our darkness is our light. That may seem such a strange thing to say, but sometimes a believer cannot see what he has to do.

That, in itself, is God's voice to the believer telling them to do nothing. Because the believer cannot see which way to move, God is saying to them they must not move, and so their darkness is their light.

We have to understand that God is always preparing things behind the scenes that we know nothing about, but we must trust that He has our best interest at heart.

After all, we are talking about our Heavenly Father, who sacrificed his only begotten Son on the Cross at Calvary for us.

Why would we not trust and have faith in Him?

It was the Holy Spirit who said, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them — Acts 13:2-3.

There came a time when Paul wanted to go and preach the Word in Asia, having gone throughout Phrygia and the Region of Galatia, but he was forbidden by the Holy Ghost — Acts 16:5-10.

What we see in Scripture is darkness being light. The Bible doesn't tell us why God closed the door on Paul and the brethren entering Asia, but we know that Paul received and recognized the divine vision.

Although Asia needed the Gospel, the Lord, at the time, was closing doors in Asia, so His servants would carry the Good news of Christ to Europe.

To function effectively as believers, we must submit wholeheartedly to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and let him lead his flock to rejoice in greener and more nutritious pastures. — Ps. 32:8-11; 24-26; Isa. 58:11; John 16:13; Luke 1:76-79.

We should be continually seeing God's hand in the marvelous converging of circumstances. We should be aware that God is arranging contacts, opening doors, closing doors, and overruling opposition.

Our service should crackle with the supernatural, and our walk should be confident, uplifting, and inspiring to those that see us.

Everyone we encounter should see the beauty of the Lord shining within us and throughout us like the morning sun — Ps. 24:4-6; 90:14-17.

When God closes a door, it doesn't mean that He's mad at us or that He's no longer with us. As mankind, we close doors and even slam doors behind us when we get angry or want to be bothered.

We can't attribute our own ignorance to the very standards of God. We can't imply that our actions or our thinking would be the same as Almighty God.

It was He that said, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways" — Isa. 55:8-9.

Sometimes we may need to go through some things before we can get to where we're going, or it may be that other people we are destined to help may need to go through some things.

God gives us the power to perform his will, but we sometimes get a little big-head, whether Righteously or unrighteously, and we want to cut corners to get from point A to point C without going through point B.

Just because something may be a good thing or even the right thing doesn't mean that God has approved it. We must always seek His guidance in every matter every step of the way, no matter how small or big we may think things are — Prov. 3:5-8.

We are also taught to lean on the shoulders of our brothers and sisters in Christ for wisdom. We become spiritually enriched when we uplift, inspire, educate, counsel, equip, and strengthen one another.

We must be like the young man seeking wisdom and knowledge from the old, godly man. Scriptures tell us in Proverbs 27:17 that "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend."

God sent Paul through a whole lot to strengthen him for the purposes of the church. Some may even say that Paul was reaping what he had shown.

No matter what some may think or whether they are right, what we know is that we serve a just and righteous God, and he has a plan for every life course.

We all know that we are in spiritual warfare every day, and we have to be able to withstand whatever this wretched world throws at us.

A soldier can't go to war before he is adequately trained to endure and handle battles.

Paul was a beater and imprisoned multiple times, he was threatened with a murder plot, and he was given a thorn in the flesh — 2 Cor. 11:23-30; 12:7-10.

Having suffered through persecutions and afflictions, Paul's faith in God never waivered as he stayed a submitted and faithful messenger of Christ doing God's will — Acts 20:22-24; 28:30-31

*Psalm 125:4 Do Good, O Lord, unto those that be Good, and to them that are upright in their hearts.

Yes, life can be tough, and too often, Christians give up and throw in the towel. We say that it doesn't matter, but it does. It's the difference between eternal life and eternal death. True Christians are saved by faith and walk in obedience to the Lord; their uprightness is the fruit of their trust and obedience (Ps. 125:4).

The Apostle Paul was a child of two worlds. He passed through a world broken by sin while his most faithful citizenship belonged to a world where God's desired will is always on full display.

Paul kept his head in the clouds as he walked a path littered with both obstacles and opportunities. He was a man acutely aware of the grace of Jesus in the present moment and how heaven made salvation possible on earth.

When we have to make choices in life, when we wrestle with what is right and wrong, and when we are faced with the temptations of the world, we must remember that we have a gift from God. — Romans 6:23 for the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We either receive the wages of death for our sins of disobedience to the word of God, or we receive eternal life through Christ for our obedience to his word.

We can choose to submit to God's will and show some grit like Paul and allow our tests to become our testimony, or we can cower like Judas and bring death eternally upon ourselves after betraying Jesus — Matt. 27:3-5.

Sometimes, God's dealings are very mysterious; what when must a believer do? We must cast ourselves entirely on the Lord (i.e., submit, yield, or surrender) — Heb. 12:9; 1 Pet 5:6-7.

It's often in looking back that we see God's hand leading, guiding, opening, closing, restraining, and constraining.

At that time, though, all seemed dark, and now all seems so clear — everything in its place, everything right. "We bless the hand that guided; we bless the heart that planned."

Gideon requested a sign that God would be with him in a time of great need, and God honored his faith. In humility,

Gideon desired a tangible sign to reassure him of God's leading, and from that point on, he never wavered in his trust in God and is included among God's "heroes of faith." — Judges 6:33-40; Heb. 11:32.

Even when we don't ask for a sign, God will insert his will into our lives so that we'll know what our purpose is.

A prime example would be Joseph-unbeknownst to him, Joseph was singled out by God from his conception, and his prophetic dreams and the ability to interpret them were a sign of God's special blessing on him — Gen. 37:1-11.

God revealed to him, through dreams, that he would be a great man, rules, and savior — a type of Christ — of the world where all the world had to come to him for bread — Gen. 41:57; John 6:27-35.

Like Paul, Joseph had to go through some things in life. For him to get from point a to the point c that God has shown him in his dreams, he had to go through point B.

Some of you are wondering what point B is. Well, it's the part of our life that we go through suffering and persecution. In Joseph's case, he was sold into slavery by his own brothers who hated him because he was loved dearly by his father — Gen. 37:19-28, 36.

He was imprisoned after refusing the sexual advances by Potiphar's wife — Gen. 39:1-20.
And again, like Paul, Joseph found himself in chains for a second time — Psalm 105:17-19; Act 21:30-33.

Some things that were meant by others for evil turned out to be for good through the hands of Almighty God. When you are obedient to His will and put our faith and trust in Him, He can make the impossible possible. — Rom. 8:28 tells us, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose."

No matter what we go through in this life, if we surrender to Him, He will remain faithful to his promise never to leave us nor forsake us. (Heb. 13:5).

Throughout all the obstacles, the Lord was with Joseph, and he never wavered from his faith in doing God's will. His time in prison was "the training time for reigning time."

Although innocent, he stayed obedient to God, and because of that, his Spirit glowed like embers from a fire.
Everyone around him saw it, and everyone saw in him the prosperity of the Lord — Gen. 39:21-23.

As believers, we should be inspired to walk in the same shoes of righteousness that our Biblical brothers once walked in.

We should see God's hand in the breakdown, in delays, in accidents, in losses, and in seeming tragedies. When things don't go our way, we should not resort to the forms and the wiles of the devil but exercise patience and walk in the light of his Righteousness — Job 29:1-17; 1 John 1:5-7.

It is these very times when we should experience extra-ordinary deliverances and be aware of strength, courage, peace, and wisdom beyond our natural limits.

When our lives touch other lives, we should see something happening for God. His will is that our lives should be supernatural and that the life of Jesus Christ should flow through us — Ps. 147:15-18; Isa. 26:1-12; Jer. 31:12-14; John 7:38.

When we feel the gentle touch of His hand directing us, we should see through all the darkness that obscures our view.

When this takes place, impossibilities will melt, closed doors will open, and power will surge. We will be supercharged with the Holy Spirit, and when people get near us, they will feel the sparks of the Spirit.

God is always working behind the scene for us. Like Joseph, we may lose our colorful coat, but it will be well worth saving our character and eventually gaining a crown — 2 Tim. 4:7-8; James 1:12; 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:6-7.

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path (Ps. 119:105). This teaches us that if something in Scripture is commanded, then there is no need to ask for further guidance.

Likewise, if something is forbidden, then we must not ask the Lord if we have permission to do it or not. We don't hear His voice in the matter because He has already spoken.

Some years ago, on a very dark night, a ship's Captain was steering his ship into the harbor. It was well known that the entry to this harbor was hazardous because it was full of hidden rocks.

Knowing this, one of the passengers went up on deck and asked the Captain a simple question: "How do you manage again and again to steer the ship safely into the harbor"?

The Captain's answer was simple — "You see these red lights?" he said. I have to maneuver the position of the ship until all three lights are in line. Then I can sail straight forward, but not till then!

If I tried to go forward before I have the lights in line, it would be a disaster.

God has given us three red lights, and we must wait upon him till the three lights are inline. The three red lights are: 1) The word of God, 2) Personal exercise of faith in God, and 3) Prayer.

We must seek to follow the perfect example of the Lord Jesus Christ and never forget that He left us a path with His footprints — 1 Pet. 2:18-25.

If we say that we believe, then we should obey. If our conscience is kept tender in fear of God, then we will not walk contrary to this will, nor will we be disobedient to His word.

Obedience to God's word should always bring honor and moral beauty to the life of every believer. The more you know, the louder your voices; the louder your voices, the wiser your choices — Prov. 1:7-9; 2:6-11; 3:20-22.

O, how unlike the complex and destructive
works of fallen man,
The heavens opened up and revealed God's
Supernatural plan.

No genuine graces to beguile,
No unnecessary junk to throw on
the pile

When we submit, we stand to wit Him
victoriously.
For our guilt, He gave us peace
wholeheartedly.

He bore our sins in his body on
the tree,
Quite majestic in its simplicity.

Exalted far above and crowned with
eternal glory,
He knows the beginning and end of
our lives story.

So be strong in the strength which
Almighty God supplier,
Stand up fellow soldiers in Christ,
Submit, and arise!

God's purpose for each of us may be different, but his general will for all of us is the same according to the Scriptures.

It is the will of God that we should ask for a faith that saves and keeps ourselves and others — Heb. 10:38.

It is the will of God that we should give time in prayer to offer thanks unto Him for the many, many blessings. He has bestowed upon us — 1 Thess: 5:18.

It is the will of God that, in prayer and daily life, we should give praise unto His blessed, holy, and righteous name — praise Him for all His attributes and what he is in Himself — Psalm 150:6; Matt. 6:9-10.

It is the will of God that we pray in faith and assurance for the salvation of the lost and that He will pour water upon the thirsty, floods upon dry around, and His Spirit upon our children, and blessings upon our offspring — Ezek. 33:11; Isa. 44:1-4; 1 Tim. 2:3-4.

It is the will of God for us to pray the prayer of confession, to be all of our sins to the God of mercy, confess them, forsake them, and be cleansed — 1 John 1:9.

It is the will of God that we pray for sanctification in our lives and the lives of others. We should pray that by the Spirit, we will be changed into Christ's image and likeness from glory to glory — 1 Thess. 4:3; 1 pet. 1:13-16.

It is the will of God that we should pray and intercede for God's ministers, teachers, missionaries, translators in the field, and all witnesses everywhere as they further the Gospel in all lands — Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Eph. 3:14-21.

It is the will of God that we pray for obedience to His word so that we may receive His celestial joy — John 15:4-17.

As believers, we can only profit from the word when our hearts and our will is yielded to all God's commands if w do not honestly wish to please Him in anything.

Self must be denied not merely some of the things which may be craved, but self itself — Psalm 119:1-7; James 2:10-11.

When we submit to God's will, we are assured of His presence, His relationship, His help, His sustaining power, His personal love, and care for His people — Deut. 31:8; Isa. 41:10.

In closing, let us represent and demonstrate the Kingdom of God through our lives in all things — God Bless!

By: Justin H Underwood