The Power to do God’s Will

Phil 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.

Isa 26:12 LORD, you will grant us peace,for all we have accomplished is really from you.

2 Cor 3:5 It is not that we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves. Our only power and success come from God.

2 Thess 1:11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.

Heb 13:20 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, 21 equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

James 1: 17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

Eph 2:8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Eph 3:16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.

Col 1:9 So we have continued praying for you ever since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you a complete understanding of what he wants to do in your lives, and we ask him to make you wise with spiritual wisdom.

Phil 1: 11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation — those good things that are produced in your life by Jesus Christ — for this will bring much glory and praise to God.


    Do Not Boast About Tomorrow

     

    James 4:13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say,"If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

    17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

     

    We all plan with linear thinking. We look to the years past and lives of those before us and expect the future to remain linear or go in a strait line. We plan for non-linear events by buying insurance of all types. In our generation we expect what we have observed as the norm. We assure ourselves with projections of a prosperous end just like the man in the verse above did.

     

    Making plans is a good thing but boasting as if you are in control of them is sin. We must never forget God is in control. His Plan for mankind and our personal lives WILL happen as He wills. We have not been given the details of our personal futures. Also we must never forget we live in a fallen sinful world and our end is death.

     

    What’s so sinful with this man’s plans as told to us in James. To start with he said he knew he would be alive tomorrow. He was declaring that he is in control over life and death making himself God. Instead you ought to say,"If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that”.

     

    Let’s look at another man with his plans. He’s looking to retire and he’s got all his ducks in a row.

     

    Luke 12:16 Then He (Jesus) spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  17 And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'  18 So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  19 And I will say to my soul,"Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."'  20 But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'  21 "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

     

    We must all spend the years God has given us here to serve Him knowing all good things come from Him. His eternal plan for mankind is written in the Bible. Before Jesus can return to redo His creation to perfection, as it was before the sin entered into it, He must judge this world as we know it. That will be a nonlinear event, unexpected for those who don’t know Jesus or are not paying attention to His Word. For most judgment is swift, unexpected and devastating!

     

    Proverbs 16

    1We can gather our thoughts, but the LORD gives the right answer.

    2 People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives.

    3 Commit your work to the LORD, and then your plans will succeed.

    4 The LORD has made everything for his own purposes...

    5 The LORD despises pride; be assured that the proud will be punished.

    18 Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.

    33 We may throw the dice, but the LORD determines how they fall. NLT