In John 2:1-12 we have the account where Jesus was invited to a wedding and a social disaster occurred — they ran out of wine. His mother mentioned it to Him, and then she said to the servants – “Whatsoever He says to you, do it.” (2:5) Let your mind think about that statement “Whatever Jesus says to you, do it.” Moments later He told the servants to fill the waterpots with water and then to draw some out and take it to the one in charge. He had turned water into wine and the host said it was the very best they had served. Isn’t that just like Jesus? Maybe you tried living your life your way. Then one day you realized that life wasn’t as rosy as you thought it would be. Someone introduced you to Christ and He began to change your life for the better.
In receiving Christ, as your Savior, you discovered that it was His will for you to be saved. In 2 Peter 3:9, we read “The LORD is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but (He) is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
In your decision to receive Christ, you discovered that God loves you and He proved it by sending his Son into our world to ultimately give His life as an atoning sacrifice to atone for your sins. Because of what Christ did for us, our sins can be forgiven, and we are accepted and adopted into God’s family. In John 1:12 we read “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe His name.”
However, it doesn’t stop with our spiritual birth. God has a special and specific will for each of us who receive Christ. He calls us to serve Him.
In Romans 1:1 The Apostle Paul introduces himself as follows – “Paul, a bondservant (love slave) of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle …” He said the same thing in 1 Cor. 1:1, he wrote “Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God…”
The Apostle frequently introduces himself this way in several of his letters. He knew he was saved to serve His LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ.
At his conversion, recorded in Acts 9, he asked Jesus — “What do you want me to do?” (vs. 6) In response, Jesus said to him “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (vs. 7)
Folks, from cover to cover, in the Bible, we see that God’s will is for people to be saved, and once saved, to serve Him in whatever way(s) He chooses to use our lives.
I am personally convinced that we will never know real peace, joy, and fulfillment until we know Him, and then make ourselves available to serve or make Him known to others.
Dr. J. Sidlow Baxter made a statement that I believe fits right here — “To live in intelligent obedience to God’s will for us individually is life on the highest plane and the gladdest of all self-fulfillment. It presupposes an unreserved yieldness to Christ. It also implies an acceptance of the responsibilities that go with God’s calling or will.”
In Psalm 40:8 David wrote, “I delight to do Your will; O my God and Your law is within my heart.”
I agree with David. My personal sense of fulfillment has always come from knowing and doing with my life what I know to be God’s will. It has not always been easy. In fact, my will from time to time has gotten in the way. Joy came when I yielded my selfish, imperfect will to His perfect will and then set out to do what He asked.
Missionary Jim Elliott is crediting with making the following statement his life motto — “If Jesus Christ be God, and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.” Jim, along with four other missionaries died in 1955 trying to take the gospel to the Auca Indians.
I close with one more quote from Dr. J. Sidlow Baxter — “After conversion to Christ the greatest crisis-point is this tremendous moment when we say: “Lord Jesus, from now onwards my rule of life shall be, Thy will alone; nothing less, nothing more, at all costs.”
The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 10:31 wrote “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
Are you really fulfilled? Are you doing the will of God with a fully yielded heart? If you are, you will be blessed.
All to Jesus I surrender, Pastor Leonard
