God's Will for your Life.

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And finally, there’s one other thing. God’s will for you, this is His will for your life, that you be saved, that you be Spirit-filled, that you be sanctified, that you be submissive, that you be suffering, and finally, that you be saying thanks, that you be thankful. Listen to 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything, give thanks; for this is” - what? - “God’s will for you.”
A constantly grateful heart: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks - constant joy, constant prayer filled with constant thanks. Is that what your life is like? Is that you? Are you just overwhelmed with thanks? Are you just pouring up thanks? This is the will of God for you. There’s no mystery here, folks, no mystery at all. God’s will is that you be saved, Spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive, suffering, and saying thanks all the time; that’s God’s will.
You say, “Ah, come on. You’re cheating me. I thought I was going to get an answer about the girl I’m supposed to marry.” Oh, I’m going to give you that. I’m going to tell you exactly what to do. You say, “I want a specific answer.” Well, that’s good. There’s one final principle, and you’re going to like it, you’re going to like it.
If you’re saved, Spirit-filled, sanctified, submissive, suffering, and thankful - you ready for this? - do whatever you want. Do whatever you want. Marry whoever you want. Go wherever you want. Work wherever you want. Choose whatever you want. You say, “Whoa. Are you sure?” Absolutely. Because if this is true of your life, guess who’s controlling your wants. Do whatever you want.
People say to me, “Why did you come to Grace Church?” I wanted to come. There wasn’t nothing mystical; I didn’t hear voices in heaven. Did I know all this would happen? No, I just came here because I wanted to come. I said, “That’s a good place. They want me; nobody else wants me; I want to go.” It wasn’t like I had a lot of options; still don’t.
People say, “How did you decide to decide to marry Patricia?” That was easy; I wanted her and no one else. And I said, “God, that’s the one I want right there. And I believe You’re controlling my wants.”
You say, “I need a verse for that, that’s way out there.” I’ll give you a verse. I know, you’re used to getting a verse. Here’s a verse: Psalm 37:4. You ready for this? “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.” That doesn’t mean He’ll fulfill yours, it means He’ll plant His. You delight in the Lord - saved, Spirit-filled, submissive, all of those things. You delight in the Lord; and He will plant His desires in your heart.
Why am I in the ministry? Because I wanted to be. Why am I at Grace Church? Because I wanted to be. Why do I go here and do that? Because I want to. And I just want to make sure that the wants that are coming out of my heart are the reflection of the desires that God would have for my life. And so, if I follow what I know to be God’s will, then what I don’t know to be God’s will is simply a matter of following desires that God has planted in my heart because I’m delighting in Him.
“I, being in the way,” - Genesis 24:27 - “the Lord led me.” Just get in this path and the Lord will lead. Another way to say it is: “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He’ll do it, He’ll fulfill it. He’ll actually fulfill His will if you just delight in Him and commit to Him.
link to the full sermon available on KZbin:
• Taking the Mystery Out...
About John MacArthur:
John MacArthur is the pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, as well as an author, conference speaker, chancellor of The Master’s University and Seminary, and featured teacher with the Grace to You media ministry.