What is Your mission and Me?

What is the mission of the church? This is an important question because you and I are the building blocks of the church, so, what is your mission? What is my mission? Our mission, as Jesus tells us, is to preach the gospel to the poor, wherever they may be. Are you running the task? You do not have to go to a poor country, as a missionary does, but you can start from your environment. I want to read a passage from Matthew 11:2-6 for you:
Now when John heard in prison about the deeds Christ had done, he sent his disciples to ask a question:
“Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”
Jesus answered them, “Go tell John what you hear and see:
The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news proclaimed to them.
Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.”

When John the Baptist asked the question, "Are you the one sent by God? Are you the Messiah? Should we wait for someone else?" Jesus did not say, "Yes, I am the Messiah. You should know that." When John baptized Jesus, the Holy Spirit came down to Jesus in the form of a dove. John the Baptist should have known about it, but when asking this question he was in prison and his conviction was a bit shaky. He had heard the news conveyed to him, and the news did not seem to match his expectations about the work of the Messiah. Then how did Jesus answer it? Jesus answered by saying, "Tell John what you see and hear. The blind see. The lame man walks." He mentions five things, including about the resurrected dead. They are miracles. Everything is the result of the power of God working in it. And after mentioning the five things, he mentioned one more thing: to the poor the good news is preached. It's interesting. The sixth point is not a miracle. The sixth is the preaching of the good news - not to everyone - but to the poor! In particular he calls the poor. Jesus always cares for the poor.

True Christians are not just people who believe in this and that. What sacrifices are needed to trust some things? There is no. I can trust this and that. You can trust whatever you want. Your beliefs may be true. There are some people who believe in things that are not true. It's better to believe the right thing. However, just believing does not require any sacrifice. It is wonderful to believe that Jesus died for us. Does it require sacrifice from you? No. But it is important to believe that Jesus died for us because it is true. The problem, just trusting and saying, "I have been saved by it," does not require any sacrifice from you.

Jesus affirms his sacrifice. He said, "You can not be my disciple if you do not carry your cross. It's not enough to believe that I died for you. It's not enough to say that I have carried the cross for you. You must take up your cross and follow me. That is, live your life by imitating my nature. I go to the cross, then you also go to the cross. Be an example of my life." Many Christians do not understand that. Until now, they still do not understand.

Do you know what the consequences? The result is that non-Christians will not listen to you. The result is that the church means nothing to the world. You know that. Please talk to your non-Christian friends, are they impressed with the church? The Church has failed to perform its duties. Here's the problem. The church has no mission in the world because non-Christians do not listen to it. You are nobody! You have no message. No messages from you they want to hear.

What did Jesus tell the disciples of John the Baptist? "What do you see? What do you hear? Tell him that! "Then what do they see and hear? The works are amazing. Who is doing the works? People who live their lives by imitating Jesus. We have not witnessed many great works because few people imitate the life of Jesus. Do not think that because you believe in this and that and then you can make a masterpiece. You can not, you know that. That power comes from the way of life in the power of the Holy Spirit that always encourages us to imitate Jesus' example, making him our example.

"All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God," says Paul in Romans 8:14. Who are the children of God? Are they who say, "I believe this and that"? Paul says, "No, but those who are led by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God." Which direction does the Spirit lead us? To Jesus, to follow in his footsteps. In Romans 8:29, Paul says, "For all those whom he chose from the beginning, they also predestined him from before to be like the image of his Son, that he, his Son, be firstborn among many brother. "What does the statement mean? It means to be an example of Jesus' life. That is the work that the Holy Spirit will make - making us similar to Jesus.

But is this message often preached today? No. What is preached is only the business of believing this and that. Such a thing does not require any sacrifice. In theology, this is what we call the term 'cheap grace' or 'easy trust'.

What is a pastor's job? First, he himself must imitate the life of Jesus. Then he should invite all his congregation to follow and make the life of Jesus a model. If you do this, the world will take care of you. The world will say, "There is something different. There is something extraordinary about these people. I do not know what it is, but I see something extraordinary similar to Jesus." So when you talk about Jesus, then they will say, "I know. I've seen it in your life." This is a very important point.

I hope you can understand the heavenly call that has been given us, that our task is to live a life that bears the glorious radiance of Christ. Next go reach people instead of waiting for them to come. We are the ones who go to them.

Is your quality of life test-resistant? If people are watching your life, will they say, "Wow! This guy is different! "Or they just say," Huh! Non-Christians are better than they are. Why did I become a Christian? "The reason why I have so long avoided becoming a Christian was that I saw Christians I knew at the time were below my standard of living that I never wanted to become a Christian. The non-Christians I knew at that time were much better than Christians.

Notice again what Jesus answers to John the Baptist. "Are you an anointed one of God? Are you from God? "Jesus' answer is," To the poor is good news. You see the work of miracles and you also see that I go preaching the good news to the poor. "That is Jesus' answer. Are you a true Christian? Can you give the same answer to Jesus' answer to the John the Baptist's question? "Yes, the power of God manifests in my life, and through myself too. It is the power of God, not mine. And you see what I do? I go to preach the good news to the poor with the grace of God. "Can you say it? That is the sign of true Christians. That is the work that fulfills our mission. Our mission is to bring the good news to the poor. And all miracles simply affirm the preaching. Separately, the miracles have no meaning whatsoever. All that is to confirm that the power of God works in the preaching of the gospel. If you preach the gospel, there will be great things. I know this from my own experience. Can you convey such things based on your experience?

The sign of a Christian is always giving.

The characteristic of God perfectly reflected by Jesus is the nature of the giving God. This is because in essence God is love. Love is inseparable from giving. When you are in difficulties, where are you going to ask for help? You will go to the person who loves you Why do you go to that person? Because you know that he loves you, whether that person is your mother or father, or whoever he is, he will give you what you need.

Jesus said in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world." In Matthew 5:14 he says, "You too are the light of the world." Do you notice what the light does? The light moves out. He gives himself at all times . Here Jesus chooses a picture of something that always gives away. If the light stops giving, then there is no more light. Light is something that emanates, which moves out from its source. This means that Jesus, as the Light of the world will always give: give himself, or light. And it also means that when we become his disciples, then we will become like him, just as he is like our Father in heaven.We will be the light that emanates from within us. Does the Church now function as We see that the Church is not functioning as a light. What is the reason? Because the Church has become an organization that at all times takes it away, not the Church that at all times gives.
The church should be a congregation that collectively shines as the light of the world. But to be able to shine, you must be able to give, and be willing to always give, so the notion of a true Christian is the one who always gives.

Thus, the sign of a true disciple is giving. If you want to know how the Church can function as the light of the world, it is by giving. That is why the early Church shone as the light of the world in the midst of darkness. Wherever they went they give, either to the poor or to those who need help, or to give consolation. They always give, and they shine as light in the Roman empire. I tell you something: if you are a true Christian, then you must always have something for given. If you are not a Christian, then you have nothing to give. Jesus said in John 7:38-39 that whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says: From within his heart will flow the streams living water. I often tell Christians that if you are a true Christian, then you must have something to give. Life streams will flow through you. But if you do not give anything, it is more likely that you are a black hole that always sucks rather than a star always gives a ray.

Are you unable to encourage others? Can not you even have a smile to give to others? Can not you give encouragement or a smile to others if you do not have money to give? There's always something to be given if You do not have to wait until you have a spring to give. You can even start with a cup of cool water. The problem here is the problem of the attitude of the heart. The person who is willing to give you a cup of water will soon find out that God will give him a bucket of water to share. And if you share a bucket of water from God, you will find that God will give you a pool full of water to share. And if you give that one then you will find that He will give you the fountain for then you will know what it means to be a living water stream. It is wonderful for you to go to the college, the office or to the hospital where you work, wherever it is, and start giving there, giving the light, the warmth, the sweetness, and the fragrance of Christ. Are you not got something to give? What kind of Christians are you? I beg you to remember the biblical teaching that the sign of a true Christian is to give, not to always receive.

Jesus' teachings are very much at odds with the world's way of thinking, do not you? In Luke 12:15, Jesus states this: "Be on guard and beware of all avarice, for though a man abundant his wealth, his life is not dependent on his wealth." Jesus is saying, "Beware of all forms of greed; because a person's life does not depend on his wealth. "What is the meaning of this word 'greed' or 'greed'? This word in the original language means wanting more. There is a desire to get even more. And Jesus said to us, "Beware of the desire to always get more things."

But it has become our natural character to want to get more. We see there are others who have something, and we immediately want to have it too. You see that the person next to you has a good watch, with buttons all around, so full of buttons that it looks like a hedgehorn spine, and when you press one of the buttons, for example, there will be a light on. It's all the things that captivate you, then immediately you say, "I want to have a watch like that." Jesus said, "Beware of the desire to get more." You see others carrying a good camera, stuff the little one, then you say, "Wow! Very good! I want to have it too." Thus, we always want to get more things. Jesus said, "Watch out for this kind of desire." When you see someone boarding a car equipped with sophisticated equipment, you say, "Very good!" Soon your heart wants it. Your eyes start to make you drift, eyelids, carnal desires. The natural human nature is always to have. The natural human nature is like a black hole, sucking and absorbing everything into itself.

How many young men see a beautiful girl who goes by and can say, "Ah beautiful, but nothing to do with me"? They will tend to say, "Ah! If only the girl could be my girlfriend, or maybe even my wife. "We all want to have nice things, fun. When we see a beautiful girl passing by, we can not say, "Blessed be You Lord, You have created something very beautiful! I'm glad to see it, "then we do not want that girl. Can you say, "Lord, may he serve You, may He shine for You"? Greed is a very human thing. We want to have everything ourselves.

Human nature naturally always wants to have more. And Jesus says in Luke 12:15, this life does not depend on the wealth you have. This is contrary to the way the human mind because the whole view of human life is based on the understanding that life depends on how big the wealth you have. Therefore, then you have to work hard so you can have fun things. You can enjoy the color TV, not just a small, but a large, 26 inch. You can have a car that well, maybe even two. In these days, I see there are some homes that have three garages. Two cars alone are not enough, you must have three cars. Then you move from home with one garage to a house that has two, then three garages . And finally, when you have all that, you then have a foundation for the helicopter. Next, you then have a house by the beach or lake, and you have a cruise ship. Who says life does not depend on the wealth we have? And once you have a TV, you want to have two so you can enjoy two events simultaneously, so you do not miss the show. have you so you can show off. You have only one TV? Look at me. I have two! You have a Toyota car? Look at me, I drive a Mercedes! This is our way of thinking.

We find that Jesus' teaching is completely incompatible with the human view: if you give more then you can not buy a Mercedes. You will be driven from the big house to the small house, from the small house to the smaller house again. world view of life.

You must be changed to think: "It is happier to give than to receive."

Thinking like Jesus' way of thinking that, "It is more blessed to give than to receive," it is only possible if you are changed, if your way of thinking has been renewed. The Christian life goes in the opposite direction, when it is related to the way of life of the world. striking is that a true disciple yearns for one thing: in the end, he does not just lose everything, but he also gives his life for God. He continues to give, until his last breath, he continues to give.

As I have said, there are some wonderful disciples in the center of the Church. There are people I know who have given up inheritance, and everything, step by step until they have nothing but life I remembered someone I knew at YWAM, and he had a very big inheritance, but he left his legacy, he left his well-paying job, he ignored his diploma and went evangelizing. God used it extraordinarily.

These people leave everything when others just miss the money. Others are longing for a title, a good income job, but these guys just leave their titles and good jobs. No wonder they're great people in the eyes of the world. People look at them and say, "Wow! This is amazing!" Light emanates from such people and everyone notices them. They are the stars for Jesus, the diamond in the crown that shines the light of God. We thank God for such people. If it were not for these people, the Church would only be a shame all the time!

While I was still living in Batam City, I once knew Christians who were turning away from careers, from their jobs, to going preaching the gospel. They are people who learn to become true disciples. They learn what it means to give and give. The world can not understand people like them, but the world is watching them, and the testimony of these people struck with tremendous power. Such people are the backbones of the Church because they learn about giving and always giving, that the character of a true disciple is to give. And in giving that they become like Christ.

Life depends on how much we give, not what we get.

God helps us not to become black holes but to be a shining star in the middle of this generation, and that we may have Christ's mind within us. In Jesus' life, he does not ask, "What can I get?" But he came to give and to give everything. That is why he became the light of the world. And Jesus wants us to do the same, that we become the light of the world. God helps us to change completely in our way of thinking, that life depends on how much we can give. Thus, we will become the light of this world.

Are You Poor?

Matthew 5:3 
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

Are we poor or rich? It is a great tragedy for the poor, but thinks they are rich. This is often the case among Christians, especially in the present generation.

Many Christians are poor but think they are rich. But because they think they are rich, they have lost the blessing of God. Because you not only have to be poor, but you should also know that you are poor. This is very important. Otherwise you think you are rich and you do not rank yourself among the poor. Revelation 3:17 speaks of the church at Laodicea. Revelation 3:17: "Because thou sayest: I am rich and I have enriched myself (that is what we want to happen to ourselves) and I lack nothing, and because thou knowest not that thou art wretched, and poor, poor , blind and naked."
'Do not know' means they think they are rich and lack nothing; but they do not know their misfortune and poverty.

There is nothing worse than being poor and not knowing that you are poor, like being sick and not knowing that you are sick. The Pharisees at John. 9: 40-41, "Does that mean we are also blind? We are not blind. "Jesus said to them," Because you say you are not blind while in fact you are blind, then keep your sins. "Be blind and not knowing that you are blind; being poor and not knowing that you are poor, this is a self-deception. It is very sad.

Some people think they are healthy while they are sick. Maybe they feel healthy, but right now, inside some people, there may already be deadly cancer seeds, but they feel healthy.

So, do you know whether you are poor or not? You may feel that you are not poor, and because you do not feel yourself poor, then you feel that Jesus' words are not related to you. "Blessed are the poor" and you say, "I'm not poor." So you can just turn away. Who needs to hear that? Who needs to hear the Sermon on the Mount? This is a message for the poor. Given that you're rich, or you feel you're good enough, you do not need it.

Poor, but No Any Disadvantages.

With God as my witness, I want to say that I am nothing short of anything. God bears witness that for many years preaching the gospel, I am not saving a penny. Not a cent! I do not keep a penny from my preaching earnings. God is my witness to that. I have no surplus. I do not have anything I've saved or reserved for the coming year. I never collect wealth from my ministry. But I do not say this so you feel sorry for me. But I would say that although I have preached the Gospel for many years and have spoken in various churches, yet I have not saved a cent from my earnings through the gospel. "Do not gather the treasures of the earth." I did not become rich because I preached the gospel.

I say this because it is important for a preacher to not only speak but through his life he bears witness to what he preaches. I am not preaching just using my brain, and based on theology lessons. If I can not make this life happen, then I do not want to preach about it. Jesus said, "Do not collect for you ...". I say again, with God as my witness, that I am not collecting anything.

We are called to be poor before God. Poverty does not mean you have no food, poverty means only that you have no surplus, or you do not collect or keep a surplus.In the Sermon on the Mount, we are called to believe in God to meet our needs we.

For years I have practiced it, without salary and source of income. When I was a YWAM student, I just looked at God; there is nothing I can hope for except God. And He never disappoints me. "Blessed are the poor because they are the kingdom of heaven."

I am familiar with poverty. For three years in the city of Batam, I know what it means to feel hungry in the stomach. But God never disappoints me. He said, Seek first His Kingdom then it will be added to you too. I promise that if you follow me unconditionally - you seek my kingdom first - then I guarantee that you will not lack anything. I have never lacked anything. God is so good. Although I do not store anything that can be used when necessary, I do not lack anything.

So there is a close relationship between material poverty and spiritual poverty. This point needs to be taken careful. In relation to the rich young man, Jesus does not allow him to be a disciple unless he goes and sells everything. But today the church softens the message; however, most churches are upper middle class. We soften the message. "Oh, it is okay. Do not think about it." Right, do not think about it, but the result is, you are not poor, and therefore you are not poor in spirit either. If so, is the kingdom of heaven yours?

How to become Poor in the sight of God?

The only way that man can become poor in spirit is through repentance and a new creation. The psalmist has described it perfectly in Ps. 51. Salvation has been clearly taught in the Old Testament. If you ask how you can be poor in God's sight, you must start with Ps. 51:1 : "Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; Abolish my transgressions according to Your great mercy! Wash me completely from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin."

That is repentance. You become poor in spirit and acknowledge your poverty before God if you admit that you are a sinner, and you say, "Have mercy on me, O God. according to Your great grace, wipe away my sin." That is repentance. Repentance is well known in the Old Testament and is not a new discovery in the New Testament. The pious people of the Old Testament are also saved with glory. They can teach us a lot about safety.

The next part is to be a new man. "Make my heart clean, O God, and renew my inner spirit with a firm spirit!" [Ps. 51:12] A new creation! Yes, the psalmist has understood it perfectly. You need to repent; and you need to let God make you a new man. I repeat once more: the pious people of the Old Testament, have been saved with glory. They know what it means to be poor in spirit. That is why when you are made new, you become a new human being. So it's not what you believe, not what you do; but who you are by the power of God that makes you a new man. We can not possibly inherit the kingdom of God except by becoming a new man.

This is what is meant by John. 3: 5, the famous verse: "If a man is not born of water and the Spirit, he can not enter into the kingdom of God." This is the same doctrine is only said in different words so we understand what faith means. Faith means 'believe'. Trust in such a way that God can recreate you, that you may be born again of water and the Spirit. It is not your faith that saves you; God who saved you by making you poor before Him. There is nothing magical about faith. God is the Doer of miracles, who created a new man.

In John 3, 'inheriting the kingdom' means to inherit eternal life. "They are the kingdom of heaven", that is, God will give them a kingdom; God will give them eternal life. You do not have that eternal life without receiving the king sent by God. The kingdom is meaningless without a king. When you receive the kingdom, you will not receive a package called 'KINGDOM'. You receive kings and make Christ, Lord of your life. The eternal life is to have the life of the resurrected Christ. Outside of Christ, you will not get it. The only way to gain eternal life is to make Jesus your Master and Lord. He is the king in your life. Eternal life is a consequence of Jesus' sovereignty as king in your life.

The rich do not like to have Jesus as king. Because Jesus might say to you, as he said to a rich young man: "Sell all yours." "Ah, I do not want to hear this! I do not want to hear! I love what the pastor said, 'Just believe in Jesus, and you will have eternal life. There are no conditions. 'However,' Sell all yours'? No, no, no. It only applies to the rich young man. That does not apply to me. One law for a rich young man and another for me. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! How good God is. "Do not cheat yourself. The same principle that applies to the rich young man also applies to all of us. Rich young people do not belong to certain special categories. Do you think that he loves money more than you and me? Let us not cheat ourselves! Absolutely not. There is only one law for everyone. There are no two laws for different people: one law for the rich young man and one law for me. Not so.

It is the poor who accept Jesus as king. By accepting Jesus as king, you have received the kingdom of God. Because Jesus is the Way that leads us to God. The Kingdom means the power and government of the King. By accepting Jesus, you too have received life because God through Jesus has given you that life. "His power shall not fail" (Isaiah 9:6] He brings eternal life into your soul through His Messiah.

Ponder this question again: Are you poor? Are you poor in spirit? Did you know you are poor? Are you open and ready to accept this truth? Do you have faith to believe in God to meet your spiritual and material needs? Do you have faith to believe in God as your advocate when you are persecuted? Do you have faith to believe that God will always help you? Do you accept Jesus who has been sent by God as king?

Doing God's will

If you do not do God's will, you will not be saved. You will not be saved by belief in true doctrine. There is no verse that supports such beliefs. You are not saved by relying on the fact that you are a good evangelical church, because you happen to be entering the true church and trusting the right things. Will it save you? Not a bit! You will not step into the Kingdom of God with such a thing. Your evangelical belief will only bring you into the evangelical church. Or, if you are an Anglican congregation, it will bring you into the Anglican church if you believe in true Anglican doctrines. If you believe in true Catholic doctrines, it will only bring you into the Catholic church, and it is listed in their congregation. It will not bring you into the Kingdom of God. It will not bring you closer to God.

The only thing that matters in salvation is the will of God, not believing in the true creed, or the right doctrine. Although it is very important, it will not bring you into the Kingdom of God. I do not mean to say that if these things do not lead us into the Kingdom of God, then we may believe in any false doctrine.

What I mean is that believing in true doctrine is not enough to get you into the Kingdom of God. The true doctrine is only the starting point. You still have to tread the will of God. Jesus affirms this very clearly in Matthew 7:21, "Not every one cries out to me: Lord, Lord! will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father which is in heaven. "Then who is going to enter the Kingdom of God if not they cry," Lord, Lord "? After all, the whole congregation cried out, "Lord, Lord"! Jesus said, "Only those who do the will of my Father in heaven, not those who call upon me!" Jesus said, "Do not think because you call me 'Lord' then it will bring you into the Kingdom of God. Even those who perform miracles, great works, speaking in tongues, whatever they are, will not bring you into the kingdom of God. "Those people did all those things in Matthew 7:21, but they did not enter the Kingdom God.

You say, "Wow! Then how do I get in? "Jesus said," By doing the will of my Father in heaven "; that is the condition he asked for. So do not think that because you already have a certain spiritual power, you can work miracles, then it is a guarantee for you to enter heaven. You will not go to heaven by relying on it. There is no other way but to do his will.

Jesus Himself asserted that the only way for you to enter into the Kingdom of God is through faith working the will of God. Now it is clear, without faith, you will not want to do God's will, is not it? But faith itself will not save you if it does not materialize in the execution of His will. That's what Jesus taught. Faith that does the will of God. Faith does not just believe that God's will is good but also moves it.

I often meet Christians, who never do what God wants me to do. But when they are in trouble they always find out about the will of God. It can be said that they know that God's will is good. If not, why would they want to find out? They came and asked, "How can I know the will of God?"

I'll tell them that if you want to know what God's will is, do not wait until the problem comes and do it, because, by that time, you'll find that finding God's will is tough. You should start by doing it now. Then, along with the execution, you will find that finding God's will is easy.

For those who rush to God in times of trouble, they will face enormous difficulties to know what God's will is. They find that God does not speak to them. Why? Because they just want to use God. They do not know what it means to do God's will. Only when you have a problem, you need God and want to know what God wants because you do not know what to do.

Many also run to fortune-tellers. You can use a fortune-teller. Just put the money on the table, then the instructions will get you, if it can be said as a 'hint'. You can not use God in this way. You have to consistently do God's will or, if not when the time comes, you will have trouble knowing what His will is, because at that time you just want to use Him. And God does not want to be used like this. He will not bow to us. We are to obey Him. So let's understand this clearly.

Will you direct your will to do His will?

The phrase 'Entering the Kingdom of God' used by Jesus actually means 'saved' in Paul's terms. The kingdom of God, as we have seen before, means entering into His reign. The kingdom of God means the sovereignty of God, the reign of God above us. How can you possibly enter into the Kingdom of God if you are unwilling to do His will and be under His rule? Easy enough to understand is not it?

Why is it so important to do God's will? Because God gives His Spirit only to those who do His will. It is clearly stated for us in Acts 5:32.

Acts 5:32 says the Holy Spirit, which God gave to those who obey Him. And Paul tells us in Romans 8: 9, but if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. If you pair these two verses, then you do not have to be a logician, or a math, to be able to understand them. If you want to have the Holy Spirit, then you must obey Him. Only those who have the Holy Spirit belong to Christ. Thus, only those who obey Christ are his.

Everything is very clear, and I want to ask you now, if you think you are a Christian, are you obedient in doing God's will? What kind of a Christian are you? Are you among those who think that because you embrace the right doctrine, then you will go to heaven?

If so, then I ruin your dreams. Based on Scripture you will not go to heaven that way. You must be prepared to say, "God, by Your grace, I will do Your will, all Your will." If you have this kind of commitment in doing God's will, then I can say that you are on the path to salvation. You belong to the kind of person who can enter the Kingdom of God, because you are the one who has received the Spirit of God; because you are the kind of person who is willing to direct your will to do His will.

What is God's will so important? What is the essence of His will? Why should I do His will? Why do you want to do the will of others if you do not believe in that person, if you do not love that person? I do the will of others of course because I believe in that person. If he gives me an order, I will obey him because he is the person whose consideration I can trust. If he tells me something I have to do, even if I do not understand, I will do it anyway, because I believe in his judgment and wisdom.

Why am I willing to do God's will? Because I believe in God. I believe in His wisdom, knowledge and understanding. More than that, I do it because I love Him. Why does one obey the other? One reason is because you love that person. Do not we often do the will of others because we love that person, even if he could be wrong? Thank God, there is no danger of wrongdoing if we do His will.

Yet that is another reason why we do His will. Because we love Him. Thus, we have two ground in doing God's will: the first is because we know that God's will can not be wrong, and the second is because we love Him.

Thus, doing His will will not be a burden to us. As the apostle John said in his first letter, "His commandments are not heavy." Why not heavy? Because we love Him. When you do something for the person you love, there is no burden there. Precisely happy; fun. As it is written in Hebrews 10: 7, "Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of Me to do Thy will, O my God. "Right! The true Christian is the one who does the will of God not because he feels obligated but because it gives him joy. That is the proper response for God whose love will not let us go. It's so beautiful.

What's more, I believe in God's will because I know that God's will for me is always good. This point is very important to keep in mind. Surprisingly enough, there are so many Christians who do not understand this clearly. When God says to us, "Do not do that." We feel that we are being restrained. That's wrong understanding. Very wrong! This is the reason why Eve fell into sin when she was tempted by Satan. He thinks that God is holding back something good from him, is not it? When God says, "Do not eat the fruit of the tree." If you think, "Huh! There must be something good from the tree that God forbade to eat his fruit. "This is folly! This is a failure in understanding that God's will is always based on good faith.

Do not ever think that when God says, "Do not do this or that," it means He is holding back something good from you. He never holds back something good from you. As we saw in Psalm 84:12, He does not withhold the goodness of the person who lives blamelessly. Do you have such beliefs? If not, it's because you still do not know God well.

Study the Word of God and you will find that everything God created is designed for our good. Sounds like a teacher's talk to his students, does not it? Or, like the parents talk to their children, "It's all for your good." But we're not happy to hear it. Although it is all for our good.

Research the will of God in the Scriptures, and you will find that all He wants, what He has done, all for our good and our welfare. Have you ever noticed? Is it written in the Scriptures about His will that is not for our good? Everything is an expression of His love for us. Even the pardons that parents give to their children are done out of love and concern for the welfare of the child. There is nothing that the parent does to his or her child who is not intended for the child's good. Can you have the same belief in the will of God? If you can, then you will rejoice in doing His will, because His will is for your welfare.

How can we know God's will so we can do it? Just now, we see that God's will is revealed in His Word. And how much Jesus rejoices in doing God's will, until he says in John 4:34, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me and finished his work." What he means is, "What is my food? Why am I living this life? To do God's will. God's will is enough for me. Doing God's will is what makes me healthy. "That's the pattern of Jesus' life. That's the quality of his life. The determination of Jesus in living this life is only one: the will of God, which is the food for him.

In Matthew 4: 4, when Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus said to him, "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God." In other words, the Word of God is my food. I live by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Pair those verses and you will find that God's Word and the Will of God are identical. To do the will of God is to work the Word of God.
People ask me, "How can I know the will of God?" I said, "Before you ask that question, you need to ask yourself, 'Are you willing to do His will, whatever the will is? If you are not willing to do His will, it is useless to ask what His will is. '"This is very important because: Many people find out about the will of God so they can decide whether to do it or not.

If you approach God with such an attitude of heart, then you are wasting your time. God will not give you any clue at all. He does not convey his will for you to examine and approve. His will is not something you can examine and then decide whether it will be done or ignored. His will is not like selling goods in a super market, where you can check each product and decide, "I think I like this one," or, "I do not like that." You can not treat God's will like that.

You have to come to God with an unconditional commitment, a commitment that says, "God, whatever your will is, I will do it." If you can sincerely say that, then you will never have difficulty in figuring out what the will God. You may have to wait a moment, but you can be sure that you will know what God's will is about in the future. I present this as a testimony based on my own experience. He never let me be in the confusion of finding out what his will is because, by His grace, I have a commitment: whatever His will is, I will do it. Whatever it is! Can you have such a commitment?

If you have such a commitment, you can be sure that you will know what His will is. You will never be in uncertainty.

But if you come with the attitude of a shopper's heart, who says, "First of all, I want to know what His will is, and if God wants me to go to the north pole, I'll say, 'I'm sorry, God, the north pole is too cold for me. '"Then what about the Congo? "Congo is too hot for me. I mean, one is too cold and the other is too hot. Put me in an area that is not cold and not hot, just so I stay okay. And then I will do your will, as long as it is in a cool place. "

If you approach God with such an attitude of heart, you are wasting your time. God will not tell you anything. He will not say anything, because He knows that you only want to do His will as long as it corresponds to your own will. Ultimately, the final decision is within your will, and that means you are not subjecting your will to the will of God. God is subject to your will. You will never know what His will is that way. Impossible!

Only if you come to Him and say, "Lord, if it should be to Asmat or to the tribe of jambi, or in a cool place, or wherever it is, I accept it. Send me wherever you want. "You will not say," You know, Lord, I have lived in the Dayak tribe for two years, and I have suffered greatly here. What if You find me a place of service in a big city? Maybe in Jakarta? I mean, there are a lot of Christians there. There are many people who are hungry for the Word of God there. Maybe you can send me there. How? "Then I waited and waited, but I heard nothing, no response from Him.

God is actually saying, "If you want to go to Jakarta, do not have to ask me. You want to go? Just go. Want to go to Surabaya? Just go. Why ask me? "I was really able to come to Him by saying," God, wherever you send me, if it's to the tropics, that's where I'm going. If to an unreached tribe, where I will suffer more, praise your name! I will leave because I am happy to do Your Word, O Lord. Whatever it is, I accept it. "

If I can say that kindly, then He will give me His guidance. He will reveal His will for me. Of course, maybe I'll get a shock in my life! Maybe to jakarta. Can be. But His will will not be expressed before I can say, "God, whatever Your will is." Thus, you must have a genuine willingness to follow the will of God.

What Christianity is there now? We call God, "Lord, Lord," but we do our own will. That is the Christianity of this age. And we expect salvation. Of course, in the end, do not be surprised if Jesus said to these people, "why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' when you do not do what I command?"

We want to get the best of both worlds. We want to set one foot in the kingdom of God, while standing in the world with the other foot. We want to be in a comfortable and well-balanced balance. It is called the middle way. This does not apply to God. Commit fully to His will, or live by your will and accept the consequences. There is no middle ground between them.

Furthermore, what is God's will? You say, "Well, by the grace of God, whatever His will, I understand that His will is good for me and for others. Maybe I can not enjoy it right now, but later on, I will see the wisdom of His plan. Whatever his will, it must be good, that is why I am ready to do so unconditionally, by the grace of God."