1. The Will of God: Our Mission

2. Definition: What God wants… What God wants… His purpose…. His purpose….

3. Pre-requisites for knowing the will of God: Rom 12:1-2

4. 1. Offer your bodies as living sacrifices: commitment to God.

5. 2. Be holy: set apart for God’s use.

6. 3. Be pleasing to God: the standard for all we think, do and say.

7. 4. Realize that true commitment is true worship.

8. 5. Stop letting the world squeeze you into its mold.

9. 6. Live a transformed life by the renewing of your mind.

10. THEN… you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is: it is good, pleasing and perfect!

11. What was God’s will for Adam and Eve?

12. 1. To have fellowship with Him

13. 2. To have a loving, family relationship

14. 3. To do meaningful and productive work.

15. 4. To obey.

16. How are we doing? (Take the survey and tally your results)

17. Survey evaluation: 26-65 below average 66-104 average 105-130 above average

18. What can we do if we did not do well on our survey??

19. 1. Make a concerted effort to emphasize these areas of the will of God in your own life.

20. 2. Start with your own relationship with God. If you are not faithful in daily prayer and Bible study, begin there and keep at it.

21. 3. Make the effort to work on your relationships with others, family members, spouse, neighbors, friends and fellow church members. Where there are breaches, mend them.

22. 4. Take a look at how meaningful and productive your own ministry is within the church and in your personal life. If you find problems, work to fix them.

23. 5. Be open and honest with God about any areas of disobedience and make corrections.

24. Helping our Churches

25. 1. Fellowship with God:

26. a.Teach and preach and remind people that all we do should enhance our relationship and fellowship with God.

27. b. Don’t be so busy working FOR God that you forget to have fellowship WITH Him.

28. c. Help people understand that ‘doing religious activities’ is not the same as spending time with Him.

29. d. Help them understand how detrimental the effects of disobedience and unconfessed sin are to an open relationship with God.

30. e. Teach people what true worship is and the necessity of it in our daily lives as well as on Sundays.

31. f. Teach them the value and necessity of prayer, and the necessity of listening to as well as talking to God.

32. 2. A loving relationship with others:

33. a. Plan for more ways for people to get to know each other on a personal basis.

34. (1)fellowships/small and large groups (2) Home Bible studies (3) Members of the month info in newsletters (4) Pictures and write-ups on new members (5) Testimonies in services

35. b. Emphasize families and marriages (1) Classes (4) conflict mgmt (2) Retreats seminars (3) Fellowships (5) Sermon series

36. c. Teach and preach on the need for Christians to love and to forgive each other.

37. d. Develop plans/ways to minister to people in crisis.

38. 3. Meaningful and productive work in the Kingdom of God.

39. a.Classes on spiritual gifts.

40. b. Develop an environment where there is expectation that all members serve in some capacity.

41. c. Allow members to volunteer to “do their passion” in some way: art classes for the community, building projects, etc.

42. d. Plan ways to encourage and recognize those who serve in various ways.

43. e. Develop service opportunities for children and youth.

44. 4. Obedience

45. a.Emphasize seeking and doing God’s will in all aspects and decisions by the church.

46. b. Teach people to seek daily for God’s will for their lives, and then it will more likely carry over into church activities and decisions.

47. c. Teach people what to do when they have been disobedient to God.

48. d. Foster an open and accepting attitude toward those who have been disobedient, but who are now seeking to be obedient to God.

49. e. Consider starting accountability groups or partners who will help each other in working on their obedience level with God.

50. Is the will of God YOUR mission and passion??

51. Ponder this……

52. God gave Adam and Eve only one thing NOT to do… and they disobeyed Him….

53. He gave the children of Israel 10 commandments …. And they disobeyed them all…

54. Jesus summed up all of the 10 commandments into just two…. And they could not keep them!

55. The Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the New Testament with more specific instructions…. …..for us….

56. Here are just a few: 1. Be holy for I am holy 2. Be filled with the Spirit 3. Forgive one another as I have forgiven you.

57. 4. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love 5. Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. 6. Do not judge, or you will be judged

58. 7. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into the harvest 8. Go into all the world and preach the gospel

59. 9. Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth 10. Be careful not to do your righteous acts before men

60. 11. Be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees 12. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

61. There are many more….but why not start with these 12 as a way to start moving you and your church toward the commitment to doing God’s will as our mission and passion??