Acts chapter 20. Notice what Paul says in verse 22. And see, now I go bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. And now chapter 21. Verse 3, When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left, sailed to Syria, and landed at Tyre. For there the ship was to unload her cargo. And finding disciples, we stayed there seven days. They told Paul through the Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem. When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went on our way, and they all accompanied us, with wives and children, till we were out of the city, and we knelt down on the shore and prayed. Now verse 10, And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When He had come to us, He took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. Now when we had heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with Him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, we come to you in prayer and we thank you that your will for our lives is good. And I pray, Lord, that we will desire to do your will. Lord, that you will show us your will and help us as we share this passage of Scripture to be committed to doing your will for our lives. Help me as I preach this morning, and each person as they listen, and I pray and ask this in Jesus' name, Amen. One of the most important statements in this scripture passage that I've just read to you is found in verse 14, where they said to Paul, the will of the Lord be done. I hope that you have come to realize in your own life how important it is to live according to the will of God. I can tell you from personal experience it is better to live in the will of God rather than outside of the will of God. And the question that is before us in our text of Scripture is whether or not it was Paul's will or God's will that he go to Jerusalem. I believe that Paul thought he was doing the will of God. He was carrying an offering from the Gentile saints to the poor saints in Jerusalem. He felt this offering would be a tremendous witness of how God changes lives and he had a heart for the Jewish people and he was hoping that through this offering and through his personal witness there that many Jews would come to know the Lord as their Savior. He also wanted to mend relationships between Jews and Gentiles with this offering. And so he really thought he was on a mission in fulfillment of the will of the Lord. But yet, we know from this text of Scripture that there were others who believed otherwise, that He should not be going to Jerusalem. In verse 4, we read about how the disciples their entire said through the Spirit that He should not go. And then a prophet named Agabus came down from Jerusalem or Judea and met with Paul, took the belt around his waist and tied his hands and his feet and says that, so shall it be to the man whose belt this belongs to. And so there were indications that perhaps it was not God's will for him personally to go to Jerusalem with this special offering. But you know, Paul insisted that he believed he should go, and so they said in verse 14, the will of the Lord be done. They wanted God's will to be done. And I asked you this morning if it is your attitude, it is your commitment that God's will be done in your life. Well, I want to challenge you this morning to make God's will your ambition, that doing God's will be the most important thing in your life. And you will be blessed indeed if you will be committed to doing God's will. And so with that in mind, I want to share more of a topical message about God's will, but yet based on this text of Scripture. And the first truth I want to get across to us this morning is this, that we need to accept the importance of God's will. God does have a will for your life, and it is important that you do God's will. Romans 12, 2 says that God's will is good and acceptable and perfect. You really should want to do God's will for that reason. And let me show you why it's important that you do God's will. Well, Jesus declared its importance. When He taught us the model prayer in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 10, He taught us to pray May your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And when you pray that, you're certainly praying that God's will be done in your life as well. In Matthew chapter 7 and verse 20, he indicates that it is those who do the will of God who are the true children of God. In chapter 12 and verse 50, He likewise said, For whoever shall do the will of My Father who is in heaven, the same as My brother and sister and mother. In other words, it is those who do the will of God that have a true relationship with Jesus Christ. And so Jesus declared the importance of doing the will of God. Furthermore, it is important because it is God's will. You know, what Joe Blow wants me to do is of not great consequence. I don't even know who Joe Blow is. And his will is not that important, but I can tell you that God's will is very important. Because God is your Creator. God is your Redeemer. You definitely should want to know and do the will of God because it is indeed God's will. God is the one who loves you. God is the one who sent His Son to die for you. God is your Savior. You should do the will of God. And if you do not do the will of God, you will suffer the consequences of that. His blessings will not be upon you when you're outside of His will. There will be certain consequences for being outside of the will of God. Let me tell you something else you're going to find. That there are going to be times when there's a conflict between God's will and your will. A conflict between God's will and the will of others in your life. And we see this illustrated in several Scriptures. For example, in Galatians chapter 1 and verse 10, Paul says, For if I yet please men, I should not be the servant of Christ. There were those that were opposed to Paul preaching the gospel of grace. They wanted him to preach a gospel of law and a gospel of works. And Paul said, listen, if I do what they want me to do, if I please them, I will not be the servant of Christ. He chose the will of God over the will of others. And then furthermore, in 1 Peter chapter 4 and verses 1 to 2, Peter said that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the desires of men, but to the will of God. Your peer group, especially if they're not Christians, they are going to oppose you living the Christian life and doing God's will. Their will is going to be different from the will of God. You've got to make a choice. Are you going to do God's will or are you going to do man's will? There have been many a missionary who has gone overseas to serve God, to do His will, who did so against their family's wishes, and yet they chose God's will over man's will. Now why is this? Why is it that too often we choose to obey man's will rather than God's will? Well, you know, we don't see God, but we see man, and we see their reaction when we go against them in the pursuit of God's will, and so sometimes we back off, but that is not the way it should be. And so we should. Understand the importance of doing God's will, and I hope that you do. But secondly this morning, we need to gain an understanding of God's will. We need to know what God's will is and ascertain His will, understand His will. And there are several scriptures that talk about this. For example, in Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 10, it says, Find out what pleases the Lord. You know, when you get married, It's important to please your spouse as much as possible. And so over time you find out what pleases and then find out what displeases them. And so you want to do what pleases them and not do what doesn't please them. And even so we must find out what pleases the Lord. Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 7, So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. You know, I like what Paul implies there, that to go against God's will is foolish. And if you're wise, you will understand what God's will for your life is. We need to understand God's will. Furthermore, in Colossians 1 and verse 9, Paul says, for this reason also, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. Yes, we ought to pray that we will know God's will. We ought to pray that our brothers and sisters in Christ will be filled with the knowledge of His will because it's really important that we understand God's will for our lives. And so, what is God's will? How do we know God's will? Well, of course, the first place we look to is God's written Word. God's written Word. You know, you've got to be careful about deciding God's will just based on your own feelings, based on your own opinion. Proverbs chapter 14 and verse 12 says, There's a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof is death. No, we ought to look to the Word of God. Psalm 119, 105 says, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. The Word of God will guide you as to His will for your life. You know, sometimes people say, well, I've decided to do this because God wants me to be happy. You know, be careful about that. I did a search and I found not one verse of Scripture that says God wants you to be happy. Now God wants you to have His joy, God wants you to walk in holiness, but it's not your happiness that should be your concern. You know, someone that says God wants me to be happy is interested in their will being done rather than God's will being done. Now we've got to look to the Scriptures. We've got to look to an objective standard of what His will is for our lives. Look to the Word of God. And so that means you need to read the Word of God, I think on a daily basis. You need to gather with other believers where preachers and teachers can teach you the Word of God. You need to learn the Word of God if you're going to do the will of God. But as you study the Scriptures, there are some basic aspects of God's will that I want to share with you right now. One is that God wills your salvation. 1 Timothy 2 verse 4 says that God wills all to be saved. 2 Peter 3.9 says, it's not His will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Jesus said, you must be born again. Acts 4.12 says, neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. In 1 John 3 and verse 23, John says, and this is His commandment that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ. It is His commandment that we believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. So I can tell you, it is God's will for you to be saved. It is God's will for you to repent of your sins and trust in Jesus Christ. And if you have not done that, I encourage you to submit to the will of God and trust Jesus as your Savior. Furthermore, God wills your sanctification. Once you've been saved, He wants you to walk in holiness. He wants you to grow. in your Christian faith. 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 3 says, This is the will of God, even your sanctification. We need to grow in the Lord. And I tell you, anything or anyone that hinders your spiritual growth, is out of God's will. That's a situation that's out of God's will. He wants your sanctification. And furthermore, God wills your service. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 10 says that we have been created in Christ Jesus unto good works. We ought to do good works in our personal relationships with people. We ought to do good works through the ministry of this local church. And Saturday is an example of that, of how you can do that. Ephesians 4, 11 and 12 says that God has given pastors and teachers and other leaders like that for the purpose of equipping the saints for a work of ministry or a work of service. I believe it is God's will for you to serve. And God's will for you to serve in the local church. Are you in the will of God? Are you serving the Lord in the ways that we've talked about? Again, there are opportunities for you to serve the Lord this Saturday in the Easter outreach that we're doing. And I encourage you to volunteer your time if you can do that. Eunice mentioned about, would like a few extra to sing in the choir for Easter. We're going to have a lot more people for Easter and we'd like to have a tremendous service on Easter Sunday. And that's another way that you can serve the Lord. We need a couple of Sunday school teachers right now. Is God calling you to serve Him in that way? There's always a need for nursery workers and other areas of service. Yes, it is God's will that you serve Him. And so, we know that God's will gives us some clear instructions as to what His will is for every Christian in every generation, so we should look to God's written word. But what about God's will in specific situations? For example, the Bible is not going to tell you whether to take this job or that job. It will give guidance, but it's not going to specifically tell you what job to take. It's not specifically going to tell you when to retire or if to retire. It's not going to specifically tell you who to marry. And so, how do we know God's will in specific situations? You know, we have to be careful. Sometimes we come across difficult decisions. Wouldn't it be great if we could just flip a coin and it would be yes or no? You know, cast lots, something like that. Or you're trying to decide who to marry and so you decide to take your Bible and you're just going to put your finger down and see what name comes up. You know, one time I decided I would just play around doing that. The first three times I put my finger down, not a name was in the paragraph. The fourth time, I put my finger down and it was a woman saying she would never get married. Now how about that? But you never know what's going to happen when you try to find God's will like that. Let me give you some better ways of finding God's will in specific situations. First of all, you need to make sure you're willing to do God's will. Why would God reveal His will to you if He knows you're not willing to do what He tells you to do? Jesus said in John 7, 17 that if you are willing to do His will, you will know of the doctrine whether it is of God or not. In Romans chapter 12, He talks about the will of God. that it's good and acceptable and perfect, you will prove and discover that His will is good, acceptable, and perfect. But what precedes verse 2? Verse 1, which talks about committing ourselves completely to the Lord. And so if you're going to know God's will in specific situations, you need to first say, I'm willing to do your will. God help me be willing to do whatever you want me to do. And that is a good first step. And then furthermore, learn biblical principles to guide your decisions. For example, the Bible is not going to tell you specifically who to marry, but it's going to give you some guidance. Marry only in the Lord, for example. You can't marry someone that's already taken. That's adultery. You can't do that. And so it's going to narrow your choices down. about a job. Well, here's a job that will require you to work every Sunday, and here's a job that may pay less, but yet you'll be able to worship the Lord on a regular basis. You know, it's going to help you make decisions like that. Biblical principles to guide your decision. And then furthermore, you need to pray for discernment of God's will. Romans 8.14 says, As many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. The Bible says if you are a true child of God, the Holy Spirit will lead you. And so you need to pray that the Holy Spirit will lead you. Let me give you a couple of suggestions how the Spirit can lead us. One is, And as you pray about it, and as you make your decision, you think, okay, this is God's will. You know what the Spirit's going to do? If it's not God's will, He's going to give you an uneasy feeling. You're not going to have His peace. But if it is God's will, you're probably going to have His peace. And then furthermore, the Holy Spirit, He's sovereign. He can open doors and close doors to help you know His will if you will pray for discernment. That is very, very important that we do that. that here again we have to be careful about even that. There was a woman who was on a diet, and she was doing quite well with her diet, and she was heading downtown one day, and she thought about a donut shop, Daylight Donuts. Never had them, but I hear they're pretty good. And so she said, Lord, I know I'm on a diet, but it would be really nice to be able to have a donut and some coffee. And Lord, if it's Your will, may it be when I go to the donut shop that there will be a parking place right there in front of the donut shop. Sure enough, on the seventh time around the block, there was the parking place. Well folks, that's somebody that's wanting their will to be done and not so interested in God's will. And so, we need to pray for discernment. And then furthermore, we need to seek advice of godly people. You know, right here in our text of Scripture, We had the disciples in Tyre tell Paul through the Spirit about what's going to happen and they warned him not to go. And then even Agabus the prophet came down from Judea and in a very symbolic way warned him what would happen if he goes to Jerusalem. Now I tell you, when I read this passage of Scripture, I get the feeling that maybe it wasn't really God's will for Paul to go to Jerusalem. And perhaps he should have listened to counsel. However, even if he was mistaken in God's will, God can still turn something bad into something good, like the prison epistles and so forth. God cannot be defeated in His ultimate purposes. But still, it is a wise thing to seek advice from godly counsel. Talk to a pastor. Talk to your deacon. Talk to your Sunday school teacher or small group leader or mentor or someone else that you look up to in the Christian life and share what you're struggling with. And I tell you, if more than one person advises you the same way, it's probably a pretty good indication of what God's will is for your life. And so gain an understanding of God's will. How can you do God's will if you don't know God's will? But finally this morning, you need to resolve to do God's will. Yes, you need to resolve to do it. It is something you should do and not just learn about. In John 13, 17, Jesus says, If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. Too often, we know more of God's will than we do. The one that's really blessed is the one that does all of God's will. Too often, Christians are like viewing God's will as a cafeteria that you can pick and choose which parts of God's will you're going to do. No, we ought to do all of it. We ought to resolve to do all of God's will. And two things I want to share with you about that. One is, you need to die to self-will. Notice what Paul says in the last of verse 13. For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. Again, I think Paul really believed he was due in God's will. And this mission was so important to him that he was willing to die if need be. If God wanted him to go. And he was completely dying to self in this situation, which is the way it ought to be with us as well. You know, the symbol of Christianity is a cross. And a cross can be viewed as an eye that is crossed out. Not my will, but Thy will be done. Is there any greater example of death to self and self-will than Jesus Christ? But as the choir sang a little while ago, He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, Not my will, but Thy will be done. He knew what awaited Him. He knew of the rejection. He knew of the scourging. He knew of the crucifixion. He knew He would bear the wrath of God. And yet He died to His own will and yielded completely to the will of God. And that's what we have to do in our lives if we're going to do the will of God. And then finally, recognize that God's will is best. God's will is best. You know, Jesus said in Luke 11, 29, Blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it. Do it. You'll be blessed if you do the will of God. Romans 12, 2 again says that God's will is good and acceptable and perfect. And so, you should recognize that though I would like to do this, though I would rather do this, though my family wants me to do this, though my friends want me to do this, that God's will is best. It is good and acceptable and perfect. Therefore, I shall do God's will. A minister was called to a home. A mom's child was dying. And as is often the case, he prayed, Lord, if it be Your will, heal this child. Help this child to recover. And the mom spoke up and said, I don't want to hear about if. I want God to heal my child. Well, the thing is, God did heal that child. By the time that child was a teenager, that mom's heart had been broken time and time again by his rebellion. And that child was executed for his crimes before he was 22 years old. Yes, God's will. is good and acceptable and perfect. And we would do well to accept God's sovereign will in our lives. Oh, what God could do if we had more Christians who were committed to doing God's will, no matter what the cost, no matter what our will is, but that we are committed to do in the will of God. We're going to give an invitation this morning, inviting you to respond to God's Word. And I want to ask you, have you obeyed the Lord and given your heart to Jesus in repentance of sin? If not, will you do that this morning? And then, Is God leading you to unite with His church family? We encourage you to obey His will. Are you outside of God's will this morning? And do you need to recommit your life to the Lord? May you do God's will this morning. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You. Thank You, Father, for Your will that is good and acceptable and perfect. And I pray that each of us will understand how important it is to do God's will. That we will discover Your will and that we will resolve always to do Your will. And I pray and ask this in Jesus' name, Amen.