God's Will For My Life-Part I

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)


I think one question pops up more than any other when speaking to people about their Christian walk, and that question is this:

Q:    How do I find God's will for my life?

The thing that I find intriguing is that when the question is phrased in such a way, it would appear as if God's will is hidden from us, and that couldn't be further from the truth.  After all, would a parent have a will for their child but refrain from letting them know what it was?  When I don't understand something, I go back to the basics, and that is God's Word.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)

So for me to know the will of God I must not rely on my own understanding, or anyone else's for that matter, but I must look to God--I must acknowledge Him and to do this, I must acknowledge His Word.  Only then can He direct my paths.

I think that this is where most of us get off track in our Christian walk, because we don't always seek the wise counsel of the Lord, or His people, but instead we go ask a non-Christian, "Whats wrong with me?"  Or we seek some talk show advice or maybe even a book written by some so-called "Doctor" from the talk show to guide us.

But we will not find God's will for our lives in these places, only in His Word.  In Romans 12:1-2 we are told the will for our lives as Christian men and women.  It says, to "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Lets take a look at this as we break down the scripture for God's will for our lives.

1.     "Present your bodies a living sacrifice," 

First of all we must understand that this directive to present our bodies as a living sacrifice is not something that is randomly thrown out to us to burden us and to squash all the fun that we had planned in our life.  Nor is it written to non-believers. In fact it is written only to those who have by a profession of faith, accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and who've made Him the Lord of their lives.  

These are the people who have come to the realization that they were separated from the relationship that God desired to have with them.  They realized that they needed to be saved from their spiritual death that was caused by the sin in their life.  So after giving God their souls (Inner man), and making Him their Lord, they now are ready to dedicate to Him their physical bodies (Outer man) as a supreme act of worship and gratitude.  They understand that God has saved them, and has richly blessed them, so abiding in His Word is not in an attempt to earn His love or anything else for that matter, it is an act of worship from those who have already experienced His love.  
 
"Use me Lord, and use my body so that others might know You," is really what they are saying.

That's what the Apostle Paul is inferring in this passage when he exhorts us to "present" our bodies.  Much in the same manor that the Levitical Priests of the Old Testaments brought forth an offering unto God, we, the new priests, are to bring forth and "present" our bodies as a sacrifice to him.  The difference in this case is that the Old Testament priest would bring forth an offering that was dead, where we are to bring forth one that is "living."

Hey Christian, I want to encourage you today to present your body to the Lord as a living sacrifice.  In Part II of this message we will continue to look at Romans 12:1-2 and see just what it means to be a living sacrifice, and to be Holy.  

STUDY QUESTION: According to Romans 12:1-2, what is the basic will of God for our lives?

PERSONAL INVENTORY: Do you want to know the will of God for your life?  Are you willing to walk in agreement with His perfect plan for you?

APPLICATION: Stay in the Word.  Use your body only in ways that would bring glory to God.