Ephesians 5:15-17
Many believers have no absolutely dedicated spiritual purpose in. life.
“Be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.”
“Don’t stumble through life; don’t just drift through life.”
#1. What does God desire of me? My whole life.
Romans 6:13 (NLT) “Give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a
tool to do what is right for the glory of God.”
"The only thing Christianity cannot be is moderately important."
Deuteronomy 10:12 (NCV) “This is what the Lord your God wants you to do: Respect the Lord and do what He has told
you to do. Love Him. Serve the Lord your God with your whole being.”
Matthew 6:24 (NIV) “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to
the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
"Okay, Lord, but first, let me take care of some unfinished business."
Luke 14:18-20 (NIV) “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ Another said, ‘I have just bought five yokes of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ Still another one said, ‘I just got married so I can’t come.’”
Proverbs 3:6 (LB) “In everything you do, put God first, and He will direct you and crown your efforts with success.”
#2. What does it take? Discipline.
Proverbs 10:17(a) (NIV) “He who heeds discipline shows the way to life...”
"My job is to make men do what they don't want to do, to achieve what they've always wanted to be."
1 Timothy 4:7 (LB) “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.”
When discipline is working, it becomes a habit.
Hebrews 12:1 (NLT) “Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress.”
If you think you hate discipline, remember how much the enemy hates seeing you practice it in spiritual growth.
Luke 10:40-42 (NRS) "Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so, she came to Him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me.' But the Lord answered her."
Philippians 2:13 (NLT) “God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey His own purpose.”
#3. Why should I do it? The Cross.
2 Corinthians 5:15 (NIV) "He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again."
He expects our lives in their entirety.
Ephesians 1:7 “Through the blood of His Son, we are set free from our sins. God forgives our failures because of His overflowing kindness.”
Romans 12:1 (NIV) “Brothers and sisters, in view of all we have just shared about God’s compassion, I encourage you to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, dedicated to God and pleasing to Him.”
2 Corinthians 6:1 (The Message) “We beg you, please don’t squander one bit of this marvelous life God has given us!”
Habakkuk 3:2 (NCV) "Lord, I have heard the news about You; I am amazed at what You have done. Lord, do great things once again in our time; make those things happen again in our own days."
"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."