The Difference Between God's Will and Your Desires

I wanna share with you the differences between God's will and your desires. This is gonna help you to discover and live in God's perfect will for your life. Let's start with the scripture, Jeremiah 17:9. The human heart is the most deceitful of all things and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? So all of us have the tendency to be pulled away from God's will by our own desires. So by comparing God's will with our desires biblically, this is going to help us to discern the divine path forward. Firstly, God's will leads to life, your desires lead to destruction. In Proverbs 14:12, we read, there is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. So there are things that we want to do, things that we have as goals, that to us at first, at face value, seem like they're going to lead to life, like they're going to lead to success, like they're going to lead to fulfillment, But if we look beyond that, when we finally achieve some of those things, it turns out that some of the things we desire actually lead to death. In Romans 8:6, we read, so letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death, but letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. So by following the way of the flesh, the sin nature, human desire, we end up with destruction, chaos. We end up with a lack of peace. Our mind becomes tormented. We become confused. We feel distant from God. Yet when we walk in the way of the Spirit, God's will, we find life and peace. We find order and fruitfulness. Next, we see that God wills holiness, we desire compromise. Look at God's will in 1 Peter 1:15-16. But now you must be holy in everything you do, Just as God who chose you is holy. For the scriptures say, you must be holy because I am holy. Compare this with your desires in James 1:13-15. And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, God is tempting me. God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions, And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. So your flesh is consistently looking for opportunities to fulfill its cravings. Your flesh, we shall call it the other person, the sin nature, is constantly making excuses that may at face value sound good so that ultimately it can get what it wants. God desires holiness. God desires no compromise. God desires that we get as far away from that line of compromise as possible. And the flesh or your desires want you to get as close to the line as possible, because even if it can't completely have what it craves, at least it wants to taste what it craves. At least it wants to be near what it craves. And so you have to be on the lookout for this. God's will will always lead to sanctification, being set apart, being holy, the high standard of the Word of God, whereas your desires will always look for those loopholes, those areas of compromise. God's will benefits others. Our desires only benefit self. 1 Corinthians 10:24 says, don't be concerned for your own good, but for the good of others. In Philippians 2:3-4, we read, don't be selfish. Don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others too. Many people have what we call main character syndrome. In other words, they imagine that their life is like a movie. They are the main character and everyone else is just a supporting role. And this is how a lot of people see things. In fact, this is how a lot of Christians view the call of God. They think that the call of God is about them. They think the anointing that God places on their life is about them. When God raises a man or a woman, He never raises a man or a woman just for the sake of that man or woman. When God raises you, he's doing so to benefit others. Now, I'm not saying that you can't be blessed. I'm not saying that you can't experience joy and fulfillment. I'm not even saying that you can't experience accomplishment. There is something to be said of that for sure. And I think that God does want us to accomplish and to build and to grow and to expand his kingdom and so forth. But I think we have to have a healthy balance here, because when God begins to use you, if you lose perspective, if you begin to think that it's all about you, it's all about your blessings, if you begin to see it as a reward rather than a responsibility, then you're in danger. Listen to me, your soul is in danger when you begin to lose perspective like this. Now, I understand that we also need to take care of ourselves. You can't take care of others if you're not taking care of yourself. Jesus said to love others, As you love yourself. Well, that assumes first that you do in fact love yourself. So there's nothing biblically speaking wrong with that, as long as we don't fall into selfishness. That is, as long as we don't become so in love with self that we forget about others, that we forget about the Lord's glory, that we forget about God's will. So God's will benefits others. God raises you to help others, to set the captives free, to bring healing to people, to bring the gospel to those who don't know the Lord, to be a good testimony of God's love, to those who are broken. So if we imagine that it's all about us, or that it's all to our benefit, then we're actually straying from the will of God. And we can very easily, it's so deceptive and it happens so subtly, we could very easily be swept away off the path of God's perfect will. Now, again, I understand self-care, but I think as a society, as a culture, we've taken self-care to the extreme. Let me just be honest with you here. You will at times have to be inconvenienced for the sake of others. Sometimes in order to be there for others, you have to sacrifice something for yourself. Sometimes in order to stay up with someone who's struggling, maybe you get a phone call from a friend who's struggling, you're going to lose a little bit of sleep. In order to bless someone financially, maybe you're going to have to go without something. In order to spend time with someone who is hurting, Who just needs a friend or just needs someone near them, you're gonna have to sacrifice time away from your rest and your hobbies. And that's okay. I'm not saying you take this all the way to the point where your life is completely destroyed. But while we understand that there is such a thing as self-care, we have to remember to care for others as well. So your calling isn't about you. God's will benefits others. Our desires only benefit self. God's will is based on his word. Our desires are based on pleasure. In Matthew 4:8-10, we see here that the Lord Jesus was offered pleasure. He was offered fulfillment of the things of this world. Look at how he responds. Next, the devil took him to the peak of a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. I will give it all to you, he said, if you will kneel down and worship me. Get out of here, Satan, Jesus told him, for the scriptures say, you must worship the Lord your God and serve Him only. So Jesus was presented with an opportunity to have it all, everything that He desired or everything that could be desired, at least from the human point of view. And He turns this down by saying, it is written. He turns this down by pointing to what the Word of God says. So while there was pleasure presented to Him, while there was earthly gain presented to Him, He ultimately stood on the Word of God. You know, our feelings change depending upon the circumstance. I'll never forget, I was talking to a friend of mine, and this was years ago, where they were moving and they needed help with moving. And they were expressing to me how upset they were that everyone they had asked to help them move just wasn't helping. They made a few calls, they sent out a few texts, but people were making excuses with how busy they were or how maybe they weren't feeling well. And so this individual was getting really frustrated with that. And then sometime later, they get a call from a friend, and I just so happened to be there, asking them to help them move. And they basically made a bunch of excuses, got off the phone. I said, why are you not going to help them? And they said, well, you know, I'm just not, I don't wanna, I don't feel like doing it. And they basically told the person, I'll let you know, but they had actually already made up their mind. You see, they shifted their principles based on their feelings. Whereas in one instance, it was they who benefited, they thought one way, and then in the next instance, when it was their turn to actually sacrifice, all of a sudden everything changed. So this is why we have to live based on the Word and not on our feelings or our desires for pleasure or our desires for gain. See, some are so led by emotions that they have no principles. Let me say that again and consider that and do some self-examination. Some are so led or so controlled by their emotions that they have no principles. You see, if you go only by feeling what you want, what you're craving, what you don't want, how tired you are, how frustrated you are, then you're gonna always act differently depending upon how you're feeling. But when you learn to base your life on the Word, when you learn to base your actions and your thoughts and your attitudes on the Word, then there begins to be this consistency in your life. And that consistency over time, ultimately amounts to the fulfillment of God's will. In fact, that's what it is to fulfill God's will. Often we imagine this big goal ahead of us, this perfect will of God, this abstract concept where we have it all together and we finally made it in life and therein we fulfilled the call of God. But that can be overwhelming. That can be frustrating, especially as you make mistakes along the way, because it seems like that's just an impossible standard to reach. This is why it's better to just break down the will of God into everyday obedience. Daily, simple acts of obedience over time amount to the perfect will of God. And this is why we have to learn to live based on God's word, not on what we're feeling in the moment. That's fleeting, that changes, that's constantly shifting. You see, we as human beings, we want entertainment, we want distraction. We want what's next. We want what's new. In fact, many believers grow tired of routine. They grow tired of monotony. They get tired of the ministry God gave them. They get tired of the people around them. They get tired of where they work and what they do and how they are. And I understand that it's good to freshen things up in different seasons of life, but there is a certain monotony of life that is necessary, a consistency that is needed, and that is the foundation of the word of God. So God wants us to be obedient and diligent and consistent. So live by the word, even when it doesn't feel good, even when you have to deny yourself certain pleasures. God's will is based on his word. Our desires are based on pleasure. Now, this next point is really gonna challenge us in the area of our selfishness. Okay, so we're gonna dig a little bit deeper here in just a moment, but first, If you're enjoying this content and you think other believers can benefit from this video, make sure to click a thumbs up, leave a like so that others can see this content. Just by you interacting in that way, taking a split second to leave a like, you're helping to spread the content all around the world. And make sure that you're subscribed to my channel. Subscribe right now and do click that notification bell when you subscribe so that you're alerted when I put out new content. You know, it's possible to subscribe, And then not know if we put out any content. That's why it's important to click that notification bell. I release teachings on the Holy Spirit, prayer, spiritual warfare, faith, miracles, spiritual growth. I also show footage of the power of the Holy Spirit in action. So if you love the presence and power of the Holy Spirit and you love the richness of the Word of God, this channel is for you. Subscribe today. God's will includes challenges. We desire comfort. Luke 9:23-24 say, then he said to the crowd, if any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. When Christ calls us to be disciples, he's calling us to a life of sacrifice. You see, many Christians imagine that if they serve God long enough, if they pray hard enough, if they live righteously enough, that eventually here upon this earth, they'll reach the day where they have no trials, no challenges, no struggles, everything's going perfectly well, just as they want it. Every situation will be perfectly ideal. Their relationships will all be in perfect order. Their finances will be in perfect order. Their health will be in perfect order. And I do understand God wants to bless us with these things, Here's the reality. Every season of life will present challenges. Every season of life will require some measure of sacrifice. Why? Because we are constantly decreasing. That's the Christian walk. We have to constantly decrease. John 3:30, I must decrease, but he must increase. We are decreasing daily. We are dying daily. And we want Christ to live in us. We want to be that testimony of children of the Most High God. And in order to do that, we have to reflect Christ. In order to reflect Christ, we have to look less like us. And so in daily dying to self, in daily saying no to what we want, in daily saying no to what is good, but isn't God, we will experience challenges. We will experience heartache. We will experience resistance. This will be a life of sacrifice. A crossless life is a Christless life. A life of no sacrifice is a life of no growth. A life of no sacrifice is a life of no purpose. A life without challenge is a life without effect. And you and I are called to pick up our cross daily. Daily we follow him. What does that mean? It means daily we're saying, Lord, Even if I want something, even if I prefer something, even if, even if I crave something, I'm going to say no to that because you have called me to something else. And I'm not just talking about sin and compromise. I'm saying that sometimes even the Lord will ask you to give up things that you think are good, that you think are blessings, but maybe they're not for that season, or maybe they become a distraction, or maybe God is calling you to give that up because he has something else for you. I'm not saying you have to be miserable. Jesus said, I come that you might have life and life more abundantly. I'm not saying that you have to be depressed and sad and walk around with this cloud hanging over your head saying, well, you know, I'm living a life filled with sacrifice. I'm carrying my cross. No, the life of the believer is one of joy and peace and vibrant life really in the Spirit. But you have to recognize too that Jesus calls us to follow after Him. And he lived a life where there was pain and sacrifice. In fact, that's what Satan was doing. Satan was tempting Christ to take a path that didn't include a cross. And he'll tempt you with the same thing. See, we imagine that everything's going to go in a straight line, or that it's just going to be a completely vertical climb to the top, but there will be ups, yes. And then there'll be seasons where you feel like you went backwards, seasons where you feel like there's less progress, but you have to keep going. Because we're called to be disciples of Christ. So God's will includes challenges, we desire comfort. God's will requires faith, we want certainty. In Hebrews 11:6, we read, and it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him. 2 Corinthians 5:7 declares, For we live by believing and not by seeing. In John 20, beginning at verse number 24, we read, one of the 12 disciples, Thomas, nicknamed the Twin, was not with the others when Jesus came. They told him, we have seen the Lord, but he replied, I won't believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands and put my finger into them and place my hand into the wound in his side. 8 days later, the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked, but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. Peace be with you, he said. Then he said to Thomas, put your finger here and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don't be faithless any longer. Believe. My Lord and my God! Thomas exclaimed. Then Jesus told him, You believe because you have seen me. Listen to this now. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me. It's a walk of faith. You see, we require certainty. We require the full plan. We say, God, show me steps 1 through 10. And he's saying, no, no, I'll show you step number 2, but only if you take step number 1. We say, God, give me the full picture. He said, I'll give you a glimpse. of a portion of the picture. You see, if you don't use faith, you cannot grow. And if you know everything that's coming your way, it doesn't require faith. When we learn to rely on God, we learn to become less reliant upon the systems of this world, less reliant upon the political systems, the monetary systems, less reliant upon your job, less reliant upon other people. Not that we don't need other people, but they're not the all in all. And we learn to rely on Christ alone. Christ is that solid rock. Christ is that foundation. He is the high tower. He is that refuge, that place of safety. So though we in life desire God to show us everything, we want everything all planned out, especially if you're a planner, Especially if you're very organized, especially if you like to be in control of everything, it's difficult sometimes to follow along the path of the will of God, because the path of the will of God sometimes requires uncertainty on our part. And notice I said on our part, because God's never uncertain. God's never scratching his head, wondering what's coming next. As the old saying goes, I may not know what tomorrow holds, But I know who holds tomorrow. Father, I pray you help us to be attentive to the voice of the precious Holy Spirit. Help us to be readers and doers of the word. And precious Lord, give us the strength to continue down the path of your will, even when it requires sacrifice. Amen. Even when it requires pain, even in moments of uncertainty and confusion. Help that one receiving now, Lord. Let them sense your presence and power on them even now, comforting them. Thank you, Holy Spirit, that you light the path. Thank you, Holy Spirit, that through your power, by your guidance, we will fulfill the call of God. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. I want you to say it because you believe it. Say amen. Now, I wanna challenge you here for a moment. I know that typically after the lesson and prayer, people click off the video. I'm gonna challenge you to not do that here because I wanna ask something of you now. You've received the word. I'm glad. I pray it blessed you, but you know, there are others who need to hear the word too. There are millions and millions and millions of people around the world who are seeking truth, They're seeking something and they don't even know often what they're looking for. We need to tell them about Jesus. There are believers around the world who are confused about certain issues of the Spirit, who are looking for strength, who are looking for direction. We need to give to them the Word of God so that they have a firm foundation upon which they can stand. If you've been blessed by this ministry in any way, I'm gonna ask you now, I'm gonna challenge you now. It's time to pay it forward. Look, I know that many people often wait. They wanna look at something in the economy. 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