Mt 6:9-10-After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Mt 26:42-He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
Lk 11:2-And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.
What was the first temptation used by Satan? It was food. To do a fast to draw closer to God involves the forsaking of food and drinking only water. Food can be and is a god to some people.
The first temptation Satan used against Jesus also involved food.
Luke 4:2-4-And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
Are you in any way in bondage to food? Does Satan have a stronghold in your life in some way regarding food?
A person’s life is usually centered on this—“My will be done. I want my way. I want to do what I want to do. I want to live the way I want to live. I want to do things MY WAY. I don’t want anyone or anything telling me what to do or when to do it.”
“If I want to smoke, I’ll smoke. If I want to drink, I’ll drink. If I want to eat this or that, I’ll do so. If I want to go here or there, I’ll do it. I don’t want anyone to reign over me.”
“Me, myself and I will rule my life. I am the center of my universe.”
“I will do what I want, when I want to do it, and do it the way I want to do it.”
“Don’t tell me about tithing. I can’t afford it.”
However, if a person will fear God and be willing to surrender to God in the same way that Jesus surrendered to His Father in all things, then a person can expect they will not perish after this life.
This means a person’s life must change completely.
The “I will” attitude must be crucified or put to death.
Thy will be done must become the center of your universe.
Many of us use these words. “I can’t. I can’t—because.” They hear the voice of deceit in their mind, which contradicts God’s Word that says, I can do all things through Christ Jesus which strengthens me. The voice of “I can’t” is the voice of no faith, which is the road to hell.
The lukewarm church of today is the church of “My will” be done. It is a religion of self-centeredness. It is a voice that acknowledges Jesus, but does not follow Jesus.
If you want to travel the narrow way that goes through the strait gate that leads to eternal life, your will must be crucified with Jesus.
If you say, “I can’t,” what you are really saying is not that you can’t, but that you won’t.
You say, “I can’t stop smoking. I can’t stop drinking, I can’t lose weight, I can’t stop swearing, I can’t follow Jesus the way He says.” Yes, you can, but you simply don’t choose to do so.
Jesus must become the center of your universe. He must be first in your life. Your wife, your husband, your children, your desires, your parents, this world, are not to be the center of your universe. Jesus is to be the center of your universe.
As you seek to follow Jesus, all sorts of things can be expected to happen around you to distract you, to keep you from doing God’s will, which must be in harmony with the Gospel. It is all a test you must go through, just as Jesus went through the trials He was ordained to go through. Now you must follow Him.
This all begins and ends with one thing. You need to be in God’s Word faithfully, daily, and not a chapter here or there, now and then. God’s Word is your food. As it is written, Job 23:12-I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food. Lk 4:2-4-And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.
God’s Word (which is your foundation) must be first in your life., no matter what. No husband, no wife, no children, no circumstances are to stop you from being in and obeying God’s Word completely.
Some will say, I just can’t do it. These words are put into a person’s faithless heart, which your troubled mind agrees with.
God’s Word says, I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST JESUS WHICH STRENGTHENS ME-Phili 4:13. The devil is never allowed to tempt you beyond what you are able to endure-ref 1 Cor 10:13.
TV, hand-held devices, pleasures, cares, personal desires, riches, lusts, staying connected with people (mainly the unsaved), even food, hobbies, music, sports, and other worldly things can hinder your relationship with Jesus by filling your mind with other things. Let not your heart be troubled. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and Jesus only. Keep your heart and mind filled with God’s Word. No other foundation can anyone lay, if they seek to have eternal life.
The Bible tells us:
Ro 6:3-23
3,4-Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5-For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6-Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7-For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8-Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9-Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10-For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11-Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12-Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13-Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14-For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15-What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16-Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17-But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine (the Bible) which was delivered you.
18-Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness (servants to God’s Word).
19-I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members (your body) servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
20-For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
21-What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
22-But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
23-For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Keys to following Jesus and inheriting eternal life:
Your will must be crucified.
Your desires must be crucified.
Deny yourself-Mt 16:24.
Forsake all-Lk 14:33.
Live for Him-2 Cor 5:15.
Seek not your own heart-Num 15:39.
Purge yourself-2 Tim 2:2.
Deny lusts-Titus 2:12.
Walk as Jesus walked-1 Jn 2:6.
As He is, you are to be-1 Jn 4:17.
Even your thoughts need to be conformed to Him-2 Cor 10:3,5.
You must decrease-Jn 3:30.
You must lose your life for Him-Lk 9:24.
You are to sell, not buy-Mt 19:21. What are you to buy? Rev 3:18-I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see. And if you buy, it is written, 1 Cor 7:30-…They that buy, as though they possessed not. Beware that your possessions do not own or possess you, lest it become something that can hinder you in some way from following Jesus. Is your car, your house, or something else of such importance that your committment to Jesus is hindered?
There may be times you do not even have a place to lay your head-Mt 3:20.
You are not to lay up treasures on this earth-Mt 6:19.
You cannot serve money-Lk 16:13.
You must be transformed-Ro 12:2.
You must conform to His image-Ro 8:29.
You must die to yourself-1 Cor 15:31.
You must deny self-Lk 9:23.
You must crucify yourself-Ro 6:6; Gal 2:20.
You must surrender yourself to Him totally and completely-Mk 8:34-35.
Do not count your life dear, but be steadfast and unmoved by persecution-Acts 20:24.
You must finish the course God has laid down for you-Jn 17:4; 2 Tim 4:7; Col 4:17.
You must not be conformed to this world-Ro 12:1-3.
You are not to serve man, but God-1 Cor 7:24.
You are not to please yourself-Ro 15:1-3.
The apostles said, We have left all-Lk 18:28.
Believers sold possessions, had all things common-Acts 4:32-35.
Trust in Jesus. Trust in His Word. Your dependence is to be centered in Him. It is His strength that sustains you, through your faith, not yours. For it is written:
Heb 2:13…I will put my trust in him.
1 Tim 4:10-For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God.
Phil 2:24-But I trust in the Lord.
2 Cor 1:9…We should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.
1 Tim 6:17-Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God.
Mk 10:24-…Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
When you come out of the water of baptism, you are to come out into the newness of life. Have you done this?
The old man must be put off.
The new man, which is after Jesus, must be put on.
Do not become entangled in the affairs of this life-Lk 21:34.
2 Tim 2:4-No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
Only those that die to themselves, and stay in God’s Word, and obey God’s Word will inherit eternal life.
You must be born again-Jn 3:3.
You must LOVE THE LORD THY GOD above all. What is the evidence of your love for God?????
If you love God, you will have a heart that wants to hear God’s Word. Many have a head knowledge of God’s Word, but there is no obedience. It is written: If you love me, keep my commandments. It is those that obey God’s Word completely that truly love God.
Have you made a covenant with God by sacrifice?
Ps 50:5-Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
Consider God’s Word carefully. Believe on the Jesus of the Bible with all your heart. Then repent, and afterward be baptized by full immersion every one, and follow Him faithfully.