Willing

Gtcotr/ss081416

(Account of our first Church building at WOF … Fall of 1982)

Key Scripture: Isaiah 1:19  If you are willing and obedient, You shall eat the good of the land.

Both life and the scriptures teach us that God values and rewards a willing heart. Willing to:

·        See things from God’s perspective

·        Trust God and do things His way

·        Let go and let God be responsible for the outcome

·        To be at peace with God’s will

The greatest struggle we face is to know the will of God. Then we are left with a simple decision to accept and obey or do things our way. Sometimes people imagine the will of God to be whatever favors, protects or prospers them … this might well be a wrong assumption.  

When Jesus faced His greatest struggle it was aimed at only one thing – He wanted to know the will of His Father God. Every prayer He prayed and every sweat drop of blood that fell to the ground in that Garden of Gethsemane was in His fervent pursuit to know what God wanted. He ended each petition with “Not My will but Thine be done.” And when at the end Jesus knew the will of His Heavenly Father He found peace.

2 Corinthians 8:12  For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have.

God accepts whatever a truly willing heart can give. In fact, our willing heart becomes our greatest gift. Our text for this morning comes from:

2 Corinthians 12

7  And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.

8  Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

9  And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

10  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

God and Paul wanted the same thing: for Paul to be victorious over the thorn in his flesh. They both got what they wanted only it came in a very different manner than that which Paul would have prescribed. Paul prayed he be out of the situation while God desired Paul to be a strong and victorious soldier in the situation. Why? – I don’t know the specifics but I can tell you that it had something to do with what was best for others.

Others … it’s always all about others. (Concerning that old Church building God gave us instead of that new one I had been praying for … others!)

·        My Father and Mother

·        Joe and Peggy Kruse

·        Vick Jones

·        Miss Powel

·        Mr Dalt Rogers

·        Mr Everett Skelton

·        The prayers of the founding congregation of Corley Baptist Church

·        Those who are yet to be saved at WOF in Simms, Texas

The life of a soldier - even though it may affect him, is not about him.

There are three things I want to ask you to consider this morning:

1.   Are you willing to pray “Not my will but Thine be done”? (afraid)

2.   Will you accept God’s decision as the best decision? (even if …)

3.   Can God use you to bless someone else? (how much …)

I pray you find the peace, the joy and the strength that comes with the willingness to let God be God. His grace is sufficient! Are you willing …

(Note: The Church building my father bought was the old First Baptist Church of Corley, Texas. It had once been the center of town located at the intersections of US Highway 67 and Texas State Highway 8 and US Highway 67 facing the St Louis Southwestern railway. The old wooden structure was built by the townspeople in hopes it would service a young growing community for years to come. Sadly it had been abandoned for many years prior to its sale. {CORLEY, TEXAS. Corley is on the St. Louis Southwestern Railway three miles west of Maud in southern Bowie County. The community was named for John C. Corley, an early settler. A post office was established there in 1882 with J. Carr Turner as postmaster, and by 1884 the town had a sawmill, a gristmill, a gin, a store, a church, a hotel, and a population of seventy-five. By 1890 the community's population had reached 100, but in 1896 it was reported as only fifty. The Corley post office was discontinued in the 1950s. In 1982 the town had a reported population of thirty-five and no rated businesses. The population was still reported at thirty-five in 2000.})