His Will for Us

have at some point as well we've asked that question what does God expect from me my tendency like many others is to look on the surface and The Superficial aspects of what the job requirements are for being a saint being a Christ follower what is the job like that's where I go to immediately oh God expects this what are the job requirements anybody ever apply for a job without looking at what's expect Ed of that job anybody ever do that why not yeah you want to know what you're getting yourself into right like oh like a teacher job description I encourage you if you've never looked at a school website to see what's required of a teacher just do it for fun tonight or tomorrow morning and then know that you'll have to spend extra time praying for us because the job description is not okay work 10 months out of the Year enjoy Summers celebrate go on trips you know all that job description the shortest job description for a school public school teacher that I have ever seen is about that long that is the shortest one and so often we look at what God expects from us in that same thing we're like okay God give me a job description what's the qualifications what are the job requirements what's the minimum education right we want to look to what God expects from us I may be the the only one that ever does that but sometimes when I Ponder this question that comes up into my mind like okay what is it it's The Superficial kind of element of it we look for at times and often expect God to create for us this written out detailed job description of exactly what is expected of us in our role as Christ followers and and we go and we're like well the Bible doesn't say that directly you know there's this little qualifier they put in most job descriptions anybody ever read it it's usually the last line what what's it say do you remember Sister Sherry other duties as assigned and guys when we're looking at what God expects for us and and his will for us that right there is the key piece because there are some key concrete elements that God expects from from those that follow him you've got to repent you've got to be baptized you've got to be filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost these things are non-negotiables but at the end of that base element of the job description there's other duties as assigned and and so often that's where we start to kind of lose our understanding of what it is that God expects from us you know it's like we think that if we only had a full-fledged blueprint that had every measurement outlined for us that somehow that would be able to help us to be able to answer the question of what God expects from us and then and only then could we do something truly for the kingdom of God that's often times the mindset with which we approach this that if we knew what his plan was anybody wish you knew every step of God's plan for your life any anybody ever found themselves at a certain point in time questioning whether you needed to take a step because you didn't know the end result and so often we get our mind if I just knew the plan of God and ultimately what his expect expectations were for his people then we would be able to more closely align with those expectations they you know so many people are afraid to operate in the will of God simply because they don't see a clearly outline plan Beyond just those uh concrete elements that are written they see the other duties as assigned as a fearful point and they don't really step off because they can't in their mind they can't reconcile this idea of um not being able to closely align with the expectations of God therefore or or thereby like if if we were able to do this if we knew his plan and ultimately what his expects expectations were for his people we' be able to closely align it align with it and then thereby we would then be able to live in the blessings that being in Kingdom Covenant with him opens up to us and so when we're looking at this tonight like the the real Focus I want us to dwell on just a little while is this concept of what is it that God expects for us for us from us what is his will for us to do now all you have to do is open the word of God to understand that there are Promises full in every step of the journey from Genesis to Revelation that's what God wants to give but before we can ever talk about what God wants to give to us as part of his will and his plan and his expectations we have to first understand what is our role we have to get that foundation in place otherwise we're going to build a house it won't stand when the storm comes

so I want to turn our attention to the Book of Luke chapter 10 Luke chapter 10 Luke chapter 10 I'm going to begin reading in verse 30 in Luke 10:30 says this and and Jesus answered and said a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among Thieves who stripped him of his clothing wounded him and departed leaving him half dead Okay half dead which also means half alive just you know in case you're doing the math verse 31 and by chance and now by chance a certain priest came down that road and when he saw him he passed to the other side or by on the other side and likewise verse 32 a levite when he was at the place came and looked on him he looked at this dude he walked up to this dude he didn't just glance from a distance like the priest did but he actually walked up to him and then went back the way he came to the other side and passed by him verse 33 but a certain Samaritan as he journeyed came where he was and when he saw him he had compassion on him verse 34 and he went to him and bound up his wounds pouring in oil and wine and set him on his own beast and brought him to an end and took care of him and on the tomorrow when he departed he took out two pence and gave them to the host and said unto him take care of him and whatever more you spend when I come I will repay you again the purpose of a parable now most of us and I'm not going to make the make the assumption that everyone in here and everyone watching online which we're well thankful you joined us but I'm not going to make the assumption that everyone has heard this story but for those that have this story is often referred to as the parable of the what the Good Samaritan the Good Samaritan which indicated the that this was an exception to what was expected anyway I'm getting ahead of myself I got to stop the purpose of a general Parable is to reveal simple truths of a moral and spiritual or a spiritual context So In this passage we see such a tool as a parable used by Jesus to explain a key commandment of the 10 that commandment is this Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself guys this is one of the 10 you know the ones that we like argue and fuss and complain on social media about when they talk about removing it from cour houses and such okay this is one of those 10 Thou shalt not have other gods before me Thou shalt not kill Thou shalt not steal oh we know those this one though this principle this commandment is being addressed through this Parable by Jesus Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself now I'm aware that some of us have neighbors that make loving them a difficult proposition and maybe you don't now but I guarantee at some point in your life you have had a neighbor that even though this commandment was readily there for you to read it was very challenging with that particular neighbor and if you're not nodding your head to this and assuming that yes this applies to you then let me tell you you are the other neighbor so you've either been the recipient of this or you have been the one causing this somebody else not to be able to love them so just keep that in mind but here it is this Parable when when dealing with this commandment is important to understand that our neighbors are not simply that those that reside in proximity but they are people that make up the communities in which we live that is our neighbor it is not the person that we share a fence row with and argue about whose turn it is to cut the shrubs but it is our community of people that reside together I I I I I did a little digging into the census Daddy Daddy hey senses daddy how you doing oh man that's going to be a good one thank goodness this is not footnotes a Sunday service that would be on footnotes I guarantee it but I did a little digging into the census data for Hamilton County in the surrounding areas you know Chattanooga Metro is made up of six counties did y'all know that if you didn't I'm about to educate you a little bit Chattanooga Metro is made up of six counties Hamilton Marian squat on the Tennessee side on the Georgia side it is Walker katusa and Dade County that make up this Chattanooga Metroplex in this according to the 2020 census the population of Chattanooga Metro 500 62,64 this means that currently you have approximately 562 646 neighbors these are the people that make up our community and yes I throw myself in here because I spend more time in Chattanooga and Bradley you know we could throw Bradley County in this mix and up that number a little bit more too be pushing over 600,000 all right and this doesn't include those that come into Chattanooga to work from the outlying counties that are outside of those that make up Chattanooga Metro these are your neighbors these are your community and

in this Parable Jesus tells the story of a Jew that was on a journey and ran into a band of robbers he ran into a tough circumstance he ran into a situation that he couldn't control nor could he get out of on his own they stole everything that he had and they left him for dead however it was not long before people started coming along the route that had the opportunity to change his present circumstance these were not people that were in the same boat as him these were people with the means and the opportunity to alter his present situation they had the opportunity to lead him to a place of healing of restoration and ultimately recovery and the first to come by him was the priest the priest and you know the priest is often just thrown as oh well this is the man of God's respons responsibility he should have done it first there's a whole lot more to this priests were mediators between God and the general populace Joel 1:9 tells them and says that they are basically intercessors during a time of mourning if anyone should have been the one that bridged that gap for this man's recovery it should have been the priest right the one that was destined and designed to be a mediator between God and the en population it was his responsibility at least that's the way we put it on Ministry and the pastors but here's where it kind of the rubber mea roote and there's a connection not just to those that are in Ministry and those that are in a pastoral type role but to the general population because what happened with the priest and the reason the priest didn't even get close to him but immediately crossed to the other side is because he was so bound up and caught up in Traditions both Unwritten and written laws that he had to worry about them in his mind more so than he did about saving the life of the man that was in a desperate situation preach it Pierce okay so that's where we're at with this scenario he had to worry about this in his mind and so because he was so caught up in the way things had always been done and role obligations and role responsibilities and the fact that this can't dwell with this and can't come in contact with this he had the opportunity to change the man's circumstances but he was so caught up in the way things had always been written and Unwritten laws that he did not allow himself to serve this man I'm going to come back to his story in just a minute he crossed in the opposite direction this is what he did can I tell you that those of us that are sitting in this room tonight we are the ones that should mediate between the lost and our savior it is not simply a role behind a pull pit that is the one that mediates between God and a lost world that that's not what the word of God teaches the word of God teaches that it is a responsibility of everyone that proclaims to be a Christ follower to do good no matter the circumstance and situation that it it becomes our responsibility to step into that now Ponder for just a moment be self-reflective how often we see someone that's hurting or that is in a different emotional or physical or financial state from what we are and we keep our heads down to avoid ey Conta or Worse we avoid them completely we have all been guilty we have all been the priest in this scenario someone is hurting someone is broken we have the opportunity to change their circumstance and instead because it doesn't fit our narrative in the moment we don't act in the manner we should the next man that came walking up was a levite if you did not know what the tribe I believei was responsible for they were the keepers of the temple they were the ones that looked out for the place where God dwelt if anyone had a place in which the injured man could find healing and transformation from his circumstance that he was desperately needing delivered from it was this levite he was the one most responsible for this very place and therefore had the proverbial keys that would have allowed him to open the door yet once again he like the priest came and looked and walked to the other side I promise I'm getting back to the expectations of God here in just a moment this is what he did the levite looked got close enough to see where this man stay actually was and instead of taking him to the place where his life could have been changed he thought about the rules he thought about the way things had always been written and he walked away to the other side and kept on going then there was the Samaritan it was a Samaritan who made the choice to stop to help the man we we need to understand something about Samaritans I I I remember talking about this one time I I preached last year the year before but how Jews viewed Samaritans they were lesser than the less and here it was as far as the Jews were concerned they were the lowest of the low they were second rate citizens these Samaritans were Jews turned their noses up at Samaritans they talk bad about them honestly that's why I think the story is called the Good Samaritan because the expectation was that all other Samaritans were bad that's why you had to differentiate this particular Samaritan essentially most Jews would do everything in their power to avoid contact with Samaritans and here this man this Samaritan did not only stop and offer water but this Samaritan changed a Jewish man's circumstance simply by caring and doing good think about the feelings that this Samaritan man had dealt with his whole life yet when he could have been just like the others of the man's own Heritage he chose to look past the situation he chose to look past the condition and be a help to an individual that was hurting to do good for someone that had no other choice and no other way out so many times guys we treat people like the priest and the levite oh the rules say I can't get close to you so I'm going to stay way back here and cross over here or worse in my opinion the levite is even worse because he walked up looked at the man he got in proximity the man had to have seen him you could just imagine the pain and the cry for help in this man's eyes and yet the levite and he knew he was a levite he looked and walked away we should be the access point to an individual's healing we should be the access point for recovery and restoration because at its foundational level that is the ultimate plan God has for us that is the ultimate expectation God has for his people we can't do anything else if we can't love those and care for those that can't do it on their own that every conventional wisdom says don't do it don't invest yourself however we do everything we can often times to avoid that contact and that interaction we do everything we can short of an outright vocal denial that I'm going to pour out part of myself into someone that needs God's help

what is God's plan for us what is his expectation well let me tell you in Micah chapter 6 we can see clearly what the foundational expectation and will of God for us is Micah 68 says this he sh thee oh man what is good and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God to do justly that means do what is right even when everything else says don't do it to love Mercy means even when people don't deserve Mercy I've got to give mercy and guess what humility is a big part of that because I'm not doing it to post on socials I'm not I'm not doing it so that everybody can brag about how good I am but I'm going to walk humbly with God because if I'm walking humbly with God I see somebody not as an individual that violates every part of my conventional wisdom but if I'm walking humbly with God I see somebody that is respon or or desperately in need of a savior's love Micah brings specific charges against the nation of Israel when he says this do you dare think you are honoring God simply by bowing before him do you think God is pleased because you bring burnt offerings and Gifts of incense to the altar in other words do you think that meets God's expectations for us do you think that meets God's expectations for us one of the saddest commentaries on the church today is that we don't understand what God expects from us as Believers because we can give everything financially the Rich Young Ruler was having that same conversation and that broke him the financial side of it but there's others that gave a lot financially but they didn't do this foundational piece that tied directly to what Jesus did in his time on Earth we struggle to understand what God expects from us as Believers as Christians and what his Ultimate Will is for us we need to know that God charges us through the prophet Micah that and then his charges are resounding through the tunnels of time and in into us today and into this church today into our lives that God's concern is not solely that we make it to church on Sunday and Sunday school on Sunday morning God God's concern is not solely that we make it to midweek University on Wednesday night God God's concern is not solely that we're given 10% to the decimal point O of our of our offering of our income God's concern is not solely that we know the right places to sit and stand during worship service that's not God's plan and God's expectation and his will for our lives God's concern is though what is going on in our hearts God's concern for us is how we respond to our fellow man because we can do everything right inside the four walls of a church building but if we are not serving our fellow man we are not meeting the expectations of God I I if we're not doing things to reach to where others are broken we are not in his will for us and guess what the longer we avoid doing that the less the blessings of God and the kingdom of God come into our lives doing good is the foundational first element not good to those that are already part of the body but doing good to those around us is the first element of God's will for us we can't do anything else to be in God's will and his plan and meeting his expectations if we are not first doing good to the world around us

you want TR proof of this turn to like I don't have them give the scripture I'm going to give you a few scriptures that when you get time I I encourage you go look these up and see what it says about the word will of God because every one of these scriptures is about first doing good to those around us to be in the will of God there is a direct correlation to serving others doing good for others outside the walls of a church building directly correlates with being in God's will for us 2 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 5 Ephesians chapter 6 verse 6 there's tons in First Peter but I'm going to give you two so you can those of y'all that are notet takers you jot these down or if you don't get them go back and watch where we're at it is presently 7:36 so we're about 36 minutes into the live stream or so you can go back and find it later if you missed them 1 Peter 2 verse1 15 I'm sorry I'm going to give you three 1 Peter 3:17 and 1 Peter 4:19 all directly correlate being in God's will for us and his plan for us and meeting his expectations with doing good for the world around us not just paying lip service through those things we've come to do by being Believers and part of the body of Christ but to expand that out because this is a foundational piece of God's will for each and every one of us see God doesn't owe us a life of blessing because we simply go through the routines of worship through giving and actual lifting of hands and lifting voices he doesn't owe us a life of blessing for we're expected to also thank God for granting us a life of Blessings by being a people of worship but can I tell you and I'm going to speak this very very plain God cannot be pleased and we cannot be meeting God's expectations and we you know his expectations for those of us that call ourselves Christians when Sunday morning continues to be the most segregated power in America and I'm not just talking about race and I'm not just talking about ethnicity but I'm talking about financial status experiences Etc we remain so segregated that we come into the house of God and we lift up our hands and we're not surrounded by the people that are desperately needing it because those are not the priority for us we come in the house and we want our neat safe secure moment and we we think we're living in God's will for us but we are not living in God's will for us we are not meeting his expectations if we continue to look for people that are just like us financially experientially all of those things Beyond just race Beyond just ethnicity people need God no matter where they're at on the Spectrum and it is God's expectation for us we what ends up happening is we draw this invisible Line in the Sand we go to our respective churches and and with with people who look like us and dress like us sound like us and when church is over we go to our respective restaurants with our comfortable people can I can I just ask you a question when's the last time you went to a restaurant and you invited someone you did not know or you were not super comfortable with when's the last time you said you know what I don't have much money on my own but I'm going to buy your lunch today I I wish I had time to tell you story after story where where I just there's one particular story I like it always speaks my heart and I'm not saying this please hear my heart and my spirit in this I'm not saying this for self-promotion but I was working in in Knoxville and you know I just got this sizable bonus check for selling somebody a leas piece of equipment and our rule was we always go cash a check we'd buy lunch for the office there was a certain amount percentage that would go to the pot in the office and we'd buy meals out of that for everybody man I was looking forward Andre and I didn't have kids yet I I was looking forward to a you know a good date night to go with this I walk up to this place that we're buying our lunch from and I see people that are not they're they're not the drug addicts they're not they're people that are working hard to make a living and I don't know why except just I felt like I needed to be in the will of God I need to meet his expectations and I was like I don't know why but here's $40 God told me to buy your lunch today what you do with this I hope you guys have a great meal get out of this heat it was a middle of summer get out of this heat and just know that God wanted you to have this because God loves you I don't know who those people were I don't know what they did with it all I knew is that there was an opportunity to serve someone other than myself which I knew in that moment glorified the expectations God had for me as a follower of him you know maybe we don't we go to our respective restaurants or we just go home with our families and we could very easily invite someone over but we want to stay neat and safe and secure I'm not asking anybody to be ignorant about things but there's such an opportunity to live in the expectations and live in the will God has for us because there's blessings we haven't even yet tapped into because we're not quite living exactly where God wants us to live we're we're not meeting his expectations and living in his will for us

Zachariah 7 and8 says this and the word of the Lord came unto Zechariah saying thus speaketh the Lord of hosts saying execute true judgment show mercy and compassions every man to his brother this is not just those that already are brothers but these are part of the community in which we reside every man to his brother oppress not the Widow nor the fatherless The Stranger nor the poor and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart we're so quick to assume the worst and the reality is is that is not God's expectation for us that is not his will or plan for us as his followers we can't get to the other things that are part of God's Will and find his will Beyond just this moment if we don't first get a foundation built here to understand that this is where it is what does god require you oh man or woman he requires you to do justice to love mercy and to walk humbly with your god what what does God really care about what is it that God is looking for his children to do God requires us to be concerned about Justice which means fairness fair play Equity within the human family doing Justice Means look they didn't wrong me I'm going to treat them fair I'm going to treat them Equitable in the thought of the Old Testament to do justice involve the basic needs or requirements or even rights of people living together in a community the basic needs it should have the same connotation to us today that it doesn't make a difference what side of the tracks you live on and I know tracks are not really the way but I'm going to tell you right now it shouldn't matter what side of I24 you live on either it shouldn't matter what side of I75 you live on either it doesn't make a m make a difference the type of house you live in or if you don't even have a house it it shouldn't make a difference the market value of the vehicle you drive it should make no difference what your income or social status is it should make no difference your ethnicity or whether th English is your second language your third your fourth or your fifth what should matter is our responsibility to live in the expectations and the will of God is to do justice be fair and Equitable and love people when they need it the most if we judge people based upon appearance their status or their condition I'm going to tell you point blank you are not in the will of God and you are not meeting the expectations of God and we sit here and clap and applaud and Shout for that right now and pay a lip service but if something doesn't change in our actions we are not living in the will and the purpose and the plan God has for our lives we are not meeting God's expectations and I don't know about anybody else but the only expectations I want to meet more than anybody else's are the man that gave breath in my lungs is that man that died on a cross for me I want to meet his expectations do do good that's what the scripture says those that do good to their fellow man do justice love Mercy which means kindness I know it's hard to capture Mercy in the generic English language but it's essentially kindness It's it's not a warm fuzzy feeling kind of love but the commitment and steadfast dependability that arises from a mutual relationship what does the Lord require of you he requires us to love Mercy tipping your server twice what you normally would oh yeah if you don't tip don't go out you are not in the will of God if you go to a restaurant somebody's working hard and you are not giving them credit or blessing for their service you can disagree with me all you want to but I'm going to tell you right now there's people that remember that and when they see church people walk in they don't want to serve you and that is a direct reflection on the God we say we love stay home if that's the case or go to FIS or go somewhere fast don't go somewhere sit down don't you go to rodio and leave a $5 tip anyway sorry I'm going to go to medal in here in just a minute I got to hurry loving Mercy even when they're doing a terrible job you still need to serve them and love them because believe it or not you whether you say it or not they know who you represent yes cannot fear one another because they don't smell like we do they don't look like we do oh man we fear can I look down upon those that are not the same as you cannot as uh despise those that were not afforded the same educational opportunities as you we're required to do justice love Mercy walk humbly with our God walking ath path is a common biblical metaphor for living a certain kind of Life walking humbly with God is a call to do more than come to God with offerings and thinking you can buy God's favor because you can't it's a call to live our lives with God in a way that would work out in every aspect of life a sensitivity to the things of God and the nudging of God so that when you are out in public you can step and serve those that need it it allows our hearts to be broken by the things that break the heart of God and if all you do is turn your nose up when you drive out of here on a Sunday because people are standing on the corner borrowing and begging money some of us need to have our heart broken because we want the will of God we want the blessings of God we want God to work in our lives well we're living outside of this foundational piece of the will of God for our life because we're not moved with compassion it's a deep desire this walking humbly with God is a deep desire to see the world through the eyes of God to act in the world as God would act do you think God would show up at a restaurant and not tip do you think God would scowl at people standing on the corner because they make our building not look right do do you think he would walk by somebody in a hospital that is crying out in pain and Agony and not be broken in his own spirit because of it I know he wouldn't because Jesus already set that in place he said it and he stopped when blind Bemus Cried Out Jesus thou son of David have mercy on me there was something that broke in Jesus's heart in that moment and he turned toward blind to the blind man and he changed his life and he changed him circumstance God Baseline will for us do justice love Mercy walk humbly with our God

can you stand with me this this evening we must live if we're going to meet his expectations we must live our lives and love as Jesus loved the Revival God is orchestrating around us and in us and through us is most likely not going to begin within the affluent of this area but most often it will begin with a blue collar low income and sometimes shunned ethnicities and lower economic statuses of this area why why should we serve why should we love others why should we live and love like Jesus lived and loved because it's what God's will is for us and we can't achieve any other part of God's will for our life if we're not first meeting that expectation Pentecost was a multicultural multinational multi- Eon domical movement and experience and if we're truly going to rise to God's will for us we must do good that is the first line of God's will for each and every one of us there's no place for arrogance in the kingdom of God consider the child who is more willing to be kind and accepting and loving a child does not know arrogance it's a learned behavior of such the scripture said in Matthew 19 the child that doesn't know arrogance that doesn't know this idea of money not money he doesn't even know the ignorance of bigotry and racism until it's taught of such the scripture tells us is the kingdom of of Heaven that must be our goal if we're going to be in the will of God and meet his expectations can we lift our hands in this place all over this place come on can we ask God to move in and touch our hearts again God if it's been broken God if it's been hardened to the cries of others Lord Jesus God I'm praying Lord Jesus break up the fer the break up the hard soil of my soul God move in my heart God move me toward compassion and understanding God I want to meet your expectations God I want to be in your will first and foremost to love Mercy to do justly oh God and to walk humbly with you