I Wish

2 Corinthians 12:11-13

Introduction: How many of you, Have ever had a birthday cake

That someone baked

Or bought, just for you?

Most of us have

And on that birthday cake

How many of you, Have ever had candles

Most of us have

Now often time

When it comes To those candles

We are told as the birthday boy Or as the birthday girl

To blow the candles out

But before we blow them out

Someone will invariably say, Make-A-Wish

And we’ve probably done that

And most of the time

Or perhaps some of the time

The Wish hasn’t come True

But on occasion, it has

Well let me say, that

When the wish comes to pass

It is such a blessing, for the wisher

And with that in mind

Allow me if you Would

to read our text

The apostle Paul wrote

In 2 Corinthians 12:11–13 “I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing. Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds. For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong.”

-Let’s pray together

And ask the Lord

To speak to our hearts

(Pray)

I. I wish our people would be more faithful to church

Declaration

Now then

Notice our text

If you would again please

The apostle Paul

Writing

This second time

to the church of Corinth

Said

In 2 Corinthians 12: 11 – 13

“I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing. Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds. For what is it wherein ye were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong.”

Now

I want you

to pay close attention

To verse 11 please

As Paul

wrote to this church

The second time

He seems to be burdened

He said

“For I ought to have been commended of you”

Do

You see that word ought

There in that verse

That means that I should have

I should have been commended

By you

Paul

Seems to be saying

I truly wish

You folks would respect me more

Now by the way

We know that Paul wrote

Two epistles

To the church of Corinth

And

The first one was written

To correct a lot of their errors

Their church

had problems

They

Had problems with unity

They Had problems with pride

They Had problems with confusion

In terms of spiritual gifts

They had problems

In not enforcing church discipline

There church

The church of Corinth

Had a lot of problems

And Paul wrote his first epistle

To correct those problems

Read it sometime

But

As Paul writes the second book

The second epistle

To their church

Thankfully

Some of those problems

had been straightened out

For example

In his first letter

He wrote about a brother

In their congregation

Who was involved

in gross fornication

And

Paul encouraged them

To exercise church discipline

In his first letter

And in the second letter

They Had finally engaged

in church discipline

But

Being that church discipline

Has as its ultimate goal

Reconciliation

Well

After that brother had repented

They had still not reconciled with him

Restored him into the congregation

So Paul wrote to encourage them

To restore him

to full membership

But

Be that as it may

Here in our text this evening

Paul wrote and said

“ I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.”

Now

let me explain this verse

When Paul said

I became a fool in glorying

He was saying

By the record I have presented

I stand convicted

of being foolish

In other words

Paul was trying to present

The proof of his apostleship

To These people

But

They were not treating him like

an apostle

But instead

they accused him

Of being foolish

So

He said

You have compelled me

You’ve made me try to prove

My apostleship

before you

In fact

He said

“Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.”

And they had certainly seen those things

In Paul

But then

Listen carefully

To that third phrase

In verse 11

Paul said

“ I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.

now

When

I read that verse

I can hear a little hurt

In Paul’s voice

He

Seem to be saying

I just wish

You Would respect me

I

Just wish with my heart

That you would respect me

As an apostle

Because

In nothing

And I behind the cheapest apostles

Even though personally

I’m nothing

Discussion

So

It seems like Paul

Was making a wish

I just wish

You would respect me more

He seems to be saying

And

As I thought about that passage

This past week

As I meditated on it

And

Could sense the heart

Of the apostle Paul

How that people

Whom he loved and cared for

Did not respect him

The way they should

And how that Paul just wished

They would respect him

I

Thought to myself

How hurtful that must’ve been

To this preacher of the gospel

Because

By way of information

The Apostle Paul

 is considered

To be the founder

of the church in Corinth.

In fact

It is believed that

he established the church there

during his second missionary journey,

around A.D. 51,

while in Corinth. 

Paul

spent a significant amount of time there,

Some 18 months

preaching

and converting many, according to Acts 18:1-11

And

Let me tell you

About the heart of a church planter

As a church planter myself

When

A church planter

Led by the Lord

Establishes a church

The Lord

Put a love in his heart

For those people

In fact

In August Of 1992

The Lord led me And Tina to Kenya

To a little town called Nyahururu

To establish a church

That’s been 33 years ago

And still

All these years later

I still love those people

And I pray for them

And as God allows me to

I try to visit them

Even though

It is expensive

And time consuming

I still do those things

Because I still love them

Just like I love each of you

But

Paul had founded

The church of Corinth

But yet

In our text

They are calling his apostleship

Into question

Making him feel like

he had to validate

His apostleship

And

On top of that

They Weren't even willing

to commend him

Do you know that means?

They

Weren't willing

To introduce him favorably to others

Even though he planted their church

Even though he had led many of them

To the Lord Jesus Christ

It means

They Weren't willing

To stand near to him

or to give him their approval

Because

It seems that

They didn’t respect him

Like they should have

he

Had been their spiritual father

But they had not commended him

And

Paul infers here

For us

That he so wishes

They would

Deliberation

So

as I thought about these things

That Paul wrote to them

In this passage of Scripture

I

Thought to myself

That like the apostle Paul

I too wish some things

For our people

Paul said

I wish the church of Corinth

Would respect me

And

I to have some things

That I wish

For all of you

Now by the way

We all wish for things

From time to time

We wish the traffic light

would change

We wish

We had better health

We wish we had

a rich uncle

And

I personally have a few things

That I wish for

But

Like Paul

I have some things

That I wish

Not necessary for me

But

I have some things

That I wish for you

As my church family

So

For the next few minutes

I want to present to you

5 wishes

That I have for you

as the pastor

Of the Albemarle Baptist Church

Details

And

First of all

I wish

That the people in our church

Would be in church

more faithfully

Now

By the way

Some of our people

Are very faithful to attend

And I thank you for that

We

Have some in our church

That are in their place

Week after week

And service after service

Unless

They are sick

Or have good reason to be away

They are always faithful

Sunday morning

Sunday night

And Wednesday night

And

Let me say that

You are to be commended

for that

But

Be that as it may

Some of the people in our church

Are not so faithful

That’s true

Some of our people

Never attend Wednesday night

Or rarely attend

On Wednesday night

Which is very important

Because of the prayer time

After the service

Then

Some of our people

Never attend the evening service

On Sunday

Now

They used to

Before Covid 19

Many of them used to

But not anymore

And

If the truth be known

Some of our people

Are very sporadic

Even on Sunday morning

So

Let me say again

I wish That our people

Would be more faithful to church

And

My wish

Is based on God’s wish

In fact

The Bible says

In Hebrews 10:24–25 “And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”

Now

Let’s try to understand these two verses

Because they are together

The writer says that

We ought to provoke each other

To good works

By assembling together

In other words

My attendance at church

Is not just important

To help me personally

But it is likewise Intended

To help you as well

To

Provoke you

To incite you

To do the right thing yourself

By the way

You might be thinking to yourself

Pastor

You quote that verse all the time

Aren’t you wearing it out?

Well

Let me say this

Hebrews 10:24 – 25

Is the Word

Of the Living God

And that

There is absolutely

Positively no way

To wear out

The Word Of God

Heaven and earth will pass away

But God’s Word never will

So

I feel comfortable

In mentioning that verse

Oh but

When I read it

And think about it

I think to myself

God tells us

We ought to be considerate

Of each other

By being in church faithfully

So that we can provoke one another

Insight one another

To do good work

Delegation

And

From my own perspective

I try to be in church

Every time the doors are open

Now

There are rare occasions

When I miss

Like if I’m sick

Or have to travel

But that is not very often

But

From my own perspective

I try to be in church

Every time the doors are open

But

Some of our people

Don’t try

To be so faithful

Or they aren’t faithful

And

May I say

In the spirit of love

That

That isn’t

very considerate?

Now

Please don’t get angry with me

I love you

And I want the best for you

But

This is what God says

Consider one another

Be considerate

Of each other

By being in church

And

From my perspective

When you aren’t in church

I have to preach

To an empty pew

And

I find Preaching

Hard

All by itself

But

Preaching to an empty pew

Or should I say

Multiple empty pews

Is very difficult

And let me just say it

For me as a pastor

It is discouraging

Somebody said

Pastors are not supposed

To get discouraged

Well, says who?

Pastors

Do get discouraged

And when you aren’t in your place

Even though you’re not sick

Or traveling

It just discourages me

Determination

But

I have to Tell you something

When you are not in your place

In these pews

During our church services

And you really could’ve been

Because

You weren’t sick

And you didn’t have to travel

You

Might just discourage some

From attending

You might just be teaching our young people

That it’s okay to miss church

And

At the same time too

We’ve had visitors

Who came to our church

And when they got there

They found many empty pews

And

When a visitor comes

Whether they are a believer not

And when they find empty pews

They might think to themselves

This isn’t the place!

Obviously

Even their own members don’t want to be here

So why should I be here

And consequently

They don’t come back

And why

Because some of us

Weren’t considerate enough

To provoke them

To doing good works

Because they forsook

Assembling together with the rest of us

So

I have to say with Paul tonight

And please understand

I’m just sharing my heart with you

Not because I’m mad

No

I’m just trying to bear my heart to you

That I just wish

Our people would be faithful

To be in church

As

Your pastor this evening

I just wish

You would be in church faithfully

Now

For those of you who are

Thank you

From the bottom of my heart

For

Those who used to Faithfully attend

All of the services

I wish you would be more faithful

And the Lord Does to

II. I wish our people would take the great commission seriously

Declaration

There is

A second Wish I have

For our church family

I

Wish our people

Would take the great commission

More seriously

Somebody said

Here we go again

Here it Comes

He’s about to quote

Matthew 28: 19 – 20

Well

Let me not disappoint you

The Bible says

In Matthew 28:19–20 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

And

There again

There is simply no way

To wear those two verses out

These are the words

of Jesus Christ

They are

His Commission

His Great Commission

To the church in Jerusalem

And

The commission is

To go

Go make disciples

Of all people

That is

Go and convert lost people

To faith in Christ

And

Keep in mind

Jesus said all nations

Whether

It is the Congo

Albania

Ukraine

Spain

The United Kingdom

Whether

It is Ecuador

Or Brazil

Or Coaster Rica

Or Newfoundland Canada

Or

Whether it is Idaho

Or Montana

Or Charlottesville Virginia

The commission

Is very simple

Go make disciples

Of all nations

Now by the way

Our church

Is to be commended

For endeavoring to make converts

On Foreign mission fields

And

other States in America

That need the gospel

We are to be commended

For a church our size

To do what we are doing

For world evangelization

But

Our Savior made it clear

Listen to him

Jesus said in Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

So

We are to make converts

Both on the Foreign mission field

And in our own communities

And notice

We are to go

It doesn’t say

They should come to us

Jesus said go ye

Discussion

But

The sad truth is

Most of our people

Do not go

Some

Wouldn’t dream

Of going into the community

To make converts

To try to convert people

To Christianity

And

There are varying excuses

About why they don’t

And let me share a few

Some might say

I don’t have time

I don’t know how

I’m afraid I won’t know what to say

I’m very shy

Let them come to us

But

Let me ask you a question

Do you think Jesus knew your limitations

Before He gave that commission?

Why, surely did

The Lord Jesus knows you

But yet

Knowing everything about you

Knowing everything about me

The Lord Jesus said

To

The church in Jerusalem

He Likewise it says to us

Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

By the way

That first phrase

Disarms the majority of excuses

That can be offered

About why people

Don’t engage in evangelism

For

Those who are afraid

Well

Ye shall receive power

So that you can witness

For

Those who don’t have time

You shall receive power

To make it work for your schedule

For

Those who don’t know how

You shall receive power

To find a way to learn

Deliberation

But the sad truth is

So many of our people

Just don’t take

the great commission seriously

Oh

They Give to missions

And I’m really glad they do

And we all should do that

But

They have not

They do not

They don’t anymore

They just don’t...

Go to their own Jerusalem

To witness for Jesus

And

Some don’t even carry gospel tracts

To give out

Now

There are some people

Who would have great difficulty

At walking the streets of Charlottesville

To go soul winning

And unfortunately

I am one of those people

Most of you know this already

But I have a disease

Called CMT

And

With CMT

My legs give out

After a few minutes

Of walking

So

Does that negate my responsibility

To give the gospel out

No it doesn’t

And

That’s why I believe

God put it upon my heart

To lead our church

To have TV broadcast

So that I can give the gospel out

And

That’s why I

almost always

Have gospel tracts

in my shirt pocket

I

In spite of my limitations

Am still obligated

To try to win souls to Christ

But some people don’t do that

Determination

So

May I share my heart with you?

I wish

That our people

. The Albemarle Baptist Church

Would

Take the great commission seriously

I mean all of it

Endeavoring to evangelize

Those in the rest of North America

Those in South America

Those

In Europe and Asia

Those in Africa and Australia

But at the same time too

I

Sure do wish

Our people would take the great commission seriously

Where Charlottesville is concerned

And

I have several reasons for that

Number 1

It is the will of God for us

Number 2

A church cannot grow

Without adequately

Reaching the lost in their area

Now it’s true

There will be a few who will visit us

Who we never make contact with

But without a robust outreach ministry

Our church

Which is all of us

Our church

Cannot go forward

The way God wants us to

So

How I wish

That our church family

Would take

All of the great commission

Seriously

III. I wish our people use the altar more

Declaration

Number 3

I wish our people

Would use the altar

More frequently

Now

That being said

The altar

Has always been an important part

Of the worship of God

In fact

In the book of Genesis

And in chapter 8

The Ark

that Noah built

Had finally come to rest

On Mount Ararat

Noah

His wife

His sons

And their wives

Along with all the animals

Had disembarked

After all the floodwaters had subsided

And

Let me read you

What the Bible says

After they disembarked from the ark

The Bible says

In Genesis 8:20–22 “And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

Now

I submit to you

That when Noah built that Ark

And then gave an offering

Upon that Ark

He

Was no doubt doing that

He was no doubt coming to the altar

To give a sacrifice

To God

A sacrifice

of Thanksgiving

Noah

Was surely grateful

That God had saved

he and his family

From the flood

So

He approached an altar

And then made sacrifice

Not

To confess any sins

But simply

To give thanks

to the Lord

Now

In the Bible

Many kinds of sacrifices

Were made upon an altar

By the way

In the Bible,

the purpose of an altar

was primarily

as a sacred place for sacrifices

and offerings to God,

serving

as a point of connection

between the Lord

and people

 So

Altars represented worship,

covenant relationship between God

and His people.

 They

were also markers

of significant encounters with God

and reminders of His presence. 

I’m

reminded

of the altar

that Abraham approached

In Genesis 22)

Turn there

If you would please

And read with me the first 6 versus

The Bible says

In Genesis 22:1–6 “And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told him. Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went both of them together.”

Now

I submit to you

That the mountains made reference to

Became an altar

For Abraham

Abraham

Was not approaching the altar

To confess any sins

He was simply coming to an altar

In order to demonstrate to God

That he would not withhold anything

From the Lord

But again

In the Bible

There were various kinds of sacrifices made

On the altar

That God established

In both the tabernacle

And the temple

For example

There were burnt offerings

That were given on occasion

Where

an entire animal

was burned on the altar,

representing the worshiper's

complete dedication to God

There

Were likewise peace offerings

Where

A meal shared between the worshiper,

priests,

and God,

symbolized fellowship and communion

it could be offered for thanksgiving,

vows,

or as a free-will gift. 

Additionally

There were Drink Offerings: 

Poured on the grain offering

as a symbol of joy. 

But

At the same time too

Sin offerings were brought

And laid on the altar

It could be an animal

or a bird,

depending on the worshiper's status. 

and

This offering atoned

for unintentional sins

or transgressions. 

Discussion

But

The point I’m trying to make is

Many different kinds of offerings

Were made on an altar

But

All of them

Were designed

To bring the worshiper

Into a closer relationship

with God

Whether

A soul came to the altar

out of joy and thanksgiving

Out of praise

To the Lord God

Or just out of Getting

one’s heart right with God

And

For several thousand years

People Came to altars

For no other purpose

But to worship the Lord

Or to get one’s heart right

Or even both

For example

Abraham (

Genesis 12:7; 13:4; 13:18;22:9),

Isaac

(Genesis 26:25),

Jacob (33:20; 35:1–3),

Moses (Exodus 17:15),

And even King Saul (1 Samuel 14:35

But

For hundreds

And thousands of years

People came to an altar

Either to praise God

To thank God

Or to even confess some sin

And even today

Many churches

That I’m affiliated with

Have an altar

of sorts

Now obviously

Christian churches today

Don’t sacrifice animals

On an Altar like this

But

The Christians in those churches

Do bring God

The sacrifice of their thanks

The sacrifice of their praise

Or the sacrifice of their life

I’m reminded

Of the words in Hebrews

Where the Bible says

In Hebrews 13:15 “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.”

And

at the same time too

I’m reminded of the words

Of the apostle Paul

Who

In the book of Romans

And in chapter 12

Paul said in verses 1 – 2 (Romans 12:1–2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Now

Think about what Paul said

He pleads with us

That in view of God’s mercy on our life

That

We

ought to

Present our bodies as a living sacrifice

That is acceptable to God

And it is certainly

The reasonable thing to do

Deliberation

And

for a couple of thousand years

Christians have done that

They Have not come

To give animal sacrifices

Or Grain sacrifices

On an altar

But

Paul said that it was reasonable for them

To come to the altar

And give God

The living sacrifice of their life

That they might serve Him

So

For the past 2000 years

Since the death of Christ

Bible Christians

In Bible centered churches

Have

Come to an altar like this

To praise God

To thank God

To make requests of God

And even to confess their sins

To God

In fact

Some time ago

I was asked to speak

At a sister church

in our area

So

Tina and I went there

I preached my sermon

And it wasn’t a sermon

That Would have brought

great conviction of sin

It

Was more of a sermon

For encouragement

And after preaching the sermon

I closed in prayer

After which

I intended

To call for an invitation

But immediately after praying

And

When I opened my eyes

I found the altar filled

With the people from the church

It was Filled side to side

And from the front

All the way to the first pew

And

I don’t know exactly

Why they came

Some Had burdens on their hearts

Others were no doubt

Praising God for his goodness

And maybe some were confessing sins

But

Those dear people

Made use

Of the altar in their church

How refreshing that was

Determination

But

Let me share my heart

If I may with you

as

Your pastor

How I wish our people

Would make use of the altar

And remember

In the Bible

The altar’s only function was

And is

To strengthen our relationship

with the Lord

But

I’m so sorry to say

So few of our people

Use the altar

And

Please understand my heart

I Only want the best

for you

But I have to wonder why

Why is it

That for thousands of years

Old Testament believers

And New Testament Christians

Have made use

of the altar

Some

To surrender their lives

Some, to praise God

Others to thank God

And some to confess some sin

Why is it

That believers for thousands of years

Have made use of the Altar

But yet

So few in our church

Rarely,

if ever do

And

I don’t know the answer

Maybe they are concerned

About what people may think

Maybe

In their minds

They just don’t see the need

But

Let me reiterate this

The sole purpose of the altar

Is to bring us as God’s people

Into a close relationship

With Him

So

I have to ask you

Who doesn’t need that

Who here in this room

Doesn’t need a closer Relationship with God

Somebody said

Preacher

I already have a close relationship

With God

But

Wouldn’t you like your relationship

To be even closer

To the Lord

Oh

How I wish as your pastor

We would all make more use

Of the altar

IV. I wish I people could see my heart

Declaration

Number 4

I wish our people

Could see my heart

But

Since you can’t

Let me share it with you

anyway

Nearly

28 years ago

After praying for two years

Tina and I moved

To the Charlottesville area

We

Had been in Kenya

For some six years

When God began to put

on our hearts

A burden

To start a brand-new church

And God led us hear

So we made sacrifices

To come to this region

We

Had to get support

We worked 60 to 70 hours a week

When this church plant started

And in the last 25 or so years

We’ve averaged at least 60 hours a week

All in an effort

To make this church plant successful

And

We do that

Number 1

Because of the call of God

Number 2

Because God placed a love

In our heart

For our church

And

By the way

The church is people

It is not a building

It is the people

in the building

But

God gave us a love

For the people in our church

Just like God gave

The apostle Paul

A love

For the church of Corinth

That he planted

Somewhere around A.D. 51

In fact

Look back in our text

And read with me

In verse 15

Paul said

“for I ought to have been commended of you:”

That is

I sure wish you would respect me

But in verse 15

Paul said (2 Corinthians 12:15 “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.”

Discussion

Now

When I read that

I see Paul’s heart

He loved these people

And

He almost seemed to be saying

I just wish

You could see my heart

That

I only desire

God’s best for you

I only preach

And teach

What I believe

to be best for yo

Determination

Now for me

I don’t want you to get the wrong idea

I can’t say with Paul

That I don’t feel very loved

Because

I don’t feel that way

But I sure do wish

You could see inside my heart

That

I truly never

Want to hurt you

But I only

Want to help you

and

I wish you could see

That when I preach certain sermons

It is because

in my heart

God has led me to do so

When

I make certain decisions

I’m not trying to be stubborn

But in my heart

I believe they are decisions

God wants me to make

But again

As your pastor

I wish you could see my heart

That I truly love you

And I want the best for you

V. I wish our people would find the will of God and do it

Declaration

Number 5

I wish our people

would both find

And do the will of God

For their life

Now

Some if not many

Have

And

By the way

There is a general will

That God has

for our life

And there is a specific will

That God has

for our life

And

I wish with all my heart

That our people would both find

And do

The will of God for their life

But

Let me differentiate the two

God's general will for believers,

according to The Bible

Includes

 loving God and loving others,

It includes living a holy life

abstaining from sin,

cultivating gratitude,

serving others,

 It

also involves using one's gifts

to build up the body of Christ

and making disciples. 

That is God’s general will

For all of us

That’s

Exactly what Paul meant

When he said

In Romans 12:1–2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Determination

But

That being said

God wants all of us

To know His Specific will

God’s

Specific will for me

Was to engage in full-time ministry

But

That might not be

God’s Specific will for you

It isn’t for most

God’s

Specific will for you

Might be

To help me build the Lord’s church

And

Both of those

Are not exclusive

But They are mutually beneficial

And

As your pastor

I sure wish

That everyone here tonight

Both knew

And would engage

In God’s Specific will

If

We would all do that

The Albemarle Baptist Church

Could do so many great things for God

Now

My invitation tonight

Is simple

I

Wish our people

Would come to church more faithfully

And

I wish our people

Would take all the great commission

More seriously

And

I wish our people

Would come to the altar more often

And

I wish our people

Could see my heart

And

I wish our people

Could both find and do the will of God

For their life

So

My invitation is this

If God has spoken to your heart tonight

Would you use the altar

I truly wish you would

Conclusion: Let’s close in prayer