How Will You Use Your Will?

[Gibs]

The Will Is The Deciding Power

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. Romans 12:2.

There is nothing that can keep you away from God but a rebellious will.

The will is the governing power in the nature of man. If the will is set right, all the rest of the being will come under its sway. The will is not the taste or the inclination, but it is the choice, the deciding power, the kingly power, which works in the children of men unto obedience to God or to disobedience.

You will be in constant peril until you understand the true force of the will. You may believe and promise all things, but your promises and your faith are of no account until you put your will on the right side. If you will fight the fight of faith with your will power, there is no doubt that you will conquer.

Your part is to put your will on the side of Christ. When you yield your will to His, He immediately takes possession of you, and works in you to will and to do of His good pleasure.

Php 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Your nature is brought under the control of His Spirit. Even your thoughts are subject to Him. If you cannot control your impulses, your emotions, as you may desire, you can control the will, and thus an entire change will be wrought in your life. When you yield up your will to Christ, your life is hid with Christ in God. It is allied to the power which is above all principalities and powers. You have a strength from God that holds you fast to His strength; and a new life, even the life of faith, is possible to you.

You can never be successful in elevating yourself, unless your will is on the side of Christ, cooperating with the Spirit of God. Do not feel that you cannot; but say, “I can, I will.” And God has pledged His Holy Spirit to help you in every decided effort.

Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

That's our secret, "Christ in You" and we are empowered to overcome as He did and use of our will to do it!

1Jo 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

[M. T. Cross]

For me that is just deeply disturbing. Look at the words you use there, possession, brought under control. To me that goes in the very face of free will, of free choice and of being anything but an animated tool or weapon. I don't understand the point of having your existance if you are not in control of it.

[Gibs]

EC,

That is the point, you are in control of the situation if you use the power of the will and Christ in you, you are more than a conqueror.

1Jo 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

[M. T. Cross]

But what are you trying to conquer?

[Gibs]

EC, Two of the most hardest ones in the world for man to overcome, self and the devil and his angels with their sophistries. Ah but we can be victorious and we must, but of ourselves we are nothing, so Jesus made it that we could have His Power in us. The works is done by Him, our surrender full and complete is not works but a giving of ourselves to Him.

1Jo 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

[M. T. Cross]

I agree that we have to defeat self and ego! So we agree on that

I think deity can help us and guide us in that, but I think we have everything we need within. For the most part we are just too caught up in our own self importance to see it, we spend so much of our lives in fear that we miss the importance of just being, discovering and existing.

A theme I see re-occuring is this need to conquer our nature. If that means to move past our self importance and ego, I agree. But this life we have been given here is a gift! One to be celebrated, experienced and cherished. We have it within ourselves to do that. To live life in harmony with the Divine. There needs not be this seperation of the supernatural and the material world. This life was given to us not as a trial but as a gift.

Even in your own beliefs, your God created the world and the universe and all it contains and declared it good. He did so knowing what was going to happen, yet he still declared it good. Yet I see this need to "overcome" and conquer. But this world and all its nuances were the gift that was given to us. If we seek the true nature of that gift we will see there is nothing to do but celebrate it and live with it.

[Gibs]

Great, EC, We'll have something to celebrate as victory is sweet and worth it all. The great part is, He is with us and we are with Him. That is teamwork!

1Jo 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

[Overaged]

This is typically the kind of stuff that people who are anti- Adventist church will level at others, as if to intimate that they have accomplished it, but most of the rest of the church has not. Using balanced counsel in an unbalanced way = what?

[Gibs]

Gee, Christ in you and all things are possible, even overcoming the world and sin.

1Jo 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

[Dr. Rich]

OA, I am not understanding what you wrote. Perhaps you could please be more specific? Personally, I thought this was a good 'discussion', even though it may not be exactly what I believe or what the majority of Adventists believe. God told Cain that HE alone had to make the choice to overcome the desire to sin and I think we all could learn a lesson from that---in that it would have been the wise thing to choose to listen to the counsel of God to help him overcome the jelious feelings he had for his brother.

Perhaps is is keeping in touch with the words of Jesus that is the 'vine' that feeds the branch to produce the good fruit.

[Woody]

Regarding the Will:

The only way to have the right will is to ask for it. For we are not even able to will to do right unless it comes from God.

So to those who think we have to be tough and work at being "good" - I say - All one can do is ask God for the power to overcome. If He doesn't grant it - that is HIS problem and not ours.

If we overcome by the use of our own power - what good is it? But if we are patient and allow God to do good IN us in HIS timing - then God be praised.

[Gibs]

None and I state none can be an overcomer by his own power. That is why we must have Christ in us, our only hope of Glory, then we can come off victorious. He desires all to be overcomers and all can if they will but humble themselves and fall on the Rock Jesus Christ and be broken of their own spirit that the Spirit of Christ can dwell in.

But you know, man is a proud critter and he is tough to break, Jesus forces no one but His Spirit continues to woe and soften the hard heart and spirit if possible to be broken.

It wouldn't hurt any of us to sing "I Surrender ALL" every day and then the song "Trust and Obey for There is No Oher Way" afterward.

Col 1:27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

1Jo 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

[Woody]

Yes Gibs. Well all one can do is ask. And God will answer it in HIS timing and not ours.

[Overaged]

None and I state none can be an overcomer by his own power. That is why we must have Christ in us, our only hope of Glory, then we can come off victorious. He desires all to be overcomers and all can if they will but humble themselves and fall on the Rock Jesus Christ and be broken of their own spirit that the Spirit of Christ can dwell in.

But you know, man is a proud critter and he is tough to break, Jesus forces no one but His Spirit continues to woe and soften the hard heart and spirit if possible to be broken.

Does God "woo" us and then drop us on a rock to be broken? That don't sound like "wooing." This being broken business sounds a little rougher than "wooing."

[Gibs]

Never the less Overaged we all need to be broken of self, the proud spirit subdued to then to fully surrender our will to His in all things, a now willing workhorse for Him that puts no burden upon us at all. He actually gives you a peace and tranquility you never had before. He sets His slaves free then because they do only within His will as their will has become His.

None will ever be brought broken to Him except by their own free will, none are coerced. We choose our fate.

Let us be broken now and forever in Him to doers only of and within His will.

1Jo 4:4 ¶ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

[Overaged]

Never the less Overaged we all need to be broken of self, the proud spirit subdued to then to fully surrender our will to His in all things, a now willing workhorse for Him that puts no burden upon us at all. He actually gives you a peace and tranquility you never had before. He sets His slaves free then because they do only within His will as their will has become His.

Yes, you are correct here Gibs, I was just hamming it up a little to make a point...lol, I guess Adventists should not have anything to do with ham, but in this case, with this kind of "ham" it is hopefully OK.

I like the image in Dan 2 re this kind of being "broken;" and I just discovered an amazing song called "Perfectly Broken." Have you ever heard that song?