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The Will of God
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God shall only reveal Himself to you or I if we acknowledge Him in our
hearts for who He is and willing to do what He wants us to do.
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An unpopular subject to some perhaps, but that's the way it is - eternally.
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Some relevant passages of Scripture. Please read them in context:
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For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same
is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
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(Mark 3:35)
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For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell
on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
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(Acts 13:36)
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Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous
journey by the will of God to come unto you.
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(Romans 1:10)
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And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the
Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the
will of God.
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(Romans 8:27)
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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.
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(Romans 12:2)
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That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you
be refreshed.
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(Romans 15:32)
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Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of
God, and Sosthenes our brother,
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(1 Corinthians 1:1)
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Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our
brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints
which are in all Achaia:
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(2 Corinthians 1:1)
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And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves
to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
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(2 Corinthians 8:5)
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Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present
evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:
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(Galatians 1:4)
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Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which
are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
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(Ephesians 1:1)
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Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing
the will of God from the heart;
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(Ephesians 6:6)
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Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our
brother,
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(Colossians 1:1)
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Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you,
always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect
and complete in all the will of God.
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(Colossians 4:12)
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For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should
abstain from fornication:
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(1 Thessalonians 4:3)
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In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus
concerning you.
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(1 Thessalonians 5:18)
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Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise
of life which is in Christ Jesus,
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(2 Timothy 1:1)
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For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God,
ye might receive the promise.
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(Hebrews 10:36)
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For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the
ignorance of foolish men:
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(1 Peter 2:15)
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For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well
doing, than for evil doing.
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(1 Peter 3:17)
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That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh
to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
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(1 Peter 4:2)
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Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the
keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful
Creator.
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(1 Peter 4:19)
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And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the
will of God abideth for ever.
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(1 John 2:17)
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(One can't help noticing that all three apostles have the same message
from the Holy Spirit.)
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Two historical examples of willing obedient servants of God.
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From the old Covenant:
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The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the
month Chisleu, in the twentieth year, as I was in Shushan the palace, That
Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and
I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the
captivity, and concerning Jerusalem. And they said unto me, The remnant
that are left of the captivity there in the province are in great affliction
and reproach: the wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the
gates thereof are burned with fire. And it came to pass, when I heard these
words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days, and fasted,
and prayed before the God of heaven, And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God
of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy
for them that love him and observe his commandments: Let thine ear now
be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of
thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children
of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel,
which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.
We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments,
nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant
Moses. Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant
Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among
the nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and
do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the
heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them
unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Now these are
thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power,
and by thy strong hand. O Lord, I beseech thee, let now thine ear be attentive
to the prayer of thy servant, and to the prayer of thy servants, who desire
to fear thy name: and prosper, I pray thee, thy servant this day, and grant
him mercy in the sight of this man. For I was the king's cupbearer.
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(Nehemiah 1:1-11)
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And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes
the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine,
and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime
sad in his presence. Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy
countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing
else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid, And said
unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance
be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lieth
waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? Then the king said
unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have
found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto
the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it. And the king said
unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey
be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I
set him a time. Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let
letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey
me over till I come into Judah; And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the
king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of
the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the
city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me,
according to the good hand of my God upon me. Then I came to the governors
beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent
captains of the army and horsemen with me. When Sanballat the Horonite,
and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, heard of it, it grieved them
exceedingly that there was come a man to seek the welfare of the children
of Israel.
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(Nehemiah 2:1-10)
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So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days. And I arose in the night,
I and some few men with me; neither told I any man what my God had
put in my heart to do at Jerusalem: neither was there any beast
with me, save the beast that I rode upon. And I went out by night by the
gate of the valley, even before the dragon well, and to the dung port,
and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were broken down, and the gates
thereof were consumed with fire. Then I went on to the gate of the fountain,
and to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that
was under me to pass. Then went I up in the night by the brook, and
viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the gate of the valley,
and so returned. And the rulers knew not whither I went, or what
I did; neither had I as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests,
nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem
lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and
let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach. Then
I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king's
words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build.
So they strengthened their hands for this good work. But
when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and
Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised
us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against
the king? Then answered I them, and said unto them, The God of heaven,
he will prosper us; therefore we his servants will arise and build: but
ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial, in Jerusalem.
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(Nehemiah 2:11-20)
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Then Eliashib the high priest rose up with his brethren the priests, and
they builded the sheep gate; they sanctified it, and set up the doors of
it; even unto the tower of Meah they sanctified it, unto the tower of Hananeel.
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(Nehemiah 3:1)
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And thirty verses of names of those who dirtied their hands.
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After him repaired Malchiah the goldsmith's son unto the place of the Nethinims,
and of the merchants, over against the gate Miphkad, and to the going up
of the corner. And between the going up of the corner unto the sheep gate
repaired the goldsmiths and the merchants.
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(Nehemiah 3:31-32)
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But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall,
he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews. And he spake
before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What do these feeble
Jews? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make
an end in a day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish
which are burned? Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said,
Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall even break down their
stone wall. Hear, O our God; for we are despised: and turn their reproach
upon their own head, and give them for a prey in the land of captivity:
And cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from
before thee: for they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.
So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half
thereof: for the people had a mind to work.
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(Nehemiah 4:1-6)
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But it came to pass, that when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians,
and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem
were made up, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they
were very wroth, And conspired all of them together to come and
to fight against Jerusalem, and to hinder it. Nevertheless we made our
prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because
of them. And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed,
and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the
wall. And our adversaries said, They shall not know, neither see, till
we come in the midst among them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.
And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they
said unto us ten times, From all places whence ye shall return unto us
they will be upon you. Therefore set I in the lower places behind
the wall, and on the higher places, I even set the people after
their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows. And I looked,
and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest
of the people, Be not ye afraid of them: remember the Lord, which is
great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and your daughters,
your wives, and your houses. And it came to pass, when our enemies heard
that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought,
that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.
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(Nehemiah 4:7-15)
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And it came to pass, that when all our enemies heard thereof, and
all the heathen that were about us saw these things, they
were much cast down in their own eyes: for they perceived that this work
was wrought of our God.
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(Nehemiah 6:16)
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Now it came to pass, when the wall was built, and I had set up the doors,
and the porters and the singers and the Levites were appointed, That I
gave my brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over
Jerusalem: for he was a faithful man, and feared God above many.
And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the
sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them:
and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch,
and every one to be over against his house. Now the city was
large and great: but the people were few therein, and the houses
were not builded. And my God put into mine heart to gather together
the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be reckoned
by genealogy. And I found a register of the genealogy of them which came
up at the first, and found written therein,
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(Nehemiah 7:1-5)
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And all the people gathered themselves together as one man into the street
that was before the water gate; and they spake unto Ezra the scribe
to bring the book of the law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded to
Israel. And Ezra the priest brought the law before the congregation both
of men and women, and all that could hear with understanding, upon the
first day of the seventh month. And he read therein before the street that
was before the water gate from the morning until midday, before
the men and the women, and those that could understand; and the ears of
all the people were attentive unto the book of the law. And Ezra
the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose;
and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and
Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah,
and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and
Meshullam.
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(Nehemiah 8:1-4)
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And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was above
all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up: And Ezra
blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen,
with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads, and worshipped
the LORD with their faces to the ground.
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(Nehemiah 8:5-6)
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And all the people went their way to eat, and to drink, and to send portions,
and to make great mirth, because they had understood the words that were
declared unto them.
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(Nehemiah 8:12) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...
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From the new Covenant:
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And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that
the chief priests and elders had said unto them. And when they heard that,
they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou
art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all
that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did
the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the
earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord,
and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom
thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles,
and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever
thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. And now, Lord, behold
their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness
they may speak thy word, By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that
signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus. And
when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together;
and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of
God with boldness.
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(Acts 4:23-31)
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And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples
of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus
to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were
men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed,
he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light
from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him,
Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he
said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am
Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against
the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt
thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise,
and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice,
but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were
opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him
into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat
nor drink. And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias;
and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias.
And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto
him, Arise, and go into the street which is called
Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul,
of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, And hath seen in a vision a man named
Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive
his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of
this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here
he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is
a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings,
and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must
suffer for my name's sake.
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(Acts 9:1-16)
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The Holy Spirit reveals God's will:
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For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If
ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me
to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery;
(as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand
my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made
known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles
and prophets by the Spirit;
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(Ephesians 3:1-5)
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It is by God's grace:
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Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God
given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less
than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach
among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; And to make all men
see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning
of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
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(Ephesians 3:7-9)
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We belong to a family:
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For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant
you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might
by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by
faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend
with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and
height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye
might be filled with all the fulness of God. Now
unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask
or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be
glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without
end. Amen.
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(Ephesians 3:14-21)
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We become vessels containing God's power, that our work for our Lord is
for His glory!
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Hallelujah!
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Now, to you who have given yourself to God in the name of Jesus Christ,
be assured of God's will:
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Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written
for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore
let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no
temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will
with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear
[it].
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(1 Corinthians 10:11-13)
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I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye
walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness
and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
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(Ephesians 4:1-3)
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