Romans 8:26,27 The Secret of Serenity

The Secret of Serenity

Atlee had a problem. His problem was his political opponent, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Winston Churchill. He had such a sharp wit.

 

Mr. Atllee is a modest man who has much to be modest about.

He is a sheep in sheep's clothing.

We have much to be modest about. Romans 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

Rom 8:1.There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.2 For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.3 For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh,4 in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

We cannot even pray properly:

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. Romans 8:26,27

The Groan of sin vs the Spirit

The Groan in nature of death vs life

The Groan of the Holy Spirit towards heaven

The Holy Spirit is the source of comfort in trials.

George Mueller said, "I never remember … a period … that I ever sincerely and patiently sought to know the will of God by the teaching of the Holy Ghost, through the instrumentality of the Word of God, but I have been always directed rightly. But if honesty of heart and uprightness before God were lacking, or if I did not patiently wait upon God for instruction, or if I preferred the counsel of my fellow men to the declarations of the Word of the living God, I made great mistakes."

Mueller followed six basic steps to discern God's heart:

1. I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people generally is just here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the knowledge of what His will is.

2. Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impression. If so, I make myself liable to great delusions.

3. I seek the Will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.

4. Next I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God's Will in connection with His Word and Spirit.

5. I ask God in prayer to reveal His will to me aright.

6. Thus, (1) through prayer to God, (2) the study of the Word, and (3) reflection, I come to deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two of three more petitions, I proceed accordingly."

Pray for Grace.  Zech 12:10   "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child,

Pray for Growth.

Gal. 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Pray for Guidance.

John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid

John 16:12"I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth,

George Mueller said, "I never remember … a period … that I ever sincerely and patiently sought to know the will of God by the teaching of the Holy Ghost, through the instrumentality of the Word of God, but I have been always directed rightly. But if honesty of heart and uprightness before God were lacking, or if I did not patiently wait upon God for instruction, or if I preferred the counsel of my fellow men to the declarations of the Word of the living God, I made great mistakes."

 

Pray for Godliness.

Romans 8: 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Eph 6:18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

Pray intelligently

Pray earnestly

Pray definitely

Pray effectually

A newsletter of the Overseas Missionary Fellowship said:

While serving at a small field hospital in Africa, I traveled every two weeks by bicycle through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies. This requires camping overnight halfway. On one of these trips, I saw two men fighting in the city. One was seriously hurt so I treated him and witnessed to him about the Lord Jesus Christ. I then returned home without incident.

Upon arriving in the city several weeks later, I was approached by the man I had treated earlier. He told me he had known that I carried money and medicine. He said, "Some friends and I followed you into the jungle, knowing you would camp overnight. We waited for you to go to sleep and planned to kill you and take your money and drugs. Just as we were about to move into your campsite, we saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards."

I laughed at this and said, "I was certainly all alone out in the jungle campsite."

The young man pressed the point, "No sir, I was not the only one to see the guards. My five friends also saw them, and we all counted them. It was because of those guards that we were afraid and left you alone."

At this point of my church presentation in Michigan, one of the men in the church stood up and interrupted me. He asked, "Can you tell me the exact date when this happened?"

I thought for awhile and recalled the date.

The man in the congregation then gave his side of the story. He stated, "On that night in Africa it was day here. I was preparing to play golf. As I put my bags in the car, I felt the Lord leading me to pray for you. In fact, the urging was so great that I called the men of this church together to pray for you. Will all of those men who met to pray please stand?"

The men who had met that day to pray together stood—there were 26 of them!10

What might have happened to that medical worker had the man back home chosen to ignore God's call to pray? What might have occurred had he said, "Well, Lord, this just doesn't make any sense to me. I'm getting ready to golf, anyway. I'll pray when I get home. In the meanwhile, why don't you teach that man to pray for his own needs?"

This dramatic story reminds us of the power of praying in God's will. But what if the missionary had no such story to report? What if the golfer never heard about what his prayers had accomplished? To be honest, that's the way it is with most of our prayers. We may feel an urging to pray for someone, but seldom do we hear of any "miraculous" answers in response. We may pray for something or someone for years and never see anything happen. Does that mean that nothing is happening, that we should give up and use our energy on something more productive?

No. God is at work in response to our prayers, whether we see something happening or not. If we are truly praying, "Thy will be done," forces are at work beyond our comprehension—and often, beyond our vision. But they are working just the same.

 

Questions for Bible Growth Study Groups

 

  1. Identify the landmark trials that have come your way:

 

 

 

  1. In what way does a future hope and the strengthening of the Holy Spirit in prayer assist you in these trials?

 

 

  1. How has your attitude in times of trial affected your spiritual health?

 

 

  1. How does discerning God's plan in our trials help?

 

 

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