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Lesson Five: The Self-Will Test
Matthew 26:36 (KJV)
Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.
Matthew 26:37 (NLT)
He took Peter and Zebedee’s two sons, James and John, and he began to be filled with anguish and deep distress.
[38] He told them, “My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me.”
Matthew 26:39 (NLT)
He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine.“
Matthew 26:42 (NLT)
Again he left them and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away until I drink it, your will be done.“
Matthew 26:44 (NLT)
So he went back to pray a third time, saying the same things again.
Yet I want your will, not mine.
Your will be done
Please note that Christ is saying the same things again, and ending with YET, I WANT YOUR WILL, NOT MINE.
The Self-Will Test
Self-will is defined as PLEASING ONE’S SELF…especially in opposition to the wishes or desires of others.
· Another word for Self-Will is STUBBORNESS self-pleasing, arrogant, overbearing
Titus 1:7 (NLT) An elder must live a blameless life because he is God’s minister. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or greedy for money
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Dangers of Self-Will
· Self-Will brings destruction into the life of an individual.
Pro 1:32 Sin and self-satisfaction bring destruction and death to stupid fools.
· Self-will stems from PRIDE and produces pride’s limitations.
Neh. 9:16 (KJV) But they and our fathers dealt proudly, and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
Proverbs 16:18 (GW) Pride precedes a disaster, and an arrogant attitude precedes a fall.
§ Pride blinds us to our own weakness
§ Pride keeps us from seeking help
§ Pride keeps us from making amends to people
§ Pride causes us to blame others for problems
A self-willed person cannot be TRUSTED
o A person that cannot be TRUSTED cannot be used.
o A person that cannot be used cannot be promoted.
o A person that cannot be promoted is stuck with himself
Self-Will stems from UNBELIEF
o 2 Kings 17:14 (KJV) Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not believe in the Lord their God.
Self-Will is exhibited in:
o A refusal to listen to God
o A refusal to submit to Authority
o A refusal to receive Instruction
o A refusal to receive Correction
o A refusal to sacrifice for OTHERS
Recognizing the Self-Will Test
· When God asks us to do something that is contrary to our own desires or opposite of our plans…we are entering the SELF-WILL Test.
Examples of Self-Will Tests
o Abraham to offer Isaac on an altar
o Jonah to preach to Nineveh
o Naaman to dip seven times in Jordan
o Peter to cast his nets on the other side
o Christ asked to face Calvary
Why the Self-Will Test
o To reveal our own PERSONAL ambitions that are contrary to the purposes of God.
o To reveal our SELFISHNESS
o To break our SELF-WILL
People stuck ON themselves are stuck WITH themselves
o A Self-Willed person is inflexible
o A Self-Willed person is inconsiderate
o A Self-Willed person is in constant conflicts
o Most problems in relationships are due to Self-Will
2 Cor. 12:20 (NIV) For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.
Most Church issues and splits are the result of SELF-WILL
Even an ANGEL became a DEVIL because of self-will
· Isa 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
· Isa 14:13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
· Isa 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
The Self-Will Test reveals the level of SUBMISSION of the individual
Everyone must answer to SOMEONE.
· Life is full of people telling you what to do—
· If everyone only did what he or she wished…chaos would reign.
· Self-will is the opposite of SUBMISSION—the placing one’s self under the authority of another.
Submission to the will of God is what Christianity is all about.
· “The Bible can be summed up in one word—SUBMISSION.”
T. F. Tenney
Submission
· 1 Peter 5:5 Younger—submit to the elder
· Hebrews 13:17 Obey them that have rule over you and submit yourselves
· Colossians 3:18 Wives, submit to your own husbands
· James 4:7 Submit yourselves to God
· 1 Peter 2:13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man
· 1 Peter 5:5 Be subject one to another
The Self-Will Test screens out would be leaders
· If you cannot submit to others, you cannot LEAD others.
· If you cannot submit to authority—no one will submit to your authority.
The Self-Will Test will ensure Heaven is a perfect place.
No one but those who have submitted themselves to God and others…will enter.
· Jude 1:16 (Msg) These are the “grumpers,” the bellyachers, grabbing for the biggest piece of the pie, talking big, saying anything they think will get them ahead.
· Jude 1:17 (Msg) But remember, dear friends, that the apostles of our Master, Jesus Christ, told us this would happen:
· Jude 1:18 (Msg) “In the last days there will be people who don’t take these things seriously anymore. They’ll treat them like a joke, and make a religion of their own whims and lusts.”
· Jude 1:19 (Msg) These are the ones who split churches, thinking only of themselves. There’s nothing to them, no sign of the Spirit!
· 2 Peter 2:10 (Msg) God is especially incensed against these “teachers” who live by lust, addicted to a filthy existence. They despise interference from true authority, preferring to indulge in self-rule. Insolent egotists, they don’t hesitate to speak evil against the most splendid of creatures.
· 2 Peter 2:12 (Msg)These people are nothing but brute beasts, born in the wild, predators on the prowl. In the very act of bringing down others with their ignorant blasphemies, they themselves will be brought down, losers in the end.
· 2 Peter 2:17 (Msg) There’s nothing to these people—they’re dried-up fountains, storm-scattered clouds, headed for a black hole in hell.
· 2 Peter 2:19 (Msg)They promise these newcomers freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption, for if they’re addicted to corruption—and they are—they’re enslaved.
· The Self-Will Test—everyone will encounter it in order to see if we are willing to be submissive to authority, especially when it is not convenient or self-serving.
o When we are willing to lay down our lives in submission, then we have passed the self-will test.
