The Choice of a Career
The sermon emphasizes the importance of prioritizing God's will in one's life, trusting that He will provide for temporal needs and guide towards a heavenly career.
G.R. Cowell preaches about the believer's ultimate purpose being to do the will of God, emphasizing that they are bought with a price and belong to God. The believer's career is to follow God's will, with Christ as their focus and motivation, ensuring divine support, care, and eternal riches. Just as Jesus modeled complete surrender to God's will, believers are called to function as part of Christ's body, serving in God's house and pursuing heavenly goals with dedication.
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Strictly speaking, the believer has no choice. He is not his own, he is bought with a price; and his true business in life is to do the will of God.
God's will is, therefore, his career; Christ his Object and Christ his Motive. What a wonderful career this is! None other can compare with it. Those who pursue it are assured of divine support, a heavenly Father's care, and the acquisition of the true, the eternal riches.
The Lord Jesus is the great Model. "Coming into the world he says...Lo, I come (in the roll of the book it is written of me) to do, O God, thy will. (Heb. 10:5, 7) That will involved for Him the offering of His body once for all as the great Antitype of all the offerings and sacrifices of old. Our sanctification and all our blessings depend upon it. At twelve years of age He said, "Did ye not know that I ought to be occupied in my Father's business?" (Lk. 2:49).
God's will for the Christian is clearly set out in Scripture. Christ's body is here and he is to function as a member of it. God's house is here, and he is responsible to undertake levitical, and priestly service in relation to it, and to God who dwells in it. (See Num. 1-4) His calling is heavenly and he is to pursue with all his energies, "looking towards the goal, for the prize of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 3:14 N.T.) God's will, therefore, "demands my soul, my life, may all!"
The young believer may say, "Yes, but I have my living to get." The Lord Jesus, referring to temporal needs, says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matt. 6:33) God, as it were, says, "You make my interests your concern, I'll make you needs My care." God does far better for a man than a man could do for himself. And so the Scripture says, "Confide in Jehovah with all thy heart, and lean not unto thine own intelligence; in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will make plain thy paths." (Prov. 3:5-6)
As you pray and wait upon Him about your earthly calling, your heart already fixed upon Him and His interests, He will make quite plain what the earthly calling is.
Sermon Outline
- I. Introduction to God's Will
- A. Believers are not their own, but bought with a price
- B. God's will is their career, Christ is their Object and Motive
- II. The Lord Jesus as Model
- A. He came to do God's will
- B. He demonstrated divine support and heavenly Father's care
- III. God's Will for the Christian
- A. Clearly set out in Scripture
- B. Christians are to function as members of Christ's body
- IV. Pursuing God's Will
- A. Looking towards the goal for the prize of the calling on high
- B. Demanding the soul and life for God's will
Key Quotes
“Coming into the world he says...Lo, I come (in the roll of the book it is written of me) to do, O God, thy will.” — G.R. Cowell
“Did ye not know that I ought to be occupied in my Father's business?” — G.R. Cowell
“Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” — G.R. Cowell
Application Points
- Prioritize God's will in your life by seeking His kingdom and righteousness first.
- Trust God to provide for your temporal needs by confiding in Him with all your heart.
- Pursue your heavenly career with all your energies, looking towards the goal for the prize of the calling on high.