Your Will Be Done
Matthew 6:10b
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
FBC Chenoa
3-10-19
How do you know?
In early August of 1992, I was in love with a little redheaded girl. That much I knew. But I wanted to know more. I drove three hours back into the mountains of North Carolina to meet with two very wise friends. I had a question for them. I thought she was the one but how do you really know?
I has saved enough money to either by a ring or put a down payment on a yellow convertible Geo Metro.
Jeff asked me how I planned to propose. Maxine had given me a homemade gift certificate for a free hot air balloon ride at Christmas. It was now August, and she hadn’t brought it back up. I remember my friend laying his hands on my shoulders and praying, “God, Jeff wants to know Your will. And he wants to do whatever you want him to do. Would you guide and direct him however you choose.”
He then said, “Let’s just wait and see if Maxine brings up the hot air balloon ride again. That will be your sign.”
Less than 30 minutes later, a student came and told me that there was a phone call at the lodge for me. When I answered the phone, it was Maxine. She said, “I’ve got a surprise for you. Remember the hot air balloon that my cousin owns? Remember the gift certificate from Christmas? Well, he called and said it was a go.”
I swallowed hard and asked when we were scheduled to go up. “Saturday!” she shouted with joy. I literally stared at the phone. It was Thursday. I hung up and ran back to where Jeff was and told him the story. I said, “Should we pray?” He answered, “No, you doofus, go buy a ring!”
And I did. And on Saturday morning, August 28, 1992, in a hot air balloon, 1,000 feet above the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia at sunrise I proposed. And she said yes. And that was almost 27 years ago.
I’ve been a Christian for almost thirty years and I can count on one hand when God has answered a prayer in such a clear and quick manner. Most of the time, seeking God’s will on a matter is much more confusing that that.
Review
The disciples asked Jesus to “teach them to pray” (Luke 11). Jesus responds by giving them a model prayer, just 57 words in the Greek and it takes 20 seconds to pray it. But for 2,000 years believers of every nation have prayed this prayer.
In this prayer, there is a preface and then six different petitions. First, we looked at the preface, “Our Father in Heaven.”
We learned that if we have placed our full faith and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, we have the privilege of addressing God as Abba.
Abba means daddy or papa. It’s a term of endearment. In love, God chose to make us part of His family through adoption. Because we are God’s children, we can approach the throne of grace with “confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16)
The Lord’s Prayer begins with the word “our” to remind us that we are part of a huge family of believers all over the world.
And lest we are tempted to approach our Abba/Father without awe and reverence, Jesus reminds us that God is “in the heavens.” He is not the “the big man upstairs” but the majestic and mighty King.
Then we examined the phrase, “Hallowed be Your Name.” In this first petition, we are asking God to make His Name valued, treasured, revered, and exalted among all mankind. He can’t become more holy but humans can acknowledge Him as holy more and more.
This means at the very least, making sure that we who claim the name of Christ, honor Him with our words, thoughts, and deeds. But it also means taking seriously the call to be living billboards for the glory of God in our lives.
Two weeks ago, we examined, “Your Kingdom Come.” We discovered that there is an “already/not yet” dimension to God’s Kingdom. Jesus is the reigning King but we are living in between His two comings. He inaugurated His kingdom at His Incarnation and He will consummate His kingdom when He returns. Until that time, we are to pray that God would rule without rival in us, through us, and through the church.
This morning, we have arrived at the very center of the Sermon on the Mount and the very center of the section known as the Lord’s Prayer – “Your Will be Done on Earth as it is in Heaven.”
Your Will
The prayer that Jesus teaches us begins with a laser focus on God – may Your Name be hallowed, may Your Kingdom come, may Your will be done.
In order to pray that prayer, we really need to understand what God’s will is. And we need to answer the question, “Isn’t God’s will always accomplished?”
God’s will is simply God’s intentions, purposes, plans, and desires.
There are two Greek words for “will.”
The first one means a decree or design and it speaks of the eternal counsel and purposed of God that cannot be changed. This word is used over 200 times in the New Testament. This is sometimes called God’s Sovereign will. It will happen and cannot but happen.
Paul wrote the believers at Colosse,
“In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will…” (Ephesians 1:11)
This is God’s will of decree. You cannot stop it, hinder it, or sidetrack it.
“ The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen.” (Isaiah 14:24)
The second speaks of what theologians call God’s preceptive will – the precepts that He uses to regulate creation. These are His laws and commandments. It’s what God desires to happen.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)
Sadly we know that not everyone will come to repentance. This is God’s preceptive will. This is His what He desires. We break His rules, regulations, and commandments every day.
What’s amazing is that even when His perceptive will is not obeyed, because He is omniscient and omnipotent, He still will accomplish His Sovereign will.
Well what about our free will? John Calvin was asked, “How do you reconcile man’s free will and God’s Sovereignty?” He answered, “You don’t have to reconcile friends.”
One afternoon, Josh and I headed out on the scooter. We decided to play a game. When we came to intersection, we would flip a coin to see if we would turn left or right. We did that all over town.
Then we came around a corner and found two youth group girls whose car had broken down and their cell phones were dead. They were standing by their car and had prayed that God would send someone to help.
After we helped them, Josh said, “I guess our path today wasn’t as random as we thought!”
Jesus is telling us to pray for God’s perfect decreed will to be carried out on earth and it is already being carried out in heaven.
Think of it another way. God has a secret will. He will accomplish His plans and He will always working behind the scenes.
In Europe, there are tapestries that are huge and cover entire walls. If you are looking at the book of one these, it just looks like chaos. That’s what why see most of the time. But God knows the front. He knows the full picture.
John Piper has said that God is doing ten thousand things in your life and it even given time you may be aware of three.
But God also has a revealed will. This is conduct that is pleasing to Him as revealed in the Bible.
In Heaven
How is God’s will carried out in heaven?
Psalm 103:20-21 tells us,
“Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.”
Angels in heaven do God’s will completely, consistently, constantly, without complaint or murmuring, and quickly. God’s will is done with joy and excitement and out of a heart of love for God.
Angels and glorified believers dwell with God in a place where there is no sin. There is no conflict of wills.
Just as God’s will is perfectly experienced in heaven, Jesus teaches us to pray that it will be experienced fully on earth.
When we pray “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” we are asking that our hearts would be brought into perfect alignment with God’s will, that we would be joyfully obedient like the angels.
As we glorify God through obedience, we learn to enjoy Him as the angels do in heaven.
Just do it!
We may want to do God’s will like the angels, but as humans we often fall very short of being that obedient.
People have asked me how can we know God’s will? Do we need a Magic 8-ball? Or fortune cookies? Or magic decoder ring?
Thankfully we do not need any of those. God has given us His revealed will in the form of Bible.
Paul told the Roman Christians,
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
How do we “renew our minds?” Through the reading, studying, and memorizing of Scripture. Through that process, Paul says we will be able to know the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.
Did you notice that His will is “good, acceptable (worthy of being seized upon), and perfect?” He doesn’t want to ruin your life or spoil your fun. He wants you to live the best life you can.
Here’s an example:
“ It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.” (I Thessalonians 4:3-8)
This God’s revealed will. It cannot be any clearer. It is God’s will that, as believers, we are to be set apart in the area of sexuality, that we should avoid sexual immorality. That word is “pornea,” where we get the word “pornography.” And we should be markedly different from the world when it comes to how we control our bodies and honor the opposite sex.
We don’t have to pray and fast to know God’s will about sexuality. It’s already there in black and white. The question becomes will we be obedient to this command?
You don’t have to pray about whether to commit adultery, murder, to steal something, lie, or to honor your parents. God has made that plain.
You don’t need to seek God on whether you should gossip, (nope) forgive (yep), give grace, take care of orphans and widows, share the Gospel, send missionaries, make disciples, be a part of a local church, or be hilariously generous. God’s been clear on those things.
Mark Twain is reported to have said,
“Some people are troubled by things in the Bible they can’t understand. What troubles me are the things I can understand.”
This little verse in Philippians is so challenging,
“Only let us live up to what we have already attained.” (Philippians 3:16)
In other words, if you understand it, you are responsible to obey it.
Jesus said,
“If you love Me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)
Notice that we don’t keep His commandments so we will be loved. Out of love for what God has done for us, we keep His commands out of joy and gratitude.
But what about those situations that aren’t so clearly spelled out in Scripture?
How do we Make Decisions?
There are a lot of ways to make decisions. Instead of using our Magic 8-ball or a coin toss, I want to give you a few steps that I’ve learned a long time ago.
How to make decisions in a CALM:
Consult the Bible. Does it agree with God’s Word? Is there a specific verse, passage, or principle that could help you make this decision?
God told me. Spelled it out in Cheerios.
If you want to hear God speak, read the Bible. If you want to hear God speak audibly, read it out loud!
Ask wise friends. This is what I did when I sought out Jeff and Tres.
Learn from your past experiences. Often God will give us wisdom by taking us through situations that require us to lean hard on God.
Monitor the Holy Spirit’s prompting. Take into account providential circumstances. And pray and asked specifically for God to make His will clear.
6 months ago, I had a decision to make. I had been offered a position at Agape Counseling Center and one the same day I was approved by all the insurance companies to see clients I was offered the position of pastor at a little church in Chenoa. I walked through the CALM decision matrix and that’s how we decided to become part of this family.
The answer to this prayer may not always be what you think it should be. Doing God’s will may be difficult. Most of the time, it doesn’t happen right away.
Ray Pritchard gives a couple of good reminders. When we are praying for God’s will, very rarely will we have 100% certainty. Noah didn’t, but he still built the ark. Abram didn’t have GPS or a map, but he still set out. Moses didn’t, but he still lead the people out of Egypt to the Red Sea. Joshua didn’t, but he walked around the walls and they fell.
God is just looking for willing hearts that will joyfully obey.
Sometimes after using all your resources, learning from your past, and using common sense you make the best decision and leave the rest up to God.
It would be very helpful for us if we could just have Someone who was our example. Someone who did the will of God perfectly.
Our Example
If you look at Jesus’ life, from beginning to end, His heartbeat was to do the will of His Father.
When He was 12 years old, His parents left Him in Jerusalem. When they went back to look for Him, they found Him in the Temple courts. Mary, being a mom, told Him how worried they were:
His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:48-49)
When a crowd asked Him for the Bread of Life, He responded:
“For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.” (John 6:38-39)
When the disciples encouraged Jesus to eat, He responded:
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.” (John 4:34)
But, there is no better example that in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus was nearing the time of His death and He started to feel the weight of our sin and what separation from the Father would feel like:
He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground. (Luke 22:41-44)
Jesus gives us the template, the example, of bowing our will to the Father. It is the ultimate expression of faith to submit to the Sovereignty of God.
When speaking about His death, Jesus said,
“When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” (John 8:27-29)
Jesus always does what pleases the Father, and, one day, in our glorified state in heaven, so will we! ?
Cry Out to Jesus
In what specific ways is God calling you to pray for His will to be done?
Philip Ryken lists five prayers:
1. Submit to God Will for your salvation. Luther wrote that when we pray this part of the Lord’s Prayer, (Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven), it becomes apparent quickly that we don’t do His will and are many times disobedient.
We fall short and it becomes apparently that we are not naturally inclined to do things God’s way.
Your will must hand in it’s resignation letter!
If you do not surrender to Christ, you will surrender to chaos.
We are asking God to bring about a genuine humility and fear of God and His judgment, and give us the joy of knowing that we will escape God’s judgment and will be saved by His mercy and grace.
Three types of people. Saved, no idea, and think you’re saved.
2. Accept the way God made you. You were born in this time, in this place, with your specific characteristics, for such a time as this.
If I had been 6-7, then I would have played in the NBA and not been in ministry!
3. Ask God to help you live according to His Word. I want to encourage all of us to stop worrying about what everyone else in the culture is doing. Cows don’t lay eggs. We have the Holy Spirit to help us.
4. Be willing to go wherever He sends you and do whatever He wants.
I got saved in my senior year of college and started to pray for what God wanted me to do. After prayer and wise counsel, I packed up everything I owned and moved 400 miles to the mountains of North Carolina.
As I drove away, I had Steven Curtis Chapman’s song, “For the Sake of the Call” blasting. I love the bridge to that song:
Not for the sake of a creed or a cause?Not for a dream or a promise?Simply because it is Jesus who called?And if we believe we'll obey
Looking back on that decision, Proverbs 16:9 becomes so real:
“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” (Prov 16:9)
Darrel Gruder writes,
“Prayer is not about getting what we want – the fulfillment of our will; it is about learning what God wants – the bending of our will to God’s will.”
5. Accept whatever suffering God brings into our lives.
I talked to my friend Elnor on Friday. She was diagnosed with RA in her twenties. Her body is twisted and she is confined to a bed most of the day. She told me that she was so thankful for her suffering because, had she been healthy, she would never know and love God the way she does.
Betty Stamm and her husband were missionaries in China. They were arrested and beheaded.
Before they left, she wrote this,
“Lord I give up all my plans and purposes, all my dreams and hopes, and accept Your will for my life. I give myself utterly to it. Fill me. Seal me with Your Holy Spirit. Use me as You will. Send me. Work out whole will in my life, no matter the cost.”
Hillary Scott is the female lead in the country group, Lady Antebellum. She is a strong believer and recently released a Christian project with her family. After experiencing a miscarriage, she wrote a song called, “Thy Will be Done.”
After we watch this video, we are going to go right into a time of prayer.
