Can You Hear Me Now? Good! Week 3
“GET ON THE RIGHT PLAN”
MATTHEW 6:10, ROMANS 12:1-2, PROVERBS 3:5-6
INTRODUCTION:
There are all kinds of cell phone plans that you can buy. When we signed up for Verizon a couple years ago their representative explained a myriad of options. There were so many it was confusing. Finally, she asked: “How do you want to make use of your phone?”Once we explained how we wanted to use our phone, i.e., long distance with our family in Florida, the number of lines, national coverage, etc. it was pretty easy and we got on the right plan.
Well, this morning as we come to our third phrase in this model prayer given by Jesus it’s as if God, our ultimate provider is asking us: “How would you like to make use of your life?” “How do you want to live your life?” A life of aimlessness, insecurity, emptiness? Indecision? Or would you like to live a life of purpose, confidence and clarity? You see, our ultimate provider, Our Father, wants to get us on the right plan too. God does not want you to go through life aimless, depressed and insecure. God wants you to have direction, security and a positive purpose. God doesn’t just want you to know about His plan, He wants you to live it!
You know, sometimes people only see Christianity only emphasizing the hereafter. Now don’t misunderstand, I am glad for the promise of heaven. But please don’t miss this! Although God promises anyone who has saving relationship with His Son, Jesus, that they will live in heaven with him, he also, while we are waiting on the hereafter, wants us to have the best life here and now! Not necessarily a life of health and wealth but one of peace, spiritual prosperity and purpose. Scripture teaches that God has given us purpose for living, and wants us to know His will for our life. Psa. 143:10- "Teach me to do your will for you are my God."(NLT) Eph. 5:17- "Don’t be foolish, understand what the Lord’s will is." God wants us to know His will and as Christians we are to be earnestly seeking it. That’s why Jesus said, “When you pray, say this about God’s purpose or will for your life..” “May your kingdom come.. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven.”(NLT) God wants you to have the right plan for your life, His plan, His will, because it is His desire that we live with His positive purpose..
I. UNDERSTANDING THE PHRASE: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven..” As we have done in previous weeks let’s begin by understanding this phrase.. “Your will be done.” This phrase has a dual meaning: In it’s simplest form it means: God’s way, that is, will =His intentions, His desires. But it also carries with it the implication that God’s way is not “a” way but is the only way to live, and therefore, is the way. This was the way Jesus lived His life, it was His principle for life. He often used it in explain why he did what he did. For example, in John 4 when the disciples come back from shopping for food in a city, they offer Him something to eat but he refuses saying, “My nourishment is to do the will of Him who sent me..”(Jn 4:34 NLT) That’s where Jesus got His ultimate sustenance.. From doing God’s will. Maybe the most memorable time that Jesus used these words was in the Garden of Gethsamane. There facing a horrible death but even worse, knowing he would bear all sin - all past, present and future sin He said, in Matthew 26:42 - “My Father, if there is no other way, I’m ready.. Your will be done.”(MSG) It’s not surprising to hear Him make such statements because before He was even born His purpose was clear: To recognize God’s way as supreme. Hb.10:7,9- “Then He said, ‘See, I have come to do Your will, to lay down my life, O God.’”(LB)
So, in this short phrase “Your will be done..” Jesus is telling us that we are to tell the Father that we are making His way our way, to do things His way is to be our purpose! Interestingly there are different ways you can say that phrase or accept the fact that His way is supreme. You can say it with bitterness... much like the clay in our drama started out.. filled with rebellion and resentment because you don’t want to bend their will to God’s. You can also say “Your will be done” with joyless resignation. This is when it is said not so much out of bitterness but out of weary defeat. It is acceptance of God’s will, but it is completely joyless. But God wants us to accept His will with trust, love, joy and peace. Knowing that when we say, “Your will be done..” we have determined in our hearts that God’s will is best for our life. It is to say as Job, “Even though He slay me, yet will I trust Him.”(Job 13:15 NKJV) When we say this phrase we’re not only saying God’s way is supreme but we have complete trust that He only wants what is best for us. With that attitude Jesus says, “Pray.. “Your will be done..”
“.. Here on earth just as it is in heaven..” Now, it’s easy to understand God’s way being done in heaven. We know from the Bible that God rules there, that’s His place. But how is it that Jesus wants us to pray that God’s will.. His desires, his wishes, His intentions be realized on earth the way it is in heaven? Heaven is perfect, sin is not tolerated. But on earth? Was Jesus asking us to pray an impossible prayer? No, neither was He given to idle speculation or empty dreaming. So, what did He mean?
Well, His meaning becomes clearer when we understand that this is a statement of personal confrontation. Jesus is asking us to pray.. “Father, may Your will be done in this bit of earth.. in this bit of flesh.. In ME.. here and now, just as it is being presently accomplished in heaven.” You see, life is a confrontation of two wills. God’s will and my will. Which will wins? That is why Jesus also says in this verse.. “...your Kingdom come..” You see a Kingdom is where the King is, where the King reigns. Scripture certainly applies that to the earthly kingdom, the church and to the heavenly kingdom.. But it also refers to everyone of our hearts! Maybe the deepest question we can ask as we are seeking His purpose is: Does the King reign in me? That’s what we sang this morning: “Lord, reign in me!” Did you mean it?
You see, praying “Your will be done..” is not just a personal confrontation it is a personal request. Asking, “Father, please reign in my heart.. Please make me, this part of earth, as submissive, as ready and as willing to live your way as it is being done in heaven!” Can you pray “Your will be done..” and accept it? To pray it is to mean it! To really want it, to really trust it is the best! And that’s why it is so important to apply this concept to our practical daily living.
II. APPLYING THE PRINCIPLES:
In Isaiah 1:18 God says, “Come now, let’s reason together and talk about these things.”(NCV) Well, this morning, I want you to visualize yourself, as a child sitting in front of God, your perfect, loving Dad and saying, “Father, I understand the definition of Your will.. To do everything your way. But how can I definitely know the detail of Your desires, Your intentions, Your purpose, Your direction for my everyday life?” Watch and listen as He smiles and answers your question with what sounds like a riddle: “My child, My will for you is both known and unknown. It is both clear and unclear.” And you with the deepest respect and reverence say, “Huh?” You see, God tells us through Scripture that He has one will expressed in at least two different ways. God expresses his will to us very clearly in giving us our purpose for living and at times not so clearly in giving us the details of how He guides us in our daily lives. Leslie Weatherhead has written a book entitled, “The Will of God,” a book that I would highly recommend, characterizing God’s will this way. “God’s will is expressed in His intentional will (known) and His circumstantial will (not always so clearly known.) Let’s look at both.
(1) His revealed, known or intentional will. Scripture makes very clear what God’s purpose is for your life. (1) God’s will for you is to imitate Him. Eph. 5:1- “Be imitators of God.” He wants you to develop His characteristics. Romans 8:28-29 "We know that all that happens to us is working for our good if we love God and are fitting into his plans. For from the beginning God decided that those who come to Him should become like his Son."(LB) This has been God’s plan from the very start. Man was made in God’s image. You’re different than any other of God’s creatures. That is seen especially spiritually. You never see cats praying or a dog kneeling to pray before he eats. (Not really) You, of all creation, have the ability to communicate with God. God made you different. He wants you to become like Himself, not to be a little god, but to be Godly. God wants you to be like His son, to learn to think like Jesus, act like Jesus, talk like Jesus, work like Jesus. God’s #1 purpose in your life is to make you like Jesus. That means every circumstance is a character builder. Every opportunity a chance to imitate Him. Once you understand that you are here to be loved by Him and to become like Him, then everything, every event, whether it’s a tragedy or sitting in a traffic jam, is one where you can ask: "How is God trying to make me more like Jesus from this event?" If Jesus would trade places with you right now at work, how would He act? How would Jesus respond to your wife, your husband? God’s will for you? To look at life and ask: How can I become more like Jesus?
(2) God’s will for you is to live for Him. Let me ask you.. What are you going to do with the rest of your life? Whether you’ve got 5 years left or 50 or a 100? What on earth are you doing for heaven’s sake? If you’re an average American this is what you’ll do according to studies: If you live to be 70 among other things you will spend your life this way: 23 years sleeping; 17 years working; 11 years playing and watching TV; 6 years traveling; 6 years eating; 2 years dressing; 6 months at stop lights. Now I ask you.. Is that all there is to life? Eat, sleep, work, watch TV, and wait at stop lights? No! God did not put you on the earth just to take up space, breathe, retire and die. Look at Rom. 12:1-2 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God.. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-- His good, pleasing and perfect will." I want you to circle a couple of words in that passage. Circle "offer" -- it says "Offer your bodies..” In other words, it’s your choice. Remember we said that to pray “Your will be done” is a personal request. God will never force you to serve Him. That’s why most people don’t. And they’re missing on one of the great purposes of life! We learned this last fall that God has 5 main purposes for your life.. Worship (putting him first), Discipleship (learning about him), Outreach (telling others about him), Fellowship (being with others who love him) and ministry (serving him). Ministry one of the main purposes of life.. Are you doing it?
God won’t force you to. Notice he says, "Offer yourself." But notice the results of offering yourself to live for God. “Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is.." You see, It’s not "God, show me Your will and then I’ll decide whether I want to do it or not." Doesn’t work that way. It’s "God, in advance, I choose to do Your will. I’ll go anywhere, be anything, do whatever You want me to do. I choose it before I know it!" Then you’ll be able to know what His plan is for your life. And notice it also says "Offer yourselves as living sacrifices", circle “living”.You know what the trouble is with a living sacrifice? It can crawl off the altar. God’s will for you is to live for Him, when you do that this passage says, Circle “Then you will be able.. Ask yourself, “What or How is my existence, my life benefitting God?”1 Cor. 15:58 "..always give yourself to the work of the Lord..and nothing you do for the Lord is ever wasted." (LB)
(3) God’s will for you is to live with Him. 2 Cor. 5:1-5- "We know that our body -the tent we live in here on earth - will be destroyed. But when that happens, God will have a house for us. It will not be a house made by human hands; instead, it will be a home in heaven that will last forever.” Vs:5 - “This is what God made us for, this very purpose..”(NCV) One of our purposes in life is to live with Him someday. This life is just a temporary training ground. You’re going to be here 60, 70, 80 or more years, but you’re going to spend forever on that side of eternity. You see, the will of God is to live for Him since I’m going to live with Him!
Readers Digest says the three keys to success in life are someone to love, something to do and something to hope for. That is what God has given us in His revealed will.. Someone to love and be loved by: the Father. Something to do: serve God and his purpose on this planet, something to hope for: heaven. That’s God’s revealed will for your and my life.. And that gives us a clear purpose for living.
But there’s another aspect of God’s will that is not as clear. That is His circumstantial will. The question we ask the Father is, “How does God lead me in the everyday circumstances or daily details of His will? Once again the beginning step is to say with all your heart.. “Your will be done..” Prov. 3:5-6 in the O.T. basically says what Romans 12:1-2 says in the New. Let’s look at it, it’s a four step process.. ➀ We “Trust the Lord with all our hearts..” ➁ We “lean not on only our own understanding,” ➂ “in all our ways we acknowledge Him..” And then, and only then.. ➃ He will make your paths straight or direct your paths” as the KJV says. So, once you’ve made a total commitment to God’s known will, how do you go about ascertaining His will for individual decisions? It’s not a simple process, there is no cute little equation that will give you the answer every time. It can be difficult. I heard the true story some time ago of Vera Ceviedisch of Prague, Czechoslovakia. She caught her husband being unfaithful to her and in her depression struggled with the decision of either killing him or herself. She decided on the later and so she jumped from a 6th story window. But she only received scratches when she inadvertently landed on her husband - killing him in the process. Sometimes decisions are difficult! But allow me to give some suggestions in the form of four questions that I think are Bible based and can be of assistance in seeking God’s circumstantial will, how he would have you make individual decisions.
(1)Is my desire(s) consistent with scripture? Listen- God’s guidance is always in accordance with the His Word- the Bible. 2 Tim.3:16- "Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another."(MSG) God will never guide you to do something that is diametrically opposed to His revealed will. If you really desire to know God’s will for your daily life than saturate yourself with Scripture. That’s an infallible point of reference. That way you will not waste time seeking God’s guidance in areas that are already clear in His Word. There is no need to ask whether you should engage in sex outside of marriage or with someone else other than your spouse. Heb. 13:5 says: “Honor marriage, and guard the sacredness of sexual intimacy... God draws a firm line against casual sin outside of marriage and adultery.”(SEB) Don’t ask God whether you should make that business deal where you have to shave the truth a little. Matt. 5:37-"..simply let your yes be yes and your no mean no." You be a person of truth. Are you waiting for God to give you some special sign or information on whether you should give your life to Christ or be baptized? Already covered. Jesus said in Mark 16:16 "..he that believes and is baptized will be saved.." Did you know that the Bible teaches us that not just doing the wrong thing but delaying doing the right thing is sin? James 4:17 - “Anyone who knows the right thing to do, but does not do it, is sinning.(NCV)” Make sure what you are wanting to do is consistent with God’s revealed will in the Bible. And if you find that it is then do it! (2) "Have I taken time to pray?" Ask yourself if your rushing into making this decision or if you’ve taken time to ask the Lord’s guidance and to think it through. We sometimes rush into decisions thinking: "If I don’t act now while the iron’s hot - I’ll miss out on it." But if God is in it - it can wait a minute. God rarely requires us to act on sudden suggestions. James 1:5- "If any of you needs wisdom to know what you should do, you should ask God... he loves to help." (GW) God will help us in prayer by using the Holy Spirit to convict us as to the rightness or wrongness of the decision. Take the time to pray.
(3) Have I sought Christian counsel? If you’re in a situation and you don’t want to hear what someone who knows God well to say, then beware. Pro:15:22- "Refuse good advice and watch your plans fail; take good counsel and watch them succeed." (MSG) Ask- "What do my Christian friends and my Christian leaders counsel me to do? Let me emphasis Christian. It is a mistake when you go to the world for advice. They don’t have the same set of values. Psa. 1:1- "Happiest are those who reject the advice of the wicked, who do not follow the example of sinners or join those who have no use for God."(GN) If your seeking God’s will counsel with people who know God well.
(4) Have I hammered doors down or are they opening easily? Hannah W. Smith wrote: "He goes before to open the way and we are to follow. It is never a sign of Divine leading when we insist on running rough shod over all opposing things." A.W. Tozer asked, “Is it forced? Or does it flow?” Now, this doesn’t mean we sit back and wait for God to show us the door, turn the door knob for us and then drag us in. We still apply some effort. Send out resumes, have interviews, make phone calls, consider options. God wants us to use the common sense He has given us. But if the doors do not open by natural means, forcing our way through them may mean we are rationalizing to get our own way. It should open with a reasonable amount of effort. Paul found that out in Acts 16. Twice he tried to go in a particular direction but the Bible says the H.S. stopped him. Finally, after he had no place to go, then God sent a message which direction to go. While he was trying to force it, it wasn’t God’s will.
Now you’ve got to be careful here because Satan can make things easy too. In the O.T. there was a man named Jonah who ran from God’s will. God told him to go to a certain city and preach, but he hated the people he was told to preach to so he ran the other way. Did circumstances go bad for him? No. He found the right boat, at the right price going the right place. But he was dead wrong! It’s so easy to try to make God’s Will fit our desires instead of fitting our desires into God’s Will. Don’t play the game of making God’s guidance fit what we want. Make sure you’re doing all four of these steps, not just the last one. Just because it’s easy doesn’t make it right. But,, coupled with the other three this fourth question is a good one to ask. If you have done everything else, then ask: “Are things forced or flowing?”
Now, these questions aren’t infallible in clearly determining each individual question, but they can be very helpful. Make sure your decision is in harmony with Scripture. Take time to pray, seek faithful Christian counsel and don’t force your way into something to meet your own desires. And then if you can answer all those positively you’ll of gone a long way in seeking God’s heart in making your decision.
Please understand. God wants to help you discover or rediscover His purpose for your life. He wants to show you that His will is what is best for you life. But he won’t force that. So, I want to simply ask: “Will you pray for His will to be done in your life?” Would you repeat the words that we have just studied? Like Jesus, will you say them to God with me: “May your kingdom come, may your will be done here on earth, just as is it is in heaven.”
{All Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version unless otherwise noted.}
