God's Will, Part 10
Notes
Transcript
Handout
This session we will continue to look at the Greek word “thélēma,” with one of the three persons of the Trinity as the direct object or the subject in the Gospels.
John 7:16-18 .
16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.
17 If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority.
18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood.
Jesus makes it clear that those who have submitted their will to God’s are able to identify the work of God manifested through teaching. Here, he is of course speaking of his own teaching and ministry.
This concept also applies to us today as we engage different teachers in the age of information. It is good to ask by what authority they are speaking. Does their teaching align with what God has revealed in his Word. When we are in proper relationship with God, he, through his Spirit, makes these things known.
John 9:31 .
31 We know that God does not listen to sinners, but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does his will, God listens to him.
Here is a statement giving insight into the Pharisee’s interpretation of the law and its application. In this passage they consider Jesus to be a sinner because he is healing on the Sabbath. He has chosen not to abstain from the 1,521 things they thought should be abstained from. Thus he cannot be from God. As we well know, Jesus is sinless and did not break any of God’s laws. He, in fact, makes it clear that the Pharisees had lost sight of the purpose of the Sabbath.
So is there truth in the statement that God does not listen to sinners?
The idea here is to act on their behalf. God hears all, but does not act on everyone's behalf. So yes, there is truth in the statement, with some qualifications. Peter affirms this truth in 1 Peter 3:7.
7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
Here, the context is that the mistreatment of one’s wife cuts off his prayers from the throne of grace. If we take these verses as a blanket statement, then none of our prayers are being heard, for none of us worship God 100% of the time, nor do we do his will 100% of the time. We are all sinners.
So what is the mediating factor?
1 John 1:8-10 shows us the mediating factor.
8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
The act of confession is what aligns our hearts with the will of God and opens up the lines of communication. Confession is to agree with what God has said. The result of that action is repentance of the sin. So when we walk in agreement with God about our condition, and walk in agreement with what he is doing about it, we are heard by God. Not only that, we step into the forgiveness God has established for us, and into his justice advocating for us.
Acts 13:22.
22 And when he had removed him, he raised up David to be their king, of whom he testified and said, ‘I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.’
In this passage we see God having chosen David, who will do all his will. This gives us hope, for we all know the flaws of David, and yet he is a man after God’s own heart, who does God’s will. This brings in the grace of the cross, worked out through the confession and repentance that we were just discussing.
Acts 21:10-14 .
10 While we were staying for many days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
11 And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands and said, “Thus says the Holy Spirit, ‘This is how the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”
12 When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.
13 Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
14 And since he would not be persuaded, we ceased and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.”
This is a very interesting passage concerning God revealing the future for Paul to be imprisoned and handed over to the Romans. We know from Acts that imprisonment was not an uncommon occasion for Paul. The people gathered in the house of Philip tried to convince Paul not to go to Jerusalem. We can hear their logic: “God would not have revealed this to us by the Spirit if he did not want you to take action to keep you from being imprisoned.” Paul makes it clear that preserving his comfort or his life is not his priority. His priority is to live for the sake of Jesus. They then release Paul into God’s will. We often need to exercise this same release and surrender: “Let the will of the Lord be done.”
Acts 22:8-16 .
8 And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’
9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
10 And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’
11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.
12 “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,
13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him.
14 And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth;
15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.
16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’
Paul’s conversion experience is a dramatic one. Ananias declares that Paul is appointed by God to know his will and to declare it to everyone. Paul will later pray for God’s will to be known to the Colossians in Colossians 1:9-12.
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,
10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
This is a prayer I often pray for myself and for each of you. It is a prayer that takes our focus from our own comfort, and directs us to live for the sake of Christ. This week perhaps you could take this prayer and personalize for yourself, and then also pray it over those whom the Lord brings to mind.