Your Will, Not Mine
Notes
Transcript
Your Will, Not Mine
Your Will, Not Mine
We come to this great pattern for prayer tonight and again it is a great joy to study God’s Word and mine for the treasure that it contains. I don’t know if I say this often enough, but it is a great blessing to have the opportunity to teach and study God’s Word to prepare for teaching.
As we talked about last time, it is God’s purpose in prayer that we would be changed. If we go to God in anticipation of only “getting things from God” then we have the wrong idea about prayer. Prayer is as much or more to change us than it is to “get” things from God.
So, tonight I hope you will come away with the understanding that prayer is not so much about you “getting” things, but your will being changed to meet God’s. That is the primary purpose of prayer and until we begin to understand that, we will come into prayer for the wrong reasons and with the wrong expectation.
With that in mind let’s read this pattern for prayer.
“Pray, then, in this way:
‘Our Father who is in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
‘Your kingdom come.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
‘Give us this day our daily bread.
‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’
What is God’s Will for my life?
Have you ever heard someone ask that question before or maybe you asked that question yourself about what God’s will is for your life.
It’s not a bad question to start off with. It needs to be answered. So tonight we will look at it.
First of all - God has a will for each of our lives, there is not doubt about it. He has a will and a plan for our lives. We will look more into that in a minute
Also, we’ve all heard someone say “I’m trying to find God’s Will for my life” which supposes that God’s Will is somehow lost and we need to find it. However, there are lots of “gray” areas in our lives aren’t there? There are so many times when we are unsure which direction God is leading us in that we have to make a choice. So, how do we know we are making the right choice?
What is God’s Will and How do we know it?
What is God’s Will and How do we know it?
First of all, God has revealed His Will to us in His Word and far too many times we are ignorant of His Word and it makes our life harder because we don’t know what He wants for us!
God has directed us in His Word and we don’t have the excuse of being ignorant to it and making dumb choices because of that ignorance.
Purpose & Desire
Purpose & Desire
There are two aspects of God’s Will that I want to discuss tonight. How these work together and intertwine - I don’t have them all figured out.
I was talking to Bill tonight before this service and he reminded me of a couple of verses that are crucial anytime we are considering these types of things that are difficult for us to understand.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
So, with that in mind - here are two aspects of God’s will.
God’s Will of Purpose (God is SOVEREIGN)
God’s Will of Purpose (God is SOVEREIGN)
This aspect of God’s will is all encompassing. It means that God is totally sovereign and that nothing happens in our lives or in the world that He doesn’t already know or allow to happen. God isn’t surprised by anything that happens. God doesn’t wake up and go “oops, missed that one”.
This is important because if we aren’t careful, we can be led astray by false teachers that will try and convince you that God only controls certain things and not all of them.
People in those groups say things like “well, if God was good He wouldn’t let all of those bad things happen on this Earth” and I have a problem with that. Because MOST, not all, but MOST of the bad things that happen on this Earth are influenced so much by sin and it’s consequences that we CAN’T attribute those things to God.
Also, when you think about sin in general, it’s a wonder that God gives us a way out of being condemned to Hell at all! Do you ever think of that? I think if we would ponder on how much we’ve been forgiven instead of “how much God withholds” then we would have a better perspective in our praying.
I think this quote is good - “God is far too loving to be cruel, and far to wise to make mistakes”
Listen to this verse to sum up God’s Will of purpose:
“I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.
By the way, this verse came after Job was tested and came through the refining fire.
God’s Will of Desire
God’s Will of Desire
So, the first aspect of God’s Will is an over-all, all encompassing, sovereign Will.
The next aspect of God’s will is what we might call the Will of Desire.
This is God’s heart’s desire for us.
What is God’s desire for those on this Earth?
Does God desire certain things for us as human beings made in His image?
Absolutely He does.
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!
God wants for those who walk this Earth to come to know Him as their Lord and Savior. He wants that, He desires that! He wants us to “be holy, as He is holy”.
He desires that we would:
Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
Anytime we are talking about God’s character it is difficult to understand sometimes right?
Does God’s desire get fulfilled all the time?
Does man always choose what God wants for Him?
God isn’t responsible for sin so this must not be done completely right?
Rejoice always;
pray without ceasing;
in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.