Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / The Sermon On The Mount
Raising The Bar With Prayer (Part 4) 1/6/08
Message: ‘Raising the Bar with Prayer’ pt.4 Text: Matthew 6:10
Introduction:
ILL: A pastor received a call from a church that offered him a salary four times what he was then receiving. Being a devout man, he spent much time in prayer trying to discern God will for his life. One day a friend met the pastor’s young son on the street. “Do you know what your dad is going to do?” he asked. “Well,” replied the lad, “Dad’s praying, but Mom’s packing!” (Pat Cook)
Knowing God’s will, sometimes, isn’t as easy as we would like. This is especially true God’s ‘secret’ or ‘mysterious’ will for our individual lives. Such as:
· what should I do after I graduate?
· should I take this job or the other one?
· who should I marry or should I stay single?
· should I move or stay where I am?
· should I eat a delicious, mouth watering, cheese steak hoagie or a drab, tasteless, salad?
The truth is, the reason we often struggle with God’s ‘secret’ or ‘mysterious’ will, is because we aren’t intentional about doing God’s revealed will found clearly in God’s Word, the Bible.
There’s part of God’s will that is specific to each of us individually and God wants us to know and follow it. But, I believe he wants us to be already walking in, and obeying his ‘revealed’ will found in his Word, before he shows us with the ‘secret’ things.
Transition: With that in mind, I want to ask and attempt to answer three questions this morning:
1. What is God’s will?
2. Why should doing God’s will be the top priority in my life?
3. How do I do God’s will on earth as it is in heaven?
Open your Bibles to Matthew 6:10 (pg 741 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you) It’s here we’ll find that we raise the bar of spiritual expectations and actions in our lives by prayer.
Read: Matthew 6:10
I. ‘Your will be done’
Question One: What is God’s Will?
Defining what the concept of God’s will isn’t easy and there is some disagreement on how to describe it. But there are at least two aspects of God’s will that most people agree on to some extent.
1. God’s Directive/Perfect Will
This refers to God’s will of purpose. This is God’s sovereign authority over his creation and everything in it. In this aspect of God’s will he ordains or predestines what happens because he chooses it to be. And nothing/no one can stop or prevent what God decrees.
The prophet Isaiah gives testimony to this truth when he said: ‘The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand…For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?’ (Isaiah 14:24, 26-27)
When we talk about God’s directive/perfect will, it’s his divine prerogative that’s enacted. God is sovereign.
2. God’s Permissive/Compassionate Will.
While completely consistent with his directive will, God’s permissive will allows for humanities choice and the consequences of our free will.
God often allows the natural consequences of our choices…specifically our choice to sin. That’s why we have
· crime,
· terrorism,
· traffic fatalities,
· natural disasters (the result of sin on God’s creation)
· and even death (the decay of our bodies by sin).
The apostle Paul talks about God’s ‘allowance’ of our free will and the often harsh consequences when we put our will against the will of God.
Read: Romans 1:21-32
In his compassion, there are aspects of our lives that God allows us to make choices that often break his heart. Because he loves us he permits our freedom of choice...in certain areas of our lives. But even in the exercise of our free will, God is always sovereign.
Read: Genesis 50:20 ‘You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.’
Read: Romans 8:28 ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’
Transition: So whether we understand the process or not, we’re called to obedience to God’s will and to make choices that are consistent with his will. Why?...next question.
Question Two: Why should doing God’s Will be the top priority in my life?
1. It keeps you in God’s Word.
Before you can do God’s will, you have to know God’s will, and you find God’s will in God’s Word, the Bible.
· Reading, studying, memorizing God’s Word makes us more familiar with it and then better able to know God will.
The psalmist understood this and cried out to God: ‘Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.’ (Psalm 119:18)
Doing God’s will in the top priority in our lives because it keeps us in God’s word and because:
2. God has a right to expect your obedience.
God created you, he sustains you, he bought you with the price of his own Son, Jesus, and through faith in Jesus, he’s living in you…In other word’s you belong to him. Paul calls all Christians ‘slaves to righteousness’…which implies perfect obedience.
ILL: Someone once wrote and asked Emily Post, the etiquette expert, "What’s the correct procedure when one is invited to the White House but has a previous engagement?" Post replied, "An invitation to dine at the White House is a command, and it automatically cancels any other engagement."(Ed Vasicek)
The Apostles Peter and Paul would agree.
Read: 1 Peter 2:9 ‘But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.’
Read: 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 ‘Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.’
Obeying God’s will is not a suggestion…you to cancel everything else to obey because you belong to God.
Doing God’s will in the top priority in our lives because God has a right to expect our obedience and because:
3. Doing God’s will gives evidence of the sincerity of our faith.
The Apostle James writes: ‘As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.’ (James 2:26b) and ‘Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.’ (James 1:22)
Those who truly desire to walk with God, who have honestly placed their faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of their sin, will seek to live a life that demonstrates obedience to God’s will and Word.
Doing God’s will in the top priority in our lives because it gives evidence of our faith and because:
4. Doing God’s will furthers the cause of the gospel.
People can’t see faith in our hearts, but they can see faith in our acts of obedience to God’s will. When they see our obedience they will see God at work in us and will be drawn to him.
Jesus reminds us ‘In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.’ Matthew 5:16
Doing God’s will in the top priority in our lives because it will further the cause of the Gospel and because:
5. Doing God’s will reveals our love for God.
Jesus told his disciples then and now ‘Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.’ (John 14:21a)
Notice Jesus didn’t say ‘Whoever loves me will obey my commands.’ Jesus places the emphasis on obey and not on love here. I think he was saying there are times we may not ‘feel’ love for him, yet we are still to be obedient. Then our actions will say what our heart may be having trouble saying.
What greater way to show our love for God then by doing his will?
Doing God’s will in the top priority in our lives because it reveals our love for God and because:
6. Doing God’s will…benefits us!
ILL: General Charles M. Duke, a former astronaut who went on the Apollo 16 mission to the moon was asked, “Once you were there, weren’t you free to make your own decisions and carry out your own experiments. He smiled and said “Sure, if I didn’t want to return to earth!” He went on to describe the intricate plan, the precise instructions, the essential discipline and the instant obedience that was needed right down to a split second. He explained how they landed with sixty seconds of fuel remaining. Talk about being obedient! (Charles Swindoll, Strengthening Your Grip).
There was a great benefit to completely obeying the orders the astronauts were given on their trip to the moon. It was good for them…And it’s true with our obedience to God’s will as well. It’s good for us. A couple examples.
Read: Acts 3:19 ‘Repent, then, and turn to God, (the command) so that (the obedience) your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord’ (the blessing, the benefit)
Read: 1 John 3:22 ‘and receive from him anything we ask, (the blessing, the benefit) because we obey his commands (the obedience) and do what pleases him.’ (the command)
Doing God’s will is not so much a duty as it is a privilege with great blessing.
Doing God’s will in the top priority in our lives because it benefits us and because:
7. Doing God’s will makes us more like Jesus.
Isn’t our hearts desire as Christians to be more like Jesus? Then we should do what he did.
Jesus said ‘For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.’ (John 6:38) and ‘My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.’ (John 4:34)
To be like Jesus… we need to be obedient.
Transition: OK, last question.
II. ‘On earth as it is in heaven’
Question Three: How do I do God’s Will on earth as it is in heaven?
ILL: C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity says “The real problem of the Christian life comes where people do not usually look for it. It comes the very moment you wake up each morning. All your wishes and hopes for the day rush at you like wild animals. And the first job each morning consists simply in shoving them all back; in listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in. (Andrew Hamilton)
That other point of view, that other larger, stronger, quieter life is the Kingdom of God. And we participate in the Kingdom of God by obeying the King….everyday!
Think about this…having to pray ‘your will be done on earth’ indicated that God’s will isn’t being done on earth as it is in heaven. Why? Because Satan’s will is being done on earth. To pray for God’s will to be done on earth is to pray that Satan’s will to be undone. The Psalmist cried out for this very same thing.
Read: Psalm 68:1 ‘May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him.’
If our prayers only had that kind of passion for God’s will to be done on earth!
We are part of a spiritual battle and we must pray for our common enemy to be defeated.
But there is more to this. Notice that we pray for God’s will to be done on earth, by everyone, is the implication, as it is in heaven, by everyone which is the implication. Who obeys God in heaven…the angels? How do angels obey God in heaven and what does that mean for us on earth?
1. Angels obey God…regularly.
Angels do nothing but what’s commanded them, they are not in heaven for decorative purposes.
Read: Psalm 103:20 ‘Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.’
Likewise, we are not here to make this room look good, we’re here to honor God by regularly obeying his will.
2. Angels obey God’s will fervently.
The angels serve God with such fervor that they are called ‘seraphim’ which comes from a Hebrew word meaning ‘to burn’. To show that they are on fire, burn in love and zeal in doing God’s will.
According to Romans 12:11 Christians, you and I should: ‘Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.’
We should be passionate about our obedience to God’s will.
3. Angels serve God with their best.
Being in heaven, in God’s presence, angels are perfect and can only do things perfectly. While not in heaven, we too are to obey God perfectly, that’s why we pray ‘your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.’
Read: Numbers 18:29 ‘You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.’
We give God our best, especially when it comes to obeying his will.
Conclusion: What about our will?
Well, while we may never actually say this out loud, it’s often the intent of our prayers. What we usually pray to God is not that his will be done, but that he approves our will.
· We want God to agree with us and approve our agenda rather than for us to agree with God and obey his will. We want our will be done, our desires and wishes fulfilled!
ILL: Jim Careys character in the movie ‘Bruce Almighty’ felt the same way and his life was a disaster. Finally, when he had hit bottom he fell to his knees and with tears in his eyes this is what he said ‘Okay, you win. I’m done> Please, I don’t wanna do this anymore. I don’t want to be God! I want you to decide what’s right for me. I surrender to your will.’
Our will is often the problem in doing God’s will because we live in a society that prides itself on ease and comfort. As a result we rather than making a difference in our lives, our being. We are willing to submit to God’s will only when it makes a difference in our situation:
· Our finances
· Our family relationships
· Our ministry
· Our sense of comfort
But true success in life is found when we are willing to submit our will to God’s will
· In order to be a better Christian,
· to be more like Jesus
· and to bring glory to God.
OK…how do we pray this part of the Lord’s Prayer. Perhaps something like this:
Lord, I only want for my life what you want for my life. I surrender all of my wants and all of my desires to you. If there’s something else you want for me to do with my time and money, then that’s what I want to do.
Father, I am committed to your will…help me with my lack of commitment. Help me be obedient to your will even when it runs counter to what I want to do.
Lord, I bend my will to yours, I won’t struggle against your will as it comes to me today.
· If you bring joy then I will celebrate.
· But even if you bring me pain, I will continue to trust and love you.
I want to walk out of this building this afternoon and know that my will is surrendered to yours.
Take control of my life and do what you will…for your glory! Amen!
We raise the par of spiritual expectations and actions in our lives by prayer.