Word of Salvation – Vol.49 No.12 – March 2004

 

Praying for Obedience to God’s Will

Sermon by Rev M P Geluk

on Lord’s Day 49 (Q/A 124 Heid.Cat.)

 

Scripture Reading:  Luke 6:17-49

Suggested Hymns:  BoW 116:1,9,10; 119C; 457; 454:4

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The first three petitions in the Lord’s prayer are very much centred on God. The Lord Jesus taught us to first pray for the holiness of God’s name. Then to pray that God so rule over us that His kingdom is established more and more. And now, with this third petition, we’re to pray, help us, O Lord, to obey your will.

We have often prayed this petition whenever we make use of the Lord’s Prayer. But also when we pray using our own words – Lord, your will be done. We often include that in our prayer for we know that God’s will alone is good. But do we also realise the implications of our praying – Lord, your will be done?

We will first of all say something about the harmony between God’s will and our will. Then, secondly, we will note the conflict between God’s will and our will. And then, thirdly, we must seek to overcome the differences between God’s will and our will.

1. The harmony between God’s will and our will

When a choir truly sings in harmony, then all the different voices blend together beautifully. To sing out of tune is to break the harmony. Now can there be such a harmony between God’s will and our will? A true blending together of the two wills?

If the church of Jesus Christ were to say that this is never possible, then she certainly believes in the reality of sin, but she would be unbelieving in the reality of grace. If there were never any harmony at all between God’s will and ours, then it would make praying this petition a waste of time. However, as God’s children redeemed by grace, we come to our heavenly Father and we pray that His name be glorified in all the earth. If we are serious about that, then we really want this to happen, for in our eyes as Christians, God is truly great.

God has come to us in His wonderful mercy and made us new in Christ. God has put His Holy Spirit in His people and revealed His marvellous acts of salvation to us. He has changed and is still changing our will. And not only our will, but also our purpose, our aim; yes, our whole life’s direction. It’s what conversion to Christ is all about. Once we were not His people, then we became His people. Once we were in darkness, now we are in His light.

Therefore, with the love and newness that God has put in us, as Christians we want to see God’s name made holy – the first petition. And therefore, for all these same reasons, we also pray that His kingdom come; yes, that we may more and more submit to His rule – the second petition. But praying these two petitions, it is only natural that we then also pray that God’s will be done.

If you, as a child of God, have seen and experienced the grace of God in your life; if you, by knowing God from His Word, have become convinced that God is good and that His rule ought to be acknowledged everywhere by all people; then surely you would also love to see His will done in your own life and in other peoples’ lives.

There can be, therefore, a genuine Christian longing for harmony between God’s will and our will, between God’s will and every one else’s will. It is simply a matter of wanting to see God rule over all, because we know that this would be the ultimate good for all.

Yes, the apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, reminds us about there being a tension inside the Christian struggling to obey God’s will. Paul could see, and we with him, that sometimes we want to sin and we feel bad that our will can be like that. But there are also times that we genuinely want to do God’s will, and we delight in that. That struggle inside us can be upsetting to the Christian. He belongs to God and does not want to sin but the power of sin in his human nature sometimes gets the better of him and he does sin, willingly. Yet, God does not let him go and the power of the God’s Spirit in the believer makes the believer want to break with sin and he repents. So the apostle Paul in this struggle could also experience God’s deliverance time and again. He said, “…in my inner being I delight in God’s law” (Rom 7:22).

In the Scriptures we come across other believers who also delighted in God’s will. Before Israel entered the promised land, Joshua reminded the people about their covenant relationship with God and he told the people to make up their minds about whom they would serve. He then said on a personal note, making clear where he stood, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Josh 24:15). Clearly it was Joshua’s will that he wanted harmony between God’s will and his will.

And think of Psalm 119. Numerous times the psalmist confesses from his heart that he delights in God’s will. Many times he says that he loves God’s law.

Many years later, in the New Testament, the apostles Peter and John faced an angry and hostile meeting of the Jewish ruling council who were determined to stop the them from teaching and preaching Jesus. Peter and John said boldly, “We must obey God rather than men!” (Acts 5:29). Again, that desire in the believer to have their will blend in with God’s will.

And Paul praised the Christians at Philippi for their obedience. He said, “…my dear friends, as you have always obeyed – not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence…” (2:12).

Most of all, we must look to Christ, how He delighted to obey the will of His Father. Jesus’ will blended in perfectly with His Father’s will. We are familiar with the well known words He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, “…not as I will, but as you will” (Mt 26:39). These are the very words believers often use after they have prayed to God for something they hope for, yet want to acknowledge that God’s will may be different for them.

So without wanting to undermine the reality of sin, even in a believer’s life, we also must believe in God’s grace in the believer. We therefore confess with Scripture that Christians have had their slavery to sin replaced by a new obedience to Christ, and they have been given the Holy Spirit. Therefore, something of Jesus’ nature is now in you who believe. And because that is true, it is also possible that we want harmony between God’s will and our will.

It is very important, however, that we are clear on what part of God’s will this petition in the Lord’s prayer is referring to. It cannot refer to God’s hidden will, it must refer to God’s revealed will. The Christian church makes a distinction between God’s will that He has revealed in Scripture and His will that He does not reveal. There is, of course, only one will in God, but He has made known only part of it. The revealed will of God is what He asks from us.

In the days of the prophets and the apostles, God’s people heard God’s will first of all from their lips before it was later inscripturated. When, for example, God – through Joshua – told Israel to march around the walls of Jericho, or Philip the evangelist was told to go to the road to Gaza and to meet the Ethiopian and preach Christ to him, then God revealed His will through these direct communications. But that does not happen anymore today. Today and for us God’s revealed will is to be found only in the Scriptures. We can never be certain about any claim to a word of God outside the Scriptures. And with God’s will in Scripture, we must follow recognised rules for interpreting the Scripture correctly.

But what God has not revealed is His undisclosed will. We do not know what tomorrow will bring, writes James (4:14). That’s why we often write or say d.v. after our plans for the future – deo volente – which means, the Lord willing. We do not know when the Lord will return. We do not know why God allows Satan to do certain things. We do not know what God’s will is for the nations of the world as they sometimes struggle and wage war. We can make human predictions, but that’s all they are. Whilst in Dachau concentration camp during World War 2, Jack Overduin could not tell if he would come out alive, or when the war would end, or what diseases he might pick up or be spared from.

All these things also fall under the will of God, for nothing happens apart from His will, but they are the things we don’t know in advance. In the outworking of God’s providence we know that things happen the way they do, but even then it is not always clear to us what God’s purposes are. The book Revelation shows us that a number of factors can all be involved at the same time. There’s man, Satan and God. God is definitely sovereign over all factors, but it is not always clear to us what God’s purposes are with these various other factors. With regard to God’s hidden will, we just have to keep on trusting and believing that God is all-wise, all-knowing and all-powerful. And believers may keep on asking God to give them strength, faith and trust to keep on serving Him, whatever the situation.

God’s revealed will we know, however. It’s there in His commandments for us, for the church, and for the nation. Here it is also a matter of believing and trusting that God is always right in what He wills, but this time obedience comes very much into it.

We should not overlook the fact that the Lord’s prayer is right in the middle of His sermon on the mount. The Lord began by showing the characteristics of the Christian in the beatitudes. Then He speaks about us being a salt and a light. Next comes a right understanding of what the commandments say and obeying them. Jesus dealt with murder, adultery, divorce, oath taking, revenge and love for enemies. Then He proceeds to mention the needy, followed by a warning not to show off when we give, pray or fast.

The Lord also shows how silly it is to have treasures on earth but none in heaven. And how we should trust our heavenly Father for the things we need and stop worrying about them. He also told us not to judge others without knowing all the facts needed for a sound judgment. And when it is difficult to live with others, then we may ask, seek and knock, and the Lord will respond. The Lord went on to warn us about avoiding the sinful ways of the world and to enter through the narrow door that leads to life. He summed it all up by saying that we must be both hearers and doers of His teaching. Then we are like a wise man who builds his house on rock and not on sand as the foolish builder does, who ignores Jesus’ words.

Now in all that beautiful and practical teaching in the sermon on the mount, we have God’s revealed will. You also find the same teaching elsewhere in the Bible. All that is what the Lord Jesus had in mind, when He taught us to pray, “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” So we know what God’s will is. It is for us to obey it and bring about that harmony between God and us.

2. The conflict between god’s will and our will

How happy and blessed we are, when we as God’s children in Christ, obey our Lord and do His will. “If you love me, then you will obey my commandments” said Jesus. We experience deep joy when we know in our hearts that we love God and His commandments, for such love is from God. For us to love and obey God must mean that God is at work in us.

But now we do not only pray, your will be done, but also “your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” How is the Lord’s will done in heaven? There can only be one answer – perfectly. The Catechism speaks of the willing and faithful obedience of the angels in heaven. But we should add that also the saints in heaven obey God perfectly. Believers are saints on earth and our obedience here is still imperfect, but the saints in heaven have been made perfect. So in heaven the angels and the redeemed are perfectly obeying God’s will. The book Revelation shows, in fact, that all in heaven are perfectly eager to obey God. There are numerous angels, the four-living creatures, the twenty-four elders, and all the saints, all their wills blend in perfectly with God’s will.

Here on earth, Christian believers are still in the process of becoming what we are already in Christ. We are made perfect in Christ from the moment we believe, but here on earth we have to continually become what we are in Christ. It’s our sanctification.

Now in our sanctification our aim must be to obey God’s will. But to what extent? How far must we go? What level are we to reach? The answer is straightforward and uncompromising – as it is done in heaven! Yes, as willingly and faithfully as all the creatures in heaven do it. And here at once we see our conflict. We can’t do it like that. In heaven God’s will and the will of His angels and the redeemed line up perfectly, but it is not like that with us on earth.

So we work at our spiritual house. We cut and chisel, we put the plane on it and sandpaper it smooth, but every time we put God’s revealed will next to it and line up the two, we continue to see that we are not perfect. The gaps and the unevenness are still there. We haven’t got it right yet.

So that’s the conflict. Yes, Lord, we love to do your will for your will alone is good, but we realise that we are not always rejecting our own will when it does not line up properly with your will. In fact, it’s worse than that! Sometimes we even talk back to you, Lord, and our backtalk is our criticisms, complaints and protests. We admit it, Lord, our obedience is not as always as willing and faithful as it is with those in heaven.

In fact, comparing us with those in heaven seems a bit unfair to us. How can God expect from us to put in a heavenly performance when we have still an imperfect nature and are still on an imperfect earth? Isn’t that a bit like expecting a child to act as a mature adult? Isn’t God expecting too much from us?

Well, God is very patient with us, gracious and forgiving. Even we who are parents want to be like that to our children. We’re always trying to help our children become mature. It’s a process that goes on for many years. We would make a big mistake with our children’s upbringing if we always condone their childish behaviour because they just happen to be kids. So also God is always wanting to help us become His mature children in Christ.

Rejecting our own sinful desires, our own will, is not easy. It is easier for us to talk back to God with our protests than to deny ourselves and submit to God’s will. Of course, life is often complicated and there are many different situations and not everything is always black and white. But in coming to terms with God’s revealed will for our lives, what do we do more? Have endless debates in trying to justify the grey areas, or are we on our knees, praying God to help us reject our own will and stop giving backtalk to God?

3. Overcoming the disharmony between God’s will and our will

As we learn to do this, we must remember that we are in the prayer section of the Catechism. We are asking God to help us. We’re not having a theological discussion and it is certainly not a time to be arguing about one thing or another. We are on our knees before God and because we are being re-made in the likeness of Christ, we have a longing to glorify God, to submit to rule of our Lord and Saviour, and to obey His good and perfect will.

We will find that we are not always so eager to be moulded into the right shape for God. But remember, we are on our knees. We pray, “Help us …” and “Help all men …”

Yes, “Help us one and all to carry out the work we are called to …” In trying to overcome the differences between God’s will and our will, it will help a great deal when all of us are seeking to obey God’s will. When only a few in the church are serious about obeying God and the remainder follow the ways of the world more, then obedience becomes more difficult still. The obedience of the few is undermined when there are others in the church who prefer to muck up at youth group meetings, not come to church regularly, neglect catechism classes, and so on. Involvement in the various aspects of God’s church and kingdom is always strongest when all the believers seek to obey God’s will. That’s also when church and kingdom are the healthiest.

Indeed, when all the believers in society seek to obey God’s will, then, even though they may still be a minority, a much more positive Christian influence will be felt by society. It’s what Jesus’ teaching about us being a salt and a light is all about. The times in history where a nation could be regarded as a Christian nation, were when Christians from all walks of life were seriously involved in having the conditions of heaven come on earth. It was like that when the Puritans in America strove hard to lay down a Christian foundation for society. Such times were there when England and Holland realised their nations would be blessed if God’s will was honoured and obeyed. The state our own society is in today is a reflection of its low view of God and His commandments. So it makes sense for Christians to pray – help me, help us, help others to do your will, O Lord.

Yes, Lord, help everyone, whatever they’re doing, digging, building, governing, teaching, driving, learning, buying, selling, TV watching, cooking, cleaning – to do it in such a way that it reflects love for you and love for the neighbour. Help us, O Lord, to not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. Forgive us, O Lord, when we are more concerned with our interests than your interests. Forgive us, when we pray more often for a blessing on our food than upon the preaching of your Word; when we pray more for a good night’s sleep, than for the work of the elders and deacons; when we pray more for a safe journey than for humility; when we pray more for money to pay the bills than for the hungry and needy; when we pray more for good family life than for the oppressed in the world; when we pray more for stable government than for the conversion of those who govern.

Lord, we confess that on the whole we are more busy with ourselves than with the obedience you require from us and others. Teach us time and again, O Lord, that it’s first of all the holiness of your name, the coming of your kingdom, and the doing of your will, and then the concerns of our well-being. Like Jesus said, seek first God’s kingdom and His righteousness and all these other needs will be looked after as well.

Obedience to God’s will, let us pray for it often.

Amen.