Down through the ages - from the days of Adam and
Eve - civilisation has been dominated by the doctrine: Do As Thou Wilt! - or otherwise known as, Do As You Want or Do As You Like! Haven't we heard
people say so often: "I want to because I want to!"? Self-will, ego, selfishness,
lust, inordinate ambition, self-seeking, and the Greed is Good doctrine
dominate most of what makes this world what it currently is.
The early 20th century English magus, Aleister Crowley,
claimed in 1904 that a New Age had begun which would destroy civilisation
as we know it. "All its values have to be destroyed and obliterated", says the autobiographer, John Symonds (The Great Beast, [Mayflower,
1973; 9-10]). Crowley, who spoke to a demon named Aiwass (Satan, p.84),
saw his main task as bringing Oriental Wisdom and a purer paganism to the
Western world. He gave himself the title of The Great Beast, which
in Greek gematria gives the number 666 (Rev 13:18 says the number is the
number of a man). He obviously was not the Beast, but was an anti-Christ
(1Jn 2:22; 2Jn 7).
Frank Sinatra's song, "I Did It My
Way!", and songs with similar messages since, illustrate to us - quite graphically
- that the normal way of the human being is antagonistic, disinterested,
and very resistant to the Word and will of God! Are we not supposed to
live by every Word of God? In choosing to speak on the subject,
"the Will of God", I am contravening basic Scriptures such as Rom 8:7:
From the very beginning, until His dying words, He
did the will of God! In looking at Scriptures that verify this we'll see
what the will of God is!
Jn 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them
[a large crowd which included Pharisees near Tiberias], "This is the
work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."
Jn 6:38-40,45 For I have come down from
heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This
is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should
lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is
the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes
in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day. Jn 7:16-19 Jesus answered them and said,
My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 If anyone wants to
do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from
God or whether I speak on My own authority. 18 He who speaks from himself
seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him
is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. 19 Did not Moses give you the
law, yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill Me? Jn 10:13-16 The hireling [minister,
shepherd] flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the
sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by
My own. 15 As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay
down My life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have which are not of
this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there
will be one flock and one shepherd.
Jn 12:49-50 For I have not spoken on My
own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should
say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that His command is everlasting
life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I
speak.
Mat 6:9-10 This is how you should pray:
Our Father who is in heaven. May Your Name be hallowed and always revered.
May Your Kingdom come. May Your Will be done - on earth just as
it is in Heaven.
Mat 7:21 Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord,
Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My
Father who is in heaven.
Mat 12:50 For whoever does the will of
My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother. The
finest relationships are based on living by the finest principles love
of God and neighbour (Matt 22:36-40; 7:12; Lk 6:31; Gal 5:14).
Mat 26:42 Jesus [in the Garden of Gethsemane]
went away again and prayed, saying, My Father, if this cannot pass away
unless I drink it, Your will be done. MOSES
Dt 30:19-20 I call heaven and earth as
witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death,
blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, so that both you and
your descendants may live; 20 that you may love the LORD your God, that
you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life
and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the
LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.
Dt 32:3-4,29,43-47 For I proclaim the name
of the LORD: ascribe greatness to our God. 4 He is the Rock, His work
is perfect; all His ways are justice, a God of truth and without injustice;
righteous and upright is He.
DAVID
Psa 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my
heart; test me, [so that what You know about my anxieties, I may] know
[about] my anxieties.
Psa 143:5-12 I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands. 6 I spread
out my hands to You; my soul longs for You like a thirsty land. Selah.
7 Answer me speedily, O LORD; my spirit fails! Don't hide Your face from
me, otherwise I'll be like those who go down into the pit[s]. 8 Cause
me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, because I do trust You.
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, because every fibre of
my being lifts up to You. 9 Deliver me, my LORD, from my enemies. I take
shelter in You. 10 Teach me to do Your will, because You are my God. Your
Spirit is good. Lead me in the land in righteousness. 11 Revive me, O
LORD, for Your name's sake! For Your righteousness' sake bring my soul
out of trouble. 12 In Your mercy cut off my enemies. Destroy all those
who afflict my soul. I am Your servant. ISAIAH
JEREMIAH
Jer 17:5,7,9-10 Thus says the LORD: "Cursed
is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart
departs from the LORD. THE WILL OF GOD IN PAUL
Rm 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 Do not be
conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will
of God.
Col 1:1-4,9-13 Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and
faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 We give thanks to the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since
we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints;
It is the will of God that each of us (called,
chosen and faithful [Rev 17:14]), and all others called and to be called,
should live by every Word of God (Dt 8:3; Mt 4:4; Lk 4:4)
Peter urges us to follow His steps
(1Pet 2:21). John urges us to just walk as He walked (1Jn
2:6). Does doing this bring the joy, rewards, inner assurances, innumerable
blessings, peace, love, and amazing growth each of us might expect? Or
is it just a nice game one plays if one is politely deceived enough to
play - as and when one chooses - religion my way - as Frank
Sinatra's monastic brother, Ernest, might say?
This is an example of how each of us should feel,
think, and respond to true religion:
Rom 8:7 the carnal mind is enmity
against God; is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.
(Is
our definition of resistance to God His definition? Can someone resist
aspects of the truth, be unwilling to examine aspects of the truth, be
reluctant to personally confront the denial of some part of God's truth
- and yet claim to be doing God's will? Self-delusion makes it quite
easy. But who admits to self-delusion?)
1Jn 2:16 "all that is in the
world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life;
is not of the Father but is of the world." (How reminiscent of the
event in Eden with Adam and Eve.)
But Jesus Christ, the Word of God, shows us the true
Way:
Jn 3:19-21 This is the condemnation of
the world: Light has come into the world!
Indeed? Where
is that Light? How much honesty is there in the global corporations, in
geo-politics, in religions? Who will admit, that has the power, and with
resultant good deeds will overcome the growing chasm between the rich and
the poor? The rich nations that met at Rio for the 1992 Earth Summit promised
to contribute .7% of their GNP to the poor nations in various forms of
foreign aid. In 1995 the percentage given had dropped to .27% and there
are no indications of improvement as the June 1997 Earth Summit, representing
173 nations, in NY, was informed.
But "men love darkness rather than
light, because their deeds are evil" (and mostly hidden.) 20 Every one
who practises evil mostly out of sight hates the light and does not come
to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does
the truth comes to the light, so that his deeds may be clearly seen,
that they have been done in God
THE WILL OF GOD IN CHRIST
Lets consider Christ's teaching and example:
Mat 3:13-15 Jesus came from Galilee to
John at the Jordan, to be baptised by him. 14 John would have prevented
him when he said, "I need to be baptised by you, and you come to me?" 15
But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in
this way to fulfill all righteousness." John consented.
Whose righteousness was Jesus Christ fulfilling at
this baptism?
What the will of God is for each of us we'll see in
due course.
Jn 1:11-13 He came to His own, and His
own did not receive Him. (Familiarity breeds contempt!) 12 But as many fully
accepted Him, to them he gave the right and honour to become children of
God - those who believe in His name 13 who were born, not of blood, nor
of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
In John 2 we read of the miracle at the wedding in
Cana, where, on the request of His mother, Jesus Christ, an adult, did
what His mother asked:
Jn 4:34 Jesus said to [His disciples],
My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His
work
Isn't it amazing that so often that the supposed teachers
and leaders who speak of the Law do not do the Law and knew it in their
hearts but their hearts are rotting!
45 It is written in the prophets, ' They shall all be taught by God' [Isa
54:13]. Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes
to Me.
Jn 8:29,42-47 And He who sent Me is with
Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that
please Him.
THE WILL OF GOD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT SAINTS
42 Jesus said to them, If God were your Father, you would
love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself,
but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are
not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and
the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning,
and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When
he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and
the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe
Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do
you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God's words [and does Gods
words!]; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.
Dt 29:29 The secret things belong to the
LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our
children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
JOSHUA
29 Oh, that they were wise, that they understood
this, that they would consider their latter end!
43 Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people [This
could be translated as (cf. NRSV, NEB, NJB): Rejoice, O heavens and
His people; and all you gods, worship Him!]; for He will avenge the blood
of His servants, render vengeance to His adversaries; He will provide atonement
for His land and His people. 44 Moses came with Joshua the son of Nun
and spoke all the words of this song in the hearing of the people. 45
This is what Moses said to all Israel: 46 Set your hearts on all the words
which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children
to be careful to observe; all the words of this law. 47 For it is not a futile thing for you, because
it is your life, and by this word you shall prolong your days in the land
which you cross over the Jordan to possess.Josh 1:16-18 So they answered Joshua: All
that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us we will
go. 17 Just as we heeded Moses in all things, so we will heed you. Only
the LORD your God be with you, as He was with Moses. 18 Whoever rebels
against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command
him, shall be put to death. Be strong and of good courage
These were words the nation gave back to Joshua!
Psa 40:8-17 I delight to do Your will,
O my God, and Your law is within my heart. 9 I have proclaimed the good news of righteousness
in the great assembly. Indeed, I do not restrain my lips, O LORD, You know.
10 I have not hidden Your righteousness within my heart; but I have declared
Your faithfulness and Your salvation; and I have not concealed Your lovingkindness
and Your truth From the great assembly. 11 Do not withhold Your tender
mercies from me, O LORD. Let Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually
preserve me. 12 For innumerable evils have surrounded me; my iniquities
have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than
the hairs of my head; therefore my heart fails me. 13 Be pleased, O LORD,
to deliver me. O LORD, make haste to help me! 14 Let them be ashamed and
brought to mutual confusion who seek to destroy my life; let them be driven
backward and brought to dishonour who wish me evil. 15 Let them be confounded
because of their shame, who say to me, "Aha, aha!" 16 Let all those
who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let those who love Your salvation
say continually, "May the LORD be exalted!" 17 Though I am poor and needy,
the LORD considers me. You are my help and my deliverer; Do not delay,
O my God.
Pleading for help; hungering and thirsting after
righteousness; begging for God's help are all according to God's Word.
Isa 6:8-13 I heard the voice of the Lord,
saying: "Whom shall I send. Who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am
I! Send me." 9 And He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on hearing,
but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.' 10 "Make
the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes
lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their
heart, return (in real repentance) and are healed." 11 Then I said,
"Lord, how long?" He answered: "Until the cities are laid waste and without
inhabitant, the houses are empty of men, and the land is utterly desolate,
12 the LORD has removed men far away, and the forsaken places are many.
13 But a tenth will be in it (cp. Ezk 5). These will return
and be for consuming, like a terebinth tree or an oak, whose stump remains
when it is cut down. So the holy seed shall be its stump (Isa 11:1,10;
53:2; Zech 6:12; Rev 22:16)."
Jer 1:4-8,19 The word of the LORD came
to me, saying: 5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you
were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations." 6
Then Jeremiah replied: "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I cannot speak, for I am
a youth." 7 But the LORD said to me: "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' for
you shall go to all to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you
will speak 8 Do not be afraid of their faces, because I am with you to
deliver you," says the LORD.
MALACHI
19 They will fight against you, but they shall
not prevail against you. For I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD
(I will never leave you, nor forsake you! [Heb 13:5; Dt 31:6,8; Josh 1:5;
Gn 28:15]).
7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and
whose hope is the LORD.
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked; who can know it? 10 I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind ("kilyah":kidneys) to give every man according to
his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.Mal 2:7-9,17 The lips of a priest should
keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth; for he is
a messenger of the LORD of hosts. 8 But you have departed from the way;
you [priests] have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted
the covenant of Levi," says the LORD of hosts [And so, in consequence,
the dire prophecies of Jer 23, Ezk 34 continue to prosper - nothing will
stop their fulfilment - the scattering will get much worse!]. 9 "Therefore
I have made you contemptible and base before all the people, because you
have not kept My ways but have shown partiality in the law."
This hidden contempt for the sheep and deceitful
inequity in applying the laws of God are prime causes for the ongoing disaster.
Men placed in key leadership positions have betrayed the blessings given
them!
17 You have wearied the LORD with your words;
Yet you say [in private; behind closed doors; in the hidden recesses
of the mind] "In what way have we wearied Him?" In that you say, "Everyone
who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and He delights in them,"
Or, "Where is the God of justice?"
Eph 1:1-12 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus
by the will of God ["thelema", the most common word used for will],
to the saints who are at Ephesus, and who are faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed
us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just
as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and blameless before Him. 5 In love He predestined us to adoption
as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention
["eudokia": think well of; be well pleased with] of His will ["thelema"],
6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on
us in the Beloved. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace,
8 which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He
made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention
which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration suitable
to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ,
[Amplified: He planned for the maturity of the times and the climax
of the ages to unify all things and head them up and consummate them in
Christ] things in the heavens and things upon the earth. 11 In Him
also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according
to His purpose who works all things after the counsel ["boulema"]
of His will, 12 to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ
should be to the praise of His glory.
Acts 20:27-30 [Paul to ministers at Miletus,
near Ephesus] I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel
(boulema: design, purpose, will, intention [The Greek NT and
Dictionary, UBS, 3rd ed) of God. 28 Therefore take heed to yourselves
and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers,
to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. 29
For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among
you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise
up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.
PETER
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard
it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with
the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10
that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful
in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His
glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving
thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in the light. 13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness
and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love1 Pet 1:1-9 Peter, an apostle of Jesus
Christ, to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia,
Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the
Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of
the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. 3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to
His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled
and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept
by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in
the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a
little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that
the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that
perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honour,
and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you
love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with
joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith;
the salvation of your souls.
CONCLUSION
Note the example of Ruth, when she said to her mother-in-law:
Ruth 1:16-19a Don't entreat me to leave you,
or ask me to turn away from following you. Wherever you go, I will go;
and wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and
your God, my God. 17 Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried.
May the LORD do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you
and me. 18 When Naomi saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she
stopped speaking to her [in that manner]. 19 Now the two of them
continued until they came to Bethlehem [the house of Bread].
Did not Esther [c. 473 B.C.] do the will of
God in all that she did - and so saved the Jewish people scattered in
an empire of 127 provinces and many ethnic groups?
Ps 119:97-104
May the love, joy, grace, peace, and power of God
be with us all as we live by His Will!
Oh, how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day.
98 You, through Your commandments, make me wiser
than my enemies;
and they are ever about me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers,
because Your testimonies are my daily meditation.
100 I understand more than the wise ancients,
because I keep Your precepts.
101 I avoid walking in every evil way,
and I strive with all my might to keep Your every
word.
102 I have not departed from Your judgments,
for You, my LORD, have taught me.
103 How sweet are Your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through Your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.