The Lord Jesus and the Will of God — Jason Wahls

The Messianic Psalm and Christ’s Delight in God’s Will

Psalm number 40, please, the 40th psalm and the hymn that we just were able to sing together. The ending of one of the verses was that our will would be lost in his or that my will would be lost in thine.

And Brother John began the conference the other day, yesterday, I guess yesterday morning. We were unable to be here Friday, but yesterday morning with a word on the will of God. And I'd like to read a few passages with you and consider the Lord Jesus in relation to the will of God.

And so we'll read to begin with here in Psalm number 40 and verse number 6. You would know that this is a messianic psalm that is quoted in Hebrews chapter 10, very definitely speaking, of course, of the Lord Jesus.

Psalm number 40 and verse number 6 says, is within my heart. Just notice verse 8, I delight to do thy will. Now come over to the gospel of John in chapter 4, please. This is where we'll spend perhaps the majority of our time in the gospel of John, gospel of John in chapter 4.

And verse number 31, the context is, of course, the Samaritan woman and the disciples have gone to the city to buy food and they have returned to find the Lord Jesus conversing with this woman resulting in her salvation.

And verse number 31 says, in the meanwhile, his disciples prayed him saying, Master, eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, hath any man brought him ought to eat?

Jesus saith unto them, my meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish his work. My meat or my food, my sustenance is to do the will of him that sent me and finish his work. Now in chapter 5, same gospel, John chapter 5, and again just breaking into the reading, verse number 30, and here he is speaking of the resurrections.

Verse number 30, I can of mine own self do nothing, as I hear I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which sent me. Again verse number 30, I can of my own self do nothing, as I hear I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which sent me.

Now over to chapter 6 and verse number 38. Chapter 6 and verse number 38, again the words of the Lord himself, for I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will, very plain declaration, this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all that which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.

And this is the will of him that sent me, that everyone which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life, and I will raise him up at the last day. Again verse number 38, I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent me.

Perhaps I should just take a second and thank the conveners of the conference on behalf of all that have come for hosting the conference and the privilege of being here with you and enjoying the teaching that we have already heard and the blessing it has been to be with the Lord's people.

Four Aspects of Christ’s Relationship to God’s Will

I would like to speak to you for just a few minutes about the Lord Jesus and the will of God. And so first I would like to see his desire to do the will of God. Often when we think of the will of God, we begin with perhaps discerning the will of God and trying or attempting to answer that great question, what is the will of God and what does God desire?

But here I would like to begin with the desire for the will of God, and we'll notice that in John chapter 4. And then I would like to speak to you about the Lord Jesus doing the will of God, actually doing the will of God.

So first desiring his will, then doing his will, and then thirdly I would like to notice the Lord Jesus delighting in the will of God. That's why we read in Psalm chapter 40, or Psalm number 40, that he says, I delight to do thy will, O God.

And then finally, we'll conclude with just a few minutes on discerning God's will. The Lord Jesus stated very clearly in John chapter 6, this is the Lord's will, or this is the will of God, and so discerning God's will.

Christ’s Appetite for Doing the Father’s Will

But first desiring God's will. In John chapter 4, the Lord Jesus, as you know, has traveled and he's passed through Samaria, and he has come across the woman on the well by divine plan, and he is in conversation with her, and that again results in her blessing and her salvation.

And he states those words, my meat, or my food is to do the will of him that sent me. The disciples, they had gone into the city to purchase food and that which was necessary and left him there. And when they return, they find him and they realize that obviously he is wearied from the journey, he is tired as we would know, and that he has likely not eaten in some time, and he would obviously be hungry.

And they are encouraging him, saying, Master, eat, Master, eat. You need something to sustain, to strengthen yourself. And he says, my meat, my food is to do the will of God that sent me. His food, that was what would sustain him.

I wanted to notice that he had an appetite for the Word of God, a desire for the will of God, a desire for the will of God, an appetite to do what God's will was. It has often been remarked, noted in the gospel preaching and in ministry as well, that it says at the beginning of that chapter that he must, needs, go through Samaria.

And you would know that it was not a physical requirement, that the Jews would often avoid Samaria and they would seek a different route. And we have often proclaimed and preached that it was the desire to save this soul that he was going to seek this lost sinner.

And that is, of course, most evidently true. But I'd like to suggest to you as well that in the context of him speaking of God's will, that when he says… when it says of him that he must, that it was in compliance with divine will, that he was doing the Father's will.

I don't know if you've noticed, likely you have, a number of expressions where we find that word must in relation to the Lord Jesus and His life. Let me just notice a couple of those with you, or a few of them.

Luke chapter 2 and verse 49 says, the Lord has been, as a young boy of 12 years of age, has been taken to the temple. Joseph and Mary are now returning and they realize that He is not amongst the company and they go back to Jerusalem seeking Him.

And they find Him in the temple and He says, they say unto Him and He responds and He says, How is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must, I must be about my Father's business? I must be about my Father's business.

A young boy of 12 years of age and he's desiring the will of God. I must be about my Father's business. It was probably exactly one week ago today that after a meeting, a young boy of 12 years of age came up to me and he said, I'd like to talk to you.

I said, okay. And he said, now that I'm almost an adult, he had my attention when he said that, now that I'm almost an adult, I've been thinking about what the will of God is for my life. So this message is just not for those that are in their 20s or in their 30s, 40s or 50s or even older.

It is for all that have come to know the Savior that are saved, even from a young age. We might be desiring to know the will of God. What is God's will? And again, just let me quickly run through some of these.

Luke chapter 4 and verse 43, the Lord Jesus says, I must preach the kingdom of God, for therefore am I sent. Again, the Father's will. John 4 and 4 here, he must knees go through Samaria. John 9 and verse number 4, I must work the works of Him that sent me.

And you would know that He would speak of His death on occasion, speaking that the Son of Man must be lifted up, that it was necessary for the Son of Man to be betrayed and to be crucified and to rise again.

So again and again throughout the life of the Lord Jesus, we see Him desiring the will of God, and we see that emphasized in this expression or this word, must. But not only that, in John chapter 5, we read that the Lord Jesus says, I seek the will of Him that sent me.

And just let me read that exactly, says, I can of my own self do nothing, because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which sent me. That word seek is the same word that is used to say, seek ye first the kingdom of heaven.

It is that word that is used in Colossians to seek those things which are above, to be actively looking for, to be seeking. Perhaps it is that word that has led one individual to say that the will of God is not so much trying to avoid sin.

Now, let me clarify that that is obviously part of the will of God, but he says, but actively seeking the will of God. And so the question that I would pose to each one of us is, are we desiring the will of God?

Do we really want the will of God? I would think so. I would hope so if we are believers, that that would be our desire. What is God's will? And are we actively seeking it? Yes. Now, let me just quickly give you a few reasons why a believer should desire the will of God, why we as believers should really desire or want the will of God done in our lives or to know what the will of God is for us.

God’s Will Is Good, Pleasing, and Perfect

I think the first reason is rather obvious. It's God's will. It's God's will. His will should take precedence in our life. It should be the primary will in our life. But with that said, let me just quickly turn to Romans chapter 12, if you have your Bible handy.

But let me turn to Romans chapter 12 and read verses number 1 and 2, specifically verse number 2 is the one of interest to us. But Romans chapter 12 and verse number 1 says, Notice the three expressions or words used to describe the will of God, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

And first of all, we should desire God's will because God's will is good. Now, let me just add to that that one has said that God's will is always good, but it may be hard, but it is always good. To illustrate that, consider the life of Joseph.

He was hated by his brethren. They were planning to murder him. They ended up selling him as a slave. He was sold again in Egypt. He was put into a position of temptation, which he resisted. He was falsely accused and thrown into prison and probably a great deal of other things that are not even related to us in the Scriptures.

And at the end of it all, we don't know exactly what his thoughts were during that time period, during that testing, but when it comes to the conclusion of that, and he is speaking to his brothers, you would recall that he says, You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.

You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. The will of God for Joseph most definitely included suffering, something that we will try to mention a little further on, but God's will was good, was it not?

So first of all, God's will is good. Secondly, Romans chapter 12 tells me that God's will is acceptable. Now, perhaps our English language has changed a bit over time because we would think of the word acceptable as just being mediocre or okay.

The ladies have, the sisters have done a wonderful job with the meals and all the preparations, and if they asked me, Did you enjoy the food? And I said, Yeah, it was acceptable. That would probably not be taken as a compliment.

It was excellent. It was very good. Thank you. But the word acceptable really means well-pleasing, very pleasing, something that is very pleasing to an individual. And so the will of God is well-pleasing, number one, to God, is that which pleases God.

You remember Paul in, to the Corinthians, he speaks of trying to do that which pleases God. Whether we live or we die, we do all to please God. The will of God, does it not make sense that God's will being perfect would be that which is pleasing to Him?

And so if it is pleasing to Him, if God's will is pleasing to Him, it therefore should be pleasing to me. His will should be pleasing to me, in the sense that since I am doing His will and it pleases Him, it should therefore please me.

So God's will is perfect. God's will is acceptable. And finally, God's will is perfect. That's what Romans chapter 12 and verse number 2 tells us. It is perfect. His will is perfect. It is complete. It is not defective or does not have anything missing.

It is a complete plan. I was wondering if you and I as young believers, perhaps in our teens or even younger, if we were to sit down and to draw out or write out our will, our plan for our life, and then if we somehow had the ability to see the plan of God, God's will, all written out, which will would be perfect?

Ours would be full of defects and deficiencies and would be horrible compared to God's will. So, if we are not desiring God's will, let Romans chapter 12 and verse number 2 speak to us. His will is good.

His will is well-pleasing. And His will is perfect. That brings us to our second point, and that is doing God's will. You see, it could be one thing to desire God's will, to say, you know what? I really want to know what God's will is for my life.

I have that desire. And there would be even the possibility that we could know that there are certain things that are God's will, but yet we are unwilling to do them. One author has said, our difficulty is not that we do not know God's will.

Our discomfort comes from the fact that we do know His will, but we do not want to do it. I don't know if that is entirely true, but it is possible that there are times and there are things that we would know that God would have us to do that that is His will, and for some reason we are just stubborn and do not want to do the will of God.

It was David in Psalm 143 and verse number 10 that he prayed this prayer, and he said to God, teach me to do Thy will. Teach me to do Thy will. He did not say, teach me to understand or teach me to know Thy will.

He said, teach me to do it. And so, for just a minute, I would like to look at the Lord Jesus and Him doing the will of God. First of all, I think it's obvious, but I will state it, that the Lord Jesus always did the will of God.

He actually did it. He not only desired, He not only said, it is my longing, it is the meat of my life. It is that which takes precedence over everything else. He actually did the will of God. You would think of, for example, His words.

The words which He spoke, the teachings which He gave that were the will of God. He would mention that, that the words that He had received from His Father. You would think of His works, His miracles, and His actions, and His healings, and everything that He did, and it was the will of God.

You would think of His walk, and His witness, and His life, and all was the will of God. But if you have your Bible there handy, come back to John chapter 6 and verse 38 very quickly. There are three phrases in this verse, and I just want to divide the verse according to these three phrases.

Receiving the Father’s Will

And notice three things that I have labeled as requirements to doing the will of God. First, He says, for I came down from heaven. Now, I've already alluded to this, but over this particular phrase, I have put the words or the title, receptiveness to the will of God, or a willingness, a disposition to do the will of God.

Receptive. I came down from heaven. We think of the Lord Jesus in pre-incarnate glory, seated upon the throne, as we were thinking in Isaiah, the center of angel worship. And He leaves that place. He's willing to humble Himself, to take upon humanity, and to be a servant, His receptiveness to the Father's will.

You see, it would be possible for me to say that I desire the will of God, and then when it is revealed or instructed or I am taught what the will of God is, I might consider the cost and say, ah, I don't think so.

Are we receptive to the will of God? Secondly, John chapter 6, verse 38, again, He says, I came down from heaven not to do my own will. Not to do my own will. I hope we understand that the Lord Jesus did have His own will.

He speaks of it. I think it would be incorrect to say that He did not have His own will. He had His own will. He says so right here, to do my own will. The thing is that the Lord Jesus had completely renounced His will, and that would be the second title I would put over this, to doing the will of God.

It would be the necessity of renouncing my will. Not my will, but thine be done. I don't know about you, dear believer, but I have said it before, and perhaps I'm wrong, but I've said that the most difficult part of Christian living is dying to self.

And if you've mastered it, you can give me the key afterwards. But the Lord, when He's speaking of disciples, if any man would come after me, let him deny himself. Denying self. See, the Lord Jesus says, my will, I didn't come to do my will.

I came to do the Father's will. Are we able to take our will? We are desiring to know the will of God, and now it comes time to do it. Am I willing to take my will and to set it aside so that I might do His will?

You know, in John chapter 5 and verse number 30, notice how that verse begins. He says, I can of my own self do nothing. Now, that phrase does not mean that the Lord Jesus had no power to do anything.

What that phrase means is that He was unable to act independently from the Father. Not by obligation, but by submission. He was unable to deviate from the Father's will. I can do nothing by my own self.

So integrated was the will of the Lord Jesus with the will of the Father that He was unable to act outside the will of God. He had completely abandoned, if I can say it in that manner, His own will so that He would assimilate or He would appropriate the will of God.

And that would lead us to point number three in John 6 and 38. I came down from heaven not to do my own will, but the will of Him that sent me. Over this particular one, I've written a recognition of whose will it is I am to do.

Him that sent me. He speaks of His Father's will, of God's will, receptive to His will, renouncing my own will, and receiving or recognizing the will of Him. So the question is then again, are we desiring God's will, searching for God's will, seeking it?

Once we have discovered God's will, discerned it as we'll mention in a few minutes, are we willing to do God's will? That brings me to the third point, and that is delighting in God's will. That is why we read again in Psalm number 40, and the words, he says, I delight to do Thy will, O God.

Joy Through Doing God’s Will

Delighting in the will of God. Brother Flanagan, Jim Flanagan, in what the Bible teaches commentary on Psalm, on the book of Psalms in that particular chapter says, it was his joy to do the will of God.

In other words, this verse is saying, when he says, I delight to do Thy will, O God, he is saying, doing Thy will is what gives me joy, it is what gives me pleasure. Now again, you would have to take the time to consider the entire life of the Lord Jesus, which we're not going to do right now, evidently.

But from birth, to the crucifixion, to the burial, resurrection, and ascension, considering, taking into consideration His entire life in every aspect, and he says, doing all that, if you just let me sum it up in that way, doing all that is what gives me joy.

I've run this thought through my head quite a few times, I'm going to say it, and I do want to consider it a bit more. But you, and you correct me again if I'm mistaken, but it would seem to me, we live in a world where everybody is looking for satisfaction, looking for joy, looking for contentment, if you will.

So, if I am understanding this correctly, I think that we can say that all true joy for the believer only comes from doing the will of God, true joy from doing the will of God. And again, that is not disregarding the fact that God's will at times includes suffering, that God's will at times is difficult for an individual, but that true joy only comes from God's will.

So do we delight in God's will? Do we find joy and satisfaction? I think if we really look at our lives and examine our lives, we would have to say that at the times when we knew exactly that we were doing God's will, I'm not saying that there are to be certain moments scattered here and there, that's not what I'm saying at all, but I'm saying when we can look back and we can say, you know what, that was a hard decision, that was difficult to do, but I am 100 certain that that is the will of God, that we will find that there was great joy in doing that.

Why? Because we knew we were doing God's will. We were doing what was pleasing to Him. So the Lord Jesus is desiring God's will, He did, was doing God's will, delighting in God's will, but perhaps we'll come here in just a second to discerning God's will.

Discerning God’s Will Through Scripture and Prayer

Discerning God's will. How did the Lord Jesus know the will of God? Well, of course, you would probably say that He is the Son of God, He is omniscient as we were considering, and I will give you that point and concede that to you.

But I think there's a couple of other principles that we can learn from the life of the Lord Jesus regards to discerning the will of God. Number one, did the Lord Jesus often speak of what the Father had spoken to Him?

He did, did He not? He would refer to that and He would speak of how the words that He had received from His Father, that He had heard from His Father, He was conveying them, He was…. The point I am trying to emphasize here is something that Brother John mentioned yesterday already and that is the Word of God, that God has revealed the vast majority of His will right here in the Bible.

I certainly wouldn't criticize social media because I use social media, it does have its negatives and positives as many things do. But dear younger one, if you are searching for the will of God, you're likely not to find it in Facebook or Snapchat or Instagram, unless somebody is posting verses from the Bible.

I use those, some of those things. Where would you find, where would you go if you really wanted to know what is the will of God? Well, this is the place you should go. In fact, someone has said that if we are ignorant, in the sense of unknowing, ignorance of the Word of God will lead to ignorance of the will of God.

In other words, if I don't know the Word of God, I won't know the will of God. So let me just very quickly run through some scriptures with you, where it very clearly says this is the will of God. If it says this is the will of God, we really can't have any doubts regarding the matter.

So I'll just mention the verses. If you want to jot them down or look them up, that is up to you. First of all, the will of God is salvation. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

First Timothy chapter 2 and verses 4 and 5 relate that who will have all men to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth. So the very first thing is that God is willing. That is His will. And again, I should have apologized before even beginning this message on the will of God and let you know that it's not a comprehensive message that is going to answer every question the will of God and the revealed will of God and the permissive will of God.

We're just trying to follow the Lord Jesus and His relation to the will of God. Number one, the will of God is salvation. Number two, the will of God is our sanctification. First Thessalonians 4 and verse 3 says, for this is the will of God, even your sanctification that ye should abstain from fornication.

So God's will is purity. God's will is sanctification. Sanctification for those that are a little bit younger means to be set apart. Set apart from sin and set apart to God. Sanctified. So you begin to think about your life and I begin to think about my life and I can say with 100 certainty that God's will is our sanctification.

Nothing ambiguous or obscure. It is a certainty. Number two, while we're in First Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 18 says, in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

In everything give thanks for this is the will of God. He desires that we would be a thankful people. That we would be satisfied in that sense of thankfulness and expressing our thanksgiving to Him. That is His will.

Again, very clearly stated that we should be thankful. I'm not going to repeat the question every time but we can ask ourselves how we are doing in this. How we are practicing. Are we doing the will of God?

So saved, sanctified, satisfied or thankful if you will. Then in First Peter chapter 2 and verse number 15 he says, and I'll relate the context in just a minute. He says, that our submission and well-doing silence wicked men.

Oh, sorry. So this is the will of God that with well-doing you may put to silence the ignorant of foolish men. In the context he is speaking of submitting, being submissive to authorities and to rulers.

That is His clearly stated will. First Peter chapter 4 and verse number 19 says, wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing as unto a faithful creator.

There are occasions in a believer's life where the will of God is suffering. Or that God will allow suffering and that that is His will. And we've already mentioned Joseph and others could be mentioned as well.

You could think of Job. But the will of God, so that we don't have the misconception that the will of God is all blessing and all roses and everything is perfect, we can understand that it can include suffering.

Finally, to conclude this particular part, James chapter 4 and verse 15 says, for that ye ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that. You would recall in James that individuals are making their plans and they're saying we're going to go into a certain city, that was where, we're going to be there a year, that's the time length that they were planning to be there, we're going to buy and sell, that was their activities that were there, and they said we're going to get gain.

That was the results that they had planned. So they had devised this plan. We're going to go to the city. We're going to be there a year. We're going to buy and sell. We're going to negotiate. We're going to trade and we're going to be profitable.

And James says, you probably should subject your plans to the will of God and say, if the Lord wills. The point here is that our plans need to be subject to the will of God, the will of God. So those are only one, two, three, four, five, six very clearly statements about the will of God, but you would know that as you read through the Bible, there would be many more statements that while they wouldn't use the exact word will of God, they would say things like be not unequally yoked with unbelievers and he who stole, steal no more, a massive amount of instruction on what God desires and what is his will.

So if an individual is trying to discern the will of God, if we are desiring his will, we are ready to, prepared to do his will, then we'll be searching in this book. Number one. Number two, what about prayer?

What about prayer? I think it was Brother Frank that mentioned, I know it was Brother Frank that mentioned yesterday about Israel not consulting with God. Did the Lord Jesus ever pray about the will of God, even though he knew the will of God?

If I'm not mistaken, approximately 30 times in the Gospels, the Lord Jesus is found praying. But did he ever pray about the will of God? But of course, it was already mentioned this morning at least twice in the breaking of bread that he said, he was praying in the garden.

He was prostrated on the ground. He said, not my will but thine be done, praying regarding the will of God. John tells us, 1 John 5 and 14, and this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us.

So there is prayer involved in the will of God. Let me just quote J .I. Packer regarding prayer. He says in his book, he says, more clearly than anywhere, the purpose of prayer becomes plain, not to make God do my will.

That might be the misconception that we have when we're praying, that it is to convince God that this should be his will, that it's really my will, and I want to convince him. He says, more clearly than anywhere, the purpose of prayer becomes plain, not to make God do my will, but to bring my will into line with his.

To bring my will into line with his. Have you ever experienced that in your life? You're praying about a certain thing, and you're praying perhaps about your will, what you desire, what you want, but you realize after a period of time that God is not answering.

Now, that is not to say that he's not just delaying the answer, but you're praying and begin to notice that as you continue to pray, your prayer begins to be modified and change. God is working. He is working in you to change your will, to change my will, and so there is prayer.

Surrender and the Renewal of the Mind

Now, to finish, come quickly again to Romans chapter 12, again, please. Romans chapter 12. So we have the Word of God, we have prayer, and again, I should emphasize that the majority is found in the Word of God, the vast majority.

There have been some that say if you just practice what is there, you'll never be without outside the will of God. But let me come to Romans chapter 12. I find this passage interesting. Again, verse 1, I beseech you, brethren, therefore, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Look at that last, second to the last expression, that ye may prove.

You may prove. On one other occasion in the New Testament, the word prove is translated in the King James version, discern. And that is when the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of Luke speaks of those that can look to the sky and the cloud is coming.