Biblical Prayer: Thy Will be Done Pt.1 Active Obedience

Okay, biblical prayer. This is part eight in our series on biblical prayer, and title of this one is

Thy Will Be Done. Just a very quick review.

We've examined the purpose of prayer. We've looked at false teaching. We've examined what prayer should not be.

And now what we're in the beginning stages of examining the model prayer that we find in Matthew 6 verses 5 to 13.

That's the Sermon on the Mount and commonly called the Lord's Prayer. I personally like to call it the model prayer because it's the prayer that he put forth to show the disciples how they should pray.

So in this text, Jesus gives us an inspired pattern for prayer, and we've examined the preface in verse 9.

Pray then in this way. That's what sets up the idea that this is in fact a model prayer.

Then we've examined the first petition, hallowed be thy name. And last week we examined the second petition, thy kingdom come.

Which brings us tonight to the third petition, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Okay, now some obvious questions are raised by this petition. Firstly, what is meant by the will of God?

Because how you interpret the will of God, especially in this prayer, is extremely important as to how you should be praying.

What does it mean to pray then for the will of God being done? Again, if we're going to be doing something, we're commanded by Jesus to do something, it's good that we understand what he means.

What does it mean when we pray that it should be done on earth as it is in heaven?

That's a modifying clause to the thy will be done.

So the first thing we're going to do is answer the question, what is the will of God? And so we need to understand that in scripture the will of God is used in two primary but different ways.

It's used to refer to God's decretive will, which is sometimes called his secret will, and that's just two ways of describing the same thing.

It's also used to refer to God's prescriptive will or perceptive will, also called his revealed will.

So you can see that just using the generic term secret will and revealed will, two different things.

And these are not arbitrary distinctions either, because we see it right in Deuteronomy 29, 29.

The secret things belong to the Lord, our God.

But the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.

So you can see that dividing the will of God up in this way is biblical, it's not just something that we have imposed upon scripture.

And that's something that's very important whenever we are engaging in hermeneutics, is that we don't come in with arbitrary and sometimes even capricious designations or divisions for the word of God.

But here you can see it comes right from Deuteronomy 29, 29, as well as other parts of scripture as well.

So let's examine his decretive will first, or his secret will. This is, we talk about God's decrees, that's where the word decretive comes from.

And God decrees, that's really wrong.

It's really God's decree, singular. But it becomes very difficult to separate it, so pardon me if it's not technically correct.

I do know the difference. But God's decrees can never be altered or halted by anyone.

So when God decrees something, which is all part of the one main decree, okay, when

God decrees something, it's set, it's set in stone, can't be altered or stopped by anyone.

Paul addresses this in Romans 9, 19, you will say to me then, why does he still find fault?

For who resists his will? His decretive will cannot be resisted.

His decretive will was manifested in creation. Genesis 1, 1, let there be light.

When God spoke those words, let there be light, the light had no choice but to come into being.

It had no other choice. It had to happen because God had decreed it.

His decretive will is also manifested in his providence. Daniel 4, 35, this, you should be familiar with this.

We just looked at it last week. And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, but he does according to his willing, his willing the hosts of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth.

And no one can ward off his hand or say to him, what has thou done? As God puts forth his will, the things that he has decreed to come to pass, nobody can, nobody can stop him and nobody can, nobody can even really say, well, how come you've done this?

I mean, you can say it, but you're not going to get an answer. His decretive will is also manifested in his grace.

Romans 9, 15, this, you all, I'm sure you're all are familiar with this verse.

I will have mercy on whom I have mercy and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion, decreed by God.

And then in this chapter, in John chapter six, verses 37 to 40, we see it again so clearly.

Just watch as we go through verse by verse. All that the father gives me shall come to me and the one who comes to me,

I will certainly not cast out. For I've come down from heaven not to do my own will, this is the decretive will, all right, but the will of him who sent me.

And this is the will of him who sent me, that of all that he has given me, I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.

For this is the will of my father, that everyone who beholds the son and believes in him may have eternal life.

And I myself will raise him up on the last day. There you can see God's decree, okay?

Next we'll look at the revealed will of God, also called his preceptive will.

Why? Because it's given to us in the Scriptures as precepts. This will is revealed in his word and we're commanded to obey this revealed will.

That's in the form of the Ten Commandments and all the other commandments and fiats in the

Scripture. First Thessalonians 4 .3 is an example. For this is the will of God, your sanctification.

In fact, if you're ever doing any counseling, that's the verse you want to have in your back pocket, okay?

Because frequently we give people, all I want to do is the will of God, and I want to know what the will of God is.

That's great, I got it for you right here. For this is the will of God, your sanctification.

Start there. You want to know what the will of God is? Start with your sanctification, and the rest falls into place.

Revealed will of God is seen also in Romans 12 .2. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

And then we can see here, the wording isn't used but the concept is there, thy word have

I hid in my heart that I might not sin against thee. That's all talking about the revealed will.

So, what then does thy will be done mean? Well, first and foremost, if we're talking about thy will be done, it means that this is a prayer of obedience.

You can't have God's will being done without obedience. So first, it's a prayer for active obedience, that is, active, it is a prayer that people,

God's people would be brought into conformance with the revealed will of God. That's what we mean by active obedience, you have to do something.

Second, it's a prayer for passive obedience, and what do we mean by passive obedience?

That's the question for tonight is active obedience, next week will be passive obedience.

You'll have to just hang on to that, put that one in your other back pocket. So we're talking about what does thy will be done mean in terms of the revealed will of God?

Firstly, it means that the knowledge of God's will is not enough. Merely doing it doesn't mean that you're accomplishing the will of God.

In fact, Thomas Watson said, knowledge alone is like a winter sun which has no heat or influence.

It does not warm the affections or purify the conscience. Judas was a great luminary, he knew

God's will, but he was a traitor. So merely knowing the will of God, you may come across people who are extremely knowledgeable in the scriptures and can quote chapter and verse, but they may not have any part in accomplishing the will of God here on this earth.

James 1 .22, but prove yourself doers of the word, that's active obedience, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

So the petition means that we are to be doers of God's will, that's why it's called active obedience.

That's all that thou shalt, thou shalt not. So how then do we become actively obedient?

Well, first by knowing the will. You can't be actively obedient if you don't know it. So Psalm 119, verse 27, make me understand the way of thy precepts so I will meditate on thy wonders.

And Psalm 119, verse 33, teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes and I shall observe it to the end.

You're going to notice if you're ever doing a study on obeying the word of God or understanding the word of God, Psalm 119, you can't seriously do a study on the word of God without getting into Psalm 119.

Second, not just the knowledge, but by praying for spiritual inclination to obey.

You say, what does that mean? You may know what the word of God is, but you may not want to do it.

I see a lot of heads going. Yeah, we've all been there, all right? So you pray for the spiritual inclination,

I shall run, Psalm 119, verse 32, I shall run the way of thy commandments for thou wilt enlarge my heart, which means

God is going to work on your heart and even give you that spiritual inclination to obey.

Psalm 119, verse 36, incline my heart to thy testimonies and not to dishonest gain.

So part of obedience is praying that God would actually give you the desire to obey.

Third, by praying for spiritual strength to obey. Boy, we are really in Psalm 119 here, you know what

I mean? Psalm 119, verse 25, my soul cleaves to the dust, revive me according to thy word.

We see this, and I'm just picking out a few of the verses. If you go through Psalm 119, you'll see it's all over the place.

Psalm 119, verse 28, my soul weeps because of grief, strengthen me according to thy word, okay?

So there you see, third is by praying for spiritual strength to obey.

Philippians 2, verse 12 and 13, so then my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling.

Work it out, all right? This is specifically talking about your sanctification, but there is active obedience on our part in our sanctification process.

For it is God who is at work in you both to will and to do according to his good pleasure.

Notice while we're praying for strength, it is still

God in us who is doing it. We have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, giving us the spiritual strength to obey.

And then again in Hebrews 13, verse 20, 21, now the God of peace who brought up from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even

Jesus our Lord equip you in every good thing to do his will. Notice, this should be part of our prayers, that we would be equipped for every good thing to do his will, which is a promise that he gives us as well, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be the glory forever and ever.

So what does thy will be done mean? Being a doer of God's will means walking in obedience to his commands and precepts, and that can only be done by the power of God.

Hence, we need to pray this petition. If you look at everything that we've just looked at, we need to pray thy will be done.

Arthur Pink put it this way, he says, the one who sincerely prays this necessarily intimates his unreserved surrender to God.

He implies his renunciation of Satan and of his own inclinations and his rejection of all things opposed to God.

All of that is included in this one little petition, thy will be done.

But that's not the whole petition. The petition is, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Now this part of the petition deals with the manner in which God's will is to be worked out.

There's different ways that you can accomplish a task, and God's will, this part of the petition tells us the manner in which we should be carrying it out.

How are we to carry out God's will on earth? The same way the angels carry out his will in heaven.

It's that simple. There's no deep theological explanation behind it.

It's basically that simple. Obedience is heavenly when it's the priority of life, because in heaven, obedience to the word of God is the priority.

The principle of first fruits is applicable here. We are to give the first fruits of everything to God, our time, our tithes, everything

God is to get the first fruits. Obedience is heavenly when it comes from a sincere heart.

There's going to be a whole list of things that we're going to go through here, so keep these things in mind. Obedience is heavenly when it comes from a sincere heart.

God is not impressed with external religious activity alone. Notice I said alone, because there are certain things which are categorized as, quote, if you like it,

I don't care if you like the term or not, that are categorized as being religious, which we must do, but that's not enough to satisfy

God. It must come from a sincere heart. Why? Because God looks at the heart.

Remember in the Sermon on the Mount, he says that your righteousness must exceed that of the

Pharisees. I said, well, that's easy, because they were hypocrites. It's not that easy.

They were extremely religious and did many righteous deeds. Granted, their righteous deeds earned them nothing, because they had corrupt hearts, but they were extremely outwardly righteous, and our righteousness has to surpass that, both in quantity and in quality.

Okay? First Samuel 15, 22, Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.

Obedience is heavenly when it's done willingly and joyfully. First John 5, 3,

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.

That's such an important verse, because far too often, as believers, we walk around, oh, yeah,

I got to do this, you know, I got to do that, and for the child of God, if we love him, it's not a burden.

It's not a burden keeping his commandments. I'm not saying it's not easy, but it's not a burden.

Psalm 1, 2, We need to have this kind of attitude of our heart, but his delight is in the law of the

Lord, and in his law he meditates day and night. Can you say that about how you obey the precepts of the law, that it's a delight, and that you meditate day and night on the law?

Obedience is heavenly when it is done fervently. Fervently, that's not a word that we use very often anymore.

Fervently means with passion and commitment. Because he obeys willingly, joyfully, from a sincere heart, he obeys with all his heart, soul, and mind.

There's a passion behind it. Colossians 3, 23, Whatever you do, do you work heartily as for the

Lord rather than for men? Extremely important. Look at it.

Work, do you work heartily? That means fervently with passion and commitment.

Obedience is heavenly when it's done immediately. Immediately.

In heaven, when God tells the angels to come, what do they do? They say, give me a sec.

Can you picture that? Wait a minute, Jesus. I got something

I got to take care of here. I'll be right there. I don't recall seeing that scene in heaven.

If obedience is a priority, then it will be immediate. Delayed obedience is disobedience.

All you young people, keep that in mind. Us old people, that's not for us.

Remember Isaiah's response to the Lord's call. Remember the Lord, he gets a glimpse of the throne room and the

Lord is on his throne. And God says, whom shall I send?

And what does Isaiah say? Here I am. Send me. And that was the immediate response.

Obedience is heavenly when it's done completely. Completely. Incompletion of a command of God is disobedience.

And it can have serious consequences as well. If Naaman had dipped six times in the river, he would have gone away to Syria, still with the name

Naaman the leper. If the Israelites had not marched around Jericho seven times, that wall would never have fallen.

Obedience needs to be complete. Obedience is heavenly when it's done continually.

Continually. In other words, whenever it is required. Doesn't it seem like opportunities to serve the

Lord come at sometimes the most inopportune times? That's on purpose.

Because we need to make sure that we're available 24 -7 to answer the call for God. Peter asked, how often must

I forgive my brother? Seven times. Thought he was being magnanimous. He said, oh boy, I can forgive my brother seven times.

Jesus replied, 70 times seven. Which pharisaical group are you with?

For the Christian, it is a joy to obey no matter when, where, or how often.

I will be done. Let's draw some conclusions here. How can we do

God's will? Remember that tonight we're only addressing active obedience to God's revealed will.

Next week we're going to look at passive obedience to his decretive will, which is also a part of this plea.

First, get to know what his revealed will says. That's an absolute necessity. How do you do that?

First, you've got to be reading and studying the Word. If you're not in the Word, you're not going to know it. Sit under the preaching in a sound biblical church.

Absolute necessity. Be part of the fellowship of the saints. These are all ways in which you can be actively obedient and knowing what the will of God is.

How can we do God's will? Secondly, by denying yourself. You can never be obeying

God's will if you are seeking your own interests first. That's just trust in the

Lord with all your heart or lean on your own understanding. Diametrically opposed.

You're told to deny yourself, pick up your cross, and follow him. Also Matthew 6 .33,

but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you.

Third, humble yourself. James 4 .6, he gives a greater grace, therefore it says,

God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble. Proverbs 16 .18,

pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before stumbling. Fourth, recognize that God has given you all that is necessary for life and godliness.

If you're a believer, you can't say that I can't. When God gives us commands in his

Word, he also gives us the spirit to enable us to accomplish what he has set before us.

Which means the Christian is without excuse. God has prepared your steps beforehand.

He has equipped you with power from the Holy Spirit. So the admonition is simply this, just do it.

Questions? Any thoughts?

Comments? Jerry, you got any psychosomatic disturbances over there?

I say I do have one thought, and you said it, but just to reiterate, with doing

God's will not only do we have to know it, desire to do it, but we have to hate not doing it.

Which is a little different than just wanting to do it. There's also health, wealth, and prosperity guys who say that it's

God's will always to heal people. Because there's no one sick in heaven.

So if there's no one sick in heaven, there should be no one sick in earth. So I simply ask them, you realize there's no procreation in heaven either, are you suggesting we stop down here?

Okay, stop right there. So that's not what that means.

I like your style. Any other thoughts or questions?