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WEEKLY
Volume 4 Number 37
7 February 2010
Do God’s Will
(Message delivered by Rev Hien Nguyen at the
Worship Service, 2:00 pm, Feb 7, 10)
Text: Matt 7:21
Many are living
their self-centred life or even serving the Lord regardless of God’s
will. God is love and He wants us to love Him and to love one another.
It is just that simple. But they say, “Please do not argue about the
doctrines with me. There
are so many different doctrines and so many denominations. Doctrines
divide, but love unites. Biblical separation is destructive. We are very
open and compromising, and we can work with other ‘brethren’ despite
their different faiths, beliefs or doctrines. The young people like
music, so we think contemporary music in our worship is fine. Our
worship is very interesting and exciting. As long as our church is
growing with more membership, we thank God for His blessings.” That
seems to be “good”, but actually it is not good in God’s sight at all.
The most important before God is to do God’s will and not our own will
or man’s. Are you and I living or worshipping or serving the Lord
according to His will? Our Lord Jesus Christ warns us,
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will
of my Father which is in heaven”
(Matt 7:21), and “For
whosoever shall do the will of my
Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and
mother” (Matt
12:50). Then, not all will enter into Heaven, neither are all Christ’s
brethren, but only those who do God’s will. Are you and I doing God’s
will? How can we know God’s will? How can we be sure that we are doing
God’s will? May God graciously help you and me know, understand, and do
God’s will so that we may be blessed, and when our Lord comes back, we
shall not be ashamed and will not be cast out from His presence.
Failing to Do
God’s Will Is Serious
With a deceitful
human heart and the deceit from Satan, many are deceived by thinking
that they are right or doing the right things while they fail to do
God’s will and Word.
God’s Word is God’s will,
“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your
own selves” (James 1:21). God’s Word to Adam and Eve was, “Of
every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day
that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Gen 2:16-17). God
means what He says, but sadly Adam and Eve failed to keep God’s Word and
do God’s will, but fell into the temptation of Satan, who cast doubt on
God’s Word and twisted it, “Ye shall not surely die: For God doth
know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and
ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3:4-5). Due to
their disobedience, Adam and Eve were cursed (Gen 3:7-19) and sin and
death entered into the world (Rom 5:12). Failing to do God’s will is
serious! Satan is still casting doubt on God’s Word and twisting God’s
Word nowadays and many have been deceived. Do you and I want to listen
to God’s Word or Satan’s words? King Saul failed to keep God’s Word and
do God’s will, so he was rejected, “Hath the LORD as great delight in
burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of
rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as
iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD,
he hath also rejected thee from being king” (vv 22, 23). It is
serious! May God help you and me carefully and wholeheartedly keep His
Word and do His will to the jot and tittle.
It should be noted
that prophesying or preaching God’s Word or performing miracles cannot
secure anyone’s salvation or God’s approval, but only doing God’s will.
We should not be so impressed by those churches because of their sign
gifts or big membership. Our Lord teaches us,
“for wide is the gate, and broad is the
way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat”
(Matt 7:13).
Many even think that they are serving God by persecuting those who truly
believe and do God’s Word, “They
shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that
whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service”
(John 16:2). It is
so dangerous and serious! When our Lord Jesus Christ comes, they must be
shocked when our Lord Jesus says that He has never known them as His
children or servants, “Many will
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?
and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many
wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you:
depart from me, ye
that work iniquity”
(Matt 7:22-23), and “And that
servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither
did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes”
(Luke 12:47). Then,
are you and I doing God’s will? How can you and I know and do God’s
will?
How to Know and
Do God’s Will
In order to know and
do God’s will, we first must have a heart’s desire to know and do God’s
will, to read God’s Word, and to pray to God for His revelation and
strength.
Heart’s Desire to Know and Do God’s Will:
Many may
say and pray, “God’s will be done,” but actually they do not have a
heart’s desire to know and do God’s will. They never seek God’s will or
wait for God’s will, but just do what they want and like. They can see,
watch, hear, say, or do whatever they like and go wherever they like
regardless of God’s Word and will! To tell the truth, they do not like
God’s will or God’s Word. Dear friends, you and I must be born again so
that we may have a heart’s desire to seek and do God’s will,
“I delight to do thy will, O my God:
yea, thy law is within my heart”
(Ps 40:8). Only being born again, you and I may have godly purposes and
pursuits in life. We just like to follow our Lord Jesus Christ, who
says, “I come to do thy will, O
God” (Heb
10:9), and “My meat is to do the
will of him that sent me, and to finish his work”
(John 4:34), and
“I seek not mine own will, but
the will of the Father which hath sent me”
(John 5:30), and “For I came down
from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me”
(John 6:40). And the climax of our Lord Jesus’ submission to His
Father’s will is His prayer to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane,
“O my Father, if this cup may not
pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done”
(Matt 26:42). Do you
and I have the same mind of our Lord Jesus Christ’s (Phil 2:5)?
Read God’s Word with a Teachable,
Trusting and Submissive Heart:
God has revealed His will through His written Word the Holy Scriptures
and through His living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. How do I know what
you want me to do? You must tell me with your words. Then, God’s Word is
God’s will for you and me. If we do not read God’s Word and say, “I do
not know God’s will.” That is our laziness and fault. There is only one
way to know God’s will, and that is to read His Word. Many read God’s
Word but fail to understand God’s will. They even misinterpret God’s
Word to serve their purpose and goal! Dear friends, the Holy Spirit is
the Spirit of Truth and God’s Word is truth. Our God is our Creator, the
most high, supreme, almighty and holy God, while we are only sinful and
feeble creatures. Then, what proper attitudes do we need to read God’s
Word? We must read God’s Word with a teachable, trusting, reverent and
submissive heart without any doubt, question or criticism, then the Holy
Spirit will help you and me to understand and know God’s will,
“but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite
spirit, and trembleth at my word”
(Isa 66:2).
Pray to God for His Revelation and
Strength:
Acknowledging our foolishness and weakness, when we read God’s Word, we
must pray to God for His revelation to know and understand God’s Word
and will and for His strength to do God’s Word and will as well. God’s
command is “Wherefore be ye not
unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is”
(Eph 5:17). If we fail to understand God’s will, we are unwise or
foolish! Praying to God is the next step to know and do God’s will,
“Thy will be done in earth, as it
is in heaven”
(Matt 6:10), and “Teach me to do
thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land
of uprightness”
(Ps 143:10), and “For this cause
we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to
desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all
wisdom and spiritual understanding”
(Col 1:9), and “For it is God
which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure”
(Phil 2:13). “Make you perfect in
every good work to do his will,
working in you that which is
wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for
ever and ever. Amen”
(Heb 13:21). We must thank God for the prayer ministry of the Holy
Spirit in our hearts “because he
maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God”
(Rom 8:27). It is a blessing to pray for one another to know and do
God’s will like Epaphras,
“Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always
labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and
complete in all the will of God”
(Col 4:12).
What Is God’s
Will for You and Me?
God’s will is
revealed in His Word. Basically, God’s will for you and me is:
Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ:
“And this is the will of him that
sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him,
may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day”
(John 6:40).
Read and Keep God’s Word:
“This book of the law shall not depart
out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that
thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for
then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good
success”
(Joshua 1:8).
Be Like Christ and Sanctified:
“For whom he did foreknow, he
also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he
might be the firstborn among many brethren”
(Rom 8:29), and “For this is
the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain
from fornication”
(1 Thess 4:3), and
“Be ye holy; for I am holy.”
(1 Peter
1:16).
Be Thankful to God in All Things:
“In every thing give thanks:
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you”
(1 Thess 5:18).
Love God, Fear God, and Keep God’s
Commandments:
“Fear God, and keep his
commandments: for this is the whole duty of man”
(Eccl 12:13) and
“Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind…
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself”
(Matt 22:37, 39). According to God’s ten commandments (Exod 20), to do
God’s will is to worship Him, to honour His holy name, to keep His holy
day of worship, to honour our parents, to love our neighbours without
hatred, sinful lusts, deceit, and covetousness. Moreover, we have to
remember to do all other God’s commands in the Holy Scriptures:
“Wherefore come out from among them, and
be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing;
and I will receive you”
(2 Cor 6:17), and
“Enter ye in at the strait
gate”
(Matt 7:13), and “Watch and
pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is
willing, but the flesh is weak”
(Matt 26:41), and
“Whether therefore ye eat, or
drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God”
(1 Cor 10:31); and “be thou
faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life”
(Rev 2:10), “Go ye therefore,
and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto
the end of the world. Amen”
(Matt 28:19-20), and so forth.
Conclusion
Dear friends, only
doing God’s will remains forever,
“And the world passeth away, and the
lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever”
(1 John 2:17). May God grant you and me a heart of desiring and seeking
God’s will and His grace and strength to read, understand, know, and
keep His Word and do His will so that when our Lord Jesus Christ comes,
we shall not be ashamed but happy to meet Him with His encouraging
words, “Well done, thou good and
faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make
thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord”
(Matt 25:21, 23). Amen.
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