1. BE DONE
1.1. Not that. We are not praying
1.1.1. .. thy will be known
1.1.2. ... thy will be agreed upon
1.1.3. ... they will be planned for later visitation
1.2. DEF - "be done" (literally "come to pass"
2. Introduction
2.1. ILL: Story of Scottish Coventer - http://reformationhistory.org/richardcameron.html
2.2. Illustration of God's will
3. CONCLUSION - What might we see if God answered this prayer? ANswer - the attitude and heart towards god's will in heaven would break into the earth
3.1. Give up control of our lives
3.1.1. ILL: Success of Bob Pierce, Foudner of World Vision - “O God, I give you the right to change my agenda any time you like—and you don’t have to inform me in advance. Amen.”
3.1.2. How our lives would be held more loosely
3.1.2.1. James - If the Lord wills ... we will do this and that
3.1.3. Oh, brothers, let us live as we shall wish we had lived when life is over; let us fashion a life which will bear the light eternal. Is it life to live otherwise? Is it not a sort of fainting fit, a coma, out of which life may not quite have gone, but all that is worth calling life has oozed away? Unless we are striving mightily to honour Jesus, and bring home His banished, we are dead while we live. Let us aim at a life which will outlast the fires which shall try every man's work.
3.2. as it is done in heaven
3.2.1. "on earth as it is done in heaven"
3.2.2. In heaven, God's will is done
3.2.2.1. Perfectly
3.2.2.2. Completely
3.2.2.3. Joyfully
3.2.2.3.1. "Bless the Lord, you His angels that excel in strength, hearkening to the voice of His word."
3.2.2.3.2. "I delight to do Your will, O my God."
3.2.2.3.3. When we walk closely with God in obedience, there is a secret joy let into the soul and how swiftly and cheerfully do the wheels of the soul move when they are oiled with the oil of gladness! - calvin
3.2.2.3.4. When Hezekiah thought he was about to die, what gave him comfort? That he had done the will of God. ‘Remember O Lord, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth, and have done that which is good in thy sight.’ Isa 38: 3.'
3.2.2.3.5. ‘Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart.’ Jer 15: 16.
3.2.2.4. Promptly
3.2.2.5. Competely
3.2.2.5.1. Not like Saul
3.2.2.5.2. Psalm 103:20
3.2.2.5.3. heb 1:4
3.2.2.5.4. Do al lhis will
3.2.2.5.5. Every command has the same authority; and if we do God’s will uprightly, we do it uniformly; we obey every part and branch of his will; - calvin
3.2.2.6. Immediately
3.2.2.6.1. No delay.
3.2.2.7. Humbly
3.2.2.7.1. No one serves God and comes and flatters themselves about how well they did it. Obedience is driven by image of the divine. Focus is Him
3.2.2.8. Urgently
3.2.2.8.1. Supposed we came from heaven how would we live? Should not how we live in heaven be reflected here? Isn't hat the prayer?
3.2.2.8.2. Would we not be urgent? Would we not plead? Would we not begg? Would we not pray? Would we not hate any sense of laziness?
3.2.2.9. constantly
3.2.2.9.1. Rev 7:15
3.2.2.10. We do God’s will as it is done in heaven by the angels when we do it sincerely
3.2.2.10.1. respect of his cmd
3.2.2.10.2. ‘Amaziah did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart.’ 2 Chron 25: 2.
3.2.2.10.3. Matt 6 really is about this - even in prayer
3.2.2.10.4. The angels are said to cast their crowns before the throne. Rev 4: 10. Crowns are signs of the greatest honour, but these the angels lay at the Lord’s feet, to show they ascribe the glory of all they do to him.
3.2.3. God is most glorified in us not when our obedience is begruding, but when it is joy filled
3.2.3.1. When John enters heaven, the scene is wonder. Everyone there is captivated, not by streets of gold or the throne... but by God, and everyon does his will with joy and wonder and awe.
3.2.3.2. ILL: If my kids have friends over and ask them to do something and they are sitting around, no big deal. But when it's in the middle of soetming, they may not like it at first, but if they do it because they know I love them and they love me, it says something about their father. But if they whine and complain and huff and puff ... that is a great dishonor.
3.2.4. What this prayer is about is not just forced obedience. That's not the prayer here. The prayer here is for loving obedience. The prayer here is to obey like God is obeyed in heaven, where he is seen for all that he is!
3.2.5. In heaven, God’s will is always done; in heaven, God’s will is instantaneously done; in heaven, God’s will is completely done; in heaven, God’s will is joyfully done. In essence, Jesus asks us to pray that we might become a little more like the angels (who always obey) and a little less like the demons (who never obey). When that happens, the earth will become a little more like heaven and a little less like hell.
3.2.6. But God’s will is rarely done on the earth. After all, there are over six billion wills on the earth and still only one will in heaven. Just look around you. Do you see God’s will being done? Pick up the newspaper and read about a serial killer. Read about the killing in Bosnia, the slaughter in Rwanda, the corruption in high places in America, the rise of satanic ritual child abuse. It looks like someone else’s will is being done.
3.3. perfect satisfaction with all that He does
3.4. Grace empowers obedience
3.4.1. Romans 6:1–2 (ESV) — 1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?
3.4.2. Titus 2:11–14 (ESV) — 11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
3.5. Love is tied to obedience
3.5.1. John 14:21
3.5.2. John 8:44
3.5.3. Acts 5:3
3.6. Satisified in God
3.6.1. Jacob suddenly had an epiphany, had a flash of recognition. Suddenly his whole life flashed before his eyes, and he realized all these years he had not really been fighting with his father or with his brother or with his uncle. He had been fighting with God. [Audio cuts off] He was in what everybody’s ultimate dream is. He had the opportunity to pin God. “Finally I will get from God what I deserve. Finally the blessings I’ve always wanted.” I mean, that’s how most people look at prayer: the opportunity to pin God, to come in and say, “I have been a Christian for five years, and I have said no all over the place to all kinds of temptations.” That’s pinning God. “Give me this day my daily bread. My will be done. Look what I’ve done.” Finally Jacob comes in and says, “I have the possibility of pinning God.” So he wrestles harder than he had before, and he struggles and struggles. It seems like he was making some progress. As the night goes by, at one point, the mysterious stranger shows how much power he really has. He shows he hadn’t been using hardly any of it. He reaches out and he touches Jacob’s thigh, and his thigh goes absolutely dead. Jacob is permanently crippled. Suddenly Jacob realizes the folly of trying to wrestle God into submission to his will, but he doesn’t let go. A change happens in him, an ultimate change. Now blinded with tears and absolutely lame, he is still holding on. Do you know what he says now? He says, “Bless me!” God says, “You know, when the sun comes up, you will see my face, and you can’t see my face.” See, Jacob was asking, “I want to see your face.” Something had changed in Jacob. He says, “I want you to bless me. I want to see your face.” God says, “No, you can’t. It will kill you, but today I give you a new name, because you’ve finally been changed.” A new name means he was born again at that moment. “I give you a new name. You used to be called Jacob, but now you’re called Israel. Do you know why? Because Israel means you’ve triumphed. You’ve wrestled and triumphed. You wrestled with God, and you’ve triumphed.” Then he disappears. You say, “What? Wrestled with God and triumphed? He was lame the rest of his life? Triumphed? How could he have triumphed?” Don’t you see? Don’t you see the point? The point is Jacob finally figured out what life was all about. Life is not about getting things from God; it’s about getting God. He changed from saying, “I’m going to get God,” to, “Give me the blessings.” Finally he realized, “All I really need is God.” At the end he says, “I just want you. In your face I’ll have everything.” You see, when Jesus says, “Pray, ‘Thy will be done,’ ” what Jesus is saying to you is God is saying, “I don’t want you to seek things; I want you to seek me. I don’t want you to give me your requests; I want you to give me yourself. I don’t want your requests; I want you. I don’t want you primarily to be asking for things; I want you to be asking for me.” Keller, T. J. (2013). The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
4. The two will of God
4.1. Two kinds of will
4.1.1. God's will of decree - His sovereign efficacious will, secret will - his will that he will accomplish and resides in the heart of God
4.1.1.1. God says Lazarus arise, eh arises
4.1.1.2. God says let there be light, there is light!
4.1.1.3. God says I have chosen to save a person. That person will be saved. It will happen.
4.1.1.4. This type of will is God saying "Something is gonig to be done" and guess what, it is done. This is the sovereignty of God!
4.1.1.5. Psalm 103:19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. Psalm 115:3 Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. Psalm 135:5–6 5 For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. 6 Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. Ephesians 1:11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, Luke 22:42 saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” Hebrews 10:7–9 7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God, as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’ ” 8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second.
4.1.1.6. Dan 4
4.1.2. God's will of desire - His preceptive will
4.1.2.1. This is God saying my will, my desire is that no one commits idolatry, honor father an dmother. But this is not always done.
4.1.2.2. This is God expressing his desire, this is not God expressing hi seffort.
4.1.2.3. God can desire things that he does not actively work on, will tha the lets expressions of human will work in
4.1.2.4. "The Lord is ... not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9, emphasis added). R.C. Sproul. The Prayer of the Lord (Kindle Locations 500-501). Kindle Edition.
4.1.2.4.1. If it means that He does not will that any should perish in the preceptive sense, it simply means that God has stated that no one is to engage in the activity of perishing, and to do so is a sin. If it is referring to God's disposition, it is simply saying that He is not pleased when someone perishes, that He does not enjoy the reality that not all are saved. Obviously, the first two understandings can be ruled out by teachings found elsewhere in Scripture, so that we may conclude that Peter is telling ing us that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. R.C. Sproul. The Prayer of the Lord (Kindle Locations 501-505). Kindle Edition.
4.1.2.5. The first word I want to talk about is the word “Thelo.” This word refers to “a decree or a design and it speaks of the eternal counsels and purposes of God which cannot be changed.” This word is used to speak of those things God has already determined will take place and nothing can ever change it! This word is used over 200 times in the New Testament. Here are a couple of places where this word can be found: John 21:22-23 and John 17:24. 2. The next word I am interested in this evening is the word “Boulomai.” This word means a “fond wish or desire.” It carries the idea a passive wish. This is what God would desire to see happen under the best of circumstances. This word is used for things that God would like to see happen, but which do not always come to pass. It is used 7 times in the New Testament. It can be found in Acts 27:43 and 2 Pet. 3:9.
4.2. This will happen, but why pray?
4.2.1. Dan 4:35
4.3. Which will are we praying for?
4.3.1. If the efficacious will, then this is a prayer of reminder, a prayer that reminds us God's will "will" be done.
4.3.2. But likely the perceptive will
4.3.2.1. Why? Because Note: on earth as it is in heaven. So His will is not done on earth as it is in heaven
5. Connection
5.1. Teach us to pray - They wante dto pray like him and this prayer is His pray - thy will be done
5.2. George Mueller - Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance. It is laying hold of God’s willingness.
6. ILL:
6.1. When Richard Cameron, the Scottish Covenanter, was killed his head and his hands were cut off by one Murray and taken to Edinburgh. "His father being in prison for the same cause, the enemy carried them to him, to add grief unto his former sorrow, and inquired at him if he knew them. Taking his son's head and hands, which were very fair (being a man of fair complexion like himself), he kissed them and said, 'I know them--I know them. They are my son's--my own dear son's. It is the Lord. Good is the will of the Lord, who cannot wrong me or mine, but hath made goodness and mercy to follow us all our days.'" When a man can speak like that, when he is quite sure that his times are in the hands of the infinite wisdom of God, it is easy to say, "Thy will be done."
6.2. “There are no unsacred places; there are only sacred places and desecrated places.” ― Wendell Berry, Given
6.3. Th eproblem with sacred and secular divide is that it means most of life is secular and most of our lives as followers for Jesus is secular.
6.4. Mike's dad and his testimony about dreams
6.5. Julian, the Roman Emperor, who tried to take the Empire back to its heathen practices after it had begun to turn toward Christianity, was mortally wounded in battle. As he was dying, he took a handful of his own blood, threw it in the air, and said, "Thou hast conquered, 0 Galilean!" And maybe you also, in a sense of resignation, have said, "Lord, You have conquered, and I resign myself to Your will." Maybe that's what it means to you.
6.6. Thomas Watson, a seventeenth century writer, put it in a frightening way, but it’s obviously true. He said when you pray, “Thy will be done,” Jesus is telling you to pray two things. You are praying that you might do diligently all he commands and that you also might submit patiently to all he inflicts. Two things. You’re not only saying, “Oh Lord, may I do diligently all you command.” You’re also saying, “Oh Lord, may I submit patiently to all you inflict.”
7. This prayer is a refelctio of Jesus
7.1. Prayer to do his will is to particiatpe in this with Jesus
7.1.1. Matt 12:50
7.2. No where is that clearer tha in this petition
7.2.1. John 6:38
7.2.2. ** John 4:34
7.3. Matt 7:21 - but he who does the will of my father in haven
7.4. Psalm 40:8 - doing his will was Jesus delight
8. What are we praying when we pray this?
8.1. We are praying for endurance and humility to accept the providence of God
8.1.1. Prayer to endure all he inflicts
8.1.1.1. Thomas Watson, a seventeenth century writer, put it in a frightening way, but it’s obviously true. He said when you pray, “Thy will be done,” Jesus is telling you to pray two things. You are praying that you might do diligently all he commands and that you also might submit patiently to all he inflicts. Two things. You’re not only saying, “Oh Lord, may I do diligently all you command.” You’re also saying, “Oh Lord, may I submit patiently to all you inflict.” Keller, T. J. (2013). The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
8.1.1.2. “I am no longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed for thee or laid aside for thee … Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.” Keller, T. J. (2013). The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive. New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church.
8.1.1.3. This is a nightmare right? How often do we pray this? How often do we pray for teh full loving of God's infliction?
8.1.1.4. But here's the deal - before we pray give me, we pray I'll take what you will give me. And if we dont' learn this, how will we ever be content? Will anything satisfy us? Do we stop asking for the next thing when we get the next thing?
8.1.1.5. But this of course is possible by knowing "our father"
8.2. We are praying for the active submission to God's heart and plans
8.2.1. A prayer of active obedience
8.2.1.1. [1] The bare knowledge of God’s will is inefficacious, it does not better the heart. 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 - Calvin
8.2.1.2. Calvin
8.2.1.2.1. Knowing without doing God’s will, will make the case worse. It will heat hell the hotter.
8.2.1.2.2. We pray for two things; 1: For active obedience; that we may do God’s will actively in what he commands. 2. For passive obedience; that we may submit to God’s will patiently in what he inflicts. - Calvin
8.2.1.2.3. The great design of God in the word is to make us doers of his will.
8.2.1.2.4. All God’s providence are to make us doers of his will.
8.2.1.2.5. The end of all God’s promises is to draw us to do his will.
8.2.1.2.6. God's warning gets us to do his will
8.2.1.2.7. Afflictions are said to be sent us to make us do God’s will.
8.2.1.2.8. God’s mercies are to make us do his will.
8.2.1.2.9. In a word, all that is written in the law or gospel tends to this, that we should be doers of God’s will. ‘Thy will be done.’
8.2.2. Thy will be done
8.2.2.1. John Piper writes that "Thy will be done..." On the personal level that must mean, "Father, please cause me to obey your will the way the angels obey it in heaven. (Psalm 103:21, "Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers that do his will!") Help me to do your will flawlessly and to do it with the same fervency and undivided devotion that they have. Make my obedience a heavenly obedience." But on the worldwide level the meaning is far greater. In heaven there is nothing but obedience to the will of God. So when we pray, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven," we are praying that the earth would be filled only with people who do the will of God the way the angels do it in heaven. In other words we are praying for the kingdom to come. We are praying that the earth be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea (Hab. 2:14). We are praying that the cause of world missions would so prosper in our day that all the ransomed from every tribe and tongue and people and nation would be reached and gathered in, and the King would come. For whom are we praying when we pray, "Hallowed by thy name"? For the unreached peoples of the earth and for ourselves that God would use us to reach them. (Matthew 6:5-15: Hallowed Be Thy Name)
8.2.2.2. J C Ryle explains that... We here pray that God’s laws may be obeyed by men as perfectly, readily and unceasingly as they are by angels in heaven. We ask that those who do not obey his laws now may be taught to obey them, and that those who do obey them may obey them better. Our truest happiness is perfect submission to God’s will, and it is the purest love to pray that all mankind may know it, obey it and submit to it.
8.3. Misc
8.3.1. THis is an active obedience and not passive reluctance
8.3.1.1. This is not meant to be a clause of resignation. Jesus did not intend for shoulders to be shrugged and hearts to be remote and detached in saying "well, whatever you want to do God". This is an active prayer. A prayer of plea, a prayer of engagenment - "We are praying your great name be hallowed Father! We want you to be known because who is there but you! We are praying as people know you, make you sacred, that yoru kingdom would be brought and broken into their lives and the sphere of their lives. And as you, Father, we pray you will would be done. We want to see that!"
8.3.1.1.1. ILL: As Omar Khayyam had it: "But helpless Pieces of the Game He plays Upon this Checkerboard of Nights and Days; Hither and thither moves, and checks, and slays, And one by one back in the closet lays. The Ball no question makes of Ayes and Noes, But Here or There as strikes the Player goes; And He that Toss'd you down into the Field, He knows about it all--He knows--HE knows!"
8.3.1.2. A man may accept the will of God for no other reason than that he has realized that he cannot do anything else.
8.3.1.3. A man may say, "Thy will be done," in a tone of bitter resentment
8.3.1.3.1. ILL: winburne spoke of men feeling the trampling of the iron feet of God. He speaks of the supreme evil, God. Beethoven died all alone; and it is said that when they found his body his lips were drawn back in a snarl and his fists were clenched as if he were shaking his fists in the very face of God and of high heaven. A man may feel that God is his enemy, and yet an enemy so strong that he cannot resist. He may therefore accept God's will, but he may accept it with bitter resentment and smouldering anger.
8.3.1.4. Heb 13:20-21
8.3.1.5. Psalm 103:20-21
8.3.1.6. Julian, the Roman Emperor, who tried to take the Empire back to its heathen practices after it had begun to turn toward Christianity, was mortally wounded in battle. As he was dying, he took a handful of his own blood, threw it in the air, and said, "Thou hast conquered, 0 Galilean!" And maybe you also, in a sense of resignation, have said, "Lord, You have conquered, and I resign myself to Your will." Maybe that's what it means to you.
8.3.2. This is a prayer of submission
8.3.2.1. It is a prayer that says "not my will be done, but yours"
8.3.2.2. In submitting we are saying you know best Lord
8.3.2.3. When we ask that God’s will be done, we are implicitly asking that our wills be overturned, if necessary. It’s not easy to pray that way when you’re standing beside the hospital bed of someone you love.
8.3.2.4. Why this is so hard, we have to surrender.
8.3.2.4.1. Sometimes people say silly things like pray the opposite of what you want
8.3.2.4.2. Hard because tis' a test of "does God love me enough to trust him?"
8.3.2.4.3. Hard because it may include suffering! His will may include suffering. Let me say it again. His will may include suffering.
8.3.2.5. This is the pray that will be prayed with as much sincerity as we have fervency in beleivng God is our Father and Jesus si our Lord
8.3.2.5.1. Luke 11 - will he give us a rock?
8.3.2.6. ILL:!!!! Richard Cameron - Because he is good we can trust his will!!
9. FLowing of the paryer
9.1. This is a prayer for kingdom evidience
9.1.1. YOUR WILL BE DONE
9.1.2. The flow of the prayer
9.1.2.1. The chief aim is the glory of God, hence we pray "hallowed by your name"
9.1.2.2. The chief means by which God's name will be hallowed is the kingdom, where the full nature of God's character is experessed and seen
9.1.2.3. The chief evidence that God's kingdom has come, and that His name is known, and that people hallow it is that they obey him. They submit to him. They do it as it is done in heaven.
9.1.2.4. "Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven." Weigh this attentively in the light of what precedes. First, we are taught to pray, "Our Father which art in heaven"; then should we not do His will? We must, if we are His children, for disobedience is that which characterizes His enemies. Did not His own dear Son render Him perfect obedience? And it should delight us to strive to render Him the quality of devotion to which He is accustomed in the place of His peculiar abode, the seat of our future bliss. Second, since we are taught to pray, "Hallowed be thy name," does not a real concern for God’s glory oblige us to make a conformity to His will our supreme quest? We certainly must if we desire to honor God, for nothing dishonors Him more than self-will and defiance. Third, since we are instructed to pray, "Thy Kingdom come," should we not seek to be in full subjection to its laws and ordinances? Pink, Arthur W. (2012-06-18). The Lord's Prayer (Arthur Pink Collection Book 39) (Kindle Locations 348-355). Prisbrary Publishing. Kindle Edition.
9.1.3. There is a clear line between his kingdom coming and obedience - because his kingdom is about the rule and reign of Jesus.
9.1.3.1. The reason his kingdom must come is because this is not his kingdom, and that is demonstrated by the rejection of Him, by men and women living their lives in disobedience, by doing their own thing. This is the fall. **** The fall from moral uprightness ***** is really the fall from
10. INtroduction
10.1. Oregon shooting and the frailty of Life
10.2. People start to ask questions
10.2.1. Gun control
10.2.2. gun free zones
10.2.3. mental health
10.3. People will likely ask - Where was God in all this?
10.3.1. It is a real question, it is the question that moms and dad of such and such will likely ask.
10.3.2. It's a question that the grandkids of 67 yr old such and such will ask
10.3.3. We should ask this question because it is where faith most hits the pavement of life - and that is in suffering.
10.3.4. Where was God?
10.4. Another way to ask this si why did God let this happen?
10.4.1. Some