Thy will be done - with my full obedient cooperation.
Choose you this day (Joshua 24:15) whom you will serve. This is an appeal to the will. I cannot operate apart from my will. My will is me in action. If I determine to profess before God – I will obey You, I will be loyal to You, then my will is filled with the Almighty power of God for righteous action. I know that God engineers all the details and circumstances of my life, so whom do I choose to serve in every detail and circumstances of my life? Will anyone be in heaven because God put me with perishing sinners in the hospitals, in rehab, as a rider on Wheel-Trans? Do I live in this senior’s residence and do you live where you live for such a time as this because God is not willing that any should perish and because we are (Romans 1:14) debtors to Jesus Christ? (Oswald Chambers) “Every bit of my life that is of value I owe to the Redemption of Jesus Christ”. If I truly believe that God engineers all my circumstances, all the details, then I will thank Him for His good purpose in each and every circumstance, willing to obey Him in fulfilling His purpose. Again, as always, my will is involved.
When the captives returned from Babylon to Jerusalem, they were to rebuild the Temple of God. But they were not building because (Ezra 3:12) it would not match the glory of Solomon’s temple. The Lord rebuked them. The prophets Haggai (Haggai 2:2-9) and Zechariah (Zechariah 12:6) looked forward to (Ezra 5:13) the future Messianic kingdom. What about us now in our wicked world? As we look and long for the Rapture of the Church, are we involved in building up the Church, the Body of Christ? Or like Judah long ago will the Lord have only rebuke for us? We are told (2 Corinthians 6:1) to labour together with God to love one another, bear the burdens of others, build up one another in spiritual growth and to worship together in peace, unity and harmony. The Holy Spirit can empower us to worship together in agreement with each other for the salvation of the lost and the spiritual good and encouragement of fellow-believers everywhere and always with a motive for the glory of God. If you turn away from the Word of God, do not read and obey it, don’t add to your sin by praying. Does it shock you that prayer can be sin? Listen carefully (Proverbs 28:9) he who turns away his ear from God’s Word, even his prayer is an abomination and revolting to God. (Dr. Tozer) “Before the Spirit of God can work creatively in our hearts, He must have our full consent to replace our natural self with the Person of Christ. After going through the crucifixion described in ROMANS chapters 6 and 7, we enter into the broad free region of Chapter 8 where self is dethroned and Christ is enthroned forever.” The flesh is human nature without God. If I choose to indulge the flesh, I set myself apart from God because, of course, God cannot be present in my choice to disobey Him.
The craving of the flesh can have a great appeal and always offers a false promise of satisfaction. It is deadly poison disguised as ambrosia. The flesh will always serve the law of sin and bear fruit for death. I can choose (1 Corinthians 15:31) to die daily to self and live in the resurrection victory of Jesus the life which bears fruit for God. I sense the horror and gross sin of catering to the flesh when I pray for the Persecuted Church. I know that the Word of God is final and complete but I’m sure that the Holy Spirit is still recording and adding in heaven to the list in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews the names of present-day martyrs and pain-wracked sufferers who are Heroes of the Faith.
I heard a wonderful message from Dr. Swindoll, concerning David and Bathsheba, based on the fact that sin never satisfies lust but only increases it. Israel was commanded by God that when they had a king (Deuteronomy 17:17) he was not to multiply wives to himself. When David saw that God had established his kingdom(2 Samuel 5:12-13) he took MORE wives and concubines. Disobedience at that point was the first chink in his armour. The next was indulgence. When he should have been on the battlefield with his men (2 Samuel 11:2) he was on his bed (Ahhh Spring!) Leisure when he should have been busy and so in the wrong place at the wrong time. You can see the buildup – disobedience – indulgence – laziness of mind and body. This was not a sudden impulse or a momentary lapse. Now his harem full of wives and concubines could not control his lust or prevent his sin with Bathsheba. Lust for whatever drives out all thought of God and consequences. Bathsheba also was not without blame. She knew that she could be seen from the palace balcony and why was she taking a bath outside? Quite possibly she had seen David walking there at previous times. David was a man in his fifties and for 20 years had a spotless record as a valiant successful warrior and a wise just ruler. Now he plans his cover-up strategy which will lead to murder.
Uriah couldn’t trust David but David could trust Uriah who was a man of integrity. David gave him a letter to deliver to Joab. He carried the letter which was the plan and order for him to be murdered. David knew that Uriah would not read it. There was not a naïve cell in Joab’s body, he got the picture and it put him in position for blackmail. Later he went against David’s strict orders when (2 Samuel 18:14-15) he killed Absalom. It was about 12 months after David had taken Bathsheba as his wife that God sent Nathan to confront David and maybe David thought his cover-up had worked. God never overlooks sin but in his mercy He gives time for repentance. It took great courage for Nathan to face David with God’s message but he obeyed the Lord. With genuine repentance, like David’s, all sin can be forgiven but sometimes the consequences (2 Samuel 12:10) will last a lifetime because (Galatians 6:7) God will not be mocked.(Dr. Jeremiah) “Our priorities on earth (Matthew 6:10) should be the priorities of heaven.” The kingdom of God is within me (Luke 17:21) because King Jesus lives in me and He reigns as King in my life. Thy will be done - - whatever He wants – wherever He wants and whenever He wants – and with my full obedient cooperation.
(Dr. Jeremiah) “When I pray (Matthew 6:7-11) for my daily needs I need to remember that my needs are in the context of (Matthew 6:10) Thy will be done.” If you are foolish enough to think that you are meeting your own needs by working or having worked, you are forgetting or ignoring God. He is the one who gives you the physical strength and mental capability to do your job and to plan wisely. Your very breath (Job 12:10) is in God’s hand. For myself I want holy awe-filled fear of God to be the other side of the coin which is personal loving intimacy with God and that (Matthew 6:9) “Hallowed be Thy Name” will be vitally essential in all my thoughts, words and deeds. No flippant casual glib words in prayer to the Lord or in speaking about Him. In all such self-oriented rush do we forget that He is the Great I AM and overlook praise and worship? He is KING of kings and LORD of lords and (Psalms 103:19) He has established His throne in the heavens and His Sovereign kingdom rules over all.