Your Will Be Done

Acts 2:1 - When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.

Another very well-pulled-together Sunday in church. There are definitely some changes taking shape. Little by little I'm seeing hearts coming together in one accord. From early morning prayer to Sunday school to Sunday service. There's a shifting taking place. Or maybe it's been happening all along and I'm just now aware of it. Maybe the change is taking place in me. Whatever it is, I'm grateful to be part of it. I relish the challenge set before us as a church. There is a remnant in the gathering of people I'm part of and this is where I am the happiest. I have felt for a long time God would raise up a remnant in this church.

Sunday school is filled with people determining to go deeper in relationship with God. We talked about the gifts we are given when we enter into relationship. Once we identify these gifts they are meaningless unless we utilize them. And that utilization is doing God's will. It's hearing His voice or His call in our life to "do" something using that gift. It's realizing that we give up more of ourself to do His will...and also realizing that when we do, what we have given up is replaced with something greater than what we thought we had. Such a difficult concept to explain, we agreed, and harder to understand...it just happens. 

The other day I was contemplating writing about the verse in Matthew 19 dealing with having to sell what we have and just follow Christ. Luke 12 pretty much says the same thing. In Sunday school it was actually discussed when a woman explained that a family member questioned the literal or figurative meaning of the scripture. The answer to "just what does this mean," as we concluded was: if God so chooses us to literally give everything we have to follow Him, it's a decision we have to make. Chances are it is an example of how He is wanting us to give thought to where our treasures in life are. Chances are He will not ask us to give up everything or leave our family or whatever, but if He did, would we be willing? 

As was shared, some of us have had to give up friends over the years because of our faith. We may have other things to give up. And along the way, if something gets between the Lord and ourselves, He will show us. Do you choose this or Me? And we might very well say we are willing to give everything up, but let us hang on to thus and so. Just don't take thus and so away, Lord. No, not thus and so! And yet when we do, we realize we've lost nothing but gained a lot more!

Where did all that come from? How did that fit into this? Oh, yeah...doing God's will! How God orchestrates the day. As we entered service and heard the message for the day, wouldn't you know it was not just about hearing God's Word, but being doers of it. We haven't fully arrived if we have not done what we've been asked. I sometimes wonder where I stand. Is it in my heart to do but ends there? Or maybe I'm getting there and "haven't arrived" yet. 

I just know there's a shifting taking place in my spirit. I awoke at some time in the early Sunday morning hours. I was very aware that I had been praying hard for God's Spirit within our church. I prayed, I believe, in my sleep that in every area and in every person who stepped into our church would sense the presence of God, that God would anoint the pastor as he spoke, that the music would draw us each individually into worshipping in spirit and in truth. I believe it happened. There was a peacefulness, a worshipfulness.

Pastor Rory Grooters talked about our life being about our character...our life is filled with triumphs and tragedies and despite these things we must be determined to do God's will. He brought up the Garden of Gethsemane and how Jesus was our example. He knew what was ahead of Him and He knew how difficult it would be. Like us, He prayed that if there was any way He could avoid His upcoming torturous crucifixion, He would be glad...but if not He was willing to do God's will. It showed His true character...willing to give up His life that we might find ours. He had to do something for us.

Earlier Jesus had answered the disciples' question, "Lord, how are we to pray?" And part of Jesus' answer was "Your kingdom come, Your will be done." In both cases He gave us an example to live by...Your will be done, Father. He was always in tune with His Father's voice and His Father's will. He was in one accord with His Father. So we should be. Sometimes easier said than done. Are we going to allow our will to blatantly override the will of our Father??? Do we dare when we say we love the Lord? 

All that keeps going through my head is: this is the narrow road. It's about giving up my life to serve One who is greater than I, imitating Him...and yet knowing we will never be greater than He. I'm not sure I have a strong grasp of this yet, I'm sorry to say. I think I've been missing something somewhere, but I'm trembling at the thought of a change taking place. Not my will, but Yours, Lord. You are the One who gives me the desires of my heart...which are actually Your desires for me. 

We sang a song called "I Give Myself Away" by William McDowell. It was a powerful and touching time for me and I'm sure others felt the same. The words go like this:

Here I am

Here I stand

Lord, my life is in your hands

Lord, I’m longing to see

Your desires revealed in me

I give myself away

Take my heart

Take my life

As a living sacrifice

All my dreams, all my plans

Lord I place them in your hands

Chorus:

I give myself away

I give myself away

So You can use me

I give myself away

I give myself away

So You can use me

I can honestly say I don't know that I have dreams or plans. There are things I'd like to do but I don't expect to do everything I'd like! Right now all I want is to know I'm in God's will. Use me wherever I might be.

One more thing Pastor Rory mentioned was about his mother's death and what was involved in carrying out her will. When we put together a will there are four things that become part of it: 1) Knowing, 2) Trusting, 3) Controlling, 4) Dying. In the spiritual, the first three relate to Someone else and the fourth one relates to ourselves. When we are in Christ it's about who we know and trust and who has the control of our lives...and then it's up to us to die to ourselves, to give ourselves away so he can use us.

All this to say that I see a remnant heart within our church of which I hopefully am part. But I will gather the remnant of My flock...and bring them back to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase (Jeremiah 23:3). What a promise. A remnant will have one heart, one desire, be in one accord...which means being totally in God's will, knowing what it is. I know that I know that the part of being in God's will is being dedicated to knowing the truth of His Word, and not mincing words when speaking it to others...with no concern for our own comfort. Sometimes those words are hard and convicting and not met with enthusiasm. But who are we living for, ourselves or God?

I mentioned the book, Radical by David Platt. Although I've only scratched the surface of this book, I'm pretty sure God's will is an integral part of what Platt has to say. His will has not included watering down what God/Jesus has said. The Church in general has strayed from the real truth of the Gospel message and the real truth about who Jesus is, what He does and what He expects from us. We must be doing God's will and dying to self to be in one accord.

Lord, God, let us approach You boldly, in true humility, like the woman with the issue of blood who crawled to get to You. How she was determined to touch the hem of Your garment that she might be healed. A good part of that healing for us would be to rid ourselves of our own willful desires. Your will far exceeds our own. You were our example all throughout Your ministry. You did Your Father's will. Let us, then, be dedicated to following Your example. As you shake and sift our own lives and that of our church, continue to build up that remnant who seeks Your face, longs to hear only the truth You have to share with us and which seeks only to do Your will in their lives.

Ephesians 5:1-2 - Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.