The
Lord’s prayer is giving us a major overhaul to the typical shallow,
self-centered prayer life that many believers have. We are learning that prayer
is God focused. So don’t focus on how many prayers you’ve seen answered. Many
people give up on prayer because they approach it like a vending machine. If it
doesn’t give them what they want, they don’t go to it anymore. But prayer is
first and foremost a relationship with our Father. It’s about loving and appreciating
him and becoming more like him. Thus, the Lord’s prayer teaches us to start off
with praise to God who is now our devoted Father, and praise that his name is
so holy and wonderful. Then we saw that after Praise comes desiring his desires- his Priorities- “Thy kingdom come.”
Today we
want to look at the next prayer Priority- “Thy will be done on earth as it is
in heaven.” We are especially praying,
“Thy will be done in my life.” But what is the will of God for my life? That’s
a huge subject. Fortunately, discovering the will of God for your life is already
revealed in the word of God. Apart from that, God gives us great freedom to choose such things as where we want
to live and work and even what to eat. Note this freeing, permissive will of
God even in the garden of Eden- “You are free to eat from any tree in the
garden…” It is only in matters of sin- that which would terribly harm us- that our Father speaks out of his loving, protective will- “but you must not eat from the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely
die.” Gen.2:17. This protective will is better known as his prescriptive will.
Just as a doctor prescribes medicine for our well-being, so does our great
physician and Father.
Insanely,
our selfish, sinful nature totally opposes God’s will. But as believers we now know
that God’s will for us is good, pleasing and perfect. That doesn’t mean that
doing the will of God will always be easy, for our mission involves a terrible
battle against the enemy to set captives free. In another garden, the last Adam
struggled greatly not to pursue his own will, but the will of his Father-
“Abba, Father…take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Mark 14:36. To carry out the will of God includes prayer. And so Jesus prayed.
And then he exhorted his sleepy disciples to pray- “watch and pray so that you
will not fall into temptation...” Mark 14:38. (Thus, we must help our protégés
to develop a daily life of prayer, since temptations lure us daily.) God’s will
is not that we fall into temptation and sin. Instead, God’s word declares, “It
is God’s will that you should be sanctified” (holy, morally pure) 1 Th.4:3.
Once again, we see that the will of God is revealed in the word of God. So to
help ourselves and our protégés be transformed and carry out the will of God,
what is essential?
1.-Read
Rom.12:1-2. There we see that God’s will is that we not be conformed but
transformed. We are not to be conformed to this fallen world’s values and
thinking that excludes God’s will. Instead, we are to be transformed by the
renewing of our minds. This renewing or overhauling is like overhauling an old,
defective engine. The corroded parts are replaced by new parts according to the
manufacturer’s specs. As we spend time in God’s word, the manufacturer’s specs,
we discover that his will is good, pleasing and perfect. This creates a desire
to do his will, which we gain from his word.
2.Read Psalm
40:6-8 which underscores this. (It is actually a prophecy of Jesus as confirmed
in Heb.10:5-10. These are called Messianic psalms or portions.) Copy down verse
8 on your 3x5 (Do the “Did it” thing), then review it, and pray it into your
heart. Pray this for yourself and the brother you encourage who posts above you today.
3. Write down one thought from any of the verses or points we've covered today regarding the will of God.
Speaking of prayer, REAP ends with Prayer (Read, Explore, Apply, Pray),
so let’s do that now. Pray through at least the first portion of the Lord’s
prayer that we have covered-Praise him that he is our Father and praise him
for some the 900 names that he is known by. Also pray over God’s priorities- for His kingdom (Pray for the coach quality men you want to recruit to M3 to help us forcefully
advance God’s kingdom. Thanks to those of you who have already called me regarding such. And pray for the couple prayer warriors you want to recruit.) And pray for His will to be done-that we and our
future protégés would desire to do God’s will through treasuring his word in our
hearts. I love your love for the word that I'm seeing!
| | G=God's Word | R | E | A | T |
| | For Wed.12.17.14 | | | | |
| Alpha Force | | | | | |
| Fire Team 1 | | | | | |
| 1 | Jack Rogers | Y | | | | |
| 2 | Daniel Contreras | Y | | | | |
| 3 | Roger Vinlasaca | Y | | | | |
| Fire Team 2 | | | | | |
| 4 | Israel Fuentes | Y | | | | |
| 5 | John Pallozzi | Y | | | | |
| 6 | Sam Vargas | Y | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| Delta Force | | | | | |
| Fire Team 3 | | | | | |
| 1 | Alvin James | | | | | |
| 2 | Dave Heidekruger | Y | | | | |
| 3 | Mike Pagan | Y | | | | |
| Fire Team 4 | | | | | |
| 5 | Eddie Morales | Y | | | | |
| 6 | Gary Remson | Y | | | | |
| 7 | Ismael Andrade | Y | | | | |
PS- For those that want to dig deeper into the word of God on the will of God, here are some vital verses on the subject-
What is a good prayer to pray regarding the will of God? Ps.143:10; Col.1:9.
What is a good prayer to pray for others, especially for my protégés? Col.4:12
What are specifically named, vital aspects of the will of God for my life? 1 Th.4:3; 5:16-18; Eph.5:15-21
How is the will of God to be carried out? Eph.6:6
How can I have the power to do the will of God? Phil.2:13
What promises does God give to those who’ve done the will of God? Heb.10:36; Rev.2:26
Announcements/Reminders
I'm excited to announce that Sunday, the 28th, we will be spotlighting on our blog, the first of our weekly Growing Deeper Projects (GDPs). You'll be strengthened and you can leave an encouraging note. I've seen the topics. It's going to be good!
Sunday, Jan.11th- We will be having our first M3 meeting at the beautiful home of Jack and Janie Rogers- 10749 Cherrywood Dr. Palos Park. Each of you has proven to be unstoppable in your daily reading and sharing on our blog. This may seem like a small thing, but it is foundational to our personal growth and to our unity and success as a team to accomplish our multiplying mission. Thus, to each person that continues to meet daily on the blog and passes the basic review test, you will be presented with an "Unstoppable Award." So mark your calendar and be unstoppable for that crucial meeting. (By the way, you will pass the basic review test, no matter how many times you have to take it. It's basic- no cramming or all nighters necessary. The goal of a good teacher is seeing his students succeed. You will:)
Also, you are invited to come earlier that same day (Sunday, Jan,11th) at 1:00pm to Jack and Janie's for lunch and the first in a series of Bible discussions on the DVD series, "The Bible." I'm looking forward to this as well. Those not part of M3 will clear out by 2:45 so we can start our meeting promptly at 3:00. It's a bit of a drive, so by all means leave early enough to be early. Please RSVP to Jack if you and yours are planning on coming to this 1:00 lunch and discussion time. Jack's #417-425-5739. Your loved ones are welcome to stay upstairs during our M3 meeting from 3:00 to 4:15. Knowing Jack and Janie, there would be a good video for the kids to watch and good fellowship for the women.
