PT-2 "God's Pardon" (Matt. 6:12)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/29/2020 8:33 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  PT-2 ‘God’s Pardon”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matthew 6:12

 

            Message of the verse:  “12 ’And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

 

            In our last SD we mentioned that we were going to look at four principles from this verse and then in our next SD we will look at four words that come from these four principles to help us remember the principles.  It is my desire to just look at the four principles with and explanation of them in our SD for today, and then name the first word, but not go into detail of it until our next SD as there is much to talk about that word so I want to dedicate an entire Spiritual Diary for it.

 

            Principle number one is that “Sin makes man guilty and brings judgment.”  As we look at this principle we should be able to see that this is really the focal point of the human dilemma, as man is a sinner, and that is his problem.  The Bible teaches us that sin is disobedience, lawlessness, breaking God’s law, and violating His standard.  I want to look at Romans 3:19 at this time and highlight a portion of it.  “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God” (NASB95).  In the KJV we see the words “guilty before God,” and the NABS uses the words “accountable to God.”  I want to give the meaning of that word accountable:  “1) under judgment, one who lost his suit; 2) debtor to one, owing satisfaction to; 2a) of liable to punishment from God.”  This is the word and how it is pronounced:  “hupodikos hoop-od’-ee-kos.”  According to my Online Bible dictionary it is the same word translated guilty in the KJV and is only used one time. 

            In Romans 6:23, a verse that most of us are familiar with we see “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Here is the penalty, and the sentence for sin and that is death.  So in breaking God’s laws, all men are guilty and face death.

 

            Principle number two:  Forgiveness is offered by God on the ground of Christ’s death.  We can see from this principle that our holy God who sees a sinful society is also a merciful, loving, and forgiving God as He sees man’s need.  Though man is guilty and stands in judgment, God is a forgiving God.  The Bible teaches us that God will remember our sin no more as He will pass by our iniquities; He will bury them in the depts; of the sea; He will remove them as far as the east is from the west.

            MacArthur writes “Throughout the prophets and the apostles of the Scriptures there is this unceasing promise:  He wants to forgive our sins.  But in His holiness, He could not do that.  He had to bear the penalty for our sins.  The Bible tells us that Christ bore in His body the sins of all the people who ever lived, and paid the price of death for every man.  He is the propitiation, or covering, for the sins of the whole world.  He became sin for us, He who knew no sin.  A just and righteous and holy God cannot forgive sin unless the penalty is paid.  So Christ took our place.”

            Principle number Three:  Confession of sin is necessary to receive that forgiveness from God.  We will look now at what Paul says in Acts 20:21 “21 solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”  The results of this is salvation for the one who repents and confesses Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Then a familiar verse from 1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  So in effect that the ones confessing their sins are the ones giving evidence that they are being forgiven.  There is no man who will receive salvation without him repenting of His sins.

 

            Principle number Four: and I will quote this paragraph from MacArthur’s book “Jesus’ pattern of prayer:  “the knockout punch of this passage—Forgiving one another is an essential part of receiving forgiveness for ourselves.  Don’t be confused, although it looks like forgiveness from God requires that we forgive somebody else.  It’s not that you have to start forgiving people before you can get saved.  You can’t really forgive somebody else if you are not a Christian.  How can you do a righteous act before you have a righteous nature?  That raises a basic misunderstanding of verses 14 and 15 following the Disciples’ Prayer.”  He goes on to say that this will be discussed later on and so we will wait to talk about this later on. 

 

11/29/2020 9:12 AM  

PT-1 "God's Pardon" (Matt. 6:12)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/28/2020 2:05 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus: PT-1 “God’s Pardon”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matthew 6:12

 

            Message of the verse:  “12 ’And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”  “12 Forgive us what we owe to you, as we have also forgiven those who owe anything to us” (Philips). 

 

            In today’s SD and for a few more after this one we will be looking at what the Bible has to say about sin.  Now I realize that we will not get to look at all the Bible has to say about sin, but I hope that once we are done with this subject that all of us will know more about sin than we did before we began this section.  I have to say that we also will be looking at verses 14-15 in this study and so I will quote those two verses, which by the way are very difficult to understand.  “14 “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”  Perhaps some of you have read these two verses and kind of threw up your hands and wondered what in the world do they mean.  I want to clear up one thing about them, and that is we must remember that Jesus is talking to believers as He begins this section with the words “Our Father,” and so those who are not true believers in Jesus Christ do not have God as their Father.

 

            Another thing I want to mention is that much of what I am learning about this prayer comes from things that I have read and listened to from John MacArthur and today we want to look at some quotes from his book “Jesus’ Pattern of Prayer.”

 

            MacArthur begins this chapter “And Forgive Us Our Debts”—The Pardon of Prayer, Part 1)” with these words “The most essential and the most blessed and the most costly thing God ever did was to provide man the forgiveness of sin.

            “It is most essential because it keeps us from hell and gives us joy in this life.

            “It is most blessed because it introduces us into a fellowship with God that goes on forever.

            “And it is most costly because it cost the Son of God His life.

            “Forgiveness of sin is the greatest need of the human heart, because sin has a twofold effect.  It promises to damn men forever while at the same time robbing them of the fullness of life by burdening the conscience with unrelenting guilt.

            “Sin is unquestionably the major problem in the life of man.”

 

            Think about this rather long quote and see if perhaps you would agree with what is written.  Think about life without sin, how it was at first in the garden in the first two chapters of Genesis.  I know that is hard to do, for we are all born with that sin nature, and that is why we sin.  Let me ask you a question to affirm what I am saying here.  Did anyone who is a parent ever have to teach your child to do something wrong, or do they do it all on their own? 

 

            Let me say that the following and that is that forgiveness is man’s deepest need now and in the future, for both health and heaven, and so this is the first petition related to man’s soul in this prayer that Jesus is giving us here.  MacArthur writes that “This is where God and man must meet:  For before God can ever lead us at all (let along lead us not into temptation), we must have a relationship to Him that is possible only when our sins are dealt with.

            “He is a holy God of purer eyes than to behold evil.  He cannot look upon iniquity (see Habakkuk 1:13) ‘Your eyes are too pure to approve evil, And You can not look on wickedness with favor. Why do You look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why are You silent when the wicked swallow up Those more righteous than they?’  ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts,’ says Isaiah.  There is no way that holy God can possibly entertain a relationship with unholy men unless there is forgiveness of sin.”

 

            Now as we continue looking at this subject in our next SD we want to talk about four principles from which we will take four words out of those principles.

 

11/28/2020 2:39 PM

 

 

 

 

 

4th Key Element "Seekers" (Matt. 6:11)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/27/2020 9:29 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                       Focus:  The Fourth Key Element “Seekers”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matthew 6:11

 

            Message of the verse:  “11 ’Give us this day our daily bread.”

 

            We want to begin this SD by identifying the “us” in this verse.  Jesus is speaking of those who belong to Him.  Paul states the following in 2 Corinthians 9:10-11 as he too is speaking to believers:  “10 Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; 11 you will be enriched in everything for all liberality, which through us is producing thanksgiving to God.”

 

            Let us look now at Luke 18:29-30 “29 And He said to them, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life.’”  We can see in this verse that God is forever committing Himself to care for those who are His.

 

            John MacArthur writes “The greatest cause of famine and its attendant diseases in the world is not poor agricultural practices or poor economic and political policies.  Nor is the root problem lack of scientific and technological resources or even overpopulation.  These problems only aggravate the basic problem, which is spiritual.  Only some fifteen percent of the arable land in the world is used for agriculture and that for only half of the year.  There is no major area of the world that with proper technology is not capable of supporting its own population and more.”

 

            Understanding that we have a spiritual problem in the world, according to MacArthur is what causes issues with producing the food supply in different countries.  I have a friend who is a missionary in Bangladesh, and is from that country and he told me that if all the people in the world lived in the state of Texas that they would have more room than those living in Bangladesh at this time.  This statement tells me that what MacArthur is saying is true, and we should not believe the lies of those who are talking about food shortages in that the world cannot support such a large population.    MacArthur goes on to write “Those parts of the world that have no Christian roots invariably place a low value on human life.  The poverty in India, for example, may be laid at the feet of Hinduism, the pagan religion that spawned a host of other religions.  According to Encyclopedia Britannica and Eerdaman’s Handbook to the World’s Religions, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism come from Hinduism.  Shintoism, Zoroastrianism, Confucianism, and Taoism do not.”

 

            Anyone who has a little knowledge of Hinduism and some of these other false religions know that they have a reason in these religions not to eat cows, and so people starve but the cows live.  Cows not only are not to be eaten but add to the food problem by consuming twenty percent of India’s total food supply.  One thing about situations like this one wonders how and why these types of things get started.  We know that Satan is behind all of these false religions and we know that he has a powerful influence on the world today as he heads up the world system.  People who are in darkness cannot see this and it is up to believers in the world to bring the light of the glorious gospel to them in order for them to escape from these terrible situations that they are in.

 

            MacArthur writes “Without a proper view of God there cannot be a proper view of man.  Those who have a right view of God and also a right relationship to Him through Jesus Christ are promised the provisions of their heavenly Father.  ‘For this reason,’ Jesus says, ‘I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on.  Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?...For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you’ (Matt. 6:25, 32-33).”

 

            I can think of times that God has provided for believers in miraculous means; however His primary way of provision is through work, for which He has given life, energy, resources and opportunity.  One can remember what Paul wrote to the Thessalonians who were refusing to work because they though the Lord would return, and so Paul told them if you don’t work you cannot eat. 

 

            I want to continue this SD by looking at the very short fifth key element which is “The Schedule.”  As we look at this very short eleventh verse of Matthew chapter six we see the word “daily” and this is the schedule of God’s provision for His children.  What this means here is simply that on regular, day-by-day supply of our needs.  This is what we are to rely on the Lord for, and that is one day at a time.

 

            I want to remind those who are reading this that John MacArthur’s commentaries come from the sermons that he has preached, and it was in the late 1970’s that he was preaching through the book of Matthew and so some of the things that I have quoted from his commentary may seem out of date for today. 

 

            My desire is to look at Matthew 6:12 in our next SD.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am truly thankful for how the Lord takes care of me on a daily basis, and perhaps this is one thing in my life that I need to express thanksgiving to the Lord in a more consistent way.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  As I continue to study this wonderful prayer that the Lord gives to us it is my desire to have what He teaches me to enhance my prayer life.  I am so thankful that it is at this time that the Lord has brought me to the study of the book of Matthew, and these last few weeks on this prayer.

 

11/27/2020 10:12 AM

 

"Continue looking at the "source" and then Supplication" (Matt. 6:11)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/26/2020 12:26 PM

 

My Worship Time                  Focus:  “Continue looking at the "Source" and then Supplication”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matthew 6:11

 

            Message of the verse:  “11 ’Give us this day our daily bread.”

 

            First of all I want to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all who read this Spiritual Diary, as we truly have much to be thankful for, including the gift of salvation that was provided to us through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

            Next I want to finish our thoughts on the “Source” as we did not finish that one in our Spiritual Diary from yesterday.

 

            We have already mentioned that the source is God and God provided for man even before He created man.  Remembering God’s final creation it was man as God created everything else before man was created as if He was making everything perfect for His creation of man.  Let us look at Genesis 1:29 “Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;” (NASB95).  One can see from this verse that God had everything planed out ahead of time for when He would create man.  Since that time of creation God has continued to provide an abundance of food for mankind, in an almost unlimited variety.  I could list some of those varieties but I don’t want to get anyone hungry and run off and not finish reading this SD.

 

            MacArthur writes “Yet Paul tells us that ‘the Spirit explicitly says that in the last times some will fall away from the faith…and advocate abstaining from foods, which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.  For everything created by God is good and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer’ (1 Tim. 4:1, 3-5).  The Word of God sanctifies it by way of creation, and we sanctify it when we receive it with grateful prayer.  This is probably perfect timing as we study this on Thanksgiving Day.  I really had nothing to do with the timing.

 

            Every physical thing that we have comes from God’s provision through the earth, and therefore the sins of indifference and ingratitude are not to daily recognize His gifts in thankful prayers.  I am sure we will all do this today, but remember to do it each and every day of the year.

 

Supplication:  We see from the word “give” as this is where the supplication is expressed.  That is the heart of the petition, and it is because it recognizes need.  MacArthur adds “Even though God may already have provided it, we ask Him for it in recognition of His past and present provision as well as in trust for His future provision.”  This topic was spoken about in the last sermon that Dr. Gary Anderson as he preached at our church last Sunday morning as\nd he stated that we are to give thanks for what God has already given to us, and not what we think that He may give us.

 

            There is only one thing that could make Jesus’ instruction and our petitions valid and that is the promise of God.  It would be wrong for us to expect God to give us what He has not promised, and that is the reason that we all should be students of God’s Word to see exactly what God has promised.  Knowing His promises we can pray confidently because God has promised abundantly.  “3 Trust in the LORD and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.”  “10 Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more; And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there. 11 But the humble will inherit the land And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity” (Psalm 37:3-4; 10-11). 

 

            MacArthur concludes “God does not bind Himself to meet the physical needs of everyone, but only of those who trust in Him.  In Psalm 37 David is speaking to believers who ‘trust in the Lord’ (v-3), ‘delight…in the Lord (v-4), ‘commit [their] way to the Lord’ (v-5), ‘rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him’ (v-7), ‘cease from anger,’ and ‘do not fret’ (v-8).  He says, ‘I have been young and now I am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, or his descendants begging bread’ (v-25).”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  It is always a great thing to do to give thanks to the Lord, for He is the One who gives me all that I need.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust in the Lord to continue to supply the things that I need, and not necessarily the thing that I want for they may not be good for me.

 

11/26/2020 12:52 PM

PT-1 Of "5 Key Elements in the Request of God's Provisions" (Matt. 6:11)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/25/2020 11:43 AM

 

My Worship Time              Focus: PT-1 Of “5 Key Elements in the Request of God's Provisions”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matthew 6:11

 

            Message of the verse:  “11 ’Give us this day our daily bread.’”

 

            We will begin to look at these five key elements in the request of God’s provisions in our SD for today.  We mentioned before that the Lord’s Prayer can be broken up into two sections, and we are now in the second section which deal with our requests to God, but also as mentioned the prayer still focuses on God.

 

The substance:  The substance is bread, but not only does it represent food but is symbolic of all our physical needs.  Martin Luther stated that “everything necessary for the preservation of this life is bread, including food, a healthy body, good weather, house, home, wife, children, good government, and peace.”  I would have to say that this is a great deal more than just bread.

 

            MacArthur writes “It is marvelous to understand that the God who created the entire universe, who is the God of all space and time and eternity, who is infinitely holy and completely self-sufficient, should care about supplying our physical needs—and should be concerned that we receive enough food to eat, clothes to wear, and a place to rest.  God obligates Himself to supply our needs.”  I totally agree with this statement at wondering why God cares enough for us when most of the time many people give little regard for Him.  I am reminded of a chapter I recently read from W. Phillip Keller’s book on the Lord ’s Prayer as he entitled it “A Layman’s look at the Lord’s Prayer.”  He was talking about the phrase “hallowed be Thy name,” and was talking mostly about the church, stating that we have done a very poor job in doing this.  Perhaps the things that are going on in our world is a wakeup call for all believers to realize that it is God who is in control, and that God has a plan for this world that He created and desires us to look up to Him, and to hallow His name, giving what He deserves!

 

            As we look at this part of the prayer we can see that it is in the form of a petition, however it is also an affirmation—which is why it is as appropriate for those who are well-fed as for those who don’t have much to eat.  Above all it is an affirmation that we can see from James 1:17 where James writes “17 Every desirable and beneficial gift comes out of heaven. The gifts are rivers of light cascading down from the Father of Light. There is nothing deceitful in God, nothing two-faced, nothing fickle” (Message).  17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (NKJV).           

            The following comes from my SD dated Aug. 8, 2003:  “If I understand what Dr. Wiersbe says about this verse it could start out something like this:  Every gift that God gives us is perfect, and the way that He gives it to us is perfect, and He keeps on giving us gifts all of the time, even when we do not realize that He is giving them to us, and God is not like the moving of the planets and stars, for He never changes because He cannot change for worse because He is holy, and He cannot change for better because He is perfect.”

 

The Source:  Now we move onto looking at the source and that of course is God as the Father,  the One addressed throughout the prayer, the One who is praised and who is also petitioned.

 

            MacArthur sees to hit on the point that I was talking about earlier as he writes “When all our needs are met and all is going well in our lives, we are inclined to think we are carrying our own load.  We earn our own money, buy our own food and clothes, and pay for our own houses.  Yet even the hardest-working person owes all that he earns to God’s provision (see Deut. 8:18).  Our life, breath, health, possessions, talents, and opportunities all originate from resources that God has created and made available to man (see Acts 17:24-28).  After scientists have made all their observations and calculations, there remains the unexplained element of the design, origin, and operation of the universe.  It is unexplained, that is, apart from God who holds it all together (Heb. 1:2-3).”  I want to look at Hebrews 1:2-3 at this time “2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (NASB95).  I have talked about this highlighted portion in past SD as I spoke about the fact that scientist are baffled as to how the universe is held together.  Peter talks about this in his second letter:  “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10).  Let us look at the word elements for a moment:  “1) any first thing, from which the others belonging to some series or composite whole take their rise, an element, first principal e.g. the elements, rudiments, primary and fundamental principles of any art, science, or discipline” (Greek English Dictionary).  The word for element in the Greek is stoicheion stoy-khi’-on.”  Now according to our definition we could say that what Peter is talking about is the basic building block.  I have learned a long time ago that what Peter is talking about here is the “atom.”  According to our verses in Hebrews it is “Christ” who holds all things together including the atoms.  As one looks at a magnet and tries to put both north sides of them together they repel.  That is what is inside of all atoms and when Christ releases the atoms as seen in Peter’s verse (3:10) there will be an explosion bigger than any yet seen as the universe, including the earth will dissolve and burn up.  This is how powerful our God is.

 

            I think it best that I conclude this “source” in our next SD.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I desire to praise the Lord for the great power that He has, but most of all for the great salvation that He has provided for me and all who accept His forgiveness.

 

11/25/2020 12:26 PM 

 

 

 

PT-2 of The Disciples Prayer" (Matt. 6:11-15)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/24/2020 9:46 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus:  PT-2 of the Disciples Prayer

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matthew 6:11

 

            Message of the verses:  9 "Pray, then, in this way: ’Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 ’Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 ’Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ’And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 ’And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [[For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]]’ 14 “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”

 

            We begin the second part of “The Disciples Prayer” today, which will have requests in it as opposed to the first part which did not have any requests.  Here is a short quote from MacArthur’s book “Jesus’ Pattern of Prayer” “All the elements of the Disciples’ Prayer focus on God.  Even the petitions that relate to us really depend upon Him.  It is He who must give our daily bread, He who must forgive our trespasses, and He alone who can lead us not into temptation.

            “The prayer is primarily an act of worship, and engagement in the process of sanctification.

            “Prayer is designed not to change God, but to change us.”

 

            I like the part about prayer being an engagement in the process of sanctification.  Sanctification has three parts, first we are sanctified when we become believers in Jesus Christ, and next we are continually sanctified as we walk with the Lord, as it is the Holy Spirit’s desire to make us more and more like Jesus Christ.  Finally when we get to heaven we will be completely sanctified.  The middle part is the most difficult part as we are still in this earthly body with the old nature and the flesh that fight against us.  As we become more and more like Jesus Christ then this will affect our prayer life, and our prayers will be more mature and more complete so that the things that we pray about are more in line with what God desires us to pray about.  As MacArthur writes prayer is primarily an act of worship, and worship is what we all desire to do to help us be conformed to the image of Christ.

 

            We will now look at God’s Provision which is found in Matthew 6:11 “Give us this day our daily bread.”

 

            Living in the United States we are blessed with an abundant supply of food.  However since the beginning of this year with the problem of the Covid 19 things have changed much around the world, including in our own country.  I have a friend who lives in Bangladesh, a missionary friend who has lived his whole life there and they have a great deal of problems with people not having enough to live on, even having enough to eat.  Now if we in our country and most of the Western world have plenty of food to eat why should we ask God for what we already have in such abundance?   This must have a deeper meaning to it.  This part of the Disciples’ prayer, like every other part, extends beyond the first century to all believers, in every age and in every situation.  We have seen that in this pattern for prayer that our Lord gives all the necessary ingredients for praying.  MacArthur states “We can see five key elements in this request for God’s provision:  the substance, the source, the supplication, the seekers, and the schedule.”  Lord willing we will begin to look at these five elements in our next SD.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have to say that perhaps not thanking the Lord for the food that He provides each day for me that I could do a better job in that area.  Oh yea I usually take time to pray, thanking God for my food, but I just don’t want to make this a habit without meaning, but something more than that.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord more fully for things that are not in my control.

 

11/24/2020 10:22 AM

PT-5 "The Right Understanding of God's Will" (Matt. 6:10a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/23/2020 1:12 PM

 

My Worship Time                                   Focus:  PT-5 “The Right Understanding of God’s Will.”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matthew 6:10a

 

            Message of the verse:  I desire to make this the last SD on this subject as I want to do some more quoting from John MacArthur’s book “Jesus’ Pattern of Prayer,” on this third point that we have been going over for a few days now.

 

            “God’s commanding will is related to the Christian.  It is the ardent desire of the heart of God that we who are His children obey Him completely and immediately with willing hearts.

            “And so when I pray, ‘Thy will be done,’ I’m saying, ‘Oh, God, fulfill Your comprehensive will in the world.  Bring it to consummation.  Take every struggle and trial in my life, every pain and anxiety, every sorrow, every sickness, every death, and somehow reverse those results of sin and fit them into Your eternal plan by Your infinite mind.’

            “I’m also saying, ‘O God, there are people in my life and around this globe who don’t know You.  I pray that somehow the gospel would penetrate their hearts.’  That is His compassionate will.

            “Third, I am praying, ‘Lord, about your will of command, I pray that I personally might be obedient.’

            “Through conversation, when Christ comes to reign in a heart; through commitment, when a believer lives according to righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit; and in His second coming, when the kingdom comes to earth.  I see the same three things here.

            “His comprehensive will embraces the ultimate end, the coming again, and the setting up of an eternal kingdom.

            “His compassionate will embraces conversion.

            “And His commanding will embraces the idea of obedient commitment in my life.

            “As Peter said so well in Acts 5:29, ‘We ought to obey God rather than men.’

            “David said it all in the magnificence of Psalm 119, where he stated things like this:  ‘[O God], make me to understand the way of thy precepts…I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me…I will run the way of thy commandments…Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end…I will delight myself in thy commandments..Thy statutes have been my songs…I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me…O how love I thy law!’

            “You know it’s hard to pray that way.  It’s hard to be preoccupied with “God in our prayers, and there’s one basic reason—the major sin of the human heart—pride.”

 

            MacArthur goes on to talk about only having one will in heaven and that is God’s will, but here on earth as we have somewhere around 7-8 billion people we have that many wills, and pride is involved in all of them.

 

            I think that one of the main things that I have learned from this section comes from the verse that we have been studying for several days and that is “thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.”  How can I make heaven’s will here on earth, as heaven’s will is perfect, but because of the old nature that we are all plagued with and the pride we have in our hearts, that makes things two times harder. 

 

            Another thing that we must remember is that just because something happens here on earth that does not make it automatically the will of God.  However when things happen out of the will of God, but God allows them to happen then we must remember Romans 8:28 as God makes all things in the believer’s life work together for our good, and for His glory.  That is how great our God is.

 

11/23/2020 1:35 PM  

 

 

PT-4 "The Right Understanding of God's Will" (Matt. 6:10b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/22/2020 9:55 AM

 

My Worship Time                                    Focus:  PT-4 “The Right Understanding of God’s Will”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matthew 6:10b

 

            Message of the verse: “Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.”

 

            In today’s SD we will begin to look at the third distinct aspect of God’s will, and Lord willing, we will finish this up in our next SD as we again look at MacArthur’s book “Jesus ’Pattern of Prayer,” as this has much more detail in it and will help us better understand this third point.

 

            This third distinct aspect of God’s will can be called God’s will of command, and this is only for those who are His children, for they are the only ones who can obey Him completely and immediately with a willing heart.  Paul writes in Romans 6:16-18 the following “16  Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, 18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”

 

            MacArthur writes “God’s will of purpose embraces the ultimate end of this world, Christ’s second coming and the setting up of His eternal kingdom.  His will of desire embraces conversion; and His will of command embraces the commitment and obedience of His children.”

 

            We will look more at this in our next SD, but the question here is what is the great enemy of God’s will?  Of course that has to be pride, for it was pride that caused Lucifer to fall as described in the 14^th chapter of Isaiah.  Pride causes unbelievers to reject God and believers to disobey Him.  “For God’s will to be accepted and to be prayed for in sincerity and with faith, self-will must be forsaken in the power of the Holy Spirit.”  “1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2). 

 

            MacArthur continues “When we pray in faith and in conformity to God’s will, our prayer is a sanctifying grace that changes our lives dramatically.  Prayer is a means of progressive sanctification.  John Hannah said, ‘The end of prayer is not so much tangible answers as a deepening life of dependence…The call to prayer is a call to love, submission, and obedience…the avenue of sweet, intimate, and intense fellowship of the soul with the infinite Creator.’

 

            “In verses 11-13a Jesus gives three petitions.  The first relates to our physical life and the present (daily bread), the second to our mental and emotional life and the past (debts), and the third to our spiritual life and the future (temptation and evil).”   11/22/2020 10:17 AM

PT-3 "Right understanding of God's Will" (Matt. 6:10b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/21/2020 11:01 AM

 

My Worship Time                                          Focus:  PT-3 “Right Understanding of God’s Will”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Matthew 6:10b

 

            Message of the verse:  “Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.”

 

            In our last SD we were talking about giving out three distinct aspects of God’s will as He reveals it to us in His Word, and I promised that we would look at them in this SD.

 

            John MacArthur describes these as he writes “First, it is what may be called His will or purpose—the vast, comprehensive, and tolerating will of God expressed in the unfolding of His sovereign plan that embodies all of the universe, including heaven, hell and the earth.  This is God’s ultimate will, of which Isaiah wrote, ‘The Lord of hosts has sworn saying ‘Surely, just as I have intended so it has happened, and just as I have planned so it will stand’’ (Isa. 14:24; cf. Jer. 51:29; Rom. 8:28; Eph. 1:9-11; etc.).  This is the will of God that allows sin to run its course and Satan to have his way for a season.  But in God’s appointed time sin’s course and Satan’s way will end exactly according to God’s plan and foreknowledge.”  I will at this time quote these verses that are in the parentheses. 1) Jer. 51:29 “So the land quakes and writhes, For the purposes of the LORD against Babylon stand, To make the land of Babylon A desolation without inhabitants.”  2) Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”  3) Ephesians 1:9-11 “9 He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10 with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him 11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.”

 

            Now I will quote from “Jesus’ Pattern of Prayer” “How do we pray in accord with His will of purpose?  By joyously getting involved in the anticipation of the accomplishment of His divine ends.”  That’s a great way to pray; ‘Lord, I know someday You’re going to call out Your church, and You’re going to bring back Jesus Christ to take us to be with Him.  May it be, Lord, may it be.

            “It’s going to happen—it’s inevitable (expected).  He thought it, He purposed it, it’s in the plan.

            “Do you ever get tired of the anxiety of this world?  Do you ever long for the day when you know the freedom of the sons of God, when you are like Christ, and you can dwell in the eternal glory with Him?  I do.  And so sometimes I will pray, ‘Lord, I know you’re going to do it, and I just want to let You know You’ve got my vote.  Go ahead, do it.  The sooner the better.’  That’s praying according to God’s comprehensive will.”

 

            Now we want to move onto the second distinct aspect of God’s will as we again quote from MacArthur’s commentary.  “Second, is what may be called God’s will of desire.  This is within His will of purpose and completely consistent with it.  But it is more specific and focused.  Unlike God’s will of purpose, His will of desire is not always fulfilled; in fact, it is very unfulfilled in comparison to Satan’s will in this present age.”  In his book we have been quoting what he entitles this “God’s compassionate will,” and we will take a look at that in a moment.

 

            “Jesus greatly desired that Jerusalem be saved, and He prayed, preached, healed, and ministered among its people to that end.  But few believed in Him; most rejected Him, and some even crucified Him.  ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,’ He prayed.  ‘I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!’’  (Luke 13:34).  That was the repeated experience of God’s Son, who came to earth that men might have life, and have it more abundantly.  Like the unbelieving Jews in Jerusalem, most people were not willing to come to Jesus for that abundant life (John 5:40; cf. 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9).

 

            Now from his book as he writes about God’s compassionate will, a name that means much to me as I have studied this prayer.  “Included in this are the things that God wills that don’t always happen; they are His desires, but men may reject them… You remember that Jesus wept, but do you know that in Jeremiah 13:17 God says that when He must judge sinners, ‘Mine eyes…run down with tears?’ 

            “Peter says He is not willing that any should perish, ‘but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

            “That is the heart’s desire of God, and yet many will say in that last day, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and He will respond, ‘Depart from me, I never knew you’ (Matthew 7:22-23).  He desires all to be saved, but not all will be.  That’s the mysterious paradox of an absolutely sovereign God’s allowing man his own volition.”

 

            I think it best to do the last point in our next SD as we have not actually covered much in words, but the words that were written have some deep meaning that we need to think about.

 

11/21/2020 11:34 AM