*Weakly Sermon
Prayer—Its Submission (Matthew 6:10)

We now come to the last of the God focused, God centered petitions of the Lord’s Prayer. Prayer begins with the acknowledgement of God. He is our
loving heavenly Father. From there we move to ask God for the grace to give to Him the glory He so richly deserves. It must be our heartfelt desire to
honor His name and that others would honor it, here on earth as it is in heaven. We honor the name of God by obedience, others bring Him honor as
they come to Christ as Savior.

We also pray for God’s kingdom to come on earth. God’s kingdom comes to others as they repent and turn to Christ. The only way to enter the
kingdom is through the new birth. Christians demonstrate God’s rule as they obey His commands. The more complete our obedience the more His
kingdom is evident, on the earth, at the present time. The fullness of God’s kingdom will be on earth when Christ returns to rule from David’s throne.
At that time the prayer, “Thy kingdom come” will be complete.

The third petition is, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Remember the phrase on earth as it is in heaven helps define the first three
petitions. Therefore, we pray, “Help us to honor your name on earth as it is in heaven. Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven and your will
be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

As we think about the will of God, it might be helpful to break it down into three categories. First, God’s will is comprehensive. Second, God’s will is
compassionate. Third, God’s will is commanding. Note also that the second and third petitions are so very closely related that it is hard to make a
distinction between the two. God’s will is His desire and determination. His kingdom is His power, and authority to accomplish His desire and
determination. His will is His plan and His kingdom is the execution of the plan.

I.        Comprehensive (Isa 14:24-27; 46:10; Ps 33:11; Rom 8:28; Gen 50:20; Mat 6:34)

“From all eternity God decreed all that should happen in time, and this He did freely and unalterably, consulting only His own wise and holy will.  Yet
in so doing He does not become in any sense the author of sin, nor does He share responsibility for sin with sinners.  Neither, by reason of His
decree, is the will of any creature whom He has made violated; nor is the free working of second causes put aside; rather is it established.  In all
these matters the divine wisdom appears, as also does God's power and faithfulness in effecting that which He has purposed” (The Baptist
Confession of Faith 1689, Rewritten in Modern English).

God’s comprehensive will includes everything. It includes heaven, hell and everything in between. In God’s comprehensive will, sin is allowed.
Redemption is accomplished. Some sinners are saved and others die and go to hell. The kingdoms of history and the future rise and fall. Every
natural disaster is part of this will. The consummation of history is included in His will. The return of Christ and the establishment of His kingdom are
included. The eternal state falls under the umbrella of God’s comprehensive will.

“God’s decree is His plan by means of which He had determined all things that relate to the universe, including His own actions toward it and all that
comes to pass in it. In the Scriptures God’s decree, or plan, is represented by His ‘counsel’, ‘purpose’, and ‘will” (Floyd Barackman).

From our perspective, it appears that the whole world is in chaos. We fume and fret. We worry and fuss. We need to see things through the eyes of
the Word of God (Isa 14:24-27; 46:10; Ps 33:11). God is in control. He is accomplishing His will.

Let me offer a word of encouragement for those who are going through a rough patch. In the mystery of God’s perfect will, He has allowed your
problems. If you are His child, trust Him, even in the bad times. He has promised to work them out for your good (Rom 8:28). Consider Joseph. His
brothers sold him into slavery. Imprisoned for a sexual crime he did not commit. Yet in all the mistreatment and chaos, He saw things from God’s
eyes. In triumph he could say, “But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to
save many people alive (Gen 50:20). We need to live one day at a time, for tomorrow has enough problems (Mat 6:34).

II.        Compassionate (Luk 19:41-44; Luk 13:34-35; 2Pe 3:9; Eze 33:11; 1Ti 2:3-4)

God’s compassionate will is His desire, because He does not violate human freedom, which goes unfulfilled. This is a mystery. I am not sure you can
speak of God’s will being unfulfilled. God’s compassionate will is, in the main, His desire that sinners be saved. Let us examine several passages that
may help us understand this concept.

On a human level to have an unfulfilled desire is very natural. Suppose I want to change my career. I go to school to get all the proper education and
training. I start applying for various positions in this field of employment. Yet, because of the economy, over which I have no control, I cannot find
another job. I have the desire, but not the strength to create a position for myself. Not so with God, He has the power to do whatsoever He wants.
That is why this aspect of God’s will is a mystery.

Jesus’ desire to save Jerusalem is one example of God’s compassionate will. “Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you
had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come
upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children
within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation” (Luk 19:41-
44). Jesus knew the judgment that was coming upon the unrepentant city and it broke His heart.

Earlier in Luke’s Gospel we read, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted
to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; and
assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD” (Luk
13:34-35). It was the heart’s desire of our Lord that Jerusalem turns to Him and be spared judgment.

There are several other verses that express the desire of God’s compassionate will. “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count
slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2Pe 3:9). In Ezekiel God
proclaims, “Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord GOD, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live.
Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel” (Eze 33:11). The Apostle Paul tells us that God’s desire is for, “all men to
be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1Ti 2:3-4).

III.        Commanding (Isa 14:12-14; Gal 2:20; Rom 12:1)

If God’s compassionate will is the salvation of unbelievers, God’s commanding will is for believers to be obedient to His Word. The Bible perfectly
reveals God’s will and as we conform to its precepts, His will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

John MacArthur did a study on the obedience of the holy angels. He wanted to know how God’s will is performed in heaven. Here is what he found.
“First of all without wavering or unwaveringly, there's never a discussion. It’s not the way it is on earth necessarily the Lord prods and pokes and
maybe we get moving sooner or later but in heaven it’s an unwavering commitment to do His will. Another word that characterized the angels doing
God’s will is completely, completely, there are no other alternatives, there are no gaps, there are no omissions. Another word that I found was
sincerely, they are eager, they seem to be standing waiting for the next command so that they can hurry to accomplish whatever it is. And I guess
that brought me to the word willingly. You know how many will’s there are in heaven? One. ‘Thy will be done in earth, as it is (where?) in heaven.’
There’s only one, there were two once, but that second one got kicked out. There’s only one, and so that the angels do it willingly, because it's the
only will there is. I believe another word that characterized the way the angels function is fervently. They are very aggressive in doing God’s will. And
then the word readily, and then the word swiftly, and then the word constantly. And I guess it could all be summed up in Psalm 103 verse 20 which
says, ‘Ye his angels, that do his commandments.’ ‘Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven,’ means that in earth it should be done without
wavering, completely, sincerely, willingly, fervently, readily, swiftly, and constantly. That's the way the angels do it in heaven.” Does that describe
your obedience to the will of God?

If God’s will is not realized in your life do you know the reason? It can be summed up in one word—pride! Pride is saying, “my will be done.” Pride was
the reason the devil said, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On
the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High” (Isa 14:12-14).

If you find that your will is being done rather than God’s there is only one remedy—death to self. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I
who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Gal 2:
20).

Daily we are to, “Present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom 12:1). We are to lay our
desires, will, hopes and dreams on the altar. Then after sacrificing our will, we rise from the altar and pray, “Thy will be done.” Is God’s will being
done in your life as it is in heaven?

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved.
*Over the years we have received notes and calls from many concerned readers alerting us that we had used the word “weakly” instead of “weekly.” Would you
believe that this is not an oversight or mistake? The Weakly Sermon is Pastor Jay’s best, howbeit weak, effort to explain the great truths of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. Our only prayer is that our God would be pleased to use this “weak” work for His glory. It is our prayer that The Weakly Sermon would be of benefit in your
Christian walk.
*Weakly Sermon