Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

His Way, Our Way, No Way Pt.2

Let's turn to Psalm 143; we'll pick up where we were in our last session. We're talking about being able to walk in the paths of God and God's ways, which are ordained for us. It's just another way of saying the ability to, in peace, accept God's sovereign purposes for our lives. Most of us pray and say we want God's will, we're believing for the will of God in our lives, but the fact of the matter is, right now you're experiencing God's will and you don't like it. So, you're really praying, "God, change Your will for my life and make things the way I want them to be." As believers, we don't always recognize that that's what's happening, but you're in the will of God. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord" (Psalm 37:23). Do you believe that? We're right where God wants us. The mess you're in tonight is right where God wants you. He has you right where He wants you. Most of us say, "Great! This is not exactly what I was believing for when I prayed, 'Bless me' this morning. You know, that flat tire just didn't seem like a blessing." Well, who knows what God is doing in our lives at this time? Maybe it's just a character-building thing. Maybe He kept you from the accident that just happened a mile up the road. Amen? Did you ever stop to think that the steps of the good man are ordered by the Lord? It's not always going to be discernable at the moment, the good things God is doing in our lives. We don't understand. His ways are too high for us.

We were talking about this in the staff meeting Tuesday. We were talking about the sovereignty of God, and the ways of God, which are above our ways: the fact that the finite is never going to be able to understand the infinite God. The moment you think you have it figured out, it's not God. If you can comprehend it, it's not God: He's incomprehensible; He's infinite; He is eternal; He is immutable; and He loves you; and He intends only one thing for your life: goodness. In the process of bestowing His goodness on us, He is at the same time conforming us into His image. So the things we think are bad are good, because they are conforming us into His image. The things that are putting pressure on us in our lives are the refining process: Jesus being formed in us. "For it is God which worketh in you [according to Philippians, Chapter 2, verse 13] both to will and to do [finish it] of his good pleasure." God is working in me to will and to do His good pleasure. Do you know what that tells me? I don't always want to do it, but God works in me to will and do. Our prayer tonight needs to be: "God, work in me. Straighten me out. Shore me up. Give me the grace sufficient that I might start willing to do Your will." The question we have to ask tonight is this: Are you at least willing to do the will of God? Can you say tonight: "I'm willing to do the will of God. I want God's will for my life." Now, be careful. We say it so flippantly: "Yes, I want God's will for my life." God's will for your life is to give everything you have to the poor and follow Him. "I want some other will for my life." "I want God's other will for my life." God's will for your life is for you to stay single. Some of you ladies are saying, "Get behind me, Satan! That's the devil!" Do you really want God's will for your life, even if it means selling everything you have, giving it to the poor and following Him; if it means staying single for the rest of your life; or, for some of you, remaining married? Tragically, we have some marriages here that aren't all that good. Do you want God's will for your life? We flippantly throw that around: "Yes, I just want God's will." Do you understand the magnitude of that statement? Do you understand that God's will is not always easy? Do you realize that Jesus, after having lived a sinless life; Jesus, God incarnate; Jesus the perfect man; Jesus who said, "I know my Father hears Me always, and whatever I ask of Him He'll do" (John 11:42, 22); in agony, sweating drops of blood, said, "If it be possible, [is there another way to fulfill Your will?]" (Matthew 26:39). Then He prayed what you and I pray all the time. What was it? "Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done" (Luke 22:42). God's will is not always easy to do. God's will sometimes can only be accomplished in agony, in drops of blood, in an absolutely clean slate of no personal agenda, a fresh cross daily, and a willingness to be prayerful and say, "Work in me." Just come to grips with it. Do you know what? I want to tell you something: I don't always want to do God's will; but I want to do God's will. I don't always want to do it. If it's possible, let this cup pass from me. I don't necessarily want to do this. But do you know what? I want to do it. I don't want to do it. I want to do it. What am I, schizophrenic? No, I'm a human. I'm flesh, just like you. I want things to go easy! I want things to go my way, really, is what I'm talking about. I don't want to have to humble myself; I just want the exalted part. I don't want to have to give; I want to, in good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over have men give into my bosom. I don't want to forgive; I just want to be forgiven. God's will necessitates all of those other aspects of our giving--emptying ourselves, dying to ourselves--that He might finally be revealed in us and be exalted in our obedience as He is being formed in us, in our willingness to will and do His good pleasure.

The psalmist says in Psalm 143:10, "Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: [I like this next phrase. We left off with this last session.] Thy spirit is good." Until you come to grips with that, you're never going to be able to submit to the will of God: until you understand that God is good. God is infinitely good. Do you know the problem with many of us? We see God only as good as we can comprehend Him good. And mostly, how we comprehend goodness is by how good we are, which is why we are so afraid of this. Because you're not really that good, are you? God is infinitely good, God is eternally good and God is immutably good. That's pretty good. So here we are, a people, finite, and goodness is understood by our experience, and we can experience some bad stuff. Have you ever had good people do bad things to you? How many of you ever had a good person do something bad to you? Let me see your hands. How many of you are pretty good and have done bad things to people? Yes, you're the ones I was talking about, actually. God is good all the time; He's good all the time. He's good infinitely. I can't comprehend it either, but I know He is and I believe He is. The psalmist, crying out here, said, "Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness." "Help me to understand, God, how good You are. Teach me to do Your will; teach me to be obedient and to walk in obedience without understanding: the walk of faith." We talk about walking in faith all the time. "Without faith it is impossible to please [God]" (Hebrews 11:16). "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is absolute trust in the goodness, the character, of God. Faith is the ability to obey without understanding. Faith is the ability to pursue the unseen with all of your heart.

As we're talking about the will of God and being able to walk in that will, it's important that we understand the heart of God and to know that if I do what He's admonishing me to do and if I follow the leading of His good spirit, that even though, right now, it seems to be a little tough, whatever it might be: forsaking all and following Him; forgiving my enemies; praying for those who persecute me, despitefully use me and say all manner of evil against me for His name's sake. We talked last session about the fact that when we speak of the will of God, most of us, our thinking is: "Is it God's will for me to take this job? Is it God's will for me to buy this new house? Does God want me to buy a Ford or a Chevy?" (That's a no-brainer; you don't even have to pray about that.) "What does God want for my life?" We are so often talking about the tangible, temporal aspects of life. Really, the thing we need to look at is understanding the will of God in these areas: Have you forgiven your parents yet? I'm talking to some of you adults; that's God's will for you. Have you put the bitterness aside? Have you dealt with the pride and the envy? When we're talking about the will of God, the Scripture says, "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification" (1 Thessalonians 4:3). We're talking about living lives of sanctification, living lives that are pleasing to God. We're talking about walking in obedience to Him. In that Thessalonians passage, 1 Thessalonians 4:3, when he talks about the will of God, sanctification, he says, "I want you to abstain from carnality, from the way the world lives in bitterness, pride, envy, lust, and covetousness." When we say, "God, I want you to work in me to will and to do your good pleasure"--now, stop and think with me for just a moment--we're talking about an absolute heart change that takes you off the throne and erases your agenda. Do you have one? Parents, let me ask you a question. What's your agenda for your children? Some of you already have the college picked out that they're going to. Some of you already have their mates picked out: whom they're going to marry. Some of us have put so much pressure on our young people for a certain vocation, and then we pray, "Lord, we want Your will." Are you ready to be able to pray, "Not my will, thy will be done," knowing the goodness of God, that His plan is best, that He loves your children more than you do, that He loves you infinitely, even knowing the wickedness of all of our hearts and the sin that is in our members?

One of the things we are dealing with is Psalm 40; look at Psalm 40, verse 8. As we're looking to fulfill the eternal purposes of God and be used for Him for His glory, most of us want to succeed at our own goals so we can glorify God. We have some friends here that race with us: Steve and Brenda from down in the Carolinas. Steve is a great racer; he's one of the best in the world. That's why I hang out with him; I want people to think I'm good. They love the Lord. They're serving God as deacon and worship leaders in their church, just a good brother and sister. Some of you might get a chance to say "Hi" to them. We're getting ready, after service, to go down to the Virginia Nationals. Some of you will be coming to distribute handouts and minister down there. A few weeks ago, I was in the finals and had a chance to win. There was no question in my mind that I should have won that for the glory of God. Thank you, Jesus. There is no question in my mind that God wanted me to hold that National Iron Man instead of that lousy plaque that said "Runner-up" for the glory of God. Can God really get more glory by my being a loser? I hate losing! I have no question in my mind and in the way that I comprehend things that I could bring more glory to God by being a winner; and you think you can bring more glory to God by your business being this successful, and your making this much money, and your being able to be observed in this particular community. The fact of the matter is: God knows best. Amen? He knows what we need, and He's looking to be glorified in lives that truly believe He's good and what He's doing in our lives is best for us at the moment--for the glory of God.

I don't always believe that. I have trouble with that, and Psalm 40, verse 8 says, "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, Thy law is within my heart." I can't always pray that; I can't always say that truthfully. Some of you, those of you who are more spiritual than I am, I know you can. Sometimes, I obey God but don't delight in it. Don't you want to delight in it? I want to delight in the will of God. I don't want to just do the will of God. I want to delight in the will of God. Ephesians 6:6: Do you remember last session we were talking about that? He said, "Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart." I don't want to just do what's right. I want to do it because that's who I am now: a new man, a new creature. I want to do it because I'm free from pride, free from ambition, and free from lust. I want to do the will of God for the glory of God. I want Him to work in me to will and to do His good pleasure. That working in me hurts sometimes. It's a refining process. It's the stripping of my own understanding, a stripping of my own carnality, and a stripping of my own agenda. My agenda would have me winning every race. My agenda would have me preaching on ten times more stations than Jimmy Swaggart ever preached on, the chump! He's an amateur compared to me. Did I say that out loud? What is God's will? Surely, it's for me to be famous, wealthy, powerful, happy and healthy. When it's not that way, can you delight in it? Where you are today, is that the will of God for you? It has to be, if God is sovereign. It's not the end of God's will in working in your life; it's not the perfect will of God. Romans tells us that God wants to work in us that perfect will of God. "And be not conformed to this world: [Romans 12:2 says] but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." I believe that God's will in our lives is progressive. I believe that you can be in the will of God and still have to come to the will of God and have Him finish it in us. I believe that I'm in the will of God right now, but I believe that I'm being conformed into the perfect will of God. I wonder if the perfect will of God is a place, a function, or an attitude? Can I obey God, and then can I obey Him perfectly? "I delight to do thy will, O my God." It's not always easy, but God is sovereignly moving in us for His own glory.

Let me show you an example. Turn if you would back to 1 Samuel. I think it speaks towards it; it's an interesting aspect. You remember when the Ark was being brought up to Beth-shemesh, and God had brought judgment upon the Philistines. They were trying to find out whether this was really the judgment of God, or did this thing happen by chance. We'll talk a little bit, as we continue in the study, of God's sovereignty and His ordering of our steps. You need to understand something: Nothing happens in your life by chance. We're not a people subject to fate. God is ordering your steps. Everything that's happening in your life, God has a purpose for it, and He will work all things for good. That doesn't say everything feels good. It doesn't say everything looks good, it says He will make it good. "All things work together for good to them that [what] love God, to them who are called according to [whose purpose] His purpose" (Romans 8 28). That sure makes a distinction, doesn't it? His purpose: not your purpose. "Called according to His purpose." "Love God" and "called according to His purpose." All things work together for good to those who love God and seek to honor God. These things are working in us. Here the Philistines are trying to discern what is taking place. Is this by chance? Verse nine of the sixth chapter of 1 Samuel says they built a little cart and put on this cart jewels of gold, as treasures to return as a trespass offering. They got the emerods and all those afflictions, which came on them: the judgment of God, which came upon them because they were holding the Ark of God seven months. So they put five golden emerods and five golden mice and all these things as peace offerings. They put them on this cart, and here's what their thought process was: verse 9, "And see if it goeth up by the way of His own coast to Beth-shemesh, then [God] hath done this great evil: but if not, then we shall know that it is not His hand that smote us; it was a chance that happened to us." Well, that sounds good, but they added a little bit to this in the thought processes. Not only were they going to turn these two cows loose to see whether they would, by the hand of God, sovereignly be directed to the coast, but just in case, just so it's not chance, here is what we'll do: We'll take their baby calves and we'll bring them back to the pen and we'll hold them here in the pen and see whether they come back to their calves (How many of you think that would be a natural response?) or whether they would leave their calves, their natural families, forsake all and follow Him, contrary to natural responses, natural treasures, and obey the will of God. We know the story. The Scripture says they begin to walk toward the coast. They begin to be directed by the wisdom of God, the power of God, contrary to natural instincts to return to their babies. They walked away from their babies, but the Scripture says they did something as they were going. They did what? They lowed: "Moo!" for all you country folk. How many times have you heard yourself doing that? We're doing the will of God: "Hey, brother, are you doing the will of God?" "Moo! I delight to--Moo--do your will, O God." It's not enough just to obey. There's a delighting. Why? Because Psalm 143 said, "You're good. This is what is best." Let's obey without lowing. Then do what Scripture tells us: "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18). "In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." "I just got ripped off!" Give thanks. "My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into diverse temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be made perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (James 1:2-4). In everything give thanks; it's the will of God. "I just got fired!" Your boss is giving thanks: "Got rid of him, finally; praise God."

I hope you got fired for the right reason: for righteousness sake. "Yes, I got fired for being a Christian. My boss just didn't understand. I had to stay and pray this morning and study my Bible and was two hours late." You deserve to be fired. The guy is paying you; show up at work. If you're going to pray, get up two hours early and show up at work on time. Don't blame it on being a Christian. Christians don't get special privileges in the world. We're to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16). Amen? We're in the world, but not of it (Philippians 2:15, John 17:16). So, we're a people that is to live separate; we're a people that is to live beyond, and be examples of integrity, faithfulness, and stewardship; because if we can't be faithful in what's another man's, God will never give us our own; that's the biblical principle (Luke 16:12).

So, in everything give thanks. I don't know why we went off there. Maybe somebody here is about to be fired. But here we are. As we are looking at what God is doing in our lives, so many times we get depressed and cast down, and we wonder, "What's going on in my life? Doesn't God love me?" Of course He does. What's happening right now is good; it's working His will and His character in us. An eternal, incomprehensible work is taking place in your life. You're never going to understand all the intricacies of what's happening: the lives that are rubbing up against you, and a word spoken in season. There is no way to understand this tapestry God is weaving. So many of us get tunnel vision, focused on one thread, when we need to realize that every thread, the ones we enjoy and the ones we don't enjoy, is revealing the will of God to us and to those around us for an eternal purpose.

I can't get into the whole story: As I was driving up the road today from Richmond I received a [phone] call. Some of you know that we just got a new motorcycle: a chopper. It's a world-class thing. This thing is like--let me think; what are some of the words? From my age group, this thing is bad; it's cherry; it's boss; it's awesome; it's trick; it's radical; it's fly, for all you soul brothers; it's phat. When we were down there and happened to see this thing, I wasn't looking for a motorcycle. I had a motorcycle; I didn't want a motorcycle, and saw this thing and something happened. I was looking at it and turned to Greer and said, "We're supposed to buy this thing. I don't know what's going on, but the only time I ever felt like this before is when we brought the Grand Sport." From that, as you remember, Bob Gold was saved, Chip Miller was saved, and ministry went into a number of lives. One of the really huge, huge businessmen, Barry McGuire, was exposed to the ministry and responded in a way that showed he was blown away, and offered to be of assistance in different areas. It had far reaching consequences. It was at that time that it opened the doors at the Supreme Court for Clarence Thomas. So I said, "We're supposed to do this." We bought it, and the thing showed up, and it's killer! It's one of the few things in my life that ever surpassed my expectations; it was more than I expected it to be. I said, "This is a mind blower!" So I'm looking at this thing and thinking, "Now what?" I looked at it and thought, "Ooh, this is great eye candy; it's cool. It's almost too nice to ride." So I rode it; that was cool. But driving up the road today, I get this phone call. It's the guy who owns the company that built this thing; and it was an interesting story:

He founded a company, and in a couple of years he took it to over 64 million dollars a year in business. He started with nothing, and took it to 64 million a year. His board conspired against him. I just found that out today as I was talking to him on the phone. The board conspired against him and had him thrown out of the company, of all things, wouldn't give him any stock options, and he's a Christian. He said he didn't quite know what to do. They told him, "The one thing we'll do is: We promise you, we won't fire your daughter." She's 20 years old. A few weeks later they fired his daughter, and that ticked him off. So, now you have a ticked off Christian. He still happened to own all the rights to, and had all the information and licenses that dealt with, all the EPA restrictions, without which they were not allowed to put their new 2005 bike on the road. So they bought all of his stock and he came out smelling like a rose. It's almost like Joseph: he loses the business, and he gets all the money. So here he is, he has the money and he goes up to Sturgis and gets hit head-on by a car.

Now, he's in the hospital, and lucky to be alive. They amputate his leg. He's destroyed. He's in the hospital for months, and months, and months. His dad dies, who was his best friend, and he's losing his faith. A man walks into his room and says, "God sent me here to tell you something: 'If you don't faint, if you'll trust Me, if you'll believe I'm intending good for you, and that everything that's happened is for a purpose, I'm going to bless you and use what was a business to become a ministry.'" The guy left; at first he thought he was hallucinating because they had him on so many drugs from the amputation and everything. Just as the guy was walking out the door, his wife and daughter came in. He asked, "Did somebody just walk out that door? I think I'm hallucinating." They said, "No, he was in here. Who was he?" He said, "This is what God said."

His wife was a very nominal believer, and really worried as to what was going on: was he going to die, what was going to happen to the business and all of the investments. He had just put all their money into this new business; now he's in the hospital and nothing is happening. He hooks up with some of the big names in motorcycles and all this kind of stuff. They told him there was no market for this, it couldn't be done, etc. I'll try to shorten this story.

I was doing what I hate the most. How many of you know what one of my pet peeves is? Cell phones: I was driving with a cell phone, and I was dangerous. I scared the three passengers, but I was really taken up. I'm running trucks off the road and doing this. I'm thinking, "This is fascinating!" I should have stopped and let somebody else drive. But, as he was sharing his testimony, part of what he was saying is that he put a fleece out before God, and the Lord spoke to him and said God was going to provide a ministry, and there was going to be a coming together of ministry that would be used for the glory of God, and he would see it in the sale of their first bike, which we bought. As he called me today, he said, "Here is what I want to do. I'm calling all the major national magazines and I want your testimony and I want what you've been doing with these vehicles, and we want to put this in all the national magazines. Would you be willing to do this for us?" I said, "If it would get the gospel out, we'll try to do whatever we can." Then he stopped and began to weep, and said, "My wife, who was skeptical in the first place, who has always been a nominal believer said, 'If just once God could show me.' You don't understand (I can't get into a lot of the other details right now) what that did for her life, for our lives, for the ministry being launched here." There were some other things I'm forgetting, which were blowing me away; I wish I could remember them at this moment, but I'll share with you at a later date.

The will of God: the steps were ordered. I don't want to do this. I had only one reason for not wanting to do it: I didn't want to spend the money. As I'm weighing this back and forth, the Lord said, "How much money did you pay for the Grand Sport?" I said, "The same." "How much did you get for it when you sold it?" "A lot more," I said; "That's going to Africa." He said, "Yes, and I want to make another investment; and we'll get more money to Africa." Then I realized that we are only stewards; you just have to do what you're told. I didn't understand; I didn't know what was going on: I thought I just had a motorcycle. I knew God was speaking, but to see it! We don't even know yet what's going to happen, but this is cool stuff! "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord" (Psalm 37:23). Do we delight in His will? I have to tell you, I wasn't delighting in doing that; I didn't like it. I didn't want to do it, but I did it because I had to; I was compelled to. What is God talking to you about right now? What areas are you struggling with in which you need to stop struggling, and stop lowing, and to begin delighting, and "in everything [giving] thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Father, we thank You for Your Word tonight, and we ask that You continue to do a work in us and prepare us, as a people, for Your glory. We don't know how to go out or come in, but we believe You have gone before us and prepared a way. We believe Your angels are a rear guard to us. We believe that if You are for us, nobody can be against us, so we pray, "Work in me to be willing to do the good pleasure." Sometimes, in agony we'll say, "Lord, if it's possible let this cup pass, but Your grace is sufficient for us." Sometimes, we'll be lowing, but we commit to You, Father, that even though we low, we will go; and in the process we will delight because our prayer is, "Work in us to will and do." By faith we receive it for Your glory, in Jesus' name, amen.

Let's stand before the Lord, tonight. We'll take a minute, as Gary plays for us, and allow the Holy Spirit to [reiterate] whatever it was God spoke to you tonight. Each one heard something different. What did He say to you, tonight? I believe the Holy Spirit spoke to every heart here tonight and put his finger on us and said, "Here's My will. Here is the grace to delight. Give thanks, delight to do, and count Me good." If we can do that, He'll be glorified in us tonight and receive all that's due His name. Let's sing it together and just worship Him. "You deserve the glory..."

Thank You, Jesus. O Lord, help us to honor You and to worship You in all we do. Be glorified in our lives as we go about to do Your will. Make us strong to delight in it. Cause us to give thanks. We ask it, Father, in Jesus' name--and everybody said--amen!

Before you go, turn to somebody next to you and say, "No more lowing." Amen. Go in peace; may God's love go with you.

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