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The Will of God (Part 1)
This past week while I was resting up from my hospital visit, a very sad event took
place on Wednesday, September 16th, at MSU’s Breslin Arena. (slide) A memorial
service took place for a 35-year-old Lansing firefighter, Dennis Rodeman, who left behind
a wife expecting their first child. (slide) Thousands of firefighters from all over the state
came to East Lansing to pay tribute to one of their own who was doing charity work called
Fill the Boot. (slide) How ironic that Dennis Rodeman survived a tour in Iraq as a marine,
but he did not survive Grant Taylor’s anger that traffic had slowed down. So Taylor, who
is mentally unstable, purposely drove through a second time hitting Rodeman with his
pickup truck and fled the scene. (slide blank)
I tell this sad story for a reason, because somewhere, some good-intentioned
person will make a comment about God’s will; that because God is ultimately in control of
everything, God must have orchestrated this horrible event for some divine purpose that
we just don’t understand quite yet. And why would someone say that? Because it
sounds comforting in the moment. It’s trying to give an answer to “why” when something
senseless happens. Well, let me ask you, do you believe Rodeman’s death was a part of
God’s perfect plan for the Rodeman family, or did an unstable person cause it? Or, if you
were Dennis Rodeman’s widow, would you find comfort if someone told you this was
God’s will? Would you want to worship a God that intentionally took your husband and
planned such a horrible event?
This morning, I want to begin a very serious three-part teaching on the subject
(slide) - the will of God, because I am betting there has been some time in your life when
you shed tears wondering “why,” or questioned the idea of God’s will, or asked - why did
God allow this certain thing to happen because it doesn’t make any sense to me? I’m
wishing I could tell you our three part series will answer all of our questions, but you and I
know that is impossible. What I am hoping is that these messages will offer some
encouragement and comfort and some helpful reasoning to have us thinking about God
in a positive way instead of a negative. I want you to hear that God is for you and not
against you; that God thinks about you in loving ways and has your best interests in
mind.
(slide blank) Also, please keep in mind as we go through these three messages
together that you don’t have to agree with the minister on this subject. You may have a
better answer that works for you. And if you do - that’s great. My goal is to share with
you one possible way of looking at this big subject, because who really knows the mind of
God and how God operates? I certainly don’t. (slide) The Scripture says in Romans 11:
“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How
unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the
mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?” (vv.33-34) God is bigger than you and
I. God’s ways do not fit into a neat little box where you plug in A and B is always the
outcome. God doesn’t need my permission or blessing to do anything God wants to do
when God wants to do it, especially if it is different than my desires. Yet, knowing all of
that ahead of time, would it not be helpful (instead of throwing up our hands), if we had a
reasonable way of looking at the will of God; a way of explaining some of the perplexing
events in life? (slide blank)
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So part of my purpose today is to get you thinking and stretch you just a little. I
want you to think about phrase we often hear or use ourselves, “It must be God’s will.”
Q: What do we really mean when we say that? And, is it wise for us to arbitrarily assign
everything we encounter as the will of God?
For instance - if we had a loved one in the hospital who was very sick, do we say
this sickness must be God’s will? What if it’s a small child with cancer, do we believe
God inflicts dreaded diseases upon children? Or what if someone we know passes away
prematurely, do we say this must have been the will of the Lord? Because if we believe
sickness and death are God’s best intentions for us, then why do we fight against God’s
will by going to a hospital or asking a doctor to help us? Should we not accept whatever
happens to us as God’s will, and therefore do nothing? Or what if a patient under a
doctor’s care recovers after a near death experience, would we say this was the Lord’s
will for them to live a little longer? My guess is - we would. Yet, we would be left with a
very confusing understanding of the Lord’s will. Sometimes God wills life - sometimes
death. Does it really make sense for God to will both at the same time? Or can I take
you one step further? Have you ever heard someone say something like this: It must
have been the will of the Lord to take him now, but, if the paramedics or doctor could
have gotten here sooner to help, he might still be alive? What are we saying? How can
it be God’s will to take someone home, unless of course a paramedic or doctor
intervenes? Are we saying a doctor is more powerful than the will of God?
I raise these difficult questions for a reason, because I want us to think through
what we really believe about God and His will for us. I want us to understand there might
be different layers to God’s will we don’t comprehend very well, and to simply cast
everything that happens in this world, both evil and good, as God’s intended will and
purpose for our lives, to me is an injustice to God. Let me illustrate.
What would you do if someone snuck into your home late one night and injected a
deadly virus into the system of one of your children or grandchildren? Would you be
angry? Most definitely. What would you do if you caught the person in the very act?
Would you not do everything within your power to stop them? Absolutely. On a human
level we would be appalled at such an atrocity. We would see this intentional act of
murder as criminal. Well here’s my bigger question. If we are outraged for someone
doing this on the human level, then why aren’t we outraged when we ascribe something
evil as God’s will for our lives?
So as we begin our three part discussion, let me offer an overview of three
possible divisions for what we oftentimes call God’s will. Then over the next two
Sundays, we’ll go into greater detail of these three divisions with examples. I have to
give the primary credit of these three divisions to Dr. Leslie Weatherhead, an English
preacher during World War II, who greatly helped the people of England go through some
of their darkest days.
Weatherhead described God’s will in three ways: (slide)
1. God’s intentional or ideal will. This is God’s ideal purpose for us, God’s ideal plan,
God’s best, God’s original plan and intent for the well-being of His children which
oftentimes gets spoiled by mankind’s folly and sin. This is how God ideally would like
everything to be. To say it another way. If nothing could or would ever go wrong, if sin
and the fall of humanity was not a factor, this would be God’s intentional plan from the
beginning. This is how God would like things to be. (slide)
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2. God’s circumstantial or permissive will. This is God’s will within the circumstances of
life. It can be described as the will within the will of God when the ways of humanity
(perhaps because of sin or disobedience) counteract God’s first and best intentions. In
other words, it was not God’s first choice for us, it was not a part of the original plan, it
was not a part of God’s ideal, how God would really like things to be. However, God’s
will permits or allows these things to happen, though God did not cause them or devise
them. This is where our free will comes in, because our choices, through our free will, can
temporarily defeat or at least fight against God’s ideal purposes for us. (slide)
3. God’s ultimate or sovereign will. This is the area of God’s will which in spite of all we
may do to fight against the Lord, or when evil raises its ugly head in defiance against
God, the Lord will not and cannot be defeated. It is where God can use even evil for His
ultimate purposes. It’s the story of Joseph in the Old Testament sold into slavery by his
brothers yet God used their evil intentions for a greater good. With God’s ultimate will we
are declaring the final realization of God’s plans shall come to pass, guaranteed, such as
the resurrection and second coming of Christ. For God in His omnipotence, can achieve
the ultimate results of His plans no matter what we do or what road block may be tossed
out to destroy, confuse, or spoil them. Because God is sovereign, God’s plans will
ultimately come to pass in God’s perfect timing. (slide blank)
Let me try to give an example of all three areas (divisions) working together
through the life of Jesus.
1. Let us say for argument’s sake - it was God’s intentional or ideal will for Jesus to
reveal the true character of God Almighty by healing people, forgiving people, offering
love, acceptance, caring, compassion, doing good deeds, preaching the good news of
salvation, and making disciples of all nations.
2. But something abruptly stopped this intended will which Jesus foreknew and was
prophesied about; let’s call it the evil intentions of jealous religious leaders who wanted
Jesus stopped. The good, which Jesus did, did not really matter to these political
leaders. They made choices out of their own free will and selfish desires. So they found
a way to kill Jesus and had Him crucified. Now Jesus, knowing their bad intentions, had
a dilemma. Should He run and save His earthly life, or should He stay and deal with the
consequences of evil acts? If you recall, three times Jesus prayed in agony to His
Father, Dad is there some other way to do this? But whatever Your will is in this matter I
will do what You ask.
Ideally, what father or mother would like to see their son or daughter tortured?
None. However, in the circumstances placed before Jesus, God the Father allows evil to
temporarily have its day and tells His Son, accept death for now, because I can use this
in a more positive way. And trusting in His Father’s love and wisdom, Jesus went to the
cross.
3. Which leads to God’s ultimate will - the redemption of humanity. God used the cross an instrument of evil, and powerfully transformed it into something good, opening the way
to heaven for all people who would repent of their sins. God’s ultimate plans to save
humanity and share His redemptive love through His Son were not defeated by evil acts.
God’s ultimate plans still came through because God is sovereign and Lord over all.
If we want to gain some understanding as to what is now and has been in the past
God’s intentional will for His children - we need to turn to the Scripture. Because it is by
understanding God’s Word do we get an accurate picture of what God’s true intentions
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are toward us. And what better picture can we get than by searching through the four
gospels and following very closely the ministry of Jesus, Who revealed His Father’s will
by word and deed. Hear first of all what or Lord believed His ministry was:
Luke 4:15-21 And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was
His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the
book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book, and found the
place where it was written,(slide) "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed
me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives,
and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the
favorable year of the Lord." And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant,
and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. And He began
to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."
Q: Did Jesus actually accomplish what He said He would according to this
prophetic word? Well, what do the Gospels record for us?
Do you remember when John the Baptist was in prison and was soon to be
beheaded, and John needed some reassurance from Jesus. So he sent messengers to
verify “are You the Expected One or should we look for someone else?” Do you
remember Jesus’ answer? He replied: (slide) Luke 7:22,"Go and report to John what
you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed,
and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them.
Jesus actions in ministry would be His testimony; they would reveal His true
intentions toward us. In Luke chapter five, beginning at verse 12, we read of Jesus’
willingness to make people whole - And it came about that while He was in one of the
cities, behold, there was a man full of leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face
and implored Him, saying,(slide) "Lord, if You are willing, you can make me clean." And
He (Jesus) stretched out His hand, and touched him, saying, "I am willing; be cleansed."
And immediately the leprosy left him.
Then we read in Matthew 18:10,14: (slide) "See that you do not despise one of
these little ones, for I say to you, that their angels in heaven continually behold the face of
My Father who is in heaven…."Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that
one of these little ones perish. (slide blank)
If we look at the ministry of Jesus, His words and His actions, what do we see?
Do we see goodness or evil? And, if Jesus is the full expression of heaven’s intent, if
Jesus always went about doing the Father’s will, what can we conclude? God’s ideal will
for His people, God’s best intentions are for goodness and not for evil. God is for us and
not against us. The Lord does not will war, but peace. Not death, but life. Not sickness,
but health. Not starvation, but being filled. Not child abuse, not pornography, not sexual
crimes, not perversion, not murder, not drug addiction - none of those things. God’s
intentions are good, and we are told in the book of James, every perfect gift comes from
above (James 1:17).
When I think of God’s intentional will toward me, I think of good things, just like a
parent wants to give good things to a son or daughter. I believe the Lord pours Himself
out in goodness, and when the world was created, there was a perfect order and
paradise. Natural laws such as gravity were set into motion. Plant life and animal life
lived in harmony together. This was God’s well-intentioned plan. But then sin through
disobedience entered the picture and all creation fell bringing along with it the curse of
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disease, sickness and death. That was not a part of God’s ideal plan for us. God’s
intent, God’s ideal was paradise.
So then we hear people ask – well, if God is so good and God’s intentions are
good, why are bad things allowed to happen? Why doesn’t God do something to prevent
all the bad circumstances in life? I believe part of the answer deals with our sin and our
freewill, the choices we make.
For instance, was I a terrible parent when our children were younger and I let them
have the freedom to roller-blade? Did they not have bruised-up legs and knees, sore
ankles, blisters, times of falling down, scraping their hands and crying? Why did I as a
loving parent allow that to happen? I could have prevented all the tears and scrapes by
not allowing any roller-blades in our home. But then, how else would my children have
learned how to roller-blade unless I gave them the freedom to try - knowing all the while
my children may get hurt in the process?
Or look at gravity for a moment. What would this world be like with zero gravity?
How would you like your coca cola, coffee and chocolate cake floating around in the air?
What would keep us from drifting away into the clouds? What would happen to our
atmosphere, our ability to breathe? In those circumstances gravity can be a good thing.
But what if I fall out of tree and break my leg? Or what if a plane malfunctions mid-air?
Or what if an automobile goes over an embankment? Is gravity a bad thing then? Q:
Should God allow gravity to be a constant or not?
What about natural disasters? When fires destroy homes in California, does the
fire know the difference between the Christians and the non-Christians? When an 8.3
magnitude earthquake hits in Chile does it know the difference between male or female,
young or old, the good guys or the bad guys? We will explore more of this next week and
try to find a few more answers. But I pose this thought. Does it ever make sense to say sometimes cruel or unfortunate circumstances can temporarily defeat the best intentions?
The good news is, with God on our side, we still have a bright hope for tomorrow.
God’s omnipotence means - nothing can finally defeat God. God has the power and
ability to achieve His final purposes. God can take our mistakes and yes, even our sins,
and use them in positive ways to fulfill God’s ultimate will. Nothing can stop God’s
ultimate plans from coming about. A beaver may log-jam a stream from flowing into a
river, but eventually the water will get there, it really can’t be stopped.
At the last supper the disciples of Jesus were saddened and confused. On Good
Friday they were ripped with anguish, frightened, and angry how evil plots had destroyed
Someone so good. But goodness could not be stopped could it? Because if you
remember, after Friday came Sunday. God always has the last word.
We do our best to try to describe with human words and limited understanding
divine actions. The task is impossible, and we’re all smart enough to know there will still
be mystery, we will not have all of our questions answered right now. But at the same
time, we can rest in the fact, God goes with us, and the answers will someday come.
God will make all things right, justice and fairness will prevail, beauty and order will be
restored, for God has the final say, because the last chapter is written with God’s golden
pen.