The will of God can be a mysterious thing for both old and new believers alike, but Tony Evans says that it doesn’t have to be. If you seek to understand the connection between surrendering to God and experiencing the visible manifestation of His kingdom in your life, this lesson will show you how the simple act of prayer can harmonize your will to become the same as your heavenly Father’s.
where were you
if you would have been here she said
this thing wouldn’t happen
the blood of christ has given believers
a passport
to enter into a realm
that is closed to the general public
prayer is how you show your passport
god has given so much clout to prayer
that’s relationally driven
to draw heaven in the history that he
will even allow prayer to change his
mind
the disciples never asked jesus to teach
them to preach
to teach them to do miracles the one
thing they did ask him is will you teach
us to pray
if you pursue a relationship and bring
your needs along with that
in your secret place
you will hear from god because god will
hear from you
ask and it will be given to you seek and
you will find knock and it will be open
to you don’t let things that god is
willing to change go unchanged because
we refuse to meet him in a private place
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thy
kingdom come
everything is about god’s kingdom
from genesis to revelation
the word kingdom is the driving
narrative of the story
the rule of god
from eternity into history
but in relationship with his people
and what god is asking you to do is to
merge
into his program
to merge into where he’s going
to merge in the direction he’s taking
and the way that you merge
into his kingdom program
is prioritizing his will over yours
thy kingdom come
[Music]
thy will be done
on earth
as it is in heaven
let me say it another way
the way you get to see his kingdom
is by surrendering to his will
if you’re praying for his kingdom
but you’re not willing to be surrendered
to his will
then you don’t get the kingdom part
because he didn’t get the will part
thy kingdom come
and the way that will happen is thy will
is being done
how is it being done
on earth like it is in heaven
which means
if i want heaven on earth
then i must be willing to submit to his
will on earth so that heaven is free to
make its presence on earth
and therefore
the visual manifestation
of his kingdom
so his kingdom rule from up there
to be manifested down here
involves your praying your will be done
on earth
as it is done
in heaven
now having said that we must go into an
understanding of god’s will
now the first thing you have to
understand is the
comprehensive nature of god’s will
god’s will
is
comprehensive and what i mean by that is
nothing sits outside of it
in other words
god’s will
is what he wants where he wants it and
when he wants it
it is absolute control
over all of his creation
for example
let me read to you isaiah chapter 14
verse 24 and verse 27
the lord of hosts has sworn saying
surely
just as i have intended so it happened
and just as i planned it it will stand
verse 27 says for the lord of hosts has
planned
and who can frustrate it
as for his stretched out hand
who can turn it back
chapter 43 of isaiah
verse 13
reads as follows
even from eternity i am he
and there is none who can deliver out of
my hand
i act
and who can reverse it
so god’s will is comprehensive
it is deterministic
when god determines that something is
going to happen
and it is unconditional i’ll explain
that in a moment
oh it’s going to happen
if he has to go by you through you
around you
or get rid of you
because his will is comprehensive
because he is comprehensive
i am now speaking about the
unconditional will of god
that is
his will when he doesn’t have any
conditions tied to it
when he’s going to do it because he
decided to do it because it’s in his
right
to do it
so whether you work with me
or don’t work with me is irrelevant
because in my unconditional will i have
decided this is going to happen so i’m
going to make it happen
so that is this comprehensive will of
god
i love the way psalm 115
verse 3 says
god is in heaven
and he does whatever he pleases
romans chapter 11 verse 36 says
from him
through him
and to him are all things
so when we’re talking about the god of
the bible
we’re talking about
a person
who has absolute control over anything
he decides to do
because he has both the right
and the power to do what he determines
having explained his
unconditional will
that’s not the only will he has
god has another will
and that is the will of what he desires
that may or may not occur in other words
he has a desirable will
things he wishes and things he wants
the things he wishes and wants
in partnership with mankind
and it may or may not happen
for example
first timothy 2 4 says
god desires that all men are saved
yet the bible is clear all men are not
saved
even though he wants it to happen
he does not impose it to happen
because it’s conditional on what man
does or what does not do in this case
receiving christ
jesus said in luke chapter 13 verse 34
how often israel i would have gathered
you
like a hen gathers a little one
but you wouldn’t let me
so i want to do it but you’re blocking
me from doing it and because it’s my
conditional will and not my
unconditional will i’m not going to make
you do it even though it’s what i want
to happen or
the bible says god desires in colossians
4 12 for all christians to become mature
but we know all christians don’t keep
growing all christians don’t mature in
christ’s likeness
he wants it he wishes it and he wills
for it to happen on condition
and the condition is that you grow in
grace and the knowledge of jesus christ
and be conformed to his image that you
want to do it and pursue doing it
to put it another way in the conditional
will of god he allows choices
deuteronomy chapter 30 verses 15 uh to
the end of the chapter says that you
have a choice he says choose life or you
can choose death
i want you to choose life i’m not going
to make you choose life so there is a
unconditional will he going to do it
because he decides to do it but then
there is this partnership will where he
will partner with you in the doing of it
but he won’t make you do it
the reason why we have to pray thy will
be done
is because
obviously his will is not always done
that’s why we have to pray for it so
he’s calling for a partnership in prayer
so that what he has determined
conditionally from heaven to come to
earth can come because we have
cooperated with it for it to be released
from heaven
into earth
now the question becomes well how can he
have an unconditional will
and a conditional will
operating at the same time
god has a unconditional goal
the establishment of his kingdom for his
glory but he has a conditional will
so if you block him by your disobedience
rebellion lack of prayer it’s not going
to stop him getting to his goal
he’s going to get to his unconditional
goal
he’s just going to have to skip you to
get there
so many of us get bypassed from god
because we refuse to partner with god
for his will to be done
so you have to understand you can
cooperate with his will you can resist
his will he gonna get to his destination
he’s not going to let you or me stop him
but he’d love to join with us in getting
there by the prayer thy will be done
so it is the recognition that you and i
get to partner on the conditional side
it will not change his unconditional
side because god’s will will achieve his
desired
end
and so
god wants his will
because he wants his program
and his program is that his kingdom
would come that is his
his being his purposes will be
manifested in history in cooperation
with us which is why he invites us to
pray thy will be done
now what this means is that a decision
has to be made if you’re going to pray
this prayer
and mean it that is there must be the
decision to be committed to god’s will
satan’s goal
is to get you
and me and us
to rebel against the will of god in
isaiah 14 verses 12 to 14
satan said five times i will i will i
will i will i will
we call that negative volition in other
words he had a will that was opposite to
god’s will
and so he said five times i will to do
something that you don’t want
i might do my own plan my own program
i’m gonna have my own posse i’m gonna do
my own thing it’s not your thing god but
it’s my thing
and he rebelled against god that’s why
the greatest sin in the bible is pride
because that’s thinking more of yourself
than you ought to think
so he decided that i’m gonna build my
own kingdom i’m gonna be my own man
i’mma be my own boss i don’t care what
god says so what did satan do he got
adam and eve to rebel against the will
of god
god said no not tree in the middle don’t
mess with that all these other trees you
can have but he duped them into thinking
they could operate independently of god
he does the same thing with you and me
he tries to draw us and drift us from
the will of god by making
our will seem better than his will
and when he can get us to do that then
we break fellowship with god and we
don’t get heaven to visit history
so he says that we must be willing to
submit to the will of god now i’m going
to give you four words that some of you
may not like for words that sometimes i
don’t prefer
i’m going to give you four words that
can ruin your perspective of who you are
and why you are here
those four words come from first
corinthians chapter eight verse six
and those four words reads as follows
we
exist
for him
first corinthians 8 6 says we
exist for him translation he does not
exist for you
he does not exist for me he created us
so that we could be for him his program
his will his plan his goals his desires
his drive he wants you to wake up every
morning he wants me to wake up every
morning and say not my will today god
your will today and if anybody has to
adjust i’m adjustable
i am adjustable
we exist for him that is the surrender
decision that every christian has to
face jesus put it this way even when he
was physically hungry in john 4 34 he
says uh
i exist
my food is to do the father’s will
i’m hungry right now but what really
satisfies me
is when i’ve done the father’s will you
can only experience the power and
presence of the kingdom if you’re
willing to submit to the purposes of the
king
jesus says that his will that god’s will
must trump our will
and he says don’t let the culture
distract you don’t let the people
distract you don’t let the programs
distract you don’t let you distract you
you belong to this kingdom and if you
want this kingdom to come if you want
heaven to visit history my will must be
done the only way you’re going to prefer
to do god’s will
is if you believe he knows what he’s
doing
because if you don’t believe he knows
what he’s doing you’re going you’re
going to drift to your will
to your preference but but if you
believe he knows what he’s doing
even when you don’t like what he’s doing
you have to trust him
that he knows better than you do and i
submit to the will of god
so there must be
a surrender charge
there must be a decision to be committed
to the will of god
so that brings up this issue of
confidence in god
first john 5 verses 14 and 15
says we have this confidence
that anything we ask in his will we know
he’s going to do it
we have this
confidence
the problem with many of us submitting
to the will of god is we don’t have
confidence in him
so that’s why we pray because i don’t
want anything left in heaven that was
meant to come to earth
i don’t want to miss anything he wanted
to do but he was waiting for me to
follow him to pray to him to depend on
him and so i did not get it now let me
make something clear
you will not learn
what his secret will is if you ignore
his revealed will
the bible says in deuteronomy 29 29 god
has a secret will that is things he
hadn’t disclosed things he hadn’t talked
about
parents have secret wills we have things
we don’t tell our children
we’ve already made the decision but we
haven’t informed them
maybe because it’s not time maybe
they’re not old enough maybe they’re not
mature enough but we have secret wills
that is things we know that nobody else
knows about in the family
god has a secret will
when you go to god for stuff that’s not
written in the bible specifically
but it’s your personal need
and you want to know god what you’re
going to do about this thing
that i can’t find a particular verse on
you go to god crying you you’re weeping
because
you don’t like what he allowed to happen
you don’t like what he’s doing you don’t
prefer it in fact if the truth be told
you hate it
you hate it
and like martha you say
where were you
if you would have been here she said
we wouldn’t be this thing
this thing wouldn’t happen
what that tells me is it’s okay to be
respectfully honest with god
it’s okay to raise the question marks
respectfully when they come up
because life sometimes hurts
life sometimes is painful
and like martha and mary you come with
tears
you stutter you don’t know what to say
and even it may be the wrong thing but i
also like what she added
because after she said
where were
you she said even now
even now
your father will give you whatever you
ask him
but wait a minute it’s too late but she
said even now
yeah but it’s already been been said
what the deal is but she said even now
it can’t get any worse than her
situation
lazarus was totally gone but her
confidence
was so deep
with tears rolling down her eyes she
said but even
now
when i see no help no hope no
deliverance no victory no way out even
now
and i’m so glad
i know and even now god
[Applause]
even
now when there are no solutions
when there are no deliverances
[Applause]
if you ask your father
[Applause]
if you talk
that’s why you don’t ever want to give
up on god
because he can do things even now
now he may not
but you at least want to know somebody
who can if they choose to
the hebrew boy said now well i know god
can deliver
he can deliver us from your fiery
furnace but if he does not
we’re still going to praise you and
praise him we’re still going to worship
him we’re still gonna give him glory
we’re still gonna exalt him even if he
doesn’t do it
so as we wrestle through our crisis
our prayer is god even now
but if you don’t
we’re gonna worship you praise you pray
to you glorify you exalt you magnify you
bless you
because
we exist for you
you don’t exist for us
and so what that means
is that we must do a number of things
first of all we must be willing to
discover his will
psalm 119 verse 18
says open our eyes so that we see
open our eyes you must be willing to say
god what do you say about this situation
what principles are in the bible about
what i’m dealing with what i’m going
through you must be willing to discover
it
then secondly you must be willing to
understand it the bible calls that
wisdom james 1 5 if any man lacks wisdom
let him ask of god
lord how do you want me to handle this
thing how do you want me to deal with
this
then romans 12 1-2 you must be willing
to submit to it
you must say yes lord
yes lord
yes to your will
and then you must be willing to
accomplish it i love
colossians 1 9 and 10. here’s what it
says for this reason also
since the days
since the day we heard of it
we have not ceased to pray for you
and to ask that you may be filled with
the knowledge of his will
in all wisdom and understanding
so that you might walk in a manner
worthy of the lord to please him in all
respects
bearing fruit in every good work
and increasing in the knowledge
of god
he says i’m praying for you
i’m praying for you he says to that
church
to this church
thank you for praying for me and for us
but we’re praying for you
we’re praying that you will know the
knowledge of god in whatever situation
you’re facing
that you will have the wisdom of god to
how to address it and that you will walk
in that and you will make that the basis
of your decision
until your change comes or whether or
not your change comes
that in either way
thy will be done
and if you and i will make that our
mantra
if we will and i’m talking to me too get
up every day
and say god this is what i want
this is what i desire this is what i
prefer because i have to be honest with
you
this is my dream this is my goal however
after having said what i said
told you what i told you
not my will
but thy will be done because i exist for
you
we exist for you
for your glory and for your name’s sake
and here’s what jesus promises in mark
chapter 3 verse 35
that he
who does
my will
will be my mother father brother and
sister you know what he’s saying
if you
will do
my will
i’m gonna bring you into the family
you’re already a christian but i’ma now
tell you family secrets
i’m gonna do things in your situation
whether or not i change your scenario to
let you know i’m family so may this
church
and every individual in this church
pray lord your program is your kingdom
and i want to be a highway you can ride
on
i don’t want you to skip me bypass me or
discipline me you can ride this highway
because i’m saying thy will be done
and i’m willing to adjust my way to your
way my will to your will my desire to
your desire to please you
and if i please you you’re gonna show up
in whatever situation you choose to for
your glory and my good
in closing
[Applause]
drunk drivers are told to give their
keys
to somebody who’s not intoxicated
because if you drunk
and you get behind the wheel
you’re jeopardizing yourself and other
folk
so they say give your keys up hand them
over to somebody who’s not intoxicated
who can get you home safely
you and i live in an intoxicating world
causing us to stammer and stutter all
over the place we’re happy today we’re
sad tomorrow we’re joyful today we’re
miserable tomorrow this day’s up
tomorrow is down we live in an
intoxicating world but god is saying
hand me the kings
give me the keys
submit me the keys
because i know where i’m going
and even though you’re confused i know
how to get you to the will of god to the
plan of god in the kingdom of god for
the glory of god and for your best
interest hand me the kings
so that i can run your life the way that
it should be run
according to the program of god
god’s goal in history
is to see his will
done to see what he has prescribed
from eternity
to be manifested in time
god’s priority
is to see
his kingdom
advanced in time and space on earth
now god’s priority involves his will
which is unconditional and conditional
his unconditional will is what he’s
going to do regardless of what anybody
else says or does
ah but his conditional will
which is why prayer is so critical
is what he determines to do
based on what we do or do not do
that’s why
he says you have not because you asked
not
because we didn’t meet the condition of
prayer
so let’s make sure we don’t miss out on
his will
because we didn’t meet the condition
for him to respond to our deepest needs
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you