Are you offering false sacrifices?

"To obey is better than sacrifice." 1 Samuel 15:22

God gave King Saul specific instructions to be followed. However, Saul disobeyed God and tried to justify his disobedience by presenting a sacrifice to God. God describes Saul's disobedience as rebellion that is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry (see 1 Samuel 15).

Disobedience

The greatest obstacle to doing God's will, or the will of another, is one's own will. It is not difficult to do the will of another when it conforms to one's own will but when it requires denying one's own will for the sake of the will of another, we are faced with a massive internal conflict. We will avoid submitting our will to the will of another in various ways. Either we simply disobey and don't do the will of the other, or we say we will obey the will of the other but don't actually do it, or we do the will of the other in our own way as a cover-up for actually disobeying.

True sacrifice or false sacrifice?

True sacrifice means I lay down my own will (die to self) and do the will of another for their sake. True sacrifice is determined by the will of another. False sacrifice is different. It appears to be a genuine sacrifice but is actually self-determined and for one's own sake.

When my boys were little, I encountered "false sacrifices" many times. Rather than tidy their room, they would draw me a picture instead. In other words, rather than obeying a clear instruction, they presented me with something that could please me but was self-determined - a false sacrifice! Clearly the cute picture was precious but I would have preferred them to tidy their room as instructed! To obey is better than sacrifice.

The deception of false sacrifices

The more we justify disobedience with false sacrifices, the more insensitive we become to the will of God. For example, someone will justify not forgiving someone else by spending hours serving the poor. God requires us to forgive one another and to feed the poor. However, when we determine the sacrifice to cover up our disobedience, we deceive ourselves.

Grace and obedience

A fundamental question a Christian should ask himself or herself is: Does God require anything of me? You may think this an odd question to ask but I believe many Christians have the idea that grace replaces any requirement from God. Grace, however, has never replaced God's requirements of man. Just as Jesus came to do the Father's will, so every believer is called to the obedience that comes from faith (Rom 1:5). Jesus says, "If you love me, you will obey what I command" (John 14:15). Clearly God indeed requires something of us that we are called to obey if we truly love Him. Thankfully God gives us His grace to empower us to live according to His will.

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and wordly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.." Titus 2:11-12

Finding out God's will

Unless we seek the will of God, we cannot know whether we are doing His will or not. Paul's prayer for the Church was that the believers would know God's will in order to live obedient lives that pleased Him (Rom 12:1-2; Eph 5:17; Php 1:9-11; Col 1:9-10). 

Who is Lord in your life?

Jesus is Lord of all. However, He is only the believer's Lord when s/he lives in submission to Him. The writer to the Hebrews writes,

"In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him." Heb 2:8

Only those who surrender their will to God's will are subject to Him. We deceive ourselves when we call Jesus, "My Lord" when our own will is still seated on the throne!

Who are the sons of God?

The Bible is clear. Those who are led by the Spirit of God, have their minds on what the Spirit desires and do His will are the sons of God (Rom 81-17). How can we call ourselves disciples of Jesus and not do what He commands?

"If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31

Find out God's will and obey it

I believe every believer should be seeking to know God's will in every area of their lives. Although the Bible doesn't always reveal God's specific will on various issues, it is as we grow in our knowledge of God that we will know what His will is according to His nature.

Sacrifice or obedience?

It is important that we identify God's will for our lives and that we do not ignore the conviction or the prompting of God's Spirit. If we know what God requires of us, we must obey. False sacrifices may cause us to feel better about ourselves but do not justify our disobedience. The more we ignore the Holy Spirit, the harder our hearts become even whilst seemingly doing what pleases God. Spend time with God and find out what His will is concerning prayer, reading the Bible, your relationships, your resources, your church, your gifts, your leaders, your occupation, your children, your parents, your colleagues, the poor, the lost, etc.. 

"We make it our goal to please him." 2 Cor 5:9

What is God's will for your life?

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Eph. 2:10

When we believe in Jesus and are immersed into God and He in us (1 John 4:15), we become a new creation - God's workmanship (literally God's poem). As God's new creation we are given the grace to reveal an aspect of God's glory.

"..to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it." Ephesians 4:7

God's will is that we appreciate how we have been gifted in Christ and that we honour the grace that is upon others. The grace that is upon our lives is God's commission for our lives.

"Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith." Romans 1:5

Paul received the grace or gifting to fulfill God's will for his life to be a messenger to the Gentiles of God's love in Christ. Likewise, when we identify how God has graced us in Christ, we will understand God's will for our lives.

In Romans 12:1-10, Paul speaks to the Church about how she is to live her life differently, now that she is in Christ. I have paraphrased this passage as follows:

“Brothers, because of God’s mercy to you and the grace you have been given, live your lives set apart for the Master’s use as you serve God and one another with the grace you have been given, in humility according to your faith and dependence on what God has given you. Change the way you live your lives by having the right thoughts about who you are and what God has gifted you to do. Then you will discover God’s will for your life. Don’t think of yourself beyond how God has made you and gifted you. Be honest with yourself and realise how unique you are and how God has given you gifts to serve others in love. Understand that you need one another and that God has put you together with others to encourage one another and love one another with the grace that is upon each of your lives. Recognise the grace that is upon those around you and honour their anointing so that you can benefit from what God is doing through their lives. Don’t think you are better than anyone just because they have different gifts. Everything we have, we have received from God so don’t boast as though you produced your gifting yourself. God’s Spirit is in you for your benefit but upon you for the benefit of others so use your gifts faithfully so that others will be encouraged. This is God's will for your life.”

Rejoice in how God has made you in Christ and use your gifts faithfully as you overflow with God's grace and love. This is God's will for your life.

Is it God's will to heal everyone?

Underlying a question like, "Is it God's will to heal everyone?" are the questions, "What is God's will; How can I know the will of God and; Why am I not seeing God's will done?" Let's take a look at these...

What is God's will?

Many Christians believe that if something is God's will it must take place because God is sovereign. Consequently, since God's will is always done and some are healed and some are not, it cannot always be God's will to heal.

Now, although God is sovereign and able to do whatever He chooses to do, we must not confuse God's unconditional will with God's conditional will. To help distinguish between these two aspects of God's will, I will call God's unconditional will, God's purpose, and God's conditional will, simply His will.

God's conditional will.

God's conditional will is that which God desires but has chosen to make the manifestation thereof dependent on His creation. For example, God desires that all mankind be saved (2 Peter 3:9) and for this reason gave us His Son (John 3:16). Are all saved? Sadly not! Only those who believe in Jesus are saved. Therefore, although it is God's will to save all, not all are saved.

God's conditional will is the basis of prayer. Jesus taught His disciples to pray "Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven" (Matt. 6:10). Why would Jesus teach His disciples to pray for God's will to be done on earth if God's will were always sovereignly done? God has placed certain conditions on His will to be realised on earth as it is in Heaven.

Jesus never prayed, "If it is your will, Father..." Jesus always prayed God's will to be established on earth as it is in Heaven. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus knew the will of the Father but was asking whether it was possible for God's plan of redemption to be accomplished another way. Those who pray "If it is your will..." are not praying in faith. The prayer of faith knows God's will and prays until it is realised.

The realisation or fulfillment of God's conditional will is dependent on the response of His creation. God has chosen to put "Ifs" in place for His will to be done. For example:

"..if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him." 1 John 3:21,22

There are many conditions that influence the manifestation of God's will. The believer is to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil by faith and action for God's will to be established on earth as it is in heaven!

God's purpose.

The other aspect of God's will is His unconditional will that is not dependent on anything other than Himself. Nothing can hinder God's purposes from being fulfilled. For example, it was God's purpose to redeem mankind through His Son, Jesus. God's purpose has been fulfilled in Christ and will be fully realised when Jesus comes again. Just as God's promises to Abraham were fulfilled, so God's promises to us concerning Christ will be fulfilled. Jesus is coming back and nothing in all creation can stop that happening. When we are aligned with God's purposes, we can be very confident (see Heb. 6:13-20).

Once we distinguish between God's "purpose" and God's will, it will help us understand why God's will is not always done.

How can I know God's will?

Through the Spirit.

Paul prayed for the Colossians that they would be filled with the knowledge of God's will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding (Col. 1:9). These are given by the Holy Spirit through revelation (1 Cor.2:7-14). As we depend on the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth God will reveal Himself and His will to us (John 16:12,13; 1 John 2:20,27). The believer must learn to depend on the Holy Spirit for guidance, in prayer and in reading God's Word. The Holy Spirit always reveals God's will (Romans 8:26,27).

Through testimonies.

God's will is revealed through the testimonies of believers in the past. The Word of God is the testimony (Old and New Testimonies) of God's nature and will. His general will can be seen in His dealings with man in the past (see Psalm 145).

Through Jesus.

Bill Johnson states, "Jesus is perfect theology!" If we want to know God's will, then we must look at the full revelation of the Father's will as manifested through the life of Jesus. In the past, God revealed His will through the prophets and in various ways but in Christ, God reveals not only His will but His very being (John 14:9; Heb. 1:1-3)! It is as we fix our eyes on Jesus, that our faith is strengthened in the knowledge of God and His will (Heb. 12:2).

Not through circumstances!

Many Christians look at the natural to determine God's will. They look at their circumstances and situation and deduce God's will accordingly. Circumstances can reveal God's will but we should not look at the circumstances to ascertain God's will. That's where a lot of confusion happens. People who base their knowledge of God on the created rather than on the spiritual will be misled. Superstition is depending on the natural for truth. Faith is depending on God for the truth. We are to be led by God's Spirit and not the flesh or the created (see Rom. 8:12-16).
Why am I not seeing God's will done?

Now that we understand the two aspects of God's will we can better understand why God's will is not always done. Some of the reasons for unanswered prayer are:

• Disobedience. 1 John 3:21,22
• Wrong motive. James 4:3
• Unbelief. Mt 17:2
• Opposition of Satan. Eph. 6:12; James 4:7
• Lack of perseverance. Luke 18:1
• Not fasting. Mt 17:21
• Faith in faith, in man or in formula rather than on God. Mt 6:7
• Not praying in secret. Mt 6:6

Is it God's will to heal everyone?

Since Jesus healed everyone who came to Him to be healed and since God has revealed Himself as the Healer, we can safely say that it is God's will to heal everyone just as it is God's will to save everyone. The reason some were not healed in the NT is because of unbelief and lack of honour and not because Jesus was unwilling (see Mt 4:23; 8:3,16; 9:35; 10:8; 14:36; Mark 10:52 - Mark 6:5).

Let us pray God's will on earth as it is in heaven and stop blaming God for the manifestation of man's will, the world's will and the devil's will. God loves us! Let us live according to God's will so we can know God and His will and pray His will on earth as it is in Heaven and glorify Him (see Rom. 12:1,2).

Father, Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven!

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