Matthew 6:9-13;
9 Pray then like this: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread, 12 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
I think that this is one of those pieces of scripture that we read over so often that we forget what we are reading. It is interesting to note that Jesus prays for God’s will to be done. He doesn’t assume it will be done. In fact there are quite a few places in scripture where it is prayed that God’s will would be done. Jesus again prays for God’s will succeeding over his own in the garden of Gethsemane. Paul prays that God’s will might be accomplished in his being able to go to the Romans. This shows us something that we often times miss. Just because something happens does not mean it is of God’s will or put a different way, God’s will is not always accomplished. Our assumptions lead us to believe that this bad thing has happened to me or God is testing me. Everything good or bad is God’s will for me. But if that were the case then God would have been lying to us throughout scripture when Jesus said things like, our father gives good gifts to his children he asks. He doesn’t give them a snake when they ask for a fish. God does not cause or make bad things happen in our lives. It is not his will for his children to suffer. God does not work that way.
One of the most magnificent things about creation and grace is the way in which God has chosen to become dependent on us in some degree or another. Don’t get me wrong, God does not need us, but he has chosen to not work without us, therefore making himself dependent on our following. Think about our discussion this morning of Acts chapter 8. How many ways could God have reached out and spoken his message to the Ethiopian eunuch? I am sure there were easier ways. He could do the booming voice, the talking donkey, come down in a pillar of fire. All of these seem to be pretty convincing options, correct? If I saw any of these there is no doubt that I would be listening. But God didn’t choose any of these rather he sent an angel to lead a man, Philip, who was not even one of the apostles, to go to the Ethiopian. All Philip is told is that he should go near to the chariot. That’s it. No instructions, no say this or do that, just go near. But Philip understands what his calling is, he knows what it is he must do, he is aware that God’s will be accomplished in this moment is dependent on his willingness to act according to his calling. So Philip goes and speaks to the eunuch and tells him of the gospel, explaining the passage in Isaiah that is so difficult for him to understand. What was the result of Philip’s faithfulness? The eunuch was baptized and beyond that we are not sure. But you have to have thoughts of the Samaritan woman at the well with Jesus. After he had spoken to her she went into her village and told all about Jesus and they came out to see him and believed. Tradition says the eunuch went back to Ethiopia and preached Christ in his home country. Who knows, but we do know this, there is a church in Ethiopia older than any church in the west and it is not a church plant, it was there before us. Also we know that eventually the Ethiopian monarchy was baptized and Ethiopia was the first empire with Christianity as its core. God is dependent on his people for his word to be spoken. Philip did not even have to do much. All he had to do was take the first step in obedience and God’s will was accomplished because of him. But think a little further along the lines to Saul, eventually Paul. He has his road to Damascus experience and he has these scales placed over his eyes, blinded. God’s will was not fulfilled in Saul yet. It would probably have been easier for God to simply remove the scales and say go preach, but this isn’t what he did. He told him to go into the city and he would be told what to do. He would go before a Christian Ananias to be healed and baptized in the Spirit. Turn to Acts 9:10-18.
Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord." 11 And the Lord said to him, "Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight." 13 But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name." 15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name." 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized;
What happened simply because Ananias was faithful to his calling, because he responded? The face of Christianity was changed forever because Ananias trusted God enough to act according to his will in a potentially dangerous and life threatening situation. Look at all Paul accomplished, and how much his writings mean to us as a church now. But I think the better question for both Philip and Ananias is not what happened because of their obedience, but what would have happened if they had simply stayed silent and watched opportunity pass by. What if Philip followed the eunuch’s chariot as he was told to do, all the way to Gaza without so much as a word? What if Ananias showed up and fed Saul but refused to lay hands on him out of fear, despite knowing this was God’s will? While I do believe God would have found someone else to accomplish what others were unwilling to do, I also believe that this is a second best attempt at fulfilling his will and it is not as good as it would have been had it been done right the first time.
Let me give you another example. I know for a fact without the slightest doubt that it was God’s will for me to find Sarah and for us to get married. Now as some of you know there were a very extended set of unlikelihoods that were accomplished for Sarah and I to meet. Almost all of these were completely out of our hands. Let me give you two examples of specific things in Sarah’s life that had it not been for the actions of Christians living out he will of God we would have never met. First, after Sarah’s parents died International Justice Missions took an active part in hers and her sibling’s lives. While I am not aware of all the details of what they did, I am aware that Sarah would not have had the opportunities or education she has today without them and therefore we never would have met. The second is that of Kibo group. They are sponsors of sorts for the church of Christ missions team that works out of Jinja, Uganda. They are also the group that has sponsored Sarah in her schooling at Rochester College where we met. Both of these organizations are dependent on the actions of individuals pursuing the will of God. If the will of God had not been accomplished in their lives then neither of these organizations would have been present in Sarah’s life. What would have happened if either one of these organizations had not been a part of Sarah’s life? Sarah and I would have never met and what I know to be the will of God would have never been accomplished. Now I know that God would have provided in some way or another, but it would have been second best to what should have been. If I had never met Sarah I believe God still would have provided for me and found someone for me to be with. Can you imagine me being with anyone other than Sarah? Anything less might be good, but it would still be less than should have been. If believers had not responded and accomplished the will of God I would be settling with a second best wife.
Each time we do not pursue the will of God, each time we remain silent, we accept a second best church, a church lacking in what had had planned for it. God has chosen to let his will be dependent upon our courage, boldness, and willingness to speak. Our decisions forsake or accomplish the will of God not simply for our lives, but also has far reaching implications on the lives of those not even remotely connected to us. I believe that we are today worshipping with a second best church, that is not all that it should be, because Christians have allowed their fears, pride, and timidity to taint and even silence the gospel of Christ. As we have talked about evangelism and sharing our faith all of us have to of realized how hard and uncomfortable it is. It is not easy. But we have to realize that when we refuse to speak we accept the second best option for ourselves and we accept it for others as well. We are content without God’s will. Evangelism is not simply for the preacher or super Christian, because in reality, in the church there are only disciples. Philip was not one of the apostles and yet he was chosen to do such great works, Ananias was nobody in particular. He shared his name with the man struck dead in Acts 5 and the High priest persecuting the church. These were average people who by simply taking the first step allowed the Holy Spirit to work in them to accomplish something extraordinary. I am not asking you to do anything extraordinary or to take on the burden of accomplishing God’s will for him. All we need to do is to open our mouths and take the first step, the Holy Spirit will get the extraordinary parts going for us. The consequences of silence are ghastly. We might be willing to settle with a second best church, but are we willing to tell Christ he must settle with a second best bride?
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