Whose Will Wins?

Whose Will Wins?

by Patricia Dailey
Senior Pastor, Bethel Revival Center
43 Norwood St.
Everett, MA 02149

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Isaiah 14:12-15
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Satan was once an angel called Lucifer. Ezekiel 28:12-18 describes what he was like before his fall.

One thing about Satan, when God says, "This is it," that's as far as Satan can go.

Jude 6
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

see II Peter 2:4
. . . cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment . . .

see Revelation 12:9
. . . Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.

Luke 10:18
And (Jesus) said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

Satan had rebelled against God and led other angels to rebel with him. The Word tells of his final defeat, when he will be cast into the lake of fire to be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

see Revelation 20:10
And the devil . . . was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone . . . and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Matthew 25:41
Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels

The lake of fire has been prepared not only for the devil and his angels, but also for all whose names are not found written in the book of life:

Revelation 20:15
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Living in Obedience

Satan rebelled, rising up against God's rule. He had disregarded God, disobeyed God, and defied God, and, thus, was cast out of heaven.

You and I had best be careful that we do not disregard God's rules for our lives. The Bible is our rule book, and we are to live by the rules written therein. These aren't man's rules but are God's rules.

There are those who don't like to hear certain things preached and taught from the Word of God. But whether the people like it or not, God requires a minister of the Gospel to preach the whole counsel of God. They can't preach just certain things so that people feel good. Oh, there are times when God will give messages that can make us shout and praise the Lord. Yet, there are also those times when the Lord wants to dig deep into our hearts.

In order for us to go deeper with Him, we need for Him to deal with us. And when He does, we shouldn't disregard His dealings. We shouldn't disobey or defy Him, rising up against His rule.

Satan Works to Deter You

Now, Satan tries to frustrate God's plan and purpose for us. His method of attack is through temptation. He tries to move us away from the plan and purpose of God by tempting us. And many times he does turn people away.

We must have a determination in our hearts that we are not going to let Satan turn us away from God's purpose for our lives. It's his purpose to cause us to disobey God's Word, and many fall into those snares: "Come on, it won't hurt you. God understands."

Yes, God does understand. He understands that we are being tempted by the devil to disobey God. And He understands that if we yield to the devil's temptation, then the devil has the victory over us.

Romans 6:15,16
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?

The one we yield our members to, that's who we're going to obey. We cannot serve God, cannot find out His plan and purpose for our lives, if we're not wholeheartedly putting ourselves into serving Him.

The Price of Going Deeper

When we ask God for a deeper relationship, we will find His dealings in our lives, and we will begin to see ourselves just like we really are. We won't like what we see; and we may have a struggle to overcome some of these things because they've been such a part of us, even from our childhood days. It will take God to really dig deeply into our hearts through His Word, through His speaking and His dealing with us.

But we don't want to turn back, no matter how hard the way seems. There are times when we'll be put into a situation that seems hard to bear up under, and then God's grace comes along to lift us up.

Don't think for one minute that when you're in one of those times, you won't be tempted to try and run from God and His dealings — tempted to forget the whole thing — but you never want to yield to that.

Satan Can Only Go So Far

Now, Satan is limited to what he can do. We see this in the book of Job:

Job 1:6
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them.

Don't think that Satan doesn't go to church along with God's people. He comes to try to distract, to try to get their minds on other things, so they won't focus on what God is saying to them. And if they let him, he will succeed.

Job 1:8-11
And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered My servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not Thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth Thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse Thee to Thy face.

God knew better than this. He gave the testimony of Job being a perfect and an upright man.

Job 1:12
And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.

Satan could only go so far because God always has the last word. And here in Job, Satan went as far as God permitted him in touching all that Job had, including his children.

Job 1:20-22
Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.

Job loved God, and God could trust his love. Think about that. He permitted Satan to touch what Job had. And what did Job do? He fell down and worshipped God.

Next, God permitted Satan to smite Job with boils. He had boils from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. What a miserable, miserable time he had.

Job 2:9,10
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.

Job had friends who came to comfort him, feeling sorry for him. They sat with him seven days without saying anything. But when Job spoke up, that provoked his three friends to begin accusing him, saying he was sick because he had sinned.

Now, in some cases people are sick because of their sin. You go out there and commit fornication, and you can get many diseases. Many would be in good health today if they hadn't given themselves over to the lusts of the flesh. There are diseases many get because of drugs, because of cigarettes, because of drinking. But this wasn't the case with Job.

Here in Job, Satan could only go so far. He could not take Job's life without God's permission. In the end, we find that Job came through, with God mightily blessing his latter end (see Job 42:10).

Our "I Wills"

We want to be very careful with our "I wills." When we say, "I will do such and such," how do we know whether or not we will? We don't know when we will draw our last breath.

James 4:13-15
Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

If the Lord Wills

We've got to consider God's will and not our own will. Our "I will" should be, "If the Lord wills, I will do this or that." Don't disregard this passage of Scripture. It's just as much a part of God's Word as the rest of the Bible is.

Sometimes we don't understand what's going on when God is chastising us. Could it very well be that our "I will" has not yet been broken?

It may take a lot of God's dealings, a lot of His chastisements, to break that "I will" in our life, because it takes a lot to break a self-willed person.

Self-willed: "I will do it the way I want to do it."

Self-willed people disregard God's rule in their life. They disregard His will for them.

We need to always consider the will of God. We should seek Him before making a decision, seeking Him as to whether it is His will or not.

Sometimes we go ahead on our own and get ourselves into an awful lot of trouble.

Many find themselves in debt because when they want something, they are determined to get it whether they can afford it or not. God's will means nothing to them. It doesn't make any difference what His will is concerning their decision.

Jesus, Our Example

When Jesus was praying in the Garden of Gethsemane, He was under an awful pressure. He knew He had a cup to drink that would be very difficult to go through.

See Matthew 26:36-44
And He went a little further, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt (verse 39).

Jesus prayed this prayer three times, but came to the place of saying, "Nevertheless, not My will but Thine be done."

This is the place we need to come to: "Your will, Lord, be done, not my will."

Jesus was headed to Calvary to hang on a cruel cross. Before they hung Him on that cross, He would take an awful beating and be mocked and scorned: "Save Yourself. Come down off that cross."

The cross was an awful thing to go through, but Jesus went through it because it was the Father's will that we might be saved. Yes, it was Father's plan and purpose in sending His Son into this world to pay the price for our sins.

And Jesus is our example: "Nevertheless, not My will but Thine be done." Too often, though, our will comes first — what we want to do, even when it's not according to the Word of God.

We've got to be careful with the "I wills" and the "I will NOTs"! That's rebellion, self-will. The very thing we say we will not do, we find ourselves doing. I've heard many Christians make the statement they would never do something, only to end up doing that which they said they would not do.

We must be watchful. We should be aware of selfish ambitions that set self above God. We're not to put anything above God, not to do anything that robs God of His glory.

It will cost something! I know. And not everyone can do it without backing down, because Satan is there with his temptations: "Me first, Lord. Me first!"

Self-centered. "Let me first." It won't work. You've got to crucify that.

People don't want to get rid of that "I will" that says, "I'm first. I'm going to do what I want to do." That's got to be crucified, or they'll never step into the plan and purpose of God for their lives. That has to die in them. If they got down to business and really sought the Lord like they should, that old will would be broken and His will could come forth.

It's just as simple as that. But people hold it up, and Satan is behind it. Satan frustrates the plan and the purpose of God in many. He does all he can to try to hinder. If he can't hinder by "I will" and "me first," he'll try with "I can't."

I Can't!

Judges 6:15,16
And he said unto Him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

Gideon was the least in his house, but this didn't make any difference with God. He raised Gideon up to be a deliverer of His people.

Gideon had a big army of 32,000, and God whittled it down to a mere 300 that God would get the glory. Those 300 were to go out and deliver the children of Israel from the Midianites.

God knows what He's doing. We can say, "I can't. I can't. I can't." Yet, if God has called us, He will also enable us.

God raises up people who can't do it in themselves to confound the mighty and the wise of this world.

God told me, "You can, and you will!"

One day, after He had called me into the ministry, I told the Lord, "I can't, Lord. I've got little children. I can't." But God said, "You can, and you will." It was His will that I was going to preach the Gospel, heal the sick, and cast out devils.

I Can Through Him

Jeremiah 9:23,24
Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

Without Him we can do nothing, but through Him we can do all things. I can preach the Word of God because He strengthens me, He helps me. But it takes a surrender and commitment of my will to Jesus Christ: "not my will but Thine be done."

John 15:5b
. . . for without Me ye can do nothing

Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

It takes a lot to follow on in the will of God. It is a spiritual warfare. Satan ever fights: fighting, fighting, fighting, hindering, hindering, hindering.

James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

If we want God's plan and purpose for our lives, we've got to get up and resist the adversary, fight a good warfare, fight that good fight of faith, and submit to the will of God.