Getting What You Want

July 29, 2018

Tom Shannon, Pastor

Restored Life Church

www.restored-life-church.com

What We Believe can be Limiting…

• We’ve all heard the saying you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

• Why not.

• Is such a sentiment scripturally based?

• It seems we’ve been conditioned to accept if we get some of what wewant some of the time, be content and don’t be greedy.

• What if we could have our cake and eat it too?

Ask and Receive

• John 16:23-24 (NKJV), “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.• How is this working for you?• Why or why not?

• 1 John 5:14 (NKJV), Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.• It seems the key to getting what we ask for is asking according to His will, which we will

explore more in a bit, but this leads to a more important question which must be asked first.• The big question, which this is contingent on is “does God always get what He wills?”• If God doesn’t get what He wants then why should we?

Does God Always Get What He Wills?

• Yes, He always gets His will.• Then why am I living in the mess I’m in?• is God “willing” this?

• No, God doesn’t always get His will.• Are there things beyond God’s ability or grasp? Is such possible?• If so, God is not a sovereign God, and is more of a lesser god.• The concept of God’s sovereignty is central to Christian Orthodoxy and belief.

• Maybe/sometimes?• Then which Scriptures can be relied on and which rejected? • Since He doesn’t always get His will, perhaps this Scripture is one of those times He

just loses?

• Our belief regarding God getting what He wants has profound theological and life implications.• Let me explain…

Does God Always Get What He Wills?

1 John 5:14 (NKJV), Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.• God tells us if we ask according to His will we will get whatever we ask,

• but He doesn’t get everything He wills or believes? • That doesn’t make much sense.

• If God does not always get His will, how can He possibly promise us we will get whatever we ask, according to His will?

• His promises and Scripture begin to unravel.• If we ask according to His will, and we don’t receive…

• His word cannot be trusted.• God Himself cannot be trusted.

Is God Sovereign?

• Scripture reveals God’s sovereignty• Psalm 115:3 (NKJV), But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. • Psalm 33:11 (NKJV), The counsel [will] of the LORD stands forever, The plans of His

heart to all generations. • Job 23:13 (NKJV), “But He is unique, and who can make Him change? And whatever

His soul desires, that He does. • Job 9:3 (NKJV), If one wished to contend with Him, He could not answer Him one time

out of a thousand.

• Almighty God, meaning all powerful, used 76 times in Scripture.

• For God to be God, He must get His will and He must be all powerful, or He does not meet the qualifications of being God, thus is not God.

• God’s will is sovereign, and by the end He gets what He wants.

What is God’s Will Toward Us?

• God gets what He will’s.

• 2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV), 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

• Willing, 1014. βούλομαι boúlomai; • To will, be willing, wish, desire. • Two main words for will

• Thélō (2309) expresses an active volition and purpose. • Boúlomai expresses the inward predisposition and bent from which

active volition proceeds. • Thus boúlomai is the very character and nature of God’s disposition.

• God’s will is that none perish and all repent.

God’s Will: None Perish, all Repent

2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV), 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

• Repentance, 3341. μετάνοια metánoia; A change of mind.• Repentance is misunderstood as to turn from sin and be saved. • Repentance means a total change in one’s mind and

understanding.• Repentance is changing one’s belief regarding one’s self and God;

it is embracing His true nature and our true nature.• Repentance impacts every aspect our very existence.

God’s Will: None Perish, all Repent

2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV), 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.• Perish, 622. ἀπόλλυμι apóllumi;

• To destroy, mid. be destroyed, perish. • Aorist, middle (snapshot event, acting upon itself/volition)• It conveys a picture of self-destruction.• Can anyone relate to feeling they are in a cycle of destruction?

• God’s will is that all, not merely some, repent and not perish!• God always gets His will, eventually; if not in this age, then in the

age to come.

Getting Our Will

• If God always gets His will, and His will is that if we ask according to His will, we get what we ask for as well.

• Many of us are going thru painful “stuff” in our lives.

• We’re believing and trusting God, yet we look at our lives and see we’re not getting what we want.

• John 16:23-24 (NKJV), …Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.

• Most or all of us are not experiencing this.

• Why are we not consistently getting what we ask for?

Why Aren’t We Getting What We Want?

• The reason explained in 1 John 5:14 (NKJV), is that we are to ask according to His will.• “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to

His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”

• Are we asking out of His will or ours, or a mixture of His and ours?

• Often we’re wanting and asking out of…• Our thélō, that is our own volition and purpose.

• Our boúlomai, our inward predisposition and bent which fuels our volition.

• Forgetting His will is greater.

Why Aren’t We Getting What We Want?• James 4:3 (NKJV), You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss,

that you may spend it on your pleasures.

• Having in mind our plans, our purpose, rising from the false identity.

• Examples of self-destructive process, which result when we believe/feel we are less than He declares us to be…• Errant self-beliefs resulting in destructive behavior.

• Going on a shopping spree maxing out all credit cards.

• Going out, getting totally wasted, resulting in poor choices with significant complications.

• Quitting your job before you have a new one.

• Believing the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, without “spyingout the land,” and setting your field on fire and jumping over.

Be Encouraged

2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV), 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

• God’s will for us is…• To embrace freedom from a mindset which results in destruction.

• To embrace our true identity, created in His image and likeness rather than a false identity created from the voice of deceit and accusation.

• For all our choices and decisions to flow from our true identity rather than a false identity.

You Can Trust God and His Will…

• Psalm 37:3-6 (NKJV), Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. • Trust in Him, He is faithful.• This is the mindset you are to dwell in and feed on.

• 4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. • Delight yourself in a dwelling/feeding on Him mindset, and His desires will be yours.• This speaks of embracing our true, God breathed identity.

• 5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. • Trust in Him, He’s trustworthy; He gets His will, every time.

• 6 He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. • What is your righteousness? Jesus (1 Corinthians 1:30; 1 John 4:17)• What is your justice (judgment)? Forgiven, blessed, empowered, His image…

The Big Problem

• Realizing the need to ask according to His will, we do just that.

• We embark on Scripture treasure hunts to discover His will.

• We believe our knowing about God and His will is all we need, but in reality this is far from it.

• In reality, such behavior is eating fruit from the wrong tree, resulting in death rather than the life we seek.

• God doesn’t want us to merely know about Him, but rather He wants us to know Him.

What Knowing Is

• Truly knowing someone goes beyond knowing mere facts.• It goes beyond knowing their favorite color, food, likes or dislikes.• Truly knowing someone is understanding their personality, character, their

passions, their motivations; it’s understanding who they are.• When one knows this the rest flows naturally, without stressing over “did I

offend or do something wrong,” and always second guessing one’s self. • It is out of such Paul spoke in 1 Corinthians 7:25 (NLT), “Now regarding your

question about the young women who are not yet married. I do not have a command from the Lord for them. But the Lord in his mercy has given me wisdom that can be trusted, and I will share it with you.” (compare with 7:10-12).

• Out of intimacy with Him our relationship will thrive rather than constantly worrying if we did what was right and still have His favor.

Knowing God’s Heart

• 1 Corinthians 7:25-28 (NLT), 25 Now regarding your question about the young women who are not yet married. I do not have a command from the Lord for them. But the Lord in his mercy has given me wisdom that can be trusted, and I will share it with you.

• 26 Because of the present crisis, I think it is best to remain as you are.

• 27 If you have a wife, do not seek to end the marriage. If you do not have a wife, do not seek to get married.

• 28 But if you do get married, it is not a sin. And if a young woman gets married, it is not a sin. However, those who get married at this time will have troubles, and I am trying to spare you those problems.

Getting What We Want

• What do we really want?• What our false identity is screaming for?• What our true, God created identity is yearning for?

• Be aware of artifacts of the false identity residing in our minds, (Col. 1:21).

• Acting out of hurt and pain, often is acting out of the false identity, resulting in less than optimal results (perishing).

• We need a mind change, leaving our denial of embracing the false identity behind, realizing that old man died on the cross with Christ and never made it out of the grave.

• We need to allow Jesus to reveal Himself and our true identity in the midst of our pain and hurt.

• Only in doing suchwe will experience the life for which we truly long.

Stop and Go

• 2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV), 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

• God’s will is that we stop perishing, and instead embrace His free gift of repentance, changing our minds toward Him, ourselves, and others.

• It is only in such we will experience His life.

• The quest to know Father’s heart often results in uncomfortable questions about the very fabric of what one believes, with the answers resulting in changedbeliefs.

• Don’t be fearful of where your quest for union leads.

• Embrace who God truly is rather than a false illusion of God.

• Embrace who you are rather than a false illusion of self.

• The pain and hurt we experience is often the result of functioning out of a falseidentity.

• The false identity results in a hole in our soul, with only one way to fill it, Jesus.

• The only true fix is realizing…• Jesus embraced our false identity, took it to the cross, and left it there, dead. • Jesus alone rose from the dead; His resurrection identity is our true identity.• “As He is, so are we in this world.” (1 John 4:17)

There is Hope

• It’s time to believe what God says about you rather than the accuser.

• It’s time to act out of our true identity rather than a false sense of self ascribed to us by another, other than God.

• Be bold and go where One Man has gone before; Jesus!