~ God's Perfect Will ~

GOD'S PERFECT WILL

There it is again... that bothersome word "Perfect." There are few other words found in our vocabulary that we have such a natural aversion to... especially when connected with the will of God as it pertains to mankind, (and most especially when it gets down to 'us'). Our 'flesh' hates to hear it. We are far more comfortable wallowing in our many weaknesses and 'imperfections'... claiming 'that's just the way we are'... we can 'never be perfect' as long as we are in this fleshly body. Perfect is something reserved for when we get to 'heaven.'

Perhaps if we had a better grasp of God's nature and His purpose in creating man, we would be less inclined to hide behind all that we lack in ourselves and more willing to believe His Word.

First off, we have a carnal tendency to view God as being there for our pleasure and benefit, when in fact, the Word tells us that the opposite is true. "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created" Revelation 4:11. We tend to make it 'all about us,... rather than understanding that it is really 'all about God!' "Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him" Isaiah 43:7. We will never know true happiness and joy in this life, outside of 'knowing God'...for 'knowing HIM' is why we were created...that we might become one with Him. In our own strength this is an impossibility. But that too, is part of the plan. Because it is only as we come to the end of 'our self-sufficiency,' that we begin to understand His ways. Paul arrived at this point... which is how he could say, "for when I am weak, then am I strong" (2 Corinthians 12:10). Paul made a statement in 2 Corinthians 13:9 "For we are glad, when we are weak, and ye are strong: and this also we wish, even your perfection." The perfection he is speaking of here is not some unattainable ideal according to the changing standards of man... no, he is speaking of their being 'thoroughly equipped.' The perfection we are to strive after is not intellectual or physical, nor is it even of this world... it is spiritual. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" 1 John 3:2.

"For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" Romans 8:5-9.

Other verses tell us that 'our righteousness is as filthy rags'... 'no flesh shall glory in His presence'... How are we going to find God's perfect will in our lives? Especially in this generation, when gross darkness and apostasy are being hailed as truth and light?

"O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" Jeremiah 10:23. Our best could never be good enough, for God is Holy, and has commanded that we should be holy too... yet still we resist the perfection that God is calling us to.

Consider the admonition King David gives his son... "And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off forever" 1 Chronicles 28:9.

God knows us better than we know ourselves. He has already made a way for us, where there seems to be no way. When He calls us out from the crowd to 'follow me'... He also makes the way for us to be able to accomplish all that He asks of us.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:48 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." Perfect in this verse means: complete (in various applications of labor, growth, mental and moral character, etc.); completeness: - of full age, man, perfect. Jesus is our example... He alone is the one we are called to follow... and during his brief life on this earth, men found little 'perfect' in their eyes about this Son of God. They rejected, reviled and hated Jesus, all the while claiming that they knew God. Is it any different today? Has man changed for the better in any way after all these centuries of increased knowledge? If you were walking in this life just like Jesus, they would hate and revile you as well. Jesus said in Luke 6:22 "Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake." Jesus walked as a man, suffered and was tempted in all ways just as we are, and yet He overcame all the things that we fall victim to in this world... He remained sinless. Yes, He was the Son of God, but he overcame because of the relationship that he maintained with his heavenly Father throughout his life here on earth. And by his ultimate sacrifice on our behalf, we too can walk in the same 'son' relationship with the Father. We too, can overcome all of the obstacles and pitfalls this world can throw at us... if we will only believe and obey.

Why is Abraham remembered as the 'father of faith'... "For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness" Romans 4:3. God spoke, and Abraham believed...would we feel better somehow if it were more difficult? If it required more effort, more accomplishments, more works? We would if we are very religious. Religion thrives on works and more works, while turning a blind eye to crucifying the flesh and living by the spirit. Religion breeds self-righteousness, while taking up our cross and following Christ crucifies our flesh. "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts" Proverbs 21:2. What we believe is critical! Nothing is hidden from God. He knows those who are His and those who are not. He knows every thought we think... He sees the deepest recesses of our hearts and knows if our professed love of God is genuine or not. "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous" 1 John 3:7. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way" Psalms 37:23.

We can fake it among men, but we are only deluding ourselves if we think we can fool God.

God will have... His Perfect Will... in all things.

He has made provision for those whom He calls to 'sonship' to walk in newness of life even while in these mortal bodies, just as Jesus walked. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" John 1:12.

"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" 2 Peter 3:9.

God is willing, are we?

The initial temptation of man in the garden was, "then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods" Genesis 3:5. It worked with Eve and Adam, and has worked like a charm with all of their descendents. Our 'will' is the key here... because our will must be brought into subservience to God's will. When our will is contrary to God's will, we are undeniably acting in rebellion against God. Jesus plainly stated in Matthew 12:30 "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." Carnal man always thinks that he knows better. He is not remotely interested in anything connected with denying himself... anything in this life. Suffering is the last thing on his list of 'wants.' Yet it is through suffering in this world that our flesh is crucified and we come to perfection. Hebrews 5:8 "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered."

As a people, we have to come to the place where we actually desire God's will in our lives, above and beyond our own natural desires. We are assured that if we seek Him, we will find Him. "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones" Isaiah 57:15.

There is the one true GOD, Creator of all things, and then there are the multitude of false gods, that have no life in them, other than that given to them from the imaginings of men's hearts.

"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshiped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being..." Acts 17:24-28.

We must lay aside our carnal, worldly ideas. We cannot safely 'assume' anything. If we are measuring whether or not we are in 'God's will' by the things of this world, then we are most likely going to be deceived. According to what we perceive... as blessings, prosperity, big ministries, name recognition, validation from men and organizations, all these things are considered as evidence that we must be doing things right, and have God's approval... according to worldly standards. However, those are not the standards by which we determine God's will in our lives.

We look at this life and how we can get the most enjoyment out of the time we have here. It is difficult for our reasoning mind to take in the concept of eternity... it is difficult to grasp the concepts of Holiness, Righteousness, Sanctification... because they are beyond our ability to comprehend. We are limited, carnal creatures. Spiritual realities are an enigma to us.

The 'health, wealth, bless me clubs' may be flourishing right now, but what they have 'right now' is not going to carry them through the fire that is coming. "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him" 1 John 2:15. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness" Romans 1:18. Preceding generations of believers at least were taught to put God first. It is this last generation where it has become all about 'me'... 'what can God do for me?' We have followed the ways of the world, compromised the Gospel of Christ, and fallen into gross apostasy, and most people don't even know it because the apostasy is all that they have ever known.

Jesus said..."The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness" Luke 11:34-36. "And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" John 3:19.

Who do we really love?... God or ourselves? Do we really want God's perfect will in our lives? Are we willing to pay the price... that we may know HIM... and be conformed to HIS Image?

God's will in our lives, may not look like we expect it to... in fact it may seem like anything but... especially if we are comparing ourselves with others. When others appear to be thriving, we are suffering the loss of all things. When others are praised by men, we are reviled and persecuted. When others are accumulating great wealth and huge followings, we are barely making ends meet and appear to be castaways. If such is the case in your life, then Praise God! You have chosen the better portion... you are following Christ. The prophet Isaiah gives us a description of Jesus Christ, the Messiah:

"For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not" Isaiah 53:2-3.

And Jesus himself tells us in John 16:33 "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." Sorrows, grief's, rejections, these are all that we can expect to receive in this life.

Paul exhorts us in Romans 12:2 "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." And again in Philippians 3:13 "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

"Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you."

God's purpose in calling us out is that we might 'know HIM'... that we might 'grow up in Christ'... that we might be 'lights in this dark world.' In the process of following Christ's example, we will lose everything in this world that would stand in the way of our attaining God's perfect will for our life. We may well come to identify with Job, and Joseph, and all those who have gone before us, whose lives are recorded in the scriptures for our edification. They will become as real to us as if they were still alive, because we will come to understand by our own experience that God's ways are not mans ways, and His will is not according to our imaginations. Yet the rewards for our obedience so far outweigh the cost, that it pales in comparison. We too, can join in Paul's proclamation... "That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death"...and with the apostle John... "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is."

May God's Perfect Will be worked in our lives in this hour.

Amen & Amen

Cathy Morris

8/24/2008