This morning, if you would turn with me to Matthew 7, Matthew 7, we read together verses 15 through 23, we also give our attention to Lord's Day 49. We've been covering the Lord's Prayer in the evening services recently and I want to cover the third petition this morning. We'll turn there in just a few moments in the back of the Psalter hymnal. We're reading first of all Matthew 7 beginning at verse 15 as we give our attention to the Word of God. Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit, you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew You. Away from me, you evildoers. Then if you would turn in the back of the Psalter hymnal to page 61, 61, where we find Lord's Day 49, Question and answer 124. I'll read the question and together we confess what we believe as we read together this answer. Page 61, Lord's Day 49. Question 124 asks us, What does the third request mean? Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven means, Help us and all men to reject our own wills and to obey your will without any backtalk. Your will alone is good. Help everyone carry out the work he is called to as willingly and faithfully as the angels in heaven. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, this life is a constant battle of wills. Now, I trust that's really not a surprise to anyone here. It's a constant battle of wills. Our wills express or reflect our wishes or our desires. And if we follow, if we carry out or follow our wills, that means that we do what we want or what we will to do. And this life is a constant battle of wills because our wills are as individual as we are. It's not uncommon for the wills of two people to disagree, to not be the same. Often the wills of parents clash with the wills of their children. The same is true between employers and employees. And we even find that with government over those whom they govern. They don't agree. But unfortunately, the same is also true within the church among believers from time to time. Each one of us thinks that our own will or way is the best. But we know that this is true not only among creatures, but it is also true between creature and creator. The natural will of man doesn't agree with the will of God. What man thinks is best is radically different than from what God knows is best. And therefore, Jesus teaches His people to pray, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And we need to remember that the first three petitions of the Lord's Prayer focus on God and on His glory, but these same three petitions are also intimately tied together. The name of God is honored as His kingdom comes to man's heart and His kingdom comes to man's heart as His will is done. Remember, as we considered last week in connection with Thy kingdom come, God's kingdom there is talking about His kingdom of grace where God is recognized as the great King, where the rules of the kingdom are being honored and obeyed, and where God's will is being done. And also, when we pray that God's kingdom come, we were taught last week that this means, first of all, as the Catechism says in the previous lords, they rule us by Your Word and Spirit in such a way that more and more we submit to You. Now, submit, that's not a very popular term in our day. But to submit means to put oneself under another's authority. It means to line oneself up behind another. And the heart of submission to God, beloved, is doing His will. And so here we're talking about the subjects of the kingdom carrying out the orders of the king. Thy will be done, then, is the prayer for obedience. And as we consider this Word of God together, we notice these three things. First of all, the urgent need for obedience. Secondly, the necessary pathway of obedience. And finally, the heavenly pattern of obedience. What is the will of God? Well, the Bible speaks of the will of God in two ways. One way is God's hidden or secret will, or as we speak in theological terms, His will of decree. It is hidden or secret in the sense that we don't know what it is until it happens or as life unfolds. And the other way the Bible speaks of the will of God is His revealed will, His commands, His word of the Bible, what He has given to us. He speaks of both of these in Deuteronomy 29.29. The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. God's secret will, or His will of decree, is His plan for all things. He determined this will or plan before He began the work of creation. He determined or decreed in eternity past what would take place in time, and what God has decreed will indeed take place perfectly. For example, as Isaiah 46, 9 and 10 says, I am God and there is no other. I am God and there is none like me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times what is still to come. I say, my purpose will stand and I will do all that I please. And notice also, congregation, that God's providence comes into play with His secret or hidden will. Answer 27 of Lord's Day 10 defines providence this way, The Almighty and everywhere present power of God, whereby, as it were, by His hand, He still upholds heaven, earth, and all creatures, and so governs them, that herbs and grass, rain and drought, fruitful and barren years, food and drink, health and sickness, riches and poverty, yea, all things come not by chance, but by His fatherly hand. And then in contrast to His will of decree, God's revealed will is His Word, His commandments, His precepts. God's revealed will is the believer's handbook of rules for holy Christian living. His revealed will is to regulate our lives and indeed that is to be our prayer that God's revealed will would regulate our lives. And therefore, we pray for obedience to God's will. Why does Jesus teach us to say, Thy will be done, God's will be done? Because we have an urgent need for obedience. We have an urgent need to be brought under God's will. In paradise, Adam's will was totally in line with, completely matched up with, perfectly in agreement with God's will. It was perfect. But in sin, sin had a deadly effect on man's will. Man's will has been sinfully altered and distorted as a result of sin. Total depravity saturates man's entire life, his heart, his mind, his will. So that man's will is no longer God-centered, but it is man-centered. His will is not pliable and moldable, but it is stiff and stubborn. He is not humble, but he is proud and conceited. As I mentioned in the earlier service, we have a little calendar. One of those things you flip up and there's a daily verse and a daily proverb, so to speak. Not from Scripture, but a wise saying to go with it. And last week there was one that I read that said that the proud man counts his press clippings. The humble man, his blessings. But one definition of sin that I trust we're all familiar with is that sin is missing the mark. The idea is of an archer with his bow and arrow and the mark is the bullseye on the target and that bullseye is God's will. And sin is to miss the mark of God's will, to violate it, to go off course, even a little bit in a different direction than God's will. And that's the way of mankind. But by the grace of God, for the sake of Christ's righteousness and His saving sacrifice, He takes His people and puts them back on track. Jesus Christ has earned for His people that trip on the narrow path that leads to eternal life. Yet as Christians, called to pray this believer's prayer, our sin continues to testify against us each and every day that we are not yet perfect. In fact, the preparatory portion of the communion form reminds us that sin still knocks at the door. It often gets in. Sin against God's will still clings to believers against our renewed will. And therefore, every day we must pray for obedience to the will of God. Romans 12, verses 1 and 2 says, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Christians are living sacrifices. And as I heard a minister say once, you know what the problem is with a living sacrifice, don't you? It keeps crawling off the altar. Sin still clings to us against our will. Sometimes we fall headlong into it. Therefore, every day we pray, Thy will be done. Congregation, we never need to guess. what God requires of us. We don't. We never have to guess. Sometimes we act like we don't know what God's will is in certain situations, but even then, it is only camouflage to camouflage our own will. Our problem is not a lack of knowledge of God's will, but a lack of obedience to God's will. It's so easy to place our own will and our own desire in the foreground and convince ourselves with all kinds of deceit that our will is indeed God's will. And then we twist His will to suit us and we might even use Scripture texts illegitimately to support what we want. But that's nothing more than pious deception. Well, Lord, if I marry this unbeliever, maybe You will use me to bring them to believe. Maybe. But maybe not. What is God's revealed will say? In 2 Corinthians 6, we read, Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. And it's true that though God's general commandment is clear, sometimes in a particular instance, the application of His commandment may not be so clear. What college should or may I attend? Should or may I do business with that particular person or that company? Should I go out and buy that new car? Should I change jobs? There are many matters, beloved, which require close prayerful study in the light of the general principles of Scripture in order for us to know the right thing to do. Yet the child of God is not to act rashly. But He is to pray, Teach me, O Lord, the way that I should go, knowing that He will only have true peace when He is in God's way, which is the only right way. The writer of Proverbs says, there is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way of death. Man's way yields nothing but bad fruit, as Matthew 7 makes clear. And that's why we have an urgent need to be in God's will. And that's only possible when by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, we follow the necessary pathway of obedience. The catechism answer begins, Help us and all men to reject our own wills and to obey Your will without any backtalk. Your will alone is good. There are two parts, two steps to that necessary pathway. Rejecting our own will and obeying God's will. Simple as that. And that's what conversion is all about, isn't it? To repent and do a U-turn from what is wrong toward what is right. We just described man's sinful will. It's stubborn. It's proud. And worst of all, its end is the way of death. Apart from God, my way is wrong. My way is evil. It's the bad way. It drags me in the wrong direction and it brings death and destruction no matter how good it may seem at the time. Only God's will is good. Only His will is without fault. Only His will is completely flawless. Only His will brings life and peace because the foundation of God's will is holiness. Beloved, this petition presupposes that we cannot carry out God's will and worse yet, we don't want to. And therefore, this is a prayer that God would make His people both willing and able to be obedient. Lord, grant that Your will may be done and that My will may not be done. So often, we apply this petition only to God's revealed will, and indeed, I believe most of the focus is to go there, but I also believe it would be wrong to exclude God's secret will or will of decree altogether. It's true that God's plan shall be carried out perfectly, Yet we pray for passive obedience. Allow me to say it that way. In order to make a contrast, we pray for passive obedience to God's secret will. And what I mean is that we, by God's grace, greet the unfolding of God's plan with an accepting spirit that we do not simply give in to God because we can't change it anyway. Oh well. That's the way it is. But we submit to God's will with joy and gladness, confessing that it alone is good. And of course, again, this is easy as we consider providence or a part of providence, isn't it? It's easy to accept this graciously and gladly when He sends rain for the crops and the gardens, when He gives fruitful years and food and drink and health and riches. But the hard truth, beloved, is that He has decreed that sometimes there will be drought, there will be famine, There will be sickness, poverty, and distress. We don't know what God has in store for each one of us in this life. Yet when the thorns and thistles of life spring up, our response is not to be rebellion, but submissive obedience and joyful surrender to our lot in life, and God is to be glorified at all times. Beloved, the secret will of God requires that passive obedience and submission. in the Spirit that the joy of the Lord is our strength. And the revealed will of God, if I may, requires active obedience. This is to be our prayer. Lord, grant this obedience. But this is granted passively or actively only in fellowship with Jesus Christ. New obedience is evidence of faith and it is the believer's grateful response to his salvation in Jesus Christ. And when one is grafted into Jesus Christ Only when one is grafted into Christ can he be a good tree and produce good fruit. And therefore, obedience to God's will, congregation, is not and cannot be performed to get saved. But it can only be performed by one who is saved. Not to get saved, but because one is saved. And only when Christ's sap of life is running through our spiritual veins can Christians have the mind which is also in Christ Jesus, as Paul speaks of to the Philippian church. And the mind of Christ included both passive and active obedience. Actively, He not only perfectly obeyed, but He perfectly desired to obey God's will. He said to the Samaritan woman, My food is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work. To the scribes and Pharisees He said, I do not seek My own will, but the will of the Father who sent Me. And also to His disciples He said, For I have come down from heaven not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. Passively, Christ was obedient, as Paul says, to the point of death, even the death of the cross. And before He was crucified, our Lord prayed, O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will. O my Father, if this cup cannot pass away from me unless I drink it, Your will be done. Beloved, only those who have been purchased by the blood of Jesus and in whom the Holy Spirit of God lives, only they desire by the grace of God to do His will. And only these are they whom Jesus claims to be in the family of God, as He says in Matthew 12, 50, For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother. Only God's will is good. Only His will glorifies Himself, not man's will, which only glorifies man. And therefore, as the Catechism says, our desire is to be that God would be honored by all men obeying Him. That's to be our desire. But there's another element to this necessary pathway of obedience. Yes, we are to reject our own will. We are to obey God's will, but our obedience must also include a necessary attitude, a necessary disposition of heart. The Catechism rightly says that our obedience is to be without any back talk. Without talking back. Now, boys and girls and young people, I know that you know what this means. I know what it means from experience to talk back to my parents. It's not a good thing. You see, to talk back in essence is to really say that I know better than you do. I do. You see, when we fail to obey or when we obey God unwillingly or with a clenched fist, so to speak, that is the same as talking back to God. I'll do what you say, but I know better. I know better. And instead, believers are called to follow the heavenly pattern of obedience. This petition is, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Reflecting the teaching of Scripture, the Catechism says, Help everyone carry out the work He is called to as willingly and faithfully as the angels in heaven. God requires perfect obedience on earth even as there is perfect obedience already in heaven. and congregation, God has never lowered or changed His standards. How often doesn't it seem as if we act like He has? Oh, this isn't important. What He says here, well, it's maybe. God has never lowered or changed His standards. This is not optional. The angels, God's ministering spirits to do His will, obey God willingly and faithfully without any backtalk. In Psalm 103, as we sang, we find what the Bible says about angels. A little bit of what it says about angels and their relationship with God, their Creator. Bless the Lord, you His angels, mighty in strength, who perform His Word, obeying the voice of His work. Bless the Lord, all you His hosts, you who serve Him, doing His will. So what can we say about angelic obedience? It's willing, first of all. Without any complaint. Without any backtalk. It's faithful. Without any alterations. They don't try to change it. They don't question God. They don't think that they know better than God. It is instant. Without any postponement, they don't drag their feet, for example, and say, well, let me finish watching this television program first, or let me finish doing what I'm doing, which is more important. It is constant. There's never a moment when they are not doing God's will. And it is joyful. It is done out of love for God and for His glory. And that's the kind of obedience that we are to give to our God. Boys and girls and young people, God expects you to give your parents no questions asked obedience. No questions asked. It is to be willing, faithful, instant, constant, and joyful. Now the hard question, does that describe how you obey your parents? Why is this so important? Because your obedience, children, in the Christian home, toward your parents is the training ground for and is to be a reflection of your obedience to the will of God. There is a direct relationship between the obedience you give to your parents and your obedience to God. God's holy angels are perfectly obedient to His will, and our prayer is that it be done on earth as it is already done in heaven. This is a prayer that the world of mankind become a prince or a copy of the angel world. This is to be comprehensive all the time obedience. This is to be our desire. And where is this to be done? The Catechism says, help everyone carry out the work He is called to. Now, I believe the older version of the Catechism says it a bit better. That so everyone may discharge the duties of His office and calling as willingly and faithfully as the angels in heaven. Discharge the duties of His office and calling. Beloved, this is talking about the church in her everyday clothes. This is talking about the church during the week. What does the church look like during the week? Well, on the one hand, really not a lot different than the rest of the world, like a bunch of scurrying ants going around taking care of the busyness that is before them. But on the other hand, Christians are to have the look of obedience. And I believe that the best way to understand, especially the older version of the catechism here, is that office is talking about something that is appointed and calling here is something that we choose. All of God's people are appointed to the office of believer. And that includes being faithful prophets who confess and teach the name of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. It includes being willing and faithful priests who dedicate themselves to the Lord. It includes being willing and faithful kings who fight for the king's kingdom. And this office then of believer, prophet, priest, and king must be reflected in one's calling or occupation or lot in life. And every legitimate occupation is a divine calling. Some are not legitimate because certain occupations include blatant sin against God's Word and against His will. But wherever the church is in her everyday clothes. In whatever activities or situations Christians may be found, Jesus says, I must see that you are different people. That you are converted people who before they go to work, before they go on a date, before they go on vacation, before they go to the beach or to the mall or whatever, that they bend the knee daily in humility and ask, Lord, teach me today to do Your will. Let me not be angry or cross, nor lazy or neglectful, nor selfish or self-willed. Let me serve You, O God, in the marketplace of life. Congregation, when the world looks at you, does it have a reason to say, you can tell that he or she is a Christian? You can tell that he or she loves the Lord Jesus Christ and you can depend upon Him or her? May the Lord one day say of His avocado farmers and construction workers and seminary professors and students and nurses and office workers and teachers and housewives and volunteers and whatever, well done, thou good and faithful servants. And then ultimately, just as with the previous petitions, this prayer also looks for Christ's return. It looks for the new heaven and the new earth when and where all will do God's will and perfectly obey Him. It looks for that day when every knee will bow before Christ and every tongue will confess Him, even those tongues and knees in hell. Jesus says once again in the passage we read, verse 21, Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles. But this is frightening, beloved, for those who do not know Christ as their Lord and Savior. Because what does He say in verse 23? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers. Our prayer must be with the psalmist in Psalm 119, verse 36. Incline my heart to Your testimonies. Beloved, this prayer, Thy will be done, is a comfort for those who repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ by grace alone, through faith alone. Because of our urgent need, Jesus Christ walked that necessary pathway, not only as an example for us, but so much more. He walked that pathway of obedience for His people and in the place of His people. and His perfect obedience erases our disobedience before the sight of God. And as we travel as pilgrims through this life, Jesus says to His people, in my strength, now you walk that way too. You walk that way too. If you love me, keep my commandments. That's the only pathway of grateful living. People of God, hell is the place where the will of God is hated and ignored in the most strict sense. Heaven is the place where the will of God is obeyed and respected in the most strict sense. So I ask you, in love, where would you be at home? Amen. Shall we pray? Father, what a blessing it has been once again to be fed with Your Word. Even though it may be sometimes hard to chew and to swallow, recognizing that there are so many places that You are able to bring to our mind where we seek to follow our own will and to put our will in front of Your will and then to ignore Yours. And our prayer, Father, is that You would indeed strengthen us, make us glad to be obedient to Your will. And indeed, let our prayer be Thy will be done and let it begin in our hearts and in our lives. And we pray that You would continue Your work until indeed all things are in obedience to Your will. Hear our prayer for Jesus' sake and in His name, Amen. Thank you.