Not My Will But Thine Be Done

For many years I have watched, I have heard, ‘certain’ TV preachers and evangelists preach their sermons and then close with ‘their invitation’: “I’M going to ask you to make a decision.” “Receive Jesus as your personal Saviour.” I’M going to ask you to make a commitment.” “I’M asking you to give your heart to Jesus” “The choice is yours.” “Will you choose to accept Jesus as your Savior?” The influence of a few becomes law for the multitude. Now it is religiously correct to follow their leadership. I saw the son of one of these men giving an interview a short time ago and heard him speak of ‘My father’s invitation.’ When I AM calls, respond to the ‘invitation!’ That of which we speak is more than an ‘invitation;’ it is a command! “But now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained [Christ Jesus]” Acts 17:30b, 31a. “Ye must be born again” is not given as an option: Come, but only if you desire to! No, to refuse the command when the Creator and King of kings, and Lord of lords calls you, is in direct disobedience to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and warrants His judgment against you.

“Is man’s will really the focus of salvation? Is he in the driver’s seat? Is he in control of the situation? “God voted for me to be saved. Satan voted for me to be lost - and it was the casting of my vote that broke the tie!” (The doctrine of election. How is it that God has become the One who is elected?) It would appear (at least in the minds of many) that God stands helplessly by, waiting to see what man will do. Jesus sits mournfully at the right hand of the Father wringing His hands: “Well, I’ve done all I know to do! I died on the cross for them; now it’s in their hands!”

“Salvation involves a choice!” Yes it does! It was the choice of the Father to give His Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. It was the choice of the Son to die in my stead. Oh Lamb of God, I come! I come! In faith and in an act of obedience to the will of God who has drawn me, I come! I resist His call no longer. I cease my struggle against Him. I yield myself unto God: It is, Not my will, but Thine be done!

“Not my will.” Does my having a ‘will’ make me a god? Am I enthroned on a pedestal? Am I given authority over my life; am I the supreme ruler? I have a will; therefore I am responsible to neither God nor man! This mentality is wrong, dead wrong. Having a will makes me responsible. Adam had a will. He was responsible to God for his choices, for his actions. Adam made ‘decisions,’ he became lord over his life: I WILL do that which I determine is right for me! What does having a will do for the natural man? It renders him a creature who by his own volition becomes self-righteous. What was the will of God for Adam? It was that he be obedient to the purpose and will of his Lord. When God instructed Adam that he not eat of the forbidden fruit, Adam should first have acknowledged that he HAD a will, then willfully set aside that will: Lord God, NOT MY WILL! Adam, by the mercies of God, present your body a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. . .be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, WILL OF GOD! Adam should have responded to God; NOT MY WILL, but THINE be done!

All should be familiar with the passage concerning Joshua and Israel. In chapter 24 and verses one through thirteen, God rehearses His deliverance of the Israelites, then presents a challenge: “Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve the Lord. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” Joshua 24;14-15. Israel could choose between the various gods; who to elect to office. But Joshua will not ‘choose’ to elect his God. He will rather obey the God who chose him! Not my will but Thine be done!

“All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I WILL in no wise cast out.” What does the very next verse say? “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.” “Not my will, but thine be done!

Is Jesus the Christ; is He Lord; is He the very Son of God? Jesus walked the earth for more than thirty-three years; yet, without sin. A primary reason He was able to do this was His consistent, constant and faithful attitude. One might ask, “Jesus, what is your will?” He might have responded, I relinquish my will; I will acknowledge only my Father’s will for my life. I will not make any decision apart from my Father; I determine to do nothing independently of my Father’s will! Praying in Gethsemane’s garden just before giving Himself into the brutal hands of men and the crucifixion of the cross, Jesus cry remained the same: “Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done” Luke 22:42.

Mankind loves to make images, statues, busts, large portraits of themselves. It is the notion that we are little sovereigns (ye shall be as gods, as Satan told Adam and Eve.) To have to admit that God is sovereign - well, men would attempt to diminish His power (if only they could!) The fool hath said in his heart [ and many with their lips] NO GOD!
The voices persist. “Make a decision! Receive Jesus as your personal Saviour! Give your heart to Jesus! Give Him your life!” Oh God! How may I give my heart and life to Jesus? I am a totally depraved sinner. I am dead in trespasses and sins. I have no heart for God. It is not in my nature to desire Him.

What then are the requirements for one to be saved and justified before God? “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” Acts 20:21. Faith always finds Christ as the object of its attention. Repentance finds God as its object. Man’s will is not the object here. If men would only regard themselves as the sinners that they really are: impure, unholy, void of truth and understanding, having wicked hearts; wills distorted, lacking right discernment. My will and my rights are always subjects of lofty discussion. Repentance and faith will never come until our focus is taken off self and directed to God. Only then will the cry be, NOT MY WILL, but THINE be done. What is the will of God? “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and come unto the knowledge of the truth” I Tim. 2:3-4. Oh Lord God! My will do I wholly submit and yield into your hands! Not my will, but Thine be done! My will be done? Then I would likely be in the realm of the fires of hell, even at this moment! But “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” Let it be known, I’m depending on Jesus!

Let the sinner approach the cross with this plea - Not my will, but thine be done!