Lord's Prayer:
Your Will Be Done

Pastor Meyer's Sermon

 Sunday, June 24, 2007

I’ll be with you in just a minute. Nope, I didn’t get an e-mail. Well, they must think I’m busy at the moment. But usually when I go through the day, I can’t get through an hour without at least checking my e-mail two or three times. You see, I need to get my e-mail fix. Maybe some of you are like that. In fact, for me, if I have a day where I can’t get to my e-mail, it is a long day for me.

Maybe you can understand. Maybe you need to have your caffeine fix for the day. Maybe you need to have that Diet Coke or that Mountain Dew. My brother-in-law calls it bug juice because when he drinks a Mountain Dew, it just makes his eyes bug out from the caffeine. But the thing is he can’t start the day without having his Mountain Dew. Maybe you know someone like that. Maybe you know someone who can’t get through the afternoon without having a little bit of candy or a little bit of chocolate just to tide them over until dinner, to get their chocolate fix or their candy fix.

But I work with some people who need to have their Starbucks fix. You see, Starbucks makes it easy for you. You can get this card and you can prepay your fixes on this card so when you show up, you just run it right through and you’re out the door with your Starbucks coffee and you have your fix for the day. Fix. I have to have my fix. In fact, I was wondering if we did some research here and we had scented candles that smelled like Starbucks, oh, let’s say we’ll go with the dark roast, and we put it in all of the different offices in Des Moines and had them light it and going, I’m wondering if office productivity would go up.

Just getting your fix. The definition of fix there is to direct one’s attention or effort toward getting something. And so for the third petition of the Lord’s Prayer, we pray “Thy will be done.” Now it further explains the petition before, the second petition, that is, thy kingdom come. If you haven’t noticed as you’re going through the Lord’s Prayer, it continues to explain the line before. It continues to give a little more information. For instance, “Our Father,” well, who is our Father? Who is in heaven. Okay, so our Father in heaven. Hallowed be your name. Well, what name are we talking about? We’re talking about Father who is in heaven. Thy kingdom come. Well, what does it mean for thy kingdom come? It means thy will be done.

In essence, God’s kingdom is where God’s will is done. So when we’re saying “God’s will be done, thy will be done,” we’re saying “I need to have God’s fix in my life.” Because we’re saying when we say, “Thy will be done,” we’re going to be directing all of our attention and effort toward having His will in my life, to get my God fix.

But the first question we need to ask is what is God’s will in my life? We need to ask that. What is God’s will in my life? You see, John 6 tells us, our gospel reading tells us, Jesus says here, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day.” You see, in essence, where is God’s will being done? It’s wherever Jesus is allowed to be king. It’s wherever Jesus is king. In fact, if Jesus is king in your heart, then the kingdom of God is within you because His will is being done in your life. So the kingdom of God is wherever Jesus is allowed to be king. So if you are constantly directing your attention and your efforts toward Jesus, constantly getting your God fix in your life, then His will is being done and His kingdom is coming.

I believe when we pray “Thy will be done” that we’re saying three things really. The first thing we’re saying is I want to have God’s will in my life. That’s the first thing we’re saying as we’re praying “Thy will be done.” Because it’s all about sacrifice. It’s all about saying I’m not going to go through life saying, “I’m going to go ahead and do my will and I hope God’s will just happens to catch up or line up with my will.” No, it’s more that we’re going to go through life saying, “I’m going to line up my will with God’s will. God’s will is going to be my fix. I’m going to be directing my attention and my efforts because as I constantly go through life doing that, making God’s will my fix, I’m showing that I want to have God’s will in my life.”

When I was in Florida, I had the opportunity to go to the beach and the kids haven’t been to the beach before. And we went over to the ocean side and the waves were crashing and the kids were afraid of it. They wanted to stay on the beach but not me. I like to be out in the waves. But I just don’t like to be right here where the waves are breaking on you and you have to deal the waves breaking. No, I like to be way out here where I can lie the wave and not have to worry about the breaking. Whoo! Riding the wave. This is fun. I’m really enjoying myself. But I didn’t want to get too far out. I didn’t want to get too far out and so I looked back. And I was looking at the umbrella we had put in the sand and looking at Lynn and the kids where they were playing. And I knew if I got too far out, I could just look back at my fix. I knew I could move back to where I needed to be. Or if I was going too far down, drifting down the shore either way, I knew if I looked back at the umbrella and my family, I knew I could get back to where it was safe.

My question for you, My Friends, is what is your fix? Who or what is your fix in life? When those waves are crashing over you, when you are maybe drifting away a little bit, who or what are you fixing yourself on? Thy will be done. You’re saying first, “I want your will. I want God’s will in my life.” And the second thing we’re saying is “I want to surrender to God’s control.” It’s not just good enough to just say, “I want God’s will in my life.” No, we’re actually going to go about saying, “I will not turn down what you want to do with me, Lord, because, Lord, you’re in control.” The problem is we don’t like that word surrender, do we? Because it’s too much like we have to raise the white flag. Surrender means we need to give up, we need to forfeit the game, we’re saying “I’ve lost and you’ve won,” and surrender sounds too much like that other dirty word, submission. You see, those two words we don’t like at all. But for God’s kingdom to come for His will to be done, “I surrender to your control, God.”

And Paul tells us that. He tells us that in Romans 8:6, “If a person’s thinking is controlled by his sinful self, then there is death. But if his thinking is controlled by the spirit, then there is life and peace.” So, My Friends, every morning when you wake up, unconsciously or consciously, you’re saying, “Who’s going to run my life today? Is it going to be me or is it going to be God? Whose agenda am I going to follow today? Is it going to be mine or is it going to be God’s? Who’s going to call the shots today? Is it going to be me or is it going to be God?”

You know, sometimes you and I both know we think we know better, don’t we? And sometimes we say, “You know, I know there are some verses in scripture but I want to ignore them because they don’t fit my agenda. I know what God says here but I’m just going to pretend that verse just isn’t in the bible because I’m going to ignore it and I’m going to do what I want to do. I’m going to make up my own rules.” And when we do, we always go back to that default statement, that “God wants me to be happy.” And it can be something so simple as going on a family vacation. Maybe you’re looking at your friends and you’re seeing your friends are all going on vacation. They’re either going to Florida or they’re going to the Grand Canyon or they’re going to Hawaii and you’re thinking, “Hey, I need to go on a vacation. I deserve it. My family and I need to go.” But the problem is, lately, you’ve been having to tighten your belt financially a little bit. Oh, you’re doing okay. You’re paying the bills and you’re putting a little bit aside but if you go on that vacation, you’re going to overextend yourself and, you know what, that doesn’t really matter, though, does it? Because God wants me to be happy. I’m just going to go ahead and go on that vacation and overextend myself and possibly not be able to provide for my family and maybe even go into bankruptcy. God wants me to be happy.” Is that a thinking that is controlled by the sinful self?

God never says in scripture, “I want you to be happy.” No, He says, “I want you to be blessed.” He says, “I want you to be content.” In fact, Paul tells us in Philippians 4, “I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want, I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Paul wrote this while he was in prison. He wrote this while he was chained to a guard. That wasn’t being happy but that was being content. Living our lives controlled by the spirit. “Thy will be done. I want your will in life. I want your will to be my fix in life and I surrender to your control.”

And now the third thing we say when we’re saying “Thy will be done,” we’re also saying that I trust in God’s care. Because when we pray this prayer, there’s a great promise that’s attached to this prayer, “Thy will be done.” If I pray that and I live that and I use God as my fix in life, Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33, “God will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the kingdom of God your primary concern.” If you go through your life and use God as your fix, you’re getting your God fix in life, He promises that “I’m going to take care of all of your needs.”

So thy will be done. We are saying, “I want God’s will in my life.” We’re saying, “I’m going to surrender to God’s control.” We’re saying, “I trust God’s care for my life.” I don’t know about you but I have to have my God fix. Amen.

Copyright 2007 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church