DOING GOD'S WILL OUR WILL • the smarter and more powerful you are, the more often you'll get your way (Dan 8:4; 11:3, 16, 36) • two wills will fight—the reason for submission to authority in the Bible (citizens to government leaders, Rom 13:1–7, 1 Peter 2:13–15; wives to husbands, Eph 5:22–24, Col 2:18, Titus 2:5, 1 Peter 3:1–2; children to parents, Eph 6:1, Col 3:20; employees to employer, Eph 6:5–7, Col 3:22–25; Titus 2:9; church to spiritual leaders, Heb 13:17, 1 Peter 5:5) SATAN'S WILL • Satan snares unbelievers and carnal Christians and uses them to do his will—to oppose the truth (2 Tim 2:24–26) DOING GOD'S WILL • we must know before we can do God's will—a knowledge of the Bible is required (Psa 143:10; Col 1:9–10) • we must be willing to do God's will—a volitional decision is required (John 7:17) • we must delight (haphats) to do God's will—a proper attitude is required: "I delight to do Thy will, O my God" (Psa 40:8); haphats is used of the attitude of a young man who finds the woman of his dreams (Gen 34:19) and is willing to suffer excruciating pain to marry her (34:22–25) • delight is the opposite of doing God's will grudgingly because you have to or because you're afraid of the consequences • we should live to do God's will (1 Peter 4:2) • we must yield our will to God's will (John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38) • doing his will isn't always easy or enjoyable: (1) it may require doing things you really don't want to do (Matt 26:38–39, 42; Luke 22:42); (2) you may express contrary desires in prayer but be willing to put God's will first (Matt 26:39, 42; Luke 22:42); (3) Jesus practiced what he preached: the same Jesus who taught his disciples to pray "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matt 6:10) also prayed "Thy will be done" in the Garden of Gethsemane (26:42) • the attitude required of slaves is "be obedient to…your masters…doing the will of God from the heart" (Eph 6:5–6) • to be a man or woman after God's own heart is to do all of God's will—you want what God wants (Acts 13:22; cf. 1 Sam 13:14) • to do all of God's will presupposes you know all of God's will (Psa 143:10) • men and women who do the will of the Father are Jesus' real family— they are closer to him than biological brothers, sisters, and parents (Matt 12:46–50=Mark 3:31–35) • answers to prayer depend on doing God's will (John 9:31) and asking according to his will (1 John 5:14) • to do God's will is to be obedient • saying is not doing and assent is not obedience (Matt 21:28–32) • willing disobedience is worse than unknown disobedience and will be punished more severely (Luke 12:47–48) • doing God's will may be hard at times but is not impossible because "his commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3) • God provides us with everything we need to do his will (Heb 13:20–21), things such as salvation, confession of sin, the indwelling and filling ministries of the Spirit, and spiritual gifts • we can only do God's moral and individual will: we cannot do his sovereign will—it's done only by God • eighteen verses mention doing God's will (Psa 40:8; 143:10; Matt 6:10; 7:21; 12:50=Mark 3:35; Matt 21:31; 26:42=Luke 22:42; John 4:34; 6:38; 7:17; 9:31; Acts 13:22; Eph 6:6; Heb 10:36; 13:21; 1 John 2:17; cf. John 5:30; 2 Tim 2:26) • men and women who do the will of the Father will enter the millennial Kingdom (Matt 7:21) • men and women who do the will of God will abide forever on the new earth (1 John 2:17; cf. 2 Peter 3:10–13; Rev 21:1–22:5)