Embracing God's Sovereignty and Our Human Will

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Father, I think it's so important that we understand your word concerning the proper place of the human will in relationship to history, conversion, prayer, evangelism, worship. And so I ask, Father, that you would be our teacher tonight, that you would guide us, strengthen our minds to think biblically. [00:01:13]

Does God have ultimate influence over the wills of people? And I'm tempted to rehearse all the dozens of texts we've looked at over the months, but I just chose a few here to remind you of what I think the answer is anyway. Lamentations 3: Who is there who speaks or commands and it comes to pass unless the Lord has commanded it? [00:02:44]

So that all of my efforts to do or accomplish are ultimately governed by what the Lord commands to take place. Is it not from the mouth of the most high that both good and Ill go forth? So the hard things that happen in your life and the easy things that happen in your life both are from the mouth of the Lord, from the will of the Lord. [00:04:44]

God's influence enables our willing, enables, yeah, that's not very good, enables us to will as we ought or enables our willing as we ought. Where does your proper willing come from? Where does your obedience come from? Where do you get the wherewithal to make the choices that you ought to make? [00:08:03]

Philippians 2:12-13: So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. [00:09:19]

The way you draw the logic is human willing here, and then it's supported by God's willing here. That's what that word "for" implies. And this logic, you may find fault with the logic, you may not, it may not fit your worldview, but what it makes clear is that just because verse 13 is true and that God is at work in me to will and to work for his good pleasure. [00:10:21]

So many people who want to fo a human logic on these things, they'll hear half the truth, okay, God is sovereign and works in us to will his good pleasure. Well, then I don't have to do anything now. That's a rebel spirit talking there. It's not biblical because this text says, let's read the logic backwards. [00:11:13]

To be a Christian and to walk in obedience to Jesus is both to be given a mandate and then to have it lifted from us. That's why his yoke is easy and his burden is light. His yoke is easy and his burden is light, not because there's no yoke and not because there's no burden, but when he puts it on you, he lifts it. [00:14:42]

I must make that exertion of will. That's real, folks. It is real. My belief in the sovereignty of God and the ultimate rule and influence of God over John Piper's will does not mean I must at that moment will it. And sometimes it takes a tremendous exertion of will to get out of bed or to do a hard thing in your life. [00:17:15]

The reason you say thank you is verse 13, because God in, under, around, through mystery, I don't know at all, God was doing it. It felt like all me as I will to get out of bed, but I know biblically it was decisively God. God is at work in you to will and to work for his good pleasure. [00:18:12]

I don't think I'd want to remove from the word fear and trembling all the aspects of being afraid, but I certainly don't want to enlarge it so big that it rules out deep confidence in future grace to take care of us. Perfect love casts out fear, and the Lord wants us to love him perfectly. [00:19:12]

All of us are vulnerable. If the Lord were to withdraw his grace, this grace is promised in verse 13. If that were withdrawn from us, we would all drift into irrational blindness and sin. Previous paragraphs make a lot of humbling ourselves and taking the form of a servant and being lowly in mind. [00:21:38]

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