Transcription
The message is titled, "Why some believers often drift away from God's perfect will to God's permissive will. What you must do to avoid it." What you must do to avoid it.
We take our test from John chapter 6 verse 14. to John 6 verse 14-15. Living Bible, it says, "When the people realized what a great miracle had happened, they exclaimed, 'Surely he's the prophet we have been expecting!'" Jesus saw that they were ready to take him by force and make him their king. So he went higher into the mountains alone.
So we begin by throwing light on the perfect will of God. The perfect will of God. Romans 12:2 King James version. Romans 12:2 King James version. It says, "And be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."
Now, there are some specific details that would often be communicated when God reveals his will on anything. Seven of them are most dominant when God is revealing his will. They may not all apply all the time God speaks, but these are the seven most common details that you could find in God's revealed will.
One, God will reveal what exactly He has decided or approved should happen. What exactly he has decided or approved should happen. So that talks about the specific thing that God has decided or approved should happen.
Number two, the second common detail, specific detail you could find in God's revealed will, show how much of it, how much of it that God has decided or approved. How much. This talks about the specific measure, the specific quality. When God was giving details to Moses as to the building of the temple, you could see God revealing specific details. And God also gave details concerning measurements, the quality, the quantity of different items that God wanted to be used in building and furnishing the temple. So this has to do with the specific measure, the specific quality or quantity of what God has decided or approved.
Number three has to do with the way God prefers it to be done. The way God prefers it to be done.
Number four, who God prefers to use. Who God prefers to use.
Number five, where God wants it to happen. Where God wants it to happen.
Number six, when God prefers it to happen.
And number seven, why God wants it to happen. Why God has wants it to happen.
Haven't noted these seven common details of God's will. The next notable point we should please even write down is that God can subsequently change his earlier instructions. The will of God is dynamic. The only aspect of God's will that he would not change is when is the irrevocable will of God. And from our extensive study on that subject, we can categorically say that that happens less than 5% of the time. So always focus on his current instruction. Always focus on his current instruction. What was God's will or instruction in the past is overruled by whatever he says afterwards.
So having looked at the perfect will of God and the how dynamic it is in manifestation, we can now look at the permissive will of God. Now the permissive will of God is about instances where God would tolerate, allow, or even change certain things to happen in a way that is different from how he would have preferred such things to be done. Do you realize that the only prayer of our Lord Jesus Christ that God did not answer was a prayer that was out of the perfect will of God? Matthew chapter 26 verse 39 and 42. New Living Translation. He went on a little further and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me." I want you to take note of that. One of the reasons why people drift out of God's perfect will, one of the reasons why people reject God's perfect will is because of suffering. Because of suffering. "Let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine." Then in verse 42, 42. New Living Translation, Matthew 26, then Jesus left them a second time and prayed, "My Father, if this cup cannot be taken away, unless I drink it, your will be done." That was the only prayer Jesus prayed that God did not answer because it was contrary to the irrevocable will of God.
Under God's permissive will, when someone God had earlier preferred to use is unwilling to accept or do what God wants him to do, the Lord will not compel him. The Lord will not compel her to do that thing. And take note, the perfect will of God. The perfect will of God can be successfully hindered sometimes by spiritual forces, by human forces, human influence. The perfect will of God can be successfully hindered. It can be successfully delayed. The perfect will of God can be rejected. And this happens every week. Virtually every day across the globe, the perfect will of God can be changed. The perfect will of God can be given to someone else. I pray that you or your children will never be victims of destiny exchange. You will never be victims of glory exchange in the name of Jesus. Your virtues would not be transferred to someone else. The perfect will of God can be given to someone else. It can be set aside. The perfect will of God can be abandoned. There are many who started in God's perfect will, but they moved out for one reason or the other. The perfect will of God can be stopped completely. And these things happen sometimes even by the intended beneficiaries and more often by third parties.
Now also take note that God can subsequently change or replace someone he had initially chosen. In the same vein, God can subsequently refuse to do what he had earlier promised to do. He can subsequently change his mind. Jeremiah chapter 18 verse 9-10. Jeremiah 18:9-10. I read from the Amplified Bible. It says, "Or at another time I might suddenly speak about a nation or kingdom that I will build up or establish." Verse 10, "And if they do evil in my sight by not obeying my voice, then I will reverse my decision concerning the good with which I had promised to bless them." You see an example with the experience of God had revealed what he was going to do through Samson even before he was conceived. Even before he was born, God had destined to use Samson for many more years before the actual time that Samson ahead of the actual time that Samson eventually died. God had planned to use him for many more years. But because of Samson's disobedience to God's clear word he had given and confirmed even through his parents. God spoke clearly on those sensitive things. Samson breached it and God left him. You read this in Judges chapter 16 verse 18 to 20. And one lesson we pick from this. One lesson we pick from this is that God can be provoked. God can be provoked to change his previously revealed will. It's just like the way human vessels also change their previously written will.
Now the permissive will of God as regards timing. So this is another very important aspect of God's permissive will timing. Wrong timing is another major factor that makes people drift out of God's perfect will. Wrong timing. Wrong timing. Naturally, we all want things to happen either instantly or as quickly as possible. That's the human nature. And that is why we have to be taught patience. And that is why many people do not want to listen to messages on patience. People often drift into the permissive will of God when they hastily or forcefully do certain things outside God's preferred time. Outside God's preferred time. Jesus Christ saw sick people for 30 years. He did nothing about it. It was not yet his time. But God was still responding to the heart cry of the people with provisions like the bull at the pool at Beta. John 5 verse 1-7. So at any point in time, God will always be responding, demonstrating the diverse dimensions of his power, including his healing power. But every one of us, we have our own time and our ministries with true God. Most times is in phases. Is in phases. And always note that your destiny is a unique destiny, like your biometrics is a unique destiny. There would always eventually still be something slightly different between your divine destiny and the destiny of that person that it looks so similar to. A decision could be in agreement with God's perfect will. Your choice could be in agreement with God's perfect will. Your action could be in agreement with God's perfect will. But the timing is wrong. And be careful about things surrounding the permissive will of God. Because most times people drift into the permissive will of God as a result of pressure, pressure, the influence of people around you. You may have the right conviction, but the pressure, negative influence of people, even within the church, within the body. So there is an appointed time. There's a right time for certain things to be received, for certain things to begin to happen, even though God has already shown it to you long, long, long ago.
Now, as we begin to close it up, examples of God's permissive will. Examples of God's permissive will. In God's permissive will, God's instruction is set aside and something else is carried out. In God's permissive will, God's preferred choice is rejected or set aside either by the intended beneficiary or by third party. God's original choice or preferred instrument is successfully displaced, successfully replaced or reduced to a lesser role in the permissive will of God. The person that God does not want is still chosen. Sometimes we will do it so that there will be peace. They will do it so that there will be peace because the person is threatening to scatter everything. The person is threatening to withdraw the support he or she has been giving. So in order for that not to happen, you you you are twisted to now give to that person something that God clearly said shouldn't be given to them. And this is sometime this could sometimes be due to human considerations, human sentiments, preferences. So in God's permissive will, God will allow you, God will allow you to make the choice you want, like the prodigal son and his father. You know sometimes we forget that our destinies are connected to the destinies of other people. Sometimes we forget that our destinies are connected to world events. World events. World events. Do you know that it is because of the God's timing of your destiny? That is why you were not born earlier. That is why you were not born earlier. The fight for the independence of Nigeria, I was not destined to play a role. The fight for the independence of Nigeria, I wasn't destined to play a role. That was why I was not born before 1960. It is the timing of God's assignment for your life, God's inheritance for your life, God's destiny for your life that determines when you'll be released as a child into this world. So in God's permissive will, it's about you. It's all about you. It's all about you in God's permissive will. It's all about your choice. Your choice. Your choice. It is never, you know, you know, the person that will be chosen will never be someone different from who you prefer. It is all about your choice. Your style, your own time. And sometimes when people are trying to make you, you know, hold on for some time, you will walk out of that environment. You will exit that platform, organization, because you can't wait. You can't wait. Now listen to this very well, because sometimes we may think that anybody that is operating in something that is so important to the mind of God is 100% in the perfect will of God. It's not always so. It's not always so. There are times where God may prefer a pastor to stay at home with his family, spend time with them, rather than be in church praying, because he's a God of balance. And sometimes we drift into extremes and we assume that we are more, we are becoming more spiritual, or we are doing more of what God would prefer us to do.
So what must you do to avoid it? Do what Jesus did. He did it twice in John chapter 6 from where we read earlier. When they wanted to forcefully, he sensed that they were going to forcefully make him king. So immediately he took a decisive step to prevent it from happening. Then in this instance, when a request was being made, he rejected that request. So you have to be firm, even to your inner circle, because he said no to James and John. Two of the three closest persons to him. In fact, the closest person to him was John. Not Peter, was John. When he was on the cross, he handed over his mother. He told John to take care of his mother, to show you the level of their closeness. But he was firm enough to say no to a particular request from even his inner circle, because it was going to be contrary to the perfect will of God. Sometimes you want to even do something good, but God will say no, not you. Let that person do it. Support the person that I have chosen to do it. That was what David did in 1st Chronicles 28:1-6. Just write it down. We are not reading. First 1st Chronicles 28:1-6. That was what David did. So God, David told the people, he said, I wanted to build a temple for God, but God said no, because you are a soldier and you have killed many people. Said God then told him that your son, just Solomon, will succeed you, and he is the one that will build the temple for me. And you could see later what David did. He am tremendous resources, great resources. He put it aside to support that project. So you don't just back off because you are not the one.
And that leaves us with the very last point. And that last point is that in the journey of life, there is a place that is very important to God. And that has to do with doing things behind the scene. There is a place for people that are called quiet achievers. Silent achievers. Quiet achievers. One of the reasons why even believers drift out of God's perfect will is because of fame. Fame. Visibility. Fame. But I can tell you that there are people that have been supporting other people anonymously. Every year, every year, every year, there are people that are bringing money, doing things, and they don't want the beneficiary to know. God places high value on them. Quiet achievers, silent achievers. One of the reasons why there is so much error in drifting out of God's perfect will is the desire for fame. Oh, the world will hear your name. Can I tell you this? You can be one of the greatest achievers amongst Christians, and the world will never know your name. I pray this noon that God will help every one of us in the course of this journey to remain in his perfect will, to recognize his perfect will much better than ever before. To stick and hold on to only his perfect will. May God give everyone the courage to resist the permissive will. You will not bow to pressure. You will not bow to influence of close people around you. You will not bow to intimidation. You will not bow to threats.