TRADITIONS, LIES, and TRUTH – PART FIFTY-FOUR
IF IT BE THY WILL
Saturday – February 1, 2020, Sh’vat 6, 5780
Greetings precious friends and partners of Eastern Gate Ministries International and The Three Minute Word blog. Many people have told me that the name “The Three Minute Word” is a misnomer (misleading or inaccurate term) for it takes considerably more than three minutes to read, meditate upon, and start to digest these teachings. I understand those comments however I believe that is the title the Lord gave for these teachings. If you are reading this on Facebook please take a moment to hit the “love” and “share” buttons to give us feedback and to expand the reach of this Ministry. This ongoing Saturday series has the aim with the leadership of the Holy Spirit from the pure Word to separate the Traditions of men, the doctrines of demons, and the Truth of God from each other. This series will be coming to an end over the next few weeks for I generally address these things on a regular basis as they come up in my other teachings.
Many of us have heard people, perhaps even done it ourselves, add “if it be your will” at the end of a prayer. Is this according to Scripture? No! Perhaps we have heard teachings that this is how Jesus prayed. Also, not true as we will review shortly. Is this a Biblical model or principle for prayer that we are taught down through Scripture? This cannot be found anywhere! Is there anyway for us to know the will of God or is it all a mystery that we will find out about in the sweet bye and bye? Yes, we can know the will of God with certainty. What is the Bible all about? The whole Bible is about the will of God, the benefits of abiding in His will, and the consequences of not abiding in the will of God. So, is adding “if it be your will” a tradition of men without power, a doctrine of demons which is also without power, or the Truth. Certainly not the Truth. If one were to know the will of God on a particular thing and had this as part of their prayer would this signal unbelief or humility? Praying with this phrase is unbelief and there is no Bible model to support its use. Perhaps you have heard that this is how Jesus prayed. Let’s go to the one example that is generally offered, which is found in three of the gospels.
Matthew 26:39 (KJV)
39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
Mark 14:34-36 (KJV)
34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch.
35 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
Luke 22:41-43 (KJV)
41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,
42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.
As we examine all three passages is there any question in our minds that Jesus knew the will of God. The cup referred to is His bearing of our sins and death spirit and body upon the Cross and the descent into Hell. After all, all of Scripture is pointing to this pivotal day when the sin, curse, death questions will be dealt with. From the very Day of Sin and Death in the Garden of Eden this day has been the focus of Heaven. This had been settled in the counsels of Heaven (Revelation 13:8) even before the Garden of Eden and the making of man. God made a provision to redeem mankind should they choose to sin and that provision is Christ (Genesis 3:15). The Scriptures related to Abraham and the Blood Covenant assured the coming of the Messiah. According to Blood Covenant, because Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son for God and Isaac (the son) was willing to be sacrificed in obedience to God, God was obligated to sacrifice His Son for man and Jesus had to be willing to be sacrificed for mankind in obedience to the Covenant. To further affirm that Jesus, the Messiah, knew the will of God for Him let’s review the following Scripture.
John 6:38 (KJV)
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
John 12:23-24 (KJV)
23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
These Scriptures only scratch the surface. Jesus is fully aware of the will of God (the Father) for Him to be in the earth. I might point out that it was not only the will of the Father for this to happen but the will of the Word (Jesus before the womb of Mary), and the Holy Spirit. There never has been, there was not that day in the Garden of Gethsemane nor will there ever be in the future a disparity in the will of the co-equal persons of the Triune God. Jesus is about to take our sin and die spiritually and then physically. In the process He will be separated from the Father and this is grieving Him immensely. Jesus is not asking the Father if this is His will, He knows full well the will of God, the Father, and without hesitation submits fully to that will. Jesus is not asking if this is the will of God, He is asking if there is another way expressing full confidence in the Father and immediately submitting to this path of redemption. Another path is not possible, this is the one chosen and this is the one prophesied down through the millennia. So, in summary Jesus is not asking if this is the will of God but affirming the will of God.
The way this has been prayed (“if it be thy will”) is in the context that the will of God is either not known or uncertain. The Bible is packed full of the will of God and it ours to believe and receive in the name of Jesus. The use of this phrase in prayer is a tradition of man reflecting a lack of diligent study of the Word and unbelief. When the prayer is not answered which is the case 100% of the time, the explanation is that it was not the will of God and the persistence of the curse serves some mysterious higher purpose. That is false, a tradition of men to explain prayer failure, and a doctrine encouraged by demons. It is our responsibility to discover, determine the will of God, and once known declare it in the name of Jesus.
Until our next publication, as a Bible Teacher and Prophetic Voice I speak this blessing over each and every one of you, receive it, believe it, and speak over yourself and your family by faith in Jesus name! Quit asking God to bless you, you are already blessed, you have the Blessing, give Him something to do by the words of your mouth. Once you know the will of God, decree the thing (Job 22:28, Isaiah 45:11, Mark 11:23). (The Blessing is the Holy Spirit) We have left God way to long with nothing to do in our lives.
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
24 The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;
26 The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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