Love God And Do As You Please – (Gasp!)
January 28th, 2008 | Michael Q. Pink
What a dangerous statement for Augustine to have made — or, for that matter, Martin Luther. When we truly love God and don’t just have the form of it, our desires will come into line with His. What about Jesus in Gethsemane? No one would argue His love for God, and yet it was put forth that Jesus desired to avoid the cross. (“Take this cup from Me“). So if Jesus desired something outside the will of God it was suggested, couldn’t we also even if we “truly love God”?
So what do you suppose held Jesus to the cross? Did God the Father force Him? No. It was His love that held Him to the cross. Of course He had conflicting desires. We all do. But in the end He went with His highest desire which was to do Father’s will, which is my point. Jesus had just spent hours with the Father, which was His custom. As a result of this, He received the strength to choose to endure the cross, despising the shame for the joy that was set before Him.
If Jesus had a desire to do something outside the will of God then we can rest assured we will certainly have similar conflicts. That is not in dispute. My assertion is that it’s our love for God that will lead us to choose the right things even if they run counter-intuitive to our best interest. I got up this morning well before daylight, made some coffee and set aside some time to grow in my walk with God. Coincidently, I had another desire which was to turn the alarm off and stay in bed until the sun came up. That would leave me with little time for Bible study and communion with the Father. I chose the former out of love for God because I really want to know Him better and that often requires sacrifice.
So again I say, “Love God and do as you please,” but don’t expect to not have conflict. To be continued…
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January 28th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Yes - this is about loving the Lord, it is about having a close and personal relationship with Jesus. It’s about devotion and delight, it is not about rules and religion.
Just think what would happen if all the followers of Christ, all believers, walked in this kind of love and devotion. Then maybe we would not have to look to programs and drives, and just maybe the Church today would be filled to overflowing with the love, grace, and goodness of the Lord. If we walked this way, there could be a powerful demonstration of the reality of a relationship with Jesus - and we might just not have enough room in all of our church buildings and homes, because people would so want to be a part.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Amen Michael.
You quoted from two of my favorite people, Augustine and Luther.
Hebrews 10:32–34.
Recall the former days when, after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. For you had compassion on the prisoners, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one.
These Christians were motivated for prison ministry the same way the Macedonians (of 2 Corinthians 8:1–8) were motivated to relieve the poor.
Their joy in God overflowed in love for others. They looked at their own lives and said “The steadfast love of the Lord is better than life” (Psalm 63:3).
January 28th, 2008 at 10:20 am
please i want you people to lay a prayer on heard consigning every thing i do in live.to be moving fine.and also for me to be progressing.pray pls.
thanks
Onyechi Okeke
January 28th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Mike,
Your insights capture the essence of what it means to be in Christ…
“I must decrease and He must increase”
Crucifying our flesh (our own agendas, rather than His) is the sacrifice
He calls to be and do.
However it is not a decision that we should attempt to avoid - because
when we are weak then He is strong in us, as we allow the Holy Spirit
to lead guide and direct us into death of ourselves so that we can
experience the joy of resurrection life in Him … moment by moment!
Now that’s REAL living!
Cheers!
January 28th, 2008 at 10:26 am
I am in a “missionary type position” (non goverment funded) with our local pregnancy center. My job is to help youth see abstience is the BEST choice for their lives. The first day I teach is spent, helping the middle school youth understand about CHOICE and relationships. I share a similar story that you shared about getting out of bed! I don’t want to get out of bed, but I do, in order to do the things I need to get done before I leave the house, and to get there on time. It is amazing how few people want to accept responsibility for their choices. I am on a committee in the process of planning a “purity lock-in” for young girls. I like the concept of “choice.” This will be our focus for this lock-in. In Joshua 24:15 it states, “choose for yourselves today whom you will serve…” It is a moment by moment choice for me, not even daily, as it is for all of us. Misery is optional in life, as is JOY! Our responses to life are always “chosen,” we are not victims of circumstance.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:42 am
Kara Harris:
May God bless you. What a ministry. I will be be praying for you and your ministry.
Thanks for sharing.
Kern
January 28th, 2008 at 10:48 am
The ‘last Adam’ dealt with everything in mankind’s experience, that was opened up by the ‘first Adam’. Adam got the door open by entertaining conflicting thoughts about the will of the Father. I’m glad that topic was one of the last things that the ‘last Adam’ did, and over the method of dealing with sin.
January 28th, 2008 at 11:21 am
It would be interesting to know what Luther meant, exactly. But I’m guessing who had in mind those people who have seriously given their lives to Christ as disciples. For those people, such a statement might work.
January 28th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
I am glad that we agree that there are different types of desires;Godly desires(God’s will) and Self desires.
No doubt it was the Love of the Father that kept the Lord on the Cross.
He was obedient unto death,”Love equals obedience.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust the Lord with all your heart,and lean not on your own understanding;
In ALL your ways acknowledge Him,and He shall direct your paths.
We are told not to lean on our OWN understanding!
Please note:”In ALL your ways”
There are two paths;a broad path and a narrow path.My desire is to walk the narrow path (obedience)and so is the author’s and many others out there!
We agree that we love God(Obedience);If we love God we will do what pleases Him and there are no exceptions!
For example,if there is a desire in my heart to get married to Miss “X”.How do I know if the desire in my heart is a Godly desire or a self desire!
I have a choice;
“Love God and do as you please”or do I go before the Lord soak in his presence ask Him to remove any self desire from my heart etc.
He is faithful and it is His will that His will is done! What if the Lord impresses in my heart not to get married to Miss “X”
If the sheep are not told how to distinquish between types of desires.Is it possible that some of the sheep could be misled? I am certain that the author had no intention to misled! However,there are different levels of maturity!
January 28th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
excellently put, Michael.
thanks!
jmb
January 28th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
To “love” God, the bible says, is to obey Him. This word love has become so tied to our feelings/emotions. Yet scripture clearly says that ‘love’ IS NOT a feeliing but an act of our will…going back to obedience…and that is exactly what Jesus struggled with..his will…and obedience to the Father….and HIS love (obedience) caused him to SURRENDER out of love. Not my will but yours.
We all need to get clear on what God says love is and get over all the mushy, sentimental expressions the world has connected to this word.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Ps. 37:4 states that we are to “Delight yourselves in teh Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” We tend to focus too much on the desires, and not enough on the delighting in God. As we delightourselves in God, he will change our hearts to desire the things that He delights in. An our course He will give us those things. But it has to start with us making the choice to find our delight in God, not things.
January 28th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
I agree with you that our Love for God will make us choose and do His will but our conflicting desires sometimes does not remain as desires. We do them thereby acting contrary to His will but thank God for His unfailing love which makes provision for our trangressions (forgiveness).
January 28th, 2008 at 3:34 pm
This is a very Nice Article Mike and it hits the nail on the head. There are times we try to create our own purpose then expect God to bless it. And there are times we know God’s will and want to do it our way. The only way we can fulfill God’s will for our lives is when God is in control of our lives and we allow his Love to permeate our heart and the Holy spirit to guide and lead us in every area of our lives. And our love for God will alway lead us in the direction of God’s will, God’s word and God’s way. GOD IS LOVE and LOVE IS GOD. we can’t separate one from the other. Yet our feelings, emotions and senses keep getting in the way. It is well and We can only get better as we learn to LET GO and LET GOD be in control and also trust him 110% even when it doesn’t ‘FEEL’ right
Just also wanted to use this opportunity to thank you for teaching God’s word uncompromisingly and without fear of being Criticized or ostracized. I stumbled across one of your articles on ElijahList (The RainCatcher’s secret and Secrets of the rain Forrest )and ever since I have been hooked. We thank God for you and as you have sown enough seeds of love in the secret, it is our prayer that God will reward you abundantly and unceasingly in the open. KEEP THE FIRE BURNING!!!
January 28th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Another Home Run by Michael Q. Pink! This is an issue over which I personally strugled for a long long time. Struggle is good and can bring wonderful answer. The resting point over the question of doing God’s Will most likely be found in the very fabric of our relationship to Him. A fearful son will dread making mistakes and risk building doctrinal like barricades which can give a false sense of Godliness. A trustful son (or daughter) knows that the Father is mentoring him (her) will accept to take risks to grow up and making decisions that will release the kingdom ruler in him. When a decision is righteous, honest, truthfull, ethical, moral and legal we have covered most of the trip… He (God) cares enough to bring us the additional material (if needed) so that our decision will yield the good fruits it is intented to bring about. “Do not be seized with alarm and struck with fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom!” Luke 32:30 AMP - All decision makers call to the deck!
January 28th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
How can you say you love anyone and not want to spend time with them to get to know their heart? If a man told me he loved me and then never spent any time with me I’d find someone else. I think God kind of does that.
January 28th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Grace is not license. Charis is a Greek word - grace.
Grace will change ones’ heart.
That will change their life and behavior.
Law does not do that - it brings rebellion, dissatisfaction, guilt, and fear.
Grace allows us to approach the Throne of God boldly - as a son and a child
and say Daddy……in our hearts and Father with our lips.
it’s the Golden scepter that Ruth saw.
and each of us see when we sit as our dear brother did early this morning to take his time with our Father, and each of you when we whipser the name….
Jesus
LICENSE buys something - we can’t buy anything in this domain - it’s already been Purchased with a price we couldn’t pay
I trust I was able to convey my thoughts. My heart is clear
January 29th, 2008 at 8:41 am
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
To piggy-back on a previous comment, I’m learning that this verse doesn’t mean that God will give me everything that I want, but if I delight in him, he will “give” me the right knowledge of what I should want. And then it is up to me to trust and obey.
January 29th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Charlie,
Matthew 6:33
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
As you pursue Him you will be amazed how self-desires are REPLACED with Godly desires or kingdom desires!
John 7:17
If anyone wills to do His will, he shall KNOW concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own
You have had a revelation! Charlie you are on your way!
January 31st, 2008 at 12:27 am
Love God and do as I please. Ah, this is where the friction is.
Over the years I have found many things that I have wanted to do or at least I thought I did before getting in over my head. I am not talking about doing sinful things. I am talking about good things that just don’t turn out right.
Speaking for myself I have confused being in God’s will with my own definition of success. In other words if such and such venture was successful as I would define it then it must have been God’s will. I have learned that nothing I have undertaken has ever turned out successful as I had defined success prior to beginning the endeavor. So if I mistakenly believe that being in the will of God as being successful as I or the world defines success there probably isn’t much I would or could do that is in His will.
Twenty-five years ago my wife and I purchased a farm nothing wrong with that right? We prayed and prayed for guidance from God, we asked the Holy Spirit to direct our thoughts and prayers, we sought counsel from Godly mature men and women who said go for it. We bought the farm (no pun intended), within months the land bubble of the early eighties deflated and interest rates went to 17%. We were left with a piece of land although productive was worth less than it was when we bought it and ten years and much sweat equity later we walked away with our $5,000 down payment.
My wife and I have often reflected on the experience and had thought we were out of the will of God. We have since gotten involved in several businesses with similar results and the same afterthoughts. I think many of us when we say we seek to be in the will of God what we really want is God’s blessing on our desires. We long for the same blessing as Joseph in Egypt, Jacob while in Laban’s house or David’s success as a ruler. Yet we don’t want the experience or “unblessing” like Joseph in prison, being cheated of wages like Jacob or living the life of a fugitive as Saul hunted David. Because the downside of success is having to work through the difficult problems along the way we often quit because we think God is telling us we are out of His will. The unblessing as I have called it is part and parcel of being in God’s will. While Joseph, Jacob and David suffered they were not out of God’s will in fact they were right in the middle of it.
When it comes to dreams not as in dreams and goals but as in dreams in the night, I have had several that are from God. They never have come while I wrestled with the decision making process, but after I had made a difficult decision. They confirmed what I had decided earlier that day as affirmation or encouragement because what I had decided was going to be harder than anything I had ever done before.
January 31st, 2008 at 1:21 am
Well put Brother.
I agree with your words and premise.
I, too, have experienced some of the same.
We still may wrestle in the night. And yet - the wrestling is truly with the Angel seeking to give us the Blessing.
He wrestles to bless us. Not vice versa.
Thus (in my mind) again the subject of charis. Grace.
January 31st, 2008 at 9:35 pm
Every motivation of one’s heart will have its source in one of two things:
the love(obedience) of God or Selfishness [self-desire].
February 1st, 2008 at 4:01 am
Hello Michael, You could have not said it any better even the struggle to get up in the morning to be with Dad……..I see the smile in him when he sees his children making the sacrifice to be with him,it brings our Father much joy! Being in his presence feeling his arms of love is Real ! One of my favorite scriptures is,Mark 10:15 Jesus said”whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter into it” I think it’s hard for men to come to an understanding of this scripture because of pier pressure,male ego,pride etc……..when God begins the process and he truly knows the desires of our hearts,he can begin to mold us, his children,to his likeness………Frank Russo
February 4th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I know just what you mean, it’s an area I struggle with from time to time. I discovered a while ago that the roots of my Christian life, founded in a very traditional church, were based on unscriptural teaching, which meant I had a warped view of the Father. I saw Him as a stern judge who disliked me because I could never seem to get my ‘righteousness’ to a level He could approve of. Thankfully, the Holy Spirit has been working on this, and my mind is learning to grasp just how much grace the Father has extended through Jesus, and how He RUNS toward me with outstretched arms when I look towards Him.
I think that a lot of our insecurities in this area stem from our preconceived ideas of who the father is, and how we should relate to Him. One time I hadn’t prayed or read the word for some weeks because of stuff I was dealing with. I was making coffe one morning when I heard a voice say “Why are you miffed with Me?” I replied that I wasn’t miffed with Him. “Yes you are,” he said, “you haven’t talked with me for ages!”
When I looked back, I realised I was miffed, because I thought He was disapproving of me, and He was unfair because the situation wasn’t all my fault!
See how easy it is to get the wrong idea! He loves us with a passion, how awesome is that!
July 5th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
I enjoyed that post, but there is one thing I felt should be clarified. When you say that,
“My assertion is that it’s our love for God that will lead us to choose the right things even if they run counter-intuitive to our best interest,”
It would be important to define what you mean by “best interest”. If you are speaking in a short term, worldly manner, void of the gospel of Christ, then yes, sometimes the ‘right thing’ will be counter-intuititive to our best interest, such as waking up early when your body could use the sleep. However, if we are speaking about our “best interest” from the gospel point of view, then our best interest will always be the right thing, like getting up early to spend time with God.
I really enjoyed the post, but just thought that might help clarify things further.