A CONFLICT OF WILLS

1. Just a few doors down from here is Oaklawn, a mental health.

2. Not too long ago I went there.

3. My visit was not for treatment, but for a free seminar they advertised.

4. During part of the seminar we were supposed to “partner” with someone near us.

5. After finding a partner we were told to share some stories.

ONE OF MY STORIES CAME FROM ALMOST 25 YEARS AGO. I WAS IN A LARGE, GUARDED BUILDING WHERE MILITARY PEOPLE WERE WORKING WITH ACTUAL BATTLE PLANS.

a) At the end of a certain day, a man tried to take some of the plans from this building.

b) Another soldier with a gun stood in his way and told him to take the plans back.

c) It didn’t take long for the two men to get into a shouting match.

d) Finally the guard say, “Sir, if you attempt to come any closer and leave I will shoot you.”

2) I witnessed a very dramatic clash of wills.

3) At times all of us see cases where people have differing wills (desires) and this results in a clash.

a) The conflict may be between children and parents or between grown adults.

b) Clashes are also found in the spiritual realm.

4) Man and God clash.

5) Perhaps the simplest illustration of this is man and God colliding because of sin.

6) Another way heaven and men are at odds with each other involves specific parts of God’s will.

7) God has a will. Mt. 6:10 says “thy will be done.”

8) According to Jesus, God has a plan for all mankind.

9) When people are somehow introduced to that plan, each person reacts.

10) For some the reaction is positive (God’s plan is accepted). Others choose to reject it.

11) God has always known that He and man would sometimes clash over His will.

12) This is clearly expressed in the Law of Moses.

13) Numerous statements in the law deal with this matter.

14) For the Scripture reading we heard Deut. 18:19.

a) God warned about those would not “hearken to His voice.”

b) What does this expression mean?

c) God meant that people would look at His will and not want to follow it.

d) He was full aware of the fact that some people would hear His desires and not want to be obedient.

15) Our second reference was Deut. 28:15-21.

16) When people chose to resist God’s will, and some have, heaven promised punishment.

17) As we heard from the reading, there was not just one punishment.

18) People were punished in numerous ways.

IN THE WORLD PEOPLE MIGHT BE CAUTIONED ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES OF CLASHING WITH SOMEONE. CHILDREN MIGHT BE WARNED ABOUT OPPOSING THE WILL OF THEIR PARENTS. ADULTS MAY BE WARNED BY FELLOW ADULTS ABOUT THIS SAME TYPE OF BEHAVIOR. IN SPITE OF THE WARNINGS, PEOPLE STILL DECIDE TO RESIST STATED POLICIES OR AN EXPRESSED WILL.

a) Today we want to look at people who decided to clash with God.

2) Our first examples will be brief because they were well known.

3) Adam and Eve decide to not follow God’s will. They clashed with God’s expressed plan, and they lost.

4) After them came Lot’s family. Lot’s wife received an instruction from God.

a) What she was told was so simple: do not look back as you flee the city, Gen. 19:17.

b) We do not know why Lot’s wife looked back.

c) Maybe she chose a last look because she was curious.

d) Perhaps there was an emotional attachment she felt she couldn’t break.

e) A third possibility is outright defiance.

f) Imagine this same or a similar command being given to people in our day and time.

g) What would happen if God told some people, “Do not look or go over there.”

5) Some would respond in this way, “No one is going to tell me where I can and cannot look.”

6) “No one is going to tell me where I can and cannot go.”

7) “If I want to look or go, I will.”

8) Man and God can, as it were, go toe-to-toe and head to head.

9) This kind of match (competition) has been tried multiple times.

10) God had a will; Lot’s wife had a will, and they didn’t agree. We know who lost.

11) We do not know much about Lot’s wife and her spiritual life.

12) We do, however, know a lot about another character—Moses.

13) By any standard we use, Moses was a great man.

a) He did wonderful things but he was not perfect.

b) God told him to go deliver the people of Israel.

c) Moses said, “God, you picked the wrong man.”

d) When Moses spoke those words he challenged God’s expressed will.

e) Moses did finally conform to the will of God, but this was not his first choice.

f) Since he finally agreed to God’s will, he lost the battle.

g) At another time in his life Moses decided to hit a rock.

14) In Num. 20 we find that God told Moses to “speak to a rock” and it would provide water.

15) Instead of following God’s instructions, Moses decided to smack the rock with his staff.

16) According to Num. 20:12, God said Moses and Aaron “didn’t believe.”

a) These men chose to defy God’s will.

b) Clashing with God’s will is put on the same level as unbelief.

c) Both Moses and Aaron were guilty, and they were both punished.

17) A further description of this incident is found in verse 24 of Num. 20.

18) Resisting God’s will is also called “rebelling” against God’s word.

19) When we choose to pit our will against that of God, God says we are rebellious.

20) At various times we cite the account from Lev. 10:1-2.

a) There were two priests who were performing a religious function.

b) God had told the people to get fire come from a certain place.

c) These men had another plan, and they took fire from an alternative location.

d) The text says they died. God killed them because heaven’s will was challenged.

e) In life, challenging the will of another person is not always a bad thing.

f) At other times, it can be bad. It can lead to deadly consequences.

g) Challenging God’s will has always been and always will be the wrong choice.

21) Another person who decided to resist heaven’s will was a king.

22) Not only was this man a king, he was a famous and wise king.

23) When we hear the name Solomon, many good things may come to mind.

24) Not everything about Solomon’s life was good.

25) I want to read 1 Kgs. 11:1-11.

a) When verses 2, 6, 9, 11 of 1 Kgs. 11 are read, listen for statements about God’s will.

b) In this chapter we find a great example of God’s will being opposed by a king.

26) READ. 1 Kgs. 11:11-11.

27) Based upon these verses, is it serious to find ourselves in opposition to God’s will?

28) Yes. One of the sharpest men who has ever lived decided to clash with God’s will.

29) Bible history tells us this choice cost this ruler his kingdom.

30) In spite of all this, people still think there must be times when it is okay to oppose God’s will.

31) Surely there is some time (exception) when this is permissible.

32) Just two chapters from 1 Kgs. 11 we have a fascinating account.

33) There was a prophet who was given an assignment (he was to deliver a message).

34) This man did as he was told.

35) While the story has some useful details in verses 1-5, I will start reading with verse 6 of 1 Kgs. 13.

36) This is one of the passages that can be read and little else needs to be said.

37) 1 Kgs. 13:6-26 – READ.

a) We learn some things about God from this account.

b) Being obedient to God’s will in the past does not allow for disobedience later.

c) Also seen in this account is the fact that partial obedience is not okay.

d) Even a messenger from God had no right to oppose God’s will.

e) If God’s will is resisted in any way, God notices and He will respond.

38) In line with this information is a passage that is buried in the Old Testament.

39) We do not use information from First and Second Chronicles too often.

40) Mixed in all the chapters of these books is an intriguing statement, 1 Chron. 15:13.

a) Prior to this verse the subject is given: the ark of the covenant.

b) God had some special rules regarding this object.

c) Stated another way, He had a will concerning the ark.

d) Notice how His will was treated – 1 Chron. 15:13 – READ.

41) What was the “breach”? Destruction/punishment.

42) Men decided to challenge God’s will and the ones who did that lost their battle with God.

43) As we think about all these examples, another Old Testament passage comes to mind.

44) In the ASV there is an expression that occurs only twice (1 Sam. 3:9, 10).

45) As a young man Samuel said, “Speak, for thy servant hearteth.”

46) Samuel did not want to find himself in opposition to God’s will.

a) There are many attitudes towards the will of God.

b) There are those who deny that God has a will.

c) Others are so self absorbed they substitute their will for God’s.

d) We have slick salesmen who say God’s will really doesn’t matter.

e) There are also those who try to adjust heaven’s will to fit what people want.

47) When God gave the Law of Moses, some of that law was written in stone.

48) That is suggestive of the fact that God’s will is non-negotiable.

49) Hundreds of times in the Scriptures we find the expression “it is written.”

50) What was written? Mere history and useless facts?

51) No, information that helps us understand and follow the will of God.

52) God has a will and we either fully obey it or we do not.

53) Not obeying God’s will is like having no faith and possessing a rebellious heart.

54) What have we concluded about God’s will in our life: we will obey it no matter what the cost?

55) Or have we been trying to fight against it?

56) Resistance is always a wrong and losing choice.