Title: God's Will is Precious
Contents
Text: Daniel 1:8-21
I pray that God's overflowing love, grace, and blessings be with all the members of the Shepherd Church who have been saved by believing in Jesus Christ as their Savior. It is important for all saints who are children of God to know what Heavenly Father's will is. Because the will of God is more exalted than the will of man or any other thought in the world. There are sad cases where people say they are doing well in their religious life, but they are abandoned because they do not conform to the will of God.
In the Korean dictionary, the word “will” is described as “will, desire, intention, and plan” when expressed with another word, such as “the heart set inside to do something” or “the heart of a text or word”. There are about 10 revisions of words used as nouns in the original Greek language.
①βουλη (Bule)- Acts 20:27 ②γν μη (Gnome)- 1 Corinthians 1:10 ③διανο α (Dianoia) Matthew 22:37 ④δ ναμι (Dynamis) 1 Corinthians 14:11 ⑤ ννοια (Ennonia) Hebrews 4:12 ⑥ υδοκια Eudochia) Matthew 11:26 ⑦θ λημα (thelema) Matthew 6:10 ⑧νο (nus) Revelation 17:9 ⑨ προθεσι (protesis) Romans 8:28 ⑩ ψ χη (Pushke) Acts 4:32
Among the ten words, the most used word is θ λημα (telema) “plan” and “intention”, which means that the believer cannot understand God right away if he or she does not know God’s plan and intention. Because it is so important, the Apostle Paul said in Romans 12:2, “…let us discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” and in Ephesians 5:17, “Therefore, do not be foolish, but the will of the Lord understand something.” God's will is precious and important, but sometimes it conflicts with my will and causes conflict. I am worried. But Christians must know for sure.
First, God's will is more precious than mine.
God's thoughts (heart) are more precious than my thoughts (heart). God's plan is more perfect than my plan. God's judgment is better than my judgment. According to the Bible, those who valued God's will were honored by God, but those who lived according to their own will were rejected by God. God's will is more precious than mine. There are people who knew this earlier. It is Daniel and his three friends (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) in verse 11. The background of the text is as follows. During the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jehoiakim offered many gifts and asked for peace to pay tribute. At that time, King Nebuchadnezzar from Judah brought those of the royal family and nobles who were without blemish and beautiful, who had mastered all their crafts, and excelled in knowledge and learning, to the palace of Babylon, where they could become acquainted with the knowledge and culture of Babylon. A friend is chosen and ordered to live with others while sipping the king's delicacies and the wine he drinks.
But Daniel made up his mind and lived a separate life. Verse 8 says, “Daniel made up his mind that he would not defile himself with the king’s delicacies and with the wine he drank.
Second, it is valuable to set a will. “I will live for the glory of God. God’s will is more precious.”
① Daniel's faith was pleasing to God. So God has the chief eunuch help Daniel and his three friends. Verse 9: “God made Daniel to find favor and mercy from the chief of the eunuch.”
② There must be a determination to push forward the will. Verse 10, “The Chaldean magicians answered before the king, saying, “There is no one in the world who can show you what you have done, so never has a great and mighty king asked anything like this from a magician, a magician, or a Chaldean magician.” It is a rare thing, and there is no one to show it before the king except the gods who do not dwell with the flesh.” The will and determination to promote good intentions are important. If you set a will and push forward, God will help you. Therefore, he became the second prime minister after the king of the Babylonian Empire.
Third, obeying the will is precious.
It is important to be obedient once you understand the meaning.
Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven.” 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 “This is the will of God, your holiness. That is, to put away sexual immorality, and let each one know how to take his own wife in holiness and honor, and do not pursue lusts like the Gentiles who do not know God.
Even in the Age of Law, Daniel was honored because he lived according to the will of God. Now is the age of the Holy Spirit.
As children of God, it is very natural for us to live according to the will of God.
Although Jesus is the Son of God, he came to this world to accomplish God's will, died on the cross, and became a sacrifice for us. The scene where the Lord kneeled in the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed that his sweat would become drops of blood is recorded in Luke 22:41 and below. When we hear “the death of Jesus,” we often think of Golgotha Hill. However, Golgotha Hill is an outward place of death, and in fact, the prayer of obedience, which cried out in the Garden of Gethsemane as drops of blood, “Father, not my will, but yours be done” is the true inner meaning. How important was God's will, did our Jesus even bear death?
We are believers in that Jesus. We must realize that God's will is more precious than our own, do our best to understand and understand God's will, and risk our lives to obey God's will.
The presidential election is not far away. The ruler's will is precious. But the will of God, who is in charge of our life, is more precious. I pray that you and I will be able to discern God's will, set a purpose in God's will, and obey God's will.