Teach Me to Do Thy Will - Pastor Stacey Shiflett

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Teach Me to Do Thy Will

Psalm 143:10

Intro: This chapter is a prayer. You could break it down like this.

               A. David’s Supplication – vs. 1, 2

               B. David’s Desolation – vs. 3, 4

               C. David’s Mediation – vs. 5

               D. David’s Inclination – vs. 6

               E. David’s Desperation – vs. 7-9

               F. David’s Salvation – vs. 10-12

Let’s dissect this statement and see what we can learn from the Psalmist David.

I. His Admission of the Limitations – “Teach me…”

The phrase, “teach me” is found in the Bible 15 times.

Job said it once in chapter 6:

·        Job 6:24 Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and cause me to understand wherein I have erred.

The other 14 times we find the phrase, “teach me”, it is from the lips of David.

Seven of these times David said, “Teach me thy statutes.”

David prayed for God to teach him many things on numerous occasions.

·        Psalms 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.

·        Psalms 25:4 Shew me thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.

·        Psalms 25:5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me:

·        Psalms 119:66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge: for I have believed thy commandments.

In this chapter, David said in verse 8 “Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk…”

He said in verse 10 – “Lead me into the land of uprightness.”

I believe with all my heart that one of the greatest keys to success is to acknowledge that you don’t know it all.

Continual learning is crucial.

The humility to admit that you need help is absolutely essential to the Christian life.

Having a teachable spirit is one of the most important aspects of the Christian life.

Jesus spent 3 ½ years with his disciples for the sole purpose of teaching them what it means to be a Christian.

I can find only one time where they specifically asked Jesus to teach them something.

·        Luke 11:1 And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.

II. His Acknowledgment of the Lord – “…thy will.”

One of the greatest difficulties for most Christians is recognizing that God has a will that doesn’t line up with ours.

Failure to recognize the right of God to exert His will in our life is the source of much of our problems.

David wasn’t interested in learning how to perform his own will; he wanted to do God’s will.

If Jesus prayed, “Not my will, but thine be done”, how much more should we pray that?

Once a person recognizes God’s right to rule their life, most of their battles will be eliminated.

The struggle that we have much of the time is trying to talk God into learning OUR will.

The prayer that most Christians pray is “Lord, let me teach you to do MY will.”

That won’t work!

Notice David’s recognition of His Lord in this chapter.

He refers to the superiority of God multiple times.

·        Vs. 2 – for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.

·        Vs. 5 – I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.

·        Vs. 6 – I stretch forth my hands unto thee (not the other way around!)

·        Vs. 6b – my soul thirsteth after thee

·        Vs. 7 – hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.

·        Vs. 8 – in thee do I trust (not in myself, or my abilities, or my power, or in my intellect)

·        Vs. 8b – I lift up my soul unto thee.

·        Vs. 10 – for thou art my God

·        Vs. 10b – thy spirit is good (contrasted with verse 4)

·        Vs. 11 – Quicken me for thy name’s sake.

·        Vs. 12 – bottom line – FOR I AM THY SERVANT.

He’s our Lord; He’s our Master; He’s our Sovereign – we are His subject; we are His servant.

He is our Father and we are His child.

We need to follow Him.

We need to obey Him.

We need to get on the same page with Him.

The Christian life is a chain of continual, isolated submissions to the will of God

III. His Aspiration from the Lesson  – “…to do…”

And here is where we find the final key to the Christian life.

David not only asked God to teach him the will of God.

He asked God to teach him to DO the will of God.

There is a HUGE difference!

One of the three parts of the Great Commission involves TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS.

Not just teaching people what God said, or what God wants, but teaching them TO DO IT.

Our biggest downfall is failing to ACT on what we have been TAUGHT.

We hear it, and then for some reason, we dismiss it as irrelevant or unimportant.

Imagine our life if we woke up every day with the humility and hunger to pray “Teach me to do thy will.”

·        How much better our life would be!

·        How much easier our decisions would be!

·        How much lighter our load would be!

One of the ministries of the Holy Spirit is to teach us.

·        John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

There is no question in my mind that the Holy Spirit is doing His part; are we doing ours??

 Conclusion: For those that are unsaved, the first thing you need to understand about God's will is that He wants you to be saved.

• 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.