Teach Me To Do Your Will

	"Teach me to do Thy will," Psalm 143:10-12 petitions, "for Thou art my God; let Thy good Spirit lead me on level ground.  For the sake of Thy name, O Lord, revive me. In Thy righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.  And in Thy lovingkindness cut off my enemies, and destroy all those who afflict my soul; for I am Thy servant."
	Perhaps it's just the teacher in me, but there is something very profound about this statement.  "Teach me to do Thy will," David implores.  With just six words, the Psalmist makes a point which is missed even by many today.  These words require that there be a subject.  They demand that there be a teacher.  And they recognize that there must be a student.
	What about the subject?  Any good teacher can recognize that a worth-while subject must be accurate, accessible and consistent.  It must touch lives.  And it should involve knowledge which is not obtainable simply through "instinct" or common sense.
	"But know this first of all," 2 Peter 1:20-21 notes, "that no prophecy of Scripture is {a matter} of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God."
	So this subject must be accurate.  We cannot accept just any subject.  Both David and Peter state that the subject must be the will of God.  Many humans may have many ideas.  But these ideas are worthless.  They are not the will of God, so they are not accurate.
	"That they should seek God," Paul preaches in Acts 17:27-30, "if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His offspring.'  Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man.  Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent."
	The will of God is accessible.  It is not hidden in ritual and tradition.  It is not far from any of us.  In fact, it is just as far as the nearest Bible.
	"{There is} one body and one Spirit," Ephesians 4:4-6 instructs, "just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all."
	Now that's consistency!  In spite of all the confusion caused by countless religious philosophies, God still recognizes only one body, one Spirit, one hope, one calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism and one God.  If our religious practices don't agree with the will of God, then we are the ones who are being inconsistent.
	"For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword," Hebrews 4:12 observes, "and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."
	God's will definitely touches lives.  It is accurate, accessible and consistent.  But is it obtainable through any source other than Divine Revelation?
	"For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not {come to} know God," we read in 1 Corinthians 1:21-25, "God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.  For indeed Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness,  but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.  Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."
	"How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed?" Paul asks in Romans 10:14-17.  "And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring glad tidings of good things!'  However, they did not all heed the glad tidings; for Isaiah says, 'Lord, who has believed our report?'  So faith {comes} from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ."
	"But in vain do they worship Me," Jesus cautions in Matthew 15:9, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men."
	"Teach me to do Thy will," David requests.  The subject that he seeks to learn is accurate, accessible and consistent.  It touches lives.  And it is not obtainable through any source other than instruction from God.  What about this teacher?  Most subjects involve text books.  The ultimate teacher for the subject is generally the one who wrote the book.  In addition, a good teacher is one who is dedicated to learning and knowledge.  And a real teacher cares about the learners.
	"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," the first verse of the Bible points out.  God made the world.  Who could be a better teacher?
	"Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us," we find in Hebrews 12:1-2, "let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
	Jesus is the author of our salvation.  Who could be a better teacher?
	"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name," Jesus promises His apostles in John 14:26, "He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you."
	"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth;" the Lord states in John 16:13, "for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come."
	The Holy Spirit has been commissioned to reveal God's will. Who could be a better teacher?
	The Father, Son and Holy Spirit instruct us.  Could  there be more knowledgeable teachers?  But is God dedicated to learning and knowledge?
	"These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God," 1 John 5:13 reveals, "in order that you may know that you have eternal life."
	God doesn't want us to be partially educated.  He wants us to know that we have eternal life.  He knows the subject.  He is dedicated to learning and knowledge.  Does He care about the learners?
	"For God so loved the world," John 3:16 responds, "that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."
	"In this is love," 1 John 4:10 explains, "not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son {to be} the propitiation for our sins."
	"For one will hardly die for a righteous man;" Paul writes in Romans 5:7-8, "though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
	God knows the subject.  He is dedicated to learning and knowledge.  And there is no question about His love for the learners.

	God's will is accurate, accessible and consistent.  It touches lives.  It is not available except through God's instruction.  God knows the subject.  He is dedicated to learning and knowledge.  He definitely cares about the learners.  This leaves only the students.  A student must have a learning attitude.  A student must know where to go to find an answer.  And a student must have a willingness to apply what has been learned.
	"A fool does not delight in understanding," Proverbs 18:2 warns, "but only in revealing his own mind."
	"He who gives an answer before he hears," verse 13 adds, "it is folly and shame to him."
	If we are to be good students, we must have a learning attitude.  This involves at least two things.  We must have a desire to learn, and we must be humble enough to accept instruction.
	"The mind of the prudent acquires knowledge," we learn from Proverbs 18:15, "and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge."
	We must be dedicated to a desire to learn.
	"Before destruction the heart of man is haughty," Proverbs 18:12 observes, "but humility {goes} before honor."
	"Submit therefore to God," James 4:7-10 encourages. "Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning, and your joy to gloom.  Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you."
	We must be humble enough to listen to instruction.  This must be coupled with a dedication to learning in order for us to develop a learning attitude.  Along with this attitude, we must know where to go to find the answers we are seeking.
	"You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of," Paul writes in 2 Timothy 3:14-17, "knowing from whom you have learned {them}; and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.  All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."
	We must have a learning attitude.  We must know where to find the answers.  And we must be willing to apply what we learn.
	"Therefore putting aside all filthiness and {all} that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls," James 1:21-27 teaches. "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.  For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for {once} he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.  But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the {law} of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man shall be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his {own} heart, this man's religion is worthless.  This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of {our} God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, {and} to keep oneself unstained by the world."
	"Teach me to do Thy will," we ask of God.  The subject He teaches is accurate, accessible and consistent.  It touches lives.  It cannot be obtained except through divine revelation.  God is a teacher who knows His subject.  He is dedicated to learning and knowledge.  He cares about the learners.  We must have a learning attitude.  We must know where to go for the answers.  And we must be willing to apply what we learn.
	"Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool," Solomon offers in Proverbs 19:1-3.  "Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge, and he who makes haste with his feet errs.  The foolishness of man subverts his way, and his heart rages against the Lord."
	"He who gets wisdom loves his own soul;" he continues in verse eight, "He who keeps understanding will find good."
	"Strike a scoffer and the naive may become shrewd," Solomon adds in verse 25, "but reprove one who has understanding and he will gain knowledge."
	"Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise," Proverbs 22:17-21 advises, "and apply your mind to my knowledge; for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you, that they may be ready on your lips.  So that your trust may be in the Lord, I have taught you today, even you.  Have I not written to you excellent things of counsels and knowledge, to make you know the certainty of the words of truth that you may correctly answer to him who sent you?"
	Do we know the certainty of the words of truth so that we may correctly answer and be set free?

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."