Before we turn to the word of God, let us ask that he would open our hearts to what it says. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word, that you have revealed yourself to us, that you have revealed your will to us as well, that you teach us in the ways that we should walk and in whom we must believe. Lord, we pray that you would open our hearts to hear what your word has to say to us this evening, that by your spirit you would continue to convict us of sin and to continually point us to our savior and show us how we are to live for him. We ask this all in Jesus's name, amen. Please turn with me in your copies of God's word to Matthew 16. Matthew 16. Verses 24 through 26. And also in our Forms and Prayers book to page 255, which is the 49th Lord's Day of the Heidelberg Catechism. This Lord's Day that we are focusing upon today, this evening, in the catechism, is part of working through the Lord's Prayer, which is known to many of us. We even prayed it this morning in our morning worship service. We say these words by heart, but Sometimes we need to stop and continue, or we need to reflect on what we are praying. And we never stop needing to reflect on and learn from this prayer which our Lord has taught us to pray. Today we consider what it means in this prayer to pray, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Let's quick read from Lord's Day 49, this summary of what does all scripture teach us the meaning of this petition, and then we will focus more on it through our text in Matthew 16. What does this third petition mean? Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven means help us and all people to renounce our own wills and without any backtalk to obey your will, for it alone is good. Help everyone carry out his office and calling as willingly and faithfully as the angels in heaven. This petition definitely fits well with the words of Jesus Christ. In Matthew 16, verses 24 through 26. Hear now the word of the Lord. Then Jesus told his disciples, if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? For what shall a man give in return for his soul? This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. This evening, as we consider what it means to pray that God's will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. And primarily through this text as well as other passages of scripture. We're going to be thinking through four points which focus, excuse me, on four phrases taken from verse 24 of our passage in Matthew. We'll take them slightly in a slight different order than they appear in our text for the sake of a logical progression of thought, but our four points this evening are going to focus on these words. First, anyone. Second, deny himself. Third, follow me. And finally, take up his cross. Anyone, deny himself, follow me, take up his cross. First, we look at this important but very easily overlooked word in our text, anyone. This word alone captures the audience and the scope of what Jesus is saying. Who should be desiring the will of God, and to what extent? All people. Every role, every realm of life, and every situation or circumstance is all included in this word, anyone. Or, which is echoed very well in the catechism by saying, asking that God would help everyone carry out his office and calling. This means that every role we have and every realm of our lives are not separated from this prayer, are not set aside from our following Jesus Christ as Lord. Each and every one of us here today has many callings, many posts which we have been stationed in by the will of God. Often when we discuss or introduce ourselves to others, we are asked what we do for a living, or we ask the same thing of others. And it can seem like we just aren't identified by one job. But we have many roles in our lives, more than just one job or the jobs that we work in. We have our family roles, as fathers, as mothers, as husbands, wives. nephews, nieces, grandchildren, and the list goes on, of course, as well as temporary roles that we fill every day, like motorist, customer, student, teacher, soccer player, tennis coach, and the list goes on. These are not random. These are not, any of these roles we have in our lives are no less purposeful, are no less significant, no less thought out by God who sets us in these places, in these roles, in these callings. Read with me in your Bibles, 1 Corinthians 7 verse 17. Turn with me there just briefly. In 1 Corinthians 7 verse 17, it says this, only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. We see here that we are to be content with the roles that God puts us in, that we are not to just drag our heels in these roles, but to take it seriously as a calling from God and to seek his will, even in the unrewarded and not very glamorous roles that we may have in life. All our callings, all our offices, all our jobs, our roles, no matter how long they may last, are assigned to us by God's will. But also every realm of our lives, not just official roles, it's not just in the particular special thoughtful moments in which we seek the will of God. but even these mundane and thoughtless moments as well that we should turn to our hearts and reflect if we are pursuing God's will. It's also regardless of circumstance, meaning that obeying and praying for God's will is not just for the wealthy, not just for the comfortable, the thriving, or the stable seasons of life. We cannot put it off when we are struggling, or when things are not the way we wish they were. Read with me, turn with me again to Ephesians this time, Ephesians chapter six. Ephesians chapter six, verses five through nine. We see here instruction given to both bondservants and masters, which applies to, of course, those who have people working for them and who work for other people, even today. It says, bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart as you would Christ, not by the way of eye service as people pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or free. Masters, do the same to them and stop your threatening, knowing that he is both their master and yours is in heaven and that there is no partiality with him. See, the small struggling business doesn't have any more excuse to mistreat their employees than the multi-million dollar corporation. Both are held accountable. No matter how the world might see them as different, God expects something of those who have employees. And we see as well that workers of a multi-million dollar corporation have no more excuse for cheating their bosses, perhaps out of labor, than a man who works for a struggling small business would. God's word affirms that there is such a thing as personal property and in this there is also that which belongs to someone else. We can rob people not just of their possessions but of the work that we've already agreed to do. This is just an example of one of the commands of God that we must follow, that we must obey, that we must desire to be obeyed no matter what our standing in life may be. because it's wrong for us to steal that which does not belong to us, no matter who we're stealing from, or no matter how tough our situation may be. Our prayer is that everyone would desire and strive after the will of God in this world, in whatever office and calling they find themselves, in every realm of their lives, This is what it means by anyone. But we see as well this call in our text from the Lord Jesus Christ as we consider our prayer that God's will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. We see this call to deny himself, speaking of his servants, of those who would follow him. We must humble ourselves, people of God, and renounce our own wills as the catechism teaches what the Bible says on this in many places. Our will is sinful, and our thoughts and our knowledge are limited as creatures. If we are honest, it's very hard for us to admit this at times, and it takes a great deal of humility. We are so quick to think of ourselves as geniuses and that everyone else who does not agree with us are foolish. We can all think of people who we might not want to be a president of the United States, especially those who we know personally who aren't even running for presidency. We even seem to think that many strangers are not worthy of their driver's licenses as we drive to work in the morning or to the grocery store. That is because we're so much more willing to see the flaws of other people than the flaws in our own hearts. It's interesting that despite seeing so many flaws in other people, we somehow convince ourselves that we could do a better job at being God than God does. That is what we are doing, people of God, when we feel anger with God for not following the perfectly laid plans that we so carefully worded in our prayers to Him. In our sin, we tend to think that we know what is best, that we know what is right, that we know what's necessary. And when God's will does not line up with that, our first thought is not that we were probably wrong, but so often our thought is that God is either cruel and withholding what we do need and desire, that God is ignorant to our true needs, that he's wrong and therefore fallible or unreliable. Everyone here, all of us, need to examine our own hearts. We live in a time and place and in a culture that is very individualistic. Many of us don't really rely on many other people functionally each day. And the people we do rely upon, we don't really need to have that deep of a relationship with. many of the times, comparing back in history to other times and places. And we live in a time when it's being pushed more and more that everyone ought to do what is right in their own eyes, to do their own will. But the Christian is called by God to push the brakes, to look at his own or her own heart. and to examine their own will and the sin there, and to pursue and desire the will of God. When we read in this question and answer of our catechism, what the Bible teaches, we should not think of all those who are not doing as well as we are, but we should feel the weight of our own sin and our own misery. We are inclined by nature to hate both God and our neighbor, but by God's grace, we can look back on our lives. We can see the way that God has grown us in holiness and righteousness, in our sanctification. But we must also continue to scrutinize every area of our lives that we might still see our very present need to be conformed to the will of God. If a host has an important guest coming over to his house and this host sees that his bathroom is filthy and he cleans it, it is not enough for him to simply look at the clean bathroom and see what was once much more dirty and how it has become clean. Just because the bathroom has been cleaned does not mean the rest of his house is clean. already enough for his guests to arrive. Similarly, the Christian can always deny himself, always renounce his own will and die to self. We look back, and it's a good thing to see what God has done in our lives, how God has liberated us from the dominion of sin in certain ways. brought us out of the sin that once gripped our hearts in very significant areas. But like this host, we must not just look at the clean bathroom, but the things that God has done already, but continue to scrutinize the rest of our hearts. that we might see other ways, other sins that we must turn from, ways that we can turn to the will of God. As we die to self, we are living into who we are in Jesus Christ. Our old self, the old man that Paul speaks of in his letters, this old self, was defined by its separation from God, by its rebellion against His will and its own sinful will. But our new self in Christ is defined not by this, but by our union to Christ and is therefore willing to pursue His will in our lives rather than our own. the will of him who fully accomplished all that God asks of us in our place, and the one who died the death that we ought to have died. But as we've already begun to touch upon, denying ourselves is one side of a coin, a two-parted thing. Renouncing our own will is one part, but we must also follow Christ and seek God's will. This is what is encapsulated in the words, follow me, that our Lord spoke. Anyone must deny himself and follow me. We must strive to obey God's will and desire his will to be done, we are to follow him. Unlike our sinful and foolish will, God's will is good and wise. When we speak of God's will, it includes two things, which we're not going to go into in great depth this time, but maybe some other time we will have a sermon that deals with these more in depth. But the will of God includes two things. the hidden will, which is what he decrees to happen in his providence, and his revealed will, in which he commands, gives us commands to follow. Both are good, even when we cannot see it. This means that we can feel unspeakable comfort when we pray to God, your will be done. When we don't even think we know what is going on, when we aren't even sure what should be done, we don't have to know, because he does. O'Hallisbee says in his book titled Prayer that we often make prayer more of a burden than it needs to be. We think that we have to come to God with a carefully laid plan, with a carefully explained presentation on what we are facing when we really just have to come before him and call on his name. Lay before him what is troubling our heart and trust him in the results and in what he will do because of who he is. And God is not like some genie in a lamp in a folklore who will twist the words of a wish that has been worded poorly. He is not like some wishing well or a monkey's paw in a myth in which you have to be very careful what you wish for because you will get what you want. Our God is a good father and he will not give us what we ask for if he knows it is not good for us. or even isn't the best thing right now. He doesn't need to wait for us to initiate by reaching out to him before he can step in and help us either. The Christian needs to follow his loving Savior's example, Jesus' teachings, his commands, and should do so willingly. He needs to do this Not because it is required for his salvation, but because his Savior asks him to do so out of gratitude. Because it is the good way, it is the way to live as God intended. This is not done out of a grumbling obedience, where we drag our heels to do something we're not really desiring to do. Why does the Lord's day one, question and answer one, tell us we are personally wholehearted, willing, and ready from now on to live for the Savior? It is not simply a rational response to this great love shown to us by Jesus Christ, but Christ by His Holy Spirit makes us wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for Him. Conversion is the result of this heart transformation done by the regenerative work of God's Holy Spirit. The Christian can therefore be expected to willingly pray and desire for the will of God to be done and to seek to obey it to the best of his ability as God strengthens him. Not because it's expected as some required to-do list, but because it is expected as much as apples are expected from apple trees. It is the fruit of this transformation in our hearts. And willingly as well, it's important to think about willingly doing what God would have us do as willingly as the angels in heaven, as the catechism says. Because willingly, people of God, does not mean that we are happy all the time. We think of Jesus Christ himself in Luke 22, verse 42, where he prayed, Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done. When Jesus prayed this prayer of submission to the Father's will, he was not experiencing happiness, though he was willing in his submission to the will of God, to his role as Savior. But he was in so much agony and distress at the thought of this coming suffering that he was even sweating drops of blood. Willing submission, people of God, following the Lord Jesus Christ can be very hard. This is why our Lord calls us to take up our cross, our final phrase of focus this evening. As I studied this text this week, one wise commentator pointed out that we often joke wrongly about the hard things in life being our cross to bear. But we should not joke in this way because it's not true to what this passage truly means. Suffering itself, as he said, is not bearing our cross because Psalm 32 verse 10 says that even the wicked suffer many sorrows in this life, but they suffer no crosses. This is different, this is unique to the Christian. When Jesus says that we must take up our cross, he is speaking of the suffering we will experience in faithful service to him, even unto death. Jesus' cross is not the same as the cross we are called to bear. Jesus bore his cross for us. because we needed it for our salvation. He carried that cross fully. There's nothing left of that cross to be carried. We bear our crosses for him out of gratitude and loyalty. No matter our circumstances, no matter our callings and roles, in all areas of our lives, we must deny our own wills and seek the will of our Father in heaven, of Jesus our master, even if it means we suffer greatly or are even killed for the name of Jesus Christ. This image of the Christian life as denying ourselves, taking up our cross for Jesus and following him may seem to be a grim picture. It may mean that we will have to choose a path of suffering for Christ rather than the temporary treasures and comforts that we have to lay aside. It may mean that we will have to lose dear relationships to us because we refuse to turn from our Lord. As Matthew 16 verse 26 says, what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Why would we want to gain this whole world? Why is that a loss? Not just of our soul, but because we have something greater than this whole world. There is a reward for those who carry their cross. We can give thanks for the temporal blessings, for the temporary comforts we enjoy in this life by God's will. which do not end up having to be sacrificed for the sake of Christ. But these are not our reward. These are not our payment. We must not lament the loss of such things as if, for they are really akin to small tips. But our real reward, so to speak, comes from our true master. As we saw in Ephesians earlier today, the good that we do is not repaid by man, but by our Lord in heaven. Whoever loses his life for Christ's sake will find it. Matthew 16, verse 25. Those who stand in the test and remain steadfast under trial and are faithful even unto death, Christ will give unto him a crown of life. As J.C. Ryle said, no cross, no crown. We do not desire and seek to obey the will of God for the good that we might gain in this life. or to please other men, but to please our true master, Jesus Christ. It does not matter how much this world fails to reward and recognize us, so long as we hear from our Lord's lips, well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little. I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. At the resurrection, believers being raised up to glory shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoying of God to all eternity, as the Westminster Shorter Catechism puts so eloquently. God's will is good, and so is his reward for those who come to him. In conclusion, we cannot do any of this on our own. We cannot, in our sinful state, renounce our own will without the help of God. And so we pray that he would give us strength to overcome. And we ask, not my will, but your will be done, that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven. We are just as incapable of subjecting our hearts to the will of God So we pray to God that he would give us strength to obey his good will. And the cross that we bear for Christ's sake may be very heavy, but however heavy your cross may be in this life, Christ is the one who will help you bear it after him. This is why we continually pray that God's will would be done on earth as it is in heaven, not by our own strength, but by the strength of him who has borne our cross for us. Let us go before our Lord in prayer. Almighty God, Lord Jesus Christ in heaven, we come before you. as those undeserving of your love, undeserving of your sacrifice, of the reward that you have earned for us. The good we do, Lord, we will be shocked at hearing from your lips, commended on the day of judgment, as the sheep were shocked to hear that they had clothed you, that they had fed you, that they had housed you. Lord God, we know that we are saved by your work alone. We ask that you continue this work in our hearts, that we would, in our heart, desire and love your will, that we would continue to grow in the knowledge of your will by delving into your word, and that you would bless our hands and our feet and even our lips, that we would go out into this world and strive after doing your will in all areas of life by your power and for your kingdom. We ask this in Jesus' name, amen.