“I Dream of Genie”
“But He is unique and who can turn Him? And what His soul desires, that He does.”
Job 23:13 NASB
“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This, then, is how you should pray Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.”
Matt. 6: 7-10 NIV
“It does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.”
Romans 9:16 NIV
Several years ago there was a show on television called: “I Dream of Jeannie.” The show was about an astronaut: Major Roger Nelson, who upon returning to earth from a space flight, found himself marooned on a deserted island. It was while he was on this island that he found a bottle which contained a female genie that he later named “Jeannie!” The running plot of the series consisted of Major Nelson being involved in a relentless attempt to mask the antics of this genie who had sworn herself to do his every bidding and to fulfill his every desire. All she had to do was blink her eyes and shake her head and his wish was her command!
Well, I was talking to a brother the other day and we were talking about the general state of the people of God in America today. In this conversation, we were both distressed over how, many people who claim to be the children of God are acting like they are the parents and God is the child! I said that they act like God is some sort of Divine “bell-boy” who sits up in Heaven, waiting to answer their every beck and call! “Yes!” He said, “They think that God is a genie!” It is from that conversation that the inspiration for this sermon was birthed.
I looked up the word “genie” in one of my dictionaries and it said that a genie is: “A supernatural being who does one’s bidding when summoned.” I thought about that definition and I have concluded that many people have a “genie concept” of God! They want Him to come whenever they call and they want Him to do whatever they want! Many of those of the “Name-it-and-claim-it” camp would have us to believe that the Lord’s only function and purpose is to bless us! Now I don’t mind telling you that I am glad that the Lord is in the “blessing business!” But this is by no means His sole interest in the lives of His people! Yes! The Lord is bountiful in His blessings, but I think we need to be reminded that He blesses us not primarily to serve our purposes, but rather to serve His! We can be so arrogant and naive; we think that everything is about us! But, it’s not about us; it’s about Him! Even the blessings we receive are not about us! He blesses us so that we might be a blessing to somebody else, I used to think that the Cross-event was about us! But I found out that even our salvation is not about us! He redeemed us so that His name might be glorified! In the book of Ezekiel, the Lord revealed to the prophet in chapter 36 His rationale for reviving Israel from amongst the nations. Listen to the message that was given to the prophet: “I dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions. And wherever they went among the nations they profaned my holy name, for it was said of them, These are the LORD’s people, and yet they had to leave his land. I had concern for my holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they had gone. Therefore say to the house of Israel, This is what the Sovereign LORD says: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am going to do these things, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations where you have gone. I will show the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, the name you have profaned among them. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD, declares the Sovereign LORD, when I show myself holy through you before their eyes. For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land.” (Ez. 36:19-24 NIV)
So you see, my brothers and sisters, it’s not about us: It’s about Him! Consequently, we err when we look upon God as beholden to us! He doesn’t owe us anything: but we owe Him everything! He is not to serve us, we are to serve Him! The Psalmist said, “Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.” (Ps. 100:3 KJV) Yes! Many so-called Christians today seemingly have forgotten just who God is! He’s God and He’s God all by Himself! He didn’t win an election to be God! He was already God! Hence, we can’t vote Him out of the office of “God-ship!” Even if we didn’t praise Him, He would still be God! You see, He’s God all by Himself and He doesn’t need anybody else to bolster His claim as God! He’s big and bad enough to do whatever He pleases! Who can withstand Him? That’s what Job was talking about in the first text! The NIV says, “He stands alone.” The NASB says, “He is unique.” He’s in a class all by Himself! The Lord is not just one of many gods; He’s the one and only God! The KJV says, “But he is in one mind.” The Moffatt Translation renders it, “But who can make him change his mind?” We need to get it settled in our hearts and minds once and for all that God cannot be manipulated! He is not some genie in a bottle; He’s the Most High God!
Paul, in his discourse with the Romans discussed the issue of God’s election. The gist of his argument was that God makes choices and decisions based on His Sovereign will. Consequently, whatever we receive from the Lord is ultimately determined not by any human effort to persuade or dissuade, but by His mercy in accordance with His will. I think that this is a factor that is all too often overlooked today! The ultimate controlling factor is not our faith; it’s His will! You see, you can’t use your faith to change His will, but rather your faith should be grounded in His will! Jesus warned against using vain repetitions in prayer as was the custom of the pagans and the Pharisees. Back in those days, the pagans believed that they could influence the gods by speaking incantations; the Greek word is babbling! Too many of us think that our God is an “Open-says-o-me” God! No! No! My brothers and sisters, no matter how much faith you may think you have, your faith cannot change the sovereign will of God! Many are making the mistake today of having “faith in faith!” But if you want to please God, you must have faith in God! Jesus said that many felt that they would be heard for their much-speaking. But the Father knows what we need, even before we ask Him! Therefore, He said that we ought to pray in the following manner: Say “Our Father.” By saying “Our Father” we are acknowledging our relationship with God! Now, it should be remembered that Jesus was teaching this prayer to His disciples. Hence, because of their relationship with Jesus, God was their Father. I stress that because, although God is the Creator of all men, He is not the father of all men! There are some who teach the doctrine of the Fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of men, but the Lord is not everybody’s father! Only those who have been born again can say along with the disciples: “Our Father!” Heaven denotes His dwelling place. “Hallowed be thy name!” The Lord’s name is holy, it’s sacred, and it’s not to be taken lightly or even spoken in vain! Now I didn’t say much about, “Our Father, which art in Heaven,” because I wanted to get to the reason I included this model prayer in the text!
Notice that the first petition is not about us! The first petition is not a personal request for a blessing! The first request is a petition for the realization of His kingdom! The first request is for the realization of the rule and reign of God! Yes! When we pray as Jesus taught His disciples, our first desire will not be for the Lord to do something for us, but rather that His will be established in our lives! No! It’s not, “May my blessings come!” No! The first petition is, “Thy kingdom come!” Now how is the Kingdom realized? The very next sentence explains how: “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven!” How is God’s will done in heaven? In heaven, His will is done perfectly! In heaven, there is no compromise about the will of God! No! In heaven, God’s will is done completely! In heaven, there are no questions asked concerning His will! No angel dares to ask Him why He does what He does! His will is supreme, His will is sovereign! And then, in heaven, His will is done to glorify Him! There are no angelic “glory-hounds” in Heaven! In Heaven, it’ all about God, all the time! So the child of God’s prayer should be for His will to be done on earth in the same manner in which it is done in Heaven!
It is only after all God’s business is taken care of, that personal petitions enter into the prayer! The principle Jesus would have us to learn is to seek first the kingdom of God! When you seek the kingdom first, you will recognize the fact that the Lord is not a genie! When you seek the kingdom first, you will recognize the fact that He promised to take care of your business, only after you have taken care of His! When you seek first the kingdom, you will come to realize that unless your business is His business, your business is not really worth dealing with! Yes! When we seek the Kingdom first, we will realize that He is the Potter and we are the clay! We will quit trying to fit Him into our life and agenda and recognize the fact that there is no life outside of Him! When we seek first the Kingdom, we will quit trying to force God into our image and recognize the need for Him to mold us into His image! Yes! When we seek first the Kingdom, we will realize that the God we serve is not a genie!
Yes! I entitled this sermon: “I Dream of Genie” because when men seek to make a genie out of God, the idea is nothing more than a vain imagination! We can’t manipulate Him: He’s God and He does what He wants to do with or without our cooperation! We can’t bribe Him because whatever we have, He gave it to us! We can’t blackmail Him, because He was doing just fine before we were ever created! We just need to acknowledge that He is God and that He is God all by Himself! It’s not His place to accommodate us, but we will be blessed as we give Him the preeminence in our lives!
