God has a plan, a purpose, and a perfect will for our lives. But we have a choice whether or not to walk in His will. Dr. Stanley conveys an essential challenge from Scripture—will you choose your way or God’s? For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to www.intouch.org/watch
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male announcer: “In Touch”
with Dr. Charles Stanley,
celebrating 45 years
of God’s faithfulness
and sharing the
gospel worldwide.
Next on “In Touch,” “Before You
Step Out of the Will of God.”
Dr. Charles Stanley: God has
made it very clear in His Word
that He has a purpose and a
plan and a will for our life.
Have you ever thought
about that in your life?
Think about this.
He not only has a plan and a
purpose and will for our life,
but He sent the Holy Spirit to
live within us in order to make
that plan crystal clear.
Not only to make the plan clear,
but also to enable us, whatever
we face in life, to
live out that plan.
You and I cannot look at someone
else and say, “This is God’s
plan for your life.”
God makes His plan
known to us individually.
Sometimes it’s
clearer than at other times.
And because He’s made a will and
purpose and plan for our life,
He has chosen the
best for your life.
Whoever you are, wherever you
are, God’s choice is the best.
Now, whether you choose to
follow that best or not
is another question.
But when I think about the
scriptures, I think
about it in this light.
Life at its best is a life
lived in the will of God.
That’s the best life.
Now, you have a choice.
You don’t have to
walk in His will.
He has a plan, a purpose,
a will; you don’t
have to walk in it.
You can choose to do
whatever you choose.
But I want to
remind you of one thing.
When you choose to live outside
the will of God, you choose to
pay the price of
disobedience to God.
How foolish, when the
all-loving God has chosen the
best for you and you choose
what is not the best, but what
you think is the best that
will bring you the most
enjoyment or the most pleasure.
So, when I think about all that,
I think about, oftentimes, the
painful consequences that
people go through when their
choices they make, and then
they wonder why, “Why does
God bless so-and-so this way,
and why does he allow this
to happen to my life?”
Well, we can’t
always explain that.
But one thing for certain:
if you know that you’re living
in the will of God, He’s
going to turn it for your good.
When you know that you’re living
outside the will of God, you’re
going to suffer
the consequences.
And I think about the title of
this message, and I had
to think about it a long time.
The title is this: “Before you
Step Out of the Will of God.”
That’s the title.
Before you step out of
the will of God, what?
The best consequences
are having it His way.
The worst consequence
is having it your way.
But most people won’t discover
that and understand that until
it’s rather late in their life.
So we’ve been talking about the
will of God, the purpose of God,
the plan of God for your life;
where you have been, where you
are, where you intend to be, and
if you intend to make whatever
changes are necessary in order
that God may have His perfect
will in your life
from this point on.
Does He forgive us for the past?
Yes; is He willing to pick
us up where we are and
lead us to where
He wants us to be?
Yes, He is.
So, we can’t change the past,
but we can change the direction
that we’re living in today and
the way we’re thinking, what our
habits are, where we
intend to be in the future.
We can change that because we
have the Person of the Holy
Spirit living within us to
enable us to make any change
that is absolutely necessary.
So, I want you to consider
the inescapable consequences of
living outside the will of God.
Now, you say, “Well,
that’s sort of what you think.”
No, no, no, these
are not my opinions.
We’re talking about the
inescapable, inescapable
consequences that happened in a
person’s life–different people,
different consequences–as
a result of living
outside the will of God.
As a result of
saying, “You know what?
I want to live my life my way.
I know what I think I want
in life and I’m
willing to go get it.
I’m willing to have it at
whatever price it is, but I
want to live it my way.”
Well, you can have it
your way if you choose.
But I want you to turn to
the book of Colossians.
Colossians is one of the most
beautiful epistles, informative
epistles, in the New Testament.
And the apostle Paul has been
talking about how to live out
the Christian life, and he comes
down to the eighteenth verse and
he starts talking about husbands
and wives, how they’re to treat
each other with their
children and so forth.
And then, I–he also talks
about the servants, how
they should be treated.
And then he says, listen
to this, beginning in verse
twenty-three of this third
chapter of Colossians, “Whatever
you do, do your work heartily,”
that is, put your whole heart to
it, “as for the Lord,” as if
you’re working for Him, “rather
than for men, knowing that from
the Lord you will receive the
reward of the inheritance.
It is the Lord
Christ whom you serve.”
And sometimes we think,
you know, we’re just
doing our own thing.
No, the truth is, once you’re
saved, you and I become
servants of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and we must not forget
that every day
we’re serving Him.
And if you don’t think about Him
and you don’t read the Word of
God and you don’t pray in the
morning before you start your
day–it’s all about you and
your work and your friends.
But the scripture says that
we are, listen–
“Whatever you do, do your
work heartily, as for
the Lord rather than for men,
knowing that from the Lord
you will receive the reward
of the inheritance.
It is the Lord
Christ whom you serve.”
Now, watch that.
Do you see that?
“It is the Lord
Christ whom you serve.”
When you wake up tomorrow
morning, remember that.
Whatever you’re doing,
wherever you’re working,
it’s Jesus whom you are serving.
He’s the One you
give an account to.
Now, watch this: “For he who
does wrong will receive the
consequences of the wrong
which he has done,
and that without partiality.”
Look at that verse.
“For he who does wrong will
receive the consequences of the
wrong which he has done,
and that without partiality.”
Now we’ve been talking about
His will, His purpose,
His plan, and there’s a warning.
And the warning is simply this:
you cannot live outside the
will of God and be happy.
You may try and be successful,
you may be successful in some
areas, but not when
it comes to living.
And so he says, notice, notice
how he says it, he says it: “For
he who does wrong will receive
the consequences of the wrong
which he has done, and
that,” what’s that last phrase?
“Without partiality.”
That is, it doesn’t make any
difference what your occupation
is; God’s laws apply to every
single one of us the same way.
When I stand before Him, I
give an account for all my
opportunities, and
with the way I responded.
You stand before Him,
you’ll give an account to your
opportunities and
the way you responded.
Notice what he says:
“no partiality.”
Think about that.
God is impartial.
No partiality.
That is, I’m not going to get
by with something that somebody
else wouldn’t, and
neither are you.
We stand before a Holy God
who’s given us His purpose,
His will, His plan for our
life, and we will stand before
Him and give an account for it.
Which reminds me of this
verse in Galatians six seven:
“Whatever a man sows,”
the scripture says,
“that he will also reap.”
In his family, among his
friends, coworkers, health,
faith–whatever it might be.
Whatever we sow,
we’re going to reap.
And then he says in Numbers
chapter three–thirty-two,
twenty-three, “Be sure
your sin will find you out.”
That is, not some
people, but all of us.
So here are three statements: no
partiality; we reap what we sow;
and our sin will find us out.
So, we have a choice.
I can either follow the will of
God, which is the wisest thing I
can do; or I will
choose to have it my way.
And there is no
partiality with God.
If I choose to have it my
way, I suffer the results.
You choose to have it your
way, you suffer the results.
There’s no exception.
Now, what I want to do is take
you through a short journey on
what it means when you
step out of the will of God.
Because what we’re talking
about, the phrase, the title is
“Before You Step Out
of the Will of God.”
And so, before you step out
of the will of God,
let’s look at it.
Adam and Eve had it perfectly.
There could have been
no additions and no
improvements in
the Garden of Eden.
They chose by an act of
their will to disobey God and to
listen to the wrong voice and to
step out of the perfect will of
God where there was no want,
no issues, but to live in the
presence of Almighty God with
His perfect creation and enjoy
life and enjoy
each other forever.
But that’s what they did.
Then I want you to think about
the wickedness of Noah’s day.
Lot of things went on from
Adam and Eve till Noah’s day.
And men had totally resigned
themselves to live in the life
they wanted to live it.
It got so bad in the eyes of
God, He said, “I’m going to
destroy the whole thing.”
But God found somebody,
Noah, who decided to obey God.
And so, God said, “It’s gotten
so bad I’m going to wipe out
everything on the face of this
earth and start all over again.”
You say, “Well, that
doesn’t sound very fair.”
Yes, it is.
Watch this.
There’s no partiality with God.
We reap what we sow, more
than we sow, later than we sow.
You can’t change that.
Adam and Eve had it
perfectly; they walked away.
Noah’s day it got so bad, God
saved him out of a society
that was hard to describe.
Then of course, God chose a
nation, named them Israel, and
they served hundreds of years in
Egyptian bondage, and God
chose to save them out of
Egyptian bondage.
And then they walked through
a period of time when they
received the Ten Commandments
and God was teaching
them how to live and how to
worship Him, offering
them the very, very best.
They disobeyed Him, they
obeyed Him, they disobeyed Him.
But God had something in mind,
because His purpose and plan and
will for their life was to
give them a land in
which they could
serve God freely.
God would be their God.
He would demonstrate His
awesome love for them
because He chose them.
And so, they had the
opportunity of taking the land.
And so, when the time came,
they said, “Well,
we don’t know about that.
There are giants in the land.”
And they began to take
their eyes off God and
look at what they heard about.
They heard about giants and they
heard about the land and they
heard about how fruitful it was,
but they also heard that there
would be dangers and some
people would lose their lives.
So, God had a purpose
and a plan and a will.
Now, remember this.
Whatever purpose and plan
and will God has for
your life, remember this.
You have the omnipotence,
omniscience, and omnipresence of
God with you through every
single stage of your life.
Did you hear that?
Well, some of you did.
So, remember, you have the
purpose, the plan, and the will
of God; His omnipotence,
omniscience, and omnipresence to
walk with you through anything
God has you to walk through.
But they decided, “Maybe it
won’t be as beautiful as
Joshua and all these fellows
tell it’s going to be, and
so we’re not going to do it.”
They spent the night weeping,
talking among themselves,
I’m sure, and doing what?
Rebelling against God, because
they did not believe that God’s
purpose, God’s plan,
and God’s will was best.
They thought theirs was best.
You know what
theirs was best about?
God said, “Here’s the result:
forty long years back in the
wilderness with all the serpents
looking for something to eat,
all the enemies
you’re going to face.”
And it cost them forty
years, a whole generation.
Now, think about that.
Before you step out of the
will of God, you mark this down.
There is a price to pay.
There is always a price to
pay when you step
out of the will of God.
Canaan, with everything
Almighty God could create
for them, He created for them.
He would defeat their enemies.
And they chose out of fear
and doubt, listening
to the wrong voices.
They chose not to take His
purpose, not to follow His plan,
not to believe in
His power to do it.
Forty years; a whole generation
died in the wilderness
because they thought
their plan was best.
Let me tell you something.
There’s a whole generation today
who have chosen to live in the
desert: chosen to live in the
spiritual desert, chosen to
live without God, chosen to
live apart from God.
Not God’s purpose, not God’s
plan, not God’s will; their own
plan, their own will,
and their own purpose.
You can’t improve on God.
He has a purpose,
a plan and a will.
This isn’t somebody else’s
purpose, plan, and will.
This is Holy God’s purpose,
plan, and will for our life: to
obey Him in the midst of a
generation of people who do not
want to obey Him, who
want to have it their way.
And you read the scriptures–
when you want it your way and
you don’t want it God’s
way, you can have it your way.
His purpose, His plan, His
will–you throw aside.
You know, many people–some of
them you work with, some of
them maybe in your family,
some of them your friends–
not God’s purpose, not God’s
plan, not God’s will, their own.
There is a consequence.
There is a penalty.
There is always a price of
stepping out of the will of God
or ignoring the will of God.
And so, I said I’d take you on a
short journey to show you that
over and over and over
again, the same thing.
Now, let’s get onto
somebody personal.
Let’s say, for example,
let’s say–let’s take Samson.
God blessed Samson with awesome,
almost miraculous power.
He gave him a secret and He
said to him, “You must
never cut your hair.
The day you cut your hair,
you’ll lose your strength.”
And so, the early years of his
life, he defeated the wicked
over and over and over again.
And then, he met Delilah.
And so, the enemy found Delilah
and offered her a big price
if she’d find his secret.
Over and over and over again she
tempted him, and he turned her
down, because God had a purpose
and a plan and a will for his
life: defeat the enemies of God,
to defeat the enemies of God,
and he had the power to do it.
And you know the story.
And finally, in a moment of
weakness he told her his secret,
his God-given secret:
cut his hair.
She cut his hair.
Where did he end up?
In prison.
The next thing you
know, he was blinded.
Next thing you know, he was
going round and round in a mill.
And then when they brought him
out to demonstrate his defeat,
God used him in his repentance
attitude toward God, and he
wrecked the whole coliseum,
bringing death to the enemy.
God’s purpose, God’s plan, and
God’s will for his life–he was
a symbol of strength and
power of God for godly people.
And for whatever she offered
him, it cost him everything.
God’s plan is perfect.
If I insist on having my will,
my purpose, and my plan,
I can have it at a price.
Don’t forget this sermon.
There is a penalty that is
unavoidable for
ignoring Almighty God.
And then there’s David.
We know him as the shepherd
boy that killed Goliath.
And we know what a
wonderful young man he was.
And he was best
friend of the king’s son.
And we know so many
good things about David.
And how many parents name
their children after David?
And so, one day when he
should have been out with his
soldiers fighting the enemy,
he decided to stay at home,
and then Satan set him up.
Watch this carefully.
Satan will set you up with
whatever is necessary to bring
you down if you’re not purposed
in your heart to live according
to the will and
purpose and plan of God.
So, my title–and what is it?
“Before You Step Out of the Will
of God,” think, pray, think,
think, think, pray, turn to God.
So, he was walking
around in the evening.
Happens to look over the
rail and sees Bathsheba
down there taking a bath.
He saw enough of her that
he couldn’t get
that out of his mind.
So, what did he do?
He forgot about God.
He forgot about
how blessed he was.
He was nothing
but a shepherd boy.
Now he was the king of all
of Israel; the power to
rule the whole nation of God.
And for one night, one look,
one call, one adulterous act,
he ruined his life.
There is a price to pay when we
ignore His purpose, His plan,
and His will for our life.
Then, of course, Jonah
decided that he was not going
to do the will of God.
He was not going to preach
to people whom he hated,
and so he takes a boat ride.
You can’t escape God.
And we think about
this story and we laugh.
God had a purpose
and a plan and a will.
His purpose, plan, and will
was, “Jonah, I want you to
go to Nineveh and I want you
to preach the truth
that they might be saved.”
He was so prejudiced against
Ninevites that’s the last thing
he wanted to do, and he chose
foolishly, just like people do.
“I’m not going to do what God
said do, and I’m just going to
take myself a vacation.
I’m heading out of here.”
Many men and women have
chosen to walk away from God to
be swallowed up in a lifestyle
that they hate and almost
destroy them, and
oftentimes did and has.
And so, what happened?
When God brought him to the
point of death, he escaped from
the whale, and he couldn’t
get to Nineveh fast enough.
But here’s the thing
about him, if you’ll watch.
He could never forget his
ride in the whale, but he
forgot God’s purpose and God’s
plan and God’s will for
his life was to speak the
truth of Jehovah God to
the Ninevites they may be saved.
He did and they were, and what?
He still was so prejudiced
that he’s complaining
about God’s salvation.
And then, of
course, there’s Peter.
Peter was one of
Jesus’s choice disciples.
Strong, great fisherman.
He’d seen miracle after miracle.
And the night Jesus was taken,
and here he was in the purpose
and plan and will of the Lord,
and some little girl looked at
him and said, “I think you’re
one of those, I think you’re one
of those followers of Jesus.”
And he said, “No, I’m not.
No, I’m not.”
And the Scripture says at this
particular moment, “And Jesus
walked by and turned
and looked upon Peter.”
And I’ll never forget this
phrase in the Bible:
“And Peter remembered.”
What did he remember?
Three wonderful, awesome,
indescribable years of
walking with Jesus and seeing
Him heal and perform one
miracle after the other, walking
on top of the water he’d
fished on all those years.
And he said it:
“I don’t know Him.”
Before you willingly, knowingly
step out of the will of God,
you’d better think
three times, not once.
Can you say today, “As best I
know my heart, I’m living in the
will of God; as best I know my
heart, I’m surrendered to Him;
the best I know my heart, my
witness, my testimony before
others is good because I attempt
to live daily in His will and
way and purpose for my life”?
A will, a purpose, a plan.
He loves you enough to
have planned the best.
And the reason I go through
these particular persons is
because I want you to
see there is a price.
There is always a price.
There is a cost of
disobedience to God.
And you don’t want to
have to pay that price.
He says, “If we confess our
sins, He’s faithful and
just to forgive us of our
sins, and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness.”
We’ve all had to claim that
verse, probably many times.
But have you ever claimed
the One that’s called you?
“Whosoever shall call
upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.”
Have you ever
responded to that verse?
Have you ever trusted Jesus
Christ as your personal Savior?
He doesn’t say you have
to recount all your sins.
You confess the fact that
you are a sinner,
that you’ve disobeyed God.
But you have the privilege by
the grace of God of confessing
that sin, asking Him to forgive
you, and then choosing
to step in the will of God.
Doesn’t mean you’ll live a
perfect life, but it means
by His grace and goodness and
love and mercy and help,
you can live a godly life,
because you have the
indwelling Holy Spirit
there to help you.
Father, we love you and praise
you that you have given us your
precious Word as a warning,
as an encouragement, as a help,
as a source of strength,
a source of healing.
May the truth of your Word
sink deep into every
heart that hears it.
May there be definite, definite,
clear, absolutely unquestionable
change in the attitude and in
the actions of every person who
hears this who has never trusted
Christ as their Savior, and of
all us who have would look at
our lives to see, are we walking
in the light of the
truth of Jesus Christ?
I pray so, dear God.
In Jesus’s name, amen.
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