God’s sovereignty over the affairs of earth is a reassuring reality. Yet it is easy to feel baffled by the perplexities of daily living when we assume the responsibility for every decision and concern. Our heavenly Father never meant for us to bear these burdens on our own.
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CC by Aberdeen Captioning
1-800-688-6621 www.abercap.com
male announcer: “In Touch”
with Dr. Charles Stanley,
celebrating 45 years
of God’s faithfulness
and sharing the gospel
worldwide.
Next on “In Touch,” “Looking
Deeper into the Will of God.”
Dr. Charles Stanley: It’s
most reassuring to realize
that God has a specific plan
for your life.
For each one of us.
It’s not the same plan, but
it’s all for each of us all
designed for what He had for us
in mind–no exception.
We might not understand how God
can work in the way He works all
over the world, but He does
because He’s God.
He’s not left anybody out.
We might try to understand some
things that happen we can’t
understand, but He has a plan
for our life and He intends to
fulfill that if we’re willing to
trust Him and obey Him.
And those two things are
absolutely essential.
Whatever God has in mind,
whatever He had in mind when He
allowed you to be born, and come
into this world trusting and
obeying Him were two key issues.
So, ask yourself the question,
people who know you, would they
know you as someone who trusts
God, who obeys God?
Someone who attempts to walk in
His will?
Or do they just know you as a
person who sort of just does
whatever comes naturally, and
you want to be happy, and you
want to be successful, and
you want to fit into the ways
of the world.
God did not allow you to be born
just to do any old thing you
wanted to do.
That wasn’t His plan.
And many people will live their
whole life and never ask the
question, what is God’s plan
for my life?
What’s His will for my life?
Once you begin to ask that
question, that takes you deeper
and deeper into the whole
perspective of God’s purpose
in your life.
And when I think about that,
I think about one verse,
found in the hundred and third
Psalm because the question comes
is that, well how can God do
this, that, and the other,
and so forth?
Hundred and third Psalm
and the nineteenth verse.
You ought to mark this verse in
your Bible if it’s not marked.
He says, “The Lord has
established His throne in the
heavens, and His sovereignty
rules over all.”
Look at that.
“His sovereignty
rules over all.”
That is, no matter what’s going
on, God is in charge and
He’s in control.
It may look like He’s not
in control, but He is.
We listen to all the news and
ups and downs and ins and outs
and, “I’m for this and I’m for
that, and I’m opposed to this,
that, and the other.”
Where is God in all this?
Right where He’s always been.
He is in control.
He will let us do things at
times that are foolish, that are
disastrous, destructive,
but oftentimes He stops us.
And sometimes we have a hard
time believing that God is
involved in anything the way
people are acting.
So, when I think about these
verses and His sovereignty,
I think about what Jeremiah
said to God.
He said in that thirty-second
chapter: “Ah Lord God.
Behold, You have made the
heavens and the earth by Your
great power and by Your
outstretched arm.
Nothing is too difficult
for you.”
Now, if you and I believe that
everything was within the reach
of God and the power of God, and
nothing in too difficult for
Him, we would operate a little
differently.
We wouldn’t doubt some things.
We would be willing to claim
more of His promises–for God is
in charge.
He is in control.
“His sovereignty rules
over all.”
So, no matter what’s going on in
the world, God is still
in charge.
The problem is so many people
don’t believe that.
And I look at–watch
television once in a while
and I think, “How pitiful.”
And on and on and on it goes,
till you finally have to get up
and cut it off, and ask the
question, “Lord, has anybody
heard about God?”
Has anybody heard about Jehovah,
Yahweh, Elohim in the
Old Testament–the God of
all gods–the only one true God?
The God who has all power
to do all things.
Anybody believing in Him,
trusting Him, or waiting upon
Him for direction?
If you listen and watch and do
not read the Word of God, you
could get very, very
discouraged.
So, the title of this message is
“Looking Deeper Into the Will
of God,” and I want to talk
about first of all, the three
major distinctions in God’s
will–the three categories.
And the first is God’s
predestined will–those things
He will do: irresistible,
unchangeable, unconditional.
That is, things that God can do
by His power and His love,
and things that nobody can stop.
He is in control.
He is the sovereign
of the universe.
His predestined will–which
means predestined, He’s already
determined some things.
This world may look like it’s
swirling around out of control,
but God is in control of
whatever’s going on.
And once in a while I’ll hear
somebody say, “Well I’ll tell
you–I know what’s going on in
my life and I don’t need
somebody to tell me what’s
going on.”
Well, it may be that you do need
to realize that somebody is
greater than you are–and that
is that God knows all about
your life, and He’s the one
person you desperately need
to listen to.
He’s the only One who has
sovereign control
over all things.
And then, of course,
there’s God’s moral will.
His moral will would be
explained best in the
Ten Commandments.
God has a moral will.
You shall not steal, lie, commit
adultery and on and on–
the Ten Commandments.
And all through the Scriptures
there’s some things that God
has forbidden.
Does that mean they
can’t happen?
No.
It means that it is not the will
of God for them to happen.
It’s not best for them
to happen.
It’s costly for them to happen.
It’s disastrous for them
to happen.
Because He is a God who gives us
freedom and liberty up
to some degree.
This moral will is where
we get in trouble.
We decide we want to do things
our way, when we want to do it.
We can explain it away.
And yet, when we violate the
Ten Commandments, we violate
the teachings of Jesus, there is
a price to be paid.
And there is no substitute
for obedience.
And there is no one
greater than God.
And when I listen to some of the
things that, that people are
saying about we’re going to do
this and we’re going to do
that–there is a God who
ultimately determines what
you will do and what
you will not do.
He allows disobedience and
rebellion, but only at a price.
Sin does not come cheaply.
Rebellion toward God
is not cheap.
And I listen to people talk
about what they’re going to do
and this and all the things that
are happening and they want
freedom to do this and that and
the other with no–listen–with
no sense of responsibility
toward the sovereign God
of the universe.
We’re all responsible to Him
whether we like it or not.
And then of course there’s God’s
desired will–those things that
He desires for us.
His desired will for us–well
let’s begin with salvation.
God desires that we are saved.
He desires that we be baptized.
He desires that we walk after
His will.
He desires that we learn to pray
and learn to follow His
teachings of Scripture.
It’s His will that we learn to
obey Him early in life.
It’s His will that we learn to
listen to Him, follow Him and
acknowledge that He is the
ultimate guide in life.
So, in order for me to be
obedient, I need to know what
His will is.
How am I going to know what
His will is?
Where am I going to find out?
You listen to the true Word of
God and you read the Word of God
and you believe the Word of God.
If you want the truth of God, if
you want to know how to live out
your life, in order to be
obedient, you’ve got to know
the Word of God.
So, don’t raise your hand,
naturally.
When I say that, I’m trying
to cover for you.
[laughing]
How many times this past week
did you pick up the Bible
and read a verse?
You have seven days in a week,
twenty-four hours a day.
You have many things on your
schedule that you have to do.
Many things that you don’t have
to do that you want to do.
You don’t work all time–you
have free time.
How much of that free time did
you spend asking God, “Lord,
what about this?
Should we buy that house?
Should we buy that automobile?
Should I allow my son to go to
college here?
Should I allow my daughter to go
out with this guy?
Should I allow my son to be
a part of that club?”
In other words, when is the last
time you asked the One who knows
the answer to everything about
His will?
What does He want?
Would you not agree that God
will always want what’s
best for you?
How many of you believe that,
say amen?
He’ll always want
what’s best for you.
You really believe that, then
why don’t you ask Him?
Why do you make so many
decisions without asking Him?
Watch this.
He has a will,
a purpose, a plan.
He knows what’s best for
us in every single circumstance
of life and He invites us
to ask Him.
Ask and it shall be given you,
seek and ye shall find,
knock and it shall
be opened to you.
God is willing to show us
His will.
This is the confidence that we
have in Him, that if we ask
anything according to His will,
He’s going to hear us.
And if we know that He hears us,
we know that we have the
petitions that we desire of Him.
Then why not get in the Word
of God and find out,
“Lord, what would You
have me to do in this
particular situation?
What does obedience
require of me?”
Does this fit the will
of God or does it not?
And the reason people are in
such deep debt is because they
spend without asking
the will of God.
Listen.
This is a major issue
in this country.
Indebtedness is a major,
major issue.
And you say, “But what’s that
got to do with the Bible?”
Well just start reading and
you’ll find out.
God has a lot to say about
money, and not, and not
being in debt.
And so, when you think about one
sin leading to another.
God has a will for us.
His will is always best for you.
It’s always best for you.
His yes is best, His no is
best, because He wants what’s
best for us.
And so, when we think about the
will of God–the will of God is
God’s best plan for us.
Now you say, “Well, my life is
sort of mixed up and I don’t
know where to turn next.”
So, let me give you one other
division of the will of God and
that’s His personal will for
your life.
And we can divide that into
three categories.
And first of all, that’s His
intentional will.
That is, what did God have in
mind for you?
I don’t know who your parents
were, how they raised you.
But what did God have
in mind for you?
Think about that for a moment.
His intentional will.
What did He have in mind before
you were ever born?
What did He have in mind about
your education?
What did He even have in mind,
for example, about the
spiritual gifts?
When you trusted Jesus Christ as
your Savior, you were–listen–
you were gifted with the
ability, talents, and skills
to do whatever God
wants you to do.
And when you think back early in
your life, you were thinking
about, “When I grow up I’m going
to be this and I’m going to be
that” and so forth.
Did you ever ask God what He
wanted you to do?
You say, “Well, how do you know
what God wants you to do?”
And if you’re sitting here and
you don’t know the will of God
for your life–maybe you
never asked Him.
Maybe–think about this.
Did you ever get on your knees
and say, “God, I don’t want to
waste my life.
I want my life to count.
And if I want my life to count,
I–and if You’re going to help
me and answer my prayer, I’ve
got to pray the right thing, so
what is it You want me to do?”
Very, very few young people
today will talk to you about
the will of God for their life
because they never gave it
any thought.
That God has–this God who is
sovereign over the universe has
a plan for your life.
Did you as a parent ever sit
down with your son or your
daughter and say,
“Well, let’s talk about one of
the most important things in
your life.”
Well, what is that?
They’re maybe thinking about
their education–no.
What’s the most important thing
in your life?
The will of God.
And I’ll tell you this is the
truth–not maybe, the truth.
Every night I was at home with
my family, from the time my
children were born, I prayed
over their bedside with them.
They had no idea what
I was talking about.
That God would show them His
will for their life very early.
Watch this.
We wait too late to do the most
important thing.
The most important thing they’ll
ever learn–what’s the will
of God?
So, the will of God
relates to every single area
of our life.
And so, when you think about it
for yourself–in your vocation,
for example, if you go look for
a job, that you just look for
a job or you just say, “Lord,
what do You want me to do?”
Now think about this for
just a moment.
The right person to ask,
first of all, is God.
“Where do You want me to work?
What do You want me to make?
How do You, how do You want
me to invest my life?”
Think about this.
As, as the days go by, your time
and my time’s ticking away.
You don’t think it is?
When you get my age, you realize
it’s ticking away.
You don’t stop.
You don’t quit.
You don’t worry.
You don’t fret.
You trust God.
You’re going to make
every day count.
But do you realize that God has
a plan, that He has an answer
for all these questions that
you have?
And so oftentimes questions
that we should bring
before Almighty God.
We just make the decision.
Watch this carefully.
Because we make decisions based
on human knowledge–limited
human knowledge–and on emotions
that oftentimes are way out
in left field.
And oftentimes to please
somebody else.
The only person I am obligated
to please according to the Word
of God is Almighty God.
I’m obligated to please Him,
want to please Him.
Smart thing to do, the wise
thing to do, is to please God.
Watch this, if you know Him, you
know this.
He only wants what’s
best for you.
Amen?
But you see, many
parents can’t say that.
They want what looks the best
for their friends and neighbors
that their children are driving
this or wearing that.
We ruin them.
The will of God is one of the
most important things
in your life.
But you say, “Well, what
should I ask God about?”
Everything.
In other words, what is it
that’s so unimportant I don’t
have to talk to God about?
So, what is He saying?
He has a will for our life and
this will, we have his
intentional will for
our life.
His circumstantial will
for our life which is what?
His circumstantial will is this.
So, I messed up here, but I get
my life straightened out with
God and surrender my life to Him
and we get a new start.
Why is there a
circumstantial will?
Because God knows us, and He
knows we’ll fail.
He knows we’ll make wrong
decisions at times.
He knows we are human,
as we say.
And so that’s His
circumstantial will.
Does He cast us out?
No.
And we live in our
circumstantial will with less,
oftentimes, accomplishing less,
being less satisfied, less
happy, less peaceful, less,
less, less because we don’t
stop to ask Him first.
Now, when we stop to ask Him,
He’s willing to correct it.
Some things He’ll correct, some
things He won’t correct because
of the circumstances.
And so, His circumstantial will
is here I am, here’s the mess
I’ve made, this is
how far I’ve come.
Now Lord, what do You want to do
with me at this point?
And listen, there’s God’s
immediate will.
That is, what does He want you
to do right now in your life?
What’s His will, today,
in your life?
You can’t change yesterday, but
you can certainly make a
difference for tomorrow, because
tomorrow is a privilege.
Is an opportunity, and
God is with you.
His immediate will.
What’s His immediate will for
what He wants you to do, today?
For example, let’s turn to
James, for a moment, and let’s
look at this passage.
In the fourth chapter.
Look at this thirteenth verse:
“Come now, you who say,
‘Today or tomorrow we will go to
such and such a city and spend
a year there and engage in
business and make a profit.'”
Doesn’t that sound
like people today?
Here’s what I’m going to do.
I’m going to make it big.
“Yet you do not know what your
life will be like tomorrow.
You are just a like a vapor
[exhaling]
that appears for a little while
and then vanishes away.
Instead now, you ought to say,
‘If the Lord wills, we will live
and also do this or that.’
But as it is, you boast in your
arrogance, all such
boasting is evil.
Therefore, to one who knows the
right thing to do and does not
do it, to himself it is a sin.”
So as you look at your life,
ask yourself the question:
What about how you
spend your time?
What about how you
spend your money?
How about who your friends are?
Relationships?
The things that you buy?
Your testimony.
You say, “Well, God isn’t
interested in little things.”
Like what?
God is personally interested in
what you think, what you say,
what you do, how you look,
how you operate.
And so, you’re not living in a
vacuum, you’re living in a world
inhabited in your spirit by the
living God who has equipped you
and will equip you to do His
will every day, all day, if
you’re willing to surrender your
life to Him, and yield to Him.
What your potential is at this
point in your life, only God
knows, but it’s probably a whole
lot larger than you think it is.
You say, “Well, I’ve made so
many mistakes.”
Who hasn’t made mistakes?
Different kinds of mistakes, and
this mistake may be tragic to
somebody, and this person’s
mistake may be lots more tragic
than this one.
That’s not the issue.
The issue is, “God, in this
direction, it’s You and me, God.
Whatever in my life is missing,
what is it Lord?
Wherever I’ve blown it, show me
where it is.
Whatever I need to confess
and repent of.
Whatever I need to
surrender to You
I’ve never surrendered.
God, I want Your best
in my life.”
Ask yourself this.
When you turn around and look
back over your life, from
the time you were maybe a little
before you were a teenager
or thereabouts, look back over
your life, what would
you change?
We’d probably all change
something.
Right?
We’d all change something.
Look back over your life–what
would you change?
Second question is this.
Why did you come this far
thinking that somehow you could
make it without God?
And think about this.
Whenever you did trust your life
to the Lord Jesus Christ as your
Savior and you were baptized
and joined the church, did you
surrender your life
to the Lord then?
When I think about this, it
overwhelms me–that Holy God,
who is the sovereign of the
whole universe, loves me enough
to show me His will and to show
anyone who’s willing to ask.
Are you willing to trust God
where you are, with who you are,
and your mistakes here and your
successes there, the things that
are good in your life, the
things are not, are you willing
to say to Him, “Lord, You know
all about me.
You know how I really
messed it up.
I’m asking You to forgive me of
my sins and I know I don’t have
years and years and years to
make it up.
But Lord, would, would You help
me to spend the rest of my life
the way your circumstantial
will–circumstances being
what they are.
Would You help me to live my
life the way You want me–
the rest of my life the way You
want me to live it?”
Would you tell Him that?
Don’t be trapped by the devil,
who’s–watch this–the devil
says, “Too late, too late.
Just ignore this sermon.
It’s too late.”
It’s not too late as long as
you’re breathing–to get right
with God.
And your opportunities may be
gone, but there may be more
opportunities than you realize.
There may be ways that God can
use you, you never even thought
about it and the reason
you didn’t think about it,
you didn’t ask Him about them.
I’m saying to you
don’t give up.
You ask God to show you, “Lord,
circumstances being what they
are, I’ve wasted this part.
Your circumstances here,
but God, You’ll forgive me–
You promised to.
So, Lord, what’s the next step
in my life?
My life, is as what it is.
What’s the next step, God?”
Would you be willing to say
to Him today, “Lord, the next
step in my life, I’m going
to take it.
Whatever You tell me to do, God,
I’m going to do it.”
Would you be willing to tell
Him that today?
Do you trust Him enough to tell
Him that whatever He requires
of next, you’re going to do it?
Do you trust Him enough
to do it?
Or do you sit here and listen to
this and think, “Yeah, but you
don’t know my circumstances.”
Nobody knows everybody’s
circumstances.
I’m just asking are you willing
to trust God?
All of us need to trust
Him–whatever’s going on
in life.
You have the privilege, you have
the privilege to talk to Holy
God who has all power and all
love and all authority, who will
take you where you are and do
something in your life you
probably would never imagine.
But are you even willing to give
Him yourself just to see what
He’ll do.
What will God do in your life if
you fully surrender your life
to Him?
I think you’ll be
surprised–pleasantly surprised.
Do you have the courage
to say,
“God, I believe You have
a will for my life.
I know You’re not pleased with
how I’ve been living it out.
But today, I’m asking You to
forgive me.
I could blame some folks, God,
but I’m not going
to blame anybody.
I’m asking You to forgive me.
And starting today, when I walk
out the doors of this church,
I’m walking out surrendered
to Your perfect will–
whatever that is.
I’m going to do whatever You say
and I’m going to believe, God,
that because You’re an awesome
God of love and kindness and
goodness and reconstruction,
You’ll take me and You’ll do
what’s best in my life
from this point on.”
Wow.
What an awesome difference God
can make in your life,
if you’re willing.
And Father, how grateful we are
that You are a forgiving God,
cleansing, reconstruction–all
the good ways that You work
in our life.
And I pray that every person who
hears this message will be
deeply convicted,
deeply inspired.
For some it will be
deeply painful.
But honest enough to surrender
themselves to You and see what
You’ll do for the rest
of their life.
Oh God, that’s my prayer–for
the rest of their life.
What will God do for the rest of
my life and Father, You’re
just full of surprises.
We know that’s true.
Full of wonderful surprises.
Maybe we don’t think we’re worth
it or nobody cares, but we know
that’s not Your attitude.
You’re just waiting for us to
say “Yes, Lord” for You to start
Your reconstruction in our life
that’ll change us forever.
And that is my prayer today,
in Jesus’s name, amen.
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