When we leave God out of our plans, we’re inviting all sorts of chaos into our lives, not to mention regret and loss. In this message, Dr. Stanley warns us against going our own way without a thought to what God thinks about our choices. God’s plans are the best plans, so why not partner with Him?

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listening to him waiting upon him is a

vital vital vital part of life and he is

more than willing to give you direction

trust in the Lord with all your heart

lean not to your own understanding in

all your ways acknowledge him and he

will make your paths straight

next on InTouch planning without God the

often wonder why your plans don’t work

out you’ve done your best you thought

you thought of everything you’ve laid it

all out and somehow it didn’t work why

didn’t it work I’ll tell you one reason

it didn’t work I’ll tell you reason that

it doesn’t work for most people that is

because you leave God out you plan they

call them to your knowledge and your

understanding your resources and what

you want to accomplish in life where you

want to go and yet you leave God out of

the planning think about this half the

foolish that is God is omniscient he

knows everything

omnipotent has all power and think about

the fact that he is willing to give you

guidance and direction he’s willing to

show you when where and how he has all

that’s necessary to provide everything

you need to walk in the center of his

will to leave God out of your planning

is foolishness when he’s a God who loves

you cares for you will provide for you

undergird you protect you and you leave

him out and yet that’s exactly what many

people do they just leave God out of

their life so the question is what do we

do that

I want you to turn to a passage of

Scripture that I doubt if you’ve

probably read more than

once and when you read it you thought

well there’s nothing in there for me

there’s a lot in there for you so I want

you to turn if you will to the 11th

chapter of Genesis and this is the

passage that most people just look at

and read over quickly and keep going

the scripture says now the whole earth

used the same language and the same

words it came about as they journeyed

East and they found a plain in the land

of Shinar and settle there they said to

one another come let us make bricks and

burned them thoroughly and they used a

brick for stone and they used tar for

mortar they said let us build for

ourselves a city and the tower whose top

will reach the heaven and let us make

for ourselves a name otherwise we’ll be

scattered abroad over the face of the

earth whole earth and the Lord came down

to see the city and the tower which the

sons of men had built the Lord said

behold there one people and they all

have the same language and this is what

they began to do and now nothing which

they purpose to do would be impossible

for them come let us go down and there

confuse their language so that they will

not understand one another speech so the

Lord scattered them abroad from over the

whole face of the earth and they stopped

building the city there for its name was

called Babel like Babylon because there

the Lord confused the language of the

whole earth and from there the Lord

scattered them from abroad over the face

of the earth now if you go back to

the ninth chapter and the flood has come

the floods gone now and God is saying

something to his people that now that

that’s done he said to them they were to

separate and replenish the whole earth

that was God’s command there to

replenish the whole earth and thank

that’s God’s command from the very

beginning as as for you be fruitful and

multiply populate the earth abundantly

and multiplying it that was God’s

command and so the flood has come and

gone and so Noah had three sons Shem ham

and Japheth and so all of these people

in chapter 11 are descendants of Noah’s

three sons

he lived 350 years after the flood so

these are the descendants there’s a lots

of them 350 years and so they make a

decision here a decision that is not the

decision of Almighty God because God

said to them I want you to replenish the

earth scattered abroad cover the earth

and so they come to the conclusion now

350 years later we don’t want to do that

what we want to do is we want to all get

together and we want to build a temple

here or a house or a city of probably

all three so that we’ll all be able to

stick together and and have one language

and when God’s made it very clear they

were together to the uttermost parts of

the earth so they decided not to do that

and so God says I’m gonna have to break

that up so this whole chapter here is

really about the people of God deciding

to do something other than God said do

and to make their own plans so let me

ask you a question where does planning

fit in your life do you plan daily for a

certain activities do you make plans in

your life

considering Almighty God you say that

Jesus Christ is your Savior and your

Lord if he’s your savior your Lord

all of our planning ought to take into

consideration what does he think

what’s his will what’s his choice was

his plan for my life because you and I

can’t come up with a plan equal to his

plan because he knows our weaknesses and

frailties he knows what’s the best for

us to have was the way I thought not to

have so he knows all the intricacies of

it and yet we take off and do our own

planning get ourselves in trouble and

wonder why things don’t work out if God

is in your plan it’s gonna work out

because he’s the plan maker and he has

all power to make all the plans work out

perfectly but most people don’t plan

with God in mind so ask yourself the

question do you make plans for your life

without considering God at all do you

make plans for example about you’re

gonna buy a house do you ask him about

it you’re gonna buy automobiles you ask

him about that you’re gonna get married

you ask him about that we can just go

down the list of all the things that we

do that oftentimes people don’t ask God

about if we don’t seek God’s guidance

and direction in their planning we lose

make wrong decisions make them before no

words sometimes what we plan is the will

of God but the timing is not the will of

God God is interested in what we do in

their lives and how we plan the was just

thing he’s interested in everything you

are now interested in and he has been

there’s some the many choices are not

life and death but they’re choices we

make and we make choices and get in the

habit of making choices doing certain

things well before you get in that habit

you should ask God their Lord what you

will in this what’s your purpose in this

in the business world

people say well this is just the way it

is know that God has a will in every

single aspect of our life and here they

said here’s how are we going to do so

let’s think for just a moment about the

consequences of this leaving God out

number ones this you can’t claim God’s

promise of provision and protection you

leave him out you do not have the right

to claim his provision and his

protection and how many times that

people said to me well I sort of watch

this I’m sort of prayed about it what

that means is I made up my mind told God

what I think ought to be right no and

and one of the consequences you cannot

claim God’s presence and his power and

provision when you don’t ask him when

you when you don’t ask him to give you

the plan which is of serious consequence

the second one is this you can honestly

ask for his blessing if you don’t ask

him whether to make this plan or not and

then the people they’ll pray and tell

God what they’re going to do and ask for

his blessing well is it the will of God

is it his purpose it is his plan for

your life if I don’t ask him for

guidance and direction I don’t have the

right to ask him to bless it and people

make wrong decisions that sometimes are

very expensive decisions emotionally

maritally financially educationally you

name it and so the Tower of Babel is a

good example of planning without God

they said here’s what we’re going to do

and here’s how we’re going to do it

absolutely opposite from what God said I

think about how many parents today are

in debt deeply in debt because their son

or daughter said here’s where I want to

go to college I know it’s gonna cost but

I’ll get it and I’ll pay you back and

their parents are deeply in debt for

thousands of dollars because it costs

thousands and thousands of dollars per

semester for them to go to that

particular school not asking Lord is it

your will is it your way and parents

need to have the wisdom to say well I

want you to go to

knowledge I want you to get an education

I want you to do your best in life but

you’re asking us to go in debt and I

don’t think that’s the will of God you

need to think about some other place you

can go then eat the yellow scholarship

or where you can work and pay your way

through and many parents today are

paying off college debts that they

should not have to God is interested in

every decision you and I make think

about this you are a holy son or

daughter of the Living God

you are you are indwelt by the Holy

Spirit you are a treasure of God he

saved you wrote your name in the Lamb’s

Book of Life you belong to him he’s made

a commitment to you to guide you in

Legion to make your provision for you

whatever that is not always make you

happy but may provision for you now

you’ve got to ask him Lord what’s your

next step

so without planning something else

happens the absence of God limits the

possibilities of whatever we do whatever

we do in life if we don’t ask him for

his direction guidance we said limit on

what we can do we’ll make decisions that

may not be right or wrong but there

could be better and far more profitable

if we had asked him Lord what would you

have us to do so decision making is a

vital part of our life and we make them

every day and some days decisions make

decisions are made by people that affect

them in one hour the rest of their life

so the Holy Spirit living within you is

a very very important aspect of your

life he’s there to give you guidance and

direction see that you have the

provision to do the will of God not

something you just think of to do so the

absence of God limits the possibilities

of what you do it’s an indication of

pride listen you sure I’m not a prideful

person you get up in the day you take

off you do your thing all day long and

you come home and at night and

thank you Father

well did you ask him about to start with

listen when you and I make plans without

the guy

we are expressing personal pride I don’t

need him today

this is like this is a just a normal day

it’s raining but it’s just a normal day

and so I don’t need to ask him yes you

do we need to ask God every day to give

us direction for our life and she show

us how to make decisions that seem to be

very insignificant but they’re not

insignificant you’re a child of God has

a plan for your life as a will feel life

decisions aren’t insignificant

it’s spotlessness prayerlessness we get

in the hurry we don’t we don’t somebody

says well or God isn’t interested in

everything we’ll name what he’s not

interested in well he’s not interested

in whether I wear brown shoes or black

shoes well probably not because he

already knows you don’t have a pair and

it doesn’t make any difference so that’s

not an issue but he is interested listen

to this he is interested in you looking

your best being your best look your best

be your best do your best because you

represent him it doesn’t mean that you

compare yourself with somebody else but

you want to do your best be your best

look your best because you represent the

Son of God and so in every aspect of our

life it makes a difference and so when I

know that I’ll pay the price for example

if we don’t seek His guidance and

direction we’ll choose the lesser man no

one’s you may choose much less than God

would have for you because from your

perspective you can’t afford this or

this that the other and sometimes God’s

worked out something already in your

behalf that you don’t know about and

he’s waiting for you to trust him and

he’s he’s waiting for you to wait upon

him and to seek His guidance before he

opens the door and so sometimes we think

well you know Lord I’ve tried and tried

if God doesn’t give you a go-ahead I’m

and I’ve lived long enough to know if

you disobey God you paid the

consequences and sometimes you just have

to wait and I could I can tell you some

other examples and one was that I

wrecked my car

and I waited for a while and well the

second day his lady hit me from behind

the second day my kids wanted to know

what I was gonna do better car comes

agent one of them had one in my wife had

one and who was who I had to have one

the whose car was I gonna take that was

a problem and so I waited several months

and then one of my deacons let me have

one of his cars and so one day I was

driving down the street with a fella

want me to go to a meeting and I said

okay he asked me a question he said when

are you gonna buy you a car I said I

don’t know I’ve been waiting for God to

show me and he said Oh what kind would

you buy if you were gonna buy one he God

knows this is absurd I didn’t even think

I simple if I just make a choice I have

one like this which was the best three

days later got a check in the mail to

buy that car so I had all kind of

choices to do most anything except obey

God and sometimes time is the biggest

enemy because we don’t get it when we

want it we think well God you’ve just

forgotten no it has not going to give

you a set of examples but I’m just

saying asking for God’s Direction is the

key to your life to what you have where

you go what you do what you accomplish

whatever it might be so when you and I

disobey God we get ahead of him not only

does it cost us but think about this

it’s gonna result in confusion here’s

what happens when you do when you make

the wrong decision you hear there’s

confusion for the simple reason you have

to start thinking about what did I do

wrong

well always ever Heather oh how did I

listen to you what maybe did this

likewise there’s gonna be conflict

when you make a decision without asking

for God’s direction there’s gonna be

conflict in your heart watch this

because the Holy Spirit is gonna give

you an uneasy feeling he’s going to give

you a sense of of inadequacy and the

sense of of question of doubt there’s

going to be natural conflict in your

heart when you do the wrong thing and we

do the wrong thing by getting ahead of

God what’s the will of God what’s his

plan likewise I can prove costly and I

can think of things in my life and so

can you that have cost us probably

because we didn’t do the right thing

or we didn’t do it at the right time and

we didn’t do it the right way God gives

us direction the time the place and the

how and with whom if this if that’s

necessary and likewise there’s gonna be

loss in some point when you don’t obey

God you don’t follow his leadership and

guidance it cost you something it could

be emotionally or it could be physically

gonna be in your own physical body

whatever it might be likewise there’s

gonna be regret when you don’t wait for

him and you do it on your timetable

there’s gonna be regret because listen

God chooses the best he chooses the

right the best time and the best way you

name it they couldn’t wait they were

gonna do it their way will God let them

do it their way and there was deep

regret likewise there’s gonna be pain

there lots of decisions we step ahead of

God on this that’s pain sometimes it’s

physical pain but the worst kind of pain

is emotional pain if either think about

this if I’d have done this if I don’t

wait if he if she if that and so the

result of disobeying God stepping ahead

of him

is always gonna be if either and

sometimes it’s a disaster because people

don’t wait upon the Lord and seek his

direction they make decisions that this

Astros disastrous financially

emotionally you

listening to God is a major major major

principle in the whole Christian life

listening to him and waiting upon him I

do not know of a more valuable lesson to

learn than to listen to God and obey Him

period and there’s this whole story of

all the languages and all the chaos that

resulted the Tower of Babel a lot of

stuff but the basic lesson is they

didn’t listen to God then wait for him

and so God confused the whole thing and

I think there are a lot of people living

in confusion today and that their life

because they haven’t listened to God

back here it decisions and they’re

confused today or frustrated or

discouraged because well I don’t know

what happened well just stop and ask God

Lord did I make a wrong decision have

our steps ahead then I ask you to

forgive me I didn’t repent of that

things may not ever be like our life on

to me but that I can start today doing

what you want me to do and light up the

circumstances it’s not listen it’s never

too late and listen to God it may be too

late in order to enjoy all the blessings

that God had in mind

but it’s not too late to listen to him

because one of these days we’re all

gonna die and we’re gonna face him it’s

better listen it’s better to die and

face him having listened to him six

months than to die haven’t not listened

to him at all so the whole theme of that

chapter it’s all about listening to God

doing what he says rather than what man

says and so what happened God stopped

the project he shut the thing down

totally shut it down he changed that

plan so let me ask you this question

where is God in your planning today for

your life and your agent whatever’s

going on what’s your plan

what are you asking God to give you a

plan you said well I don’t think my life

yeah I don’t know you go about no no

that’s not the question a God has a plan

for every single one of us now the

interesting thing is that sometimes

people want to tell us what the plan is

and they want to tell us how to operate

you always listen to God before you

listen to somebody else and after you

listen to somebody else you still listen

to God Lord what’s your plan what’s your

plan about without by this whether I cel

that you know whether I go this way and

it was this might should be my friend

not my friend what no words what’s your

plan and listen God is willing to answer

that question about anything and

everything you ask him about so I would

simply ask you a question in all of your

planning you and your house phone you

and your wife or your children or your

parents do you ask God to give you

direction for your plan where you go

when you go who you go with you name it

it’s all important and I pray that

you’ll not forget that I want to stand

and have a prayer together all right

father we thank you that you have a will

for our life you said you did thank you

that you’re living within every single

one of us who has trusted Christ as our

Savior thank you that you care about all

the things that we care about you care

about some things that we don’t even

think about you love us unconditionally

you want the best for us you’ve given us

your best in Christ all of us face

decisions today and every day I pray the

holy spirit who indwells all of us who

believe us will make us sensitive to his

presence and help us to realize that

every decision is important to you and

grant us this morning the wisdom to make

wise decisions having listened to you

for your guidance and father I pray for

somebody here who is unsaved that they

might recognize this morning their

sinfulness that they do not have your

assistance your help your again and so

about anything that they’re willing to

confess their sinfulness surrender their

life to you and you will begin at that

moment to give them guidance for their

life and lord I pray for that person

standing here who’s thinking well one of

these days

remind them Lord that they have no

assurance of another day but that today

and every day you will give us your

that’s because you love us and we pray

this in Jesus name Amen

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