There is a saying, "Give a man
a fish, and feed him a meal. Give him a pole and teach him how to fish,
and feed him for a life time". I want to give you the pole and teach you
how to fish. Here is how you can experience God's plan for your life.
It can be put another way: Having
a million dollars in the bank, doesn't do you any good if you don't realize
it, or, if you don't know how to write checks on it. In Christ, you have
unlimited wealth in every way. I'm going to tell you how you can know about
it, and, how to activate all the goodness of God in your life.
Simply put, this is how you do it:
1. Realize that God's plan is better than your own, or,
better than not having a plan.
2. Be open to information from God's Word, the Bible.
3. Take positive action on what you learn from God's
Word.
1. REALIZE GOD'S PLAN IS BETTER
Jer 29:11 For I know the thoughts
that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of
evil, to give you an expected end.
A paraphrase this verse is like this:
"For I know the plans and intentions that I have purposed toward you...plans
and intentions of peace, and not of evil and calamity, to bind you as with
a cord to present happiness with an eternal, happy ending."
Psa 145:8 The LORD is gracious, and
full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. 9 The LORD
is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. 14
The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed
down. 15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their
meat in due season. 16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the
desire of every living thing.
18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon
him, to all that call upon him in truth. 19 He will fulfill the desire
of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
20 The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked
will he destroy.
God is good. He offers you total acceptance
just the way you are. He never condemns nor accuses. Your conscience, people,
and the devil will condemn and accuse, but God never does. He has made
full provision for your total deliverance from sin, sickness, satan, and
sorry circumstances. When you come to Him, you become a partaker of all
His goodness. Those who refuse His goodness and provision, identify themselves
with and bind themselves to the same destruction as awaits the devil and
his angels.
2. BE OPEN TO INFORMATION FROM GOD'S WORD
"My son [or daughter], attend to my
words; incline thine ear unto my sayings. Let them not depart from thine
eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart. For they are life unto those
that find them, and health to all their flesh...For the commandment is
a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of
life" (Prov.4.20-22; 6.23).
Jesus is the Word and the Light. God
has provided the Light through His Word, so that we don't have to be in
the dark concerning His plan for our life. By allowing Jesus Christ to
be our Lord and Guide, we can know and walk in God's plan for our life.
God's Word is faithful to correct
and instruct us so we won't fall victim to the traps that are in the darkness.
If we will listen to and follow the correction and instruction offered
by the Word, we will walk in the Light and enjoy God's plan for our life.
Here are some guidelines for receiving
God's plan:
A. Set aside pre-conceived ideas that
are based on people's faults and failures. We never go forward by our focus
being on faults. We never go up by putting others down. You can't hit the
baseball if you are looking at the umpire.
B. Realize that God's plan for you
is totally for your highest and best good, both now, and for all eternity,
and that though He might work in the midst of man's dead, empty, meaningless
religious ritual or fanacticism, that in itself is not the plan He has
for you.
C. Realize that God will work through
His Word and Spirit to expose and convince you of concepts and practices
in your life that work against His plan. Through His Word and His Spirit,
you can clearly see them, turn from them, and embrace the truth that will
set you free. Sift out the Word from the mere religious rules, opinions,
and ideas of man.
3. TAKE POSITIVE ACTION ON WHAT YOU LEARN FROM GOD'S
WORD
A. Acknowledge that you have a
need. There is a sin factor in our lives, that we need to be rid of
through faith in Jesus Christ. There is a Spirit factor that is needs to
be added to our lives--we need to be filled with and led by the Spirit
of God in order to experience His full plan for our life. We need to deal
with the sin factor and the Spirit factor.
Read these scriptures and think about
their meaning:
Joh 1:29 Jesus...the Lamb of
God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Joh 1:33 ...the same is he which
baptizeth [immerses] with the Holy Ghost [the Spirit of God].
Joh 3:3 Jesus answered and said
unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. 5 ...Except a man be born of water and
of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and
that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said
unto thee, Ye must be born again.
Rom 3:23 For all have sinned,
and come short of the glory of God;
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin
is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
Rom 6:17 But God be thanked,
that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that
form of doctrine which was delivered you. 18 Being then made free
from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
God has made provision through Jesus
Christ to set you free from sin to be filled with the Spirit of God.
B. Accept God's provision.
Read these scriptures and think about
their meaning:
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him,
I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but
by me.
2Co 5:15 And that he died for
all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but
unto him which died for them, and rose again.
Act 10:37 That word, I say,
ye know...38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost
[the Spirit of God] and with power: who went about doing good, and healing
all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
39 And we are witnesses [of Jesus]...whom they
slew and hanged on a tree:
40 Him God raised up the third day, and showed
him openly; 41 Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before
of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the
dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify
that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick [the living]
and dead. 43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his
name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission [the putting away]
of sins.
44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy
Ghost [the Spirit of God] fell on all them which heard the word. 45
And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as
came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift
of the Holy Ghost [the Spirit of God]. 46 For they heard them speak
with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, 47 Can any man
forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the
Holy Ghost [the Spirit of God] as well as we? 48 And he commanded
them to be baptized in the name of the Lord...
C. Act on what God's Word says to
do.
Read these scriptures and think about
their meaning:
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at
the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will
come in to him, and will sup [fellowship] with him, and he with me.
Rom 10:8 But what saith it?
The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the
word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart
man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation.
Luk 11:11 If a son shall ask
bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he
ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? 12 Or if he shall
ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If ye then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your
heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?
Eph 5:15 See then that ye walk
circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of
the Lord is. 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but
be filled with the Spirit; 19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the
Lord; 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; 21 Submitting yourselves one
to another in the fear of God.
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now
no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after
the flesh, but after the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit
of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are
the sons of God.15 For ye have not received the spirit...fear; but...the
Spirit of adoption [the placing as a son], whereby we cry, Abba [Father],
Father. 16 The Spirit...beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the
children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs
with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also
glorified together. 26 ...the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities:
for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself
maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the
Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according
to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things work together
for good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow,
he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son,
that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also
called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified,
them he also glorified. 31 What shall we then say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us? 32 He that spared
not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with
him also freely give us all things? 35 Who shall separate
us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution,
or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 37 Nay, in all
these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the
love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(You really need to just read the
whole eighth chapter of Romans.)
Conclusion
Notice the bold italics in Romans
8. God's purpose, God's plan for you, foreplanned from the beginning, is
that you be conformed to the very image of Jesus and be a joint-heir with
Him of all the good things of God both here and hereafter, through the
power of the Spirit of God. God's plan is to freely give you all good things.
How shall he not with him also freely give us all things? There
are no limits placed on "all". The Word says, "According to your faith
be it unto you" (Mt.9.29), and, "If thou canst believe, all things are
possible to him that believeth" (Mk.9:23). It is all based on God's love
for us through accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Do you want to experience God's plan
of unlimited goodness for your life?
"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,
and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all
that were in his house...and [he] rejoiced, believing in God with all his
house" (Act 16:31-34).
1. Realize that God's plan is better
than yours.
2. Be open to information from God's
Word.
3. Take positive action on what you
learn from God's Word.
As you experience the joy of living
out God's plan for your life, others will notice the difference. As you
share with them, they can experience God's wonderful plan for their lives,
too.
September 2002