Planning Without God – Dr. Charles Stanley

[Music] 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 [Music] four decades ago we started in touch ministries to lead people worldwide into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ throughout the years we've seen God's greatness his love and his blessings in such awesome ways that we just want everyone to know him so let's open God's Word and seek Him together 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 caught him to your knowledge and your understanding and 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 Kulish 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 we're in hell 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 the 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 they're 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 NORs at three sons he lived 350 years after the flood so these are the descendants there's a lots of them 330 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 it is you're saving your Lord all of our planning ought to take into consideration what does he think was 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 words were a dog 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 it 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're now interested in and he has methods 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 then 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 a 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 that your will is it your way and parents need to have the wisdom to say well I want you to go to college I want you to get an education I want you to do your best in life but you're asking us to go and debt and I don't think that's the will of God you need to think about some other place you can go then either you know 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 and lead you and 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 up to do so the absence of God limits the possibilities of what you do it's an indication of pride listen you know 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 God 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 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 a hurry we don't we don't somebody says well well 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 he 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 their life 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 than the ones you may choose much less than God would have for you because from your perspective you can't afford this or this that in the other and sometimes God's worked out something already in your behalf that you don't know about and he's waiting 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 telling you and I've lived long enough to know if you disobey God you pay the consequences and sometimes you just have to wait and I can I can tell you some other examples and a one was that I wrecked my car and 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 going to 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 ok 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 God knows this is absurd I didn't even think I said well if I just make a choice I had one like this which was the best three days later got a check in the mail to buy that car so I had all kinds of choices to do most anything except to 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 though 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 well what did I do wrong well is there a heaven oh how did I listen to what maybe did this likewise there's going to be conflict when you make a decision without asking for God's direction there's going to be conflict in your heart watch this because the Holy Spirit is going to give you an unnie the 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 all 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 in the Tower of Babel is a perfect example of planning without God here's what we're going to do so what did God do the scripture says he sent him confusion that's what God did he just alright you don't listen here's what I'm gonna do he put him in a state of confusion and what happened they had to separate it doesn't mean that every single person was in different language but all those hundreds and thousands of families that developed they separated different parts of the globe why because God forced them to do what he intended for them to do to begin with there's always confusion when you don't listen to God likewise there's gonna be lost 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 it could be physically it could 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 going to do it their way well God let him do it that away and there was deep regret likewise there's gonna be pain there lots of decisions we step ahead of God on that's that's pain sometimes it's physical pain but the worst kind of his emotional pains 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 Astra's disastrous financially emotionally you name it 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 yard then wait for him and so God confuse the whole thing and I think there are a lot of people living in confusion today and that in their life because they haven't listening to God back here it's 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 June repent of that things may not ever be like our life on to be but that I can start today doing what you want me to do and light it at 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 it 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 is 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 they couldn't speak the language that they could do things together and so what happened 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 is going on what's your plan what are you asking God to give you a plan you say well I don't think my life I don't know you go but no no that's not the question a god has a plan for every single one of us now the interesting thing is 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 sell that know whether I go this way and there was this a much should be my friend not nothing 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 husband you and your wife are your children are your parents do you ask God to give you a 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 us 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 you again and so about anything that if they're willing to confess their sinfulness surrender their life to you and you will begin at that moment they 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 guidance because you love us and we pray this in Jesus name Amen if you've been blessed by today's program please visit us at in touch dot o-r-g in touch leading people worldwide into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and strengthening the local church this program is sponsored by in touch ministries and is made possible by the grace of God and your faithful prayers and gifts

Channel: In Touch Ministries

Views: 175,684

Keywords: Charles F. Stanley, Charles Stanley, In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley, In Touch Ministries, Preaching, Bible teaching, Dr. Stanley, Intouch ministries, intouch

Id: lygGpZQdnJ0

Length: 27min 2sec (1622 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 20 2018