Ultimate Purpose #4: Where Am I Going?- (Doug Batchelor) AmazingFacts©

good evening and welcome to the ultimate purpose we're glad that you can join us tonight whether you're right here on the campus of southern or whether you're joining us at home we want to welcome you to the special event we've been having an incredible series and right now is our final series our final meeting and we're looking forward to hearing what pastor Doug has to say about us finding our ultimate purpose it's been an incredible series and you may be wondering who has put on this series well it's been put on by GYC southeast and so I'm going to invite our GYC team to come out from GYC southeast and to introduce to you the young people who have helped make this event happen so you can see don't they look good and some of them are still single so they're still available and we'd like them to introduce beginning with Eric if you'd like to introduce yourself and what your function is in the team yes my name is erik lora and i am the president of GRCC East my name is Tony Messer I am the VP of evangelism for GYC southeast and we have an outreach tomorrow at 1:30 in front of Wright hall and my name is Curtis Enya I'm the VP of communications for GYC southeast my name is Debra Reeves and I'm the treasurer for Gy CSE my name is April McNulty and I am the secretary my name is Tammy Gebo and I'm the VP of fundraising my name is Seth Schaeffer I am the VP of logistics and my name is Eric Chavez and VP of programming so sorry I forgot what I do all right on their great team and so we want to thank them for the hard work that they put in together with 3abn and amazing facts and we are so grateful that we've been able to have an event on this campus that has helped people to rethink what their purpose in life is so thank you to each one of the team up here and now as I said before GYC is not just an event a man we have so many ministries here and with me I have my friend Brielle and Brielle is part of the salt program and from talking to her and seeing the experiences that are going on she had a great testimony that I wanted her to show all right a couple weeks ago my outreach partner and i were going door-to-door and we met a young woman named Eliana and she was really distracted but by the end of our survey she said she was interested in Bible studies well we came back the next week and she wasn't there and we came back a couple of other times and she still wasn't there and in my doubting I was convinced that she was never going to want to have Bible studies with us but we kept praying and one day we came to the door and she's like yeah I still wanna have studies with you and so we came by she only had a few minutes but we opened the word with her and she was really touched by what we were showing her and what the Holy Spirit was showing her and she's like well I want to have more time with you guys let me tell you when my day off is so that we can spend more time in God's Word and I just walked away from that experience really convicted of God's power to move on the soul although me I may see things externally he is powerfully working on the hearts of people amen right again we have so many ministries here and I have Wildwood here to tell a little bit about their program and what they're doing and I mean I don't know if any of you know Wildwood is just right down the street from us about 20 or 30 minutes right 30 minutes 30 minutes okay right past Ted nuga right past Chattanooga so tell us a little bit about Wildwood my name is Jesse zuicker I'm definitely from Switzerland in the States but I'm really enjoying I really love American people praise the Lord and and I have the privilege of serving at the Wildwood College of Health evangelism as the director and we don't only have the college we have the hospital and the Lifestyle Centre and different other things but at the college we have over 70 students that are committed young people that want to get training to be missionaries for the rest of their lives and that's what we're looking for amen so and we have six-month programs but also for health evangelism but also we have longer programs from two years one and a half years and now a new three-year program lifestyle center management and also ministry management and the other one is lifestyle counselor program and the online school if you haven't heard of that the online medical missionary training program because actually we're told that all church members in the world are actually called to train as medical missionaries amen so now people don't have to go there actually you get the training right to your home so but on top of that we have here Christian here from Germany and he is one of our students he took the training in Norway the the basic training and now he's doing the advanced training the lifestyle counselor training and he's doing the manage the ministry management as well afterwards and Christian why did you come to Wildwood well as you said before Jesse every church member is called to be a medical missionary every son and daughter of God is called to be a medical missionary therefore I wasn't so hard for me to figure out what was God's will for my life I decided to give him everything for all that he has done for me as a gloried take me as holy dine and use me in your work and I want to be part of evangelizing the world and we can praise the Lord for having such a godly church leadership as a GC that now from top to down brings into motion the medical missionary work to go out and to evangelize the cities and I I just want to be part of that so Christian what are you gonna do when you're done with your training what I want to do is that the global mission that God has given to our church to go to the whole world and bring the gospel I want to do it for Europe I want to go back to Europe specifically to Germany or Austria Switzerland and go and start ministries start institutions institutions that will not only be able to go and evangelize a city but also be able to send it to train young people to do the same thing to spread out and to go to go into into other countries into their home countries and to start institutions again and to go and evangelize cities from city to city through preaching the three in this message to the right arm which is true met medical missionary work amen one more short question why do you right now you're in the health lifestyle counselor course what have you learned well the lifestyle counselor course what it teaches you is how to practically bring the gospel to the people not only to be able to to give a Bible study and to give a theological discourse on the sanctuary message or what everybody to truly go and minister to the basic needs of the people the straight religious approach fails in a secular world therefore we have been given by God you know this this this this this this right arm of the gospel to go and minister to the needs and we learn how to how to take care of people and this what we learn we can see the outcome of it with we can see that work practiced in our lifestyle center we have people going in there with a lot of lifestyle diseases like diabetes hypertension high cholesterol all of these things and they're going they're loaded with pills and prescriptions and all of that stuff some people even go in there in the wheelchair and within a short amount of time they go out as newborn women short them out of time like two weeks people go in a wheelchair that they walk out three miles every day they go in taking 20 pills and and how many shots a day and they go out reduce to one pill or even none and and that is to so it's a testimony to see that you I have never seen it anywhere else in the world this kind of healing power that God's appointed waves ways of healing have on the people amen thank you Christian amen right isn't it so exciting to see all these ministries happening right here in our backyard I urge you students and classmates take advantage of the opportunity you have now and get involved contact GYC contacts all contact Wildwood but do something now that you have the opportunity and it's in the reach of your hand amen thank you good evening everyone welcome to ultimate purpose now before we have our special musical item this evening I would just like to thank everybody involved in making this series of success I'd like to thank GYC for the part that they played in helping to orchestrate and organize this we want to thank the college the university for everything they've done to kind of help out as well and then amazing facts in 3b and this has been a partnership we've entered in together in providing the materials and of course the satellite broadcast and the crew and it's just a lot involved in putting together a series like this so while the special music is going to be given to us this evening we're going to be taking up an offering and the offering is gonna go towards helping to cover expenses are we gonna divide the offering up between amazing facts and 3abn and for those of you who are watching if you also like to help cover some of the expenses of this event you can go to the 3abn website and you can make a donation there or amazing facts just 3abn or amazing facts and we appreciate all the help that you can give well may God richly bless us as we finish up the series by looking at what God's will is for us at this time we will have our musical item Oh good evening everyone again and welcome to the ultimate purpose this is a four part series where we've been looking at what the Bible has to say about life's most important questions again I'd like to welcome a local audience here on the campus of southern avenues University and also those of you who are watching on satellite across the country and around the world thank you for joining us now even though this is the final program in the series your study of God's Word doesn't have to end go to the amazing facts website it's just WWE amazing facts co RG and click on the link that says ultimate purpose you'll be able to download previous programs if you've missed any so far you'll be able to watch it right online and you'll also be able to find out about a book that goes along with the series it's a companion book it's entitled dare to follow and it's written just for this event so if you go to the amazing facts website you can ask for the book dare to follow and we'll be happy to send that out to you I believe you can also call the number that'll be up on your screen and you can ask for the book dare to follow and we'll be happy to send that to you also be sure to take a look at some of the other resources that are available at the amazing facts website it's our newly designed website click on the link that says resources there is video archives also audio archives and just a lot of study material all that you'll need will be right there on the website now our presentation this evening is an important one we're asking the question what is God's will no no no I know a number of you here on the campus is asking that very thing what does God want me to do with my life well before the program our crew there in Sacramento took cameras out into the street and they just asked a potpourri of different individuals how do you know God's will and this is the responses that we got I get the direction of my life from my family and the people around me and inner drive what I do is I just kind of pray I pray every single night I pray throughout the day and I just figure out you know I'll feel God talk to me sometimes you know and tell me hey you're messing up here you're doing right you know just keep doing your thing funny thing is you don't usually figure it out kind of just happens and you follow along with it or try not to follow along with it I get my purpose and direction from theater and performing on stage I know God's will and purpose in my life because I know that he he's done so much for me already just um by dying on the cross at this time I'd like to invite pastor Doug Batchelor to come join me on stage and we're gonna take a few moments to look at some of the questions that have come in good evening pastor Doug hi how you doing I'm doing well are we ready for the questions how is everybody alright well we'll begin by taking a look at one of the text questions that have come in and the question is does it matter what church we belong to if it teaches the love of Jesus well we would hope that every church and I think someone might be wondering about denomination that they all talk about the love of Jesus but there's a lot more in the Bible than that simple principle if we really love Jesus he said if you love me obey me and I think that the particular zuv truth matter to God we learned our first presentation that with Jesus the truth is a priority since Jesus is the truth to whatever extent we reject truth any particular of truth theoretically we are rejecting a part of Jesus and so truth should be very precious and so I think it does matter you know the devil is trying to camouflage the true Church of God through all the counterfeits and confusion that you see in the world today I think we all know that you know if they're five hundred denominations just in North America that all claim to be Christian and they believe in some cases wildly different things they can't all be true and so I think it does matter you want to follow the Lord and be part of a church that is a Bible based Christ exalting Church you know pastor Doug let me just mention this we have a study guide that's on the amazing facts website called you were gonna say it it's called the Bride of Christ and you can read it online you just go to the amazing facts website click on free resources and you can read the study guide saying the Bride of Christ we also have a book called the search for the true church and it's also available for you to read at the free library let's take a look at our next text question that's coming if God knows the future why did he create Lucifer well we touched on that a little bit in our prior presentation and I'm sure it was a painful thing for the Lord even as he made Lucifer because he knew that he made him perfect he made him with every opportunity to be a great being and keep in mind if flu sufferer was the head of the Angels how long has God had his ministering spirits angels are very old I mean here you've got Gabriel appeared to Daniel 500 years later Gabriel appears to Mary and it doesn't look like he's aged a bit Lucifer may have existed for a billion years before he just began to fall in love with himself and replace the love of God with self-love he did it to show to demonstrate that he really does make all of his creatures free now be careful very important truth just because God knows what is going to happen because he knows everything we all agree does the Lord know whether or not you're gonna be saved does he does that mean he's making the choice for you your choice is just as real for you as it ever has been even though he knows the future Lucifer had that same freedom we're all free the Lord knew what he would do but because he's a God of love you know someday you may break down and decide to have children and I can tell you right now you're not going to get any kind of written guarantee from the hospital that they're always gonna be good kids did you know that I don't know how to break this to you but there's no insurance you can buy that will guarantee those kids are always going to be complacent and loving and obedient you don't know but I bet some of you are gonna take that risk and God love takes risks did you know that you risk being hurt when you love and God created all his creatures free hoping for their love but there's always a risk our next question is a video question how can we know for sure that we're gonna make it to heaven well I think that Christians should have an element of assurance in first John he talks about having the assurance that we know him and that he's in us but at the same time I think we don't want that assurance to be boasting as though we've lost our freedom to choose what you can count on is that God will never let go of you and as long as you come to him and you surrender your life to him you can have a confidence that he that has begun a good work in you will perform it until that day that Jesus is the author and the finisher of our faith now I'm an author there's a whole lot of books I've started that haven't been finished matter of fact I've got a lot of books that they're really nothing more than a great title I thought it's a great title for a book that's as far as it got but God is not that kind of author he is the author and the finisher of our faith and if you continue to surrender your life to Him he will unfold his will for your life and you can have a confidence that he will finish and that you can trust him that he will transform you as you daily surrender to him into the image of his son and you'll be in that Kingdom otherwise Christians you'd always be going around kind of gloomy and worried he wants us to have joy right how else can you have the joy of the Lord unless you have some assurance that he's gonna finish what he started in your life a next question is another text question that has come in can God have more than one will for my life well you know sometimes there is option a but maybe you missed the turn on option a and then you've got to take the next exit pastor Rock I'll tell you why I'm laughing pastor Ross and I were driving back from 3abn one time we did some taping we ran into a snowstorm that I mean there was no traffic on the road and except we had come to 3abn from two different cities so we had two different rental cars just because he was coming from one appointment I was coming from another and so I'm following him to the airport it's like two hours on a good day and here it's just you know terrible snowstorm you remember that it was a controlled slide for four hours and I got this two-wheel drive rental car trucks were jackknifed off the road and so I'm going down I'm just studying every little curve you're just following the ruts on this freeway and the snows just coming down a pile so I just wanted to get to the airport we were gonna be stuck and I looked up and the road that turned off the st. Louis I missed it but because I was stuck in these ruts and he made the return I missed it I had to go for like eight miles up the road before I could find a pair of ruts to follow off and turn around and come back again I finally made it to st. Louis and I don't know how I think I beat you cuz you didn't step in the city I turned off somewhere else in the wrong exit be well but we finally got there so you got will a and we'll be little more to the story this was so incredible I stopped on the bridge on Interstate 70 that crosses the Missouri River into st. Louis there was nobody on the bridge I actually parked my car got out walked around I thought this will never happen again so anyway but you know we made it praise the Lord here we are but we both missed their turns at some point along the way you may have missed some turns but you know when you come to the Lord wherever you're at he will then activate his best will for you from that point on amen here's our next text question that's come in what can we do to desire God more well if you put a little salt in front of a horse he licks it and it increases his thirst you've heard the expression you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink but do you make him thirsty and Jesus said blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness I think you can ask the Lord to increase your hunger and to increase your thirst I've prayed many times Lord help me love you more help me be more willing to do your will I mean sometimes let's face it you know what God's will is and you don't want to do it come on right we know what God's commands are most of the time mark twain said it's not all the mysteries in the bible that caused me sleepless nights it's the good that i do understand and so usually our problem is not that we don't know but we do know we have to just pray lord help me be willing to do your will you can also pray lord please increase my desire for you i'm so distracted with the things give me a thirst for you you know sometimes you know why a lot of asian people like rice because they eat rice forgive me if that was a generalization but i've been all through asia and it's true it's cuz they eat rice you develop an appetite for what you do and if you read the word the first few times you may not have as much an appetite but the more you do it the more you'll develop a taste for it and your hunger for it will increase you know what I'm saying alright our next question is a video question a large group of Christian youth leave the church when they get older how can we keep those youth in the church wow that's true that's part of the reason we're doing these meetings is because you know my heart breaks that statistically and this is across the board with every Christian denomination seventy-five percent of young people that are raised in Christian homes they wander from the church at least temporarily between the ages of 17 and 25 75 percent that means they stop attending many come back many don't and it is a real concern breaks my heart and you know to answer you in a very reckless way and say oh here's you just do this and this I think it's several things that contribute to that some of its gonna have to do with the influence in their home from their parents parents need to do their best to represent Christ but even in good homes and very few homes I've met are perfect then there's the influence they might have when they get out and make friends in schools could be under the influence of teachers it's the culture just there's you know the movies and the trends and the internet just all the the blizzard of information coming into the minds of young people I mean you can never get away from it I see you guys walking around because constantly you know you got the whole cosmos of information on your smartphone and if it's not that you're texting each other while you're driving but what's gonna make a difference I think that we need to pray for a revival I think that God's Spirit is going to have to come down and do something extraordinary marry it may take a crisis it may take a crisis to get us to pray til we get a revival and that will mobilize a young army to change the world but we're doing everything we can do and that's why we're here alright our next question is another text question pastor that we're trying to get to as many of these questions you can as evening the question is is it safer to pray quietly since Satan cannot read our thoughts well you can of course pray in your heart and God and God only can understand what you're thinking in your heart sometimes we can get impressions from each other but there's nothing wrong with praying out loud when Jesus said do not be as the hypocrites and pray out loud in the market street corners so that they can be seen of man to be praised of men Jesus was not condemning praying out loud their scores and scores of examples of God's people praying out loud in the Bible so there's nothing wrong with that the reason that you've got the prayers of Jesus in John 17 in other places is because he must have prayed out loud so somebody wrote it down I think the devil trembles when we pray out loud don't do it to be what's the word for it you know don't do it just to be an exhibit or to be demonstrative when you pray out loud do it as you're talking to a friend but it's also okay to pray in your hearts don't worry about the devil eavesdropping on your prayers it makes it terrifies him to hear you talk to the Lord matter of fact when you do pray out loud then when God answers your prayer your prayer is recorded for everybody including the devil and his minions to hear you know what I'm saying so you don't have anything to be afraid of you know pastor day the next question we have is one that we've we've gotten quite a bit and usually we get this question at the beginning of the year when people start reading through their Bibles and they reading in Genesis and they come to a particular verse and now let's read the text question you'll understand it here the question is are the sons of God who married the daughters of men in Genesis chapter 6 verse 2 angels yeah this is this is a verse it's trouble a lot of people have tells us in Genesis the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were beautiful and took wives for themselves of all whom they chose there are even some paraphrased Bibles that say aliens married humans and others say fallen angels married humans and that they had these extraordinary children that were giants and has nothing to do with that it's very simple after Cain killed his brother and left Adam and Eve had another boy named Seth he followed the Lord Adam and Eve and Seth and that part of the family were true to God Cain took his wife his sister and they went and they started a clan the descendants of Cain they were called the sons of men they were not the children of God when you look at the genealogy of Adam in Luke it goes who was the son of eNOS who was the son of Seth who was the son of God Adam was that son of God and Seth and those that remain separate and shew to the Lord they were called the sons of God and as long as they remain distinct and they didn't intermingle with Cain and his family that had cast off the Lord they were devoted they were true but Cain had some really pretty daughters and when the sons of Seth saw the daughters of Cain that they were fair they intermarried and yes they had some strong mighty children that's called genetic vitality it's very observable in the world today has nothing to do with aliens or Devils marrying humans by the way the Bible says in first John chapter 3 behold what manner of love the father has bestowed on us that we should be called sons of God so you and I are sons and daughters of God that's all that were the same we got a book talking about the sons of God it's called the sons of God and you can read it online at the amazing facts website again just amazing facts dot o-r-g I think a final question for this program is a video question we'll take a look at that bastard ugh the question that I have is as a young person how can we study the Bible in a way that's gonna make a difference in our lives how do we study the Bible so that it's gonna really have an impact on our life well one thing when you approach the Bible it's not something to just read it's something that you should look into recognizing this is a message from God Jesus said the words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life this is not just black ink on white paper or whether you're they're not just digital pixels on a computer screen there is something supernatural about the Word of God that transforms us keep in mind everything you see around you came into existence through the Word of God and I understand now they're believing that everything in the universe began with vibrations they call it string theory and I think that's interesting they think it was sound that brought the universe into existence that's what the Bible says in the beginning God said and so here there's creative power in God's Word a leper came to Jesus one time and said Lord if you're willing you can make me clean and Jesus said I am willing be clean and when Jesus said be clean something miraculous happened so when you read the Bible do it with trembling these are the words of God start getting the overview of the story and then you can study it by subject you can study it by book it's you know what I recommend and this isn't a commercial I really believe it amazing facts has a couple of really good Bible study series are free you can do them online you can order them one is our historic amazing facts Bible study guide series goes through 27 study guides and it's just it really gets you grounded in the word and then we developed another series it takes the Bible stories to teach the themes of the gospel and they're called the storica --ls historical Bible study lessons go through one of those with your Bible and it'll richly bless you well I think that's it for our questions for this evening just to reminder we do have our pan Yin book called dare to follow go to the amazing facts website you can learn how you can get your own book I invite you to stand as we sing our theme song higher ground dear loving Lord we have gathered to better understand and recognize your ultimate purpose for our lives please be present in this meeting tonight we pray that your spirit will speak to every heart both those here those who may be watching and help us to live on that higher ground we pray in Jesus name Amen you may be seated good evening thank you for coming again when a welcome those who may be watching to the ultimate purpose series and we're just dedicating this time to talking about the priorities of life seeking first God's kingdom and his righteousness understanding his perfect will for us now we talked a little bit about what is truth we talked about where we came from we've talked about today understanding God's plan for us and well actually tonight we're talking about the will of God and we found out where evil came from earlier today and I'd like to sow our lesson really is dealing with a subject of where am I going knowing what the will of God is for our lives we thought that would be appropriate because here we are talking to university and college students and you are at the crossroad of your lives we have one of the bachelor boys who's in college right now and he's just faced with a myriad of major decisions and you have to do a lot of praying because just like missing an exit you can make the wrong choice and drive a long way on that detour and so you want to make the right decisions how do you know what God's will is for you I told you there's no greater treasure than truth and there's no greater tragedy than a wasted life and I begin each program kind of talking about a little quote I want you to think about this one simply says the will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you if you have surrendered and resigned yourself to doing the will of God you don't have to fear because his will will never lead you wear His grace will not keep and sustain you you know I'd like to begin by going to a story in the Bible it's found in the first book of Kings if you have your Bibles I know Lighting's not the greatest out there for reading but first Kings chapter 19 and it tells a story Oh will will read at verse 8 Elijah just had this incredible experience on Mount Carmel where he has a showdown with the prophets of Bale and he prays and fire comes down from heaven and he prays again and rain comes pouring down after years of famine and he must have had a long day in a low blood sugar because before the day was over Queen Jezebel threatened him and he spooked after God had done all this to deliver him from 800 prophets of Bale as 400 prophets of the Grove and 850 prophets of Asherah then it says that he got scared by the intimidation of this one woman's threats and he got up and he ran and he ends up an angel meets him along the way and gives him some encouragement and he runs all the way to Mount Sinai and that's where we take up our story he's on Mount Sinai verse 9 and there he went into a cave I like this story it's self-evident why and he spent the night in that place and behold the word of the Lord came to him and said to him what are you doing here Elisha he ever have the Lord kind of nudge you through the Holy Spirit and say who told you to go there what are you doing here Elisha so he began to remonstrate with the Lord so I've been very zealous for the Lord of Hosts for the children of Israel and forsaken your comet torn down your altars and and he goes on and on and God says verse 11 go out and stand on the mountain before the Lord and behold the Lord passed by and a great strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks that would be pretty terrifying sounds like our hurricane went through tornado tore rocks and pieces before the Lord but the Lord was not in the hurricane there the Lord was not in the wind after that the wind there was an earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake and after the earthquake a fire but the Lord was not in the fire boy I'd hate to go through an earthquake a mighty wind and a fire without the Lord that'd be frightening to know that you're not where God wants you to be and all those climatic traumatic things are happening around you and then after all that it says so it was when Elijah heard it he verse 12 after the earthquake a fire but the Lord was not in the fire after the fire notice a still small voice so when Elijah heard that he wrapped his face in the mantle and went and stood at the entrance of the cave and suddenly the voice came to him and it said what are you doing here Elijah basically he's saying I never told you to go here you're not in my well right now you've listened to me this far I've never failed you why did you run off it's a frightening thing to suddenly discover you're not where you're supposed to be when things are falling apart maybe you've read the story in the Bible where King Ahab gets caught up in a battle and he has gotten into an alliance I'm sorry King Jehoshaphat gets into an alliance with King Ahab and he nearly gets killed in the battle and he had to pray to the Lord and say Lord save me nearly died and then God later said to him what are you doing why are you so far away and then again you've got the story in the Bible where you've got a prophet he said go make this prophecy in Judah then leave don't stop don't rest don't eat don't drink in the place but that prophet got tired and hungry and he took a detour and God said to him what are you doing here before the day was over he was out of God's will a lion got him you don't want to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and be out of God's will somebody said one time matter of fact I think it's in the book called the hiding place by Corrie ten Boom the safest place in the world to be is in the middle of God's will a few years ago when one of our boys surprised us by saying he was joining the Marines during the Iraq war and people said aren't you worried and I said no I'm not worried about the war said if he's in God's hands he is safer on a battlefield than anywhere because we had another boy who lost his life in his front yard and so I just know that you you got to be watched out for by the Lord and you'd never know how long your life's gonna last I think it was George Whitfield he said I am immortal until my work is done if you're a Christian and you know that you're in God's will I like that I am immortal until my work is done if you're in God's will there is nothing that the devil and all of his powers can do to harm you God will vacate heaven of all its angels to come to your aid before anything can touch you that it's not part of God's will if you have surrendered to the Lord you don't have to be afraid so how do you know what God's will is well you know it's wonderful if you can hear the Lord speak to you in that still small voice have you ever heard that still small voice I mean how did Abraham know when God was telling him take your son your only son bring him to the mountains I mean he could have said I think I'm getting static is that you Lord but he knew the voice of God Karen calls me and we've spent so much time together and talked that the sooner she picks up the phone says hi oh that's it one word two letters I know who it is and a lot of times we can ride along and just kind of use half sentences and our conversations and I know what she's saying that she's knows what I'm saying because you spend time with a person and you kind of understand where they're coming from you know pastor awesome they are good friends you may have picked that up we spent a lot we have fun together we work together we do these meetings together we play racquetball together we're together every Sunday night with a radio program and it's kind of eerie we can kind of tell which each other is thinking matter of fact it is so eerie I can actually tell what Pastor Ross is thinking I close my eyes and kind of just tell what he's thinking I know you find that hard to believe but I'm gonna demonstrate that for you pastor Ross where you go yeah come on out here and and let's just illustrate I know it's going to a little embarrassing now maybe the way that we should do this is if if I close my eyes or I blindfold myself and I turn away and I can't see anything he's doing and he holds up hands or gives me a scripture or whatever it is you'd think all that was all pre-arranged but maybe if we have a volunteer from the audience and they pick the scripture tell me to lift it a number of fingers or anything like that I'll tell you what it is just because if Pastor Ross looks at what they're saying and he thinks hard enough I'll be able to pick it up and it's just amazing that we're disconnected so I think we got a volunteer that's come on okay all right passed it out what we're gonna be doing is first of all we gonna be checking to make sure that you're not going to be able to see anything all right better no we're not volunteer makes makes his way up here here he comes that's a real blindfold there's no the real blindfolded all right it's what's your name Daniel Daniel all right Daniel great well here's what we're gonna do first I need you to put the song and make sure that you can't see through that would you do that for us all right let's see all right there it is can you see anything all right so it's you just can't this you can't see anything okay very good now you can take it off go ahead and take that off and I'm gonna give this to pastor Doug and he's gonna put that on and then while he puts that on what I'm gonna ask you to do is I need you to write down a Bible verse I can see you can't see anything write down a Bible verse rot it down nice and big stage rot it down nice and big so that the audience can see it but don't say it don't say what it is all right you just give give a chapter and a book nice and big on here do it so the audience can see you all right well hopefully that's big enough for everybody to see do it one more time Yeah right nice and big okay I think that'll work all right so there it is can you all see what that is No all right don't say it now don't read it up you didn't give that pass that I did you know all right okay there it is all right now what we gonna do is I am going to send this Bible verse / - pass the Doug without saying anything now it's gonna take just a little bit of effort on my phone are you ready over there pastor day okay he can't see anything so let me just kind of think it through wait a minute wait a minute and then I'm gonna hit the send button team all right it's gone Philippians 3:14 Dec close that's pretty good man it works all right well great well this is only for the it sure okay that the up we're calling of God in Christ I'm sorry all right what we gonna do next is Daniel I'm gonna have you show the audience raise your hand or step on one foot or show us hold up a certain number of fingers don't say anything and I'm gonna try that again I'll see if I can send to pass the Doug show or tell passed it out what's happening here go ahead and do something I'll keep doing that keep doing that it's gonna take just a minute I've got to think about this all right okay all right did he already do it why he's fast all right did he hold up nine fingers I thought you were holding up nine fingers it was ten oh that's my fault then I list a Miss that I'm sorry or one more one more fingers one more time all right last one do one more thing for us here doesn't have to be too complicated Wow all right there it is okay let me think all right one more time do that again do they now hold it there hold it there stretch it out all right I think I got it hey God all right there it is all right bastard ugh we're done you know John I you just weren't coming through as clear as you used to you know I think it's the the interference of old electronic equipment up here maybe so many new other friends say what alright I wonder if you've seen other pastors or something let me take that you got it let me show you what thank you you probably figured this out there's a little earpiece wow I can hear finally the reason I demonstrated this for you is because I used to think if I could have the Lord speak to me like I do when I do my teleprompter you've seen that when they do TV that people read a teleprompter I don't do that because it just to me it looks you're going like this you know on your eyes are darting back and forth so years ago we got this little earpiece I've got an antenna around my neck right now and I will read any script that I've got to do because if you do a long script it's hard to remember I'll read it then I'll stick this in my ear and then I play it back to myself while I'm talking to the camera and I can close my eyes I can look around it's wonderful you feel a little schizophrenic because you hear yourself parrot everything you say but I've put this in before and I thought Lord could I get your frequency and why don't you like to have something like this where that still small voice would talk to you and tell you everything God wants you to do go here don't go there do this don't do that say this don't say that wouldn't you like to have God reveal his will that way it's not going to happen that way not in this life but there are things that you can do to know what God's will is and that's what we're gonna look at in our time that remains very quickly I'm gonna give you about 14 points 14 points on how do you know God's will so are you ready and some of you might want to take some notes of this real quick first of all how important is it to do God's will even in the Lord's Prayer we pray thy will be done it is crucial in our salvation to know the will of God and to do the will of God I think it was David Livingstone that said I'd rather be in the heart of Africa in the will of God then on the throne of England outside of his will and he lived that out so how do you know God's will for your life how do you discover that well there are several things you can do the Lord is first of all not willing that any of us should perish God wants everybody to be saved amen not everything that happens in life is God's will there's a lot of things that go on that wasn't part of God's original plan now you might be wondering what about can I flip a coin define God's will or cast lots I don't think God wants you to make big decisions by flipping a coin you may get down to where there's only a couple of good choices left I mean after you've ruled out everything else and you've got two good options and you've got to make a decision and you don't know which way to go this is not an illustration friends this is real no that's this is not a disco Jackie I think there's a short circuit somewhere probably my earpiece did it you know this reminds me of when I used to go skating as a kid all right well we'll hope that they'll work that out you all believe in prayer I trust all right so we don't need to flip coins I have a friend that he was trying to find out God's will by flipping coins and he accidentally flipped a coin it was something important he shouldn't have done it that way and the coin rolled across the floor went up against the wall and stayed upright never he went over and it's like God is saying don't do that I'm not going to tell you that way well now now I'm gonna have to just do this from memory as well as I can don't use dreams and visions well you know I'm almost never speechless but as long as we haven't lost audio I guess people watching on TV can pretend it's radio oh there we go don't touch anything don't move don't breathe all right you know Bible tells us don't base everything on dreams pleasee a C's chapter 5 verse 3 for a dream comes through the multitude of business you think this is the best thing that's happened so far don't you because you know this is not staged okay well Lord I'll just trust this is your will quite yet you know a lot of things can contribute to your dreams not every dream you have and you know I never know exactly how to act when somebody comes to me and this is pastor Doug I've had a dream I'd like to tell you and people start sharing some very interesting things with me that I you know I don't have a gift of Joseph I don't know how to tell people what their dreams are a dream can come through the multitude of business and a dream can come through the multitude of Pizza and so you don't want to base your decisions on dreams if God gives you a supernatural dream you're gonna know that there's something different about that all right so here's the point those were actually just a couple of preliminary points I wanted to touch on number one and you know what if the program ends and you only get point number one you're 90% there point number one in knowing God's will be willing to do God's will if you're willing to do whatever the Lord tells you to do then it becomes his responsibility to make his will known and he will reveal he'll reveal his will to you wonderful things will happen John 7 verse 17 if anyone wants to do his will he will know concerning the doctrine whether it is from God or whether I speak on my own authority pray and ask God to give you a pliable heart and a willingness to do his will Isaiah 45 verse 9 does the Potters say to the clay Lord I want you to do this or why did you do that a lot of you might question God's leading in your life you surrender your heart to him be willing to do his will and then he will work things together for good that promise in Romans that all things work together for good isn't necessarily for everybody it says for those that love God that are hauled according to his purpose point number two when it comes to understanding the will of God consult the Word of God what does God's words say about it you know right there and those two points look for the revealed will of God and if you're willing to do his will find out what the Bible says now I don't recommend you read the Bible like you're witching for water yeah you know some people will say how Lord I'm just not sure what to do and they keep opening their Bible and putting their finger down open the Bible put their finger down it's like that fella who said you know Lord what do you want me to do and he open his Bible he put his finger down it said go hang yourself right you just went out and hung himself you know and then he flipped his Bible somewhere else and they put his finger down and said go down and do likewise and so you can come up with some strange things you can almost make the Bible say anything now that doesn't mean God has never used that I actually know of somebody their daughter told me this story this lady was praying about Marian and evangelist why she was a young woman and she really thought this is a big life decision and she tried to get all the criteria and all the council and do everything else she could think of finally in desperation she prayed and she put her Bible down and she opened it up and she pointed to that verse in the Bible where God said to Rebekah if he calls they go with him and she thought wow she married I've had a happy marriage but I don't recommend you study your Bible that way because who knows what's your where you're gonna plant your finger so find out what the Word of God says now first of all in the law of God you've got a great demonstration of the Word of God Psalm 40 verse 8 I delight to do your Will O God yes your law is within my heart the law of God is the most perfect expression of the will of God and so if you say Lord what is your will you know the will of God 101 is called the 10 commandments right Ten Commandments it's not his will that you commit adultery it's not his will that you killed it's not his will that you lie and so say Lord I am willing to do your will beginning with the basics and say help me to obey you every now and then I'll run into somebody and they'll say well pastor Doug you know I I've really been praying and I just think that I'm supposed to leave my wife and and be with this other person and I'm gonna you don't need to pray about that and so where do you get the idea that that's God's will well I've got this really good feeling and I've been seeking God's will I've been talking to people and we just wanted to fit for each other you'd be surprised how many times as a pastor I he'll I hear people come to me and they sort of manipulate circumstances to justify something that the 10 commandments say is wrong and if it's in the Ten Commandments you don't have to pray about Lord what is your will about whether or not I should shoplift today you don't need to pray about that so don't expect him to give you some supernatural message about his will if he's given you his will and something as basic as his law remember proverbs 14:12 there is a way that seems right to a man but the end thereof is the way of death that was number two number three be faithful to his revealed will there are things that he's already shown you in other words I'm not just talking about the Ten Commandments now has God been guiding you other times in your life if you are following what he has been sharing with you up to that point then he'll show you more why would God want to reveal more of his will to you if you're not following the steps that he's already giving you progressively all that does is make you more culpable for denying the extra knowledge that he's given you you know what I'm saying I've had people come to evangelistic meetings I've conducted and I said well how are you enjoying things well I'm not sure is making sense yeah that's the problem it is making sense but you're talking about stuff I just don't want to do but I know it's true and I wish I never came because now I'm responsible and I'm miserable until I surrender and so I tell him I pray that God will give him the strength to surrender and do his will and that they will continue being miserable until they do you don't want to be happy going the wrong way do you God loves you too much trust in the Lord proverbs 3:5 you know this and this is a great one trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge him in other words in the ways that you are going now acknowledge God and he will direct your paths God will promise to direct your paths if your acknowledging him in your other ways someone said one time you asked what is the will of God well here's the answer true the nearest thing that should be done that he can do through you know someone one time said Francis of Assissi was out pulling his Peas one day in his garden and one of the young believers became very excited about the second coming and so he he went to st. Francis and he said the Lord's coming why are you wasting your time out here holy peas you should be getting ready for the second coming he said I am getting ready for the second coming he said well what if you knew that the Lord was coming tonight what would you do said I finished hoeing my Peas and so that's something we should do be faithful to do what lies nearest you with all of your heart with all of your might point number four and knowing the will of God obtain Christian counsel says proverbs 11 verse 14 where there is no counsel the people fail but in the multitude of counselors there is safety now when you pick people that you're gonna get counsel from look at their lives in their example I mean you have me have some very sincere Christian friends but sometimes their lives are a constant train wreck and you have to ask yourself if they're the best person to get counsel from hey you want to get counsel from people that look like they've had some success in their relationship with the Lord and they've got things together and you will be influenced by your friends pick your friends very carefully because you end up becoming like them first Corinthians 15:33 do not be deceived evil company corrupts good habit and again Psalm 73 verse 24 you will guide me with your counsel and afterward receive me to glory so get a multitude of counsel it doesn't say just one counselor and factor that in with the other things that we're talking about and that's very important you know REO boom when he became King had to make a very important decision regarding the will of God people came to him with a proposition at first he listened to Solomon's counselors now Solomon had a pretty good track record for success he had a pretty good track record for being very smart but then he went to his buddies who were you know some of the kids he grew up with in the palace that may have been a little bit spoiled and and they gave him some really bad counsel the reason I'm saying that is there is wisdom in getting counsel from elders you learn something when you've lived a while and you've been around the block a few times and so trust in your elders Rhea Boehm listened to the counsel of his young friends and he rejected the counsel of Solomon's elders and he lost a lot of the kingdom because of that look for Providence point number five I see some of you taking notes and that's good look for providential leading from God you know I love this story in the Bible of Ruth and how she comes back with Naomi and they're destitute and they don't know what to do and they're gleaning in the fields there's only one person in all of Bethlehem that's capable of redeeming their family and lo and behold she by chance happens upon the field of Boaz was the only one who's capable to redeem their family and she's gleaning in that field and I say by chance sarcastically because with God there are no chances really God if you surrender your life to the Lord then he directs and doesn't mean that you're supposed to go there to the drugstore and agonize in prayer about whether or not you're gonna buy crest or Colgate you know what I mean I know I think you could pray about that I suppose if you really thought it's a big decision but God just wants you to use your judgment and some of the things but there are weightier matters that we should pray for his guidance and his will on Providence sometimes tells you not to do something but God will allow you to push your way through shortly after I became a Christian I wasn't a very dedicated Christian came down out of the mountains I used to still drink alcohol and I was panhandling begging for money and I told myself if I get enough money for beer it must be God's will for me to drink and sure enough after a while you work at anything hard enough you'll get enough and that doesn't always mean it's God's will Balaam he went down the wrong road he wanted to get the reward that was being offered by the king of Moab and even half an angel God said don't go and then an angel blocked his path and even his donkey knew better God was trying to save him through Providence he still bulldozed his way through and before his story is over he dies as a result of pushing for his will instead of recognizing God's providence that was telling him don't go there don't do this don't go there we all know stories that we could probably rehearse the people who had several warnings providentially not to do something and when they don't listen things don't end well and at the same time we've probably seen where God opened doors and we listened to the open doors of the Lord and it ends up being a great blessing I don't have time to tell you all the different antidotes the stories I've got about that pray now you knew that was on the list somewhere but that's very important when you want to know God's will pray it may not mean praying one time it might mean continuing in prayer it might even mean fasting and praying to know God's will in first of all it says here in 1st John 5 verse 14 now this is the confidence that we have in him that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us and we know that if he hears us whatever we ask we know that we have the petitions we ask of him John 15:15 Jesus said I'd no longer call you servants because a servant does not know what is mad he does not know his master's business instead I have called you friends for everything that I've learned from my frog father I've made known to you God reveals his will to his friends perhaps you remember in the story before the Lord was gonna go visit Sodom and Gomorrah with judgment he stopped on the way and visited with Abraham he said you're my friend I'm not gonna hide from you what I'm doing gave Abraham an opportunity to intercede for his nephew a lot God is your friend talk to him and ask him for guidance do you think God wants you to know his will let me ask you show me your hands you think God wants you to know his will but does he want you to seek it he does what could be more important than the will of God Bible says in 1st John chapter 2 verse 15 to 17 love not the world neither the things that are in the world for If any man loves the world the love of the father is not in them for all that's in the world lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father but the world notice and the world is passing away in the lusts thereof but he that does the will of God will last forever do you want to live forever is his will worth looking for if the ones that do the will of God lasts forever and you may have taken a detour but don't be discouraged pray sometimes I guess this would be six be a subcategory fast and pray let's face it some issues are bigger than others one time a man came to Jesus with a son that was in very serious condition the disciples tried to cast out this devil and they couldn't and Jesus said this kind doesn't come forth except by prayer and fasting Mark chapter 9 there are some very serious issues when the king of Persia made a law that all the Israelites were going to be annihilated Mordecai and Esther said let's they'll have the whole nation fast and pray for three days no food or water that's a serious fast man you don't drink that's about as serious as it gets when Paul realized he had been killing Christians and Jesus said why do you persecute me he didn't need or a drink for three days I'm not recommending that kind of fast and there's a whole different message I've got on fasting there's different ways you can fast but fast and pray over some of these important issues and God answers those prayers let's go to point number seven believe have faith if you're asking God for direction then trust that he's going to give you direction if you're doing these other things and you're Willy you're really willing for him to lead you then it's just a question of trusting him and waiting have faith in God proverbs 3 verse 5 and 6 while I already read that trust in the Lord with all of your heart number 8 do the safe thing now what do I mean by that you know sometimes you've got to make a decision and you're getting ready to do something and there it the consequences of the wrong decision could be disastrous maybe you should choose the safer course sometimes I've I've been up like this getting ready to talk and say something and I have heard a little voice that said should I say that I don't know if I should say that or not and then I'll hear that voice of prudence that'll say do the same thing don't say it and sometimes when I'm in church and I'm preaching my wife's often in the congregation I'm thinking I'll say out loud you know I I'm thinking I should say something carols they don't say it during that have you been talking to people before and you're thinking about saying something and you wondered if it'll hurt them do the safe thing and so if there's no reason to take a risk then make the wise decision it doesn't mean Christians never take risks but look for the course that's gonna be the safe thing to do when you're looking in the mirror and you're getting ready to go out and you're dressing and you're thinking I wonder if this dress is a little too short get the other dress do the safe thing number nine whatever you're doing do it to the glory of God the Bible says whatever you eat whatever you drink do all to the glory of God when you're praying about and a very important decision ask yourself how is this decision going to influence God's will for my life how is this decision going to influence will it expand his kingdom will it bring other people to him and I think that's a very important principle Matthew 6:33 seek first the kingdom of God in His righteousness and all these things will be added to you you ultimately want to pray that God is going to do or that you're gonna make a decision that will bring souls into his kingdom that will bring glory to God you know I've often had to grapple with decisions before and that's all I could finally come down to what is gonna bring the greatest glory to God by this decision number 10 how will this decision affect others Romans 7:14 7 none of us who lives unto himself and no one dies to himself you know all of us affect each other and your decisions affect each other when God said to Jonah Jonah I want you to rise and go to Nineveh and talk to him there plead with him God told him to get up and to go east but he said I don't want to do the will of God and he got up and he went west now here's Exhibit A if somebody that did not do the will of God how're things going for Jonah well at first everything looked great he went down there to the shipyard and lo and behold the weather was good must be God's will that I go the wrong direction got good weather and if there's a ship going the wrong way then that must be an indicator that God's just gonna change his will for me and I can go the wrong way sure enough there was a ship and then he thinks to himself well if there's any room on the ship then it must be God's will for me to go the wrong way sure enough they had an empty bunk and then he thinks well maybe I don't have enough for the fair if I've got enough to pay for the passage then it must be God's will for me to go the wrong way what do you know he had just the right amount so finally Jonah paid the fare went into the ship found his bunk and he was so relaxed and running from God he was sleeping like a baby on his way to destruction you know just because the boat is not rocking right away doesn't mean you're necessarily in God's will God is a loving God remember Jesus said I send the sunshine on the just and on the unjust but while Jonah was running from the will of God then a storm came supernatural storm deadly storm not only was his life in jeopardy but every other sailor was in danger of dying why because Jonah was running from God so your decision to do God's will or to not do God's will you might think well you know it's my decision it's my life whatever I do it's up to me it's all about me no it's not when Jonah was running to God other people around him were dying because he was running from God's will when Jonah surrendered to God and he went to Nineveh hundreds and thousands were saved because he was doing God's will and while I'm on the subject and I'm on the campus of a university please forgive me if I remind you God needs more missionaries that will go to difficult places for him and while you're pondering what God's will might be for your life you notice on my list it doesn't say what is gonna make me the most popular what is gonna earn the most money I think when you're considering what God's will is that's really not what you should be thinking about is that really a factor how will that way out in eternity your popularity or your fame and fortune the real question is Lord will it bring glory to you is it your plan for me God has a perfect plan for your life your ultimate and eternal happiness will depend on your doing god's plan for your life and so as you're pondering some of those big decisions yeah keep that in mind as well where was I oh I talked about how it's gonna affect others Galatians 5:14 it tells us here for the law of God is fulfilled in one word you should love your neighbor as yourself you know those are the great Commandments love the Lord with all of your heart and love your neighbor as yourself point 11 this is very important be patient you know sometimes you're praying for God's will you want to know right now what God's will is well he may not be wanting to tell you everything right now he may be revealing things to you little by little and why do you think in the Lord's Prayer Jesus tells us to say give us this day our daily bread because the Lord wants us to come to him and trust him on a daily basis he doesn't spread everything out for you for one thing you know right now if God was to give you a manuscript that had your whole life mapped out for you it probably terrified most of you the closest person in the Bible I can think of that had that experience is when God came to King Hezekiah he thought he was going to die quickly and then God spoke to him and said all right I've heard your prayer I'm giving you 15 more years basically what that meant was your terminal you've only got 15 years to live well he was happy because he thought it was short of a man but the Lord had mapped out that he was gonna live at least another 15 years if he didn't attempt God and do anything foolish not too many people get that kind of assurance if God laid out everything for you if you knew every trial that you were gonna have to face it might terrify you some of you might think you've got 80 years ahead of you you might say Lord I want to know what is your will for my life and he might be saying I actually you've got six months when that's scary to know that right now and so trust the Lord that he's going to give it to you as you can handle it most people don't graduate from tricycle to race car in one day as you grow and as you mature spiritually God will unfold his will for your life and well you know I remember one thing in my life personally I never ever would have dreamed if you had come to me growing up and going to school in New York City all the schools I went to and said you know Doug you're gonna be a pastor I would have choked I would have laughed so hard because I had all kinds of different dreams there was everything from an actor to a paleontologist but a pastor was never on the list anywhere and so I think that we've got to remember that his perfect will for us is going to be revealed as we can handle it have patience let me give you some more verses on that James 5 verse 11 indeed we count them blessed to endure and you heard about the patience of Job and you see in the end that the Lord is very patient and he's compassionate and merciful Jesus said Luke 21 19 by patience possess your souls when Paul was converted on the road to Damascus and the Lord appeared to him and he said Lord what do you want me to do he said I tell you what Paul I'm gonna send somebody they're gonna take you by the hand they're gonna lead you to town you wait for me I'll send someone else when I think you can handle it they'll tell you what to do Paul didn't get everything all mapped out all at one time in your patience possess your souls and sometimes you know part of knowing God's will is standing still when the children of Israel came up to the Red Sea and they were seeking to understand what they were supposed to do with this dilemma ocean before them angry Egyptians behind them mountains on each side and they were panicking God said be still you're gonna see the salvation of the Lord same thing happened in the days of Jehoshaphat said be still God will do something wonderful for you you got to wait on the Lord and trust in the Lord so be patient don't make a major decision prematurely you don't have to cross a bridge if it's an important decision too soon also don't procrastinate it's like those old generals used to say when they use the the flintlock rifles with a gunpowder you only got to load the thing fire once or twice before the enemy was upon you and so they would say don't fire till you see the whites of your eyes sometimes people get may see the flashing lights some people get anxious and then they make a hasty decision and it causes it causes a problem and then the other thing you can do is add up the evidence of everything that we're talking about now and this is number 12 do an inventory no I know it doesn't sound at all romantic but when Karen and I were dating and we were thinking about marriage even before I proposed we thought well we got there's pros and cons and one of the things she had said is I'm never marrying a pastor she had made that her mind up I don't know early in her life about that so she had to put that on the list but there were some pros I mean I was such a lovable guy that she had to start rethinking that and so we actually made a list and we prayed and said you know Lord we're crying seeking your willingness we're looking at the scripture and trying to add everything up and looking for your providential leading but God wants you to use your head and sometimes you just got to take inventory so make a list and pray if you've got you know a stack of evidence on this side saying this looks like it's God's will but there's some risk over here well you get pretty good evidence and then this is one more thing I don't think it's on my list sometimes you might want to begin to take a few steps and say Lord I'm not sure this is your will but I'm gonna start walking this direction you blocked the door if it's not your will I remember one day family had the truck packed we were on our way to California thought that's where God wanted us a truck was loaded ready to drive away I got a phone call I got a phone call from elder cyril miller who was one of the founders of amazing facts and he was a conference president in texas later union president and I just got word last night that he passed away one of the founders of amazing facts and so elder Miller called me he said Doug how'd you like to be a pastor in Texas and I had never been an official pastor before and I said I'll pray as we get gas and put in the truck we knew it was God's will he just dramatically showed us through Providence and at the last minute sometimes you ever notice that God reveals his will at the last minute you know why that keeps you trusting them doesn't it you've got to have faith and then what is your heart's desire you may not have expected that to be on the list but part of the way that you discover God's will for your life is the Lord will put a yearning and a passion in your heart because you will always do very well the things you're excited about when we interview people at amazing facts one of the questions I ask is what do you enjoy the most because it doesn't matter what's on the resume they end up doing what they enjoy you know Bible you're happy to hear that there's some scriptures on that by the way that's number thirteen first chronicles 17 - Nathan said to David do all that is in your heart for God is with you David had a passion - to build up the temple of God and he saved all his life for that Psalm 37 verse 4 delight yourself in the Lord he will give you the desires of your heart he'll place desires in your heart and it finally pray for the guidance of God's Spirit the Holy Spirit will speak to you I know we were teasing a little bit earlier about that inner voice but you really will hear a still small voice that will say this is the way walking in it so my appeal to you friends Romans 12:2 do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you might prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God the Lord wants us to test Lord what is your will you know the biggest battle that Jesus faced and he did as an example for you and me was in the garden of gethsemane when he knew he was about to go to the cross he knew what that meant that he would be separated from the Father for the first time in eternity that for the first time in eternity his pure soul would be stained and burdened with the sins of the world your sins and mine and it was agonizing to him he just needed to know that before this happened that it was indeed the Father's will and he prayed three times and said father is this your will if there's any way this cup can pass away from me please but not my will by will be done have you ever struggled with that prayer friends not my will Lord thy will be done if you're sincere that's really where we started with point number one and your will really willing to say Lord you've got my heart I trust you I don't trust my own judgment whatever your will is that's what I want to do not my will God has a perfect ultimate purpose for you friends he wants you to be with him in the kingdom he wants you to live forever he's got a different unique plan for you that's different from his plan for anybody else because he made you a completely unique person but you need to surrender your hearts to him and just say Lord I'm willing to do your will whatever it is is that your desire when your life is over what will your legacy be what do you want to leave behind you know the most important thing you can leave behind is that you did God's will I'd like to just close his last meeting by asking you that question if the Holy Spirit's been speaking to you and you realize the best thing for you is the will of God and you want him to have his way in your life would you like to stand right now and ask him as we pray Father in heaven Lord make us willing to follow your will have your own way in our lives every day when we see Jesus on Calvary's Hill we want to be willing with your spirit filling willing to follow your will Lord it's our prayer that we might listen to your voice and if there are any here who are listening or those who are watching who've been running from Jesus I pray right now they'll stop surrender and turn and say Lord Here I am not my will thy will be done we pray in Jesus name Amen you

Channel: 11:11 Ministries

Views: 34,093

Rating: 4.783505 out of 5

Keywords: seventh-day, adventist, sda, bible, jesus, god, religion, holy, spirit, trinity, faith, christianity, gospel, heaven, praise, truth, word, salvation, pastor, Salvation (Christianity), Ministry, Preaching, Lord, doug batchelor, amazingfacts, ultimate purpose, doug, batchelor

Id: RQFPPxKiZxE

Length: 88min 0sec (5280 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 14 2012