God wants the Best for You

Introduction

· Do you believe that God wants what is best for you? I DO! Sometimes I don’t like how He goes about it, but hindsight is 20/20.

· Here are some proof:

o God told Jeremiah, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11).

o God told James, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:2-5).

· The Trajectory of Our Times:

o I can feel it, can you? Something is wrong. People are fearful.

o Our world is in disarray, and who knows what will happen to us and our children? Who really know, but Almighty God, what tomorrow holds.

o Every day the sun rises and sets, etching another day of history.

o This tiny blue marble, we call the earth, suspended in the vastness of a spangled universe, spins on its axis, while many of its inhabitance cling for dear life.

o Only God knows what’s ahead. He knows it perfectly, completely, instantly, totally, and omnisciently.

o Simply put, God knows the future and we don’t.

o Great plans, even an outline consume the pages of HIS BOOK, His magnificent Word, His TRUTH. These are His predetermined plans, penned, first on stone, then are parchment, hopefully on hearts of flesh. Today, we hold His powerful Word in our hands.

o IT’S ALL THERE FOR US to know, to read in our leisure, in our pain, and struggle. THE WORDS ARE LIVING AND ACTIVE.

o SO, THERE IS HOPE…GOD’S BEST FOR YOU AND ME.

o In our world, our earth, our country, our cities and towns the cascading flow of crisis is merging with the outlines of Bible prophecy.

o Like two mighty rivers crashing into each other and coalescing into an unstoppable flood.

o For us, the children of God this flood won’t sweep us away. RATHER, it should life us up!

o It should give us hope that God’s will is happening right in front of us.

o But, for the world, the lost, the backslider, and those NOT under the umbrella of the Lord, clouds of worldwide cataclysm loom in the overhead.

o This is NO secret. This is something of ignorance on the part of many.

o Rev. 3:10 boldly declares a future event. To the church in Philadelphia, Jesus said, “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth” (NIV).

o The world has always been in a mess, but not since the days of Noah has our fragile planet faced such imminent and existential dangers as now, today.

o The real threats of (1) nuclear war (2) economic collapse (3) technological war on citizens (4) Lies and deception of governments (5) philosophical garbage, moral bankruptcy, political deception, biological warfare, and a host of others. These are in our face now, today.

o These are the last days, and breaking news hits us at the speed of light. We must understand the times we are living in. We must understand biblical prophecy and have a firm grasp on the Bible’s last words about earth’s final days.

o As the closing contestants, probably the final generation, those witnessing the Birth Pains Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24, Luke 21, and Mark 13, like no other generation before us, WE MUST TRY TO UNDERSTAND THE TIMES WE A LIVING IN.

o In the book of Revelation, we read the very reason John received this Heavenly vision and was told to write it down. Jesus said, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John” (Rev. 1:1).

o In light of all that is going on in the world, your Heavenly Father wants you to be a GREAT success.

o Pastor Charles Stanley said, “If necessary, God will move heaven and earth to show you, His will.”

o God is committed to showing us how to follow the specific plan He has designed for each of our lives.

o If we’d just listen to His voice, His Words, to hear what He wants us to do, right now.

o TURN TO ISAHIAH 30:19-21. Listen to what the Lord said to the Prophet Isaiah, “For the people shall dwell in Zion at Jerusalem; You shall weep no more. He will be very gracious to you at the sound of your cry; When He hears it, He will answer you. 20And though the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your teachers will not be moved into a corner anymore, But your eyes shall see your teachers. 21Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” Whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left.”

o God is good (all the time). And all the time (God is good).

o He has a wide variety of ways to help you take NOTICE of Him.

10 Ways the Father Helps You See His Best for You

(Here are 4 Today – I will bring you the rest next week)

#1 – A Restless Spirit

· Sometimes God gets our attention by make us restless.

· In Esther 6:1 (NKJV) “That night the king could not sleep. So one was commanded to bring the book of the records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.”

· Ultimately Mordecai is honored. God begins the process of moving, using human events to save His people. (Check out the book of Esther).

· If you experience a restless deep within you – something you cannot quite identify – stop and pray.

· Ask the Lord, “Are you trying to say something to me?”

· One pastor said, “Each time God was about to move me from one pastorate to another I became very restless.”

#2 – A Spoken. Word

· God also gets our attention by using the words of others.

· God gave a message to young Samuel, but he was too young to understand what was happening.

· He was being called by the Lord to be a prophet. Young Samuel needed help answering the call of God on his life.

· Who has the Lord put into your life, to help you recognized the mission?

· Secondly, God used the old priest Eli through this method to help young Samuel.

· If several people in a short span of time begin telling you the same thing, then ask the Lord if he is trying to speak to you through them.

· The Bible says, in Proverbs 20:12–13 (NKJV) “The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The Lord has made them both. 13Do not love sleep, lest you come to poverty; Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with bread.”

#3 – Unanswered Prayer

· Sometimes God will answer a prayer with NO.

· Who has experienced this?

· Despite David's prayer for God to save his infant son’s life – the child born through the kings’ adultery. God did as He said through the prophet Nathan…the child died.

· The Lord may remain silent on our prayers as a way of prompting us to examine ourselves.

· 2 Cor. 13:5 (NLT) says, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.”

· The Amplified says it like this, “Test and evaluate yourselves to see whether you are in the faith and living your lives as [committed] believers. Examine yourselves [not me]! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves [by an ongoing experience] that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test and are rejected as counterfeit?”

#4 – An Unusual Blessing

· Do you remember the last BIG blessing the Lord gave to you?

· God may bless you in an unusual way to gain your attention.

· Sometimes God reminds us that He is in control.

· Of course, if there are an overly self-sufficient person, the Lord may use some other method to get our focus on him. But remember that no matter which method he uses it always expresses his love.

· For me, this church is a promised blessing from the Lord.

· There is a verse in the Bible, a prayer for blessing from a man only mentioned once. You might recall, “The Prayer of Jabez, in 1 Chronicals 4:10. It reads, “Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh that You would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.”

Meaning & Lessons of The Prayer of Jabez

· 1. The very first thing Scripture tells us about Jabez is that he cried to the God of Israel. Jabez states God’s lordship and headship over his life. When you pray, begin by acknowledging who God is!

· 2. “That you would bless me” Jabez not only recognizes God as the one and only true God, he also acknowledges that blessings come from God alone. Are you chasing broken promises and blessings that the world tries to entice you with? Are you striving toward prosperity on your own strength? When you pray, do it with a heart fully invested in the blessings of God.

· 3. “that you would multiply my territory” – Many think that Jabez is simply referring to physical land when asking to multiply territory. However, if we look at the lineage of Jabez we can understand that he is not merely speaking in terms of wealth and prosperity but in terms of impacting the kingdom of God. He wanted his spiritual territory to increase, to claim generations for the Lord of Israel. Do you need to claim or reclaim some of the land Satan has taken from you? When you pray, ask God to multiply your territory and to do more through you!

· 4. “your hand be with me” – Jabez wanted God to be in every moment of his day. He understood the power of God’s hand to protect and to lead in the right direction. Blessings will become curses if it is not God's hand providing and guiding. When you pray, request more than blessings and provision but that God’s hand would lead you through any circumstances and trials that come your way. THAT is the greatest blessing.

· 5. “keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain” The name Jabez literally means “born with pain”. His own mother named him this because of the pain she endured in labor! When Jabez prays, he speaks against the testimony of his name and let’s go of the shame it covered him in. When you pray, come to God vulnerable and ready for Him to turn your weakness into His glory.

· The Prayer of Jabez – I want us to pray it together.

Conclusion

· SONG – Bless me indeed by MercyMe

· I want you to come and pray the prayer of Jabez over you, your family, and this church.

Altar Call

Fruitland – 10/2/22