Embracing God's Divine Guidance

Introduction

This morning, we are diving back into the last chapter of 1 Corinthians. We started this journey over two and a half years ago. And finally, we have arrived at the last chapter.

‌For those who started this journey with me, you may recall how I see this great book of the Bible as an important one for the local church. I see 1 Corinthians as the “blueprint” for each local church. If a church truly wants to know what God expects of them, this is the book to study. It is why I was led to preach through its entirety. As your pastor, I desire to lead you the way God expects, not according to my desires. Thus, there is only one way to do so. We must know what God said, and then we must determine to do what God has said.

‌Throughout this study, I have learned much. I can genuinely say that I have a substantial grasp of how God expects us to operate as a local church. Now, with great confidence, we can set out to do what God has taught us.

‌As we come to the end of the book, the Holy Spirit finishes this last chapter with some instructions that come via Paul’s interaction with the believers of Corinth and individuals God allows to be part of his ministry abroad. As we work through this, the Holy Spirit encourages us to EMBRACE several things. We saw one last week as we finished chapter 15. There, we learned we must embrace Christ’s VICTORY. Two weeks ago, we discovered we must EMBRACE GRACE GIVING out of the first few verses of chapter 16.

‌Today, God wants us to EMBRACE HIS DIVINE GUIDANCE.

Look at the text with me.

1 Corinthians 16:5–9 KJV 1900

5 Now I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia: for I do pass through Macedonia. 6 And it may be that I will abide, yea, and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey whithersoever I go. 7 For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit. 8 But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost. 9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.

Let me provide some context for you.

‌As a traveling apostle, Paul was called by God to take the gospel to the Gentiles. Even though Paul often first visited the Jewish synagogues in each village he visited, he often found the Jew rejecting his message and many Gentiles accepting it. Eventually, Paul just focused on reaching as many people as he could for the Lord regardless of heritage. During Paul’s service to the Lord, he made three significant missionary journeys as recorded in the book of Acts. On his first journey, Paul left Antioch and traveled mainly through Galatia and back to Antioch. However, on his second journey, Paul ventured further, traveling into Asia and throughout Greece. Then, on his third journey, he revisited all the places on his first and second journeys. The only exception was he went into southern Asia to Ephesus. During his second mission endeavor, he first went to Corinth in southern Greece. As we know, God blessed. Many Jews and Gentiles heard the gospel and believed. A local church was established by those believers, and consequently, the book of 1 Corinthians was written as a letter to those believers. On Paul’s third missionary journey, the Holy Spirit used Paul to write this letter. At the time of writing, he was in Ephesus.

‌Going back to our text, we see Paul’s desire was to pass through Macedonia. Macedonia was that portion of Greece just north of Achaia. Achaia was the southern province of Greece where Corinth was located. Thus, Paul had a plan in his mind that he would eventually leave Ephesus, travel north to Macedonia, and then back down south to visit Corinth. And, as you can see by our text, Paul’s plan was to winter with the Corinthian church, allowing them to supply him for his continued journey, which would lead him back to Jerusalem.

‌Initially, as you read these verses, you might think that it is good, but what does it have to do with us today? Obviously, these instructions were for that time and were a simple indication of Paul’s immediate plans. However, I believe there are two significant things noted in these instructions that are applicable to us today. In fact, both have to do with the will of God.

Note what Paul says in verse 7.

1 Corinthians 16:7 KJV 1900

7 For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit.

Did you catch the last four words of that sentence? Paul’s plan was to stay with the believers of Corinthians. However, Paul adds he will stay IF the Lord permits.

Here is my first point this morning.

We MUST PLAN our Lives around God’s Will

There is no doubt from Paul’s statement that he planned his life totally upon what God desired for him to do. In the book of James, we are instructed the following.

James 4:13–15 KJV 1900

13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. 15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

It is okay for us to set plans for each day. Paul did that very thing. However, we must also realize that our plans may or may not be God’s. Instead, we are to make our plans, realizing that God may change them. Thus, we must say, “IF the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that.”

‌This is the moment when people often say, “How do I know God’s will for my life?” The answer is simple. God’s will for your life is found right here in God’s Word, the Bible. It is not something hidden. God made it plain for all to see. In fact, God made it so simple that He made sure that you had a good English copy of His Word that you could read for yourself. All you must do is pick it up and read it. When you do, then you find out things like...

It is God’s will for all to be saved.

‌It is God’s will for those who are saved to love Him with their whole heart and others as they love themselves.

‌It is God’s will that you feast on His Word as your daily bread.

‌It is God’s will that you come to Him in prayer.

‌It is God’s will that you worship Him.

‌It is God’s will that glorify Him in everything you do.

‌It is God’s will that you be thankful in all things.

I could go on and on with the list of things God had clearly revealed as His will for all men.

‌My point is simple. God has a will for each of us, and He expects us who have put our faith in Him to follow His will each day.

‌Christ was, as we know, the perfect example. Everything Christ did He did according to God’s will. Note His attitude towards His life on earth and His journey among men found in John 6.

John 6:37–40 KJV 1900

37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

Later, the Lord Jesus Christ faced His coming death; he prayed the following.

Luke 22:42 KJV 1900

42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

God's will determined everything the Lord Jesus Christ did and said. Christ never allowed His will to overrule the Father’s will. You might say, “Yes, but Christ was God; thus, He could do nothing but God’s will.” That is true. However, you must remember that He, the Lord Jesus, also came to be our example. He demonstrated what He expects us to do. Thus, we are to subjugate our plans and our will for God’s. The Lord Jesus taught us to pray as such. Remember His model prayer to us.

Matthew 6:10 KJV 1900

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Now, in our text, the Holy Spirit utilizes Paul as a testimony to us. Paul, a mere human, unlike Christ who was both God and man, learned in his life to subject his own will to the Lord. Thus, he had his plans, but his plans hinged on God’s will. If God allowed, he would travel and winter with the Corinthian believers.

How does this apply to us? First, each of us, as individual believers, must start each day with a determination to do what God wills for us. In other words, we must determine to live in obedience to Him. Living in obedience demands that we know what He desires. We can only know what He wants when we read and study His Word. Our daily morning devotions become the most essential part of our day. Starting the day reading and studying God’s Word sets you on a path of committed surrender to Him. Yes, we can make our plans, but let’s make our plans based on obedience to God and then determine to follow whatever God desires for our lives.

Second, there is also an application to us as a local body of believers, as a local church. God’s will for each church is that we are living, breathing witness for Him to our entire community. Remember the Great Commission.

Matthew 28:18–20 KJV 1900

18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

God’s will is clear. Go. Teach everyone about Christ. Baptize them. Disciple them by teaching them to observe and obey Christ’s teachings. It is clear, and it is simple. As a church, we must then plan our ministries and activities to do precisely what Christ commanded.

‌Now, note one more point found in our text, which teaches us how to embrace God’s Divine Guidance. The first is we must plan our lives around God’s will. Here is the second.

We MUST CAPITALIZE on the Moments when God Opens “Doors of Opportunity.”

Look at our text once again.

1 Corinthians 16:8–9 KJV 1900

8 But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost. 9 For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.

Without a doubt, Paul was unable to travel at that moment. God was moving and working in Ephesus. People were responding in a very positive way to the Gospel. The Holy Spirit notes He had opened “a great door and effectual” unto Paul. Things were moving. God was working. The word “great” means something remarkable and out of the ordinary was happening. It seems God was doing the same great work witnessed in Jerusalem just after Pentecost. God was building His church in Ephesus, and people were being added. There was much for Paul to do, and he would capitalize on it. The word “effectual” is an exciting word. In a nutshell, it refers to anything that is producing or capable of producing an intended result. The intended result of God’s work is the salvation of souls and the spiritual growth of believers. There, in Ephesus, Paul was seeing a great harvest and plenty more to come. He was excited, and he was motivated. He did not want to lose the opportunity that God placed before him. If it meant delaying his visit to Corinth, so be it. For the time, Paul wanted to be at the epicenter of God’s great hand moving.

Here is the application. When God opens “doors” of opportunity, we must be ready to capitalize on them. There are many applications for this. However, this morning, I want to make one simple application.

At the beginning of this year, 2023, we, as a church, determined to pray for God to use us and build us as His local church. As a church, we belong to Him and He promised that He would build His church. So, we started praying, and, by the way, we continue to pray. Each Sunday night, our focus is prayer, specifically that God uses us to reach souls for Him here in Bedford. Since we started praying this way, God’s hand has started moving. Several things have happened.

Our Sunday morning Worship attendance has jumped 20% since January.

‌Our Nursery/Toddlers have increased to the point that we are starting a new Toddler’s class in January.

‌Our Wednesday Bible Study, along with our AWANA program, is seeing tremendous growth, averaging over 90 people each week.

‌Additionally, God led Will and his family to come and join our staff overseeing our Music and Worship ministry.

My point is simple. God is working. He has opened a “great door and effectual” unto us. What is our duty? We are to do the same as Paul. We are to capitalize on it. We are to do more for Him in 2024.

These are exciting times at Calvary Baptist Church. I am excited and eager to see what God has in store for us in 2024. For us to capitalize, we must make plans. Now, remember we make plans but do so according to God’s will. Let me ask you a question.

Do you think God wants us to reach more people here in Bedford?

Do you believe it is God’s will that people and families come to know Him?

If so, do you think that God desires to use us to reach those people?

Well, if you know anything about God’s Word, you know that it is God’s will for us to reach more, grow, and plan accordingly.

Here is the thing! God has blessed us with some beautiful facilities. There is no doubt. However, we are already starting to see the facilities full. Over the past month, just in our auditorium, we have seen as many as 80 people at one time. As it stands, we can seat about 120. Church growth studies show that when a church reaches 80% capacity, it stops growing. Our seating capacity will eventually be a stumbling block to us reaching more people for the Lord. It will not take long for us to get 96 people on a Sunday. We are already just 16 people away from making that happen.

Here is another thing to consider about the “great door and effectual” God has given us. Our desire is to reach young families and couples in our community. Getting them means we provide facilities that accommodate them. It means having facilities that make it easy for them to take the children to their classes and where the flow is conducive to them coming and going. Right now, we have a considerable flow problem. These buildings were built at two different times. This building was built in the late 1970s when it was customary to have a small foyer. However, today, our foyer is way too small. All of you know that. I must stand outside on the porch to greet people and make room for those exiting. That is okay until it is 20 degrees outside or raining outside. Our other building, the Family Life Center, was built in the early 2000s. It is a beautiful facility with a total gym and several classrooms. Because both were built at different times, not much planning was given to how people would have access to both buildings from one entrance. Now, we have a bottleneck. Families who visit must either come into the Family Life Center, which is at the back of our auditorium, or in front of our church building, which is one whole building from our children’s ministry classrooms. To access them, families must walk through our auditorium or downstairs through the basement level and then back up the stairs to our Family Life Center. Many of you know what I am talking about because you have done it yourself a time or two.

This year, I led our church to bring in an architect from a company called “Building God’s Way.” I assembled a small team of men from our church who met with the architect over three days of planning. Our only question for the architect was this. “How can we maximize our current location for future growth?” Now I had no idea what he would give to us. All I knew was that when God opened a “great door and effectual,” you had better be ready to capitalize on it. We are close. Thus, as God’s stewards, what needed to be done to match our facilities with the possibility of God bringing incredible growth to our church? In the end, the architect presented us with a plan for future expansion. In that plan is the answer to our flow, our problem, as well as future congregational growth.

Here is the plan!

Show the floor plans and explain.

Show the flyover.

Now, I imagine the first thing on everyone’s mind at this point is, “Wow. That is awesome. How are we going to pay for it?” Haha, you are right! It is awesome. It is a great plan. It is just what we need. The price tag for building the 3rd space (new foyer) and remodeling our sanctuary will be about 1 million dollars.

However, before you pass out, hear me out! Who is God? He is God and owns all things. Is God capable of using us to fund and build this plan? He is more than capable. Are these plans per His will? Yes. Remember, He desires to use us, as Calvary Baptist Church, to reach our community for Christ. He is already doing it, and He will continue to do so if we are obedient to His will.

One million dollars may seem impossible to us, but it is chump change with God. Here is what I know. God has opened “a great door and effectual” unto us. He will bless us. We must be willing to trust Him.

This evening, we will vote on a new budget for this year. No, we will not vote to spend 1 million dollars or even borrow 1 million dollars. Tonight’s budget is a simple yearly budget and nothing more. However, starting in January this next year, we will begin a “Building Fund.” This fund will be there for anyone who wants to help us build this beautiful plan. Throughout this next year, I will be encouraging you to consider giving. If you ask me where the money will come from, I admit I have no idea. However, I know this. I know my God. He is able! I am simply taking a step of faith and trusting Him.

Conclusion

In the meantime, our job is to plan our lives around His will. We are also to capitalize on the moments when God opens doors of opportunity. Last week, we were reminded to be “steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for our labor is not in vain.” That is the key. Let’s determine, as end this year and begin a new one, that we are doing “abound” in our work for Him. As we do, surely the Lord will bless us and He will build our church both spiritually, numerically, and physically. Will you answer the call this morning? Will commit to God’s will and embrace it by planning your own life around it? For those who are unbelievers, a great place to start is by opening your heart to Him and all that He did for you on the cross. He died, was buried, and rose again so that you might have eternal life. It is gift that all you need to do is receive by faith. Believer, you can embrace God’s will for you life by a simple commitment to daily devotion. Earlier I emphasized how starting our day is key in God’s Word and prayer is key to planning our life around His will. Are you doing that? Do you have faithful habit of starting the day with Him? If not, will you commit to doing that right now? And, then will we as a local church embrace God’s will by capitalizing on the “great door and effectual” He is opening for us even now? I pray that you will even as I have.