Hidden in his presence2
This is still under the heading of “Seeking” Those that seek shall find: God and his plans and his will!
We have established last week that:
· God is all knowing
· God has a plan for all of our lives
· We will only be fulfilled and blessed if we find and walk in his plans
· It is only possible to know this plan by God’s revelation through his Spirit and not through natural means.
Everything that God does is has a purpose and is toward a Goal.
Purpose: The reason that something exists, the goal of it´s existance
1. God is a God of purpose, everything that he does he does for a purpose. What ever purpose God has he makes a plan to fulfill it.
2. Everything in Life has a purpose.
3. Not every purpose is known
4. Where the purpose of something is not known there will be abuse or misuse. Spirit, Soul and Body! Mineral, Plant, or animal! Perverted purposes is our problem!
5. If you want to know the purpose of something, Don´t ask the thing created! Ask the creator!
6. Purpose is the key to fulfillment
Ÿ When you know your purpose, then death has to wait till you are finished!
Ÿ Jesus knew his purpose. He knew what he came to do, and when he would be finished, he also knew when and how he would die! He could say things like “My time is not yet,” or “You cannot take my life”.
Ÿ Paul: He was stoned, Shipwrecked, Whipped, snakebitten, He knew that he had a purpose and he was not planning on dieing before his purpose was finished.
Eph 1:9,16-19
9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
16 Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
18 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, (Eph 3:18-19)
Phil 3:12-14
12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Jer 29:11-13
11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (NIV)
· God knows Jer. 29,11
· The Spirit knows 1 Cor. 2,11
· God has given us his spirit so that we can know 1 Cor. 2,12
· Then why don’t we know?
1. We don’t know God(Born again spirit filled)
2. We don’t walk in the spirit(We’re supposed to be people of the spirit)
Rom 7:18b-25 ... For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. (NIV)
For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do-- this I keep on doing.
Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God-- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
Rom 8:1-9
1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,
4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;
7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.
8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
(NIV)
2 Cor 3:16-18
16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
3. We don’t want to know = Disobedience
Some people don’t want to know God’s plan for them! Because then they would have to do it! Not know is not being free from the responsibility to do it!
· Prayer is not getting God to do what we want! It’s finding out what he wants and being willing to do it!
John 5:19, 30
19 Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
30 By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.
· Jesus didn’t attempt to do anything without the plan of the Father!
1. Ps 37,4 Pray for the desires of God
2. Jn 10,27 Believe that you can hear from God
3. 1 Cor 2, Ro 8,26 Pray in the spirit
4. 1 Jn 4,1 Test what you hear by the Word of God
5. Hab.2,2-3 Is 50,4 Know God’s timing
6. Jam.1,22 Lk 6, 46-49 Boldy Obey