God's Purpose/Your Calling

“Purpose”Series Theme: The secret to winning in the steep learning curve of life is to stay close to the Lord, whose purposes never fail

Purpose Series: The secret to winning in the steep learning curve of life is to stay close to the Lord, whose purposes never fail

Proverbs 19:21 NIV

Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.

Introduction:

(Inspired from the teaching of Pastor Rod Loy)

(Inspired from the teaching of Pastor Rod Loy)

“God’s Will” video — Skit Guys

Another way to say “God’s Will” is “God’s Purpose.” God’s purpose is your calling in life. He has given you all the tools you need to fulfill His calling — your personality, skills, background, experiences, etc. Most importantly, He has given you life in Jesus…if you choose to accept and follow Him. Equally important is the Word of God…should you choose to read it, digest it, and follow it.

A non-negotiable element of fulfilling God’s call…His purpose for you life is obedience. I call it “obey without delay.” Pastor Rod Loy, from LIttle Rock AR calls it “Immediate Obedience”.

So here’s what we know —

Big Idea:

God's purpose and plans are perfect

God's purpose and plans are perfect

Your Calling: Listen to and obey God's voice

Result: You will be flooded with His peace

Transitional: So what does it mean to obey without delay in order to fulfill God’s purpose for your life? Here are a few basic ingredients:

THE BASIC INGREDIENTS OF OBEDIENCE

THE BASIC INGREDIENTS OF OBEDIENCE

Philippians 2:5–8 NIV

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Phil 2:5-8

Jesus demonstrated what obedience to the Father looks like: took on the nature of a servant, humbled himself…He was willing to give everything to fulfill God’s perfect purpose and plan

Here’s a thought: Pray every morning and ask the Lord to help you to live in obedience to His voice without hesitation.

If You could actually make this a practice in our lives…our world would change…people we come into contact with would experience God’s love and power through your obedience.

Let’s look at some basic ingredients to obedience

God’s Plan

God’s plan is perfect --

You might not always understand it…but that’s okay. This is where faith comes in

Philippians 2:5–8 NIV

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!

Isaiah 55:8 NIV

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.

Remember the dreamer Joseph? We have been looking at His story in

Do you think he understood God’s plan when he was thrown into that pit?

Do you think he understood God’s plan when he was sold to Potiphar as a slave?

Do you think he understood God’s plan when he was thrown into prison?

No! But he didn’t give up…he didn’t turn his back on God...

When he was taken from the prison to the palace he began to see the big picture

God’s Clear Voice

God’s Clear Voice

How can you hear God’s voice?

God still speaks

There isn’t one set method to hear God’s voice

First and foremost…we have His written Word — Joseph didn’t have that

We also have His Holy Spirit who speaks to us…usually in a still small voice, sometimes through circumstances or other people

No matter what though…if we feel like the Lord is speaking to us or leading us to do or say something…ask yourself if it lines up with His Word

If it does…then don’t stress about it…just obey His voice

…another important ingredient to obedience is...

God’s Blessings

Blessing follows obedience

Joshua 1:7 NIV

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.

God’s Blessings

…another important ingredient to obedience is...

God’s Clear Voice

God’s Lessons

God’s Lessons

God’s Lessons

God’s Lessons

Obedience is a learned behavior

Jesus, though fully God and fully man — demonstrated the learning process through His 33 years walking the dusty roads of Palestine....

Hebrews 5:7–9 The Message

While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do. Then, having arrived at the full stature of his maturity and having been announced by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek,

Hebrews 5:7–10 The Message

While he lived on earth, anticipating death, Jesus cried out in pain and wept in sorrow as he offered up priestly prayers to God. Because he honored God, God answered him. Though he was God’s Son, he learned trusting-obedience by what he suffered, just as we do. Then, having arrived at the full stature of his maturity and having been announced by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who believingly obey him.

Heb 5:7-9

…another important ingredient to obedience is...

Wouldn’t you rather be in a dangerous place and in God’s will than in a safe place and out of God’s will?

The best and safest place to exist is in the center of God’s will

Wouldn’t you rather be in a dangerous place and in God’s will than in a safe place and out of God’s will?

Transitional: In order to fully appreciate these basic principles of obedience…we should examine what disobedience looks like

THE BASIC INGREDIENTS OF DISOBEDIENCE

Pastor Greg Laurie Video: If you’re really a Christian, you’ll obey God

Partial Obedience is disobedience

Delayed Obedience disobedience

Think about it…a woman cannot be partially pregnant

Illustration: What if I were to give you a chocolate muffin? It tastes pretty good…it has all the ingredients a tasty, moist, chocolate muffin should have. But if I secretly added an extra ingredient (say, dog poop, for example), even just a small amount, the chocolate muffin could become something disgusting

We know that following God’s voice…His plan, places us under His blessings

Disobedience leads us into a life outside of God’s blessings

Disobedience never leads to good results

God won’t give me the next word until I obey the last word — Rod Loy

…another basic ingredient of disobedience

Easy “Excuse-ism”

Easy “Excuse-ism”

Other people’s opinions

peer pressure

pride

fear of embarrassment

If we are really “all-in” for the Lord, let us not be ashamed of following His purpose

Past disobedience

Past disobedience

Don’t allow your past to dictate your future…rather, learn from your past — let it be a lesson, not a heavy weight

Fear of failure

Is it really God’s voice?

Wrong friends

Wrong friends

Who do you surround yourself with as your inner circle?

Do they build your faith and allow you to build theirs?

Fear of the consequences

Lack of faith that God will provide

1 Thessalonians 5:23 NIV

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

SUMMARY

SUMMARY

Since God’s purpose and plans are perfect, the best action to take is to simply listen to His voice and obey without delay

You will take great pleasure and find the peace of God as you follow His will and experience His love in action

Illustration In Joseph’s life…the process of obedience took him down some rough roads…but he didn’t go it alone. God made a way for Joseph to hear His voice…He gave Joseph the faith to be able to listen and obey. In the end, Joseph saw the unfolding of this amazing plan that could not have come about with him taking the path in life that he had taken. Not only did Joseph see the results, but his father and brothers saw it. It didn’t stop there…many lives were saved from the famine because of Joseph’s obedience and faithfulness to God’s plan and purpose

Genesis 50:20 NIV

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

Challenge

Ask God everyday to teach you to listen to His voice

Ask God everyday to teach you how to obey without delay

Learn what happens when you obey God’s voice

The Divine happens among the ordinary

The more we listen to God’s voice, the more we hear His voice

Sometimes people will misunderstand your motives

They might interpret your obedience as arrogance or pride…don’t let that stop you

Ask the Lord to help you be sensitive to His voice and to protect you from pride or arrogance

Sometimes obedience can cause conflict with others…don’t allow that to scare you away

If you make choices that cause them to look at their own lives, etc., it could get a little sticky

As we learn to obey immediately we experience God’s perfect timing

As we learn to obey immediately we experience God’s perfect timing

We learn that our obedience doesn’t make us special — it is about giving glory to God