How Can I Know God's Will For My Life? Series

There is NO CHANCE that we’ll ever miss the bus

Do you need proof of that?

ILLUS: Well, let me tell you the story of a man named Jonah. Do you remember what God told Jonah to do? God commanded him to preach to the city of Nineveh, to convict it of its guilt and bring it to repentance.

So, what does Jonah do? He gets on a boat headed for Tarshish which just happened to be on the other side of the known world.

Jonah didn’t want to preach to Nineveh. It was a wicked city and Jonah just knew that if he went and preached at Nineveh, the people there would probably repent and then God would spare their city. But Jonah didn’t want Nineveh to repent… he didn’t want them spared… he wanted them annihilated.

Jonah defied the WILL OF GOD.

He didn’t just miss God’s will… he actively refused to do it.

But, did he succeed?

No. In fact, God took him fishing and explained His will to him a little more succinctly.

My point is this: if God really wants you to do something… He can find you anywhere. There isn’t any place you can go to that you could even hide from God if wants you to do something.

YOU WILL NOT MISS THE BUS!

The key thing is: always be available for God to use you.

THEN you’ll always be ready for God to do His will in your life.

God has a purpose for our lives… a destiny for us to fulfill.

And you know the really neat thing about this is that when God wants you or I to something, He will always prepare us for that deed.

Romans 12:6 tells us: “We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.”

In short, God prepares us for our tasks with abilities that may not be things we come by naturally. He equips and prepares us because He knows what we can do if He empowers us to the task.

ILLUS: I once spoke to a friend of mine named Gary who didn’t believe he could ever speak in public. He didn’t even like to pray publicly. I told him not to worry… if God wanted him to speak/ teach/ even preach… God would give him the necessary ability and desire to do it.

One day, Gary encountered a personal crisis and asked me to pray for him. I refused. I said I wouldn’t pray “for” him, but I WOULD pray “with” him. It was still a prayer offered in the “privacy” of just the two of us, but it was the beginning of his growth. After a time, he went on to be a leader in his congregation and led the youth group for a while.

All he needed to was be willing to let God make use of him.

One person observed: If God wants 7, you can give him 3 and He’ll add 4.

If you give Him 4, He’ll add 3.

No matter what you give Him, He is capable of adding or subtracting whatever He needs to, to get whatever He desires.

The key here is to make sure we GIVE HIM the best we have, and let HIM make use of it.

ILLUS: One of the things that I have marveled at is how God has used our church quartet (the Sonshine Boys). Initially, we just thought we’d be singing here at church, and occasionally at other congregations. And frankly, I couldn’t hardly stand to listen to our singing. But as time went by, we got better and people liked coming to our concerts… and even “paid us” for the privilege.