Pastor Elwin Ahu
January 19, 2003 - W0303

We often hear about peopleís goals and dreams. They pursue after them with a plan of action but never quite achieve them. Donít you find that happens to us everyday, where we begin with good intentions but fail to complete what we set out after?

Having good intentions doesnít get us to our desired destination. We can receive all the instructions, well wishes, equipment and to do lists, but until we make an effort towards our goal, we are no better off than when we started. Itís like leaving a boatís trailer attached to the bottom of the boat and setting it out to sea. The boat would either move sluggishly or not at all.

Living intentionally means that our actions are consistent with our words. They should match up! It means we do what we say weíre going to do. For example, New Yearís resolutions start off with a bang and then fizzle out before February 1^st. Or we break promises to friends and families. We seem to live lives of good intentions, but we never live intentional lives.

We need to convert our intentions into action. We must get beyond good intentions! Otherwise, weíll have to work harder with a boat trailer of good intentions still attached to the bottom of our lives.

Q1: In your own words, define and describe what it means to ìlive an intentional life.î

Q2: Are you living an intentional life? If not, think of one way to start living it. Identify a life goal youíve made for this year and think of how to begin being intentional about it.

ìAnd another also said, ëI will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.í But Jesus said to him, ëNo one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.íî (Luke 9:61-62)

Whatís interesting about this Scripture is the metaphor Jesus uses to illustrate living an intentional life: a plow. Let me explain. The wooden plow was used to till the surface of the ground. When used correctly in a forward motion, it would break open the soil to plant new seed so that you could have a harvest. Jesus is looking for people who are willing to move forward with their lives by plowing through the old ways to receive the new Word of God, so that fruit for the Kingdom can be harvested. 

God is an intentional God who doesnít work by coincidence or chance. Itís stated in the Bible that ìGod created the heavens and the earth,î ìGod created man in His own image,î and ìGod so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son.î Everything God said He would do, He did. He didnít ponder over it, He just did it. The question for us is this: ìAre you ready to move forward with Godís intentional plan that He has already laid out for you?î

If your answer is yes, then there are three steps to moving forward with an intentional life. The first step is: 

1.                 BEGIN WITH A HEART CHECK.

We need to check our hearts first and find out whatís in there. When you go to the doctor for an ailment or physical, the first thing they do is check your heartópulse and blood pressure. No matter what the problem is they do a heart check. They do this because if something is wrong with your command center, your heart, then they may be able to find the cause of your ailment. If your heart shuts down, then everything else in your body shuts down. Itís no different in our spiritual walk where everything we do flows out of the condition of our spiritual walk. Our hearts are like a spiritual reservoir tank that needs to be kept full because our actions are the overflow of that spiritual reservoir. But if our tanks are empty, then we wonít take any action in life: ìThe good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.î (Luke 6:45)

Our spiritual tank gets drained daily with stresses from work, traffic, bills and just living life. If we donít replenish our spiritual tanks daily, weíll experience an emptiness within. Then weíll start to struggle and grab for whatever we can to fill our emptiness. Itís like being very hungry. We grab whatever we can eat, even if itís unhealthy, because it fills us up for the moment. When weíre desperate, we grab for anything to fill that void in our hearts, but it wonít last for very long. It could be an illicit relationship, drugs and alcohol, or material things. We must be willing to check whatís filling our spiritual tank if we want to move beyond good intentions.

Q3: How is your spiritual reservoir tankóis it full or empty? Youíll know its full when youíre overflowing with good action and a fruitful lifestyle. If youíre less than ìfullî what is causing it and what can you begin to do today to fill your spiritual reservoir? 

Q4: What ìfills your tankî? Are you filling it with Godís plan or the worldís answers?

Without this important heart check, itís so easy to justify that everything that happens in life is Godís will. Often times we use prosperity to judge whether or not we are in Godís will. We think that God has blessed us if we are prosperous and God has not blessed us if we live in poverty. This only results in our becoming nearsighted, where we focus on immediate needs and stop looking at the long-term path that God has laid out for us: ìThe plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, but the Lord weighs the motives.î (Pr. 16:1-2)

Daily devotions and prayer are two of the best ways to do a heart check. Doing your daily devotions will reveal the true motives of your decisions. Whenever you do your devotions, ask yourself these questions: Does this glorify God? Would it lead others to Christ? Will it bare fruit that will last for the Kingdomís sake? Would Jesus Christ do the same thing?  

Daily devotions are important because it aligns our hearts with God and leads us forward. This is an excellent first step but there is a critical second step you must take in conjunction with the first step: Once youíve done a heart check and heard where God is directing you, then you mustÖ 

2.                 TRUST IN HIS LEADING.

God will begin to lead us when He is sure He can trust us with more. Too many times weíre afraid to move beyond where we are. Moving beyond good intentions is all about growth. If weíre numb and blind to His leading, and fail to trust Him, then we fail to grow.

In the first book of Genesis, there was a man named Lot who lived in the sinful city of Sodom. This city was so bad that God was forced to destroy it. But before destroying the city, God sent some angels down to save Lot and his family. The shocking part of this whole story is Lotís response, take a look: ìBut he hesitated. So [they] seized his hand andÖ said, ëHurryÖ for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.íÖ But his wife, from behind him, looked back; and she became a pillar of saltî (Gen. 19:16,22,26).

Sometimes God wants us to move on in life and He sends a prompting in our hearts. If weíre in a bad living situation, like Lot and his family, God prompts us to trust and follow Him. But too many times we hang on to our circumstances because weíre afraid of failure, have too much pride, or are too selfish. And like Lotís wife, we find ourselves stuck in one place complaining until we become salty.

Q5: Where is God prompting & leading you in this season? Are you moving towards that? 

We hold back because of our fears and insecurities. These fears and insecurities stem from other peopleís negative words that we allow to fill our spiritual tank. Whatís happened is that weíve become victims in a victimized society. This reminds me of an interesting story about elephants. When circus elephants are babies, the trainer will tie a heavy chain around its leg and secure it with a huge stake in the ground. The baby elephant will try to escape but fails time and again. As the elephant gets older the chain eventually becomes a simple string, but it remains tied to the tether. Not because of the string around its leg, but because of the tether in its mind. The elephant is tied down by the past experience and canít move. Hereís the lesson: We must move beyond our old mistakes and past circumstances to what lies ahead! 

ìÖOne thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.î (Phil. 3:13-14)

Q6: Like that circus elephant, do you feel tied down to an old lie or past mistake? Which past experiences are holding you back? 

There are great experiences that lie ahead, so we need to let go of the past and follow Him. When we submit our plans to the Lord, and trust in His leading, thereís only one thing left to do: 

3.                 MAKE YOUR MOVE.

After your plans are aligned with His and youíre trusting His leading, go ahead and make your move! Quit analyzing the options or praying for things to happen. Just do it!

If a doctor gave you instructions on how to cure your fatal disease, wouldnít you proceed with the instructions to save your life? Or if you knew what was troubling your marriage, wouldnít you do it? Someone once said, ìIf we keep on doing what weíve always done, weíll keep on getting what weíve always got.î Start changing your life by changing today! 

We need to apply the lessons weíve learned so that we can proceed forward. Take what God shares with you in your daily devotions and apply it!

People who are winners take purposeful, meaningful actions. They donít just think about it or have a meeting to determine whether or not theyíre going to do it. They just do it! If you want something, you have to do what it takes to get it. In the game of chess, if you want the other playerís king, you need to make a move. Not just any move, but purposeful and calculated moves towards an ultimate ìcheckmate.î  

The Israelites started out with good intentions when they left Egypt. But when they reached the Red Sea they started complaining to Moses. Crossing the Red Sea seemed impossible. Moses then cried out to the Lord for help and God responded: ìThen the Lord said to Moses, ëWhy are you crying out to Me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forwardíî (Ex. 14:15).

Prayer is important and vital in our Christian lives, but sometimes we need to stop praying and get moving. So many times we know what we need to do, but we keep praying to delay the process of obeying. If our plans align with Godís plans, thereís nothing that He wonít do in order to cause it to come to pass: ìCommit your works to the Lord, and your plans will be establishedî (Pr. 16:3).

The Israelites couldnít see the miracles ahead of them. All they saw was a massive obstacle that was impossible to cross. They didnít know what God was about to revealÖ His plan to get them across. Much of Godís miracles in our lives are hidden in what we choose to do today. The only way to receive those miracles is to take a step forward. God will open windows of opportunities, but if weíre not in motion, we may miss the windows He provides.

Mother Theresa once said, ìYesterday is past, tomorrow may never come, we have only today to do the word of Jesus. Action allows us to be the pen in Godís hand to write out His story.î We only have one life on this planet, so live it beyond good intentions with Godís plan of action. Do so by beginning with a heart check, then trusting in His leading and then, finally, making your move. And remember, in everything you do, commit your plans and actions to the Lord and you will be successful!

Q7: What 3 things can you do this year to move beyond good intentions? Be specific!

Final Q: Identify one long-standing issueóat work, in a relationship (or lack of), or with your healthóand resolve to do something about it today.

Many thanks to Miss Christy Itamoto for all of your HEART work!