Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
October 8, 2006 - W0641

Today I want to encourage you to take part in your future in deciding who you want to be. “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you thing.” (Rom. 12:2 NLT) In other words, we get to decide who we want to be. Don’t leave your future up to chance. You may ask, but if God planned out everything anyway, do we really have a choice? Yes we do! Let me explain and give some guidelines that will help us decide who we will be. First we want to remember that…

·        GOD’S PLANS ARE ESTABLISHED.

“Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.” (Ps. 119:89) God’s laid out the general plan for everyone beginning to end -- He created the earth and planned redemption for mankind. Even so, we still have a choice in our destiny. Consider a father with a child. He gladly sacrifices everything in order to give his child the best because he loves him so much. Yet though this father has everything established, the child still has a choice to either accept or reject what the father has to offer.  

Some people maintain that God isn’t involved in creation, the world, or our future. Others

Say since God decided on who will go to Heaven or hell, whatever will be is fine. And both rationales are so far from the truth. The fact is that the devil doesn’t care which side of the boat you go off just as long as you go off. “If some did not believe, their unbelief will not nullify the faithfulness of God, will it? ... Rather, let God be found true, though every man be found a liar…” (Rom. 3:3-4) That’s why although God’s plans are established…

·        WE DECIDE WHAT PART WE WANT TO PLAY IN HIS PLAN.

God knew that man needed redemption, so He sent Jesus to fulfill that plan. Jesus’ death on the cross was an expression of God’s love and also His invitation for us. So in the end, the Father will judge mankind’s choice.

“The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born. (Mt. 26:24)(See also Mt. 12:37; Mt. 7:2) In other words, Judas made a poor choice and faced the eventual consequence of such.

So what part do we play in God’s plan? Remember our life is God’s gift to us. What we make of our life will be our gift to God! The truth is, when God gave us the gift of choice, His desire was to have a love relationship with us. Think about it, love is not even possible unless there is a choice. And when those choices are made correctly it is called a commitment and a relationship. So we have a choice to have a part in our own future.

With that said, how do we begin to steward our choices well? Here are three guidelines that will help you. The first is…

1.     BELIEVE WHAT GOD CAN DO.

“...the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus said, ‘Do you believe that I am able to do this?’ They said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord.’ then He touched their eyes saying, ‘It shall be done to you according to your faith.’ And their eyes were opened.” (Mt. 9:28-30)

Just as the blind man believed that Jesus was able, when we start to believe God can do great things in our lives -- that is the beginning of faith. You see God already wants to move in that direction so when we believe He can, He just says follow Me. The problem sometimes is that we ask God to help us with our faith so that we can live our life for Him. Instead, we should ask God to live His life through us. In essence, when we believe God is able, we are letting Him lead instead of running ahead of Him.

So how do we do that? Simply look in the Bible and find out what God is doing. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…(Gal.5:22-23) In other words, God wants to bear this fruit in our lives and the best thing for us to in order to be fruitful is to cooperate with Him.

Of course we must get out of the way and let Him lead. We get to follow Him and cooperate with what He wants to produce in our life. In fact, the most important thing about our future is our spiritual health. That’s why it’s important to…

2.  MAKE YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE THE MOST IMPORTANT PRIORITY OF ALL.

Our relationships suffer when we fail to develop the kind of character God wants to produce in us. Thus, when our lives are pleasing to God and we develop His character we represent Him well. It’s like wealthy man wanting to give his riches to his children. He waits to see if his child stewards his choices well before he hands over the family fortune.

The same is true with our Father. As we allow His character to take shape in our lives by cooperating and obeying, we begin to resemble our Father more and more.

“I once thought all these things were so very important, but now I consider them worthless…when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Phil. 3:7-8)

“…He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.” (Mt. 6:33)

Did you know that the number one cause of death for people ages 30 to 35 in Hawaii is suicide? Why – it’s because a lot of people cannot find themselves. That’s why it is important for us to make our spiritual life an important priority. The more we become like Christ, the more we find who God created us to be. Remember, in the beginning God created us to be in His image. Therefore, if we want to be more like Him we must get to know Him. And to do that, we must spend time with Him in devotions, in prayer. Otherwise, we’ll tend to make wrong choices and become less like Him and more like the world.

So as you place a high priority on your spiritual life, make sure you believe what God can do. Finally, the last guideline to help you make wise choices is to remember…

3.  YOUR JOY IS IN YOUR PROGRESS.

We are closer to what God created us to be now than we were last year. There is forward movement even if it is just a little. We don’t stumble as much over things we used to. It’s like riding a bicycle we have balance because there is forward movement. Think about that. Balance comes not when we arrive rather it’s when we are moving forward.

Understandably we get discouraged sometimes when we can’t see where we are going.  And that’s alright because when we are moving in the general direction God wants us to go, we begin to build character qualities of our Father. Then eventually we will reach a vantage point where God shows us exactly where we are supposed to be in His plan of our life. And don’t worry if you’re a little off to the left or to the right because as long as we see where God wants us to be, all we have to do is lean into it and we’ll be there in no time. That’s exactly what Paul says:

“...I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one 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.” (Phil. 3:12-14) In other words, Paul is saying he knew he was following in the general direction of God’s plan. He also knew that one day he’d get to that vantage point and see the bigger picture. Remember balance doesn’t come when we finally see God’s plan unfolded, it comes by moving forward not always knowing where we’re headed, but knowing God has it all planned out. So be joyful for your progress.

The point to remember is that even though God has planned out our lives beginning to end, He gives us volition of choice. Our response is to steward that gift well. Keep seeking Him to see what He’s already doing. Believe what He can do. And even though we may not know where we are going, we must follow in the general direction because in doing so, we begin to develop our likeness to Him. Then as the Lord unpacks our future little by little showing us a little more of our destination we will have great joy.

And joy will come not when we arrive, but as we progress towards the goal. Then we’ll understand what He means when He says: “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope.’” (Jer. 29:11)

Discussion Questions:

1.      How much do you want to be involved in deciding your future?

2.      Do you believe what God can do? What do you think prevents you from believing at times?

3.      As you spend time with the Father and respond to daily situations, can you see your character developing into His likeness? Explain.

4.      Balance comes with forward movement. Can you remember a specific time when you felt you only a step forward yet found so much joy in your progress? Share what happened.

5.      What part of today’s lesson affirmed what you are already doing and how has it encouraged you?

"All scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong with our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God’s way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17 NLT)

Sermon notes ministry: Debbie Chang, Robin Hart, Doreen Rabaino, Leighton Loo,

                                                Jay Tsukayama & Rhonda Pang