Help I Need Somebody Series

Help! I Need Direction!

Topic: Discovering the plan of God for our lives.

Thesis: To know God's plan for your life comes from you knowing God personally.

Introduction:

People around the world are crying out for help. They want answers to their questions. They want insight. So they try physics, speaking with the dead, palm readings and the list could go on. But their questions are not answered.

Christians around the world cry out for help. They are going around asking everyone else but the Lord what they should be doing with their life. They run to Prophets time and time again. They ask many church leaders. They seem to ask for direction and insight but rarely seem to discover what God's plan is for their life.

The questions I hear the most seem to deal with knowing God's plan for individual lives. Here are the most common ones:

1. How do I know when God is speaking to me?

2. How do I know that God is active in my life?

3. How do I get to the point of trusting His word 100%?

4. How do I know with out a shadow of doubt that His promises are 100% accurate?

5. How do I adjust my belief system so it aligns with God and His ways?

6. How do I adjust my character so it aligns with God and His ways?

7. How do I adjust my behavior so it aligns with God and His ways?

8. How do I know the direction God wants me to follow in my life?

9. What do I do when I learn His plan for my life?

10. What do I need to do to experience God working through me?

11. How do I respond when God uses me and I know it?

12. How do I know this is really God?

These questions and areas of concern want to be answered by individuals. So many come to me or they seek out others to answer their questions. The problem that I see however is that the only person who can really answer these questions for the individual is God Himself. I want you to understand this very plainly. No one can answer these questions even if they tell you they can. You cannot answer these questions for yourself only God can do this.

We need to recall John 14:26 "The Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things." Jesus said that the Holy Spirit is to be our teacher, our guide, our answer person and we must acknowledge Him as so.

Blackaby stated, "The Bible is God's Word to you. The Holy Spirit honors and uses God's Word in speaking to you. The Scriptures will be your source of authority for faith and practice. You cannot depend on human traditions, your experience, or the experience of others to be accurate authorities on God's will and ways. Experience and tradition must always be examined against the teaching of Scripture" (4).

T.S.- Therefore let's look at God's word and learn how to discover if the Lord is speaking to you and directing you.

I. The Bible reveals How God involved Himself with individuals.

a. We discover that when God spoke to individuals in the Bible they knew it was God.

i. Moses when confronted with the burning bush knew it was God.

1. Exodus 3:1-22; 4:1-18

a. Moses first saw the burning bush and he investigated this unusual sight.

i. When you see a sign go investigate it. Take the time to check it out!

1. It could be God trying to get your attention.

ii. Ortberg states, "He could have looked the other way, as many of us would. He would have just missed the Exodus, the people of Israel, his calling, the reason for his existence. He would have missed knowing God" (20).

b. When he approached God -God spoke out of the bush to him. Moses answered Him "Here I am." The key to hearing God is acknowledging him.

i. When God calls you need to answer.

c. Then the Lord gave Moses direction on what he was suppose to do. Moses listened so the conversation continued.

i. "Do not come any closer, and take off your shoes."

ii. Moses obeyed and he took off his shoes.

1. He listened and obeyed.

2. He showed respect and honor to God by taking off his shoes.

iii. God then again confirmed that He was who He said He was.

1. Moses responded by hiding his face.

2. He knew he was unworthy to be in God's presence.

3. He was afraid to look at him because of his sin condition.

a. He knew he was a sinner and unholy. 1st step in knowing God's voice intimately is recognizing you sinful condition and being ashamed by it.