God's Will For Your Life

GOD’S WILL FOR YOU by George Crumbly

Humphrey UMC 02/25/2007AM

Matthew 12:46-50

I started off this week thinking about God’s will. Tuesday at 5:20pm the District Superintendant called me from Pine Bluff to see if I could drive to Pine Bluff and meet with the credentials board. I had to be there at 7:00pm. I made it and met with the board. I told them through out my ministry, starting in 1984, I have ALWAYS tried to be in the center of the Lord’s will. We’ve never ran when things got rough as a matter of fact I said years ago that man didn’t call me into the ministry, God did so when it is time to leave God will move us.

(A few years ago we have a bad experience in a church that finally after fighting Satan for 6 years we did walk away. It was stay and fight a never win battle and lose our health we did walk away. It was funny the day we left that night I had 3 preacher friends of mine call me to encourage me as they knew what we were going thru, 2 of the preachers told me that I stayed in that church 3 years longer than they would have. They hadn’t spoken to each other before calling me. I for the first time in my ministry maybe I hadn’t been in the center of God’s will)

Even though it was a terrible experience God did some great things thru 4 or 5 people (that left when we did). I could tell you testimony after testimony things God did. The church is closed now. However, to this day I believe that we have been in the center of God’s will for our life as well as ministry.

I believe that God has a plan for each of us today. When we are in His plan I believe then we are in His will….doing his will.

MATTHEW 12: verses 46-50

“While He was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and His brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to Him. Someone told him, look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you. But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, who is my mother, and who are my brothers? And pointing to his disciples, he said, here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my father in Heaven is my brother and sister and mother”.

Thursday I was listening to the radio, I was listening to the St. Jude-a-thon, I was listening to the parents of children that had passed away from cancer. It was so sad. I heard one mother who’s son has passed away, she said that she believed it was God’s will for them to go to St. Jude.

I began to think about David Ring’s sermon “why do bad things happen to good people?” What do you tell mother’s and father’s at a time like this? These folks were thankful for the time they got to spend with their children!!

I’ve heard people say that they were mad at God for something bad that happened in their family. Then there are folks living in sin claiming everything is good with them because they are so blessed.

MATTHEW 5: 45b

For he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust”.

(I pastored a single mother years ago that had a 3 month old son, he stayed with our family a lot as the mother was a hard worker providing for her son. One day he passed away from SIDS. It was terrible. It broke our churches heart, but as a pastor what do you tell the mom?)

We were in revival with evangelist’s from Kentucky, they told me there was nothing you could say or do that would help….

I heard a preacher when I first got in the church one time he pastored a very Godly lady. She served the Lord and raised a family always serving and trusting the Lord. This lady suffered months before she passed away and after the Lord took her home after the funeral one of her son’s was very bitter because of how she had suffered especially being so faithful to God for so many years. The pastor told the son he could not explain why she had to suffer, but one thing he knew is she did not suffer like Jesus suffered.

I’ve learned after nearly 25 years in the ministry that being in the center of God’s will isn’t always “hunky-dory”. God never told me anytime that it was going to be easy. He never asked me where I might like to serve. You see it’s not our way…it’s God’s way. It’s not our will but God’s will.