The students who are graduating are told by the commencement speaker that they are preparing to enter the adult world, and that each and every one of them have talents and skills they can contribute to making this a better world in which to live.
This is true, but if the commencement speaker was a Christian and wanted to tell them the whole story about their life, he would say, “God has a purpose for you being here, and you need to seek God to find out what His purpose is.”
This is what Paul was saying in Eph. 5:17, we read, “Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”
Many of these graduates start life off after graduation with all the vim and vigor they can muster up to find their niche in life.
Illus: Someone said this is what different college grads ask...
• The graduate with a Science degree asks ... "Why does it work?"
• The graduate with an Engineering degree asks ... "How does it work?"
• The graduate with a Business Administration degree asks ... "When will it work?"
• The graduate with a Finance degree asks ... "When will it turn a profit?"
• The graduate with an Accounting degree asks ... "How much will it cost?"
• The graduate with an Economics degree asks ... "Will there be demand for it?"
• The graduate with a Liberal Arts degree asks ... "Would you like fries with that order?"
Every year thousands and thousands of graduates are released into society to find out what God has put them here on earth to do.
HOW DO MANY GO ABOUT DOING THIS?
(1) MANY WILL FOLLOW THE CROWD
They think that if something works for others, it will work for them.
Illus: You have perhaps heard the story about the man from the back mountains of Tennessee who found himself in a large city for the first time, standing outside an elevator in a fancy hotel. He watched as an old, haggard woman hobbled into the elevator and the doors closed. A few minutes later the doors opened and a young, beautiful woman walked out. The father hollered to his youngest son, "Hey Billy, go get your mama.”
Listen, what works for ONE person does not always work for SOMEONE ELSE! You can get your life messed up fast thinking you can follow a certain individual and you will get the same results they are getting in their life.
Following the crowd can mislead us about ourselves the same way many have mislead themselves, by WEARING WHAT OTHERS WEAR thinking it will look good on them! It doesn’t work that way!
Many young girls will watch a television interview of some movie actress, and they look at the way she wears her hair and how she dresses, and they think that if they do the same thing they will get the same results she got.
If many of the actors and actresses today were to walk out into the streets like the average person, without all this plastic surgery and cosmetics, they would look like most people and would not get any more attention than anyone else if no one knew they were actresses. They spend thousands of dollars on plastic surgery and hair-dos, and special people to pick out their wardrobe so they look nice. These people do not shop at Walmart!
The reason I mention these actors and actresses is because it is foolish to think that we can follow the lead of others and look a certain way. And it is foolish to think we can follow others and find the plan of God for our lives.
To find their place in life, many just follow the crowd. They are like the blind leading the blind, and one day they are all going to fall in the same ditch.
(2) MANY WILL FOLLOW AFTER EVIL
Many people who follow evil do not intend to travel this road all their life. Their plan is to make some big money fast and then take a different route one day and give their hearts to the Lord before they die. But their mistake is this, once a person takes the sin route, there are consequences that follow.
• SIN WILL ROB YOU OF YOUR HEALTH
Many people today are in bad shape physically because they chose the path of sin. Sin has really destroyed the life of many.
Illus: I heard that one doctor was so busy treating patients that he had to change the message on his answering machine. A transcript of the new answering service goes something like this, “Hello, and welcome to the Mental Health Hotline.
• If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2 for you.
• If you have multiple personalities, press 3, 4, 5 and 6.
• If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want. Stay on the line so we can trace your call.
• If you are delusional, press 7 and your call will be transferred to the mother ship.
• If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a small voice will tell you which number to press.
• If you are manic-depressive, it doesn't matter which number you press, as no one will answer.
• If you have amnesia, press 8 and state your name, address, phone number, date of birth, social security number and your mother's maiden name.
• If you have bi-polar disorder, please leave a message after the beep or before the beep, or after the beep. Please wait for the beep.
• If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.
• If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.
• If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.
• If you have low self-esteem, please hang up. All our operators are too busy to talk to you.”
Many have chosen the path of sin thinking it to be the best route to take for their life. IT WILL ROB YOU OF YOUR HEALTH. Also -
• SIN WILL ROB YOU OF YOUR REPUTATION
Everyone has a reputation. But sin will rob us of our good reputation.
Illus: Marines are known for their toughness. A marine came to town and he pulled in at a hotel to get some rest, but every hotel in town was full.
• He said to the desk clerk, "You've got to have a room somewhere," he pleaded. "Or just a bed, I don't care where."
• "Well, I do have a double room with one occupant - an Air Force guy," admitted the manager, "and he might be glad to split the cost. But to tell you the truth, he snores so loudly that people in adjoining rooms have complained in the past. I'm not sure it'd be worth it to you."
• "No problem," the tired marine assured him. "I'll take it."
• The next morning the Marine came down to breakfast bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
• "How'd you sleep?" asked the manager.
• "Never better."
• The manager was impressed. "No problem with the other guy snoring?"
• "None whatsoever, I shut him up in no time," said the Marine.
• "How'd you manage that?" asked the manager.
• "He was already in bed, snoring away, when I came in the room," the marine explained. "I went over, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and said, 'Goodnight, beautiful,' and he sat up all night watching me."
Our opinion is what we think we are, our reputation is what others think we are. You can have a good reputation but you can choose to live in sin and immediately lose your good reputation.
• SIN WILL ROB YOU OF YOUR MONEY
Illus: A hurricane blew across the Caribbean. It didn't take long for the expensive yacht to be swamped by high waves, sinking without a trace. There were only two survivors: the boat's owner Dr. Eskin and its steward Benny. Both managed to swim to the closest island. After reaching the deserted strip of land, the steward was crying and very upset that they would never be found. The other man was quite calm, relaxing against a tree. "Dr. Eskin, Dr. Eskin, how can you be so calm?" cried the Benny. "We're going to die on this lonely island. We'll never be discovered here." "Sit down and listen to what I have to say, Benny," began the confident Dr. Eskin. "Five years ago I gave the United Way $500,000 and another $500,000 to the United Jewish Appeal. I donated the same amounts four years ago. And, three years ago, since I did very well in the stock market, I contributed $750,000 to each. Last year business was good again, so the two charities each got a million dollars." "So what?" shouted Benny. "Well, it's time for their annual fund drives. They'll find me," smiled Dr. Eskin.
You can have a lot of money, but a life of sin will rob you of every penny you have.
• SIN WILL ROB YOU OF YEARS OF YOUR LIFE
There is a reason that insurance companies want to know a little about your life-style before they insure you. They know that according to their statistics, certain lifestyles are big risks and they do not want to touch them.
Some have chosen the path of sin to find maximum pleasure. They went out one night to have some fun, and now they have the incurable disease called AIDS!
Many have chosen to find their place in life by choosing sin and others feel the best way is to follow the crowd.
But I am here to tell you there is a better way and it is the way God wants us to go! How can we find God’s will for our life? There are several things we need to consider.
I. WE KNOW GOD’S WILL THROUGH PRAYER
Look at Matthew 7:7-11, we read, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?”
Illus: A little boy was given some chores to do. His father said, “Robbie, if you have any questions I will be in my office.” The little boy nodded his head and the dad went to his office. Robbie began to do what he was asked to do, but in the process of doing these chores, he did more harm than good. His father came to check on him and he saw what a mess he had made of things, and he said, “Robbie, I told you if you had any questions to come ask me. Why didn’t you come and ask me?”
God the Father says the same today to us. He said if you want to know something ASK. He then goes on to say that if you, being evil, know how to give good gifts, how much more does our heavenly Father give good things.
Does that mean that the first time we talk to God in prayer about His will for our life we will know all the details immediately? No!
Illus: Remember when Paul was converted on the Damascus road, God had to knock him off that donkey to get his attention. Look at Acts 9:4-6 “And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, AND IT SHALL BE TOLD THEE WHAT THOU MUST DO.” Notice, God did not give him all the instructions he had for his life immediately. God pointed him a certain direction and said, “It shall be told thee what thou must do.”
This is the way God leads us. We PRAY, and He points us in a certain direction, and step by step He shows us where to go. This is why the Word of God says, in Matthew 7, “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.”
But let me say something here about prayer: PRAYER IS MORE THAN JUST ASKING. Prayer is asking, seeking, and knocking until the answer is received, or found.
The words Ask, Seek, and Knock are in the present tense, that means:
• You keep asking
• You keep seeking
• You keep knocking on heaven’s door
How long? Until you find out what God has for your life.
WE KNOW GOD’S WILL THROUGH PRAYER, and -
II. WE KNOW GOD’S WILL THROUGH THE WORD
The Word of God is our road map to heaven, but if you do not take time to read it, you do not know which way to go in this life.
The reason that the Bible is the best seller year after year is because there is some really amazing stuff in the Bible.
Illus: Some time ago, a little boy named Joey, who was nine years old, went to his Sunday school class and heard his teacher talk about how Israel escaped the clutches of Pharaoh and the Egyptians. When Joey got home, his mother asked him what he had learned that morning.
“Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his engineers build a pontoon bridge, and all the people walked across safely. He used his walkie-talkie to radio headquarters and call in an air strike when the Egyptians were closing in on them. They sent in bombers to blow up the bridge and destroy the enemy, and all the Israelites were saved.”
"Now, Joey, is that REALLY what your teacher taught you?" his mother asked.
"Well, no, Mom, but if I told it the way the teacher did, you’d never believe it!"
While we might find this little story amusing, it does show an attitude that is prevalent in our world today as far as the status of the Bible is concerned. :
• Many talk about the Bible as if it were based on myth or legend.
• Some question its historical accuracy.
• Others propose that it is merely fiction and the invention of mankind.
Illus: When we examined George Barna’s report on what American churches believe last week, we saw the following percentages when Christian denominations were polled on whether they agreed with the following statement: “The Bible is totally accurate.”
• All Adults 41%
• Adventists 64%
• Assemblies of God 77%
• Baptists (any type) 66%
• Catholics 26%
• Church of Christ 57%
• Episcopal 22%
• Lutheran (any type) 34%
• Methodist (any type) 38%
• Mormons 29%
• Non-denominational Christian 70%
• Pentecostal/Foursquare 81%
• Presbyterian (any type) 40%
It appears that our culture has penetrated our churches with skeptics in both the pulpit as well as the pew. Many who proclaim to be Christians doubt the absolute truthfulness of the Bible. Yet, it is from within its pages we are schooled about the teachings and messages of Jesus and the early apostles.
Without the Bible it is impossible to find the WILL OF GOD FOR YOUR LIFE. Without the Bible -
• How would we know WHAT IS RIGHT OR WRONG?
• How would we know that GOD LOVES US?
Illus: Remember that song we used to sing as a child, “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so…”
Every day we need to read this amazing Book that reveals to us how we are to live our life.
WE KNOW GOD’S WILL THROUGH PRAYER, WE KNOW GOD’S WILL THROUGH THE WORD and -
III. WE KNOW GOD’S WILL THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT
John 14:26 says, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”
Jesus told the disciples that it was expedient for Him to go back to the Father, so the Holy Spirit would come, and when He comes, the Bible says, “….He shall teach you all things…”
Listen, no person can be saved unless the Holy Spirit draws him unto the Lord. But once the Holy Spirit enters our life, He is with us every day of our life to TEACH US ALL THINGS.
As we study the Word of God each day, the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit will bring to our remembrance those things that God’s Word teaches. Listen, He will never tell you to do anything contrary to the Word of God.
Illus: “The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me.” ("Martin Luther--The Early Years," Christian History, no. 34.)
Conclusion:
Do you know God’s will for your life? We need to seek the will of God so we may live a life that is pleasing and profitable to the Lord.
How can we find the will of God for our lives?
I. WE KNOW GOD’S WILL THROUGH PRAYER
II. WE KNOW GOD’S WILL THROUGH WORD OF GOD
III. WE KNOW GOD’S WILL THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT
