Don't Let Human Reasoning Rob You of God's Plan

Sermon outline

Be occupied with God's plan rather than your own calculations, because obedience, not human reasoning, is what releases His provision and makes you a person He can use.

1. Number one: who are we in this life?

   We are sons and daughters of the King of kings, in the world but not of it, a royal priesthood and a holy nation. All are equal before God, and the body of Christ is of a royal bloodline. Do not be so easily conditioned by the world around you.

   “We are an uncommon people with an uncommon goal or assignment in a very uncommon world.”

   • 1 Peter 2:9

2. Number two: where do you want to be in this life?

   What level should you have reached by now, according to the plan you had for your life? Set your life goals from a biblical perspective. God has called us to clarity, purpose, intentionality and realism, and to be occupied with His plan rather than preoccupied with judgement, slander, gossip and criticism.

   “God has called us to a life of clarity, not confusion.”

3. Forget about yourself and you will find yourself

   Jesus said He did not come to make life cosy; well-meaning family can be your worst enemy, and whoever clings to life loses it. That contradicts popular belief: the word does not say live your best life now or follow your passion to find your purpose. We search so hard for an identity, and it is found by finding Him first.

   “The word doesn't say there, live your best life now. It doesn't say pursue your dreams relentlessly.”

   • Matthew 10:32-39

4. You are worth more than a million canaries

   God is the author and finisher, not an afterthought for retirement; your calling began before you were born. He never overlooks a sparrow and numbers the hairs on your head, so do not be intimidated by bully talk. Keep on asking, seeking and knocking, and ask Him directly for what you want.

   “Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask him exactly what you want.”

   • Jeremiah 29:11
   • Hebrews 12:2
   • Luke 12:4-7
   • Luke 11:9-10

5. Total commitment leaves no place for fear

   The rich young man kept every commandment but walked away sad, holding too tightly to what he had. Jesus wants commitment, tenacity and militancy: people who say they will live for God even if it kills them. Leaders have no business with gossip; the church is to be a pillar and a witness, free from rule-keeping religion, and generous, because a stingy planter gets a stingy crop.

   “Total commitment means no place for fear. The church needs leaders, not a mouse sitting in the corner.”

   • Mark 10:17-23
   • 1 Timothy 3:15
   • Isaiah 55:3-5
   • Galatians 5:1-6
   • 2 Corinthians 9:2-8

6. Your own strength can be disobedience

   Most times we focus on the minors instead of the majors and make cop-outs about the things of God. Even good and honourable work, done in your own strength instead of what God said, is disobedience, because it is not leaning on Him. How can we live by the rules of the world and expect godly blessing?

   Illustration: A man was told by God to buy a building and do something specific with it. When things got tough he leased out parts and opened another business, and five years later he was near bankruptcy. When he repented, God showed him in a dream that the building's floorboards were valuable; they sold for five times what the building was worth, fixing in a day what he had struggled with for five years.

   “Sometimes doing things in our own strength is disobedience because it's not leaning on God.”

   • Proverbs 23:7

7. The reward of the calling

   A child walks into his father's house and goes straight to the fridge, knowing everything there is his; that is the confidence of sons and daughters of the King. He did not want full-time ministry because he had big dreams, but the more he did for God, the faster his own desires were fulfilled. God chose us to bear fruit, and the godly are never abandoned nor their children begging bread.

   Illustration: Driving home from ministry in the Eastern Cape, praying in tongues, he was stopped by police. The officer stepped back as he opened the window, and they let him go without the ticket. He prayed for a policewoman who was limping from a motorcycle fall; her leg was healed in the car, and a word of knowledge he gave her about her son came to pass weeks later.

   “As long as I follow God, I will remain a person pliable and remain obedient and usable for God and his plan.”

   • Philippians 4:19
   • Numbers 23:19
   • Psalm 37:23-26
   • John 15:16

In this message