Five Simple Steps to Discover God’s Plans for You

The very title, “Five Simple Steps to Discover God’s Plans for You,” likely has some of you already objecting. “You’ve got to be kidding! Simple? Discovering God’s plans?” Others of you are already thinking about your own questions:

• Who should I marry?
• Should I go back to school?
• Is this the place where God wants me to serve?
• Should I start my own business?
• Should I homeschool my kids?
• When should I buy a home?
• When should I retire?
• Where is God calling me?
• Is this job a dead-end?
• What’s the next step in my life?
• Which church should I attend?
• Am I really on track with God’s will for my life?

Does “Five Steps” sound too simplistic? Maybe. Is it possible we sometimes complicate God’s will or God’s plans for our lives? How do we figure out those plans? Just what are those plans? 

God’s promise in Jeremiah 29:11 gives us a clue: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (NIV)

Two Things to Believe

From that verse we can believe two things:

1. God’s plans are always good (not harmful to us).
2. God’s plans are always designed to bring us good (hope and a future).

But how do we handle the big decisions in life? How do we know if we’re making the ones that will bring good for us?

The Five Simple Steps

Here are five simple steps that might help. They’re not exclusive, and may appear too simple for you. But I believe they work:

• ASK. You want wisdom? James 1:5-6 says to ask God for it. But believe God will give it to you. Most of us have a tendency to figure things out on our own. God is saying, “Hello, I’m here. I made you. Trust me.”
• BE FAITHFUL WHERE YOU ARE. God will not give you greater opportunities or responsibilities if you aren’t faithful with what He’s already entrusted you in the smaller areas of your life (See Matthew 25:21). Serve Him cheerfully, gratefully, faithfully, wherever you are, no matter what your lot in life may be right now.
• LISTEN. Continue to study and pray (and even fast), watching for insights from God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. Other trusted believers can help balance your perspective. But in the end, God and His Word never change (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17). God will not “tell” you to do something that is against His righteous character or contrary to the principles in His Word. His Word is powerful, bringing instruction, correction, training, and equipping us thoroughly “for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Trying to make decisions without consulting God or His Word is like trying to find our way through a dark tunnel without a flashlight.
• WAIT. Waiting is not always easy. Sometimes God gives you more than one good choice. That happened to us one year when two churches were interested in my husband coming to serve as a new staff member. Both churches seemed like possible fits. We considered both, but had no answers. So we waited and prayed. Before we had to make a decision, God had eliminated one and cleared the way for the other.    

However, another time earlier in his life, Larry faced two good decisions. Both seemed great choices: attend college or serve in a missionary program for two years first. He ultimately decided God would have been pleased with either choice. So he ultimately chose one with confidence

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Joel Osteen: 7 Keys to Successful Public Speaking

Whether you are a religious person or not, there is no denying that Osteen is an influential speaker and that he has something to teach anyone who wants to improve his or her public speaking skills.  Here are the 7 keys that make Osteen a popular communicator.

Introduce a theme. Osteen always introduces a theme at the beginning of his presentation.  He will begin his remarks by saying, “I want to talk to you today about staying passionate about life,” or “I want to talk you to about having a big vision for your life.”  Introducing a theme gives your audience a roadmap.  Make sure your stories, anecdotes or examples tie back to your main theme.

Tell stories. Osteen fills his sermons with personal stories.  Some are simple anecdotes about something that happened to him, his wife or his kids.  Many are stories of friends, people he’s met, or churchgoers in the congregation.  Our brains are not programmed for abstract thoughts.  Tell personal stories to connect with your audience.

Use humor, sparingly. Osteen starts each sermon with a joke or a humorous observation.  I never recommend starting a sales presentation with a joke because it will often land flat.  Osteen has years of practice and his congregation expects him to start with a joke but I don’t recommend it for everyone.  However, humor is important.  It’s perfectly acceptable and even welcome to take yourself lightly during a presentation.  Osteen’s sermons are delivered live and edited before broadcast.  I once saw a live sermon and, as every speaker does, Osteen make mistakes.  But he doesn’t let those mistakes derail the rest of his presentation.  In fact he makes light of it.  “As it says in Corinthians…” he once started a sentence before pausing. “Well, you know what it says in Corinithians,” he quipped when he forgot what he was going to say next.  The audience laughed, Osteen smiled and just kept going.  It’s okay to make mistakes.  Don’t take yourself too seriously.

Use parallel sentence structure. Writing or speaking in parallel sentences is a rhetorical device that you will hear in most great speeches or presentations.  For example, Osteen recently said, “Once you know you’re a ‘no lack’ person, you won’t run from your enemies, you’ll run to your enemies. You won’t run away from college, thinking it’s too hard, you’ll run to it knowing that you’re well able.  You won’t run away from that management position, thinking that you’re not qualified, you’ll run to it knowing that you’re well equipped.”  Consider using parallel construction somewhere in your presentation.  It’s a memorable way to get your message across.

Practice well ahead of time. I’ve heard Osteen say that he prepares for five days ahead of each sermon.  That means he begins to prepare, write, and rehearse on a Wednesday for the following Sunday’s sermon.  He’ll spend hours for each 30-minute presentation and he starts fresh every week.  Whenever you see a leader who communicates so well it looks “effortless,” know that there’s a lot of practice that went into it.

Avoid notes. Osteen’s preparation shows because he rarely speaks from notes, although he does have notes.  The notes are placed discreetly on his lectern.  He always speaks in front of the lectern or next to it.  As he moves to another part of the stage, Osteen glances at his notes, makes eye contact and continues talking.  Don’t break eye contact with the audience by speaking from notes.  Give yourself enough time to practice so you can deliver your message with confidence.

Inspire your audience. Osteen’s message is always positive and inspiring (to the dismay of some of his critics).  I think whether you’re a religious person or not, inspiration is very important in presentations and communications.  Many people are uninspired, demoralized, and discouraged.  They are looking for someone to believe in.  As a leader of a congregation or of a business, people are looking to you for inspiration.  Leave them on a positive note.

Osteen didn’t start out as a confident speaker.  In fact he didn’t want anything to do with preaching and was perfectly content behind the scenes at his father’s church.  Once he decided to preach he was a nervous wreck, tellingOprah Winfrey that the week before his first sermon was the worst week of his life.  He got through the first sermon and has worked on his skill every week since.  Becoming a great communicator is no longer a skill that’s just nice to have.  It’s essential for success in any field.

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HAVING THE RIGHT ATTITUDE TOWARDS YOUR PASTOR/CHURCH LEADERS - Hebrews 13:17-13:18

1. RESPECT / HOLD IN HIGHEST REGARD / LIVE IN PEACE

1 Thess 5:12.13 “Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other”.

Vs 12 - respect - To hold with favour/give due recognition.
- work hard among you - Paul implies that the work of a pastor / elder / church leader is hard work.
- over you in the lord – The work of church leaders include ruling, overseeing and watching over the flock (shepherding them).
- who admonish you – Leaders have to counsel the flock (admonish – to warn / caution / reprove gently)

Vs 13 - Hold them in the highest regard in love - Not for their high position but in
appreciation for their work [Note: An elder or pastor is also a brother (see Matt 23:8-12) but has to be held in the highest regard because of the awesome responsibility associated with the office to which God has called him]. Pastors, Elders and other leaders have to teach, preach, visit the sheep, administer, pray for the sick, encourage, restore, bring reconciliation, overseer, shepherd etc..

- live in peace with each other - Right relationships between leaders and those
who are under them are encouraged.


2. REMEMBER \ CONSIDER \ IMITATE.

Hebrews 13:7 “Remember your leaders who spoke the Word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.

2.1) Remember your leaders who spoke the Word of God to you - recall the blessings
that have come to you under the ministry of the leaders. “Remember the hand that feeds you.” Don’t turn against the leaders when you disagree with them with regard to some plan or programme. Don’t criticize, ridicule or reject them. It is said that dogs are sometimes better than people at “remembering the hand that feeds you.” (oops !).

2.2) Consider the outcome of their way of life - Look back on the outcome of their way of life and the good that it has done for your own life.

2.3) imitate their faith - 1 Cor 4:15-17 (Paul’s example): “… I became your father through the gospel. Therefore I urge you to imitate me. For this reason I am sending to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

3 John 11 “Do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God.”

(See 3 Jn 9-12: THE EVIL EXAMPLE OF DIOTREPHUS).

(What the leaders are, the people will also be).


3. OBEY / SUBMIT / PRAY

Hebrews 13:17,18 “Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. 18 Pray for us.”

3.1) Obey your leaders

(i) The church is a THEOCRACY, which means that the government of God prevails i.e. the elders rule under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The church is not a democracy where everyone has a say in how the church is to be governed. The pastors (who are normally also ordained elders) and the other elders form the Governing Body at Cornerstone. This is the highest ruling body at Cornerstone, and is, we believe, in line with God’s Word. We must obey the leadership who has been ordained by God. If the leadership does not exercise the ministry to which God has called them, i.e. to rule (amongst other things), we will have “every man doing that which is right in his own eyes” (Judges 17:6).

(ii) Congregation members must take heed to the counsel given by the leaders because “they keep watch over you as men who must give an account”. (3 John vs 4 “I have no greater joy than to hear my children are walking in the truth.” The greatest sorrow of any Christian leader must be to see those whom he leads growing further away from God.)

3.2) submit to their authority - SUBMISSION IS OBEDIENCE. Dictatorial leadership
(as in the case of Diotrephus above) is not condoned by this command but respect for authority, orderliness and discipline in the church are taught throughout the New Testament. (Don’t think yourself too wise to take counsel from the elders).

3.3) they keep watch over you as men who must give an account – Each believer has the responsibility to strengthen other believers. This is especially true of those who shepherd the flock.

3.4) a joy and not a burden - A joyful elder will be of benefit to God’s people. (cf vs.17 “..no advantage to you”)

3.5) “Pray for us” (i) “This is one part of the duty which people owe to their ministers. Ministers need the prayers of their people; and the more earnestly the people pray for their ministers, the more benefit they may expect to reap from their ministry.” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary).
.

4. ACCUSATIONS AGAINST ELDERS

4.1) Go to him as a brother (Matt 18:15-17) eg. Paul to Peter

4.2) An accusation against an elder can only be brought to the rest of the church leadership on the basis of two or three witnesses.
1 Tim 5:19: “Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses.”

5. FINANCIAL REWARD FOR LEADERS

5.1) 1 Tim 5:17-18: ‘The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honour, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18. For the scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the corn,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”’

5.2) Gal 6:6 (NIV): “Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.”
Gal 6:6 (Amplified Bible): “Let him who receives instruction in the word [of God] share all good things with his teacher [contributing to his support].”

(Compare Gal 6:6 to 1 Tim 5:17 above – the elders … worthy of double honour … especially … preaching and teaching).

N.B. The above scriptures would normally refer to “full-time” ministers who “should receive their living from the gospel” (1 Cor 9:14 – see 5.3 below)..

5.3) 1 Cor 9:7-14 Sowing and reaping by ministers of the gospel..


6. WARNING

6.1) 1 Samuel 26:9-11 (David concerning Saul) ‘But David said to Abishai, “Don’t destroy him! Who can lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed and be guiltless? 10 As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “the Lord Himself will strike him; either his time will come and he will die, or he will go into battle and perish. 11 But the Lord forbid that I should lay a hand on the Lord’s anointed. …”’ (See also 1 Sam 24:6, 10). (Elders are anointed and appointed by the Holy Spirit [Acts 20:28]).

6.2) Numbers 12:1-15 Miriam and Aaron challenging the leadership of Moses.

(1 Sam 15:22) “Rebellion is like the sin of divination.”

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