Welcome to the InTouch podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, September 19th. Today's message invites you to rediscover the foundations of prayer. learning to listen to God and receive from Him. Do you want God's best for your life. Are you willing just to do and just to get what you can do?
Do you want his best? God's best. is the very best And awesome. Omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, all-knowing, unconditionally loving God can provide. He has that for his children.
Now watch this. Watch this carefully. His best is not the same thing necessarily he gives someone else. You can't compare yourself to someone else because that person's life is not the same as your life. God's plan for that person is not the same as His plan for your life.
And it may be that where you are in life, a lot of that is because of what you've done in life or what you've believed about yourself or how little you've believed about God. And the truth is We have to be specific. God wants us to have his best.
So we have to go about it in the right life. Listen to the Spirit of God. Hear the heart of God. Listen to what he says beginning in verse 8. He says, Hear, O my people, he says.
And again in that same verse, O Israel, he says, if you would listen to me, let there be no strange God among you. And then again, he says in verse 13: Oh, that my people would listen to me. What are you hearing? You're hearing. God saying, oh.
Oh, Charles, oh Bob, oh Mary, oh Sue, oh Margaret, oh Martha. In other words, oh if you would just listen to me, if you would just walk in my ways, look what I have planned for you, look what you are doing in your own devious ways. Trying to devise things. If you came to me, here's what I would do: I'd give you my best. God doesn't change.
And so God isn't going to give you second best. Watch this. You and I determine whether we get God's best or not by our response to Him. By a trust in Him. And so here is this awesome God.
Who is a God of blessing? And who is able and ready to provide every single need we have, no matter what it may be, and He is more than willing to provide it for us now. The question is, What are the requirements for getting our needs met and our desires met? Number one, you've got to ask. And some people are just too proud to ask.
Well, here's what they'll say.
Well, I th you know, God's too busy. He ain't have time for me. And what they're really saying is I'm just too proudful to ask. When you're too proudful to ask, you're too proudful. to receive and to enjoy life's best.
And then some people think they're asking when they're not. Just because listen, just because you talk to God doesn't mean that you're asking. And if you're going to ask, you need to ask specifically. That's what the scripture says: ask and it shall be given you. Not just ask.
Ask and it shall be given you.
Now for example You see, we think we do those things. For example, let me ask you: how many of you men, you want to get married and you just want to say, God, give me a woman? Yes. You're not gonna say that. Or some woman says, I just want a man, God.
Just give me a man. First of all, that's a very dangerous request. Because you might get one and then not like what you get. You say, Well, I want to be specific.
Well, how specific could you be? You say, Well, First of all, I'd like to thank you and say, Lord, I want a godly woman. Amen? Then you might say, Well, God, if you mix up a little beauty with that godliness, that would be wonderful. And then, Lord, if you really want to bless me, just put a little wealth in there with all that.
And then it'd just be absolutely fantastic.
Well, let me ask you a question. Is anything wrong with asking for what you want? No.
Well, I want you to see simply this: if you expect things from God, you ought to be specific. Oh God, just give me a job. Ask God. What your gifts are. How he's equipped you.
God, what fits me best? And then just ask God to just get specific. God wants, listen. He doesn't want to just give you something. Here's what he said.
I'll give you the finest. He didn't say, I'm going to give you the finest food.
Well, what's that? I'm going to give you the finest wheat. That was basic. And not only that, I'm going to sweeten it up and I'm going to give you the finest honey from the rock. God is specific about How he answers prayer.
And I'm simply asking you this. Do you ask him? him and specifically tell him what you need and what you desire in your life.
Now, if you're asking for something That's not of him, one of two things will happen. Number one. He will bring it to your mind that it does not fit. Who you are and his plan for your life. Then you have to decide whether you're going to sort of keep, you're going to fast and pray and stand on the word of God and beg God like you're going to convince him against his will.
You're wasting time. He's the Heavenly Father who loves us, wants the best for us. Or you'll just Realize that you know what, that's not of him, and so he'll show you something better to ask for.
Now, watch this: people say, Well, God either says, Yes, yes. No or wait.
Well, I I can agree with that, but I like to look at it this way. He says yes. Or he'll say, I have something better. Oh wait. Because I can tell you, everything God has ever removed out of my life, He's given me something better every single time.
I can look back and look back very simply and see that. Secondly, Sometime When I think it may be the right thing. And God doesn't say No But watch me work. Just watch me, surrender it to me and watch me work. God is so willing to give us the best.
Listen, if He tells you not to something, you know what? It's an act of love. Because he's got something better. It isn't that he wants you to go in need. If the desires of your heart Are in keeping with His purpose and plan for your life, He's going to grant it.
But one of the things we have to deal with is: we have to deal with this whole issue of asking and asking specifically. He says, Ask and it shall be given you. Seek and ye shall find.
Something very specific. It's one thing to ask. But listen, if my asking has any power to it, And if my asking is really going to have any real strength to it, I have to anticipate the answer. Ask and anticipate the answer. That means I begin to expect it.
Now, if I anticipate it, and I really mean business, listen, I'm going to prepare for it. If I'm really and truly believing God, I'm going to make preparation. There's some things that you would ask for that God needs to prepare you for. For example, Let's say that You've been asking God for a particular job. And you believe that's exactly what God wants.
and you believe that he's going to give you that job. Then, what do you do? You begin to see yourself in that position, and you see yourself, well, I need some training over here.
Well, I need to change this. I need to change either where I live, or I need to change my schedule. In other words, there's some things I need to change.
Well, you're just going to wait out there until God does it? Or are you believing Him to the point that you begin to make preparation because you anticipate God answering your petition? And listen to what happened to Israel. He said, Is it you ask? And I set you free.
And what happened? He said, next thing I know, you're going out to your own devices, you're doing things your own way. And here's what happens.
Sometimes, when God doesn't answer us the way we expect, or When we expect him to answer it, we decide to do what? We decide, well, you know, I just can't wait.
Now, listen, isn't this stupid? Listen to this. You talk into the Heavenly Father. Timing is always perfect. Resource is always perfect.
Everything about it is just right. And we're telling him. We can't wait. What you're saying is I can't wait for the best, so I'll just take second best. I can't wait for the best, so I'll just figure out what I can do.
Waiting upon the Lord is one of the most basic principles of God's Word. He's got the best for you. That's the way he operates.
Now, remember this: you can't say, Well, look what he's got, look what she's got, look where they are, look at their position. That's not the issue, the issue is what's God's best for you. And the best time to start that in life is early in life. Doing what he says, do, and getting yourself in a position whereby he can do exactly what he says.
So, we have to anticipate it. And then, if you'll notice what he says over and over and over again, now watch this carefully, this is very important. You want to get your needs met? You want the desires of your heart? Listen.
Verse 8. Hear, O my people, and I will admonish you. O Israel, if you just listen to me. And here's the first thing he said: Let there be no strange God among you, nor shall you worship any foreign God.
Now, watch this. We read over those verses and say, Count that off, no problem. Idolatry is not my life, no problem. It was a big issue with them because they were surrounded with people who had multiple gods.
Now you say, well, do you think A believer can have idols? Yes. And I want you to listen very carefully because this is one of the primary reasons, not only that you're not asking right. Not anticipating, making no preparation, but they're idols in your life. You say, Well, I don't have any idols in my life.
You go into my house, you don't see anything that's gold, you don't see anything that's built like this. Mmm, it's worse than that. Here's an idol. Let's say, for example, you're in the process of making a decision. And so it's a very important decision in your life.
And so you're going to base this decision On something that somebody else desires, or what they want, or what they wish.
Well, I've got to please so-and-so. All of a sudden, that person is an idol in your life. Listen carefully, because what you're doing is you're making a decision based on the will and purpose of someone else, not the will and purpose of God.
Now watch this. That's idolatry. Listen, he says there's to be only one God in our life. And that is Jehovah God. His Son is Jesus Christ the Lord, who sent the Holy Spirit to dwell inside of every single one of us, so that when we came to those decision-making processes, He would show us exactly what to do.
And I'm saying all that to say this: the Christian life. Following Jesus boils down to one thing. Obey God. Leave all the consequences to him. If I believe that Almighty God Jehovah His Son being my Savior, the Holy Spirit living on the inside of me.
If I believe He's who He says He is, I only have to make one decision. To obey God. or not to obey God. That's the decision. These are the things of periphery.
Listen, cannot God take care of your children? Yes. Can they not show you where to live? Yes. Can he provide a house?
Yes. That's not the issue. The issue is this. Am I going to do what they did? He says, I turned them over to the stubbornness of their heart.
I am the one true God. I am your God who brought you out of Egyptian slavery. Listen, if God can save you out of your sin, And write your name in the Lamb's Book of Life, and give you the gift of eternal life. And live on the inside of you as your very life, can He not meet every single need and every desire of your heart? Yes.
But Add to go about it in the right way. And so, first of all, I gotta ask him. I've got to believe him. I've got to anticipate it. And I've got to believe that he's going to do exactly what he says.
And then there's something else I want you to see here that's very important. There's a phrase here. In uh verse 10. Look in verse 10 if you will.
Now This one we'll miss if we're not careful. Look at this.
So he says Verse 9: Let there be no strange God among you, nor shall you worship any foreign God. Ah, The Lord, Jehovah, am your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, opened your mouth wide, and I will fill it. Watch this. This is the lesson of the birds. Those birds know If they're going to eat, they've got to open their mouth wide.
They get a big juicy worm. Here's what he say. Watch this. Trust me for something big. Trust me for, listen, trust me for something that you can't do.
Trust me for something that, listen, you can't figure out, you can't manipulate, you can't devise. Trust me for those things when it looks impossible. Listen, the more impossible it is, the more God rejoices. Why? Because he delights in showing himself strong.
So here's the issue. Are you asking him with little faith, open your mouth wide? And notice what he says. I'll give you a dribble. No?
I'll give you a drop or two, no? He said, I'll fill it.
So think about it in this light. Do you want to come to God with a thimble or a fifty gallon drum? Many people come with a thimble. Oh God, meet my needs.
Well, your needs are bigger than the thumble. And the desires are bigger than the thimble. We forget who we are. This is God Almighty. The sovereign of the universe, who says to you and to me, individuals who are followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, and the only begotten Son there is.
Trust me. Ask me Obey me. Follow me, walk in my ways, and look what I will do in your behalf. You see, listen, God is not only this awesome God of giving and taking care of, He's also a God of holiness. He wants the best.
And from his perspective, the best is getting us in a position to walk in his ways and his will so that, listen, so that what he does for us, he gets credit for it. That is, he wants to bring glory and honor for himself. He wants to work in your life and my life in such a way that other people will see that the God in whom we believe is truly God. That his son Jesus Christ who went to the cross and laid down his life. This is the real thing.
This is what life's all about. When he forgives you and you repent of it and deal with it, that's gone. God has the best for you. Don't live in the past.
Well, you know, my past.
Well, everybody's got one.
Well, you know, about, you know, there have been things in my life. There are things in everybody's life. But there's the blood of Jesus. that has absolutely cleansed us. And the Spirit of God, who has enabled us and who has provided the best for us, if we will trust Him.
So you say, okay, all right, I got you, I got you, I got you.
So, what do I do now? Here's what you do: listen very carefully. I want the best for you. That's my only goal. I have no other goal, the best for you.
I don't want to spend my life talking to people who are not listening.
So I'm believing that you're listening. Amen? Right.
So here's what you do. You say, God. Show me what it is in my life. that's hindering me from receiving your best. Show me God.
And listen, when he brings up something, don't say, oh, well, that couldn't be it. That's why he brought it up. And what you'll do, if it's something you don't want to give up, you'll say, well, Mm-hmm. You know, nobody's perfect. No, whatever he brings up, deal with it.
So you've got to deal with it. Lord, show me. what it is in my life. It's keeping me from being what you want me to be. Show me God if I have some idols in my life.
Let me check. My attitude about the people around me. Am I more concerned about somebody's opinion of me, how they see me, what they expect of me, what they want from me, than I am what God wants and what He expects and what He wills?
So you have to You you see you can't you can't run down the aisle and get on your knees. Getting this all straightened out. No, you need to go home and get by yourself and look at yourself within and say, God, I want a clear examination. And believe me, you're talking about an x-ray, he knows exactly what to do. And so when he brings it up, You have to make a decision.
And the decision's real simple. Lay it down. Or keep it. If you lay it down, you give it up, you lay it aside. Then, what happens?
You ask God not only to forgive you for keeping that in your life, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, I want you to enable me to walk away from this and to live obediently before you. I'm going to trust you, God, to give me the strength to live obediently before you. And then I'm going to watch you work, God. I'm going to expect and anticipate you to work in my life. How will God answer that?
Exactly. Listen, he will show you what's wrong. You will have to deal with it. And when you surrender it and say, God, You know what? All these years, man, I had a lot of things that I thought absolutely important, but today.
In fact, God, I want to be sure. You know what, I don't want anything in my life that ought not to be there, so I want to be clean, God. You know what he'll do? From that moment God is going to begin to bless you. Got you.
Lead you? Honor you? Listen. He's going to do something in your life. that you can't even begin to imagine what it'll do.
Thank you for listening to part two of Are You Limiting God's Blessings? If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or NTouch Ministries, stop by ntouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
