1 John 5:14-15 (NKJV) Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
As Christians, we often like to carry out our own agenda and expect God to bless it and bail us out if needed. It might be a man’s good idea or something born out of a dialogue that we have had with AI, but chatting with AI cannot and must not replace our dialogue with God. When we expect and demand that God bless the project, we get disappointed when He doesn’t. God is not obliged to bless our plan when He was not even consulted, and we are certainly in no position to dictate to God what to do for us or even to bless our plans.
Jesus is the Lord of our lives. Therefore, it’s important for us to pursue, articulate, plan and execute God’s idea, and it is wise to seek God’s endorsement before rushing to execute it. Not every idea is God’s idea. We must consecrate our plan, idea and dream to Him, seek confirmation through a Book, Chapter and Verse (BCV), and, in addition, a witness of the Holy Spirit and godly counsel. If we are confident that it is God’s idea, God will pay for and bless it, but if it is our idea without consecration, we will need to fund it ourselves!
Once God has given us the idea, we own it and know what the final product will look like. We are impregnated with it. Once God has given us the idea, the strategy, we will be able see point B from point A, articulate the vision and the strategy, have the faith to raise funds, and believe God will grant us the right partners and people to work with us.
It isn’t always easy to pray in faith or with confidence, because most of the time we don’t have the assurance that our prayers will be answered. In other words, we will not have a firm footing in doing whatever we want unless it is the Lord’s instruction or His will. Therefore, we should seek to know God’s will through prayer of consecration, because only then can we pray in faith and confidence. Though walking in the perfect will of God doesn’t exempt us from tribulations, the Lord promises that He hears us and will give us our petition, especially when we are walking out His will in our lives. What gives substance to our faith is knowing confidently that we are walking in what He has called us to and that He has endorsed the work He has for us.
It is our responsibility to seek God’s will and plan for our lives. Therefore, we must invest time in prayer, silent retreat, and reading the Bible.
Reflection: In your decision-making process, do you acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of your life? How is the Holy Spirit leading you to consecrate your plan and your life to Him and to further surrender to Him?
Sermon Series: Walk into the future with a word given by God
寻求神的心意和梦想
约翰一书 5:14-15 我们若照他的旨意求什么，他就听我们，这是我们向他所存坦然无惧的心。既然知道他听我们一切所求的，就知道我们所求于他的，无不得着。
作为基督徒，我们常常喜欢执行自己的计划，并期待神祝福我们的计划，在需要的时候拯救我们。这个计划可能是人的好主意，也可能是我们与人工智能对话后产生的想法，但与人工智能聊天不能、也绝不能取代我们与神之间的对话。当我们期待并要求神祝福我们的项目时，如果祂没有这样做，我们就会感到失望。神没有义务祝福一个我们甚至没有寻求祂意见的计划，而我们当然也没有资格指示神该为我们做什么，甚至要求祂祝福我们的计划。
耶稣是我们生命的主。因此，对我们而言，重要的是追求、表达、规划并执行神的意念；在急于执行之前，先寻求神的认可才是明智之举。并非每一个想法都是神的想法。我们必须将我们的计划、想法和梦想分别为圣归给祂，并通过经文依据（Book, Chapter and Verse, BCV）、圣灵的见证，以及属灵的劝勉来寻求确认。如果我们确信这是神的意念，神会供应并祝福它；但如果这是我们自己的想法，却没有分别为圣归给神，我们就需要自己承担一切费用！
一旦神赐下这个意念，我们就会拥有它，并知道最终的成果会是什么样子。这个意念已经孕育在我们里面。一旦神赐下这个意念和策略，我们就能够从起点 A 看见终点 B，表达出异象和策略，有信心筹集资源，并相信神会赐给我们合适的伙伴和同工，与我们一起完成祂的工作。
以信心或坦然无惧的心祷告并不总是容易，因为大多数时候，我们并没有确切的把握知道我们的祷告是否会得到回应。换句话说，除非我们所做的是主的指示或祂的旨意，否则我们并没有稳固的根基去随心所欲地行动。因此，我们应当通过奉献的祷告寻求明白神的旨意，因为只有这样，我们才能凭着信心和坦然无惧的心祷告。虽然行在神完全的旨意中，并不代表我们不会经历患难，但主应许我们，祂垂听我们，并且会赐下我们所求的，特别是当我们在生命中活出祂旨意的时候。使我们的信心有实质的，是我们确知自己正行在祂所呼召我们的道路上，并且祂已经认可祂托付给我们的工作。
寻求神在我们生命中的旨意和计划，是我们的责任。因此，我们必须投入时间在祷告、安静退修以及阅读圣经上。
默想：在你的决定过程中，你是否承认耶稣是你生命的主？圣灵如何带领你将你的计划和生命分别为圣归给祂，并进一步降服于祂？
讲章系列：带着神所赐的话语迈向未来