Proverbs 3:5-6 (NJKV) Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight.
Hebrews 11:6 (NIV) But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
The first Scriptureencourages us to trust the Lord with all our heart, not lean on our own understanding, and acknowledge Him in all our ways, and He will make our path straight. Likewise, the second Scripture says we should have faith in God.
Many people carry out their own agenda in life, expecting God to bless it and rescue them when necessary. They hope and may even demand that God bless such projects or businesses. They are operating according to their own understanding without seeking the face of God. When God doesn’t bless their plans, they feel disappointed. Why would God be obliged to bless their plans when He was not even consulted about them? No one can dictate to God to do things for them or even bless their initiatives. We must determine whether something is just a good idea or God’s idea. He is the Lord of our lives, so we must pursue, articulate, plan and execute God’s ideas and dreams and seek His endorsement before hastening to implement our ideas.
How do we acknowledge God? This is achieved through praying the consecrated prayer. We must avoid the danger of praying without fully consecrating ourselves to God.
To ensure that it is God’s idea, we should get a confirmation through a Book, Chapter, and Verse (BCV) in the Bible, together with a witness of the Holy Spirit with godly counsel. If we are confident it is God’s idea, He will finance it and bless it, but we must bear the cost ourselves if it is our idea without consecration. Once God has given us the idea, we own it and know what the final product looks like—we are impregnated with it.
How do we know whether it is God’s will? Jesus teaches us in the Lord’s Prayer that the Father’s will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. There is a heavenly plan for each and every one of our lives. He is the master craftsman who created each of us uniquely with different talents and gifts. The prayer of consecration helps us to know whether it is God’s will:
- Pray about the will of God for your life.
- Submit yourself to God’s will.
- Pray repeatedly until God’s will is known.
True faith comes from the heart. We will speak forth what we have believed. After that, we need to deal with the doubt and unbelief in our mind. Although we often feel uncomfortable or even anxious when we cannot see, feel, or have sufficient information about specific issues, preferring to have all the evidence before our eyes, the Kingdom of God does not work this way; everything must be done by faith in God and His Word. Nonetheless, we can rest in His promise that as we acknowledge Him by seeking Him diligently, He will reward us and make our path straight!
Sermon Series：Wise Saying
祂赏赐我们的信心
箴言3:5-6 你要专心仰赖耶和华，不可倚靠自己的聪明。在你一切所行的事上，都要认定他，他必指引你的路。
希伯来书 11:6 人非有信，就不能得神的喜悦；因为到神面前来的人必须信有神，且信他赏赐那寻求他的人。
第一节经文鼓励我们要专心仰赖耶和华，不可倚靠自己的聪明，在我们一切所行的事上都要认定祂，祂必指引我们的路。同样，第二节经文说我们要对神有信心。
许多人在生活中按自己的计划行事，并期望神保守它，也在必要时拯救他们。他们希望，甚至要求神祝福这些项目或生意。他们依靠自己的聪明行事，没有寻求神的面。当神没有祝福他们的计划时，他们感到失望。既然他们没有寻求神，为什么神有义务祝福他们的计划呢？没人能命令神为他们做事，甚至祝福他们的举措。我们必须确定某件事只是一个好主意还是神的旨意。祂是我们生命的主宰，所以我们要追求、讲解、计划和实施神的意念和梦想，在我们急于实施自己的想法之前，最好先获得神的许可。
我们如何认定神？这可以通过分别为圣的祷告来实现。我们必须避免在没有将自己完全分别为圣献给神的情况下祷告时会面临的危险。
为确保这是神的旨意，我们应该通过圣经中的某一卷书、章节和经句来获得肯定，包括圣灵的印证和敬虔的劝告。若我们确信它是神的旨意，神会提供财务上的支持且祝福它，但如果这是我们自己的想法，也没有分别为圣，我们就需要自己承担代价。一旦神给了我们一个主意，那么我们就拥有这个主意，并且知道最后的结果会是什么样子–我们就孕育了它。
我们如何知道这是否是神的旨意? 耶稣在主祷文中教导我们，愿父的旨意行在地上如同行在天上。我们每个人都有属天的计划在生命中。祂是大陶匠，创造了独一无二的我们，每个人都有不同的智慧和恩赐。分别为圣的祷告帮助我们知道这是否是神的旨意：
- 为神对你生命中的旨意祷告。
- 顺服神的旨意。
- 反复祷告，直到知道神的旨意。
真正的信心是从内心发出。我们会说出我们所相信的。之后，我们将处理心中的怀疑和不信。虽然我们通常在某件问题上看不到、感觉不到或没有足够的信息时会感到不舒服，甚至焦虑，想要所有的证据都摆在我们眼前，但神的国不是这样运作的；凡事都要凭着信靠神和祂的话。尽管如此，我们在祂的应许中可以安稳，因祂应许赏赐那藉着寻求来认定祂的人，并且祂会指引我们的路！
讲章系列：智慧的言语
Image Source：pixabay.com