Next Step // I will ye! | Ps. Jamie Corcoran

We have been going through a series, a

collection of talks all about the

subject matter of God's will. And we

called it I will. Yeah. AND THE REASON

WE CALLED IT I will. YEAH. IS BECAUSE

WHEN AN IRISH PERSON says I will. Yeah.

They mean NO I WON'T. IT'S KIND OF LIKE

WHEN YOU INVITE SOMEONE in the in the in

the WhatsApp chat, hey, can you make it?

Can will you RSVP? AND IT'S FUNNY IN

EVERY OTHER COUNTRY in the world when an

RSVP goes out, there's two answers, yes

or no. BUT OF COURSE IN IRELAND WE HAVE

TO HAVE A THIRD ANSWER WHICH IS MAYBE.

BUT MAYBE JUST MEANS NO. IF AN IRISH

PERSON SAYS, "YEAH, MAYBE I'LL COME."

WHAT THEY MEAN IS I'm not coming. And so

this tension we all face with like we

know sometimes that something is good

for us. Something is right for us.

Something is best for us. But we have

this struggle, this tension of like, but

I don't really want to do it. And so a

few weeks ago, we had a great Sunday

here. Maybe you were here. Uh it was a

wonderful event. So we baptized a whole

bunch of people. I baptized my brother,

baptized my oldest son, Joshua, who's

serving in North Dublin location. Shout

out to my boy. And it was a great

Sunday. And we talked about this

incredible invitation that Jesus gave

2,000 years ago to his first heroes

heroes, forgive me, and gives to us

today, which is found in Matthew's

Gospel 11 28 where it says, "Come to me

all of you who are weary and burdened

and I will give you rest." I mean, it it

just sounds so good. take my yoke upon

you. Yoke was a a yoke was like a a

farming implemented tool. It was like a

wooden beam that was put across the

shoulders of two animals that would drag

equipment like a plow. And Jesus is

saying when it comes to the weight and

the burdens and the difficulties of

life. Who you're tethered to, WHO YOU'RE

TIED TO, WHAT YOU'RE CONNECTED TO, WHO

you're serving and following makes

difference. And the invitation is if you

allow me under the weight of your

burden, I will carry the bulk of the

weight. learn from me. He says, I am

gentle and humble in heart and you will

find rest for your souls. And so part of

this invitation is that we would come

into the knowledge, the understanding

and alignment with God's will for our

lives. But of course, it goes back to

the tension, God's will versus my will.

In other words, what I want versus what

he wills. And part of the issue is that

we discussed over the last weeks is that

sometimes we think what God wants for

us, what he wills for us is not what we

want. We think that God wants to steal

our fun and God wants to make life

boring and God wants to put our

perspective into black and white and

that we should all be Ned Flanders type

oy doily happy clappy Christians and AND

THERE'S NO CRACK IN GOD BUT the truth is

God is a good father and he doesn't want

anything from us for what could we give

him but he wants everything for us and I

submit to you the best most rewarding

most impactful most fulfilling most

meaningful way to live your life on

earth is to live your life of the love

of God for the love of God helping other

people to experience God's love. The

challenge is sometimes what we do is we

tend to overspiritualize God's will. We

think I got to go up a mountain and and

dance around a fire to try figure out

God's will for our life is or we

overanalyze it like what if this AND

WHAT IF THAT WHAT IF THAT doesn't work.

We try to manipulate God's will to suit

what we want. But in every case, we

always underestimate

God's goodness, his strength, and his

ability to get us where we need to go.

So the question has been, so how do I

understand God's will for my life? And

so in week one, I give you a breakdown

of the kind of four aspects, the four

theological aspects of God's will is

number one, his reigning will, which uh

theologians often call his sovereign

will. the idea that God is just in

charge. LIKE IF GOD is real, perhaps

you're not a believer, not a Christ

farer or skeptic, and we're so glad

you're here. That was my story. And

perhaps you're thinking as I did, you

know, there is no God. But just imagine

if there is a supreme being, a creator

of the universe, then by definition,

that being has a sovereign will. And

what that means is is whether we like it

or not, whether we vote against it or

not, whether we chose to close the

curtains and ignore the weather or not,

God's will will ultimately prevail. when

he says in his word that there will be a

day where every knee will bow AND EVERY

TONGUE SHALL confess that Jesus Christ

is Lord that will happen. What are we

looking at? Because that is God's

running will. There's also God's

revealed will which theologians call his

moral will which he shows us in his word

how we ought to live. Like what's what's

the best if he's invented life and he

has an overall plan for how we should

live life? How do we discern or

ascertain what that is? and he reveals

to us in his word. Then there's God's

permissive will, which is very confusing

because it's like God has a sovereign

will and God has a revealed will. But

God also gives us this incredible gift

called free will, which means living

under his will is our will. And we get

to make choices. And our choices always

lead to consequences. And usually when

I'm talking to people who uh don't

believe in God or think they can't

believe in God, one of the reasons

they'll push back is say, "Pastor Jamie,

if God is so good and God is so kind and

God is so benevolent, then why is there

so much bad things happening in the

world?" In fact, today we're going to

talk about the end children in poverty.

Why? If God was so good, then why would

children live in poverty? THE ANSWER IS

GOD HAS GIVEN US AS human beings all the

resources we need in the world. THERE

ARE ENOUGH BIG MACS AND DOUBLE quarter

pounders to feed the whole world. The

problem is some of us ARE EATING THREE

AND four and some of us get none. So God

gives us the resource, but people choose

to make selfish and sinful and hurting

choices that then have consequences that

affect other people. And so the

challenge is what way do you want it? Do

you want a God who gives us no choice,

no free will, who controls us and makes

the world a perfect utopia? Or do you

want a God that affords us the

opportunity to make choices, to live the

consequences, BUT ACTUALLY SO LOVES US,

is involved in our mess, and redeems our

brokenness, and somehow turns around for

his glory. And lastly, of course, this

is one we all want to hear. What's God's

personal will for me? And so, we learned

last week then in part two that your

heavenly father, we're so obsessed when

it comes to God's will, God's personal

for me. What should I do? What should I

do next? Where should I go? Up, down,

left, right? Shake it all around, do the

hokeyp pokey. AND IT'S LIKE, WHAT SHOULD

WE DO? AND THE ANSWER IN PART IS, WELL,

ACTUALLY, what you do is important, but

what's more important is your heavenly

father is more concerned with your who

than your do. Who you are becoming is

more important than what you are doing.

And oftentimes we tend to over

complicate God's will for our lives and

underestimate his goodness. The best way

to guarantee God's will for tomorrow is

to live in God's will for your life

today. Like I said last week, I

summarized in 1 Corinthians 10:31 the

1 Corinthians 10:31

Apostle PAUL SAYS, "WHATEVER YOU DO, whe

it's study, whether it's work, whether

it's marry, where it's remain single,

whether it's travel, whether it's stay,

whoever you support, WHATEVER YOU WEAR,

WHATEVER YOU DO WHEN IT COMES TO God's

will, do it all for the glory of God.

That is the first step to discovering

what God's personal will is for my

child." Today in part three, we're

building on this. And I know that when

it comes to trying to figure out, okay,

I'll do it for God's glory, but still I

need something. I need help. I need

confirmation. I need someone to TELL ME

I NEED A SIGN. RIGHT? Often times like,

Lord, if you just show me a sign. I

remember one time when I was like 14

years old, didn't believe in God and was

in a very rough, broken place. And I

loved rock and roll music in my bedroom.

my posters to all these different

artists on my ceiling was like a a 4

foot poster of the lead singer of a band

called Nirvana. His name was Kurt

Cobain. And the quote on THE POSTER THAT

EVERY SINGLE NIGHT I WILL FALL ASLEEP to

was this quote, "I hate myself and want

to die." And of course, you know the

story Kirk Cobain blew his brains out in

1984. He did. He he fulfilled his own

prophecy. AND SO EVERY NIGHT IN my own

brokenness and loss, I would wonder even

if there was someone out there good,

would they? Why would they? And I

remember saying, GOD, IF YOU'RE OUT

there and if you're real, YOU KNOW, SHOW

ME, SHOW, DO SOMETHING LIKE, YOU KNOW,

MAKE THE walls shake, you know, MAKE THE

WINDOWS LIKE SEND AN ANGEL. You don't

really want an angel after becoming a

Christian, read the Bible, and realize

you don't want an angel. Angels are

terrifying figures. Imagine your

mother-in-law in the morning. It's just

a terrifying uh thing. And so, and so I

remember praying AND AND SO OFTEN we we

do this game of like, Lord, you know,

SHOULD I DO MY HOMEWORK, GOD? WELL, if

the bunny jumps over the crow and the

crow then flies back to the horse, I'll

take it as a sign that you really want

me to do my homework. IT'S LIKE, SHOULD

I GET UP OUT OF BED TODAY? WELL, you

know what? If the alarm I didn't set

goes off, I'll take AS A SIGN. WE PLAY

THESE GAMES AND THE PROBLEM IS is they

are games. That's why we don't tend to

get a good result from our

experimentation. We need a sign, but do

we? As I was thinking about this, I was

thinking about the story of the Apostle

Paul. The Apostle Paul is an intriguing

character. But why? Because number one,

he was just a regular dude like all of

us regular person. He's just an ordinary

person. And the Apostle Paul wasn't like

raised in church and pro-church and

indoctrinating church. In case you're

thinking like, "Oh, here comes another

religious fanatic." No, Paul actually

didn't like church. He was one of you

who don't like church. One of like I

was. He was anti-urch, anti-Christian.

In fact, HIS FULL-TIME JOB AT ONE point

was to find the church wherever it

existed AND TO TRY TO SHUT IT DOWN.

That's who he was until he had a

personal encounter with the presence of

Jesus that changed his life just like my

just like most of us. And then Paul

dedicated his life to serving God's will

for his life. And you think about his

story. I mean what he went through. I

mean he authored most of New Testament

stories, the pain, the turmoil, the

sacrifice. As many historians believe he

was ultimately uh martyed for his faith

which is you know crazy. How can you go

from like not like not just not liking

but hating Jesus to one day being

willing to die for Jesus? That can only

happen if Jesus actually lives and still

changes lives. And you know we would

think Apostle Paul is like one of the

most super spiritual characters in the

New Testament. And yet, when it comes to

the Apostle Paul's journey and his life,

what's so amazing to me is that when it

came to his, you know, discerning,

ascertaining, choosing, deciding what

God's will look like for his personal

life, it wasn't always as super

spiritual as we think it was. For

example, let me show you today four ways

that I see God's will at work in the

Apostle Paul's life. This is going to

really hopefully encourage you, but also

challenge you. Number one, the first way

God's will worked in the Apostle Paul's

life was through open doors. Number two,

the second way God's will worked apostle

Paul's life is through closed doors.

Hey, the third way the will of God

worked the Apostle Paul's life is

through frustrated plans. Come on,

somebody. And lastly, and very

interestingly, and we'll finish this,

the fourth way God's will worked the

Apostle Paul's life was through everyday

choices. Let's jump in. Number one,

God's will through open doors. In the

first letter the Apostle Paul wrote to

the church in Corinth, which is modern

day Greece, chapter 16 verse 89, here's

what he says. He says, "But we will stay

on at Ephesus." Ephesus was a city in

modern day Turkey, where a letter to

Ephesians was written. And he's writing

from Ephesus to Corenth. And he says,

"We're going to stay here until the day

of Pentecost, which is a holiday, which

in terms of our calendar usually happens

around May. uh because watch THIS NOT

BECAUSE AN ANGEL told me not because I

had a dream not be but because a great

door for effective work has opened to me

and I'll come to this a second there are

many who oppose me notice this as the

apostle Paul tries to discern what is

God's will for life there was no vision

there was no dream there was no angel

there was just opportunity opportunity

and sometimes

God's will is simple as an opportunity

comes your way and you run into the

filter of like is it good for God? Is it

good for me? Is it good for those I

love? Is it inherently selfish? Or

really is it for because the apostle say

a great ministry a great door of

ministry opened for me. And again I

understand this because that's my story.

In the year 2008, my wife, myself, at

that point, our nine-month-old son

Joshua, we were living in my hometown of

Carlo, County Carlo. If you ever want to

find out where Carlo is in Google Maps,

just Google center of the world. That

pin will drop. Boom. Right in my

hometown. And uh we were we were just

living life, you know, married a couple

of years, had a son, you working a job,

she was working a job, trying to get

through stuff, really involved in local

church, doing everything. And this

opportunity came. Someone tapped us on

the shoulder, a kind of a a spiritual

leader, a mentor, and said, "Would you

guys be willing to quit your jobs,

uproot your lives, and move to Naven

County Me?" Now, JUST FOR THE RECORD, I

HAD NEVER BEEN in Navan County Me in my

life. And because of a traditional rugby

rivalry, I didn't like Navin County Me

at this point in my life. I love it very

much now. And uh and so we were like

this is so crazy and we prayed and we

felt like yeah this is a God

opportunity. So the reason why we came

and this church began and we're all here

today almost 20 years later is that

because of a vision or a dream or an

angel because someone said would you be

willing for the glory of God to go to

this place and start something that

would help those who are far from God

find and follow Jesus. and we had no

answers and we had no guarantees. Just a

confirmation in our spirit this was of

God. Now, here's the thing. That's a

cool thing to know. But does that mean

the last 20 years have been easy and

smooth for us? Look at my face. Do I

look like a person who's had an easy and

smooth 20 years? Life has beating me up.

I'm only 25 years old. No, I'm joking.

Um, it's like it's like it's BEEN HARD.

WHY? BECAUSE AN OPEN door does not

guarantee a smooth journey.

Just because a door is open and God

wants to enter in doesn't mean it's

going to be easy. By definition, usually

if we're doing a good, godly, and

meaningful thing, good, godly, beautiful

things usually bring a degree of

difficulty. In part because the price of

doing anything in life that's worthy or

meaningful or impactful is hard. But

also because when we're doing it for

God, we should expect spiritual push

back.

Because there is an enemy to this great

work and there is an enemy of your soul

and there is an enemy to God's will

being fulfilled in your life. Listen up

now Nav in the dog. There is an enemy

and the enemy does not waste his time

attacking people who are of no threat to

him. So here's a great little like

selfch check moment. IF YOU HAVE NOT

BEEN UNDER SPIRITUAL ATTACK maybe you're

doing nothing.

That's for free. And maybe if YOU'RE

LIKE MAN I JUST CAN'T SHAKE IT.

EVERYWHERE I GO, I'M GETTING ATTACKED.

MAYBE YOU'RE ON TRACK TO do something

that's going to bring great benefit to

our community, to our country, to our

nation, but also most importantly to the

kingdom of God. Opposition

usually leads to opportunity, forgive

me, usually leads to opposition. And in

fact, what I have found, the greater the

opportunity, the greater the opposition.

And we shouldn't become discouraged and

think, man, I chose to come here 20

years ago and this has been so hard.

Maybe I chose the wrong thing. NO, LET'S

FLIP THAT. MAYBE proof you're doing the

wrong thing is that you're facing

spiritual opposition. So God's will was

revealed to the Apostle Paul doors.

God's will was also made evident through

closed doors. This is a really

interesting one, right? Not just through

open doors, but also closed doors. in

Acts chapter 16. This is the book of

Acts 16 · chapter mention

Acts written by the historian Luke. Luke

was not a follower of Jesus but came to

know Jesus and follow him after the

resurrection. And he was a trained

historian. And he wrote the Gospel of

Luke and he wrote the book of Acts as a

two-part compendium capturing the story

of the life of Jesus and the birth of

the church. And in Acts 16, here's what

Luke says. He says, "Next, Paul and

Silas traveled through the area of

Friia. That's where fridges come from.

Not really. Uh and Galatia." Actually,

no, I'm joking. UH BECAUSE WATCH THIS.

THE HOLY SPIRIT had prevented them from

what? FROM GOING on the roller coaster,

from a long weekend, FROM SKYDIVING.

THE HOLY SPIRIT PREVENTED them from

preaching the word. This is so important

in the province of Asia at that say with

me time. Then coming to the borders of

Misia, they headed north to the province

of Bethna. But again, the spirit of

Jesus did not allow them to go there.

This is so interesting because look at

the motives of Paul. They wanted to go

to this place to tell people the good

news of Jesus. And the spirit of God

said no. That makes no sense, does it?

Why would God say no to a right thing in

a right place? I'll tell you why.

Because it was the wrong time.

What should we do in our lives when we

think we're doing the right thing? We're

trying to do the wrong the right thing

and God says

no.

That's a difficult one. We have to

understand that when God says no, no as

in not here, no as in not now, not this,

not with him or her or them, not this

way or that way, isn't just a no. God

saying no, here, now, this, him, her,

them, this way, that way is still God

directing us. The other day I was at a

hotel and I turned the corner, walk into

the hotel. The hotel has three doors and

the doors near to me DIDN'T OPEN. SO, I

STOOD IN front of the door

and I looked right, I looked left and up

and looked down and looked through and

looked in. I saw the guy in the

reception. He's like, "The other door?"

I'm like, "Why do you have a stupid

door? It doesn't open. What purpose is

it solved?" if you serve, you know, and

so I had to go around and a door opened.

IT WASN'T LIKE YOU CAN'T COME IN. It was

like there's another way. It's not this

way and it's not now. Your heavenly

father loves you so much, is so

interested, and so involved in your life

that sometimes he will close the wrong

door to help you go the right way. And

again, we notice as parents, if you're a

parent or a good parent, you know that

you don't say no to your KIDS BECAUSE

YOU ENJOY THEIR MISERY. NO, CHILD.

OH, DADDY, why are you so tough?

GOOD PARENTS SAY NO BECAUSE YOU'RE LIKE,

YOU'RE AN IDIOT. CUZ YOU'RE IMMATURE AND

LACK EXPERIENCE. AND IF I SAY YES, NOT

ONLY WILL YOU RUIN YOUR LIFE, BUT THAT

BY DEFINITION MAKES ME A VERY WEAK, POOR

PARENT. GOOD PARENT. NO ONE IS SAYING NO

TO THEIR KIDS.

IN FACT, ONE OF THE REASONS our culture

is crazy RIGHT NOW IS ENOUGH. GOOD

PARENTS, DON'T SAY NO ENOUGH. BUT NO

DOESN'T MEAN NOT EVER. No may mean not

this, not him, not her, not now.

Sometimes we feel like when we get a no

from our earthly parents or our heavenly

father, it's like, why is God rejecting

me? Maybe God's no isn't rejection.

Maybe God's no is protection.

Maybe God actually knows. HE SAYS NO

BECAUSE HE KNOWS and he knows WHAT WE

DON'T KNOW YET. AND SO HE'S HELPING us

and leading us and actually answering

the prayer that we pray. God help us.

Maybe God's no now if we're willing to

trust it will lead to a better yes

later. And again I have so many examples

this for you. Give you a couple quick

ones. I'll give you one story. When we

first decided from Naven that we're

going to plant a church, we had picked

three places. And you know what? What

was not on our radar at all? This place.

WE DID NOT PICK THIS PLACE. WE WERE

LIKE, "WE'RE GOING TO GO TO THIS PLACE

OR THAT PLACE." IT WAS NEVER EVEN MY

RADAR. AND THEN THE HOLY SPIRIT SPOKE,

SAID, "NO." I'm like, "Well, if this

door is closed, that door's closed.

Like, where should we go?" And actually,

it was through a series of really crazy

events where one guy had a dream,

another person had a vision. I end up

coming down here just to pray and it was

like, man, we sense that God has called

us to launch a new lifegiving lighthouse

church in West Dson area. Crazy, right?

Then we said, "Okay, we're going to go

again and plant our third church." And

we chose this place and that place,

ANOTHER PLACE, AND AGAIN GOD SAID NO.

AND WE'RE LIKE, "OKAY, LORD. WELL, IF

YOU WANT TO SAY NO AGAIN, where should

we go?" We felt GOD LEAD US TO DONE

DOCK. THAT'S WHY WE'RE IN THE DOCK. SO,

YOU'D THINK BY TIME FOUR, we know we

could have learned the thing, right?

wrong. We prayed AND GOD SAID NO. SO we

said okay let's go to swords and no one

opened the door and literally no one

opened the door for us in swords. AND SO

WE LAUNCHED A CHURCH called I church

swords in sandry

because God said no. Now we know that

God wants to be exactly where we are.

Come on North Dublin. But it was through

a lot of nos. I remember when I had to

make a decision. So like I told you I

was tapped on the shoulder. would you

consider quitting your jobs and moving

up to Navan? At the exact same time, the

strangest thing happened to me in my

company I worked for. I worked in in

sales uh and I was on worked in a shop

as a manager and the owner of the

company took a look into me and said,

you know, I want to fast track you into

corporate office. Here's a job going

like you need like three years

experience. Uh I needed an undergraduate

degree in marketing and so on so forth.

Like I had none of the qualifications,

but he really liked me. My work ethic,

my my character, because everything I

was doing for the glory of God, I was

selling shoes for the glory of God.

THERE ARE SO MANY NIKE AIR MAXES OUT IN

THE MARKET BECAUSE I was doing it for

the glory of God and so hard work and so

on. So he he said, "I want I want to

fast track you into A CORPOR I MEAN, I'M

20 YEARS OLD. I'm going to be working in

in a in the corporate sector." You know

what I'm saying? I'm going to earn some

real money, drive a nice car. THIS IS

LIKE EVERYBODY'S DREAM, RIGHT? AND I

remember praying saying, "God, you know,

this is going to do good for us, Lord.

You and me together. I'm going to go

work there for the glory of God. I'm

going to earn a whole bunch of money for

the glory God. Don't worry, Lord. You

know my heart. I I will honor you. I'll

go to church." And as I was praying, I

felt the Lord say, "No, the path you

should take is you should move to Navant

and earn no money and live in misery for

next 20 years of life." Not all, not the

whole 20. At least one and a half years

were good.

And I couldn't figure out why. But now I

look back and see, man, God is so

faithful. Would you believe that one

year after? Because I we moved to Navan

in May 2008. Anyone know what great

global catastrophe happened May 2008,

the recession, would you believe that

company that I almost sold out my

calling for was sold in bankruptcy for

one euro one year later. I mean, what

mess would I have got myself, my new

wife, and my son had had I tried to

manufacture my own destiny? and

manipulate God's will for my life.

Closed door is sometimes for our good.

Number three, God's will can also be

made clear to us THROUGH FRUSTRATED

PLANS. COME ON, SOMEBODY. WHO LOVES

FRUSTRATED PLANS? They're my favorite,

as you can tell. It's so important. Paul

shows us something really important

about times of frustration. Maybe you're

in a time of frustration right now

wondering, do I go left? Do I go right?

DO I SAY YES? DO I SAY NO? DO I INVEST?

DO I HOLD BACK? DO I LAUNCH? Do I sit?

Do I move? DO I STAY? DO I ACCEPT THE

JOB OFFER? DO I DECLINE THE JOB OFFER?

LIKE WHAT SHOULD I DO WITH MY LIFE?

PAUL DOESN'T ACTUALLY TELL US WHAT WE

SHOULD DO OUR LIFE, BUT HE SHOWS US HOW

WE should live our life in the interim.

Watch this. When Paul was going through

incredible times of frustration, number

one, when he was not certain.

Number two, he was not nervous. This is

so important when we live in a day and

age that's characterized by such

overwhelming anxiety. The Apostle Paul

figured out that when I don't have

answers, when things aren't clear, when

I don't have certainty, I don't have to

freak out and lose my beep and be

nervous.

Look at me in 1 Corinthians 16:5 says

1 Corinthians 16:5

this. It says, "After I go through

Macedonia, which is an area which was

north of uh of modern day Greece, I will

come to you probably going through

Macedonia. Perhaps I will stay with you

for a while or even spend the winter so

you can help me on my journey wherever I

go. For I do not want to for I do not

want to see you now. For I do not want

you know and make only a passing visit.

I hope to spend some time with you if

the Lord

permits.

The apostle Paul is like saying this

makes logistical sense.

THIS MAKES PRACTICAL SENSE. THIS MAKES

common sense. But he inserts with great

humility the word perhaps.

Perhaps I'm hoping I'm desiring

reason at the right time. But ultimately

everything I do is submitted to if the

Lord that's why because this is the same

person in his second letter to the

Corinthians who would say for we as

Jesus followers are a people who walk by

faith and not by sight. Sometimes it's

rational, sometimes it's logical,

sometimes it's practical, sometimes it's

common sensical, but it doesn't mean

that is always the will of God. And it's

really hard, especially for Christ, to

stay still in a season of frustration.

We can see that if I if I just help if I

just help the Lord, we we can get out of

this mess together. Do you know that's

the worst thing you can do when you put

your hands on that thing, it's going to

be a disaster. If you're in a season of

frustration, here's the pray your

prayer. Not God, show me how to get out

of this, but God, show me what you're

trying to get out of me in this. What?

Because if God's allowed you to go

through a season, he's a good, loving,

benevolent God. It's because he's trying

to develop something in you that is

crucial for your future.

Paul didn't need absolute certainty to

live in absolute trust. This is so

important. I remember when in 2006 I was

trying to figure out uh what I was going

to do in my life. I had just finished my

leavingert. I just gotten married. Yes,

that's right. I got married the August

that I did my leavingert. Whole

different story. And um I had this

wrestling in my soul that maybe I was

called to help people in Ireland find

and follow Jesus. There weren't churches

like this at the time. There weren't

very many many models or place to go. I

had this this this ache in my soul.

Somebody needs to stand up and tell our

people that Jesus lives. Jesus loves and

Jesus still liberates people. Like he is

the real living God and can transform

lives. Like that's worth celebrating.

Come on. And so I found a guy who was

doing something like that. And so I

said, "Can I come and just shadow you

for a couple weeks and see what you do

because I'm trying to forget my life or

go to university and make my own future

or follow this crazy thought that I have

of serving God." So I went with him and

spend some time. And he was doing some

work in a place called Longford. Now the

reason I show you a map is because

somebody like what's a Longford? It's

not a thing. It's a place and it's right

in the heart of Ireland. Okay. And he

was just and he basically turned to one

day and said, "Hey, would you consider

moving from car at that time with your

wife?" No kid yet. And help me to launch

a church in Langford. You could be like

my youth guy. Now, I never heard of

launching a church because the last time

I checked, the last church built in my

town was 1824.

Hello. No one launches churches, right?

She's like, "What are we building? A

steeple?" No, no, no. on a building, a

community. Wow. And it was so weird

because it seemed like it was the right

thing. Like one day maybe I was called

to launch a church. Was I right or

wrong? Right. It seems like the right

place as in Ireland needs new kinds of

churches. Right. Was I right? Yes. SO

IT'S LIKE I SHOULD DO THIS. I'M GOING TO

IT INVOLVES UPROOTING MY FAMILY AND

MOVING. RIGHT. RIGHT. OKAY. SO

EVERYTHING SEEMED TO WORK except I

didn't have peace.

because it wasn't God's time and I was

frustrated. I'm wondering why. But I

made a decision. I can either wallow in

my lack of certainty and allow anxiety

to get the better of me or I can trust

God in the gap and say, "Lord, whatever

your will is, whether it's here or

there, now or then, whatever I do now, I

do for your glory." The problem is

sometimes like this map, we want the

whole map of our lives. We want the full

picture. Let me tell you something. If

God actually showed you the full map of

your life, you would be terrified

because like a hero's journey in a

movie, you would see all the dungeons

and dragons and castles and mountains

and enemies. But what you won't be able

to compute or or comprehend is the

faithfulness of God in those seasons.

Now, with retros back, you go, "Wow,

look what all that God has done in my

life. It's amazing. It's called a

testimony." AND WE LAUGH ABOUT OUR PAIN,

WHICH IS KIND OF CRAZY, but we want a

whole map. We pray, "God, show me if you

just give me confirmation. IF YOU JUST

GIVE ME CERTAINTY, IF you'll just show

me the steps." And God's like, "No, no,

no. I'm not going to give you the whole

map, but I will give you what you need

to take your next step." Which is why we

have a whole team in our church called

the Next Steps team because we are so

passionate about helping people on their

journey with God, with his will to take

their next step towards Jesus. In fact,

a famous verse found in the book of

Psalms 119 and verse 10 115 should be

there's a typo here. It says, "Your word

is a lamp for my feet." Ever been out at

night walking through a forest with a

torch? I love camping and so you you're

in the middle of nowhere and there's no

like uh light pollution, just total

darkness and you're let's say it's 3

o'clock in the morning, I need to use

the restroom and there is no restroom

because you're in a forest at 3 o'clock

in the morning. You realize this lamp

doesn't make the night turn day. IT

DIDN'T EVEN SHOW ME THE FOREST. IT WILL

EVEN illuminate the next 100 meters. It

just gives me enough for my next step. I

want you to go to the bathroom and thank

God you can see your next step. You'll

take it. Trust me, the alternative much

is much worse because you might step

into something anyway because someone

else been to the bathroom. Stop. Um the

same is true in our lives. God gives us

through his person and through his word,

through his presence enough to take the

next step. So in your time of

frustration, here's the advice. Trust

God for our next step. Number four, and

finally, God's will works through our

life in everyday choices. THIS IS SO

INTERESTING. GOD DOESN'T always give you

a sign, a dream, a vision, an angel, an

apparition.

But sometimes God just gives you a

choice.

A choice. I think this is so powerful.

It's like, should I go left if you want?

So I go right if you want. It's like God

somehow knows our motive and can see

that his plan will still be fulfilled

whether it's left or right sometimes. We

see this time and time again in the life

of the apostle Paul in Titus 3:12. He

Titus 3:12

said this. He said I have decided to

stay there for the winter. Like I God

didn't speak to me. It's not some like

result. I just made a choice to stay

here for the winter. And here by the way

was in the Mediterranean. I believe it's

everyone's God's will for all of us that

we should spend the winter in the

Mediterranean. Amen. Come on, somebody.

He also said 1 Thessalonians 3:1, when

1 Thessalonians 3:1

we could stand it no longer, speaking of

Athens, we decided to stay. Again,

there's no angel apparition vision.

These are decisions, choices the Apostle

Paul is making in real time. In the book

of Acts 15:36, he said, he said to

Acts 15:36

Barnabas, "LET'S GO BACK AGAIN." WHEN

THE first when Paul and Barnabas first

went out on their journey, it was a

result of there was a vision, there was

a prophecy, there was divine

instruction. But the second time it was

like, you know what, maybe we should go

back and see those people. Like maybe

maybe it's good for us to go and see how

they're doing. This is so important.

Why? Watch this. Sometimes God's

reigning will

because we are walking in his revealed

will is his permissive will working as

his personal will to give us

freedom to choose. Watch again.

Sometimes God's reigning pervasive

all-encompassing will because we are

walking we are holy. We're we're serving

him. We're we're we're living according

to his reveal will is allowing us

according to his permissive will to

personally make a choice. We have

freedom to choose. They go, man, really

I mean, how is it helpful? We're back to

where we started. What should I do? Not

what should you do. Who are you becoming

in your doing? Well, should I go left or

right, up or down? So, well, whatever it

is, here's what the Apostle Paul does

say in 1 Corinthians 10:31. Whatever you

1 Corinthians 10:31

do, do it all for the glory of God. And

sometimes we're waiting for this like

divine angelic confirmation. And God's

like, I've already given you my word.

I've already put you in a church

community with good people who will

speak life into you. I've put leaders

around you who have wisdom and represent

my heart as pastors. I want nothing from

you, but the very best for you. I've

given you so many resources, including

your own intellect. I've given you

faculties. I've given you wisdom. I

given you know. I've given you all these

things. And so I give you freedom to

make the best choice.

It's kind of hard because we're looking

for, you know, divine confirmation. A

choice we're going to give you today is

today of course is compassion Sunday.

And compassion Sunday is a Sunday that

we take every single year to talk about

poverty because poverty is close to the

heart of Jesus. Because people are close

to the heart of Jesus. And when I was

praying about man, what should our role

be as a church in trying to solve global

problem? I mean, how do we even do this

solve? It's so big, so massive. Yet, we

have responsibility as God's people in

Lighthouse Church in Ireland to do

something to help relieve people from

poverty. I remember God said, "Hey, do

it for the least of these words of

Jesus." Well, who at least? Well, if

there's people who are poor, that's

terrible. But perhaps the most

vulnerable and the and the least of

these in poverty are children. Children

in poverty and more than just feeding

for a day, which we do, we want to love

them with the grace of God and break the

cycle of poverty spiritually and

economically over their lives so they

can be set up to live their

extraordinary purpose. And so we partner

with a great organization we're talk a

second called Compassion who help

release people, children specifically

from poverty in Jesus name. Well, what

should we do? Well, you can sponsor a

child or not sponsor a child. What do I

believe? I believe that if you can s

change someone's economic and spiritual

life for all eternity for 30 euro or so

a month, that sounds like something we

should do. I say what I've done. I've

made a commitment to God. For every

child I have, I will sponsor a

compassion child. I thought, man, four

would be a lot. And then I had a fifth

child. So, now I'm going to sponsor

another compassion child. So, there you

go. So, don't make that commitment.

Otherwise, I have 21 kids. You know,

it's a choice. Let me finish with this

as we conclude. So, open doors, closed

doors, frustrated plans, everyday

choices. The question we're asking

ourselves is, "But what if I miss it?

What if I get it wrong?" Like, what?

Okay, it's just too free. Like, I wanted

a more I wanted more of like a a

controlled answer, Jamie. Like, gosh,

you mean tell me OPEN DOORS, CLOSED

DOORS, FRUSTRATED PLANS, EVERY CHOICE.

LIKE, AH, WHAT DO I DO? WHAT IF I SCREW

UP? WHAT IF I FALL SHORT? WHAT IF I NOT

HEAR GOD'S VOICE? WHAT IF I GET IT

WRONG? WHAT IF? AND AND all of a sudden,

FEAR AND ANXIETY BACK. AND FEAR AND

ANXIETY DO NOT sound like, "Come to me

all of you who are weary and I'll give

you rest."

Rest to me sounds like there is no fear.

There is no anxiety because the one with

us is carrying the the weight, the

burden of our lives. What does the

Apostle Paul say finally to the fear in

our hearts of what if I miss it?

Ephesians chapter 1 vers 11. We have

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

received an inheritance from God. Watch

this. And he makes

everything

work out according to his plan.

He makes everything work out according

to his plan. We want a plan. We want a

map. We want clarity. Next slide,

please. We want

all the answers. But God gave us

something better. He gave us a person.

And his name is the Holy Spirit.

Holy, as we learned, set apart different

dedicated God in spiritual form. And

when you're sitting in a room like this

and you're not a Jesus follower and you

kind of feel that something that

something just, you know, not your

neighbor's hair on your shoulder, but

like you just feel Something's like

nudging at your heart. Someone's

knocking. That's the Holy Spirit. That

is God's person saying to you today

personally as someone who does not

believe, who has not embraced, hey, come

to me and you'll find rest. For those

who have come to believe and have

shredded their lives, the Holy Spirit

lives within us. And what does he do? He

comforts.

He counsels, he guides, he leads.

Sometimes he confronts and says, "Hey,

it's not the way it's not the best way

for you." He is like our spiritual GPS,

always giving us what we need to take

our next step. And so, as we close, and

next week is the end of the series,

we're going to finish with really

practical things. What should we do in

terms of God's will for life? Number

one, the Apostle Paul's story shows us

that we should just trust God.

He is a good father and where it's open

doors, closed doors, frustrated plans,

everyday choices, here's the important

thing that we lean in and trust in him.

And number two, courageously, boldly, we

take our next step towards