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This week we’re continuing in our theme for the month of October, which is “God’s Way: Following God’s Will for My Life”. Last week, as you remember, we talked about “The Makings of a Hero”. In short, we discovered that to be a hero in someone else’s life, all you really need to do is place another person’s needs before your own. This is one important way that you can follow God’s will, or His desire, for how to live out your life. 

Tonight, we’re going to discuss the big question: “How Should I Prepare For My Future?” When trying to figure out how to live God’s way, one of the biggest crossroads that you’ll come to will be, “What am I going to do with my future—with the 60-80 years after I leave high school?” For most people, what you do in the 4-5 years after high school is going to determine a lot of what you wind up doing for many years after that. 

Many people really struggle with what God wants them to do with their future. Should I work right after high school? Should I go into the military? Should I go to college? Should I know what I’m going to major in right away when I get to college? The truth is, most people don’t figure out what they’re going to do with their futures until 2 years after high school, and even then it often changes many times over. 

So, tonight, we’re going to talk about some basic principles that you can follow if you are truly concerned with following after God’s Way in regards to your future decisions. None of you should have to feel that you know exactly where you’re headed in life right now, or even come the end of high school. BUT, YOU SHOULD BE COMMITTED TO FOLLOWING A FEW BASIC PRINCIPLES THAT WILL HELP GUIDE YOUR DECISION-MAKING PROCESS TO FOLLOW GOD’S WAY FOR YOUR FUTURE. 

To make these principles clear to you tonight, we’re going to go back and look at a famous story from the Old Testament. Most likely, if you haven’t taken the time to read through the Bible before, you won’t be familiar with the story, so let me give you a little bit of background. 

The Israelites were the people that God declared as His people, and way back, a long, long time ago, God promised to a man named Abraham that He would bless Abraham and his family for all generations. But, over the years, the Israelites were found in disobedience to God. Because of this disobedience, they were actually placed into slavery in the land of Egypt. (God has a way of seeing to it that certain consequences come about when people are disobedient to Him.) 

After 400 years in the land of Egypt, being subjected to severe conditions of slavery, the Lord God finally listened to the cries of the Israelites and decided it was time that they be rescued. So, God called upon a man named Moses, who once had been living in the Pharaoh’s (the leader in Egypt) household but was an Israelite himself, to rescue His people the Israelites. 

To rescue the Israelites, the Lord sent 10 plagues to the land of Egypt, and finally on the 10th—when all the firstborn in Egypt died—Pharaoh let the Israelites go. But, he chased after them, and that’s when the Israelites crossed through the Red Sea when God parted it, after which it crashed down upon the Egyptians as they continued their chase of the Israelites. 

So, the Israelites began to roam the desert. They were in search of the land that God has promised to Abraham, their forefather, was theirs as their inheritance as God’s people. Well, they finally come to it, and that’s where we really begin our story… 

Numbers 13 
1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.” 3 So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites… 
21 So they went up and explored the land … 25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. 
26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community [and] reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. (The Anakites are thought to have been giant-people) 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.” 
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” 

Numbers 14 
1 That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” 
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” 10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. 
11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.” 13 Moses said to the Lord, “… 19 In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.” 
20 The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, 22 not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times– 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. …25 Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.” 26 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: … tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, …your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. 32 But you–your bodies will fall in this desert. 33 Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert. … 
40 Early the next morning [the Israelites] went up toward the high hill country. “We have sinned,” they said. “We will go up to the place the Lord promised.” 41 But Moses said, “Why are you disobeying the Lord’s command? This will not succeed! 42 Do not go up, because the Lord is not with you. You will be defeated by your enemies, 43 for the Amalekites and Canaanites will face you there. Because you have turned away from the Lord, he will not be with you and you will fall by the sword.” 44 Nevertheless, in their presumption they went up toward the high hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the Lord’s covenant moved from the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah. 

In this story, you can see an example of what can happen to the future of a person, or in this case of a whole nation of people, when God’s way is not followed. The Israelites, by birthright as God’s people, had the land of Canaan as their very own inheritance. All they needed to do was enter the land and God was going to give it over to them. But they messed their future up completely. Let’s look at what went wrong—how could the Israelites have been saved from the disaster that became of their futures. 

The first thing that needs to take place when it comes to preparing for your future is really the easy part: SEEK GOD’S DIRECTION! The Israelites actually did this to begin with—through Moses and Aaron, they were told to go and scout the land, and they did just that. They began in the right place. 

Seeking God’s direction is quite simple—there’s no formula to it other than asking God for direction in life. There’s no magic potion that needs to be said. You don’t have to repeat it over and over again until lightning strikes you. Seeking God is no more than a matter of openly and genuinely asking God for help and direction. You can do it with your eyes open or closed, out loud or silently just between you and God. But you’ve got to be sincere—that’s really the only prerequisite. 

The question of how God actually answers us and shows us the way is the more difficult part of the equation. As I mentioned last week, God reveals things to us in two ways: 1) through the revelation found in God’s Word, the Bible, and 2) through the revelation of the Holy Spirit. When it comes to God’s revealing to us what we need to do to follow in God’s Way with our future, it’s often going to come through the revelation that comes through the Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit can “speak” to you in many different ways—usually never through audible voices in the wind? The most frequent way He speaks to us is through our conscience (or some may say through your heart). Romans 1:18-20 God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who push the truth away from themselves. 
19 For the truth about God is known to them instinctively. God has put this knowledge in their hearts. 20 From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see his invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God. 

Just as this passage mentions, the truth about God is often known to most people instinctively. You know in your heart what is God’s Way and what is not God’s Way probably 99% of the time without even seeking His direction—you know God’s Way because He has put the truth of His Way in your heart. Most people simply don’t listen, or through time have become so accustomed to going opposite of God’s Way, that their conscience no longer points them towards God’s Way. 

**Note: Another way that God “speaks” to you through the Holy Spirit is through the counsel of wise people—especially God-fearing authoritative adults—around you. The Israelites had Moses and Aaron—who do you have? 

So, after seeking God’s direction in going after a future that follows God’s Way, now what? THE MOST IMPORTANT STEP: DON’T SAY “NO” TO GOD! It seems obvious—but it’s so hard. Like I said, 99% of the time, you know what God’s Way for your life is before even asking. But we usually don’t go God’s Way 99% of the time, and that’s because of one thing: DISOBEDIENCE! 

Remember what happened to the Israelites? God had told them that Canaan was their inheritance. He told them, through Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb to go in and take the land. But what happened? They got scared… “Look at how big the people are in the land. We can’t take them. We’re just little guys. We too ‘fraid to go out.” (Farley in “Tommy Boy) They said, in Numbers 13:33, “We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” How do they know what they looked like to the people in that land? 

Don’t let your insecurities keep you from going God’s Way with your future! That’s what happened here with the Israelites. They wussed out, and it cost them their future. Don’t doubt yourself if God has given you the strength and told you His Way for you life. Be sure to listen to God and follow His Way for your life. 

The Israelites missed their chance, and when they realized it, they decided to go ahead and take the land after all—but at this point, God’s Way for them had changed. And once again, they disobeyed. Because of this, many died in a virtual blood bath. 

Jonah made the mistake of saying “NO” to God, and look at how that turned out for him… 
Saying “NO” to God will ensure you a future of utter frustration. Don’t be so silly as to seek God’s guidance for your future, and then, when He tells you what His Way for your life is, go another way. There is nothing more foolish you could do. Tonight, are you seeking God’s Way for your future, or are you on a course that is all your own? If you’re on your own, maybe you should ask yourself if that’s really the best idea, or if instead following God’s Way could lead you to a better and more fulfilling future.