Shaping Your Future: From Trials to Triumph

 

Summary

In today's message, I emphasized the importance of understanding that trials are not the norm for believers; rather, peace, prosperity, and God's presence are our true norms. We are not meant to live life reacting to the enemy's actions but to live in control, creating the future God intends for us. Life is a gift from God, meant to be unwrapped and explored, not merely endured. We are called to be destiny makers, shaping our future through faith and planning, rather than being shaped by circumstances.

The future is unrelenting, and we must learn to plan for it. God has given us the ability to master life, to take dominion, and to create the future we desire. This requires a shift from a reactionary mindset to one of proactive planning. Planning is not contrary to faith; it is a divine partnership where we plan, and God directs our steps. Without a plan, we become drifters, subject to the whims of those who do have a plan.

Joseph's story in Genesis 41 illustrates the power of combining prophetic insight with practical planning. He didn't just interpret Pharaoh's dream; he proposed a plan that saved Egypt from famine. Similarly, we must not only receive prophetic words but also develop plans to bring them to fruition. A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions, while a fool goes blindly and suffers the consequences.

Believers are called to anticipate and dominate, not to be dominated by life's challenges. We must invest in our future, preparing for potential crises by making wise decisions today. Understanding times and seasons, like the sons of Issachar, allows us to act with wisdom and discernment. We must gather facts, ask the right questions, and paint a clear vision for our future.

A written vision becomes a roadmap, guiding us toward our God-given destiny. We must be honest about where we are and where we want to go, making necessary adjustments along the way. Prosperity is not something to fear; it is a means of doing good and fulfilling God's purposes. By planning and taking preemptive action, we set the tone for our lives, ensuring that we live out the abundance of the God-kind of life.

Key Takeaways:

1. Trials vs. Norms: Trials are not the norm for believers; peace, prosperity, and God's presence are. We must not let temporary crises define our lives. Instead, we should focus on the goodness and abundance that God has promised us. [00:38]

2. Destiny Makers: We are called to be destiny makers, shaping our future through faith and planning. Life is a gift meant to be explored, not merely endured. By planning and taking control, we align ourselves with God's original design for our lives. [02:45]

3. Prophetic Insight and Planning: Like Joseph, we must combine prophetic insight with practical planning. Receiving a prophetic word is just the beginning; we must develop a plan to bring it to fruition, ensuring that we are not merely reacting to circumstances. [07:32]

4. Anticipate and Dominate: By anticipating challenges and preparing for them, we can dominate rather than be dominated. This proactive approach allows us to navigate life's storms with confidence and emerge unscathed. [10:16]

5. Vision and Prosperity: A clear vision acts as a roadmap for our lives, guiding us toward our God-given destiny. Prosperity is not something to fear; it is a means of doing good and fulfilling God's purposes. By planning and taking preemptive action, we set the tone for our lives. [21:59]

Youtube Chapters:

- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:38] - Trials vs. Norms
- [01:15] - Life as a Gift
- [02:45] - Destiny Makers
- [03:33] - Planning for the Future
- [04:08] - Mastery of Life
- [05:29] - Desires of the Heart
- [06:50] - Divine Partnership
- [07:32] - Prophetic Insight and Planning
- [08:56] - Urgency vs. Planning
- [10:16] - Anticipate and Dominate
- [12:10] - Investing in the Future
- [14:50] - Responsibility and Stewardship
- [16:19] - Understanding Times and Seasons
- [19:55] - Gathering Facts and Counting Costs
- [21:59] - Vision and Prosperity
- [26:02] - Finding Your Path
- [28:36] - Completing God's Promises
- [34:41] - Taking Preemptive Action

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Genesis 41:14-36 - Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dreams and proposes a plan.
2. Proverbs 16:9 - "The mind of man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."
3. 1 Chronicles 12:32 - "The sons of Issachar, men who understood the times, with knowledge of what Israel should do."

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Observation Questions:

1. In Genesis 41, how did Joseph demonstrate the importance of combining prophetic insight with practical planning? [07:32]

2. According to Proverbs 16:9, what is the relationship between human planning and divine guidance? How does this reflect the sermon’s message about planning and faith? [06:50]

3. What role did the sons of Issachar play in understanding the times and seasons, and how does this relate to the sermon’s emphasis on anticipating and dominating challenges? [16:19]

4. How does the sermon describe the difference between reacting to life’s circumstances and creating the future God intends for us? [02:45]

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Interpretation Questions:

1. How does Joseph's story in Genesis 41 illustrate the balance between receiving a prophetic word and taking practical steps to fulfill it? What can believers learn from this about their own lives? [07:32]

2. In what ways does the sermon suggest that planning is a form of divine partnership rather than a lack of faith? How does this align with Proverbs 16:9? [06:50]

3. How can understanding times and seasons, as demonstrated by the sons of Issachar, help believers make wise decisions in their personal and spiritual lives? [16:19]

4. The sermon emphasizes the importance of having a clear vision for the future. How does this concept relate to the biblical idea of writing down a vision as mentioned in Habakkuk 2:2? [21:59]

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Application Questions:

1. Reflect on a recent trial or challenge in your life. How did you respond, and how might you approach a similar situation differently in the future to align with the sermon’s message of being a destiny maker? [02:45]

2. Consider an area of your life where you have been reactive rather than proactive. What steps can you take to create a plan and take control of that area, trusting God to direct your steps? [06:50]

3. Identify a prophetic word or promise you have received. What practical steps can you take to bring it to fruition, following Joseph’s example of combining insight with planning? [07:32]

4. How can you better understand the times and seasons in your life to make informed decisions? What resources or practices might help you gain this understanding? [16:19]

5. Write down a vision for your life or a specific area you want to improve. How can this written vision serve as a roadmap to guide your actions and decisions? [21:59]

6. The sermon suggests that prosperity is a means of doing good and fulfilling God’s purposes. How can you shift your perspective on prosperity to see it as a tool for positive impact rather than just personal gain? [29:21]

7. Think about a specific goal or dream you have. What are the immediate steps you can take to move towards it, and how will you ensure that your plans align with God’s direction for your life? [34:41]

Devotional

Day 1: Trials Are Temporary, God's Promises Are Eternal
Understanding that trials are not the norm for believers is crucial. Instead, peace, prosperity, and God's presence are our true norms. We must not let temporary crises define our lives. Instead, we should focus on the goodness and abundance that God has promised us. This perspective shift allows us to live in the fullness of God's promises, rather than being swayed by the challenges we face. By anchoring ourselves in God's eternal promises, we can navigate life's storms with confidence and assurance. [00:38]

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11, ESV)

Reflection: What is one trial you are currently facing, and how can you shift your focus from the trial to God's promises today?


Day 2: Shaping Your Future with Faith and Planning
Believers are called to be destiny makers, shaping their future through faith and planning. Life is a gift meant to be explored, not merely endured. By planning and taking control, we align ourselves with God's original design for our lives. This involves a proactive approach, where we actively participate in creating the future God intends for us. By combining faith with strategic planning, we can navigate life's uncertainties with purpose and direction. [02:45]

"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." (Proverbs 16:9, ESV)

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you can start planning more intentionally to align with God's purpose for you?


Day 3: Prophetic Insight Requires Practical Planning
Like Joseph, believers must combine prophetic insight with practical planning. Receiving a prophetic word is just the beginning; we must develop a plan to bring it to fruition, ensuring that we are not merely reacting to circumstances. Joseph's story in Genesis 41 illustrates the power of combining prophetic insight with practical planning. He didn't just interpret Pharaoh's dream; he proposed a plan that saved Egypt from famine. Similarly, we must not only receive prophetic words but also develop plans to bring them to fruition. [07:32]

"By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household." (Hebrews 11:7, ESV)

Reflection: What is one prophetic insight or promise you have received, and what practical steps can you take today to work towards its fulfillment?


Day 4: Anticipate Challenges and Prepare to Overcome
By anticipating challenges and preparing for them, believers can dominate rather than be dominated. This proactive approach allows us to navigate life's storms with confidence and emerge unscathed. Understanding times and seasons, like the sons of Issachar, allows us to act with wisdom and discernment. We must gather facts, ask the right questions, and paint a clear vision for our future. This preparation ensures that we are ready to face any challenge that comes our way. [10:16]

"The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it." (Proverbs 22:3, ESV)

Reflection: What is one potential challenge you foresee in your life, and how can you start preparing for it today?


Day 5: Vision as a Roadmap to Prosperity
A clear vision acts as a roadmap for our lives, guiding us toward our God-given destiny. Prosperity is not something to fear; it is a means of doing good and fulfilling God's purposes. By planning and taking preemptive action, we set the tone for our lives, ensuring that we live out the abundance of the God-kind of life. This involves being honest about where we are and where we want to go, making necessary adjustments along the way. [21:59]

"Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it." (Habakkuk 2:2, ESV)

Reflection: What is your vision for the future, and what steps can you take today to make it a reality?

Quotes

"Trials are not the norm peace is i want to say that again trials are not the norm don't let a season become a lifestyle you may go through a season of crisis and testing and trial but don't let the enemy fool you into thinking that is your norm your norm is not trial your norm is his presence your norm is his goodness your norm is prosperity your norm is healing sickness ain't the norm healing is the norm poverty ain't the norm prosperity is the norm let the kingdom of God and the word of Christ define the norm for you don't let the enemy of life define the norm for you." [00:06:44]

"Life is good life is not a punishment that you need to endure to one day go to heaven life is a gift from God and like every gift it's meant to be unwrapped i don't know about you but when I when someone gives me a gift I don't admire the paper my wife's like 'Don't tear it don't tear it.' I'm like 'I want what's inside.' She unwraps it carefully i don't care if you If I give you a gift I expect you to unwrap it not later i wrote a book on patience because I ain't got none if I give you a gift I want you to unwrap it right there and I want you to unwrap it with the same gusto I would why am I sharing this because God wants you to explore the goodness of life that he has gifted to you he doesn't want you constantly reacting to the enemy and living life under when he called you to live over amen." [00:100:24]

"Make the future or it will make you here's the thing about the future have y'all disc time is unrelenting in the eighth chapter of the book of Genesis God said 'As long as the earth remains there's going to be seed time harvest day night there's going to be seasons of life unrelenting you can't freeze frame you can't rewind the future's coming and we have to learn how to plan for it amen so we need to make the future or it will make us and too many people live their lives reacting to circumstances rather than creating the future that God intends for them god didn't create us to be dominated he created us and he declared that we were supposed to take dominion of life." [00:170:72]

"Operating in the prophetic's great but what are you going to do with that information what are you going to do with it god God somebody calls you out and they prophesy over you now what what are you going to plan how are you going to become that how are you going to achieve that how are you going to work that i'm so grateful Joseph didn't just say 'Well here's what it means.' And then when Pharaoh said 'Now what do I do?' Joseph said 'I don't know you're Pharaoh.' Everyone say he had a plan he proposed a plan to Pharaoh and that plan made Egypt the wealthiest nation on the planet but it wasn't enough just to interpret through the prophecy he had to have a plan." [00:477:68]

"Joseph understood urgency dominates where plans lack in other words where there is no plan you live your life in a constant state of urgency you're never acting you're always reacting and I want to say it again there are seasons of life where we go through and it's a testing it's a trial something happened and you are reactionary because that one phone call can change everything and you got to respond to it but we got to make sure that that doesn't become a permanent fixture in our lives you deal with the crisis and then you move on amen and when you're in a season where you've got to react that doesn't become the norm then when you emerge out of it you say 'Okay now what what's next what's the plan?'" [00:575:76]

"When you anticipate you dominate i want to say that again because that's say worthy when you anticipate you dominate when you saw what was coming and you made plans for it i remember years ago when we were in Bible school Brother Hagen shared a story some of you are far too young to remember but in the 80s there was a crisis among televangelists it was like one fell after another and and and through Christendom people stopped giving to evangelist on TV they just stopped because one after another and but brother Hagen in prayer the Lord told him what was coming everyone say 'A prudent man.' A wise man sees brother Hagen heard from the Lord that something was coming and that income donations were going to dry up he got that prophetically but then he formulated a plan and because he formulated a plan when it happened he didn't have to close the doors like so many others did he didn't have to sell off assets like so many others did he didn't have to look foolish like so many others did because he had he had a plan and he rode out the storm and he came out the other side unscathed." [00:639:56]

"Planners see patterns because they're observers ecclesiastes 3:1 says 'There's an appointed time for everything and there is a time for every event under heaven.' Planners see patterns because they know things will change and they anticipate them wise believers recognize patterns just as farmers know when to plant and when to harvest they observe the skies and they make plans go to first 1 Chronicles 12:32 and this verse speaks of the sons of Issachar and it says of the sons of Issachar that they were men who understood the times with knowledge of what Israel should do i want to say that again they understood the times they knew that things were changing from Saul to David most people were confused by the transformation they were confused by the change but the s sons of Issachar saw the change and they knew what should be done that's a model for us if it's written our uncertainty is unnecessary understanding times and seasons is a mark of wisdom." [00:961:80]

"Gather what you need in order to complete it so you don't build half a tower and then say 'Look what God did.' Before making decisions planners ask the right questions what is happening now where am I spiritually where am I financially where am I emotionally what are the historical trends in my life have I struggled in this area before you don't ignore facts you deal with them i know I one of my most recent jimmyisms is this don't make excuses make changes if you're not willing to change you're going to constantly live life in crisis mode who are the key players this is a good one here who are the key players in my life who influences my life positively and who influences my life negatively who's the antidote and who's the toxic who are the winners and who are the losers what habits lead to success or failure the most effective Christians I've ever met in my life don't just hope things will improve they prepare with wisdom and discernment." [00:1229:44]

"Write down the vision and inscribe it clearly on tablets so that the one who reads it may run.' One translation said 'They may read it as they run by.' So you make it simple said that in the in the speed of life you're able to stop and look at the vision and say 'That's where God's taken me.' Do you know where God's taken you and if not why haven't you prayed enough to know that listen God is a great revealer he'll reveal things to you god does not delight in confusion god does not delight in keeping you in the dark god wants to reveal things to you that would blow your mind if you don't know the purpose for your life my challenge to you is pray and be honest with yourself don't try to become everyone else says 'It's okay listen when the first time a man asked me what I was called to do I c I basically said I'm called to win the world i'm going to preach to the nations.' He said 'You ain't Jesus Christ.' In other words my vision was so broad and so big it wasn't me you see it's not about doing everything it's about knowing the one thing that's right sir the key to success is focus yes sir." [00:1319:24]

"Many believers live life like a thermometer reacting to conditions around them but God calls us to be thermostats we set the temperature we don't react we set it we shape our future through faith and obedience ephesians chapter 5:1 15 i'm bringing this to a close so then be careful how you walk not as unwise people but as wise making the most of your time because the days are evil will we as a church and will you as an individual step up and make the future or will you let it make you and it doesn't matter where you are in this journey you might just be starting out and you might think you're at the end it's never too late if I read my Bible right some of those folks didn't even begin until they were 80 they didn't even conquer that mountain till they were 80." [00:2005:72]

"Those who know their God will be strong y'all listening to me those who know their God those who know their God not those who know about God right not those who have a religious viewpoint of God but those who know the character of their God those who know the personality of their God those who through means of prayer and worship and time have come to understand who God is are strong people and they take action one translation says it this way they take preemptive action i latched on to that those who know their God are strong and they take preemptive action meaning when they wake up in the morning they don't wait to see what the day is going to throw at them they start throwing stuff at the day they start declaring to the day 'This is what this day is going to be like this is the day that the Lord has made i will rejoice before the devil has a chance to do anything else i will rejoice and be glad in it i'm going to set the tone for my day when this day ends something good will have happened to me when this day ends God's going to have done something extraordinary in my life i'm going to set the tone i'm not waiting for the devil to do something and then I react to it i've made it through that season i made it through that crisis i made it through that storm and now I'm formulating a five-year plan where are we going to be in a year i'm working it out where are we going to be in two years i'm working it out where are we going to be in five years i'm working it out and when I'm done working it out baby I'm gonna walk it out because I don't know what you want to do with your life but as for me I want to be what God's called me to be as for me I want to have everything that he died that I might have if he died so I could have it I don't want to leave it on the table i want to have it i want to enjoy it i want this thing called the abundance of the God kind of life and I'm not going to go through life constantly waiting to see what happens i'm going to make it happen." [00:2126:00]

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Transcript
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