2. If you want God’s best, focus on Jesus.

3. If you want God’s best, meditate in God’s Word.

4. If you want God’s best, make friends with the Holy Spirit.

5. If you want God’s best, hear and obey God’s voice promptly.

6. If you want God’s best, be careful how and what you hear.

7. If you want God’s best, be more concerned with the eternal than the temporal or the temporary. Make sure your priorities are right.

Today, I’m going to share with you just one more thing that it’s important for you to do if you want God’s best and that is: ...let God choose for you. Let me give you the complete sentence: If you want God’s best, let God chose for you.

In this connection, I’ve been deeply impressed by a statement made by John the Baptist, recorded in John, chapter 3, verse 27, where it says this:

“John [that’s John the Baptist] answered and said, ‘A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.’”

The situation was that John the Baptist’s disciples were reporting to him that the one whom he declared to be the Messiah was getting more disciples than John and they were expecting that somehow John would get upset and uptight about this but he said, “So what? A man can receive nothing unless it be given him from heaven.” And you see, I see so many preachers, so many churches, so many religious groups, if somebody else gets more church members or somebody else makes more converts or if somebody else has a larger ministry they get upset. But I think we need to cultivate that attitude of John. “A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven.”

I realized at a time in my ministry I needed to learn that lesson very, very carefully. “A man can receive nothing unless it be given to him from heaven.” And, as I meditated on that, I said, “Lord, are you sure that’s right? I see a lot of people getting things and I don’t see any evidence that they were given from heaven.” And the Holy Spirit began to say to me, “There’s a difference between grabbing or grasping and receiving.” My eyes were opened! I saw so many people, Christians included, busy, grabbing, grasping, out for all they could get. Many times ruthless, unethical in their dealings with fellow-Christians and with their fellow human beings but just out for what they can get. And God said to me, “That’s only grabbing.” And whatever you get by grabbing, you won’t have forever. The only thing you’ll ultimately keep is what’s been given you from heaven. So why go to all that labor and toil to grab and to get something that you won’t be allowed to keep? Why not rest, why not turn your face toward God and say, “God, show me what it’s your good pleasure to give me.”?

Jesus said it one time to His disciples, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Brothers and sisters, if we’ve got the kingdom, what do we have to grab for? And we don’t get the kingdom because we grab for it, we get the kingdom because it’s God’s good pleasure to give us the kingdom. If we could only rest for a little while from grabbing and be willing to see what God wants to give because I think many times when

If You Want God’s Best

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