“Fulfilling God’s Plan, Part 3” by Nancy Dufresne
(Two months ago, we started a three-part teaching on how to fulfill the plan of God. Let’s continue on with that teaching this month.)
Paul finished his course, and in Acts 20, he gives us a divine checklist of the six steps he took to fulfill God’s plan.
“And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:22-24).
In the two previous months, we taught on the first three things Paul did that enabled him to fulfill the will of God and finish his course.
#1 — “And now, behold, I go BOUND in the spirit unto Jerusalem….” Jerusalem was the place God told Paul to be. If we are to fulfill God’s plan for our life, we must be where God told us to be! We must be “bound” to what God says to us. “Bound” doesn’t mean bondage, but agreeing to, committed to, and consecrated to, so that we don’t veer from His plan when we are faced with opposition.
#2 — “And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, NOT KNOWING….” When we are moving with God, we must be willing to move into the unknown! We are safe in following Him into the unknown because He knows all!
#3 — “And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that THE HOLY GHOST WITNESSETH….” When we are going “not knowing,” how do we know when we have arrived? How do we know the next step to take? By the witness of the Holy Spirit. His Spirit is within us to lead and guide us every step of the way. But it is up to us to follow closely. The closer we follow, the better we finish!
(For a complete teaching on these three things, see our letters from the two previous months.)
#4 — None of These Things Move Me
“And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But NONE OF THESE THINGS MOVE ME, neither count I my life dear unto myself….”
Difficulties and opposition have the ability to move you. Decide you will stay with God’s plan before opposition shows up – be bound to what God told you to do.
Don’t let opposition determine your course and direction – don’t let opposition cause you to “back up” or go off course. You must be BOUND to what God said to keep from going off course in the face of opposition.
#5 — Neither Count I My Life Dear Unto Myself…
“…But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself….”
We must let go of personal preferences, for they can take us off course. We must also guard against becoming “self-willed.”
Acts 15:36-41 warns us of this danger. “And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. And Barnabas DETERMINED to take with them John, whose surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to the work. And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus; And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. And he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.”
Barnabas determined to have his own way, and it separated him from Paul, his divine connection, and from the perfect will of God for his life. (Acts 15:39)
He sailed off the pages of history that day. His ministry continued, but the Holy Ghost didn’t record any of it for us, for he became self-willed – determined to have something his own way. He got his own way, but what a cost!
#6 — Finish With Joy
“…That I might finish my course WITH JOY, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus….”
The outcome and the result of walking out this divine checklist was a joyous finish for Paul!
It doesn’t just matter that we run, but how we run also matters! To run the right way, we must run with joy!
Only weeks after my husband unexpectedly went home to be with the Lord, a friend had the experience of going to Heaven. While they were there, they saw my husband, who told them, “Tell Nancy to run her race with joy!”
Of all the things that Heaven could have said or wanted me to know, running my race with joy was what was important, for how we run matters! We can’t finish with joy unless we run with joy!
James 1:2 instructs us, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations.” The AMPC translation reads, “Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations.”
Joy is a trump card over all opposition. Every circumstance doesn’t offer us joy, but that’s not a problem – we brought our own! The fruit of joy is in us, and when we respond to and draw on that joy, the force of it produces victory over all opposition.
When we rejoice in the face of opposition, the test can’t get in us!
The exit road out of every test is paved with joy. In the rejoicing, power flows! Praise brings the anointing, and it’s the anointing that destroys the yoke.
Paul declared, “…neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish…the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”
Not even his own life was as important to him as finishing the course of his race and fulfilling the ministry of the Word.
The most important thing in our life is the plan of God. It’s the only thing that makes a man’s life great!
As we implement this divine checklist in our life, we will be able to say with Paul, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith!”