welcome to the In Touch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, September nineteenth. When it comes to your relationship with Jesus Christ, you can expect the unexpected. Let’s continue the Ways of God series with a reminder that God often makes surprise visits.
God has a purpose for everything. He does in your life and mine. He has certain goals for us, He has plans for us, He has a will for us, and sometimes those things hit us as surprises in our life.
So, when we talk about surprise visits, what I want to talk about in this message is God’s surprise visits, because one of the ways of God is this, He visits us as a surprise. That is, it’s a very surprise that suddenly we are aware of the presence of Almighty God. So, here’s what I’d like to do.
But many of you who would say, Well, I don’t believe God shows up anymore. Well, that was the Old Testament. That was the New Testament.
This is a different day. It’s a different day, but let me ask you a question. Has God changed?
No, He has not. Methods change? Yes.
Time and in circumstances and civilizations come and go, He hasn’t changed. And oftentimes we want to put. Him in a box, and we want to tell God how we think.
He ought to operate. And if. He doesn’t operate according to the way we think.
He operates, then we think, Well, I can’t believe that. All I ask you to do is to open your heart, listen to the Word of God, and just see if God has something to say to you personally, specifically, or maybe to help you open your heart so that when. He does say something to you in a very unusual way, you’ll know it’s God and not your imagination.
You say, Well, would God ever visit me in such a fashion that I would feel overwhelmed? Yes, if it’s necessary, if it’s. His will, it cannot be anything you can concoct yourself.
Somebody says, I’m going to fast and pray and see if God will visit me. Forget it. He’s not going to be manipulated.
It’ll only, listen, you may live all of your life. Listen carefully. You may live all of your life a very godly life and never experience what I’m talking about.
Does that make you any less whole than anybody else? No. It’s just that God didn’t choose to do that.
And if. He does, does that make you superior and, more important, than someone else? No.
It just means that God made a choice. And what I want you to see is this. We all live on the same level.
God has a plan and a purpose that suits us individually, tailor-made for your life. What He wants you to do is yield yourself to. Him.
Let Him guide your life the way. He chooses. And you go all the way back, whether it’s Adam or Abraham or Moses or Joshua or Gideon or Zechariah or the disciples or Saul of Tarsus.
And you now know that one day, there’s going to be a surprise visit that’s going to impact all of us. Jesus says, I’m coming back. And that’s going to be a surprise visit.
How do I know that? For the simple reason. He says, He’s coming like a thief in the night.
You don’t expect it. You don’t anticipate it. You can’t manipulate it, can’t do anything about it.
He’s showing up. Now, always has a purpose to inform us, prepare us, comfort us, assure us. It may be that.
He does that in such a fashion to meet a particular need in your life. And I could give you some other instances, but simply to say this, that’s how good God is. God’s not a mystery.
He’s so awesome, you can’t fully explain. Him. If He could, you’d sort of be like.
Him. We’re going to be like. Him only as Jesus is allowed to live.
His life in and through us. And you see, since you don’t know all that God has planned in your life, think about this. Let’s say that you’re, whether you’re fifteen or thirty-five or forty-five or six, whatever you might, let’s just say you’re young.
Let’s say you’re twenty-five or thirty years of age. And more than likely, if you’re that young and you keep good health habits, you could live to be a hundred today. Think about this.
What will God do in your life for the next fifty, sixty, or seventy years if you surrender your life to. Him and let. Him have yourself all that you are?
What in the world will. He do with you? You can’t even imagine.
But here’s the devil’s lie. Oh, you’re just one of millions. Why do you think God’s going to use you?
Why do you think you’re somebody special? You know, I know why every single one of you is special. Because Jesus would not have died for you if you were not.
Because you see, all of us in the same category. We came into this world with a sinful nature, been away from God, and every single one of us has sinned against. Him many, many times.
And when. He died, He died for every single one of us individually. The billions of people that have inhabited and will inhabit this earth, the same redemption that took place at Calvary covered us all.
He loves you as a purpose and a plan for your life. So don’t dictate to. Him when.
He will, when. He, why. He can’t, why.
He won’t work in your life in a special way. You see, it’s not a certain age, not a certain country, not a certain culture, not a certain language, not a certain color, has any, none of that has anything to do with it. The thing that has the most to do with it is this.
Do you even desire that kind of relationship? Do you believe that you can have that kind of a personal relationship? Listen, where by the power of Almighty God works in your life, not under certain circumstances, but every day.
But will. He flow through you with this awesome power, wisdom and knowledge to accomplish what. He has for you if you allow.
Him to do it? Don’t discredit yourself. Don’t set yourself aside as somebody exceptional, that is exceptional to.
His blessings and. His goodness and. His mercy and kindness, and to.
His awesome will in your life. There’s not a single one of us who can predict what our life’s going to be like later. Does He make surprise visits?
Yes. Does He have a purpose for them? Yes.
Can you manipulate them? No. Can you arrange them?
No. Can you pray for them to come down from heaven? No.
It is something God chooses to do. And just as. He chose in the Old Testament, just as.
He chose in the New Testament, and just as. He’s been choosing down through the centuries, God, listen, is this awesome, present God. Not distant, but present.
And He took great pains, Jesus did, to say to. His disciples over and over and over again, I’m going away, but I’m coming back. I’m going to be with you.
I want you to know that I’m a with you God. I’m not a separated God. I’m a with you God.
I’m in your corner. I’m on your team. You’re on my team.
We’re going to do this together. You do not have to think about your life alone, but with. Him.
So, think about it. Why is it that people, often times, miss God’s choice and blessings in their life? And let me ask you this question.
Now, you have to be honest, and if you’re not honest, it won’t make any difference, because I can’t tell the truth anyway whether you’re going to do this, that, and the other. I want you to think about this. If you could have anything in the world that you wanted, above everything else, anything, would that one thing be an intimate, loving, listen, unequaled, indescribable, awesome relationship with Jesus Christ, whereby every day of your life, you and.
He are walking hand in hand, heart to heart. And you’re understanding more of. His ways.
And you’re seeing. Him in ways you’ve never seen. Him before.
That is, if God just dumped into your life this awesome understanding and relationship and intimacy that could not be equaled by anything else in life, was that what you would want? Or would you have to say, Well, that’s not exactly what I had in mind. What is it that you want more than.
Him? Here’s a God all down through history, these surprise visits. You may say, Well, how will I know that it’s from.
Him? What is it in my life that would keep me from having a surprise visit from God? Well, see, nobody else can answer all those questions except that I can help you answer one of those.
Why is it that God is not more intimate and more personal in your life? One of the primary reasons is there’s sin in your life. It may be very quiet and very private, but you know it’s there.
Nobody else in the world knows it’s there but you. It may be just in your thoughts, but it may be in your thoughts, your motives, and your actions. You see, as long as you’re living in sin, holy God, who cannot tolerate sin, He can tolerate the sinner but not sin.
But a person deliberately, willfully living in sin and expecting God to do something dramatic in their life, that’s one reason. A second reason is this. For the simple reason of our ignorance of God and.
His ways, if I put. Him in the box and say, Here’s how God operates, this is the only way. He operates.
Then what have I done? I have limited God by my unbelief and my ignorance. Sometimes it’s just pure unbelief.
I just don’t believe that God could possibly work in my life, one of these surprise visitations, to answer a particular prayer that I have, or to show me something about myself I’ve never known before, to show me something about. Himself that I’ve never known before, I don’t understand. But you see, the truth is, are you willing?
Are you willing to surrender your life to. Him and let. Him show you what.
He will do in your life if you let. Him? So let me ask you this, is there anything in your life at this moment, in your thought life, in your emotions, in your relationships, that would cause God to back off?
He wants to use you, but. He’s not going to force you. He wants to make an impact through your life, but no pressure.
He may put a little bit of pressure on you. He may say to you, here’s what I’m going to do in your life. He may say to you, here’s what I want to do.
But if you don’t do thus and so, I won’t do that, and here’s what will happen to you. See, we don’t have much reverence for God anymore. We sort of take God with a grain of salt to some degree.
We like it fine, we give. Him credit. If we don’t like it, we ignore.
Him. That’s not the God of the Bible. The God of this Word is that God is holy and righteous, sovereignly overruling and everything on the face of this earth.
He wants to, listen, not only to love you, but. He wants you to understand, to sense that love, and sense the expressions of. His love in your life.
Now, think about this. You can have that kind of relationship with. Him.
Well, you know one of the primary reasons people don’t? Too busy. Think about what happens to you on any given day.
Tomorrow morning, Monday morning, you’ll wake up. And you have to take a shower and get dressed and get all primped up and everything. Then you get in your automobile or whatever and you drive to work.
Well, as soon as you get up, your mind starts working. Things that you’re going to do, things, people you’re going to see, things you’re responsible for. And then you get off of work and you get back in your car and go home and then you got to prepare dinner or go out of whatever it might be or take care of your children, all the things.
And by the time the day’s over, whew! And you’re dead tired. How many times during that time did you even think about Jesus?
Business. Think about this. It’s easy for God’s people to get caught up in the world.
What the world promises, what the world offers, the pleasures, if you don’t have this, you’re not living it. You get caught up in the world, what happens? Instead of getting caught up with Jesus, that’s not some religious preacher talk.
That’s reality, that you love. Him, that you want to be obedient to. Him.
It’s not pressure to obey. Him, it’s a joy to obey. Him.
You want what’s best for your life. You want that relationship to be right, and you can live in it. Caught up with the world, too busy, living in sin, unbelief, all of those things, cheetahs.
Listen, Satan will cheat you out of the gifts God has for you. And if you and I disobey him, we cheat him out of the promise and the possibility of using us. So, what’s the consequences?
Here are the consequences. First of all, you miss his message. What did he want to say to you?
secondly, you miss his will. What’s God’s plan for your life? Thirdly, you miss the opportunity of being used by God.
You miss all of that. You miss the blessing of God, what. He would have done in your life if you’d have just let.
Him. And probably one of the worst things of all is the impact we have in other people’s lives, which is a negative impact. You want to make a godly impact on your children.
They have to see it, hear it, feel it. And one of the wisest things you can teach your children, number one, how to listen to God. So as they grow, they will know and learn very early in life.
You can say to your son, you can have a personal relationship with God. Well, He’s up in heaven, but. He’s also here.
Talk to. Him. Listen to.
Him. I want you to develop that relationship because it’s the most important relationship in your life and one of the most important things you’ll ever have to learn. How to hear.
Him, how to talk to. Him, how to listen to. Him, how to receive.
Him, how to believe. Him, how to follow. Him, how to obey.
Him. He makes surprise visits, and when. He does, He has something very specific in your life.
With Adam and Eve, it was a terrible confrontation. With Joshua, it was this awesome assurance that victory is right in front of me.
With the Apostle Paul, it was a shocker that transformed his life. So here’s my question. This God who is so willing to visit you when necessary from.
His perspective, whatever the reason may be, what is there in your life that you prize more than you prize this intimate relationship and this awesome possibility of God using you to impact the lives of other people? You see, you are going to impact your children, the people you love, the folks around you, your family, your friends. Is there anything is valuable to you?
Is any pleasure in life more valuable? Any material thing is equal to the kind of godly impact you can have in somebody else’s life. Watch this.
People all around you are looking for somebody that they can like, want to be like. As an example, they’re looking for somebody in whose life they see something that makes them want to be like that. You’re a child of God, you have that.
I will read to you the way I choose. Who are you going to believe? The devil or Almighty God?
And it’s my prayer that you’ll believe. Him, because then I know you will never be disappointed all of your life. And Father, how grateful we are that you love us like that.
So personally involved and interested, having a purpose for each one of us. I pray that those who are listening, who have never trusted you as their personal Savior, that you would speak to them right now in whatever language they’re hearing this, to know that you are the God of this universe, and you speak all languages. And the truth that you speak is truth for every culture, every language, even those languages that have never been written, but are still spoken.
That Jesus’ death at the cross paid our sin debt in full from beginning to end, and that through. Him, we can have a personal relationship that is startling, intriguing, almost unbelievable, uplifting, encouraging, comforting. We love you, Father, and we thank you for your love.
You’re loving us. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Thank you for listening to God’s Surprise Visits. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station. And if you’d like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by intouch.org.
This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
