Do Not Force Appointments: How to Embrace God’s Process. Divine connections and appointments are God’s way of guiding us, not something we can manipulate or rush. When we try to force relationships, opportunities, or outcomes, we step outside God’s plan and invite unnecessary trouble. Instead, trust that God delights in every detail of your life, directing your steps and bringing the right people and moments at the right time, without striving or manipulation.
DIVINE APPOINTMENTS AND CONNECTIONS
By Delbert Young
Do Not Force Appointments: How to Embrace God’s Process
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Do Not Force Appointments: How to Embrace God’s Process
Scriptures: Psalms 37:23-25, Psalms 75:6-7, 1 Samuel 18:1, Psalms 31:14-15, Genesis 16:1-5
We are talking about Divine Connections and Appointments. These are the special moments in life when you experience a scheduled or unexpected meeting with someone, and the encounter becomes a life-changing connection. Something remarkable happened. These connections and appointments are one way the Lord guides and directs our lives as the Good Shepherd (Psa 23), leading us to green pastures and quiet waters.
We saw last time how the Lord God has Divine Plans for You! The days of our lives are written in his book before a single day happens (Psa 139:16). The Lord has many plans to prosper us, give us hope, and for our future. We saw that once we grasp God does have plans for us, it should cause us to then seek the Lord and pray (Jer 29:11-13).
Do Not Force Appointments: How to Embrace God’s Process
Don’t Force Appointment Connections To Happen
When you understand that God does have divine connections and appointments, you won’t need to struggle and attempt to manipulate or force appointments or connections. In fact, if you have to force appointments or connections to happen, it’s not a divine connection. You are superseding God’s plans with your plans. We’ve stopped seeking the Lord, stopped praying, and stopped listening. We’re following our plans and not the Lord’s plans. When we do this, we are asking for trouble. This is where we cause so many problems in life. For example, if you have to manipulate someone to marry you, you need to rethink the marriage.
People say, “But I’m so in love.” You are today, but if you force appointments or connections to happen, your love could be pure hate in a few years. If you look back at your life and evaluate the major events you believe were divine appointments and connections, you will see you did not need to force anything. It simply effortlessly happened. It’s because the Lord caused it to happen. It was in his plans for you.
Do Not Force Appointments: How to Embrace God’s Process
Years ago, we were considering purchasing the building we wanted for our church. We had someone talking to the owner, and things were going slowly. One of the leaders became anxious and pushed me to make it happen. He said to me, “You go talk to the owner!” I told him I felt we would acquire the building, but I would rather let it happen rather than make it happen.
It was a huge investment and I certainly didn’t want to purchase it if we shouldn’t. A short time later, the building’s owner called me and lowered the price, making it possible for us to acquire the building. Several times since then, we’ve considered relocating. We could have made it happen by going into serious debt, but we knew if it was the Lord’s plan, it would happen. We need to allow the Lord to direct us.
(NLT) Psalms 37:23-25
THE STEPS of the godly are directed by the LORD. HE DELIGHTS IN EVERY DETAIL OF THEIR LIVES. Though they stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand. Once I was young, and now I am old. Yet I HAVE NEVER SEEN THE GODLY FORSAKEN, nor seen THEIR CHILDREN begging for bread.
The Lord delights in every detail of your life.
Do Not Force Appointments: How to Embrace God’s Process
If you’re a godly person, the Lord is directing your steps. If he’s directing your steps even when you stumble, you won’t fall. The Lord is holding your hand. If you stumble and mess up, the Lord won’t let you fall. He won’t allow your mess up to keep you down. If you look back from the time you were young until the time you are old, you’ll never see godly people or their children begging for anything. The Lord says if you will let me direct your steps and the details of your life, I’ll take care of you and your children. The Lord wants to direct your steps.
God will give you divine appointments and connections. You don’t need to force appointments or connections. He’s directing your steps. You won’t need to beg or play up to the boss for a raise or a promotion. Your boss doesn’t give you a promotion. The Lord does.
Do Not Force Appointments: How to Embrace God’s Process
Promotion comes from God
(KJV) Psalms 75:6-7 FOR PROMOTION COMETH NEITHER FROM THE EAST, NOR FROM THE WEST, NOR FROM THE SOUTH. But God is the judge: he putteth down one, and setteth up another.
You won’t need to beg anyone for anything. Also, you don’t need to allow anyone to control or manipulate you. Furthermore, you won’t need to cut down and belittle someone to make yourself look better for advancement. Moreover, you don’t need to manipulate people. If you will be faithful to the Lord, seek him, pray, treat people the way you should, and be the person you know you should be, God will work out the rest. He’s directing your steps and the details of your life. He’s ordering your promotion.
Friends and Divine Appointments
For example, when you meet people, something is triggered inside you. Certainly, you liked the person, and they seemed to like you as well. All in all, you didn’t understand it at the moment, but later you realized your meeting the person was a divine appointment and connection set up by God. God’s into the details of our lives. He brings people to encourage us and give us hope. They’ve helped us along the way. This should be true, or something similar, with our spouse, of course, but God will bring you special friendships and relationships. You can’t make these things happen, or manipulate someone into being this type of friend. The relationship simply happens.
Do Not Force Appointments: How to Embrace God’s Process
David and Jonathan
1 Samuel 18:1 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became ONE IN SPIRIT with David, and HE LOVED HIM as himself.
David had an appointment with a giant named Goliath. After taking Goliath’s head, King Saul talked to David. The Goliath appointment was massive and threw David into the spotlight, but it also set up another divine appointment and connection with Jonathan, the son of Saul, the King. This divine connection would eventually save David’s life. David and Jonathan became covenant friends. Jonathan, Saul’s son, was next in line to be king, but God rejected Saul and his lineage (1 Samuel 15:23). Before Saul’s death in battle with the Philistines (1 Samuel 31:4), Saul had planned and plotted to kill David. However, Jonathan warned David of Saul’s plot, and David was able to escape.
Do Not Force Appointments: How to Embrace God’s Process
The Lord will bring you friends who will covenant with you through life. You become one in spirit with them. They protect you and support you. You protect and support them. I’ve experienced many of these connections, obviously ordered by God. These people were always there when I needed them and saved my skin many times. These are the people who restore your soul (Psa 23:3). You have covenant friendship in your life. They didn’t simply happen. It wasn’t an accident, coincidence, or chance. God set them there for you, and you for them.
This Church is because of Divine Connections and Appointments
It was Saturday, August 31, 1985. I was asked to come to a small town in North Georgia to preach on Sunday. The pastor had left, and I was tasked with speaking and ministering to the congregation. Once in town, I was to contact a specific person and go from there. We got to town and first located the church. We were not impressed by the appearance of the church by any means.
I made the call I was to make, and was given directions to a residence where I met a man. His name was Don, who was a leader in the church. He told me we could stay with them overnight or be put up in a motel. I would usually opt for the motel, but there was something about Don and his wife, Sheila, that we liked. Neither of us knew it at the moment, but this was a divine appointment and connection.
Do Not Force Appointments: How to Embrace God’s Process
He introduced me to the church the next morning. I ministered all day Sunday as the Lord began doing something in my heart and in the hearts of Don and the people. The church leadership and I decided I would come every Wednesday and Sunday to see what the Lord would do. Over the weeks and months, Don and I became good friends.
Through Don, I met another man, who introduced me to a third man, who in turn introduced me to a fourth man. From that one divine appointment and connection, Life Gate Church was born and has touched the lives of countless people. It was a life-changing connection. Neither of us worked to make the friendship happen. When it’s a divine connection, it will easily happen. Don’t force appointments and connections.
Do Not Force Appointments: How to Embrace God’s Process
Our times are in his hands
Psalms 31:14-15 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” MY TIMES ARE IN YOUR HANDS; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me.
David wrote this, and the way God delivered David from his enemies was through divine appointments and connections. One was Jonathan. When we allow God to hold our times in his hands and not try to force times to happen, we will avoid serious problems in life. It’s when we take our times into our own hands we set ourselves up for trouble and problems.
The Bible tells us about a woman named Sarai (Sarah). She wanted to give her husband Abram (Abraham) a child, but she was barren. They tried and tried to get pregnant, but she couldn’t. Though the Lord had told Abraham he would have descendants as the stars of the sky and sand of the sea, Sarah took their times in her hands to force it to happen.
Genesis 16:1-5 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant named Hagar; so she said to Abram, “The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her.” Abram agreed to what Sarai said. So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife. He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. WHEN SHE KNEW SHE WAS PREGNANT, SHE BEGAN TO DESPISE HER MISTRESS. Then Sarai said to Abram, “YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge between you and me.”
Do Not Force Appointments: How to Embrace God’s Process
What? How is it Abram’s fault? The point is that this quickly deteriorated and worsened. Hagar had a son named Ishmael. For fifteen years, this tore apart Sarah’s family. Later, Sarah became pregnant and had a son named Isaac. Not only did Hagar disrespect Sarah, but Ishmael mocked Isaac. This entire situation ate at Sarah every day until, finally, Sarah told Abraham that Hagar and Ishmael had to go (Gen 21:10). Today, four thousand years later, the natural and spiritual descendants of Sarah, the Jews and Christians, continue to be mocked and tormented by the descendants of Hagar.
When we take our times out of God’s hands and put our times in our hands, we force problems to happen. It will bring torment to us for years and can cause some very long-term problems for our children and descendants. When we make things happen, we are inviting trouble and difficulties. Don’t force appointments or connections.
Over the years, we’ve had people visit our church who appeared to be successful, influential, and prosperous people. I’d think, “They could help us. I would like them to come to our church. I want this to be a divine appointment and connection.” I’d try to force appointments or connections to happen, trying to influence them to come. It never worked, and if they did come for a while, there were problems and trouble. I’ve learned to let God do the connecting.
Do not force friendships.
If someone doesn’t want to be your friend, it’s their loss, not yours. You don’t need them to fulfill your future. God will supernaturally arrange the appointments and facilitate the connections you need to work out. God’s already made plans for you and has the people lined up for you. At the correct time, he will bring the proper people to help fulfill his plans for you.
Psalms 31:14-15 But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” MY TIMES ARE IN YOUR HANDS…
Do Not Force Appointments: How to Embrace God’s Process
When you look back over your life you will note in every major event, be it meeting your spouse, meeting a life-long friend, getting a significant break, etc., you will see not only divine connections and appointments, but you’ll also see you didn’t have to struggle and force appointments or connections to happen. Your times are in God’s hands.
Allow him to direct your steps. He delights in every detail of your life. If you stumble, he’ll help you stay upright. You won’t need to beg anyone for anything. He’ll take care of your children. He has your promotion waiting for you. People don’t promote you. He will knit your spirit and heart with exactly who you need and who needs you. DON’T FORCE APPOINTMENTS AND CONNECTIONS.
Do Not Force Appointments or Connections
Do Not Force Appointments or Connections
Other Related Sermons:
Divine Appointments and Connections
Divine Connections audio video notes
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