In touch with charles stanley sermon notes

God has a plan, a purpose, and a perfect will for our lives. But we have a choice whether or not to walk in His will. Dr. Stanley conveys an essential challenge from Scripture—will you choose your way or God’s?

Sermon Outline

Before You Step Out of the Will of God

KEY PASSAGE: Colossians 3:23-25

SUPPORTING SCRIPTURES: Numbers 32:23 | Galatians 6:7 | 1 John 1:9

SUMMARY

God has spoken very clearly in His Word regarding His will for our lives

In addition, He has given us the Holy Spirit to help us discern what He desires and to enable us to obey Him. However, we must each decide whether we are going to follow Him or go our own way.

SERMON POINTS

Life at its best can only be experienced by living according to God’s will because He alone knows what is best.

At times we may question why the Lord allows certain difficulties and struggles in one person’s life, while another may never have to go through such trials. From an earthly perspective, afflictions may not look like the best plan, but God alone knows what He desires to accomplish in each person’s life through various situations. However, when someone follows the Lord obediently in difficult circumstances, He is able to accomplish amazing things in that person’s life. God promises to work out every event for the good of those who obey Him.

In contrast, those who live outside God’s will reject the best possible life, which only He can offer. Although they think they are choosing a good course of action since it promises to give them what they want, they end up paying a costly price for their disobedience to almighty God.

Many people will not discover this truth until later in life, but it is never too late to submit to the Lord. The past cannot be changed, but God can forgive and change the direction of the life of anyone who turns to Him in repentance. All believers have the Holy Spirit within them who transforms their thoughts, habits, and way of life to help them live obediently according to God’s will.

Serving Christ Is God’s Will.

The apostle Paul gives the following explanation of what it means to walk in God’s will.

• Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”

Some people think that after salvation, they can then do as they please, but that is not true. Paul says that once we are saved, we become servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Master, and every day of our lives is to be spent serving Him, knowing that one day we must all stand before Him to give an account for how we lived.

Warnings to Those Who Don’t Obey God’s Will

If we go through life without thinking about the Lord, reading His Word, or praying, this is evidence that we are living for ourselves rather than for Christ. Before we continue going down this path, we should stop and heed God’s warnings in Scripture so we won’t have to suffer the consequences of rebelling against Him.

• Colossians 3:25 “For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.”
• Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.”
• Numbers 32:23 “You have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.”

The Consequences of Stepping Out of God’s Will

Before foolishly disobeying God and ignoring or rejecting His will, we must consider the consequences. The Bible provides many examples from which to learn.

Charles Frazier Stanley (born 1932) is Pastor Emeritus[2][3] of First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, after serving as senior pastor for 49 years.[4] He is the founder and president of In Touch Ministries, which widely broadcasts his sermons through television and radio. He also served two one-year terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, from 1984 to 1986.

Early life and education[edit]

Stanley was born on September 25, 1932, in Dry Fork, Pittsylvania County, Virginia. His father, also named Charles, died nine months later. Stanley grew up in rural Dry Fork on the outskirts of Danville. At the age of 12, he became a born-again Christian, and at age 14 he began his life's work in Christian ministry.[5]

Stanley obtained a bachelor's degree from the University of Richmond and a Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He has also received a Master of Theology and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Luther Rice Seminary in Florida (now located in Lithonia, Georgia).

Ministry[edit]

Stanley joined the staff of First Baptist Church of Atlanta in 1969 and became senior pastor in 1971.[6][7]

In 1972, Stanley launched a half-hour religious television program called The Chapel Hour. In 1977, Stanley founded In Touch Ministries with the mission to lead people worldwide into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and to strengthen the local church.[8] The Christian Broadcasting Network began televising In Touch in 1978.[9] The show has since been translated in 50 languages.[10] In the United States, In Touch is broadcast on approximately 500 radio stations, 300 television stations, and several satellite networks, including The Inspiration Network (INSP) and Trinity Broadcasting Network. Stanley's sermons, along with other audio and video programming, are available on the In Touch website. The ministry also publishes In Touch magazine. In Touch uses tools like radio, television, magazines and digital media to advance the Gospel as quickly as possible. Stanley took the ministry name In Touch from a Living Bible he owned.

Stanley's writings and broadcasts address issues such as finances, parenting, personal crises, emotional matters, relationships, and Protestantism. According to the In Touch website, "Dr. Stanley fervently believes the Bible to be the inerrant Word of God, a belief strongly reflected in his teaching."[11]

In 1985, Charles Stanley was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention.[8]

In 2005, Stanley invited Lisa Ryan to co-host a question-and-answer segment called "Bring It Home", which aired after his on-air sermon, a segment intended to help the audience better grasp the content of the sermon through questions the average listener might ask. Ryan's participation ended in late 2006, the segment continuing with Stanley alone. In early 2007, Stanley began using the final segment of the In Touch TV and radio programs to teach on his "30 Life Principles".[citation needed]

In 2017, Stanley named Anthony George to succeed him as senior pastor of First Baptist Church at some point in the future.[12] On September 13, 2020, Stanley announced his retirement as senior pastor and transition to pastor emeritus. However, Stanley has made it very clear he does not believe in retirement, so he will be continuing to work at In Touch Ministries.

Influences and theology[edit]

With regard to theology, Stanley is an evangelical,[citation needed] and in terms of eschatology (end times) views, has been described as a dispensationalist.[13] Over the course of his ministry, Stanley developed "30 Life Principles",[14][better source needed] that have guided his life and helped him grow in his knowledge, service, and love of God,[citation needed] principles that he shares these often, including in books, Bibles and study guides.[citation needed] He credits his grandfather, George Washington Stanley, with inspiring one of his most referenced principles: “Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.”[This quote needs a citation] In his book Courageous Faith: My Story from a Life of Obedience, Stanley said, “Granddad told me, ‘Charles, if God tells you to run your head through a brick wall, you head for the wall, and when you get there, God will make a hole for it.’”[This quote needs a citation] Stanley also addressed his influences and philosophy when he wrote, in 2009, that he "began to apply the principles of [Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich] to my endeavors as a pastor, and I discovered they worked! ... For years, I read [it] every year to remind myself that the truth of God is not just for one career field. It is for all manner of work and ministry."[15]

Personal life[edit]

Charles F Stanley has a daughter named Becky, whom Stanley has occasionally mentioned in his sermons.[citation needed] Stanley's son, Andy, is the pastor of North Point Community Church in nearby Alpharetta, Georgia.

In addition to his work in Christian ministry, Stanley is an avid photographer. Much of his photographic work is featured in the In Touch magazine, as well as in other materials printed by the ministry, such as the In Touch wall and desk calendars.[11][16]

Stanley's wife of more than 40 years, Anna J. Stanley, filed for divorce on June 22, 1993, following their separation in spring of 1992. The two of them agreed that Anna would amend the lawsuit to seek a legal separation instead ("separate maintenance"), while seeking reconciliation. She again filed for divorce on March 20, 1995. Even though this was not the end of the marriage, the Moody Radio Network station in Atlanta (then-WAFS) took Stanley's daily broadcast off the air during that time, as managers concluded that there was no sign of reconciliation. The Stanleys were legally separated at the time that divorce papers were filed for the last time on February 16, 2000. A judge signed the final divorce decree on May 11, 2000.[17][18][verification needed]

Their divorce caused a minor controversy in the Southern Baptist Convention. The matter was complicated by reports that Stanley had said he would resign as pastor if he became divorced. At the time of their separation, he stated that he did not believe that it would result in divorce; however, when it did, the members of his church overwhelmingly voted to keep him on as pastor. According to First Baptist Atlanta's bylaws, Stanley was allowed to remain as pastor as long as he did not remarry.[19][verification needed]

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