If you feel like you've wrecked God's plan for your life, watch this

If you feel like you've wrecked God's plan for your life, you need to hear this. Now, there are 2 types of Christians that I'm addressing here. The first is the Christian who is trying. You are pursuing the will of God. You want to please him, but you find yourself making mistake after mistake. And maybe you feel like you've made so many mistakes that the call on your life has been completely derailed with no hope of recovery. And the second kind of Christian is the one who is in disobedience, in rebellion. You know what you're doing is wrong, or maybe you know that you should be doing something, but you're not doing it. Either way, I want to talk to you about the call of God on your life. Let's go to the book of Jonah here. The Lord gave this message to Jonah. Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh. Announce my judgment against it because I have seen how wicked its people are. But Jonah got up and went in the opposite direction to get away from the Lord. He went down to the port of Joppa, where he found a ship leaving for Tarshish. He bought a ticket and went on board, hoping to escape from the Lord by sailing to Tarshish. Here we see that Jonah directly receives a command from God, and he purposefully goes in the opposite direction. This is outright rebellion. Now, not all Christians are here. Some, maybe it's just some compromise here or there. Others, maybe you're just making mistakes as you pursue the call of God. And others are like Jonah exactly in that they hear what God is saying. They know what God's desires are. And with hearts filled with rebellion, they march in the opposite direction and they're trying to get away from his influence. They're trying to get out from under the influence of his hand. They're trying to get away from the sound of his voice. Here's what happens when God's people do this. Jonah now, 1:4. But the Lord hurled a powerful wind over the sea, causing a violent storm that threatened to break the ship apart. Fearing for their lives, the desperate sailors shouted to their gods for help and threw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship. But all this time, Jonah was sound asleep down in the hold. Then they cried out to the Lord, Jonah's God. O Lord, they pleaded, don't make us die for this man's sin. So even they could recognize that Jonah was not where he needed to be. Isn't that interesting? That his unsaved acquaintances even recognized that what he was doing was wrong. Isn't that interesting? When you try to get around people, Who are not godly and try to participate in what they're doing, they'll stop and look at you and say, aren't you a Christian? Should you be doing this? Are you allowed to participate in what we're doing? And maybe they feel even a little awkward around you. Well, that's what's happening here. They recognize God's hand on him. And so now they're calling out to the Lord, don't make us die for this man's sin and don't hold us responsible for his death. Oh Lord, You've sent this storm upon him for your own good reasons. Then the sailors picked Jonah up and threw him into the raging sea. And the storm stopped at once. The sailors were awestruck by the Lord's great power, and they offered him a sacrifice and vowed to serve him. Now the Lord had arranged for a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish for 3 days and 3 nights. So notice here though, what's interesting is that God used Jonah Even in his rebellion. Now, by no means am I advocating for rebellion. And I'm not saying that we should just go on doing our own thing, but isn't that the grace of God? That even when we're not meeting the standard we should be meeting, even when there's compromise, God still works through that. It doesn't sound right. It's a bit mysterious. And again, I'm not saying you should therefore rebel, but even in his disobedience, Jonah couldn't help but be called. He was called and there was nothing he could do about it. And so God sends this powerful wind. You've heard of Jonah and the whale. Think about Jonah and the wind. This wind comes from the presence of God. And what does this wind do? It destroys the ship that he was using to go in the opposite direction of God's call. In other words, the presence and power of the Holy Spirit Came to destroy his means of disobedience. What he was using to run away from the call, God took from him. This is not the stripping of his free will. This is the shaking of his circumstances. God destroyed his means of disobedience. Yes, he was still in disobedience, but God destroyed his means of going too far, of going too deep. There's that divine protection on him. You know, you're different. You're not going to be able to do what they do. You're not going to be able to talk like they talk. You're not going to be able to go the places that they go. You've been marked. You've been called. The hand of God is upon you. This is why you're miserable in compromise. This is why you feel uncomfortable in situations where there's disobedience and ungodliness. This is why you're losing certain connections. This is why relationships are being stripped from you, or seemingly so. This is why everything around you is being shaken, because God is destroying your means of disobedience. He loves you too much to leave you in your own compromise. He loves you too much to leave you in your own rebellion. He'll shake things up, not just to— destroy for the sake of destroying. That's, that's His love. You have to understand. God's correction is never about rejection, at least for His children. I want you to hear this. This is important. I want you to get this. You as His child, His correction is never about rejection. It's always about restoration. His correction always brings restoration. There's this idea that at a certain point with his children, God will say, well, that's it, I'm done with you now. No, he doesn't abandon his children. Look at Jonah. Jonah ran from God and God pursued him. Listen, if this message is encouraging you and you think that other believers need to hear it, go ahead and leave a like on this video right now. And also don't forget to subscribe so that you can continue to receive encouraging teachings like this. If you wanna continue to receive these teachings, Make sure to subscribe and click the notification bell. Look what happens next. Jonah 3:1-3. God speaks a second time. Then the Lord spoke to Jonah a second time. Get up and go to the great city of Nineveh and deliver the message I have given you. This time Jonah obeyed the Lord's command and went to Nineveh. A city so large that it took 3 days to see it all. Despite his rebellion, despite his running, God calls to him a second time. Now, you may think that you've gone too far, or that you've been gone too long, or that you've been in rebellion too long, or that you've made too many mistakes as you've tried to pursue the call of God, but consider Jonah. Jonah was in outright rebellion And God still called to him. How much more will those who are pursuing the call of God, who occasionally make mistakes, ultimately fulfill that call? He will complete the work. He'll call you a second, a third, a fourth. This is not an invitation to go on sinning. This is a wake-up call. You have to come to realize that you belong to him. And he's going to pursue you. And you're going to fulfill that call. His love is too great. He loves you too much to leave you in your compromise. He is more patient than we are stubborn, more loving than we are sinful, more faithful than we are flawed. The Holy Spirit, that whirlwind from heaven, will pursue you and bring you right back on track. Now it's not about us. That's why God calls us a second and a third time. Yes, He wants to have relationship with us, but concerning the call, how He uses us, you know, there's this notion that, you know, at some point God's gonna say, well, I'm done with you, or I'm removing my anointing from you. You know, that's an Old Testament concept, and we have to filter Old Testament principles to New Testament realities. And so it's not that compromise can't affect you. Of course compromise can affect you, and it can destroy a ministry, it can destroy a reputation and so forth, but God will call to you again. Why? Because it's not about you. If it was about you, then of course, then there would be this limitation on it, but it's about those who need to hear the gospel. Now, after this moment, Nineveh experiences a great revival. En masse, they repent and turn to the Lord. They turn from their sin. They get rid of their compromise because of the preaching, the prophetic preaching of Jonah, who told them that Nineveh was going to be overthrown. When God called you, remember this, when God called you, he already knew every mistake that you would make. When God called you, he already knew your flaws. When God called you, he already knew your past. So, I invite you today to get back on track, to recognize, and this is to the believer who is pursuing the call of God, to recognize that you're gonna make mistakes, but God knew those mistakes would happen. And I wanna talk to that believer who's in outright rebellion. You might as well surrender now because God is gonna get his way. You might as well yield yourself now. Because the Holy Spirit is lovingly pursuing you. Maybe you've been hurt by the church. Maybe you've been burned by ministry. Maybe your heart has become cynical, but God is going to pursue you. The call of God is not as fragile as we've imagined it to be. The will of God is a sheer force. God's purposes are yes and amen. His promises, his commands, his desires are yes and amen. If God wills something and desires to accomplish it, he will accomplish that. He will finish the work within you. He will perfect your character. He will break those stubborn flaws off of you. There's no running from it. So you might as well yield now. Luke 22, watch this. Verse 54. So they arrested him and led him to the high priest's home. And Peter followed at a distance. The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it. And Peter joined them there. A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally, she said, this man was one of Jesus's followers. But Peter denied it. Woman, he said, I don't even know him. After a while, someone else looked at him and said, you must be one of them. No, man, I'm not, Peter retorted. About an hour later, someone else insisted, this must be one of them because he is Galilean too. But Peter said, man, I don't know what you are talking about. And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. At that moment, the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Suddenly, the Lord's words flashed through Peter's mind. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny 3 times that you even know me. And Peter left the courtyard weeping bitterly. Here we see, of course, that Peter makes a mistake. He denies the Lord. Notice here that he couldn't hide the fact that he was one of the Lord's. He couldn't hide the fact that he had been with Jesus. This is the reality concerning you. This is why you just don't fit in. This is why it's just so difficult to give up on the call and go the opposite way. Nothing feels the same anymore. Once you've tasted of the goodness of God, once you've pursued his call, I mean, you can romanticize about going back to normal or going back to whatever it was like before. It's just not going to happen. Because once you begin to walk in the call of God, there's nothing like it. And then to go back to anything else, it just doesn't feel right. And for the rest of your life, hanging over your head will be that conviction of the Holy Spirit drawing you back on the right path of your calling. This is why I say to believers that the most miserable Christians, or I should say the most miserable people, are Christians who are actively stepping out of the call of God. Why? Because they're not stepping into what they were created for. You were created for a purpose. God has given you a calling. And if you're running away from that, it's time to get back on track. Look, they're going to recognize you. You're not going to fit in. It's not going to be the same as it was before. Now, we of course know that Peter was restored, even to the point where he's preaching in the book of Acts and thousands are getting saved. There's no limit to what God can do with your life. You just got to give it to him. You have to surrender. You have to finally yield, stop fighting the Holy Spirit. And if you're on the other end of the spectrum and you're saying, well, I just feel like I'm making so many mistakes. I'm trying to do what God wants me to do. And half the time I don't even know what that is. And I don't know what step to take because I'm not hearing anything, or I wanna do what God desires, but I don't know what he desires. You keep pursuing God. You keep obeying the word. You keep obeying the written word; He'll reveal the spoken word to your heart. In the meantime, trust that He's got you. And again, the call of God is not as fragile as you've imagined. Now regarding the patience of the Holy Spirit, I wrote this in my book Holy Spirit: God Within You, available at encounterthespirit.com. He is patient. He is more patient than we are sinful. He is more forbearing than we are stubborn. He won't give up on you. He is kind. He does not deal harshly with us as we might deserve. When he speaks, though sometimes directly so, there is a kindness to his voice. Even his correction is redemption. So, Father, I lift that one to you now who fears that they may have destroyed your calling on their life, who fears that they've made too many mistakes, they've gone too far. And Father, I pray even now that you would cause them to be strengthened by the precious Holy Spirit. Give them faith and confidence in who you are, in your Word and your promises. Help them, Father, to obey. Help them, Father, to walk as you direct. We thank you, Lord, that you are destroying our means of disobedience. We thank you, Holy Spirit, that you will not stop pursuing us. And I pray today, Lord, that there would be a turning point. Lord, for that one who is rebelling, I pray you would bring a softening of the heart, redirect them back on the right track. And Lord, for that one who is trying, making mistakes, and fretting that they may have destroyed the call, I pray you remind them you are faithful, you are guiding them. In the mighty name of Jesus, we pray. I want you to type a big amen in the comments section now. I want to read a portion of scripture to you. It's in John chapter 6, begin at verse number 5. Listen to this now. Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, where can we buy bread to feed all these people? He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. Philip replied, even if we worked for months, we wouldn't have enough money to feed them. Then Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, spoke up, there's a young boy here with 5 barley loaves and 2 fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd? Tell everyone to sit down, Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. The men alone numbered about 5,000. Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward, he did the same with the fish, and they all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, now gather the leftovers so that nothing is wasted. So they picked up the pieces and filled 12 baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the 5 barley loaves. Here we see a great example about the Lord's ability to multiply what is surrendered. Now, I want to invite you with this scripture in mind, or this portion of scripture in mind, to participate in what God is doing this ministry. I want to invite you to give financially to support this work. We as Christians have a responsibility to fund the work of the kingdom, and this ministry work is made possible— yes, it's the Lord's doing, but he uses givers like you. Now here we see an example: 5 loaves, 2 fish, not enough to meet the need, not enough to feed the thousands of people who were hungry. But when that portion of food was surrendered and placed into the Lord's hands, it was multiplied to be more than enough. Let me tell you something. The future is bright. I don't care what the news says. I don't care what the so-called experts say. I don't care what your worried friends are sending you in terms of links and Dismay and woe. Let me tell you something: God is in control, and I want you to trust in His providence. I want you to trust in His power and ability, and I want you to know that you are free to be generous because the Lord will meet the need. If we yield what is in our hand, though it right now may not seem like enough, in His hands. it becomes more than enough. Far too many believers, and this is where I really wanna challenge you here, far too many believers are saying, when the good day comes, or when in the future things get a little better, or I'm just kinda watching all the signs right now, I'm watching the economic signs, I'm watching the political signs, and I'm waiting to give until things are better or calmer, or Or you might be saying, when God increases me, then I will give. But it's just the opposite. That's not how faith works, because it's actually just the opposite. As you give in faith, God increases you. I challenge you to give what you can to the work of the ministry. Just bring your best gift and watch what the Lord will do with it through His ministry and in your life. You can give by going to davidhernandezministries.com/partner. There you can sign up For a monthly gift. You can give a single gift by going to davidhernandezministries.com/donate. Go and step out in faith now. We need your help. The ministry is growing. Now is the time to introduce this generation to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Well, if you enjoyed this teaching on the call of God and you're desiring to know how to hear God more clearly, then check out my teaching, If You Need Help Discerning God's Voice, Watch This.