There were three profound things about Christopher Columbus’ discovery of America. First, when he left Spain he did not know where he was going. Second, when he arrived in the New World he did not know where he was. Third, when he returned to Ferdinand in his court he didn’t know where he had been. In addition, he did it all on borrowed money. Columbus did not know much but he did a great thing simply because He believed He could. He had a level of confidence in his tomorrow or he would have never jumped on that ship. But, believing he could was only one factor to this success story. Columbus did not pilot the ship by himself. He had help. There were other people on board. That’s what this post is about; the other people on your ship. You need the people God has put in your life in order to help you navigate and fulfill your destiny.

God, Plans, and You

• God is a good God.
• A good God has a good plan for your life.
• God thinks you are a good man.
• This last point is the one people have trouble with.
• They can believe God is good
• They can believe Gods plan is good
• But, they sure have trouble believing they are the good man that can do a good plan.

It Takes a Good Man to Do a Good Plan

• God does not design good plans for bad people.
• God is the supreme manager.
• He wastes no time.
• God is the perfect productivity manager.
• If you were a business executive would you plan a job description for a good for nothing low-life of a person who you know had no desire to get the job done?
• The very fact there is a plan for your life means that God has confidence in you to carry it out.
• He thinks you are the right man for the job.
• You are the best man despite the insecurities and hang ups you may think you have.
• Who else does God have to work with anyway? In one sense, He is stuck with us.
• God stuck on you is a good thing.

[Tweet “God says you are the best man for the job despite the insecurities you may think you have.”]

James 5:17 (KJV)

¹⁷ Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

• God has already factored in all of the mistakes that you have ever made and the ones you may be unknowingly getting ready to make in the future.
• Just look at Elijah. He was a passionate man who made passionate mistakes.
• God was already accounted for all of that.
• You are His choice and He wants to talk to you about His plan.
• If God has confidence in you, you can have confidence in you.
• You can have confidence in your tomorrow.
• If you are still having trouble believing in this thread just look in the Bible at some of the words God uses to describe you.
• God is not a double tongued person, saying one thing but meaning something else.

This is what God says you are:

• Romans 8:37 – your more than a conqueror
  • God thinks you are a great warrior
• Revelation 1:6 – you are kings and priests
  • God thinks you are royalty
• 1 Peter 2:9– you are a chosen one
  • God thinks your hot stuff
• Romans 8:17 – you are a joint heir
  • God thinks that you are rich.
• So God thinks, you are a rich, royal, hot-stuff, warrior.
• But God never designed for a rich, royal, hot-stuff warrior to pilot the ship all by himself.
• God puts people in your life to help you get where you are going.

Mark 3:14 (KJV)
14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach,

• Your success is all about whose on your train.
• It’s all about the people you have in your life.
• My wife Sharon, my brother Reggie, my spiritual mother Geraldine, my spiritual father Kenneth Hagin have been the greatest influencers in my life.
• Life is not me it’s we.
• It’s not one of us, it’s all of us.
• You cannot get to where you are going alone.
• Alone-ness is not what the Body of Christ is about.
• Monk-ishness is not high-powered Christianity.
• The church is not composed of a bunch of Lone Rangers who ride in at the last minute to save the day.
• Christianity is a group sport.

Hebrews 12:1 (KJV)
1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

ILLUSTRATION: The Olympics
The relays, like the 100m dash are fun to watch in the Olympics. Talk about those guys booking, man they are moving.  They typically put the fastest athlete as the anchor in the medal race. When the anchor crosses the line and gets the win, he doesn’t get the medal alone. All four runners get the same medal. All those athletes who ran the preliminaries also get the same medal. The entire relay entourage is decorated because the team needed every single person to get the gold.

• It is always about the other people who are in your life.
• It does not even stop when people in your life move to heaven to be with Jesus.
• Those people are still part of your entourage according to Hebrews 12:1.
• Those who have gone ahead are in the grandstands of heaven cheering you on.

David Had Nathan In His Life

2 Samuel 12:1–7 (KJV)
1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. 2 The rich man had exceeding many flocks and herds: 3 But the poor man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children; it did eat of his own meat, and drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. 4 And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him. 5 And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man; and he said to Nathan, As the LORD liveth, the man that hath done this thing shall surely die: 6 And he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity. 7 And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.

DEFINITION: the name Nathan in Hebrew means ‘gift’

• Nathan’s are special gifts from God in your life.
• The Nathans in your life are the truth tellers.
• They are the ones who love you enough and care about you enough to tell you the truth about you.
• The Nathans in your life are the ones who are relational able to put their bony finger in your face and tell you you are wrong.
• This is not like certain other people you may know who make it a habit to just aim and fire and blow your face off.
• These people are not so beneficial since you only have so much ‘face’ to go around.
• The Nathans in your life have been around you long enough and know you well enough to be able say things in such a way that they are able to get truth over to where no one else can.
• The Nathans in your life have learned how to minster truth to you.

ILLUSTRATION: It’s All in the Presentation
Good food is as much about presentation as it is about cooking something well. You can cook a steak. Present it on a nice plate with garnish and make someone an enjoyable meal. Or, you can take the same finely seasoned steak and slap someone across the head with it. It’s the same steak bit it can be served two different ways. Which way would you prefer?

• In this story about Nathan notice he was David’s friend.
• The Nathans in your life are not just busy bodies. They are not just know it all’s.
• They pray the age-old prayer ‘Lord help me keep my ears open, my big mouth shut and my nose out of others business Amen.’
• Being friends for a long time and coming through stuff together, is a value not to be under estimated.
• Nathan had earned the right to speak into David’s life.
• It’s important for the Nathan’s to speak from an established place.
• Just because you have the truth, just because you know the truth, does not mean you have the right to speak the truth anytime you feel like it.
• You need to earn the right to speak into someone’s life.
• No one likes a person with a ‘know it all’ degree.
• If you have not earned the right to speak, you will not come across to someone effectively.
• The truth you are trying to share will largely be ignored.
• If you ever have the attitude, ‘Well I guess I told them about their ugly self’, you have failed as a communicator.

How Do Nathan Types Communicate?

First, He heard from God.

• Nathan was a spirit led man.

2 Samuel 12:1 (KJV)
1 And the LORD sent Nathan unto David…

• How valuable spirit led men are.
• If you do not have these people in your life who can hear from God, you are at a severe disadvantage.
• Doing life by your own self and with your own wits is not the best.
• The real truth of the matter is you are not really that good by yourself.
• People who can hear God and speak truth to you are worth their weight in gold.
• Why? Because, if you can hear God and know its God, you have it made.

Second, Nathan took the time to phrase his words correctly to David.

• Nathan took the time to meditate and come up with a way of getting David’s attention.
• He told this story about the man and his little lamb.
• The Nathans in your life think you are valuable enough to take the time to say something to you the right way.

Ephesians 4:15 (KJV)
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:

• In a world full of people who sometimes do not even make eye contact with you, The Nathans in your life can see right through you. ¹
• Valuing the Nathans in your life correctly comes from having a good understanding of yourself and the effects of the sin nature.
• There are times when we are all less than excellent.
• There are times when we all lose our way.
• There are times when we allow pride to reign in our life and affect our ability to see things as we should.
• Thank God for the Nathans who God puts in our life to help us in those moments.
• You simply cannot pilot the ship alone.

Romans 14:7–8 (KJV )
⁷ For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. ⁸ For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.

Call to Action:

Do you value the people God has placed in your life? Do you value the truth tellers who are able to minister life to you in critical moments? If you do, tell them so. Call them. Reach out to them. Keep the communication lines vibrant and open.
_________

References: