So what is it that you're good at? Sometimes the things you're good at give you a clue to what God's wired in your life. What do other people say you're good at? Those can give you a clue to some things that God has put in your life that you should recognise, develop and this is part of discovering what God has for your life. It's quite simple and quite natural. What stirs your compassion? Do you weep over anything? Do you feel strongly about something? Probably God called you to move into something in that area, and to do something about that area. Now you notice we haven't talked about prayer yet. We've talked about you engaging your own heart, because in your heart God has already hard-wired some of the things that will outwork in fulfilling His will in your life, and many times many people have such a low esteem that they don't value what's inside them, and don't take the time to discover, recognise, draw out and develop what God put in their heart. Out of your heart flow the issues of life, so there'll be some things you desire which are really good - those are the things to cultivate by focussing on them. Some things you desire may be of the flesh. They need to go to the cross, need to just deal with them by not focussing on them, bringing them to death on the cross.
So separated from God, we tend to be very self-centred, and even when we come to Christ, most of the time we start off thinking what's in this Christian life for me? What am I going to get out of this service? What am I going to get out of the message? What am I going to get out - in other words, the orientation when we come to Christ still often is very similar to what it was before we come to Christ. We're just looking what's in this for me, what do I get out of it? How can I get blessed? And if we don't change that way of thinking, then what happens is we become incredibly immature, and never fulfil the course of God in our life. So here's a scripture for you, in James 4, Verse 1 to 4. James says where do wards come from? Where to conflicts come from? How come we've got conflicts in marriage, and conflicts in relationships? Then it gives you the answers, because you lust or desire and you don't have, so you fight to get what you want. So self-centred desires always lead us into conflicts with people. We end up in conflict, we end up in difficulties. Without Christ, we tend to be quite self-directed, so we're really looking after our own interests.
Look at this scripture here, in Matthew, Chapter 16. This is true of all of us. We come to Christ, what can God do for me? Then gradually we come to the point where we say, what can I do for God, and how can I heal my life ,and discover what He wants for me to do? So there is a connection between the desires God's put in your heart, and the will of God, but if you just follow what you want to do, you'll never find the will of God and if you just wait for God to tell you, you'll never find all that He has for you either. You actually have to become responsible to walk with God, and bring your part to Him, some to be put right and sanctified, and some to actually enhance because that's how God wants you to fulfil His purpose for your life. Look at this in Matthew, Chapter 16 and Jesus, Verse 21, from that time Jesus began to show His disciples, He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. So Jesus is quite focussed all His life, what He's called to do. He knows exactly what He's called to do. Did He show creativity in it? Yes, He did, but He knew all the time what He was called to do. He had a very clear focus for His life.
Now you notice here, He's just announcing that I'm called to lay My life down sacrificially for the cause of God, and immediately there's a response from Peter. Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying have pity on Yourself, or save Yourself, this shouldn't happen to You. Now notice what Peter is doing. Peter is with Jesus. Peter is walking, He's enjoying ministry, enjoying the miracles, enjoying the crowds and then Jesus begins to explain actually there's a death I have to face, and it'll be followed by a resurrection. This is the path of God's plan for My life, and his immediate thing is, if Jesus dies, what happens to us? So notice what he does. Straight away he tries to press on Jesus to change the plan and he says have pity on Yourself, or hey, save Yourself or look after Yourself, and Jesus saw exactly where that kind of thinking come from. Notice the rebuke that Jesus gives Peter. He says get behind Me Satan, you're an offence to Me. So Jesus identified that feeling sorry for yourself, protecting yourself, saving yourself was a demonically inspired impression or thought, that was trying to take Him off course.