Learning and applying God’s 10 problem-solving devices will fortify the FLOT line in your soul (FLOT is an acronym for Forward Line of Troops), preventing the outside sources of adversity from becoming the inside pressure of stress in your soul. This episode (Part 3) covers the sixth device: 6. Personal Sense of Destiny (the ability to identify God’s plan specifically for you). You glorify God when you use God’s spiritual assets to solve all your daily problems.
Welcome to the Flatline with your host, Rick Hughes. For the next 30 minutes, you’ll be inspired, motivated, educated, but never manipulated. Now, your host, Rick Hughes.
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Good morning, and welcome to the Flatline. I’m your host, Rick Hughes, and for the next few minutes, please stay with me. It won’t be long, just about 30 minutes of motivation, inspiration, education, and absolutely no manipulation. I’m your host, Rick Hughes, No trickery here. We’re not trying to sell you something. We’re not trying to ask you to join anything. What we are asking is for you to listen up as I try to verify and identify the plan of God for your life. If I can do that, then you are free to orient and adjust to the plan. That’s up to you. My job is to be accurate and get it correct and to give you plain information that you can use in your life. If you’re a regular listener to this show, you know this is the third message that that I’ve done reviewing the concept of what we call the flat line. That’s the name of our radio show, the flat line, not the flat line and not the flight line, but the flat line. If you’re new, you know what I’m seeking to do, and what I’m trying to do is to explain what a Flotline is and how we came up with that name for this show. Before I start, let me remind you that we are not a syndicated show, meaning we don’t have sponsors, nor do we sell any products. These messages are self-paid. compliments of God’s amazing grace provisions. Simply put, I teach it, and God provides the word, the means, and our Lord is wonderful to do that. He always has provided, and He always will provide. Now let’s go back to the term, FLOT line, F-L-O-T. This term was first coined by my very own pastor, Reverend R.B. Thame, Jr., many years ago. It was his way of presenting God’s provisions for every circumstance in life. In fact, this term, flotline, is essentially the complete summary of the Christian life and what this life actually consists of. What we’re trying to teach on this radio show is the material that he actually taught me and not just me, but every member of his congregation during his 50 plus years as pastor of Baraka Church in Houston, Texas. The FLOT line is a simple military term, military analogy. It stands for the Forward F Line, L-I, of Troops, F-L-O-T, FLOT line, Forward Line of Troops. This military analogy uses 10 simple doctrinal concepts that if you learn them and you use them in your life, they will act as a main line of resistance in the mentality of your soul. But you have to learn them and use them. If you do, then you’ll be able to stop the outside sources of adversity from ever becoming the inside source of stress, which is, you know, can be anxiety or worry or whatever. But with a flat line in your soul, You can enjoy every advantage God provides as you live out your life in the devil’s world. It is the devil’s world. We know that. In the past two shows, we’ve looked at problem solving devices one through five. Problem solving device number one is the word rebound. That stands for how we solve the problem of sin. We confess our sin, 1 John 1, 9, and we’re filled with the Holy Spirit. Problem-solving device number two is the filling of the Holy Spirit, and that solves the problem of the genetic form, sin nature. How do we get around the sin nature and live out from underneath control of the flesh? Problem-solving device number three is faith, rest, drill, and that solves the problem of fear and panic. And then we had grace orientation, number four, and number five, doctrinal orientation. So we identified those, we studied those, and if you’d like to get the information on it, just get in touch with us. We even have a book called Christian Problem Solving that outlines every one of these. If you’d like it, it’s free. Today, we’re going to look at problem solving device number six in the flat line of your soul, and that’s called a personal sense of destiny. personal sense of destiny. This personal sense of destiny gives you the ability to identify God’s plan specifically for you, and it will help you avoid impulsive emotional decisions that will take you in the wrong direction, spiritually speaking. Using your personal sense of destiny will help you identify wrong priorities in your life. Proverbs 19.21 says there are many plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that will prevail. And I assure you there are many plans in your heart or my heart. We come up with all sorts of things to do, want to do, but it’s not always the best thing. So the best thing is God’s will. And that’s what this verse says. It is the Lord’s will that will prevail. So your personal sense of destiny is built on the content of the scripture. in your soul’s mentality. Remember, your soul has a mentality, volition, consciousness, and self-consciousness. Again, your soul has mentality, volition, consciousness, and self-consciousness. And so this personal sense of destiny is built on the content of the word of God you have stored in the soul’s mentality. Now listen, if you’re not willing to make priority number one learning and applying God’s word, then it’s probable you will go through life and you will never understand what exactly he equipped you to do or he asked you to do. I have seen several young believers who were given communication gifts. But by not concentrating on that gift 100%, they try to live a blended spiritual life and mix their own personal desires with God’s calling and God’s demand. So I caution you, if you are a talented individual in any field, it’s easy to be pulled in the wrong direction where you wind up just wasting days and wasting months and never really fulfilling the plan of God for your life. In the early days of my own ministry, my associate and I founded an organization called Teen Crusades. And we held crusades and taught Bible studies in many different cities across the country. The only problem was we both did not really understand what our spiritual function should consist of. My partner had the spiritual gift of pastor-teacher, and I had the gift of evangelism, but we didn’t know it. We had it backwards. So the problem was he tried to do the work of the evangelist, and I was trying to do the work of the pastor. Now we were not sinning, but we were not 100% effective either until we figured it out. And I’ll never forget one morning sitting in a breakfast, having breakfast, we both looked at each other and said, we got this backwards. You’re the evangelist, I’m the pastor. So the end result was that once we understood our personal sense of destiny, then we both had much more effective ministry. That individual that I’m speaking of has now been a very effective pastor for the last 50 years. And I’ve had the amazing opportunity to evangelize students and schools and listeners on the radio for over 50 years. So if you’re ever going to have a personal sense of destiny, first of all, you have to understand you must operate under problem-solving devices one through five. You must stay filled with the Holy Spirit. You must rebound when you sin. You must live by the faithless drill. You must be oriented to grace, and you must be oriented to doctrine. Remember, God has a destiny for you in time as well as in heaven. So your personal sense of destiny is not just the fact that you’re going to heaven. That’s guaranteed. but the fact that there’s a guaranteed plan for your life in time. In time, your job is to discover your mission and fulfill it. And I promise you, one of Satan’s tactics is to distract you from that mission and divert you into something that’ll take up your time while making you feel good about what you’re doing. It’s easy to get sucked into that sort of trap, into doing a right thing but in a wrong way. Your time on this earth is strictly for his plan and that’s all. That’s the only reason you’re here. You’re not here to twiddle your thumbs. You’re not here to do this, do that. You’re here for his goodwill. So listen to Luke 14, 33. This is the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. Whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple. So what I’m saying is it’s 100% sellout if you’re going to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. You can’t blend your spiritual life and your physical life and do the things you like and try to slide in on the side of your spiritual life. This verse in Luke 14, 33 is an analogy to you putting God’s will number one in your life and glorifying him to the maximum. It’s about you leaving your agenda behind and walking through a new door in your life. What a wonderful door it is too. When you finally open that door, mentally speaking, and you realize what God’s plan is, go through the door and shut the door and you leave the past behind what a refreshing new direction you now have i promise you satan will do all he possibly can to stop you from ever understanding your personal sense of destiny he doesn’t want you to go through that door he doesn’t want you to leave your agenda behind if he if he can keep you to concentrate on your agenda If he can keep you living a blended spiritual life, then he can keep you from ever performing what God’s called you to do. And that can occur in one or two ways. First, he can distract you from fulfilling God’s desire for you. And second, if you do recognize your mission, he will do all possible to keep you from being 100% effective by getting you off track and into some form of human viewpoint thinking where you wind up wasting days that God has given you by not representing him effectively. So what are the two ways Satan will try to stop you? Number one, he will try to distract you, distract you from fulfilling God’s mission for your life. And number two, he will try to deceive you by getting you off track into some form of human viewpoint thinking. Now, a lot of people just think about the devil as getting you to sin. This is how Satan would try to stop you from being an effective believer, from ever fulfilling your personal sense of destiny. Remember that. God gives you a certain amount of days and you have to be able to live those days and effectively represent the Lord Jesus Christ. Or else you wind up in some form of human viewpoint thinking something else and you wind up wasting those days that he gives you by not doing it right. So it’s very easy for you and I to do the right things, but in the wrong way. And that’s why I’m about to tell you something that’s very critical for you. It’s critical. I’ve repeated this to you many, many, many times. It’s critical that you have a well-qualified pastor to teach you the operational mechanics of your spiritual life. In 2 Timothy 1, verse 9, listen to what Paul wrote. Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, not our own plan, but according to his purpose and by means of his grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time even began. That means in eternity past, God had a plan for your life. God had a plan for your life in eternity past, and it’s still what your job is to learn that plan, go through that door, leave your agenda behind, and live in his agenda. He saved you, called you with a holy calling, not according to your own purpose, but according to his purpose. Your holy calling is to glorify God by lifting up the Lord Jesus Christ in your words and in your lifestyle. Now there’s a reason that God intervened in your life. As it says, according to his purpose. I read it, 2 Timothy 1.9, who saved us, called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose. Once you understand that purpose, then you begin to see what your personal sense of destiny is. I never thought about being in the ministry. I never considered even becoming a Christian. But there was a divine intervention in my life one day when God stepped in and directed me towards the gospel. And I heard it and I believed it, and my goodness, once I believed it and had so much to learn, once I started to learn it, I got a great pastor kind of theme that taught me the Word of God and gave me a chance to have an effective ministry in my life. So once you understand what your purpose is, why you’re here, then you will see your personal sense of destiny. I don’t know your age. I don’t know that, but I can assure you this, that if you are still among the living, take a deep breath now, paint yourself. Are you alive? Yeah, I guess so. Ouch, that hurt, didn’t it? You’re still living. You’re still among the living. Then you still have a divine destiny in time. Is it possible you lived all these years and yet you still have not even discovered why God left you here? Is that possible? If you wish to understand your personal sense of destiny, then you must think in terms of divine viewpoint. That means that God has something he wants you to think. The reason is so that you will not be confused and easily misled. God has something he wants you to think. There’s a lot of things for you to think about in that brain of yours. In my brain, we get stuff rattling around up there all the time, but what does God want me to think? Does the Bible actually comment on what I should think? Well, yes, it does. Philippians 4.8, finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, Whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there’s any virtue and if there’s anything praiseworthy, think on these things. There it is right there. That’s what you’re supposed to be thinking. You’re supposed to think truth. You’re supposed to think honor and integrity, which is noble. You’re supposed to think just and justly. You’re supposed to think pure, wholesome thoughts. Lovely thoughts, things that are of good report. That’s where the virtue comes from. So meditate on these things. This is what God calls self-control. This is what it is. What I just read you in Philippians 4, 8 is self-control. Without self-control, any believer will live for stimulation only. They just live to be stimulated from high point to high point. What do I mean by that? What am I trying to say? I’m saying that The believer that doesn’t learn self-control will only live for happiness. He or she is looking for happiness in the details of life, looking for happiness in the circumstances of life or in people or whatever it takes because there’s no self-control. Once you learn self-control, then you begin to understand what the Christian life is all about. You can’t be deceived by Satan. You can’t let your sin nature control you. The Bible warns you about that. It tells you you got three enemies, the world, the flesh, and the devil. Our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 4 had to face Satan. He tried to get him to lose his self-control. He said, aren’t you hungry? I know you’re hungry. You haven’t eaten in 40 days. Why don’t you turn that rock into bread? And our Lord Jesus Christ had enough self-control to say no, and he quoted a scripture where he said, man should not live by bread alone, but by only word that comes out of the mouth of God. And then he tried to tempt him with the world. If you just worship me, I’ll give you the world. I’ll give you all of this. It’s mine. I can give it to you. And the Lord Jesus Christ didn’t fall for that. So this is the same thing he does with you. He approaches you the same way. So you have to learn to think correctly. That’s what it is. You will never have a personal sense of destiny without learning to think correctly. And the two ways you think correctly in the problem-solving devices are number one, grace orientation, problem-solving device number four, and doctrinal orientation, problem-solving device number five. You gotta get those right or you’ll never understand the plan of God for your life. So, what do we want to do here? That means that God’s calling you to have self-control, not to just live for stimulation only, not just looking for happiness. God has some place he wants you to be, did you know that? He has something he wants you to think, yes, He has someplace he wants you to be. Did you know that? I assure you that being face to face under a well qualified pastor is that place. In a local church, your spiritual gift functions and completes the body of Christ. Your problem solving devices are tied to that. So your personal sense of destiny is tied to your local church. It’s where you find your role of service. I have actually known people that up and moved, left where they were living to move to where there is a great local church and where they can get under the ministry of that pastor. They moved out of where they were living and moved to a different location. I have known several people that have done that. So God has something he wants you to do, something he wants you to think, someplace he wants you to be, and he has something that he wants you to do. He’s given you a spiritual gift, and your job is to use that spiritual gift for his glory. For example, if you have a communication gift like I do, then you have to prepare to be accurate, because you must not ever, ever, ever misrepresent God. The gift given represents the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. In my life, I’ve spoken in over 5,000 assemblies across the country to kids, and what they respond to is not being a comic, not giving them stuff, but truth. They know truth when they hear it, and they responded to the truth when they heard it. That’s what gave me an effective ministry. He gave me a spiritual gift. I learned the truth. I gave them the truth, and it communicated to them. The Holy Spirit used it to change some lives. So if you have a communication gift like evangelism or pastor, teacher, you have to be prepared to accurately present the information and never, ever misrepresent God. Even as a Christian that doesn’t have a communication gift, you cannot afford to misrepresent God. This is where the Holy Spirit will give you the wisdom to understand exactly what the plan of God consists of. It’s in 1 Corinthians 12, 11, but one in the same spirit works all of these things, distributing to each one of us individually as he wills. So you have a gift, I have a gift, you may have more than one gift, I don’t know, but that’s the job of the Holy Spirit. He gives us our spiritual gifts. Our job is to learn what that gift is, to learn the doctrine that operate in that gift to function under grace and walk through the door of our personal sense of destiny and then we understand what our life is about we understand why god left us here why god brought us here to start with and what a wonderful wonderful wonderful life it’ll be for you when a monkey finally gets off your back and you quit beating your brains out against the wall trying to figure out what you’re supposed to be doing And then you move it into God’s will, God’s plan. Where does he want me to think? What does he want me to do? And where does he want me to be? Those are three things that are critical for you, critical for you. Every believer has one spiritual gift at least. And God, the Holy Spirit, in his sovereign wisdom has provided different spiritual gifts. So those gifts, some difference in modus operandi, some exist in the body of Christ, just as different functions are assigned to different parts of the human body. Everybody’s not an ear, everybody’s not an eye, everybody’s not a tongue, everybody’s not an arm. Different gifts make up the body of Christ in a local church. So the effectiveness of the spiritual gift you have depends upon two factors. One, are you filled with the Holy Spirit? This is the absolute concept of experiential Christianity. Your gift will not work and function effectively if you’re not filled with the Holy Spirit. How do you get filled with the Holy Spirit? Problem-solving device number one. When you sin, you rebound. You confess your sin and you’re forgiven in your Holy Spirit and you’re filled with the Holy Spirit. See, you’re either operating under the filling of the Holy Spirit or you’re either under the flesh, one of the two. There’s no in between. Right now, this very moment as you’re listening to me, wherever you might be, in an automobile, at home, wherever you might be, you are either under control of your sin nature or you’re under control of the Holy Spirit. How would you know the difference? Well, if you have unconfessed sin in your life, you are not filled with the Holy Spirit. If you have unconfessed sin in your life, you have quenched the Holy Spirit and grieved the Holy Spirit. Therefore, 1 John 1, 9 tells us, we quote that verse to you nearly every time. If we confess our sin, he is faithful and just to forgive us and purify us from all wrongdoing. You might not even remember the ones that you’ve done, but if you will name the sins you’re aware of, he’ll cleanse you from all your sin. Your spiritual gift cannot operate in the energy of the flesh. You can fake it, I mean a preacher can get up in the pulpit and preach the word of God and have unconfessed sin in his life and you may never know it because he acts holy, sounds holy, looks holy. But the Father knows. So the Holy Spirit must be in charge. You can’t function in your spiritual gift without the Holy Spirit being in charge. So number two, number one, the filling of the Holy Spirit is the absolute concept of experiential Christianity. Number two, your degree of spiritual growth is a relative concept of experiential Christianity. your degree of spiritual growth. If you’re growing spiritually, your gift will function. If you’re not growing spiritually, your gift’s not gonna function. You can only take somebody as far down the road as you’ve been. If you haven’t been to point A, how can you take them to point A? This is true of any pastor that’s worth his salt in the pulpit. He can only take you as far as he’s been. So if he’s not grown spiritually, if he’s not matured spiritually, how can he take you there? But once you reach spiritual maturity, stay filled with the Holy Spirit, take in the Word of God, live by the faith for a thrill, orient to grace, orient to doctrine, once that happens, once you reach spiritual maturity, once you understand the function of your spiritual gift, That’s when you will leave your human agenda behind and you will walk into a new chapter in your life and you will realize your divine destiny. Realizing your divine destiny. I challenge you to think about that. What is your divine destiny? Do you know the quickest way for the Christian to ruin his life is to reject the divine destiny, is to reject the plan of God? How do they do that? Well, they go down the my way highway. They get distracted. They get families. They get jobs. They get hobbies. And they put learning and applying the word of God on the side. Maybe they go to church on Sunday, but that’s about the extent of it. You’re just one of the members of the nod to God crowd. I can assure you God appreciates you being in his house, but he’s not impressed because you put on a suit and went to church on Sunday and made your appearance. You have to learn how to live the Christian life. If you do that, you will have confidence in trusting God to handle every situation you encounter. Once you go through the personal sense of destiny, you’ll never worry again. You’ll never have to sweat it again because the Lord’s in control. But by rejecting the mandates of God for your life, for whatever reason, if you do that, then you will miss out on the great blessings that God laid out for you in eternity past. And you will never, I repeat, you will never understand your personal sense of destiny. And you know what’s gonna happen? In the end of your life, you’re gonna look back and realize what a fool you were. You’re gonna look back and see how much time you wasted, how you missed it, how Satan misled you, and how you wandered down the my way highway for years, never really fulfilling God’s plan for your life. Your personal sense of destiny is critical. It’s my prayer that you understand what I’m saying, that you will learn this. You will apply this into your life and use it in your life because God has a destiny for you. And that’s the greatest problem-solving device because it takes the monkey off your back. You don’t have to worry about what you’re supposed to do any longer because the plan’s already laid out for you. God has a wonderful plan for you. And by learning his word, applying his word, living his word, you can fulfill that plan. You can walk through the door of his agenda and leave your agenda behind and have a wonderful life. Well, I hope you’re listening. I hope you’re paying attention. It’s been my pleasure to give you this information. We’ll be back next Sunday, same time, same place. Hope you’ll come and join us. Until then, this is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you for listening to The Flatline.
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Thank you for listening to The Floodline with your host, Rick Hughes. If you’d like to contact Rick, please write to him at P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054, or online at www.rickhughesministries.org.
