Are you walking in your future now?

A Sermon Delivered on Wednesday Evening, February 12^th 2025, by
Evangelist PAUL ACQUAH,
Live on MZ Radio London, London UK.

Have you ever watched a master artist at work? Before the first brushstroke touches the canvas, the masterpiece already exists in their mind. Every colour, every texture, every detail – planned in advance. Now imagine your life as that masterpiece, and God as the master artist. But here’s the extraordinary thing – you’re not just a painting waiting to be completed. You’re a living work of art, already set in motion. The Bible tells us in Ephesians that we are God’s handiwork, created for good works that He prepared in advance for us to do. Think about that for a moment.

Your future – those divine appointments, those moments of purpose – they’re not just ahead of you. You’re walking in them right now. The question is, are you embracing the purpose God has set before you, or are you waiting for a perfect moment that may never come?

In today’s sermon titled “Are you walking in your future now,” Evangelist Paul Acquah explores what it means to step into God’s plan today and live with purpose, faith, and intentionality. Be blessed as you listen!

God designed you for good works. “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”( Ephesians 2:10 NIV).

 ^“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 NKJV)

All of us have a plan that God has bestowed upon us.  You are not a mistake.  We are his “workmanship”, which means that we have been made. The word “workmanship” signifies that which is manufactured, a product, a design produced by an artisan. God has specifically called you, planned you, designed you, and placed you in the place and the time frame in which you’re living right now because he has a plan for your life. We are God’s literary work – His work of art.  A masterpiece painting cannot boast of painting itself.

God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus, he has created us for a life of good deeds, which he has already prepared for us to do. God has ordained a perfect plan for each of our lives (Jeremiah 29:11), but He does not force that plan to come to pass. We have the choice (Deuteronomy 30:19). This is a call to action, encouraging believers in Christ to do the good works that God prepared for us beforehand. There is a vast difference between being saved by good works and being saved unto good works, as stated here in Ephesians 2:10. 

This verse is preceded by Ephesians 2:8-9, which emphasises that salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned through good works. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Good works do not gain us salvation, but they do affirm that salvation has been received into our lives. Good works cannot produce a new nature, but a new nature should produce good works.

I want to remind you that if you’ve been looking at your own strength, at your own talents, at your own giftings only to try to discover the plan that the Lord has for you, then you’re wrong.   Why are you wrong?  The Bible actually says in Jeremiah chapter 10 verse 23 that Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their steps. 

What a powerful statement that is.  That should be an alleviating statement for you and I because it’s not about what we think is best.  We are not smart enough to direct our own paths.  We have an opportunity to discover truly what is our calling by going outside of ourselves and going back to our relationship with the Lord.   What a tremendous blessing to understand that it’s not about me being smart enough, it’s not about me being talented enough, it’s about me being surrendered to what God has called me to do. 

Many times, the questions that rise up in our hearts is how do I know what God wants me to do?  How do I fulfil the calling that God has for my life?  I’m glad that you asked that question because it’s a whole lot easier than you think when it comes to hearing the voice of God. There’s been many times in my life when I’ve looked back and said that was the Lord, I should have known that, or I shouldn’t have done that because the Lord had warned me about that. We can see those things looking back but it’s important for us to also understand how do we accomplish, or fulfil the call that the Lord has on our lives as we look forward to the future because it’s so important that you take your calling seriously. 

Understand that the spirit of God living on the inside of you has so much potential to do so many things through you in the future.  Having this understanding will motivate you to start taking the call of God seriously on our lives. God is always speaking to us.   You may say well, I don’t hear the voice of the Lord.  I want to tell you that you’re wrong because the Bible says that my sheep hear my voice, and they follow me.  Jesus said that in John chapter 10.  Many born-again people doubt the truth of this statement based on their experiences. They don’t think they can hear God’s voice. However, the Word of God is true, not their experiences. Because the Bible says it, I’m going to believe what God says not how I feel.  The Bible says let God be true and everyone a liar (Romans 3:4). 

The word of God promises all who are God’s sheep (i.e. those who are born again) that they not only can, but do hear His voice. Therefore, I’m not going to follow my emotions and say I’ve never heard the voice of the Lord.  The reality is, I have, I just don’t always recognise it.  

The harmony between what the word says and what our experiences say is that it is our new, born-again spirits that hear God’s voice. Although God has spoken and still speaks in an audible voice at times, very few of us experience this. God speaks to our inner person (spirit), and our inner person hears Him.

There’re some reasons why we don’t recognise God’s voice.  One can be because I’m not always listening for it, I’m trusting in my own understanding.  Two is because I’m distracted by the circumstances that are around me in this world. The problem comes when we aren’t sensitive to or controlled by our spirits but are walking in the vanity of our minds (Ephesians 4:17-18). The Bible calls this walking in the flesh instead of the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-18).

Mark chapter four talks about the different grounds that our hearts can possibly be and one of them is that the life of God is choked out by the cares of this world.  Prayer, Bible study, fasting, fellowship, etc., are ways of refocusing our minds’ attention away from the voice of this world and back to the voice of our Shepherd who is constantly communicating with our spirits (John 4:24).

God speaks to our spirits, but our minds are not always listening. Likewise, Satan speaks to our minds, but our spirits are never listening. Our born-again spirits know all things (1 Corinthians 2:16, Colossians 3:10, and 1 John 2:20) and cannot sin (1 John 3:9). Our born-again spirits will never listen to the voice of a stranger. Therefore, if we would just walk in the spirit, we would not fulfil the lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16). So, this is what I’m talking about in terms of what it means to pursue after the plan of God for your life, and to truly walk in your future now and after his plan for you. 

What’s wonderful about the Lord is that he’ll expand you beyond your own borders and your own concepts of yourself because it’s not in our own understanding to know the right way to go.  It’s all about our relationship with God.  As we trust in him, he broadens our borders, he expands our territories, and as he begins to whisper in our ear what is our destiny, what is our calling, what is the plan that he has for our lives that we continue to follow him. That should be alleviating for all of us because we all have the same opportunity. It’s not based upon how good you are, how talented you are, how well you did in school, or how good you did in sports.  It doesn’t make a difference, God loves you, he has a plan for your life and it’s awesome.  You will find yourself most satisfied as you discover that plan. 

You need to understand that first and foremost God’s plan for your life cannot be discovered in your own giftings, in your own flesh and your own Talent. Secondly, God’s plan for your life is a good plan, it’s a thought-out plan, it’s an amazingly, awesome, anointed, blessed plan.   Again, you are not a mistake, you were placed in this world at this time in the place that you’re in for a purpose.  Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 11 says, I know the thoughts that think towards you say says the Lord thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end .

Then in John chapter 10 verses 4 and 5, Jesus said, ^“And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵ Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers” ( John 10:4-5).  These verses of scripture seem contrary to experience. The Bible, as well as current observation, are full of examples where believers have heard the wrong voice and have been led into error.