Seeking God’s Plan with Faith - Bro John Periera

The Difference Between Condemnation and Conviction

Praise the Lord for His Word. It is so convicting. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard this again and again. There’s something called condemnation, which comes from Satan. There’s a difference between condemnation and conviction. Conviction comes from the Holy Spirit. It convicts us of our condition and our calling. This conviction gives us hope. Jesus often said, “Come to Me.” That phrase is a call from someone who understands our weakness. He has compassion for us. He speaks with a burden. I could sense that burden when Brother Zach was speaking. It’s a burden.

Paul’s Burden and Call to Repentance

Paul wrote to the Ephesians with tears, saying, “I write with tears that you will know your calling.” He also expressed fear, saying, “I’m afraid that Satan can deceive you, just as he deceived Eve.” Paul carried a burden. He was convicted, not condemned, and he responded to that conviction.

I’d like to read the verse Brother Zach quoted, Acts 17:30: “Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent.” I was also thinking about the verses just before that, in Acts 17:26-27: “He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.”

This is the gist of what we heard: God arranged all circumstances and situations. He determined our boundaries—where we should live, what we should face, including disappointments, troubles, difficulties, challenges, and failures. He allowed all these so that we might seek God, grope for Him, and find Him.

The Role of the Holy Spirit

Jesus said something similar in John 16:7-8: “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you. And when He comes, He will convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment.” When the Holy Spirit comes, He convicts. But whom does He convict, and why? There are different levels of spiritual life among us. Some came to faith five years ago, others ten or twenty years ago. As Brother Zach said, he felt deep regret, a conviction from the Holy Spirit, that he had wasted his life and didn’t want to waste it anymore.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). That poverty of spirit is the realization, “I’ve wasted my life, and I don’t want to waste it anymore.” Jesus didn’t plan His life in advance, saying, “I’ll go to school for fifteen years, take up carpentry at seventeen, and start my ministry at thirty.” No, He followed a principle. Many godly people, like Paul, didn’t make rigid plans. They sought God’s guidance moment by moment. We need to seek Him and find Him—not just once, but every moment of our lives.

Living Moment by Moment

Jesus simplified it to living one day at a time. We should pray, “Lord, what is the need of the hour? Give me light. Am I going wrong? Please help me see.” That’s how godly people lived, seeking God’s guidance daily. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” God has a plan, but we don’t always know it. In the history of humanity, even in the Bible, only a few found this way. Why? In Bangalore, with its large population, why have some found salvation while the majority have not? Even among us, some are born again, and some are not. Why? It’s about seeking God. Hebrews 11:6 says, “God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” That principle never changes.

The Importance of Vision

Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained.” Another translation says, “The people perish.” Without vision, people live without restraint, following their own desires and lusts. Second Peter 1:9 suggests that those who lack vision are saved from lust when they understand God’s plans and purposes. But without faith that God has a plan for us, we become unrestrained, doing what seems right in our own eyes. Psalm 25:14 says, “The secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will make known His covenant.” This is God’s principle.

Even I feel challenged. I say, “Lord, I’ve wasted my life. I want to live for You. I don’t want to make my own plans. I want to fear missing Your plans. I don’t want to go my own way.” That’s how Jesus lived. The secret of the Lord was revealed to Jesus, Paul, and many godly people because they feared God and sought Him diligently. We don’t need to feel condemned. Why? Because God is not partial. As Peter said in Acts 10:34 when he visited Cornelius’s house, “God is not partial.” He has no favorites. Whoever fears Him and seeks His will meets His criteria.

God’s Revelation to the Humble

Jesus said in Matthew 11:25, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to babes.” This was pleasing to God. Like Brother Zach mentioned, we must keep our hearts and consciences clean to avoid losing vision and becoming blind. Without vision, we do whatever we want, leading to confusion and mistakes. But if we seek God with a pure heart, Jesus promised that God reveals His truth to babes, not the wise and intelligent. Most of us came to salvation because we responded to God’s conviction. We admitted, “Lord, I want to be honest with You.” Then something opened up, and we received faith, understanding that we were sinners and that Jesus died for us, giving us the assurance and joy of forgiveness.

The Ongoing Journey of Conviction

This journey doesn’t end with salvation. It continues until the end of our lives. Paul explained this beautifully in 1 Corinthians 2:14 (Living Bible): “The man who isn’t a Christian can’t understand and can’t accept these thoughts from God, which the Holy Spirit teaches us. They sound foolish to him because only those who have the Holy Spirit within them can understand what the Holy Spirit means. Others just can’t take it in.” The spiritual man has insight into everything, which baffles the worldly person who cannot understand him. This is our privilege.

We must live carefully, not saying, “Lord, I want to do this or that.” No, we should say, “Lord, You tell me what to do. I’ll walk in the light You’ve given me.” Isaiah 30:21 says, “Your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.” Why does the word come from behind? Because as we walk in the light God gives us, responding to the Holy Spirit’s conviction, He watches our steps. If we veer left or right, relying on our own understanding, the Holy Spirit corrects us. We don’t sit and wait for a voice from the front. Instead, we walk in the light we’ve received, and God guides us.

Walking by Faith

This is like a game I’ve seen at picnics or youth meetings, where one partner is blindfolded, and the other guides them through obstacles, saying, “Go left, go right.” That’s how carefully we need to live on this earth. Hebrews 11:1-2 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it, the men of old gained approval.” Faith is not mere intellectual belief. James 2:19 says even demons believe intellectually, but true faith is the power of God—a conviction that enables us to hear and respond to His call.

By faith, we understand that the worlds were created by God’s Word (Hebrews 11:3). Abel offered a right sacrifice because he received faith—a conviction from God. Cain did not. Enoch walked with God and was taken up because he responded to God’s conviction. Noah received a conviction, built the ark, and preached righteousness for 120 years, clear in a world going the wrong way. Abraham obeyed God’s call, leaving his home without knowing where he was going (Hebrews 11:8). He looked for a city whose architect and builder is God (Hebrews 11:10). Joseph prophesied, and Moses refused worldly honor, both because they received faith.

A Call to Respond to God’s Plan

I’m challenged to walk this path, to receive faith from God for an intimate relationship with Him, to hear His voice and follow His plan. Like Brother Zach said, “I regret wasting my life. I don’t want to waste it anymore.” Just yesterday, I heard about a 39-year-old brother in a Tamil Nadu church who passed away from a heart attack, leaving a wife and children. Death can come suddenly. We cannot say, “I’ll do this or that.” Jesus didn’t live with big plans. He lived one step at a time.

Let’s focus on today, saying, “Lord, I want to be an effective witness for You today. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Tell me what to do, and I’ll walk in it.” May the Lord help us walk step by step in His plan.