Mark Matlock - What Does God Want from Me?

ZONDERVAN

What Does God Want From Me?: Understanding Gods Desire for Your Life

Copyright 2007 by Mark Matlock

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.

ePub Edition June 2009 ISBN: 978-0-31083-488-5

Youth Specialties products, 300 S. Pierce St., El Cajon, CA 92020 are published by Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Ave. SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49530.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Matlock, Mark.

What does God want from me?: understanding Gods desire for your life / by Mark Matlock.

p. cm.

ISBN-10: 0-310-25815-4 (pbk.)

ISBN-13: 978-0-310-25815-5 (pbk.)

1. TeenagersReligious life. I. Title.

BV4531.3.M395 2007

248.83dc22

2006025329

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other (except for brief quotations in printed reviews)without the prior permission of the publisher.

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Creative Team: Randy Southern, Holly Sharp/SharpSeven Design, Laura Gross, Heather Haggerty, Ryan Sharp/SharpSeven Design
Cover Design by Burnkit

What does God want from me? is one of the most important questions a young person can ask. If we are clear on what God wants from us then we can make right choices with confidence. Lack of clarity, on the other hand, brings confusion, apprehension and consequences. This is why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:8, If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?

In todays culture you are faced with a barrage of confusing voices from the media, your friends, your school, and many other places. While some of these voices may be encouraging you to seek what God wants, chances are, most are guiding you elsewhere. They are encouraging you to live for the moment, for pleasure, and for yourself. But God has a much bigger and better purpose for youa purpose that will bring true meaning to your life, regardless of the circumstances you find yourself in.

Enter Mark Matlock and the book you now hold in your hand, What Does God Want from Me? Mark has done a masterful job of capturing the essence of what God wants from each of us, as well as providing steps for putting that truth into action.

If you want to focus your life on the best things God has for you, rather than merely settling for what seems to be good at the moment, then I could not recommend Marks book more highly. My prayer is that you will read this book carefully and then pass it on to a friend. If more of us truly understood what God wanted from us, the world would be a better place.

Josh McDowell
Author/Speaker

I was almost five years old when I first understood who Jesus was and what hed done by dying on the cross for my sin. The details of where my awareness began and how it led to my decision to trust Christ as my Savior are a little murky, lost in the haze of time. But what I do know is that at the age of four and three quarters, I trotted down the aisle of my church to make public something Id realized and discussed with my father the night before.

Mrs. McGannon, a nice older lady in my church, met me at the front of the sanctuary and escorted me to a room backstage. Thats when I knew I was in. I had a backstage pass to where the pastor and special music people hung out. Mrs. McGannon peppered me with questions and Scripture passages to make sure I checked out as the real deal. As I answered each question to her satisfaction, I could feel her excitement grow. I knew I was passing my test with flying colors.

Mrs. McGannon told me Jesus had been knocking on the door of my heart, and now Id answered by opening the door and letting him in. She touched my chest and told me Jesus was going to live inside me. She asked me to repeat after her a prayera magic spell of sorts, I supposedthat would seal the deal in her eyes and, more importantly, in the eyes of God.

When we were done praying she gave me a certificate and a booklet I couldnt readexcept for the title, which had John in it. That was exciting to me because John was the name of one of my friends. I walked out of the backstage area and experienced something I could not have imagined. People were genuinely excited about the little walk Id taken to the front of the church. Some hugged me; others cheered. My grandma Nora had tears in her eyes.

None of my friends were present. They were all on the playground. Meanwhile their parents were hugging me and telling me that someday their kids would have to take the walk too. Sure enough, over the next several months many of my friends did exactly that. I couldnt say what the walk meant to them or whether they felt pressured to do it because of my short pioneering trip, but theres one thing I did know: No matter what the people at church thought, my little walk wasnt nearly as important to me as the realization that prompted it, that I wanted to follow Jesus. I took my newfound desire pretty seriouslyat least as seriously as my almost-five-year-old mind could handle.

When I got home from church that night, I asked my mom why my heart was still beating. Puzzled, she asked what I meant. I said, If I opened the door of my heart to Jesus, why is he still knocking? Obviously I had much to learn on my spiritual journey.

Years later, during my sophomore year of high school, I began to sense there was something more I should be doing with my life. People in my church and various Christian speakers made me feel as though I was obligated to do something for God. They made me feel guilty for taking Gods free gift of salvation and not giving anything back.

Their expectations reminded me of the time Jerry, a friend at school, gave me a box of Jujubes. I thought, How cool, this guy could be a great friend. Later, however, Jerry used his gift of candy against me when I wouldnt let him copy off my homework. Jerrys gift had strings attached. Strictly speaking, it was free. But it also bound me (in his eyes) to do things I didnt want to do.

I began to wonder if thats how Jesus worked too. Was he a slick salesman, offering a gift that seemed almost too good to be true and then obligating people with the fine print at the bottom of a contract?

Follow Me

The Gospels make it clear that Jesus was totally upfront about what it takes to follow him. He left no doubt as to the degree of commitment he required. He instructed his 12 disciples to leave what they were doing and join himnot for a day or a week or even a month, but forever. Peter, James, John, and Andrew understood the seriousness of their decisions when they dropped their fishing netsand their fathersto follow Jesus. They left their source of income lying on the ground (Matthew 4:18-22).