Biblical Planning (part-2)

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Father in heaven, we do thank you and praise you Lord you are great as your word says and as we've experienced in our lives
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And seeing your great hand and your great power not only to save us, but also to keep us
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Lord to provide for every day of every need that we've ever had And what we can raise our
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Ebenezer this morning and say hitherto has the Lord helped us. You've brought us to this place In our lives where we are and you've done it perfectly without mistake
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And you've directed and you've led us and you've watched over us and you've thought upon us and Lord you have cared for us in a way that we just we cannot even express back to you
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How grateful we are, but we want to give you the praise this morning for that Well, thank you for the opportunity to be able to to be part of this local
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New Testament Church This work that you've done on the face of the earth in this area of New England And thank you for the privilege to be able to worship to be able to freely come to this place to be able to have
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Bibles to be able to Study to be able to read it to be able to search the scriptures be able to be taught of our
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God how? Grateful we are we think of all of these blessings from on high We know that it's a gift from you and we are so appreciative of it and this morning as we come to worship
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And adore and magnify the Lord Jesus Christ I pray that our hearts may be
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Turned toward you and that our our attention would be upon you and that our hearts would be opened that we may learn the
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Word of God and that we may We just may be sanctified Lord as you continue to work in our lives so that in our lives
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Jesus Christ might be seen and known and Glorified and we'd ask in his precious name.
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Amen Okay, as I said for those for those that weren't here last week we began last week part one of biblical planning and I began the class off by saying you know if you if you were to build onto your house, or if you were to have
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Maybe it's a complete new home to be built and you plan for it, and you had all of the And you thought you planned for it, and you had everything together everything
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Ready to go and then the contractor comes to do the work and things are missing Or there's just a big old mess and the contractor can't get at what he needs to get at that happened because there was no planning a failure to plan and It surprises me that in our lives many times we over plan in one area and we under plan in Other areas many times and as an example of that I know folks and I've seen folks scrutinize the internet and printing specifications for the smallest piece of electronic
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Equipment that they might use on a daily basis and yet when it comes to their biblical reading when it comes to prayer when it comes to a
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Method of memorizing scripture when it comes to evangelism when it comes to getting married when it comes to moving
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There is is virtually no planning. There's no preparation. There's no prayer.
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There's no deliberation So what I wanted to do with this class was to not only help us in the physical
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Realm as we know that we need to plan I mean if we don't plan in the physical realm, we don't have a meal the next day
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I mean we think ahead don't we we somebody in your home if you don't do it yourself somebody else does it thinks about what needs to be purchased for for the next meal for the next day or for For the clothing or to pay the bills to be able to have the money in the right place to pay those bills
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It takes some deliberation. It takes some thought and it takes some planning That's the physical realm and if we plan in the physical realm
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Then it certainly makes sense that we ought to in our to maintain our spiritual walk with Christ The spiritual disciplines that are important to us.
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We should we should be we should be planning in those areas so there is a necessity for spiritual planning and What we looked at last week was we looked at the
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Proverbs and I don't if you remember But we looked in Proverbs chapter 6 where it says go to the ant
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Oh sluggard consider her ways and be wise without having chief officer or ruler
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She prepares her food in summer and gathers her substance in the harvest even the lot little tiny ant
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Prepares and thinks ahead and there's forethought and if the ant prepares certainly we ought to prepare then we look in Proverbs 14
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Where it says there that the simple person believes everything But the prudent person looks where they are going and the idea with planning is that we look where we're going
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We don't just think about the immediate in front of us. And that was Proverbs 14 15 We don't look at the immediate in front of us just to satisfy the immediate but we look towards the future
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We give some thought about where what's going to take place weeks and months down the road and if in anything
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What I talked about last week would be good for us to do is at least at the beginning of the week is to plan
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Our week out in all different aspects As I said the physical and the spiritual which
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I'll I'll get into so we are to look where we are to be going Then we looked in Proverbs 15 22 where it says without counsel plans go wrong, but with many advisors they succeed our plans succeed when we have
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Counselors or advisors Proverbs 15 22 and when it comes to planning it is a very good idea if you do not have an
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Inkling of what to do on your own is to counsel with others who have been through maybe what you're going to go through Or you can look at someone's life and it seems like they kind of have that portion of their life together
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I'd like to talk to them and see what do they do? How do they do that? How do they plan their budget?
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How is it that they plan that I'm teaching a Sunday school class and this person is teaching and they always seem to have
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Everything in order things things are there and and and there's there's not much scrambling around and for me
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It's always like things are upside down topsy -turvy talk to that person when it comes to Spiritual maturity in someone's life if there's someone you look at and you see there is there's just something about that person's testimony there's something about that person's recall of scripture and a lot of that of course is
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Is some of us are wired that way we can memorize good and we can go and point to scriptures and some of us can't
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Don't feel bad if you can't but but if you're can't do it because you're you're not planning to do it
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Or you're not intending to do it. That's the whole idea intention deliberation purpose
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Forethought and we're gonna see how and we did last last week. We looked at it We see how even
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God does that but before before I get there also in the Proverbs we looked in Proverbs 21 verse 5 where it says
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That everyone who is hasty comes to poverty and when it comes to planning we shouldn't be rash or hasty We shouldn't make quick decisions that we haven't thought through Proverbs 16 3 says commit your work unto the
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Lord and your plan shall be established and of course there God first when it comes to Planning seek ye first the kingdom of God repeated by our
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Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament seek God's kingdom First and put the Lord first when it comes to our plans not all right
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I'm gonna go off and I'm gonna plan Here's my idea and I'm gonna execute that plan and then
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I get over here and it's all messed up and I get in a big Trouble and I'm not where I should be and what happened was we didn't commit that unto the
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Lord first Kind of remind me in the Old Testament if you ever remember the the account when when
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Joshua and the children of Israel are going through the promised land and they're going city by City and they're and they're being victorious and there's a group of people.
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I think it's a Gibeonites They they they plan they're gonna come and get us and we are gonna be we're gonna be toast
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And what are we gonna do? so they just with deception they put on old clothes old shoes old moldy bread and bring it to them and and say that we've
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Come from a far country. We've heard you know, and no you're on it No, we've come from a far country and deceived them and and in most cases
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Joshua and the elders went to the Lord and asked for counsel They sought the Lord first.
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They didn't in this case and they said to them that we won't harm you We won't we won't hurt you and of course
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These were their enemies that they were supposed to destroy and wipe off the face of the earth according to the will of will of God But in this in this in this
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Instance, they didn't seek God first. They didn't get God's counsel first in prayer and What they ended up having to do once they found out once they got to their city that it was theirs
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Of course, they made them hewers of wood and drawers of water for them They became became their servants
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But but it wasn't ultimately the way that God had intended it for them to be and they should have sought
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God first when it came To their intentions and their purposes and their plans and then we looked in Proverbs 24 where it says, you know
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There's a certain order of how we should do things prepare your work on the outside get everything ready for you in the field and Afterwards build your house and there's an appropriate order when it comes to planning doing things young couples they
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Many times we'll need to rent first until they financially get on their feet before they can purchase their home
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When you know, it's good when you're when you're in any when you're in If things happen in your lives to where things are upside down when it comes to finances, whatever the most important thing, of course
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Is that a job must be secured by the by the husband so that there can be income in that family
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To provide for the needs before going off and branching off into all other different things So there's an appropriate order that things should be done in priorities and then lastly in Proverbs 31 verses 15 and 16 we had looked at that how that that Godly woman there she had a plan when she got up.
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She she knew she could task her maids Of what it was that she wanted them to do and she knew about the field to purchase and she was looking ahead and being
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Being thrifty, but she had an actual plan that she She had worked upon she had executed and the conclusion of the
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Proverbs was is that? careful planning is a part of what makes a person wise and Productive and not to plan if you look at the
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Proverbs to not plan and to not plan properly is foolish and dangerous
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And then we looked at the life of the Apostle Paul We looked in Romans chapter 15 where we saw that his desire was to preach the gospel
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His purpose his goal was to preach the gospel where the gospel had not been preached before And one of the places that he wanted to get to was
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Spain in order to get to Spain What he was going to first do is he's writing the book of Romans to the
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Christians in Rome and saying I'm going to come to you and then I'm going to go to Spain and it's almost as if he was going to establish a
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Western Post so to speak so that he could come back there and then branch out and go to the places
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He was going to minister at and before he was going to go to Rome though. He said he was going to go to Jerusalem To drop off a gift that some other believers had for those
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Impoverished Saints there in Jerusalem, so he's going to go Jerusalem Then he's going to go to Rome, and then he's going to go to Spain But in his mind and in his heart at least he had an idea it wasn't it wasn't slipshod
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It wasn't you know well, whatever happens he was deliberate in ministry and Sometimes I wonder when it comes to ministry if it's just you know pull out the shotgun and let it go
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What whatever whatever happens happens or when it when it comes to our year?
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When it comes to ministering to others is it well whatever happens happens and whoever
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I run into I run into But sometimes when we do that when we don't have a plan We don't we don't that we don't execute or we don't look at it
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We don't check where we are with that plan that the ideas the intentions that we have during a year.
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It just doesn't get done And we see that when we read the scriptures that that the
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Apostle Paul it's like we've got to go to this city and then we've got to establish that and then when they're can when they're firm in the
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Faith and someone is raised up that he could possibly leave there Then he can go off to the next city
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And it's and there's a there is a purpose behind what he's doing is goals in mind And when it comes to our ministries teaching
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Sunday school, or maybe having our maybe having homes of hospitality Maybe it is when it comes to evangelism
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Maybe maybe it has to do with whatever ministry in the church or outside of the church for you to serve others
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You don't do it intentionally And that's what I'm trying to drive that as far as when it comes to planning
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I mean, do you intend to buy tracks or to get tracks or booklets off the table so that you can bring them home?
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Because you know that week you're going to be meeting with such -and -such a person Family members work of people at work an issue that's come up and you're planning ahead for those things that are happening
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That week when it comes to in the past and in years past you said oh,
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I want to memorize Scripture I just haven't done it and I you're thinking I'm going to memorize, you know a verse a week my idea
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I'd rather see you memorize a verse a month and get it done or a Verse a year and get it done then think
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I'm going to do 52 in a year and not do any But have a plan in mind when it comes to reading the scriptures, and I'm not an advocate of speed racing through the scripture, but at least
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If I won't ask you to do this because I won't embarrass anybody But if you've been a believer for a long period of time, you should have been through the scripture
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You should have read from cover to cover this book this divine Word of God that God has given to you and you have the opportunity to do
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So somebody once told me that if you just stood if you had a group of people that just started reading the
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Bible You can get through it in about 80 hours. I don't know how true that is. Even if it's a hundred hours.
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I Mean, how many hours are there in a week? Does anybody know is there about a hundred and sixty -eight? Is that right?
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Something like that. I But over the course of a year you could do that and I and I don't like the idea of you know
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I'm gonna do these eight Six seven eight and you didn't get anything out of it when you read through the scripture.
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It's so important to meditate It's so important to have that time that the Lord's teaching you as you're going through, you know and I I like the reading plan where you can read through and And and you if you stop and the
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Lord blesses you it's okay to stop and not continue That's the type of reading plan that I like and let me give you a couple of tips when it comes to reading plans
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If you don't if you don't have one one that is good is it goes with the calendars the calendar days of the month
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There are 31 Proverbs read the proverb of the day at least there especially for young people.
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That's that's super but But it's great for all of us read read the proverb that Associates with the calendar day of the month when it comes to the
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Psalms you can do the same thing Today is February 1st. Is that correct? It's today the first today's
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February 1st so you with the Psalms you you go to the Psalm of the day and you add 30 and Read right through the
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Psalms. So for today, you'd read Psalm 1 Then add 30 31 for today read 1 31 61 91 121 you read those
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Psalms today Then tomorrow you read to 32 62 92 122
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It's kind of neat because sometimes when you see when you read those Psalms so many times the themes of them Are very similar.
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It's just neat how the how the Lord does that but that's an easy way you think how how can I do this? I where did
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I put my piece of paper? I don't have it. Of course. That's for planning to it ought to be someplace You can find it
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But but if you don't if you can't remember you can you can do things like that And then you could take if you read the
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Proverbs and Psalms, maybe that's all you want to do maybe all you're going to do is Proverbs because you've not at least are not consistently reading but But then you could add to that maybe a book in the
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New Testament One of the Gospels or just start at Matthew and start reading through and do it morning and night or whenever but you have to plan
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The time and what you're going to read through to get through the scriptures and I encourage you maybe that's the goal
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Intention that you as a believer will have this year is that I am going to read through the scriptures this year
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Lord willing After we looked at the Apostle Paul we started getting into the planning of God and when we got there
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I said the ultimate reason reason for planning is That God is a
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God who plans And we are created in his image to exercise dominion in the earth under his lordship and I think it's
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I Just don't think as I said last week that it's possible to even conceive of a
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God Who does not act according to his own eternal planning?
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I? Mean if it's if it's knee -jerk reaction like us If it's uh -oh
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Whoops, I didn't think that one was gonna happen now I have to have this other plan and I got to go in a different direction
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Now God as I said last week God is a God of order God is a
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God who plans and our God is a God who? who does things on purpose and for a purpose and there is not nothing outside of the intent the purpose the counsel
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The determination of God and it's eternal and it was in eternity passing
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We're going to see that in a moment, but please turn with me in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 46 Isaiah is in the
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Old Testament after the book of Psalms Proverbs and Ecclesiastes and then you'll see
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The book of Isaiah chapter 46 Isaiah 46 look with me, please in verse 9
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Isaiah 46 9 remember the former things of old for I am God and there is none else
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I am God and there is none like me declaring the end from the beginning and From ancient times the things that are not yet done saying my counsel shall stand or my counsel shall be established and I Will do all my pleasure or I will accomplish all my purpose
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This is God declaring who he is and what he's going to do his counsel shall stand
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It will be established and he will do all his pleasure in The 1689 confession which our church holds to the
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London Baptist Confession of Faith 1689 There is a section in here on the decree of God God has decreed in himself from all eternity
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By the most wise and holy counsel of his own will freely and unchangeably all things whatsoever comes to pass
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And if you think about that, I mean think about a time when you had an event Something that you had to plan
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You had maybe people coming over to the house Details things that needed to be purchased things that need to be done in time
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Maybe your ordered things and they had to arrive on time Every single time does it go?
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Absolutely perfect exactly the way that you want it to now because we have we have intentions
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We have plans but many times there are things that that are just what they're out of our control We are unable to do that.
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We are not all wise and all -knowing to be able to carry that out perfectly 100 % complete
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But God before the world ever was in his magnificent wisdom in in according to his his great omniscience knowing all things
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Decreed one decree for time and for eternity fully comprehensively
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Completely everything that is going to come to pass Now something we can't get our minds around that that's why he's
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God and we are not and we worship him we bow before him because I mean when it comes to every single thing and we're gonna see this when we look at the life in the ministry of our
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Lord Jesus in the New Testament, but every aspect of every single persons every single nations every
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Every every single experience of everybody upon the face of the earth Everything every person who would be his very own
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Every person that he will that are called as elect that will be that will come to glory He knows every single thing and every single event of every single person inside of Christ and outside of Christ Decreed once done.
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God knows it. I Mean more than anything that I mean that just kind of boggles our mind
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But it doesn't it just cause us to to fall prostrate before the Lord and just to worship him because he is just so great
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So that means that every single aspect of your life in my life There will never be a mistake
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There will never be an oops when it comes to God. He will carry out. What does it say here? He will do all his pleasure.
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He will accomplish all his purposes Look with me again in the New Testament now in Ephesians Chapter 1
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Ephesians Chapter 1 and notice what it says in in verses 9 through 11
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Ephesians 1 Well, I'll start up in verse 7 Ephesians 1 verse 7
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I'm reading from the King James in whom we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace
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Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence Verse 9 having made known unto us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure or According to his kind intention.
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I want you to see here It does the scripture say that a God intends to do things does
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God purpose to do things? Does God have a plan? Notice as we read these verse according to his good pleasure a good intention which he hath purposed in himself that in the
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Dispensation of the fullness of times and some translations that word Dispensation is planned that in the plan of the fullness of times
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He might gather together in one all things in Christ both both which are in earth in heaven
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And which are on earth even in him and notice verse 11 in whom also we have obtained an inheritance being
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Predestinated now, is there any planning behind that? Certainly? I just talked about that being predestinated Predestinated predetermined by God according to what according to the purpose of him or according to this divine
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Determination the purpose of him who works all things after the council or the divine deliberation
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The deliberation of the triune God to decree at one point in eternity past everything that was going to come to pass according to God's counsel or his divine deliberation of His will and that's his divine decision.
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So we have here divine determination divine Deliberation and we have the
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God's divine decision this this decree of God and of course we see it carried out in history
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We see it fulfilled in history We see it in our own lives Everything that God had determined that would come to pass come to pass in our lives and that is humbling and yet that is also
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Gives us greatest assurance and great security that the Lord will accomplish Everything that he said that he would accomplish when it comes to us and in our lives
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So when you are going through a difficult time when you are going through Situations where it just things just don't make sense
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Just look at the faithfulness of the Lord and what he's doing and he's carrying out his divine will
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For you and for those for those of you that are close by you though and in the and in the church if God plans and if God has an
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Intent and if God has a purpose and we are created in God's image Then doesn't it make sense?
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for us to in the worlds in which we live and the lives that we have in the in the in the
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Days and years that the Lord has given to us. Doesn't it make sense for us to plan? And I believe that the answer that the answer is yes
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Well, I asked you last week what other things that the Lord had planned And we listed some things off like the complete history of his people who would be his very own
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The children of Israel God planned when it came to giving us the scriptures
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It's not just you know, some folks got together and thought well Let's just kind of write up some good stuff for people to hear in the future
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But no all all scripture is given by inspiration of God and those men were moved upon by the
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Holy Spirit to record the things the exact things that God would have us to have and those are contained in the scriptures that we
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That we have we even thought of last week. Did have you ever read in the Old Testament? Account when
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Moses went up on Sinai and he was given the law He was also given the blueprint or the outline the description the instructions for the
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Old Testament Tabernacle the tent in the wilderness and if you ever read that I remember the first time
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I read it what is with all this silver and gold and boards laid over and sockets and veils and Descriptions of how how many how many cubits it is from this to this and and it's so precise
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God had an intention behind all that We know that as we look at that we see that at that that whole the whole purpose of that was
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To demonstrate God's presence, you know with them when they saw this tabernacle and the cloud over it
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By day and the fire by night. They knew that the Lord was was present with them
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But but there was order there there was detail there and God plans even to those those minute details of Items even like the tabernacle and certainly when it comes to God's desire and intent to have a people for himself we see in the
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Old Testament that God brought his people up out of Egypt and That is just a picture of being in the slate in slavery to sin in the
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New Testament We see that is Jesus Christ that delivers us and who does he deliver those whom the father had given to him?
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In order for that to have taken place. It was according to God's purpose God's counsel and his his and in his wisdom, he did it all right and proper and and And there are there are no mistakes and it's like a
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God knows who his elect are They can exact number who his sheep will be and to the praise of the glory of his grace
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He will carry that out in time And then this week what I'd like to do is and we didn't get that I totally touched on it last week, but I would like to go to now into the
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New Testament And we're going to look at some examples of Of the life of our Lord Jesus the planning of Jesus Christ our
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Lord He had a mission to accomplish if you remember I need to give the credit again
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When I had got this base core study It was one of John Piper's from many many years ago and I've taken and I've added to that But I wanted to to give the credit again for the tape the recording
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Jesus had a mission to accomplish And he finished it with forethought and planning and ultimately when it comes right down to it who can tell me
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By what plan? Did Jesus operate by? Bruce His father's plan.
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How do we know that? Because Jesus what? He said so he would go about he he would he would say um
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I didn't have a um What what do you call it when you have a conference and you have a group of people get in a circle
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What do they call that? Round table. I had a round table with the disciples And uh, and we came up with this idea and that's what i'm carrying through.
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Jesus didn't Jesus didn't say that He didn't even say that he Had his own determined plan that he would carry out but you'll see over and over and over again
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He said that I came not to do my will but the will of my father of the
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That that was all to him uh, he knew exactly what what it was that he was going to Accomplish and it was god's plan that jesus would come to seek and to save that which was lost
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And we just see this fulfilled and carried out in the new testament. We see over and over again.
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There's this There's this plan as you as you see the lord going through From place to place and we're going to look at some examples.
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It's not haphazard It's not well, I just think this might be a great idea
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There's a there's an intent to go certain places and to do certain things and to say Certain things and to deal with certain people, you know, there's there's a man beside the pool
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Of bethesda when it when it stirs And and uh, he's been there for 38 years and he can't get down there every time it stirs
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He can't get down there. There's nobody to take him down there and it just Accidentally happened that jesus came by one day, right?
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No, that was the purpose. That was the intent. That was the the plan the father's will that that lost one, uh would be uh healed and saved and we see that as we as we
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Consider his life when when it comes to any even even when it came to the miracle the first miracle of the lord jesus in john chapter 2 there is um, there is
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At this wedding feast there's no they've run out of wine and uh in seminary class we were studying considering that this weekend and one of the things that that um,
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That that would denote for that family was is that it could be a blotch upon I mean it would be a bad wedding and it would be a blotch upon that family
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Just for their reputation to run out of food or wine and um and mary
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In in some case she might have been it's thought that she might have Had something to do with the planning or the hosting or overseeing and helping out with that and she goes to jesus
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Uh to see if there's anything uh knowing Him and knowing raising him from a young uh child growing in wisdom and stature with men in god
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That there's something maybe he could do something not necessarily that he would do a miracle But maybe there's something that he could do and you remember jesus's answer
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Uh to to his mother he said my hour is not yet come And and if you step back and you think about that it is there is a an intent there is a plan of god
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There is a right time For jesus to be revealed. There is a there is a there are certain things that the father would have him do
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And at that point in time It wasn't for her to tell him what to do
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So she just kind of backs off and she just says to the men do whatever he Tells you to do and of course ultimately we we know and we see um that he does turn the water into wine and Saves face there for that family and it is to the glory of god.
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We see that there but in a different instance It tells us In luke chapter 9 in verse 51 when the days grew near for jesus to be received up He set his face to go to jerusalem
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He knew what that plan meant to go to jerusalem the death that he would face and he didn't shrink back from From that plan, but before we get there
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What i'd like to do. Um Is to just consider in the life of the lord jesus some examples
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Of planning just so that we can see it I I don't want to don't want you to miss this if you look with me first in luke chapter 9
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Because some people I know some people can do it very well and they can just kind of handle things as they as they go
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And sometimes we have to do that. We have to be flexible because things do change But I think it's important for us to to understand that for us to accomplish something
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In our lives spiritually and ministry wise I mean personally when it comes to our walk with the lord and maintaining disciplines and then also spiritual disciplines
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And also when it comes to ministry, we've we we need to be deliberate about what we're going to do or we're not going to accomplish much
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In luke chapter 9 watch look look at this example, I get the right chapter here.
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I knew that didn't look right What is it here? Okay, luke 9 verse 1
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Then he called his 12 disciples together and gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases
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And he sent them to preach the kingdom of god and to heal the sick And he said unto them take nothing for your journey neither staves nor script neither bread nor money
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Neither have two coats apiece and whatsoever house you enter into there abide and thence depart and whosoever will not receive you
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When you go out of that city shake off their dust from the feet for a testimony against them
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So the to begin with the plan of the lord was to send the disciples out but in sending them also
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There is a plan for them to accomplish as they go to preach the gospel as they go to testify of the kingdom of god
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When they're when they're going he tells them exactly what to bring and what not to bring And we could just brush over the verses and say, you know, no big deal but there's uh, there is uh instructions that go to them
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Um and much of it has to do to to be their testimony so that they go and they're dependent upon god
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They're not bringing things so they depend upon themselves and think that that as they're going They're going to bring enough supplies or whatever to to either provide for their food or to protect themselves
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They're going to depend upon god and then when they go they're given instructions of when they preach the message when they're received and when
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They're and when they're not received so that so that there is a there is an understanding in these places that they go to That the message from god has come and the plan the plan is if they're received and well fine for the glory of god and praise god for that area of the country, but if but if not
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Then they just shake the dust off their feet And then they go on and may the judgment of god fall upon that area.
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There's there's a plan There's an intent and if you turn over to chapter 10 You'll also see the same kind of wording.
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We don't have to look at all of it But in 10 there is this is where the 70 go out and it even gets even um
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More particular it says after these things in chapter 10 1 The lord appointed another 70 also and sent them out what two by two?
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I mean that's a purpose an intention a plan for um And sent them out two by two before his face into every city and place whether he himself would come
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And we see there that you know There's the same thing they're going to be told what to do and and what to bring will not bring
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And how but at the beginning there There is this planning. There is this deliberation to go two by two.
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I have um I have been in ministries a part of ministries and known of ministries where uh when it comes to evangelism
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I know sometimes where people will go out on their own and I know sometimes they're uh Most of the time where people will go out two by two.
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Tell me which one's better Certainly, it's better two by two because as one speaks one can pray for the other and you can encourage each other as you're going on in the way and there's just that that fellowship and that strength and that Protection as you as you go together and the lord's doing this on purpose and for purposes
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Not just anything that is that is in the scriptures just to be there just to fill the pages Just to put words on on the print on the page um, let me
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Show you another one luke and we're in the book of luke luke 22 in luke 22
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Just at the beginning when I start reading this verse, you're going to see the plan The intention behind it luke 22 verse 8
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Jesus is here sending he sent peter and john saying go
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And prepare us the passover that we may eat I mean right in the very verse he's talking about preparation
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He's talking about planning and he says and they said unto him where wilt thou go that we prepare
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Verse 10 and he said unto them behold when you are entered into the city There shall be there shall a man meet you bearing a pitcher of water follow him into the house where he enters in And you shall say unto the good men of the house
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The master says unto thee where is the guest chamber where I may eat the passover with my disciples and he will show you
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A large upper room furnished there make ready I mean certainly the lord even when it comes to the last the the last supper
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Making ready. I i've got so many other examples. Let's look to john chapter 4 I love this verse.
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I love this portion of scripture dealing with the samaritan woman and I want you just to see about the
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Eternal plan of god here when it comes to this woman in john chapter 4 In john chapter 4 the very next book beginning the book
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It says that jesus in verse 3 left judea And departed again into galilee
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Galilee is the north and So here is jesus in the south Judea is in the south and galilee is in the north
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Samaria is in the middle Now do the jews like the samaritans? No, they're they're the dogs, right?
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They're the half breeds. They're the ones that that they despise Typically when the jews would go from Judea to Galilee many times they would just they would not want to go through Samaria they would go out more to the east and they'd actually go into Gentile territory they'd rather go into Gentile territory rather than go through Samaria to get to get to Galilee and they'd they'd circumvent or go around Samaria look at verse 4 it says and he
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Jesus had to go through Samaria he had to go in the
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King James it says he must needs go there was a purpose here there is an intent here there is a plan here there is one lost sheep that the
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Lord Jesus is going to reach this Samaritan woman this woman who is the outcast anybody else would go a different route anybody else would stay away from that well that woman is there this outcast that no one else wants to be around and she's alone there at the well but he must needs go through Samaria it was purposed and it was intentional for Jesus had come to seek and to save that which was lost
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I just want you to kind of reflect upon that the way that the reason why I said this so blesses me is because when you think of your own life of all the billions and billions of people that live on the pit on the face of the earth like the
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Lord did with Philip in the Ethiopian eunuch he had their paths cross at a particular time on purpose so that Philip could explain the scriptures to him and he could be saved and be baptized and to become a follower and disciple of Christ somehow in some way in some form from eternity past God had intended for the gospel to come to you in some shape or form somebody some voice some message some book the gospel came to you and God revealed his son
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Jesus Christ to you and it was on purpose it was according to a plan and if he does things on purpose
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I believe that we ought to to when it comes to our lives physically and when it comes to our lives spiritually do things on purpose for the glory of God we won't turn there but you can look in John 14
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John chapter 14 Jesus says I go to prepare a place for you so that where I am there you may be also in heaven is a part of God's plan for you and for me the wonder of it all the splendor of it all of just it physically what will behold and then the idea of being face to face with our
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Lord Jesus that is God's intent that is God's plan for us it fits into all the plan of redemption that we will be not only saved from the from the power and the pleasure and the penalty of our sin but one day from the presence of our sin and be with Christ forever in heaven so when it comes to Jesus's life in ministry everything is planned out every detail every trip every experience every miracle whether it's the issue of blood being healed in the woman the giving sight to the blind the raising the dead every encounter every lesson every message every word spoken every look every engagement every aspect of the disciples ministry and what they were going to do and then that's recorded for us and we have the mind of God and we can read the scriptures and we can act accordingly and if God acts this way in the
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Lord Jesus is this way I believe that we ought to also see my plea to you for this year is that you take time to plan the most important things in your life and I know that you plan when it comes to food and clothing know that you play when it comes to your house your work but when it comes to the spiritual aspects of your life those are important to let me touch on this first though the most important things plan how you're going to spend time with your spouse to deepen and strengthen your relationship plan how you're going to spend time with your children teaching them and playing with them and spending time with them to develop a relationship plan how you're going to get maybe the amount of exercise that you want to stay healthy enough sleep plan how you're going to eat so that you can you can have a good health plan a vacation so that it will truly give you rest in spiritual renewal the most important I want you to consider how you can plan when it comes spiritually to prayer meditation upon the
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Word of God because these are so significant these these portions of our life are so so very important and without a plan these most important things will get pushed aside for other things that we call urgent things and our priorities get all messed up and we don't focus where we ought to focus and we let those things that I think
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I don't know if you've ever read an article the tyranny of the urgent things that just come your way and they just kind of cloud your your vision and cloud where it is what's what ought to be a priority in life and you take care of those things and you let what's most important slide by I'm going to have this a handout for you afterwards that you can come and get maybe
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I'll put it over on the table I got this off of Don Whitney's website and it's you may have seen this before it's ten questions that you can ask yourself at the start of the new year on your birthday and he begins by saying once when the people of God had become careless in their relationship with him the
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Lord rebuked them through the prophet Haggai by saying these words consider your ways
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Haggai 1 5 he declared that urging them to reflect on some of the things happening to them and to evaluate their slipshot personal spirituality in light of what
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God had told them even the most faithful of God occasionally need to pause and think about the direction of their lives it's so easy to bump along from one busy week to another without ever stopping to ponder where we are going and where we should be going the beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop look up and get our bearings and to that end here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God and there's ten questions here and then he adds about another 21 questions and it's a great little article and I'll just give you a couple examples question you can ask yourself what one thing could you do this year to increase your enjoyment of God what is another question what's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year in which spiritual discipline do you want to make progress this year and what are you going to do about it related to prayer
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Bible reading evangelism serving stewardship memorization worship discipleship etc giving maybe giving and you think
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I've not done well giving I've not done well in my attendance at church services at these
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BBC and that's going to be my focus but again make it make it if you do set a goal and purpose to do something like I said before make it obtainable don't make it so unrealistic that you'll never do it and then you'll be just so discouraged again but and maybe pick one thing that you'll focus on this year in the
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Lord and pray that the Lord would use it in your life let me close by by saying this as I encourage you to plan each week an aspect of your life as I talked about the spiritual areas disciplines of your life
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Sunday's a good day to do that it's a little bit less of a busy day for most as far as the regular schedule of the week and take 10 or 15 minutes every
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Sunday to think prayerfully and deliberately what are you going to do this week what are you going to study what are you going to need to accomplish ministry and give some thought how
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God might want to use you in a special way to write cards to do phone calls to send somebody emails to get the
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Bible verses ready for you and for your children to set aside that time the
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Proverbs teach us to plan the great the greatest missionary who ever lived the Apostle Paul was a planner we saw that God is a
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God who does all things according to plan and Jesus said his face to go to Jerusalem because the most loving plan ever does are devised to redeem us from from the slave market of sin and call us into his very own and if if he planned for our joy we ought to plan for his glory let me just open it up at the end here just we got a couple of minutes any any questions that anybody has and please remember to get one of these
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I'll put it over on the table but any questions that you might have I know it's just a real overview of of planning but it's so important if you have weren't here last week you can also look in James chapter 4 there was a group of guys in there that did not plan well they didn't plan in reference to God James 4 like verses 16 through the end of that 15 through the end of that chapter they were boastful prideful and what they thought that they could do we're gonna go here we're gonna go do this and that what did they forget to do
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God first right they didn't do the Lord first in their plan and put it before the Lord and and and the
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Lord said to them you don't even know if you have tomorrow your life is like a vapor it's like a puff of mist and what it ought to be is if the
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Lord will and that's why you will see and hear people around I hear it around BBC people say
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I'll see you tomorrow Lord willing and that is so true because we don't know and we just commit our plans into the
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Lord because our plans can be one thing as we learned last week and the Lord has a different intent and he will turn it all around like the
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Apostle Paul wanted to go to Spain never got there ended up in Rome to the glory of God God's plans always come to pass and everything he purposes to do is done any question comment what a quiet group everybody breathing yeah raise your hand if you're breathing all right good let's close the prayer father thank you for your word thank you that we can look in it even this morning and we can see so clearly that you are a
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God who is so great and you have purposed and intended to do all that you have in your counsel and according to your predetermined plan to do you've done it and you are doing it and we are experiencing it in our very lives and we thank you for your great hand your providential dealings in our lives and for the glory of God we pray that we might learn to to imitate to walk in the in the steps even of our
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Lord who deliberately planned in ministry help us to to set goals and help us to to plan and to execute plans when it comes to desiring to reach others for Christ and desiring to see the lost saved and those that are saved to be grown in the grace and knowledge of the
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Lord and to be part of what you're doing and to submit and be servants and be faithful use this time that we've spent together to help us to to think about being more deliberate and more intentional in what we're doing when it comes to serving the