Book of Acts Series - Part 40 | the Plan — Jim Cymbala

Paul's Arrest and God's Protection

We've been studying in the book of Acts, and today it's gonna be a departure in the sense we're still in the book of Acts, which is the history of the early church and has been put in the Bible as a model for us of how God blessed the efforts of the early Christians.

Paul's Apostolic Calling and Ministry to the Gentiles

The leaders of the early Christian church were called not just pastors, but there were apostles, people who had been with Jesus when he was on earth, like Peter and James and John, but then there were other apostles, like Paul, whose life we've been following now because the book of Acts really focuses on his life, and Paul's odd because he was converted from being a persecutor of the church, and now he's an apostle, a leader of the church, and he's made missionary journeys, and now as we've been reading through the book of Acts, we find out that he's ended up back in Jerusalem, the home of Judaism, but he's preaching a message that the Jewish religious establishment does not accept, that Jesus came as the Messiah that they were waiting for, the promised one, the deliverer, the savior, and they missed it.

He came unto his own, but his own received him not. A riot ensues when trouble begins. He didn't cause it, but he gets a beat down, and they're about to kill him outside the gates of the temple, but the Roman soldiers come.

Remember, Israel, all that part of the world there was under the rule of the people from Italy back there, the Roman Empire. They maintained order, and they didn't want anybody fooling around with that order.

So they stopped the riot. Paul gets a chance to speak, and then a riot ensues at the end of his speech because he starts talking about the fact that God sent him not just to Jews, but Christ wanted him to go to Gentiles, which is any non-Jew, to spread this good news, the gospel of Jesus Christ, God's love, God's forgiveness of sin, God's grace.

We ended up finding out that he was brought back to the barracks, and he was kept there till they find out what's gonna happen to him, and the Lord appeared to him and said, don't be afraid. Just like you witnessed from me in Jerusalem, Jesus said, you're gonna be going to Rome, just like I put it in your heart months or years ago.

And now is a very strange historical account of what happens in terms of a plot to kill him. In other words, there's some zealous Jewish ultra-Orthodox people who so hate him and his message that they decide he's got to go.

The Plot Against Paul

So let's see what happens. The next morning, some Jews met together and made a plan. They took a vow that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul. There were more than 40 who planned this together.

Then they went to the chief priests and elders and said, we have taken a solemn vow together not to eat a thing until we've killed Paul. Now then, you and the council send word to the Roman commander to bring Paul down to you, pretending that you want to get more accurate information about him, but we will be ready to kill him before he ever gets here.

That's lovely. But the son, this is the only mention in the Bible of Paul's relatives, but the son of Paul's sister that would make him what? The nephew, heard about the plot, so he went to the fort and he told Paul.

Then Paul called one of the officers and said to him, take this young man to the commander. He has something to tell him. The officer took him, led him to the commander, and said, the prisoner Paul called me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to say to you.

The commander took him by the hand, away from everyone else it seems, led him off by himself and asked him, what do you have to tell me? He said, the Jewish authorities have agreed to ask you tomorrow to take Paul down to the council, pretending that the council wants to get more accurate information about him.

Don't listen to them because there are more than 40 men who will be hiding and waiting for him. They have taken a vow not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are now ready to do it and are waiting for your decision.

Ah, because they knew he was a Roman citizen, so they had to protect him, Paul. The commander said, don't tell anyone that you've reported this to me, and he sent the young man away. Then the commander called two of his officers and said, get 200 soldiers ready to go to Caesarea, together with 70 horsemen and 200 spearmen, and be ready to leave by nine o 'clock tonight.

That's an escort, by the way. Provide some horses for Paul to ride and get him safely through to Governor Felix. And Governor Felix was in Caesarea, and he was the Roman official in charge of that land to keep order and be responsible to the emperor in Rome, that everything was going well, taxes were being paid, and there weren't any illegal actions going on.

So now Paul, as we'll find out next week, he goes off on this journey in the middle of the night with this huge entourage of soldiers for one guy, because riots had happened before, soldiers had been killed, they wanted to make sure that they could control the situation and keep peace.

Evil and Proud Human Plans

So here's the strange verse that I want to leave with you today. Look at it again, verse 12. The next morning some Jews met together and made a plan. They took a vow that they would not eat or drink until anything until they had killed Paul.

Look at that first sentence. The next morning some Jews met together and made a plan. I want to talk to you about plans. That's an evil plan, isn't it? To assassinate Paul. There's other plans in the Bible that are evil.

The plan to murder Jesus, the plan to pay Judas off so that he would betray Jesus and locate him for the people who wanted to do away with Christ. See, it was a plan. A plan is you have a goal, we're gonna kill Paul.

Now how are we gonna do it? Well, we got 40 men, we're gonna stab them to death. These people might have been part of a group called the Sicarii who were people who carried long thin blades hidden in their garments and would walk up and just kill somebody very quickly undercover and they were greatly feared.

In fact, the high priest at this time was killed by one of those Sicarii. Then you make a plan, okay. Counsel, Sanhedrin, ask to see Paul like you have more questions. We'll know his route, we know where he leaves.

Now he's coming, we'll be waiting and before he ever gets to you, we'll fulfill our goal by carrying out the plan. Goals have plans. Without a plan, you can't reach the goal. Same thing with Jesus. Pay Judas, tell us where he is late at night.

We don't wanna do it near the temple. There could be a big to-do about all of this. The Bible talks about proud plans. People got together and said way back in the book of Genesis, let's get the materials together and build a tower that reaches to the sky so we can make a name, not for God, we can make a name for ourselves.

What was that tower called, anybody know? Tower of Babel or Babel or the Tower of Babylon as some translations have it. That's a proud plan. That was the goal, then a plan comes about and then you build but God broke that plan up.

Foolish Plans and the Rich Fool

Then there's foolish plans in the Bible. Remember the rich man who his land was blessed so much even though he was wicked. See, there's an example. Jesus gave this in the book of Luke. You can be blessed materially and still be very wicked.

The whole idea that the Christians, some of these teachers teach on TV and other places that wealth is a sign of God's blessing. It's a sign that God's blessed you with something but it doesn't mean that your heart is right with God.

Amen, amen. Some of the wickedest people, deniers, well, just do terrible things to other people. They're billionaires. So our reward is not here on Earth. Like Paul said, if our reward as Christians is here on Earth, of all the people in the world, we're the most miserable because we deny a lot of things.

We try to walk with Christ, trust him, denying the world, the flesh, the devil, and what do we do? Just we die and nothing happens after that? No, our reward is in heaven, the promise of eternal life.

How many are planning to live with Jesus like for a long time, right? So this man had a plan this way. You know what? I'm so blessed that I'm gonna build bigger barns because I can't even contain all this stuff.

I got a lot of stuff. So I'm gonna build bigger barns and then when I build the bigger barns, I'll store so much away that I'll be able to say, soul, yo, relax. Just eat, drink, and be merry because you got everything you need.

And then he heard a voice saying, you fool, don't you know that tonight your soul is gonna be required of you? You're gonna die and not spend and enjoy any of those crops because none of us know when we'll die.

Good Plans Under God's Direction

So there's plans all the time in the Bible that are evil or foolish or proud. But then again, there are other kinds of plans in the Bible. When Israel went to war, sometimes directly from God, otherwise through wise counsel, they develop plans to fight, to battle, strategy, a plan.

We'll attack from the left and when they shift their troops that way, then you come in from the right flank. It's a plan, why? Because the goal is victory. When they possessed the land under Joshua, when they crossed the Jordan River, those of you know your Bibles, those of you don't know, God had promised the Jewish people the land of Israel.

So when they crossed over the Jordan River, they were to take possession of it and divide it among the 12 tribes. How divide it? Well, God gave them the plan and told them, one here, one there, Zebulun over there, Ephraim over here, Judah there, Benjamin a little piece of land, and so on and so forth.

You'll possess the land, but according to a plan. So there's evil plans, but then there's good plans because without a plan, nothing can be accomplished. Things don't happen magically. They happen even when God is ordaining it, it happens according to a plan.

God's Plan for the Tabernacle

So long before they possessed the land, Moses was called up to Mount Sinai and he met with God and God gave him the plan for the tabernacle, which included how to sacrifice animals, who to make the priests, what they should wear, how they should be consecrated, how to pray over them, what animals to kill, what sacrifices to offer.

God gave him all of that, and then look at this verse in Exodus. It says, set up the tent, that's the tabernacle, according to the plan that I showed you on the mountain. But there's another verse that talks about God's plan.

Notice, this was God's plan, not Moses' plan. Look at Psalm 40, verse five. You have done many things for us, O Lord our God. There is no one like you. You have made many wonderful plans for us. I could never speak of them all.

Their number is so great. What number is so great? What is so marvelous? All the plans that God has for his people, not just collectively as a church or a people, but individually. Obviously, if God loves us and he knows everything and he's a loving father and he has all power, he makes plans for his people.

He makes plans for his people. And they're so vast, they're so detailed, they're so wonderful, oh my goodness. When you find God's plan and you follow it, oh my goodness, it's gonna be good. There'll be problems, it's life.

There'll be attacks by the enemy, but you'll know I'm doing God's plan, not your plan. See, there's your plan, then there's God's plan. And what God is teaching us in the Bible is make your plan according to my plan.

That's what lordship means. Since he died for me, he owns me. I don't have a right to make plans for myself. I have to yield to his plans because I know if he died for me, he's certainly gonna give me a good plan too on top of that, amen?

Would he give his life for me and then give me a bad plan? No. But notice this. When God spoke to Moses, he said, here's the plan for what I want you to do in terms of worship. Now when you build it, when you build the tabernacle, when you do the sacrifices, when you enlist the priests, when you do everything with the tribe of Levi, make sure you do everything according to the plan I showed you, no creative thought here.

I don't need creative thought from you, Moses, because I'm God. Follow and do everything according to my plan. Now what's interesting about that is that when you find out God's plan, you then make your own plans which are in accordance or supplementary to God's plan.

Co-Laboring With God in His Mission

What do I mean by that? God told him how the whole thing was supposed to look in the end. But now, how do you carry it out? Now you know God's goal and God's plan and now Moses had to go and do a lot of planning, why?

Where are we gonna get all the materials for the thing that God said he wants me to put together? Where are we gonna get all this stuff? Thread, the coats of animals, the fur. I need gold, I need silver, I need to find people, although God named some people who would be the head of it because they were very gifted in creating pieces of furniture and even making garments for the priests.

So now you have to make all kinds of plans and you gotta get a strategy. How are we gonna pull this off? Well, we gotta take an offering from the people. That's part of the plan, why? How else are we gonna get it?

It's not gonna just appear. We gotta get it, we gotta make a plan. Now, who's gonna collect it? Who's gonna provide security for the stuff we collect? So we gotta procure the materials. Now, where are the workers gonna come?

Who's gonna build this tent? He said he wants a tent but he didn't say who will build it and how exactly to put it all together. Someone's gotta do it, we gotta make a plan. But we're making a plan according to God's plan.

So God's plan, God's goal for this people and now human plans working together with God's plan. So you just don't sit there with the remote on a sofa and say, well, whatever God is gonna do, he's gonna do.

That is nowhere found in the Bible. God is gonna do it but for most things, he enlists his people to be co-laborers with Christ is the Bible call. Like God said he wants the gospel to go through the whole world.

Praise God, God wants the gospel to go to the whole world. Isn't that great? Come on, do I get an amen? Excuse me, who's gonna do it? Oh, he said you go into all the world. Well, how are we gonna do that?

Oh, we gotta get a plan, we gotta get a plan. But we know we're working with God's plan. We're not just make this up. So now he's gonna help us with wisdom and insight to make the plan according to his great plan.

So Moses has security, he had work, he had supervisors, he had skilled workers, unskilled workers, guys that did the grunt work and the lifting work. Then he had the highly skilled people. Why? Because nothing happens and gets done unless there's a plan, nothing, almost nothing.

And then that verse in Psalm 40 says, oh, how marvelous are your plans for us. They're too numerous for us to even figure out. And now the hint is that God has plans for us, but he wants to show it to us.

He wants to reveal to my dear sister here his plans for her life and what she's supposed to be doing. He doesn't keep his plans private. He wants to reveal his plans so that we can plan and we can be part of the big plan.

It holds a lot of planning in this message, isn't there? It's called the plan. I thought that would be fitting. We find out that it goes further into the new covenant. Jesus said, I'm gonna build my church.

Christ as the Foundation of the Church

Paul says, the apostle who we're following right now, he says in one of his letters to the church at Corinth, a place that he had visited in Greece, he said, now, be careful how you work, Pastor Semble or all the guys back then or all the pastors now.

He said, because remember, God made me a wise master builder. He told me and showed me how to build the church. So be careful how you build on top of this church because the foundation is no personality.

The foundation is Christ. Christ is the foundation of the church, not a denomination, not a race, not a personality, not a mega church pastor and all that. The foundation is Christ. Whenever you go to church, any church, and you don't hear a lot about Jesus but a lot about the church or the pastor, be very careful.

How many say amen? Because it's not about us, it's all about him. But notice what Paul had to do then. He says, no, but to build that church, here's the plan. There are pastors. We gotta have apostles, pastors, prophets, teachers, and evangelists.

They're specialized in spreading the good news. That'll be within the body, not ordained in a Bible school. That'll be within the body of Christ, within each local church, people who have the gift of evangelism.

Then there's gotta be prayer or the whole thing is just gonna get north of the neck and it'll be intellectual. We gotta get the corazon involved by prayer, dependence on God, longing for the Holy Spirit.

Lord, I need you. Oh, I need you. Every hour, I need you. My one defense, my righteousness. Oh Lord, how I need you. Then there's gotta be the ordination of deacons because the leaders can't do everything.

Planning for Care, Training, and Church Service

But wait a minute, what's gonna happen in Christ's church to poor people, to women, widows, who don't have enough to eat? Oh no, we gotta make a plan because the Lord said take care of them. Oh, we gotta make a plan to take care of them.

But how about people who have like a gift from God, you could see it, though they're young in the Lord. No, you gotta train those who are apt to teach. You gotta do all these things. See, there's a plan.

There's a plan. It just doesn't happen. But then wait a minute. God says in another place in the Bible, I will bless your plans. I will grant you the desires of your heart and I will bless your plans.

Oh, wait a minute. What if you have no plans? Oh, there we go. There we go, that's the gist of this sermon. We got people by the score living in the secular world. I mean, I'm talking now in just the material world with absolutely no plans.

We have people spiritually who have become Christians. Oh, they wanna grow. And they're touched when they hear a choir song. And they might even be touched when these poor lips try to preach. But they have no plan.

And with no plan, guess where you're going? Oh, no, but I feel the Spirit. Well, good, feel the Spirit. But the Spirit better give you a plan because God says build everything according to the plan that I gave you.

So we always say to people, you know, you should go up to Christians. We encourage ourselves, don't we? That you can walk up to someone and say, did you know that God loves you and has a plan for your life?

And if you follow that plan, you'll have the peace and joy that he wants you to have. Or you can follow your own plan. And you could be sitting here judging me or being a non-believer in Christ. That's fine, I don't wanna fight with or argue with anyone.

But the joy and the peace that God has promised us, it comes when you first follow his plan to put your faith in Christ, repent of your sins, put your faith in Christ, and ask Jesus to not only be your Savior, but your Lord.

Salvation, Lordship, and God's Purpose on Earth

Oh, isn't there great peace in that? But how many since you've been saved, you found a new peace and a new joy since you become a Christian? Well, that's why the choir's up there singing. Don't you get it?

We don't pay them any money. They're there because they're so happy and joyful with the Jesus experience that they have, they wanna tell others about it. But it goes more than that. He not only wants to wash away my sin and have me, when I die, go to be with him in heaven, but there's a plan while I'm here on earth.

And this is where a lot of us have a disconnect. We either have our own plan, or, especially now, more and more, no plan. What are you doing today? Hanging out. No, I mean, but what are you gonna do? I'm chilling.

I know, I got that. But what are you gonna do? Like, what's the goal? What's the plan to get to the? Nothing. Well, then guess what you'll get? Nothing. Oh, I wanna know God's word more, Pastor Cimbala.

I wanna know this book. Well, what's your plan? When are you gonna read it? What time are you gonna set apart? Oh, no, just as the spirit leads me. I don't recommend that way. How many know to read the Bible, it takes discipline?

Lift your hand if you know that. Why, because there's a thousand other voices. There's a thousand things on TV. There's emails, there's the computer, there's going online, and just whatever. So then how are you gonna learn the Bible?

You have to have a plan. Oh, I wanna be closer. I wanna be, you know what I wanna become? I wanna be able to lift up missionaries. Okay, what's the plan? Do you have a plan? How about Tuesday night? I wanna get with, in the prayer meeting, because maybe that will spark something in me.

I'll get more familiar and learn more about prayer, and I'll pray with other people. That will help me then pray more alone. But you have to have a plan. My brother's six years older than me, and when he was going to Erasmus Hall High School, he took me, I must have been in junior high, he took me to a game at Erasmus Hall High School, the gym, famous gym there on Bedford near church, between Bedford and Snyder, church and Snyder on Bedford.

Discipline and Purpose in Spiritual Growth

And I went in, and I went up in the balcony. I'd never been to a high school basketball game, and I went up, and I remember Erasmus Hall running out, the team running out for layups, and doing the drill, and whatever.

And I had started playing basketball, and I loved it. I liked the game. There was something about shooting, seeing the ball go in, trying to figure out that whole thing about basketball. I loved other sports, but basketball was my passion.

And something moved in me that night, and I said, I'm gonna do that one day. I'm gonna run out and wear that uniform, I'm gonna play. But then I knew I had to get a plan. I had skipped a grade, so I was younger than everybody.

So every Saturday, I was primitive in my thinking, so every Saturday morning, my mom would tell you, so I would go out to the playground on Winthrop Street between Bedford and Rogers, PS92, and even if it had to shovel the snow, I'd shovel the snow off so I could bounce the ball on the concrete and just shoot long before anybody got there.

And if anybody outdid me or outplayed me in the park, then I would figure out, okay, now, what do I have to do to beat him? Because he's not gonna beat me again. I'm gonna get a plan. Oh, he's doing that, so then I'll do this.

Oh, he's more athletic than I am, so I can fake him and get him up in the air and I'll go by him. Oh, I think I don't dribble as well as I do with my left hand, so I would just go for hours dribbling the ball back and forth just with my left hand because I'm a righty, this was easy for me, but lefty.

Then I found glasses, plastic glasses, that blocked you here so you couldn't see down, so now you had to learn to dribble by feel and not be looking because you can't be looking when you're dribbling like kids do because somebody could need a pass and you won't see them because you're looking down, so the coach would always be yelling at guys, look up, look up, so you just learn.

I'm gonna learn to dribble. Without a plan, what's gonna happen? Did you know that without a plan, did you know inertia gets in us? Did you know that you and I are robbed of all our potential when we have no plan?

Spiritually, the gifts that God's given us, the good we could do for others, there's no plan. And our society now more and more is just, just, you know, I'm seven hours on the computer, I'm texting the universe, why?

Because, I know, but where's this going? I don't know. Is it supposed to go somewhere? I'm just texting. No banks run that way. Macy's doesn't run that way. They're strategizing all the time. University doesn't work that way, does it, Pastor?

You have a meeting plan, how do we get more enrollment? Gotta be a plan. Everything has to have a plan. These evil men made a plan to kill Paul, granted. But God says, I have plans that I wanna share with you about your life, about your participation in the body of Christ.

Personal Calling and Lifelong Purpose

My wife's thinking of doing, with the music department here, with the choir, a DVD, CD combination with testimonies at the end of September, praying about that, we're looking at that. Oh my goodness, lots of planning.

Lights, I think we're gonna get new screens. This one's old. We gotta hang new screens here so we have them on the side, too, because we want the people to see better, and this kind of one is older. But now the cost of that, now we have to plan.

How would we rig it? It's a huge number just to rig it, I was told. So everything involves, we wanna get to this goal. What's the plan? What's the plan for your life? Did you know this is what keeps elderly people going longer than those who have no plans?

I visited my mother last Monday. I brought her some Italian food that she enjoyed, and on her table, it's littered, her table there, with cards that she makes. She makes birthday cards, Christmas cards, she sends cards out, and she made a promise to God, for every card I send out, I'm gonna put $2 in the church.

She wouldn't want me telling you this, but I'm telling it to you. It's all there, and she gets leftover paper, and she makes the cards herself. She doesn't buy them, she makes them and mails them. She's 99, she'll be 100 on November 21st.

Listen, she's made 8 ,000 cards. Something ridiculous number. But you see, that's why her mind is still going, because every morning she gets up, she has a plan. She has a goal. This is why some people feel their need of God, because they have a plan, and they realize they need more of him to accomplish that plan, so they're calling on God, and other people don't need God.

Why? They're hanging out. What do you need God for if you're hanging out? Anybody can hang out. Now listen, one of the things that God gives us when you make a plan for your life, and please, listen to me now, and then I'll dismiss you.

Seeking Godly Counsel for Our Plans

Don't make plans without counsel. Look at this verse in Proverbs. Plans are established by seeking advice, so if you wage war, obtain guidance. Notice, plans are established by seeking advice. Not only ask God for that, but bounce it by someone, because when you make a plan, and you're gonna do something with your life, or you're gonna move, or you're gonna do anything, bounce it off of people in case you're deceived and you're wrong.

I've been deceived. I've been wrong. How about you? Haven't you ever been wrong about anything? So you seek advice from godly people so that they can say, that feels right, or they can say, you know what?

Wait a minute, I don't know about that. Did you pray about that? Yeah, I did. You know what? Pray some more. I'll tell you what, these two angles I just thought of. Don't be switching and changing your plans without seeking advice from God, and many times, God uses others.

Problem with us is we love when God corrects us. Our hard time is when people talk to us. Am I correct or not? Oh, God told me I should change something. Oh, you're spiritual. But then when your sister-in-law tells you, it's like, who made you so smart?

Psalm 20, verse four. Look, last verse. May he give you what you desire and make all your plans succeed. But what's your plan? Young people, what's the plan? I don't have one. Well then, ask God what the plan is.

If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time. Am I correct? What's your plan in spiritual growth? What's your plan? It's the most practical thing in the world. Nothing gets done almost ever unless there's plans.

Aligning Personal Goals With God's Calling

Now, can God alter plans? Do you have to be open to the leading of the Spirit? Yes, yes, yes, yes. But that's not the problem with most of us. A lot of us just have no direction, no plan, because there's no goal.

God has a goal for your life. He wants you to grow. Don't you want to mature? How many want to mature and be more like Jesus? What's the plan? It's not happening by itself. You want to know more of the Word.

You want to be used more mightily by God. Do you want to develop the gift that he's put in you? There has to be some divinely given plan. So now you're moving and you have a goal every day when you wake up, more than just, I got to go to work.

Why? Because I have to get a paycheck. Why? Because I have to pay the bills. And that's the end of my life. That's my life. Money for vacation, a few little things, extra things, and then to pay the bill.

That's your life. That's the plan. All the potential you have, all the gifting you all have. What's your plan? How are you going to develop that which God has given you? And don't you want to tap into God's plan?

He wants to show you his plan. Now, if you're proud and know it all, then what we'll say to God, I'll say to God, I don't want to know about your plan because I have my plan. That's what I did when I got married.

I had my plan for my life. And when I was heading to Hawaii on our honeymoon, I had my plan for my life. And then the battle began because this is the last thing I thought I'd ever be doing. And it's been hard, hard moments.

But oh my goodness, there's only fulfillment when you're doing God's plan. You lay in bed at night and you know you helped somebody. Let's close our eyes. If you're here today and you're saying, Pastor, I believe that message was directed especially toward me because two cases here I want to pray for.

Prayer for Direction and Wisdom

God, I need direction. I need to know the plan. I'm not aware of what you want for me. I want to make plans in keeping with your plans, but show me those plans. I don't want to live without direction.

Or number two, Pastor, the truth is I have things that God has put in my heart, goals. I feel them, I long for them, but I don't know how to get there. I need God's plans to be revealed to me. I need wisdom to make good plans to accomplish the things he's put before me.

Anybody in those two categories, I need to know God's plan. I'm kind of, I love him, but I'm lost at sea. I want you to stand. Number two, I know the plan kind of. I feel this longing in me, but I don't know how to get there.

I'm going to humble myself. I don't know how to get there. I want God to give me wisdom to make a plan. Just stand wherever you are in any of those two. God, we remember your word that says, I know the plans that I have for you.

We want to know those plans in every detail that you can give us. We don't want to be leaves blown around by the wind. We want to be strong soldiers of Jesus Christ operating under the directions of our commander, Christ.

Show us why you saved us. Even as your servant Paul said that I might apprehend why I was apprehended. Why did you save me, Jesus? Why did you save us? What do you want to do with us? We know you're going to bring us to heaven one day, but here on earth, what do you want us to do?

How can we grow? How can we be stronger? How can we avoid the pitfalls of the enemy? What new friends do we need to make? What changes in our schedule? What friends should we cut loose? They're bad influence.

Give us this practical insight, Lord, because we want to work according to your plan. Thank you for your word today. You said that you would, may God grant you the desires of your heart and bless all of your plans.

Give us your plans. Give us the grace and discipline to follow your plans, to make other plans supplementary, led by you, full of wisdom to accomplish your plans, and we'll give you all the praise and all the honor and glory.

I believe, I say this in your presence, I believe, God, this is a turning point for a lot of lives here today. This is a absolute watershed day of change because you're going to start to feed into our hearts and minds from your word and by your spirit the changes that must be made so that we can operate according to your plan.

We encourage each other. We're encouraged by you. Your word has encouraged us. We love you. May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of God's people today. Bless us all day long. We ask for that smile of heaven upon us.