Lent 2024 - Day 21: "God's Plan"

        You will often hear people who have attained some form of success, give glory to God for their success. This often happens when a new church is built, and glory is given to God for this great success. This may sound good but are they really giving glory to God and is God actually responsible for their success? If the church is following other gospels, then Jesus really did not build His church even if the building is impressive and the programs are numerous. Another area where people do this is in the sports arena. For some reason many really think that God likes sports and at the same time believe that God forgot to include His plans for the temple in the New Testament. Here is an example of what I mean by God forgetting. There are gurus in the church who like to say God gave them a plan, a vision, a blueprint to build His church, much like the plans the Holy Spirit gave David for the first temple. Those plans were very specific for the first temple but not found in the New Testament. 1 Chronicles 28:1 “Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement.” God did not give plans for a building in the New Testament. So, it appears that God forgot, as these men and women say and God corrected His mistake and gave them the plans like David that He left out. Then if successful, others flock to them and the church gets further away from God’s actual plans where God sent His son to destroy the works of satan and provide a way back to eternal life. The church was also provided with power and authority to do as Jesus did. There are no plans for buildings and programs but plans that will take the church to the ends of the earth with power from on High and do as Jesus did. Matthew 11:5 “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” Jesus empowered the disciples and sent them out. Luke 10:17 “The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” Manmade plans cannot accomplish this as seen in the church today.
        Jesus did not first sit down with His disciples and talk about baseball, yet many in the church think God likes baseball comparisons, as these are often used for church growth. It is not just an example of a dedicated athlete as Paul talked about, but a whole way of “doing church” as they used to say. It was the plan that God left out. Rick Warren had his baseball diamond for discipleship, and another one I saw was a book called “Home Run – Learn God’s plan for life and leadership.” We already have a book for that! The author “Kevin Myers and John Maxwell” said, “God pointed out where he was going wrong and showed him the biblical pattern for living.” I am sure God also said to him, thank you so much, due to my forgetfulness, I left out some key information and I want you to add to my words and ignore much I have written. No, God did not say that. Oddly as one writer said, “baseball players, on average, are “successful” less than 30% of the time! In fact, if a pro baseball player has a .300 average, they are considered excellent!” And even more unsuccessful are homeruns hit. Yes, everyone wants to hit the homerun but that just doesn’t happen, as some are better at it than others. As the stats show us, most strike out 2/3s of the time, let alone hit a homerun. The overall percentage is quite low for homeruns. One writer said at the time of writing, “3.48% of at-bats resulted in a home run, which is the fourth-highest rate in the majors since 1921.” Yes, there is a lot of glory given to the homerun, but in the church, glory is supposed to be given to Gid and His word and doesn’t need to be added to. You often see in sports those who may have excelled in the sport, scored a touchdown, hit a homerun, acquired great wealth and said to God be the glory. They may pray before a game or in the endzone as they think God favors one team over the other. You will often see John 3:16 at sports events, “for God so loved the world He created sports.” But the question for everyone is, are you really living for God or for yourself? Do you really give God the glory He deserves? Are you prepared to follow His plan by obeying His word? Jesus is the one who builds His church and empowers us to participate.

        The point of this is God did not really give them a sports analogy. If He did, they would go and make disciples, heal the sick and cast out demons just as Jesus did but that power is missing. When it is manmade you have to have a different plan but when it is God’s plan the Holy Spirit does the leading and provides the results. Jesus said, Matthew 28:18 “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Mark says the same Mark 16:15 “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”  19 After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it.” The power is the authority Jesus gives us to do as He did, that’s the plan. Did God really not provide a plan and not give us clear instructions in the New Testament for how to build the temple so that so many gurus would have to provide for God’s forgetfulness? The plan is there but the church prefers on that involves building with their own hands. Yes, Paul used sport as an analogy. 1 Corinthians 9:24 “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” It is just an analogy, not a new plan for doing church. It is important to understand that Paul also had power and not just talk. 1 Corinthians 4:20 “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” Acts 19:11 “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.” Yes, our focus on God needs to be like an athlete who focuses on their sport, but most in the church have little time for God. We do not need a manmade plan to do as Jesus did because we already have one. The manmade plan, though successful, does not have power associated with it, just worldly success. It is interesting that the two examples I gave above are considered very successful in the church circles, yet do not have the power to do as Jesus did. What they propose really is not cloneable, even though people try. God’s plan can take place anywhere and at any time. It doesn’t matter a person’s status or race, whether in the country or city, or anywhere in the world, God’s plan can change the world. That means God really did not give them their church growth vision, so it comes from somewhere else and that would be satan. satan tried to tempt Jesus with power when he said, Luke 4:6 “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” Many have accepted his offer.

        The church does not need any how to books or additional plans and no God did not forget to include anything. His plan is for us to repent, give our lives to Jesus, be filled with His Spirit and with the same power and authority, preach the good news, heal the sick and cast out demons. Jesus said Acts 1:4 “On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” If the church would actually just submit and follow God’s plan and give God the glory He deserves, the coming of Jesus and eternity would be sped up but instead it has been slowed down. 2 Peter 3:11 “You ought to live holy and godly lives 12 as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.” Today the church is further from the truth than ever and still powerless because the church refuses to give God glory and praise and honor. Because the church refuses to submit to God’s word, we were told this would happen. Daniel 7:21 “As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.” Revelation 13:5 “The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. 7 It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. 8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the Lamb’s book of life, the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world.” To have our names written in the Lamb’s book of life, we must follow God’s plan and remain in Him.

        The church of Sardis had a couple of groups of people. Revelation 3:2 I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. “Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” You do not want to be asleep. The second group were faithful followers who gave God glory. 4 “Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. 6 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” We are told Revelation 21:3 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Revelation 22:3 “The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.” Revelation 4:8 “Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: 11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being.”

        In the church of Sardis, there was a group that needed to repent as there were in the other four churches listed in Revelation. In Revelation, there were only two churches not called to repent but to continue to keep the commands of God and endure. The rest needed to repent. Since the beginning, God has a plan of salvation, that is except for satan. Matthew 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” God also turned away from King Saul and he would not be given a chance to repent as God turned away from him. God told David, 2 Samuel 7:15 “my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” Saul did have the opportunity to obey but he refused to follow God’s commands several times. As we just read, hell will also be for those who refuse to repent. The church today can be described by the five churches who needed to repent. These verses also describe the church. Psalm 107:10 “Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness, prisoners suffering in iron chains, 11 because they rebelled against God’s commands and despised the plans of the Most High. 12 So he subjected them to bitter labor; they stumbled, and there was no one to help.” Jeremiah 5:3 “Lord, do not your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain; you crushed them, but they refused correction. They made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.” Isaiah 29:15 “Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plans from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think, “Who sees us? Who will know?” Isaiah 30:1 “Woe to the obstinate children,” declares the Lord, “to those who carry out plans that are not mine, forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit, heaping sin upon sin.” Jeremiah 18:12 “But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’” Revelation 16:8 “The fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and the sun was allowed to scorch people with fire. 9 They were seared by the intense heat and they cursed the name of God, who had control over these plagues, but they refused to repent and glorify him. 10 The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in agony 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they refused to repent of what they had done.”

        Jeremiah told the people that they would remain in captivity for seventy years but at the end, would return to their land. Jeremiah 25:8 “Therefore the Lord Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. 10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.” They were also told this. Jeremiah 29:10 “This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” 

        Man can make all the plans they want, but only God’s plans will prevail. Psalm 94:11 “The Lord knows all human plans; he knows that they are futile.” Proverbs 19:21 “Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Psalm 33:10 “The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.” Job said Job 42:2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted.” God said Isaiah 46:10 “I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’” Hosea 14:9 “Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.” For God’s plans to be fulfilled in our lives, we must turn from our wicked ways (man’s plans) and return to Jesus, the way, truth and life. 

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    Rock Report by Pastor Paul

    This is a blog that comes from my personal devotions each day. The Blog has replaced the Sermon section. There will also be the occassional food for thought.