God’s Plans Versus Our Plans

Saturday, October 01, 2011 Part One

God’s Plans Versus Our Plans

Understanding what God is about to do where I am is more important than telling God what I want to do for Him!

We cause some of the wreck and ruin in our churches (and Lives) because we have a plan.  We implement the plan and accomplish only what we can do.  We ask God to bless our plans, and then we promise to give Him the glory when He does.  Yet God is not glorified by making our plans succeed.  He receives glory when His will is done in His way.  Christ is the Head of the body-the church.  What a difference it would make if we obeyed Christ as the Head of that body!  He could accomplish more in six months through a people yielded to Him than we could do in 60 years without Him.

I am His servant, and I adjust my life to what He is about to do.

Hebrews 3:7-19: 7 So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, 9 where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. 10 That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, 'Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.' 11 So I declared on oath in my anger, 'They shall never enter my rest.' " 12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. 15As has just been said: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion." 16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

Personalization:  I adjust my life to God so He will do through me what He wants to accomplish.  God is not my servant to adjust His activity to my plans.  I am His servant, and I adjust my life to what He is about to do.  If I do not submit, god will allow me to follow my own devices.  In following them, however, I will never experience what God wanted to do on my behalf or through me for others.

Personalization: Understanding what God is about to do where I am is more important than telling God what I want to do for Him.  I need to know what God has on His agenda for my church, community, and nation at this time in history.  Then I and my church can adjust our lives to God so He can move me into the mainstream of His activity before it is too late.  Through God will probably not give me a detailed schedule, He will let me know one step at a time how I and my church need to respond to what He is doing.

Personalization: Lord, I ask you now to guide my responses to You…    

·        In my personal life; help me to seek You first before all!

·        In my work with Comforting Hearts; help me to look for where You are working so that I may join you instead of doing my own thing.

·        In my family; especially in my relationship with my Wife and parents help me to love them and take care of them as You would have me to do

·        In my community; which is filled with believers and unbelievers, help me to be a light and bring them to You.

·        In the church; you will lead me to give me faithfulness and again make me a light that will lead people to You.

·        In my nation; with all of its problems and injustices use me to bring about change.

Summary Statements:

• Do things God’s way.
• God will accomplish more in six months through a people yielded to Him than we could do in 60 years without Him.
• I am God’s servant.  I adjust my life to what He is about to do.
• Understanding what God is about to do where I am is more important than telling God what I want to do for Him.

What was the most meaningful statement or Scripture I read today?:

God is not my servant to adjust His activity to my plans.  I am His servant, and I adjust my life to what He is about to do.

My Prayer is:

Daddy, I realize that You are not my servant and that it is up to me to adjust my life to You.  But Lord how do I do that?  How do I know when it is Your will I am doing as opposed to what I have simply dreamed up?  Show me Lord.  In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.

What does God want me to do in response to today’s study?

I believe God wants me to wait for an answer to my questions.

The Memory verse for this unit is:

“Some may trust in chariots and some in horses but we will trust in the name of the Lord our god Psalm?”