God's Plans Never Fail...will you participate?
Your Will, Not Mine • Sermon • Submitted
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· 1,195 viewsGod's plans never fail. And He invites us to participate.
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God’s plans never fail. He invites us to participate in His plans.
BASEBALL STORY (Bench observer verses Being in the Game)
(picture of Chris as a boy playing baseball)
Be a participant!
8 “Remember this and be brave;
take it to heart, you transgressors!
9 Remember what happened long ago,
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and no one is like Me.
10 I declare the end from the beginning,
and from long ago what is not yet done,
saying: My plan will take place,
and I will do all My will.
11 I call a bird of prey from the east,
a man for My purpose from a far country.
Yes, I have spoken; so I will also bring it about.
I have planned it; I will also do it.
The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
8 Let the whole earth tremble before the Lord;
9 For He spoke, and it came into being;
He commanded, and it came into existence.
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
10 The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations;
9 For He spoke, and it came into being;
He thwarts the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
He commanded, and it came into existence.
the plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Happy is the nation whose God is Yahweh—
10 The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations;
the people He has chosen to be His own possession!
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
He thwarts the plans of the peoples.
He observes everyone.
14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
from His dwelling place.
15 He alone shapes their hearts;
the plans of His heart from generation to generation.
He considers all their works.
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
12 Happy is the nation whose God is Yahweh—
a warrior will not be delivered by great strength.
17 The horse is a false hope for safety;
the people He has chosen to be His own possession!
it provides no escape by its great power.
18 Now the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him—
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
those who depend on His faithful love
19 to deliver them from death
He observes everyone.
and to keep them alive in famine.
20 We wait for Yahweh;
14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
He is our help and shield.
The Holman Christian Standard Bible Psalm 33
8 Let the whole earth tremble before the LORD;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9 For He spoke, and it came into being;
He commanded, and it came into existence.
10 The LORD frustrates the counsel of the nations;
He thwarts the plans of the peoples.
11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
the plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Happy is the nation whose God is Yahweh—
the people He has chosen to be His own possession!
13 The LORD looks down from heaven;
He observes everyone.
14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
from His dwelling place.
15 He alone shapes their hearts;
He considers all their works.
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be delivered by great strength.
17 The horse is a false hope for safety;
it provides no escape by its great power.
18 Now the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him—
those who depend on His faithful love
19 to deliver them from death
and to keep them alive in famine.
20 We wait for Yahweh;
He is our help and shield.
21 For our hearts rejoice in Him
because we trust in His holy name.
22 May Your faithful love rest on us, Yahweh,
for we put our hope in You.
21 For our hearts rejoice in Him
from His dwelling place.
because we trust in His holy name.
22 May Your faithful love rest on us, Yahweh,
15 He alone shapes their hearts;
for we put our hope in You.
The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
He considers all their works.
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be delivered by great strength.
17 The horse is a false hope for safety;
it provides no escape by its great power.
18 Now the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him—
those who depend on His faithful love
19 to deliver them from death
and to keep them alive in famine.
20 We wait for Yahweh;
He is our help and shield.
21 For our hearts rejoice in Him
because we trust in His holy name.
22 May Your faithful love rest on us, Yahweh,
for we put our hope in You.
The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
Remember, Moses in Exodus - God had a plan to use Moses. And even though the King of Egypt tried to stop God’s plan by having all male Israelite babies killed, God used his family to protect him. And not only protect him, but Moses ended up being raised by that very King’s daughter and he had favor in the King’s court. God’s plans never fail…and he invited Moses to lead God’s people out of Egypt.
God had a plan to use Joseph - He was the youngest brother and was sold into slavery by his older brothers. They deceived his own father into thinking he was dead. Years later, when those brothers had great need and went begging for help from the King’s court, little did they know that they were bowing before their baby brother, whom God had shown favor upon. God’s plans never fail…and He invited Joseph to participate in His plan. Joseph was able to tell them...
The Holman Christian Standard Bible Chapter 50
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people. 21 Therefore don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your little ones.” And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.
God had a plan to use Esther - she was an orphan girl raised by her uncle, Mordecai. Over a 12 month process, she is chosen as the fairest of the land from 127 provinces and becomes the new queen. Not revealing her Jewish roots, she gains favor with her husband the king. Meanwhile, the King’s prime minister, Haman, begs permission from the king to exterminate all Jews b/c they do not abide by all the king’s laws, but instead their own by their God. When the king agrees to this, Mordecai sends word to Esther...
The Holman Christian Standard Bible Chapter 4
13 Mordecai told the messenger to reply to Esther, “Don’t think that you will escape the fate of all the Jews because you are in the king’s palace. 14 If you keep silent at this time, liberation and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s house will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.”
God’s plans never fail … and He invited Esther to be a part of His plan. She spoke up and God used her request to spare her people, the Jews, to save them.
God had a plan to use Jonah - God directly invited him. He received a calling from the Lord to preach repentance to the people of Nineveh. However, Jonah did not obey. Instead, he ran the other direction. His disobedience not only affected him, but affected the men on the ship that he was on while running away from God. The storm almost swallowed them all but Jonah ended up in the belly of a large fish for 3 days & nights. God got his attention. Jonah confessed his disobedience and told God he would go and accomplish what God had called him to do. So the fish spit him up. God’s plans never fails… and He invited Jonah to be a part & Jonah went and preached to the people of Nineveh. They repented of their sins and God spared the city.
His disobedience not only affected him, but affected the men on the ship he was on running away from God. The storm almost swallowed them all but Jonah ended up in the belly of a large fish for 3 days & nights. God got his attention.
The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers. His disobedience not only affected him, but affected the men on the ship he was on running away from God. The storm almost swallowed them all but Jonah ended up in the belly of a large fish for 3 days & nights. God got his attention.
God had a plan to use His one and only Son, Jesus - much like how the king wanted to kill all Israelite male babies in the story of Moses, the King in Jesus time sent the wise men to find the baby who was the prophesied Son of God. He wanted them to report back to him where he was, so that he could kill him as well. But God obviously spared Jesus. God’s plan never fails…and Jesus was a man who never sinned and took on ALL of our sins as a sacrifice on the cross for you and for me. With HIS SACRIFICE, 3 days later, he looked at Satan and basically said, “What you intended for evil, God PLANNED it for good to bring about the present result…the salvation of many people” (). His life was used to save the lives of any who would call upon His name…any who “confess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead. They shall be saved.” ().
How Does This Apply?
How Does This Apply?
How does God want to use you? He invites you to be an active participant.
Are you like Moses? - your life has been spared up to this moment and your not sure why, but you know God wants to use you. Ask God how He wants to use you in His plan. Because His plans never fail and He wants you to be a part of it. Maybe you can lead people out of slavery as well…the slavery of their sins, their depression, their anxiety.
Are you like Joseph? - picked on and beat up. Treated unfairly and everyone has turned their back on you or given up on you. However, remember…God’s plans never fail. And He wants to use you. Ask God how He can use you in the lives of others, maybe even the ones who have treated you wrong. You can show others God’s mercy in not giving them the punishment they deserve and also show God’s grace by sharing God’s forgiveness.
Are you like Esther? - you feel like an orphan but you also sense that God wants to use you for His purpose. And He’s been speaking to you about being ready for “Such a time as this...” Ask the Lord to show you where He wants to use you in His plans that never fail. It doesn’t matter where you came from, He wants to use your willingness to help accomplish His plans.
Maybe your like Jonah? - you know God has been calling you, but you keep running away from it, finding every excuse in the book NOT to answer His call. However, don’t forget…your disobedience not only affects you, but affects others around you. You don’t want them to get swallowed up by your disobedience, so surrender to His call on your life and obey. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past, His plans never fail, and He wants to use you.
God wants to use you in His plan. He doesn’t need us to accomplish His plan. Remember, He invites us to be active participates in His plans in order to bring Him glory. It has nothing to do with us or our plans. Too often, we have an idea or a plan and we want God to participate in our plan. But it doesn’t work that way. Remember in , it says,
English Standard Version Chapter 19
21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.
His plans for you begin with your life in Jesus. God cannot use you, if you have not submitted your life to Christ and called Him your Lord and Savior. We can do good things all day and never accomplish anything to do with God’s plan. We must seek Christ daily and obey Him.
English Standard Version Chapter 19
21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.
What Now?
What Now?
Take some moments right now as you sit there and ask God, how do you want me to participate in YOUR PLANS?
I know you have a plans and Your plans never fail. I want to be an active participant, not a sideline observer, not a bench-warmer. Speak to my heart today, right now Lord about what you want me to do to :
Children’s Ministry
Youth Ministry
Young Adults Ministry
Men
Women
Couples
Single Moms
Widows
Special Needs Ministry
Church Fellowships
Facilities Maintenance / Grounds
Membership / In-reach
Local Missions / Local Outreach Efforts
Foreign Missions
Audio/Visual Team
Music Ministry
Hospitality
Food / Clothes Pantry
Hospital ministry
Greeters / Ushers / Parking
Help us with Communications / Promotion / Social Media
Guest follow-up
Music Ministry
Adult Education / Community Groups (small groups)
Benevolence
Benevolence
Setup / Takedown Team
Hospital ministry
As the musicians come, I want to encourage you to come and share your heart with me and even some of our other leaders. We want to hear your heart and we want to pray with you. He’s pitching the ball to you this morning, don’t let it just keep passing by you…swing and be a participant. Be an active participant in His plan.
Feel free to come to the altar and continue to seek the Lord during this time. When we pray, He listens. He hears when we cry out to Him. And if we pause long enough to listen, He answers...
If you’ve never given your life to Christ, called upon Him as your Lord and Savior, please come and let us pray with you and lead you to Christ.