Plans for the New Year

Introduction

The last Sunday of 2018..... Wow....

The year has flown by and we have seen lots of changes this year, haven’t we?

We have seen children born and all people step out into eternity, into the presence of God.

We have seen success and failures at times…

And through the course of 2018 we have had the joy of walking in the will of God.

Now let me ask you a question....

Now answer this in your heart: How many understood and walked in the will of God for your life and family this year?

I’m sure some have and some have struggled, desiring to know the will of God for your life.

One of the most difficult questions people struggle with is the notion of What on earth am I here for....?

Here is what I think and believe; We are here first and foremost to bring honor and glory to the Lord our God. I believe that is our greatest purpose.

And secondly, we are here to follow Him. To know and do the will of God in our lives.

People ask me; how do I know and do the will of God.

My friends there is no simple formula or answer to that question...

You must be invested in the Word of God, in prayer and in allowing your life to be given over to Jesus each day. This truth is of course a process of each day, one after the other we will see, know and understand the will of God in our life.

Now if you are younger, it might take time for you to not only grow in the Lord but also grow up to find your calling, His will for your life. Yet I think the more we are given to faithfulness, the more effectively we understand.

And this morning, I want you to know that over the course of the next year, God has a plan for your life. His will is there for you to follow. What will it be, he knows and you can too as you walk with Jesus.

Now this morning I want us to address this topic, one that is especially seen in … why this topic, I think the message if applicable to us as well today. Lets look at the text...

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

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Now we know that Jeremiah is the weeping prophet, and his message is to the exiles of Israel, those who are in captivity. Even in their sin, their captivity, God had not forgot them and still had a plan for His people.

He would restore them in the future, His plans would not be hindered.

I believe no matter where you are today, God has a plan, a purpose for you, His people, for you.

We today we will examine this passage and others tied to it as we think about His plans for our lives in the coming year...

So with this in mind lets consider this topic....

Here is my first thought...

1. God is All Knowing Concerning our Future....

One of the glorious attributes of our God is simply that is He omniscient. Omniscient means that God is all knowing.. As a child put it once “He knows everything about everything.” That sums it up right?

There is comfort in that thought, and it should bring peace to the life of His children.

Yet, the future often brings worry and doubt. Why? Because we feel as if we are left in the dark.

We are not in the dark my friends, God knows and that makes our future bright.

Why can I believe that? Jeremiah is speaking to the exiles, why can I believe it about my life?

The exiles here in the land of Babylon, they are a type, a picture of the New Testament church.

Just as the nation of Judah and Benjamin were in captivity, in exile away from their land, we are in exile, in a land of sin, a land of sorrow living and awaiting the coming of our King, deliverance. First unto Salvation and Second unto the resurrection.

God has promised to fulfill His promises to us, Jesus is coming again. We have celebrated his first advent through Christmas, now we await His second advent, the Second coming of Christ.

This truth is the will of God. He has already foretold it to us… We simply await its fulfillment.

Listen again to our passage.....

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

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God is emphatic about it, I KNOW The Plans....That I have for you...

And we trust this in the truth that God is all knowing.

Jeremiah delivers the message to the children of God.. For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord.

He alone knows the purposes of man in all things…

Let me share a verse that is tied to Jeremiah’s message here from the book of Isaiah, chapter 55, verses 8-9

Isaiah 55:8–9 ESV

8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

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His ways are different, far different that we think of imagine. The description of Isaiah here is that God knows His ways for us… They are higher, better, perfect and complete. We cannot know them apart from the author and finisher of our lives...

But if our ways are not His ways… Pray that we are able to follow

The children of Israel could not think past their captivity in Babylon, yet God was at work and His plans would be completed in and through them.

God knows his plans for us my friends, no matter if we are in the lowest or highest points in our life, He knows!

Do you believe that?

God is all knowing, and He knows our Future...

So lets consider these plans…

2. Plans For a Future Good...

Now when we think about the will of God, I want you to know that God’s will is never to harm you. It is never to tempt you, to lead you astray or to the edge hoping you will suddenly make it through...

No… God’s plans are pure, holy and always for our good!

The will of God is never to set you in the wrong direction or to cause fear, doubt or suffering.

Lets go back to our text...

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

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His plans are for our welfare that we might proper, to give us hope and a future.. they are never meant for evil.

Please understand that...

So many times people ask; Why did this happen to me, Why am I experiencing this, what did I do wrong?

Lets think about a couple of thoughts here to set the record straight...

A. We live in a world touched by sin, so bad things happen… Death, disease, abuse, pain …really the list can go on and on, the world cannot separate itself from this until His kingdom comes...

Sin brings about hurt, pain and disappointment.

A sin touched world means that bad things happen to good people and bad people alike. Our bodies are touched by sin meaning that break they get sick, weak and fail… death is our end physically...

But the good news is Jesus… That is God’s will for all humanity that we might be saved, enjoy eternity in His presence in a new glorified body, made in the image of Jesus resurrected body..

That day is coming… Praise the Lord.

B. There are consequences to our actions… A person cannot live a part from consequences.

Jump in front of a bus, angels may not save you… no you might just be toast!

Good actions lead to life and Bad actions lead to death, pains disappointment.

C. The Devil is at work in this world... What did Jesus tell us - The devil is the opposite of His agenda. The devil seeks to kill, steal and destroy… He seeks to bring harm to the children of God.

C. The Devil is at work in this world... What did Jesus tell us/ The devil is the opposite of His agenda. The devil seeks to kill, steal and destroy… He seeks to bring harm to the children of God.

But now lets return to His ways…God’s ways

Jeremiah 29:11 ESV

11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

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Lets break this up....

I. Take the word Prosper or welfare.. His plan is to bring peace, from being free from danger. The is first fulfilled in our salvation. But it can continue BUT do not confuse proper with prosperity.

While God promises to bless those who follow him, it does not mean God will make you wealthy. But it does mean He will take care of us...

The thought is truly connected to the idea of completeness. How are we best complete you might ask… with Jesus of course.

Please know, I am not saying money or wealth is evil what we do with it can be… but the Lord seeks to make us whole and well and I believe that begins and ends with Jesus.

II. Not for evil… God does not bring evil into his children’s lives. God is not going to sever his connection to us, He is not going to bring misery or hurt to plague our lives.

Note.... please be aware there are natural consequences to sin, those things we bring upon ourselves. That is not God’s will for your life....

That is why it is incredibly important to walk in His ways that we might not stumble into sin. It will happen if you are not walking with the Lord.

But God does not plan evil for his children....

III. Hope and a Future.... As a good Father, the Lord seeks to bless his children and help them.

As a parent you go without, you give to our children and sacrifice so that they do not suffer. Good parents want to bless and help their children succeed.

Jeremiah says that God desires to give us hope and a future. The verb “to give” in the Greek is ya-tan, it means to cause to have, that we are durable, not easily uprooted. The Lord seeks to establish his people.

The future is that our ending is well. Hope....our confidence is well founded.

This plan, His will for us is His doing and he can bring it all to pass if we walk with the Lord.

If we walk with the Lord...

There is the last truth my friends… this can and will only happen if we walk with the Lord.

How is your walk with the Lord today?

healthy or unhealthy.....

I cannot stress to you how important your daily walk with Jesus is… You must have a devotion time, a prayer time and time when it is just you and Jesus.

And if you can, develop friendships where two can walk together in the Lord.

Walk with Jesus......

And this brings me to my last thought for today my friends…

As we are just a few days away from the New Year, what can we do to walk in the will and purposes of God in 2019.

3. Follow in His Steps....

“What would Jesus do?”

Follow in His Steps....

That is the phrase that was established by Charles Sheldon as he wrote a story about challenging a Congregational church to do nothing apart from asking “Jesus, what would he do....”

Sheldon was a lifelong pastor in Topeka Kansas, he was also one of the first Social gospel reformers. He is determined to know how every social group lives and so he spent a week living with workers, railroad people, college students, and African Americans...

Through out all of this, Sheldon would begin to write a series of articles in hopes of helping advance the Gospel in the lives of people so that God’s kingdom would be established here on earth. those articles would then be pulled together and would form the book, In His Steps....

Now I share this story that walking “In HIs Steps” is only possible as we follow Jesus.

Begin today by asking… Are you walking with Jesus? Then ask yourself, how can you prove it to another.

Do you read the Bible, do you pray daily, do you listen and Seek His will daily? Do you come to church, do your participate with other believers to advance the gospel… Do you walk as Jesus walked?

Charles Spurgeon said "There are no crown-wearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here below.”

So How do you follow in His steps....

I think there is a practical guide to help us....

A. Seek the Kingdom of God First....

Jesus reminds us in the pursuit of life, living here on planet earth.

Matthew 6:33 ESV

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

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The pursuit of life must begin and end with Jesus. Jesus tells us that everyone has basic needs, yet just as God takes care of the birds of the air, the animals of the field, so then He will take care of each of us....

So if we can trust God for the basic necessities of life, can we not live for Him..His ways in all things.

B. Develop a Prayer Life....

I think of the disciples who followed Jesus, they did not say teach us to do miracles, or how to raise the dead… no they asked Jesus to teach us to pray....

Jesus prayed at his baptism, at the transfiguration, in the hills and on solitary places…I can go on and on naming how Jesus prayed… and the fact is simple Jesus prayed and still prays for us, interceding on our behalf..

Romans 8:34 ESV

34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.

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Paul encourages us to pray without ceasing, to always live and exist in an attitude or state of prayer.

The apostles in said they must devote themselves to prayer and to the Word of God.

Be a person that prays… regularly, daily and passionately....

C. Develop a Love for the Word.....

We often pay attention to the things we are devoted too… If we are passionate about it, love it we will not give it up ....

Develop a love for the Word of God.... Make it part of your daily life, it is God’s love letter to you… Read it! memorize it! Cherish it!

Read it.... find and commit to a daily reading plan for the Word of God. There are several plans out there...

Memorize the Word of God.... David reminds u sin Your word have i hid or stored up in my heart that I might not sin against you.

D. Become a fully devoted follower of Jesus...

To be His disciple means that you want and desire to be like Jesus in every way. Not just the ways that are easy and convenient…

Psalm 119:11 ESV

11 I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.

Jesus reminds us that being a disciple means that we must take up our cross daily, meaning we must put self to death and live for Jesus.

Luke 9:57–62 ESV

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Matthew 16:24 ESV

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

The cross was a instrument of death, to see a person carrying a cross out of town meant they were not coming back… death was awaiting them. To be a follower of Jesus means we must die to self and live for him.

Do you remember your baptism, you were buried with Christ, the dead, the old is all gone… You were raised in newness of life.

Galatians 2:20 ESV

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

A disciple is a person who lives and follows Jesus...

And here we are dear friends, on the edge of a new year. God has a plan for you this year, a marvelous plan for you no matter what....

Age doesnt matter,

Race doesn’t matter

Rich, poor in inbetween, nothing matters but Jesus...

Let me ask you a question, do you believe God has a plan for your life?

Will you seek it, embrace it and follow in all through 2019.

Pray