Working the Plan

WORKING THE PLAN

Ephesians 5:15-17

POINT: God has a plan for the world and He’s inviting you to play a part.

We are sitting here this morning just 10 days into a brand-new year…

… We finally have 2020 in our rear-view mirror…

… and let’s just say… it was a year like no other we’ve ever experienced…

… a year that has revealed just how broken and divided we are as a nation

… a year that nationally and even globally has been packed full of

confusion, fear, and corruption…

… And watching the events last Wednesday play out in our nation’s capital it

seems like (at least on a political level) 2021 isn’t starting much better…

… And the truth is… we’ve all experienced times of change and transition before…

… We’ve witnessed and felt the impact of our nation moving in a direction we

didn’t really appreciate…

… BUT somehow it feels like the changes we’ve experienced as a nation over these last several months carry a greater weight…

… That somehow these changes are having an irreversible effect on our country

… And for me at least… it leaves me wondering and asking…

… “Is it even possible for things to go back to the way they were before?”

… “Is it possible for us to recover what’s been lost?... or is our country changed

forever?”

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Now for us Jesus Lovers… we know Jesus warned us about times like this in John 16:33

… Times when those things we have found comfort in will be shaken or lost…

… But He finishes out His warning by giving us the assurance that even in the midst of those difficult times that we can find strength and confidence in the fact that He has overcome our battles…

… That God hasn’t abandoned us or checked out on America…

… That He will ALWAYS remain true to His Word to be with us… NO MATTER WHAT

But even with knowing all of that… I can’t help but look around at what seems to be the path our nation is headed and ask… “Lord, where are you in all of this?”

… I mean the more broken and divided we become as a nation…

… The further away from Godliness and Biblical Morality we drift…

… The more we ask God to intervene, and yet it seems like He doesn’t…

… It leaves us asking the question… “Lord, where are you in all of this?”

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Now I don’t know about you but History wasn’t really my thing in school… I just didn’t care…

… And now that I’m an adult, I really do regret not paying closer attention in

class because I honestly enjoy history now… especially Biblical History…

… But I say all of that as a kind of warning… Because we’re about to talk history for a minute…

You see in the chronology of the Bible we read about several empires that were at their own respective times the most powerful empire in the world…

… Babylonian (Nebechednezzar)

… Medo Persian (Xerxes and Darius)

… Greek Empire (which was established by Alexander the Great)

… Probably the most powerful was the Roman empire… (Ceasars)

And each of these empires had their own way of ruling but it seems by far the cruelest was the Roman empire…

… They were just ruthless and cruel and they ruled with an iron fist…

FUN FACT: In the book of Daniel which was written almost 400 years before Rome entered the scene (536BC)… Daniel prophesied that the Roman empire would come in and defeat the Greek empire (which was the empire established by Alexander the Great)… and that the Romans would take over as the superpower… (this prophecy was fulfilled in 146BC)

… And the goal of Roman empire was COMPLETE DOMINATION…

… and they were very successful at it…

… We see throughout the New Testament writings… as well as other secular writings of that time… just how ruthless and cruel the Romans were… How they persecuted the early Followers of Jesus…

… How emperor after emperor… Nero… Marcus Aurelius… Decius… Diocletian…

and so many more… were fixated on completely erasing all traces of Christianity

… And under the iron fist of these ruthless leaders… the early church watched as the Roman empire strategically shifted the culture of the Jewish people away from God…

… How the country they loved was irreversibly changed…

… How the freedoms and liberties they enjoyed were taken from them…

… and although I was not there… I have to imagine these early Christians found themselves asking the same question we are asking today… “Lord, where are you in all of this?”

… Now before you start to think this is going to be a “SUCK IT UP SNOWFLAKE” kind of sermon… I need you to hear what I’m about to say…

… It’s true that the Roman empire was incredibly dominant…

… They were powerful and would stop at nothing to advance their purpose…

… They were full of corruption and unapologetically mocked the God of Heaven

… They used unthinkable tactics to stamp out the small band of People who

were preaching the Name of Jesus…

But today… If you want to learn about the Roman empire… the only way you can do that is by reading about it in a history book…

… because like every empire that came before it… the Roman empire was wiped

out… it no longer exists…

But here’s the cool part… that little band of people… those followers of Jesus the Roman empire tried so hard to destroy…

… Those men and women who proclaimed the message of Jesus as the Hope

and the Light of the World…

… Well their message has not only endured, but it grown exponentially…

… It has reached every corner of the earth…

… It has changed the lives of millions and brought hope and salvation to

all who choose to accept it.

… AND CAN I TELL YOU WHY?… BECAUSE even in the midst of all the ugliness and the corruption and persecution those early Christians faced… GOD HAD A PLAN…

… And it didn’t matter how powerful Rome was… GOD’S PLAN WOULD SUCCEED

… and can I tell you what that means for you and me 2000 years later… right here in the middle of all the ugliness we watch on our evening news… even in the midst of all the chaos… the corruption, fear and uncertainty?…

It means that not only is God aware of what is happening here in America…

…Not only did He know about Covid and the chaos that would come along with it

… Not only did He know about the presidential election and the decay of our

government system…

… Not only did He know about the changes that are pushing our nation away

from Godliness…

Not only did He know about these things… But He has a Plan to bring Hope and Life and Healing to every person who is searching…

… HE has a plan to bring unity and love where division and hate now exist…

… AND THAT PLAN IS YOU AND ME…

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- Now I can hear your thoughts… “Come on Pastor Roger… IS that really you’re A GAME material??... God has a Plan for the world and I am it!”

- I’ve heard this as long as I’ve been a Christian…”

- But hold on a second… I’m not asking this morning if you KNOW this TRUTH… I’m asking if you BELIEVE it!

- You see… whether you want to admit it or not… there’s a huge difference between knowing something and believing something.

- I KNOW the theory of evolution… BUT I don’t BELIEVE the theory of Evolution.

- And let’s be honest it isn’t knowledge that determines our behavior… It’s belief.

- So here’s my question today…

IF you not only KNEW… but actually BELIEVED… that God had a plan for America… even in middle of all this madness…

AND you genuinely BELIEVED that He wanted you to play a Leading Role in carrying out this plan…

… How would that belief effect your DECISIONS?

Slide

The apostle Paul says this about our decisions… Ephesians 5:15-17 NLT

“Be careful how you live,

- In light of knowing that God has a specific purpose for your life… that out of the billions of people that live in this world, God, the creator of the world, has a plan that only you can accomplish…

… in light of this you have to be careful how you live...

“not as fools but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.”

- You see Paul was commissioned by God to help lead these early Christians through the terrible persecution they were facing… and he tells them, “Guys especially in these turbulent times… you have to be careful how you live… You have to remember that you are playing a role in bringing hope and Life and Healing to our broken nation… So, don’t act thoughtlessly…”

… For us today HE may well be saying… Church you have to be careful how you live…

… Quit getting caught up in all this media hype…

… Stop allowing yourself to get dragged into the conversations that just breed

fear and frustration…

… And I’m begging you… stop allowing fear and uncertainty to drive your

decision making…

- Instead you need to make sure you’re being really careful…

… Refuse to act before you think,

… Resist the temptation to just fall in line with what everyone else is saying or

doing…

… b/c church, you are playing a leading role in God’s plan for America…

… So you need to do whatever is necessary to know and understand what God

wants you to do…

… You need to be relentless in getting rid of any distraction that might stand in

the way of your hearing from Him…

… and then make His plan the filter by which you make your decisions.”

- Can you imagine the difference it would make in our lives if instead of allowing ourselves to be victimized by the chaos and division of the world around us… we would instead not just KNOW but BELIEVE that our lives are specifically designed to play a leading role in the plan that God has for this time in history…?

… Be honest this morning… For you personally… How different would your decision-

making process be if you truly believed God was counting on you?... that you were built for such a time as this?

- I feel like somehow those things that were so important would become a

little less important.

- Suddenly the cost of that new promotion… new toy… new hobby wouldn’t

be so easy to pay.

- Somehow some of those Spiritual Habits you have gradually started to

neglect would find their place back to priority…

… Not because it’s easy… not because everyone else around you is doing it… But because Your Heavenly Father is counting on you… You are His plan to bring hope to your friends… your family… your coworkers…

- And the reality is… There’s no way your life can remain the same when you go beyond KNOWING you are God’s plan and you start BELIEVING it.

...I’m not saying you’re going to go sell your possessions and move to some foreign country…

… or that you’ll stop moving up the ranks at work...

… or stop looking for that new house or car…

… What I’m saying is that these pursuits will all of the sudden begin to take their place in the grand design that God has for your life.

- That His PURPOSE… His reason for Creating you… becomes the priority and the other things become secondary… not excluded, but not priority #1.

- It’s what Jesus was trying to teach us when He said…

Slide

Matthew 6:33-34 NCV

“The thing you should want most is God's kingdom and doing what God wants. Then all these other things you need will be given to you.”

- Jesus… says… I know that job is important to you… that new house is important to you… that vacation is important to you… and b/c it’s important you it’s important to me… So here’s the deal… you spend your time doing the things that I have created you to do… play the role I created you to play… and leave the rest of that stuff to me… I’ll take care of it.”

- I don’t know about you… but my only question is “Where do I sign?”

… I can count on God to help me walk through this next season without fear?...

… I can count on Him to take care of my needs… to provide for me and my family… and all I have to do is do the very thing that He created me to do… the very thing He has gifted me to do… I’ve never had a better offer than that… have you?

Slide

Proverbs says it like this….. (3:6 – ) LB

“In everything you do, put God first, and he will direct you and, crown your efforts with success.”

- So why do we all struggle so much when it seems things are going off the rails?

… Why do we find ourselves having the same conversations as everyone around us?

… Why do we feel the same sense of dread as the people we’re talking to?

- The answer is… Because we treat the TRUTH like we treat the theory of evolution…

- We KNOW that God has a plan for hope and healing…

AND - We KNOW He wants us to play a leading role in that plan…

BUT - We just don’t BELIEVE it.

- Now of course we would never say that, but then again we don’t have to do we?

- Because the proof of what we believe is ALWAYS played out in what we do…

Let me ask you this… what would it look like FOR YOU if you made this TRUTH… that God has a plan to bring hope and healing to the people all around you… and His plan is you…

… What would happen if you made that your deeply held belief?

… What would happen if you started to measure every decision in this light?

… Will this move I’m looking to make move me closer to fulfilling God’s plan or

farther away?

- Can I tell you what I think would start to happen???

- We would start intentionally aligning our lives with the very things God created

us to do…

- We would start cooperating with God instead of fighting Him and the result of

that will be what Proverbs tells us...

Proverbs 3:6 –

“He will direct you and, crown your efforts with success.”

- And then when you encounter people who are gripped by the fear of what is happening all around them… suddenly you are able to share the Hope and Life and Healing God is wanting to offer them…

… Because for you it has gone past knowledge and is now BELIEF

Slide

BOW HEADS