“What Are Your Plans?” By Brother Kenneth Ray October 7th,
2012 Have you ever had someone ask you
the question, “What are you up to?” or “What do you have going on?” Chances are, you were being asked about that
day’s events and how you plan to address it.
They wanted to know about the next five minutes. Now, have you ever had someone ask
you this question, “What are your plans?”
Tis question lends itself to a more in-depth thought process. You are being asked to express a view that
extends further down the road (more than just here and now). If you have a grand plan, you may give a very
detailed view of it. If you have a
smaller plan, you may give a little less detailed view. If you have no plan, you will just say so;
you will say, “I don’t know.” NOTE: Not everyone in life has the same size plan,
and, it is possible that the size of your plan will change. This morning, we are going to take a
look at several different people in the Bible with several different plans. First, Moses was a man, who, at the
point we meet him, had a fairly simple plan. Exodus 3:1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his
father in law… He’s keeping the sheep (or whatever
livestock they had). Moses had been born
of a Hebrew slave, and she made a little ark for him, and his sister watched
him. He got adopted by Pharaoh’s daughter (so he essentially became a prince),
but then he saw an Egyptian man mistreating one of the Israelites, so he killed
the Egyptian man and buried his body in the sand. The next day, he saw two of the Israelites
arguing, and he said, “You are brothers,” and one of them said, “Will you kill
me, as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?”
Moses then realized that it was known.
Pharaoh wanted Moses dead. Moses
fled to the land of Midian where he kept flocks. He is not seeking fame, but a simple life. If you read verse 2, you see that we
are looking at the story known as the burning bush. God speaks to Moses and asked the question, “What
are your plans?” He doesn’t use those
exact words, but that’s essentially what he’s asking. Exodus 3:9 …I have also seen the oppression wherewith
the Egyptians oppress them. So, what are you going to do about
it? Exodus 3:10 …I will send thee unto Pharaoh that thou
mayest bring forth My people… So, Moses asks, “What are your
plans?” and God responds, “I have something for you to do; I have a work that
needs to be done.” Moses was a very
humble man, and slow of speech. He
immediately began making excuses. God
gave him the help he needed and used him to see the Children of Israel come out
of Egypt. Maybe you need someone to help
you fulfill the plans. Second, Saul (Paul) was a
well-learned man; he had a vast background of knowledge in many things,
customs, standards, way of life, and culture.
Paul was a man of influence. He
would not have rubbed elbows with the middle class; he would have rubbed elbows
with the upper class. He was a member of
one of the two major religious sects of the time; he was a Pharisee. The other sect was the Sadducees; the
difference between them was that the Pharisees believed in the resurrection,
but the Sadducees didn’t. In Paul’s own
words: Acts 26:5 … after the most straitest sect of our
religion I lived a Pharisee. Philippians 3:5 …an Hebrew of the Hebrews… As the movement of Jesus came about
and His ministry and fame grew, Paul felt that his religion was threatened
(what did they accuse Jesus of? teaching things contrary to the Law of Moses). So Paul (Saul) went about to destroy it,
putting some people in jail, and putting some people to death. So, one day Paul was on the road to
Damascus, and God spoke to Paul, and blinded him. God told him it is hard to kick against the
pricks. Paul had a ‘What are your plans?’
moment. His plans kicked against the
pricks of the Holy Ghost. Sometimes we
get stubborn, because things are changing, and God is dealing with us about how
we need to change, but we don’t want to change, and so we kick against the
pricks—the Holy Ghost trying to lead us.
We say, “Oh, no, we’re NOT going down that road.” Sometimes we tell God, “I’m not going to tell
you my plan so that you can’t change it,” or am I the only one that does that? God spoke to Ananias about Paul: Acts 9:11-14 …enquire in the house of Judas for one
called Saul… Ananias is a little scared; can’t
somebody else do this? Acts
9:15-16 …Go thy way: for he is a chosen
vessel unto me… God had to ask Ananias, “What’s your
plan?” God changed both their
plans. Anyone here ever hold a grudge? Don’t
raise your hand. Paul went from being
the one doing to being one of the ones that it was being done to. Can you imagine what it must have been like for
the people in the church? Some of them
knew people that had been killed because of Paul, now they had to forgive him
and work with him. Pau became one of the
most powerful men in the New Testament.
Be careful about your plans. Now we have talked about a man in
the Old Testament that may have been the most humble man in the Bible, and we
have talked about a man in the New Testament who was not humble at all, in
fact, you might even say that he was arrogant.
Is that all there is? I mean,
some of us are humble some days and arrogant on other days… There is another group of people that
you might fit into: The Twelve. We know that one was a tax collector, and
some were fishermen, but, how about this description: unlearned and ignorant. Acts 4:13 … Peter and John, and perceived that
they were unlearned and ignorant men… I don’t think I would want that to
be my greatest accolade, but, they acknowledged that these men had been with
Jesus. The humble, slow of speech; the well-learned
and of influence; or the unlearned and ignorant—our plans differ one from
another, but all can, and are used when placed in God’s hands. I don’t need the ability; I’m not
applying for a job. It is all about
putting yourself in God’s hands. Maybe
there’s something that you feel strongly about.
Why do you feel strongly about it?
When you spend time with God, you will understand why you feel strongly
about it. Time spent with Jesus reveals
a lot about who we are, what we want, what we will try, and the things that
make us both go and stop. It will
encourage you to start something new, or to continue doing something
right. Consider what is most important
to Christ. Meet a Savior who
loves you so very much. Me and Jesus got
a thing, and I’m not ashamed at all. It
can cause you to consider and to do things that you never could see yourself
doing. As you look deeper into God’s
love and further down the road you travel, it just might touch you in such a
way that your plans get changed. They
know your weakness; you, too, know your weakness, but it won’t stop God from
choosing you or using you if you make an excuse. You answer a call, maybe by asking a question
of Jesus, “What are Your plans? Here am
I, send me.” Sermon notes by Pete Shepherd |
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