20 Apr HAPPY NEW YEAR! (ARE YOU ADDING ANOTHER YEAR TO YOUR LIFE, OR LIFE TO ANOTHER YEAR?): PART 6
I am an avid college football fan and every fall, Saturday is dedicated to college football. The only problem with that is we are one of the few churches that have both Saturday and Sunday services! So every fall I kindly ask our congregation not to share any football scores with me as I will DVR some of them and watch when my schedule permits. I have one particular team I have rooted for since I was a little boy growing up in Ohio (God’s team…Ohio State!)! So telling me that particular score is particularly taboo.
After services I will stand at the back door with my wife and greet some of the people as they exit.
One fateful Saturday afternoon, one particular mischievous person as they exited said, “Sorry about your team, Pastor.” I thought, “Oh no, my team lost!” So I went home forlorn that my football team lost, but I thought I would watch it anyway. When I replayed the game I wasn’t surprised when the other team got out into the lead. I was expecting this. I was surprised however, when my team came back in the second half to take the lead. However, as the fourth quarter was winding down I was expecting a fumble or interception and the other team coming from behind and stealing the game.
As the clock ticked down into the final minutes, I was so surprised to find out that my team actually held on to the lead and won by one point!! The person in the congregation was simply playing a joke on me! Well, because I thought we had lost, I watched the entire game with a sour attitude…expecting the worst. Therefore I went back and re-watched everything. This time with a great attitude knowing full well that my coach had a plan and we win in the end!
This is very much like God sees your life! He sees the end from the beginning. He has a plan and you will ultimately win! God has a specific and special plan for your life and it’s about time you discover it and fulfill it
If you will allow me a little liberty, these verses could be paraphrased to mean this:
“See then that you are preoccupied with walking diligently in a straight line. Not like unwise unbelievers that don’t know Jesus, but as wise (people who see life from God’s perspective). Buying back all the Divine opportunities that you possibly can because this culture is evil. Because of that, don’t be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is!”
In these powerful verses it is clear that God wants you (yes, you!) to clearly understand His plan for your life in 2021 and beyond! As always, let’s discover how!
Last month we discussed “Three Plan Principles”:
- Acknowledge that God has a plan for your life (Jer. 29:11).
“Three Acknowledge Axioms”:
- God has a wonderful plan for your life…not a wonderful life for YOUR plan!
- Destiny is not to be decided. Destiny is to be discovered.
- What you were created for is connected to who you were created by.
- Accept God’s plan for your life (Mark 8:35).
“Eight Accept Axioms”:
- If we always do what we want to do, we may end up where we don’t want to be!
This month let’s continue….
- If you get whatever you want now…you may not get what you really want later.
In other words, you might really want that new boat now, so you work overtime to get it at the expense of your family.
- Never trade in the ultimate for the immediate.
Over 30 years ago, I was boarding a plane on my way to Tulsa to ask Anne to marry me. I had a ring and was going to ask her father for her hand in marriage. As I sat down in my seat, a young woman was assigned to sit next to me. She was very forward and initiated conversation with me. As she continued in our conversation she became increasingly brazen and let me know in no uncertain terms that I could have my way with her that night. Now, most of you know me and what I look like…I was not used to this sexual overtness!
I wish I could tell you that I gave her a Bible verse or some wise Pastor Jim nugget, but I was so taken aback by the whole situation all I could come up with at the time was, “Oh look, a terrorist!” That is literally what came out of my flabbergasted mouth at this very pivotal time! While it was not a Bible verse, as you can imagine, it changed the whole tone of the conversation. By the time we were landing, things had so turned around that we were praying for her husband!
You see, this was the devil’s last ditch attempt to subvert God’s wonderful plan for Anne and me, and our ministry together. However I refused to trade in the ultimate for the immediate!
Join us next week as we continue our series…