Last week we looked at who are the lost sheep. Now that we know who they are, we’re going to look at the importance of seeking God’s exact plan for your life. It’s so incredibly important, we’ll spend two weeks talking about God’s Plan, and then the final week we’ll look at what Jesus revealed about those who don’t choose God’s Plan.
Let’s jump right into…
Ephesians 2:10 NKJV
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
The word work in Greek is ergon and means deed, doing, labor, and work. It’s derived from the word meaning to work. Paul is telling us that God has created a work plan for your life that you have to walk out. We were all born with a divine purpose, a divine call, or as I like to say it, an assignment. It’s our job as Christians to pray and seek God about His Plan for our lives. It’s not just something that we should do, but something that is required of us, as we will see later in this study.
You may feel like you don’t know anything, you’re behind, and bad. Don’t! People in the Bible were just like us, behind, missed it, and some never did anything at all. Let’s look at some stories in the Bible in the light of “God’s Plan,” or assignment and how handled it.
Sampson.
We all know the story of Sampson, and how he had supernatural strength from God. But let’s look at how he handled the Plan of God.
Judges 14:12 NKJV
Then Samson said to them, “Let me pose a riddle to you.
Back up in verse 4, it’s revealed to us that the Lord had ordained this marriage to move in on the Philistines. But Sampson wasn’t doing what he was supposed to do. He was posing riddles and making bets for clothing. This wasn’t his purpose or anointed call. As a result of this…
v. 15 But it came to pass on the seventh day that they said to Samson’s wife, “Entice your husband, that he may explain the riddle to us, or else we will burn you and your father’s house with fire.
Sampson’s wife caved in and as a result, God had to change The Plan.
v. 19 Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave the changes of clothing to those who had explained the riddle. So his anger was aroused, and he went back up to his father’s house. 20 And Samson’s wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.
Sampson, in that moment, was supposed to be alert because he was in the enemy’s camp. He was supposed to be keeping a listening ear to the Holy Spirit as to what his next action should be, but he didn’t and everything got worse from there…
Judges 15:1 NKJV
After a while, in the time of wheat harvest, it happened that Samson visited his wife
It wasn’t his wife anymore, but he still stopped by to see her as a husband. The father tells him no, and so…
v. 4 Then Samson went and caught three hundred foxes; and he took torches, turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. 5 When he had set the torches on fire, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines, and burned up both the shocks and the standing grain, as well as the vineyards and olive groves.
They can’t just go to Walmart and buy a supply here. He did some major damage! The Philistines went to Israel and tried to arrest them if they didn’t hand over Sampson. They handed him over, the Spirit of God came up on him, and he killed 1,000 Philistines with a jawbone of a donkey. This is what he was created to do, this was God’s Plan, fighting not gambling with riddles.
We don’t know what the original Plan of God was, but we can see the cause and effect of not following The Plan the way we’re supposed to follow it. Let’s jump to end where Sampson didn’t follow The Plan again…
Judges 16:1 NKJV
Now Samson went to Gaza and saw a harlot there…
Sampson liked the ladies. I think we can all see that. When the enemy found out he was there, they were waiting to kill him. God has to save him again!
v. 3 And Samson lay low till midnight; then he arose at midnight, took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two gateposts, pulled them up, bar and all, put them on his shoulders, and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron.
That wasn’t enough to stop him from doing Sampon’s will, because…
v. 4 Afterward it happened that he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.
Afterward, meaning right after, the next notable event. Sampson trained himself to tune the Holy Spirit out so many times he couldn’t see right through Delilah. Everything he told her; she promptly did it. How did he not know? How could he not see it coming? He wanted that relationship at all costs, he was living in a dream world.
v. 20 So he awoke from his sleep, and said, “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the Lord had departed from him. 21 Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes…
He betrayed the Lord for the wrong relationship. It ended with his eyes being destroyed. How many people, and I’m probably included, would say, “God!!!! Why did YOU let his happen?? Why is this happening to ME?” Sometimes we’re so involved in our own plans that we miss God, bad things happen down the wrong road, and then we get upset when we meet them. We’re now under grace because of the blood of Jesus, thank You Jesus, and God can turn things around better for us when we’re repentant and willing to work!!
We all know the end of the story, they brought Sampson out to preform for them, and he ended up pushing the pillars over that supported the temple. In the end the Bible records, “he killed at his death… more than he had killed in his life.”
It was never God’s Plan for him to fall into the hands of the enemy, lose his eyes, and die this way. When considering God’s Plan and reading this story, one thing we should note is God is willing to work with us and our mistakes until we completely shut Him out in betrayal. While we may not have Sampson’s ability, some of us insist on marrying the wrong person, taking the wrong job, moving to the wrong place, following the wrong people, living a sinful life, and so on until we become completely deaf to the Holy Spirit. When we find destruction down that path, we reflect, and often blame God. Moving on to a New Testament example of missing God’s Plan.
John the Baptist
Another popular Bible story, the man who preceded Jesus and prophesied about Him. John said of Jesus and himself in…
John 3:30 NKJV
He must increase, but I must decrease.
At the end of the previous verse, John said, “Therefore this joy of mine is fulfilled.” Great, John prophesied his retirement. Instead of retiring…
Matthew 14:3-4 NKJV
3 For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 4 Because John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
Marching into Herod’s Court and openly saying his sin was not God’s Retirement Plan. This was NOT a decrease, but an increase for John to elevate himself to correct a ruler. Let’s look at why this wasn’t God’s Plan. Not only did John the Baptist prophesy his retirement, let’s see what was said of Jesus’ purpose…
John 3:17 NKJV
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
John was outside of God’s Plan when he condemned Herod. John was probably supposed to retire until Pentecost and catch a second wind of ministry. That’s my guess! We may have had a book in the Bible of John the Baptist. But, once he was in prison, let’s see how he lost his head…
Matthew 11:2-6 NKJV
2 And when John had heard in prison about the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?”
4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: 5 The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”
John prophesied of Jesus, but now he’s stuck in prison for missing God, and probably very discouraged. We would probably be very upset too!! But John starts to doubt the deity of Jesus, doubting the prophesy that came through him to the point he is offended. He’s locked in an ancient prison, but Jesus is eating, drinking, and having a good time. We know the end of his story, but here we see how he lost his head. He was offended, and no doubt angry as well. When we view John’s story in the light of God’s Plan, the lesson we should take away from this is that nothing will completely stop God’s Recovery Plan faster than offense. Once he was offended, if Jesus had him delivered from the prison, like he may have wanted, He would be a respecter of persons.
It doesn’t matter if you know what you’re called to or not, everyone’s plan must be prayed out for their lives. We need specific details along the way so that we don’t walk forward and then stay in the same place year after year for 20 or 30 or 40 years. People know they’re called to start a business for evangelism. They do it, and then that’s it. They plan, they plan not God, on passing it to their children and raise the children that way. They never seek God for the next step or consider their children aren’t called to carry on the business. Doesn’t matter what it is, we all should be seeking God for His Devine Plan.
Some people say, “All things work together for those that love and serve the Lord.” Let’s look at that before we close the study this week…
Romans 8:28
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
To those who are the called according to His purpose. We have a call to carry out His purpose. Unless you’re working/laboring, as we read in the opening scripture, all things won’t work together for good. Believe it or not, your call is birthed out of love, God’s love for people. Why would you start a business to evangelize according to God’s call? Because you love the people.
People love to use these scriptures for securing their salvation doctrine, but that’s not what he’s saying! Let’s look at verse 30…
Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified:
Those predestined have a call, and are required to walk it out. Not just sitting on the couch watching comedies eating cheese doodles, because you said “the prayer and believed.” In my opinion, it’s arrogant for people to teach others they’re going to Heaven, they’re justified, glorified, and blessed just because… We are called to work!
Philippians 2:12-13 NKJV
12 …work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Work in Greek is katergazomai and means perform, work (out). Work it out, or get to work.
Next week we will continue the study on God’s Plan for your life. We’ll study more about the importance of God’s Plan, how to pray, and how to get started today on that plan.
Father, I thank You for Your teaching, and opening up the scriptures to us in ways we have never seen before. Help us water the Word and produce fruit. Holy Spirit please remind up to seek God for His Plan and Will for our lives. We don’t want to leave this Earth not fulfilling The Plan and miss out on the greatness we’ve been called to receive. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Christi
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