VISION 2024 – REACH UP TO YOUR FULL POTENTIAL

…BECAUSE HE KNOWS THE PLANS HE HAS FOR YOU (PART 1)

OVERVIEW OF OUR VISION FOR 2024

God wants the very best for you. God wants you to reach your full potential – in all that you are, and in all that you do. God loves you so much that He is longing for you to allow Him to be active in helping you become everything that you can be. He is always with you. He will never leave you nor forsake you. He is Almighty God, able to do all things for you. He is awesome! He has placed in you Himself – Ruach – the Holy Spirit and calls you this year to walk with the Spirit.

This can be the year of Shanar for you – the year of change. Be bold, and, in the words that I heard spoken by Ruth O’Reilly-Smith on UCB2 this very day, “step into the new” this year.

And when you, like the Apostle Peter before you, look down at the wind and the waves of life that threaten to overwhelm you (see Matthew 14), and when like Gideon you ask “who am I to do great things for God? I am nothing, I am no-one!” (see Judges 6), then remember the promise “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4: 13).

So, our Vision 2024 is this: reach up to your full potential, grasp hold of all that God has for you, and step into the new. How exciting this will be!

Today is a message of great hope – He has plans for our lives…BIG plans! What a privilege – that we, little we, have been called to a real purpose that He has prepared for us. I don’t want to miss out on this – do you? When we know the plans He has for us then we can reach up to them and therefore begin to fulfil our full potential…

GOD HAS BIG PLANS FOR US – LET US SEIZE THEM!

God gave to Jeremiah, early in the 6th C BC, a letter to be sent to the Jews in exile in Babylon. This letter contains the passage that is most often cited as evidence that God has BIG plans for us…

This is what the LORD says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfil my good promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.’ (Jeremiah 29: 10-14)

This is a wonderful passage – and speaks so much into our Vision 2024 – but it is so often taken out of context. We must look at the “then, now and future” meanings of this wonderful portion of Scripture.

THEN:

Jeremiah was speaking to the people of Israel who had been carried away into exile to Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. False prophets were saying that their time in exile was going to be short. The

truth was that this was going to be a long haul. Many – most – of those who had been sent into exile would never return to the Promised Land – they had to work out the consequences of their sin. The promise of God was that they would be in exile – because of their sins, their rebellion against Him, their turning to other gods – for 70 years, but that then He would bring them back to Israel…because He has plans for them! So we must remember that Jeremiah 29 verse 11 was written to a specific people, at a specific time, for a specific purpose.

NOW:

There are three questions that I want to focus on – three questions that come to my mind as I contemplate the plans I am told God has for me:

· DOES He have plans for me? Are they not just grand plans for nations and the universe. Am I not just an insignificant spec in the vastness of the cosmos? Does He REALLY have plans for my life?

· He is God Almighty. He can do anything. There is nothing I can do, surely, to stop His plans from fruition. Can’t I just sit back and accept the inevitable – which will happen in any case? Or can I delay God’s plans? Or can I even STOP God’s plans?

· What about if I am a “bad” person? I certainly don’t feel worthy of any plans that He might have for me. Does He have plans for my life even when I am not good?

YES! HE DOES HAVE PLANS FOR MY LIFE

It could be argued that Jeremiah’s letter is speaking of the plans God has for a nation. But the Bible, from beginning to end, is a catalogue of God amazingly having plans for each one of us. I simply choose three – you can find many more with a simple “Google Search”…

Psalm 40 verse 5 tells us this:

Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

When we pray “The Lord’s Prayer” we cry out: “Your will be done”. God’s “will” is His plan – for us and not just the world.

And Paul writes in Ephesians 2: 10 –

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

He has plans for us – for you and for me. We too might be languishing in problems and difficulties – some due to just being part of a fallen world, others due to the consequences of how we choose to live our lives, some may be even due to the discipline of God on us because of our lifestyle choices. But God has plans for us! Plans to give us hope now and a future to come – not just a hope and a future in our eternal home, but a hope and a future now!

The KJV translates this verse in a slightly different, but equally acceptable (and very beautiful) way:

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

How wonderful it is to know from this Scripture that God has us on His mind – and that He is constantly thinking about us, and never forgets about us.

The teaching of the Book of Jonah will help us to answer the questions that I have posed…

HOW GOD’S PLANS “WORK” – AS REVEALED THROUGH JONAH

1 The word of the LORD came to Jonah son of Amittai: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.”

There you go…God’s will is made known to His servant Jonah – a man like you and me – a man who is listening to what God is saying…BUT…

3 But Jonah ran away from the LORD and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the LORD.

4 Then the LORD sent a great wind on the sea, and such a violent storm arose that the ship threatened to break up. 5 All the sailors were afraid and each cried out to his own god. And they threw the cargo into the sea to lighten the ship.

But Jonah had gone below deck, where he lay down and fell into a deep sleep. 6 The captain went to him and said, “How can you sleep? Get up and call on your god! Maybe he will take notice of us so that we will not perish.”

7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots to find out who is responsible for this calamity.” They cast lots and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 So they asked him, “Tell us, who is responsible for making all this trouble for us? What kind of work do you do? Where do you come from? What is your country? From what people are you?”

9 He answered, “I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”

10 This terrified them and they asked, “What have you done?” (They knew he was running away from the LORD, because he had already told them so.)

11 The sea was getting rougher and rougher. So they asked him, “What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?”

12 “Pick me up and throw me into the sea,” he replied, “and it will become calm. I know that it is my fault that this great storm has come upon you.”

13 Instead, the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before. 14 Then they cried out to the LORD, “Please, LORD, do not let us die for taking this man’s life. Do not hold us accountable for killing an innocent man, for you, LORD, have done as you pleased.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the raging sea grew calm. 16 At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.

17 Now the LORD provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

2 1 From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. 2 He said:

Well…Jonah said a lot here and you can read it in chapter 2 of the book. But, for me, and for the purpose of this message, the key part of his prayer is the very last bit…

What I have vowed I will make good. I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the LORD.’”

10 And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

What had Jonah vowed? I think his vow was to serve the Lord with all his heart, with all his mind and with all his strength. The same vow that you and I, as Talmidim (disciples) should have already made to God…

3 Then the word of the LORD came to Jonah a second time: 2 “Go to the great city of Nineveh and proclaim to it the message I give you.”

3 Jonah obeyed the word of the LORD and went to Nineveh. Now Nineveh was a very large city; it took three days to go through it. 4 Jonah began by going a day’s journey into the city, proclaiming, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overthrown.” 5 The Ninevites believed God. A fast was proclaimed, and all of them, from the greatest to the least, put on sackcloth.

6 When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. 7 This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh:

“By the decree of the king and his nobles:

Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. 8 But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. 9 Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”

10 When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.

And we know what happened then…Jonah was angry that God had mercy on such a wicked people – he said that knowing how loving God was, was the reason that he ran away from doing God’s will in the first place! God had to teach him that He loves all people and is longing to bring them back to Him. He is not willing that any should perish – even the evil people like the Assyrians.

So, here are the two messages that I want to share with you about God’s plans for our lives…

1. WILL GOD’S PLANS FOR MY LIFE ALWAYS COME TO PASS?

Having plans do not mean a certainty that they will happen.

I remember great plans that we had as a church that I led many years ago – plans to tear down our old church and built something much bigger. Architects plans were drawn up…but the work never began. Plans do not always come to fruition…

This is where WE come in. God has us on His mind at all times. He has great plans for us. Are we, though, mere automatons or robots that have no choice in the matter? Are plans, certainties? Can we thwart the plans that God has for us? Can we refuse to receive the plans He has for us? Of COURSE we can! We have to know the plans that He has for our lives. We have to accept and embrace His plans for our lives. We have to work out the plans that God has for our lives. When we pray “The Lord’s Prayer”, we pray “Your will be done” – we are asking God to align us to His will, and in saying this we acknowledge that we can walk away from His will. Look at Jonah – he refused the plans that God had for his life. He ran in the opposite direction to the direction that God had called him to go. God, because of His love and His grace, pursued Jonah, stopped Jonah in his tracks, brought Jonah to where He planned him to be – Ninevah, the capital city of the evil Assyrian Empire. But Jonah had to himself accept God’s will even then, and even then could have refused to do God’s will for his life.

I believe that there is the “Big Picture” and the “Specific Picture”.

· The “Big Picture” is the plan – the irrevocable plan – that God has for the world. Nothing will stop this happening. God did create the world. God did set aside the Jews to be His people. God did send Jesus. Jesus did die for my sins. Christ did rise from the dead. Nothing was able to stop God’s will being done. Jesus is coming again. Satan will be defeated. There will be a New Heavens and a New Earth. We will live with Him for eternity. Nothing will stop God’s will being done. But there are delays as satan seeks to thwart God’s plan.

· The “Specific Picture” is the plan that God has for my life – for your life. Plans as to what we are called to do in work and service; plans as to where we are to serve; plans as to with whom we are to serve Him; plans as to when we are born and when we shall die. It is THESE plans that we can choose to refuse. But again, learn the lesson of Jonah. God loves us so much that He will do everything in His power to bring us back to Him. For His plans are plans to “prosper” us, to give us “hope and a future”. They are the very best plans for us.

We have the choice to make: to search for His plans for our lives; to lean into God’s specific plans for our lives; to embrace His plans for our lives; or to run away from them or simply neglect them.

2. DOES GOD REALLY HAVE PLANS FOR ME WHEN I AM NOT IN A GOOD PLACE?

You might know that you are not in a good place with God. The Jews weren’t when Jeremiah was writing down his prophecy. But here is the good news: God still had plans for them – even though they were not right before Him. He knew their hearts. He knew that they were, in exile, going to learn their lesson, turn back to Him, worship Him alone. He never gave up on them – no matter how hard He had to discipline them to get their attention. In the same way, let no-one say that they are too far away from God for Him to care, to have any plans for them. Even now – even when you need to make the change (the Shanar); when you need to repent; when you need to sort your life out – even now, God has wonderful plans for you. The choice is now yours – it’s up to you – carry on as you are and maybe the plans that He has for you will never be realised. What a waste that will be! Or make the change now. Become the disciple, the Talmidim, that He is inviting you to be. Then, like the Jews at the time of the return from exile, you will enter into the fulness of His plans for you.

Oh…I have said that most prophecies have a “then, now and future” aspect to them. Let me quickly finish with the future aspect to Jeremiah’s prophecy –

FUTURE:

As foretold through Jeremiah God has already begun to regather His Chosen People, the Jews, from the four corners of the world (where they were scattered during the late 1st C AD with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD) and return them to Israel. And there will be a time when Jesus returns from Heaven to earth and will gather His Chosen People – the Church – from the four corners of the earth. We will meet Him in the sky and will be brought to our eternal home – the New Jerusalem – Heaven! As we keep on saying about this: Are you ready?

THE CHALLENGE OF GOD’S PLANS AS WE REACH UP TO OUR FULL POTENTIAL

So there you have it. God DOES have plans for the universe, for the world…and for you.

These plans for you are His loving and caring plans, proposals, hopes that He has for your life. He created you with these plans in mind. He wants the very best for you. He wants you to reach up to your full potential in Him this year. He will be with you. He will give you His Spirit to bring these plans to fruition.

But out of His great love for you, he HAS given you free will. Like Jonah you can run away from the plans He has for you. Like Jonah you can then choose to embrace those plans that He has for you.

The devil and his demons will do their very best to persuade you that you are not good enough for God to have big plans for. Do not listen to the enemy. They are liars and they are deceivers. They are bent on destroying you. But greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. Resist the devil and he will flee from you as you submit to God and to His wonderful plans that He has for you…the trick is to know what they are…maybe we shall look at this question next time…

APPENDIX: THE PLANS GOD HAS FOR YOU

The Baptist pastor Charles McCall wrote in 2011 that this verse gives us 7 truths about God –

1. God’s Word never lies.

2. God’s timing is perfect.

3. God’s power is sufficient.

4. God’s plan is good.

5. God’s discipline is to benefit our future.

6. God’s way leads to hope.

7. God’s love is everlasting.

So, God is in control, His love for us is perfect.

God keeps His promises – He is not fickle

Pastor Charles McCall goes on to ask:

What are the P.L.A.N.S God has for us?

I. God has plans to Prosper us.

Jeremiah 29:11 says,”For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

The word prosper means to be successful,

It means to grow,

It means to flourish,

It means to excel,

It means to develop into something good or positive,

It means to accomplish something good,

It means to improve on something that needed improvement,

It means to go the next level in life.

II. God has plans to Love us despite of us.

God plans to love us despite of us. That is, God is going to love us despite of our failures.

God is going to love us despite of our shortcomings.

God is going to love us despite of the faults that we may have

God is going to love us despite of our weaknesses that we may have.

Jeremiah 31:3 says “The LORD has appeared of old to me, saying: Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.

The reason why God is going to love us despite of us is because God himself is love.

III. God has plans to Always be able for us.

Yes, God plans to Always be able, for Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.”

So what is God always able to do?

He is able to save us to the uttermost.

He is able to keep us from falling.

He is able to supply our every needs.

He is able to heal our diseases.

He is able to turn our bad situation around and to make work for our good.

He is able to turn our midnights into day.

He is able to sustain us when we are going through some stormy situations.

He is able to make a way out of no way.

He is able to lead and guide you.

He is able to build you up where you may been torn down; He is able to strengthen you where you have been week

He is able to forgive you and cast your sins away as far the west is from the east

And the reason why God is able is because Jeremiah 32:17 says that “there is nothing, absolutely nothing too hard for God.”

IV. God has plans to Never leave us or forsake us.

Hebrews 13:5 says, “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

No matter how lonely you may feel in this life, just know that God will be right by your side because He promised to never leave you nor forsake you.

No matter what tough situation that you may be going through right now, God has promised to never leave us nor forsake us.

Psalm 23 says, The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For thou art with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.

Isaiah 43:2 says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.”

V. God has plans to See us through all of our trials and tribulations

John 16:33 says, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Psalm 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the LORD delivers him out of them all.”

Just because God has plans to prosper us, that does not mean, we will never experience any type of troubles. We will experience all kinds of trouble, pain, heartaches, disappointment, trials and tribulations. But yet it is a blessing to know that God has plans to see us through all of our trials and tribulations because when God brings you through your trials and tribulations, you have a testimony at the end of it saying, “Look how far the Lord has brought me.”

I John 4:7-11 says “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

No matter how bad you may have messed up, God still loves you. And the reason why God still loves us no matter how bad you may have messed up because in Romans 5:8 says “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”