Sermon Central
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Five Things God Has Prepared For Us Series
Contributed by Jim Butcher on Sep 22, 2014 (message contributor)
Summary: A look at five things that God has prepared for us.
- There is a late scene in “Searching for Bobby Fischer” where the protagonist sees far enough ahead on the chess board that he sees he’s going to win. He graciously offers a draw, but the other player thinks he’s in the superior position. (You can find this scene by googling "Seaching for Bobby Fischer last scene.")
A POWERFUL THOUGHT: God is like a chess player working ten moves ahead.
- 1 Timothy 1:18a.
- Looking at words like “predestined,” “chosen,” “prepared.”
- Obviously, with a word like “predestination,” you can get tangled up pretty easily. There are deep theological waters that surround it. But let’s back off of the more perplexing aspects of it and simply stick with the idea that God is working ahead and planning how He’s going to bring about His will.
- God is “moving the pieces” with insight, forethought, and brilliance to bring about the plan’s result.
- A similar analogy: a TV show you like that’s been building the plot all season and then everything comes together in that last show in ways that simultaneously make perfect sense and totally surprise you. It brings moments of “oooh’s” and “aah’s.”
FIVE "PREPARED" THINGS:
1. GOD HAS PREPARED . . . A PLAN AND A PURPOSE.
- God has a plan and a purpose.
- History is going somewhere. He intends to bring this to a successful conclusion.
- It’s good to know that someone is in charge.
2. GOD HAS PREPARED . . . A PATH TO CHRISTLIKENESS.
- Romans 8:29.
- God has not merely saved us from our sin to declare us not guilty and then leave us in our sin. He has given us an opportunity to leave our sin behind and to ascend to something higher.
- That something higher: to be like Christ.
- Not only has He given us that opportunity, He has created a path to get us there. He has given us the resources that we need: a new heart, the Holy Spirit within, the Word.
3. GOD HAS PREPARED . . . PRODUCTIVE WORKS FOR YOUR LIFE.
- God not only desires to change you (as we just spoke of), but He also desires to change the world through you.
- This is an interesting and encouraging verse: God has prepared good works in advance for us. He’s got a plan (as I mentioned in point #1), but it’s not the just for the world but also for our individual lives.
- That’s exciting to me: He has works He wants to do in our lives that are worthy of His planning ahead.
- It’s also exciting that God is on our side in wanting us to live a productive life.
4. GOD HAS PREPARED . . . A KINGDOM.
- Jesus is up to something big. God is up to something big.
- There is a kingdom that He is working on.
- This a global phenomenon. This is an historic phenomenon.
- Jesus is our King and He is bringing a Kingdom.
5. GOD HAS PREPARED . . . A HOME.
- God has prepared a home for us. That home is not heaven (despite what so many preachers have told you at funerals). That home is a city, the New Jerusalem.
- As we read in Revelation 21 and 22, it is the place where God will dwell and so we will be there with Him. We will rule with Christ on the new earth as we see the world be the way that it should be.
- This is comforting as we think about our desire to be reunited with those that we love.
