For I Know

Jeremiah 29:7-14

And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the Lord for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Let not your prophets and your diviners, that be in the midst of you, deceive you, neither hearken to your dreams which ye cause to be dreamed. For they prophesy falsely unto you in my name: I have not sent them, saith the Lord.

For thus saith the Lord, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place. 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. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord:and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive.

As we begin this message allow me to give a brief history for the text. Now in this scripture Jeremiah shared a letter to the children of Israel that were in exile in the city of Babylon the news was both Good news and bad news. The message was clear that God would deliver them from exile back to the city of Jerusalem and required of them to increase not decrease in population but they would remain in exile for seventy years which meant that the current generation would not return but the new generation would. Yet he instructed them to seek peace and prosperity for he was still with them yet they had to pray unto him. Now as we look deeper in this message today it is clear that planning is a strong part of our relationship with God. For I remember in school there was a teacher who taught planning by having the students to do a major project where it required strategic planning for the next 15 years of our young lives. The project required them to not just plan for high school, but for college and the beginning of their adult lives. Each student had to look in magazines to provide examples in a photo album of how looked at adulthood. From planning our studies in school to children, careers and the homes we purchased. Yet the one important component that was not included was God. Therefore in this text today it is clear that thou we plan our futures we must include God in each stage. Understanding that God has a plan for our lives and we need to discover it; along with it pays to plan; also keep in mind that prayer is also required as we plan these are the key points in this message today. Now the subject for today's message is simply "FOR I KNOW".

Now as we set goals for lives we must realize that once we accept Christ as our savior we must begin to include God in our planning stage. Think about how many times you have asked yourself the question if God really has a plan for your life which we all know he does. Of course he does but as we all know God grants us the choice to choose his way or our way. We just have to understand that God wants absolute submission which is not enough; we should go unto him joyfully and enter a covenant to live by his will. For example a couple recently in Essence magazine meet online and chose to practice according to the word of God and by simply making that choice Gods plan begin to unfold for this couple. We as his children must have strong Faith and practice submission for Gods ultimate plan to manifest in our lives. When we make such choices to follow his will we must use his word as our guide for our daily living and be watchful for signs when he is directing us to do a wonderful work for him. See when we listen with our inner voice God speaks softly to each of us. Another thing is as we all know we have to change those we associate with to being around like believers for our spiritual life to grow. Furthermore in Ephesians 1:9-11

Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. See it is clear that God's secret plan has been revealed unto us which his beloved Son Jesus Christ we as his children have to include Christ for this brings the plan together. See by yielding unto God's divine plan for each of us will be revealed.