God's Got A Plan

God’s Got A Plan

Psalm 1:1-6 Matthew 21:18-22 2 Kings 4:1-7

Have you ever seen a situation in which you thought it was a pretty hopeless, and been shocked that something good still came out of it. The problem is, what we see is not necessarily all of which is actually present. There was a time in our church’s history in which some people from presbytery looked at our church, and saw a church with very little or no future. They looked at the size of our offerings and the number of people coming to church, and the lack of vitality and said, "cut off the funding. Let’s put our money somewhere else."

Now even though some of us called it racism and some of us didn’t think the church would make it, and some of us left and went to other churches it turned out to be one of the greatest blessings to the church. All for the simple reason that "God had a plan." God had a plan to raise up a church which would partner to build another church on one side of the continent of Africa and support an orphanage on the other side . God had a plan to raise up a group who did not know what a tithe was to become a group of tithers. God had a plan to teach men how to love their wives. God had a plan to reach countless youth throughout the summer. God had a plan to restore families, to save souls, and to touch thousands with the gospel. God even had a plan to restore the building and prepare it for use for the twenty-first century. When Glenville seemed to be up against its biggest mountain, God had a plan.

If you’re trying to make sense out of your life today, or what’s going on at work, or how you’re going to get out of mess you find yourself in, then know, "God already has a plan." You’ve got to wait and see what it is, and then apply it to your situation. As you read the Scriptures, you will discover, God is constantly on the side of the underdog. God delights in coming through for His children, for His mercy is everlasting.

There was a prophet by the name of Elisha in the Bible. Elisha was a man of God and sort of a type of Christ. He was used by God to do miracles in the lives of others. Whereas the prophet Elijah, who came before Elisha, did miracles on a large scale of people, Elisha’s ministry involved touching the lives of people more on a one to one basis. When people needed a touch or a miracle from God, they would seek after Elisha for prayer.

Let me tell you a story about Dan and Amanda. Dan and Amanda had two sons, Jeff and Jamie about 9 and 10 years old. Dan loved the Lord and he would travel with the school of the prophets. The school of the prophets would train young men to become priests and prophets. Even though Dan loved the Lord, he fell on some hard times economically. Instead of seeking God’s plan for handling his situation, Dan went out and borrowed some money at a high interest rate. His wife Amanda was probably not in favor of the loan, because if something happened to Dan, there’d be no way in which she could pay back the loan. She could lose all she had, including their sons Jeff and Jamie. Dan assured his wife they would be able to pay back the loan, and there was no need for her to worry about it. They would be back out of debt in no time. So Dan went ahead and got the loan.

But things did not go as well as Dan had hoped. They used up the money and before they could pay it back, Dan became sick. Shortly afterwards, he died. He did not have any life insurance and there was little money to bury him. Amanda did not know what she was going to do.

Just as she thought things couldn’t get any worse there was a knock at the door. The man from whom her husband had borrowed the money was at the door. He told her, "I want the money your husband borrowed from me and I want it now." She tried to explain she didn’t have the money, and if he gave her some time, she would get it for him. The man said, "Look you know the law. If you don’t get my money soon, I’m going to take those two boys of yours and sell them as slaves to get back my money." With that he slammed the door and left.

Amanda put her arms around Jeff and Jamie to try to comfort them, but she was scared of what else the future might bring. Her options for making money were very limited. Thank goodness she didn’t go to the wrong group of people for advice. Some of them might have told her about how to sell drugs to make end meet or how she could earn money as a prostitute. But the bible says, "Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, but rather takes delight in the law of God. Amanda’s situation seemed hopeless until she factored in God stepping into the situation.