God's Plans For You Is One Of Peace, Of Hope, And A Great Future

First Church of god in Harvey

Sunday Morning – September 2nd, 2012

Let us pray

Welcome….

This is the day, the day before labor day, which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. What a great day to be alive? What a great day to have the Lord Jesus as your friend? What a great day to know the one who holds tomorrow, and to know that he holds your hands? Is this a great day for you? Or are you bogged down by the cares of life, wondering what is going to happen next. We used to sing a chorus in Jamaica that says, smile awhile and give your face a rest, raise your hands to the one you love the best, then shake hands with the one nearby, and greet him/her with a smile (sing)

Rick Warren in his book, ‘The purpose driven life,” wrote these words and I quote, “You were planned for God’s pleasure. The moment you were born into the world, God was there as an unseen witness, smiling at your birth. He wanted you alive, and your arrival gave him a great pleasure. God did not need to create you, but he chose to create you for his own enjoyment. You exist for his benefit, his glory, his purpose, and his delight. Bringing enjoyment to God, living for his pleasure, is the first purpose of your life. When you fully understand this truth, you will never again have a problem with feeling insignificant.” Let me say this, you are important to God, and as a child of God you bring pleasure to God, “like nothing else he has ever created.”

People make plans everyday as to what they hope to achieve in life. Many of us set goals with the intention of achieving those goals. As we make plans for our lives, what is God’s plans for you? Is it a plan of peace? Is it a plan of hope? Is it a plan of a great future?

Our scripture reading for today will be taken from Jeremiah 29 verses 11 through 13 and we will all stand and read from the screen from the King James Version and the NIV. P)lease tell someone, God has something for you too.

Our topic for today is, “God’s Plans For You.” It is a plan of peace. It is a plan of hope. It is a plan of a great future.

In Jeremiah 29 verses 1 through 20 the prophet Jeremiah is writing a letter of advice to the captives in Babylon. “This was an open letter to the entire community, not just the leaders.” In our society today, we don’t send too many letters anymore, we now have emails, gmails, and other electronic devices, but in Jeremiah’s time the letter was carried to the exiles in Babylon. Through the letter, the Lord speaks to the exiles, and they were told to be fruitful and multiply. They were in captivity, but it was alright for them to take wives, have children, and allow their sons and daughters to be married. They were free to build houses, live in them, and plant their gardens, and eat the fruits from their gardens. They were told not to be deceived by the prophets and diviners that were among them. God’s people were called upon to be on the alert, because these false prophets were not sent by him. They were informed that they would be in captivity for awhile, for seventy years. Seventy years is a lifetime, three score and ten.. Some of you are still young, but all of us here are heading towards 70, or have gone passed 70 years, and some of us are wishing to be young again, and so we are always talking about those good old days. I have some startling news for you, those good old days are gone. I said those good old days are gone, and all we can do is talk about those days. I can think about life in Jamaica in my younger days, but those days are gone. I can think about running around with my friends, but those days are gone. I can think about playing soccer, cricket and running the cross country, but those days are gone, and so many of us today are living on those good old days, but those days are gone.

So here we have God’s people in captivity, and they will be there for awhile. In the midst of their captivity; in the midst of their doom and gloom, Jeremiah had a message of peace, a message of hope, and a message of a great future. “Jeremiah had repeatedly warned the people of judgment to come should they refuse to repent.” Guess what, they refused. So here we find God’s people in the midst of a bad situation. Have you ever found yourself in the midst of a bad situation where you are depressed, helpless, hopeless, and just don’t know what to do? God’s people were in a bad situation, , and God used the prophet Jeremiah to bring a message of peace, a message of hope, and a message of a great future.. The way how things are going in the United States of America where it seems nobody can trust anybody, we need a message of peace, a message of hope, and a message of a great future. The way how things are going on in our schools, we need a message of peace, a message of hope, and a message of a great future. The way how things are going on in our neighborhoods, we need a message of peace, a message of hope, and a message of a great future. The way how things are going among God’s people, we need a message of peace, a message of hope, and a message of a great future.