Remember that this whole series is based on 3 very important principles.
1. God has a plan for your life - Jeremiah 29:11 says
2. There is a battle engaged for your life - Jesus said in John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
3. Too many of God’s people are losing the battle - Marriages, children, finances, life.
Matthew 9:36 - “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
1) Secret #4 - Make a Plan
This follows right behind the first three steps.
Remember in step one we found out what life is supposed to look like, by answering the questions Who am I, what am I, where am I, and what do I really want.
The answer to those questions helps to identify what God made you to be, remembering that God has a plan for your life.
Next we talked about owning it - taking responsibility for life - realizing that we have the power through the Spirit of God to be anything He is calling us to be - no matter what obstacles are placed in our paths.
We also have to embrace positive change - we will never get anywhere new without change.
The next piece of the puzzle is to make a plan. Once you know where you want to go - and you know where you are - the next step is to make a plan to get there.
In Nehemiah 2:1-8, God has called Nehemiah to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem; but Nehemiah is a slave in Babylon, 900 miles away from Jerusalem.
He knows what God wants him to do but just how is he to do it?
Here are 5 principles for making a plan.
1. Know where you are and where you are going.
Nehemiah knew he was 900 miles from where he needed to be, that he was a slave and that he had no resources.
It looks to me like the odds are not in his favor.
One thing we need to understand is… if God wants you to go somewhere He will take you there. You just need to get in the buggy. You have to know where you are and what you want!
2. Inventory your resources - what are you starting with?
It may be nothing it may be a lot - but know what you have to work with.
3. Count the costs - know what it’s going to cost you - and be willing to sacrifice whatever it takes.
This is where most people get out of the buggy. We just want to be seen and heard but not do.
It will cost us something to be what God has called us to be here @ Elim Bible. Churches today are filled with people who attend for the sole purpose of being seen but are not willing to sacrifice to build the kingdom of God. We give our pocket change instead of our tithe. We give advice instead of our service.
4. Prepare - Plan your route - set the goals, the benchmarks, and map out roadways for success. For Nehemiah this started in November chp.1:1 - and he finally talked to the King in April chp.2:1 - but when he did he knew everything he was going to need. He planned.
5. Wait for God - When He says go, GET TO STEPPING and don’t drag your feet. More importantly… don’t you move until He says move.
2) Secret #5 - Work Your Plan -
A plan is only as good as your commitment to making it happen.
Most simply drift through life hoping to run aground in a good place.
The problem is that it becomes a game of pin the tail on the donkey with people’s lives at stake. Pin the tail on the donkey is a fun kid’s game but it’s no way to run your life, your marriage, or raise your children.
So how do you work your plan?
• Set right priorities - take control of your life - stop living by everyone else’s schedule, rules, and priorities - take control of your own life.
It’s simply amazing how many people want to be strong in Christ, want a deeper relationship with Him but they spend a total of an hour and twenty minutes each week on that relationship and most of that time is at church, where they can’t wait for the service to be over so they can go home.
We want our children to think Christ is important to their lives but we treat sports, band, TV, and everything else in life as more important than worship and building a relationship with Him.
We want them to be committed but only if it doesn’t interfere with our stuff.
Stop just living life, take control of life and set your priorities.
• Make better decisions - Every decision from the house we buy and the car we drive to the words we choose and the time we spend. Every decision either moves us closer to our goals or further away from them.
That argument you got into that left you bitter and mad for days - didn’t have to happen - you made the choices that led up to it and you made the choices in the middle of it.
Are you moving toward your goals or away from them?
• Work smarter not harder - sometimes you need to cut back and commit to doing a few things well instead of a lot of things poorly.
Think your way through life - don’t feel your way through life.
Thinking makes good decisions no matter how you feel.
Don’t just add things on to the priority list - make a new priority list. Make a commitment to your goals and live that commitment.
If you want to live a more abundant life in Christ it’s not going to happen by accident - it takes planning and commitment to the goals that He establishes for life. But you have to get involved if you want to get where God wants you go.
Adapted from a sermon by Dan Cale
