God’s Master Plan
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.
Romans 8:28-30
In looking at God’s master plan, you may be wondering first; what is it, and second; what part do I play in it?
To answer the first question, we will look to what God says it is in Isaiah 45:18.
For thus says the Lord, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: “I am the Lord, and there is no other.
He also tells us in Habakkuk 2:14 what would inhabit this earth that he created.
For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, As the waters cover the sea.
In these two verses we should understand what the master plan is: to create a place that is filled with the understanding of the Lord’s glory. Just as there is no part of the sea where there is no water, in like manner, one day there will be no place on the earth where God's glory is not found. What an exciting plan!
So then, what is His glory? Yes, I know it is another question sandwiched in between the first two questions, but it is necessary so that you can understand what part you play in the whole master plan thing. Okay, so it is found in Exodus 34:6-7.
And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation.”
Just as you and I have a character, something that describes you, the Lord has a character as well, and that is God's glory - His character, the very essence of what He is. God was telling Moses that His glory is revealed through His compassion, grace, patience, love, faithfulness, and His justice.
Now understanding what is meant by the glory of the Lord we can now better understand the meaning of God's Master Plan. God wants to fill the earth with His character. In other words, it is God's plan to fill the earth with characteristics such as love, faithfulness, justice, and grace; just as the waters cover the sea. But looking at the way of the world today, it leaves us wondering if God’s master plan will succeed.
Okay, so let us now tackle the second question of what part we play in the master plan. We form an essential part of God's Master Plan. We provide the vehicle through which God will fill the earth with His glory. Strictly speaking it is only humans who can truly reveal the glory of the LORD. The mountains, stars, and other items of God's natural creation, beautiful as they are, cannot fully reveal God's character, they reveal God’s existence and creativity. A tree cannot show love, a mountain cannot show grace - they all lack the essential characteristic that gives humans the capacity to reveal God's character - free will. Remember what God said in the beginning: “Let Us make man in Our image and likeness.” We were designed to be Christ-like, who is the express image of God.
We all have the freedom to determine our behavior and to mold our characters. We can reveal the many wonderful characteristics of God, or not. God wants us to use this gift to reveal His character in our lives. This is the purpose of life as told to us by Jesus in John 17:22-23.
And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.
So, let me use my favorite show (Mission Impossible) to restate what I just said. Now, this is not the Tom Cruise garbage, but the TV series that ran in the mid-60s with Peter Graves, Greg Morris, Peter Lupus, and others.
Good morning, Congregation. The people you work with, live with, and have associations with we have recently discovered are those that do not have faith in the God of creation. For a time, we allowed them to live their lives as they wished because we did not believe it was our job to act upon them. Your mission, Congregation, should you decide to accept it, is to point those people you know to Christ. As always, should you or any of your beliefs be changed or killed, the Lord will disavow any knowledge of your actions and your name removed from the book of life. This tape will self-destruct in five seconds. Good luck, Congregation.
In God’s master plan He utilizes each of us to fulfill the plan. And just like the Impossible Missions force who had a wealth of resources from the government, we too have a wealth of resources from the Lord to help us fulfill our mission. Look back at Romans 8:28.
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
In the master plan, God is saying, if you remain faithful to Me all the things you do will result in good works. Even when you are going through some tough times, know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it is not another train coming, but something that will make those tough times seem insignificant.
As I mentioned in my testimonial, starting this church was a tough time for me. And indeed, it did work out for the good (remark about good for other church).
Senator Max Cleland, who lost both of his legs and his right hand in Vietnam, came to the senators’ Bible study withdrawn and tired. Another senator said, “Max, are you all, right?”
“Not really,” he said. “I’ve been having the same dream for thirty years. I accidentally drop that grenade, and I leap on it, and it explodes and blows my legs off.” That night, the study group gathered around Max and prayed that the Lord would heal that memory.
Two days later, the History Channel broadcasted the story. A man from Annapolis saw it and phoned Max: “Senator, you have the story wrong. That wasn’t your grenade. It was a young recruit behind you who had opened the pins on his grenades before jumping out of the helicopter. One of them popped out of the belt and rolled on the ground. You leaped on it to save us all. I wrapped you up myself and took you to the hospital. I was on the helicopter; I know how it happened.”
Max came to the next Bible study saying a gigantic load had been lifted off his shoulders.
The study group had been studying Romans 8:28, which says, “God works all things together for good.” So now, when Senator Cleland is hurrying around in his wheelchair, he’ll call out to the Senate chaplain, “Remember, things don’t work out; God works out things.”
Let’s look at more of God’s master plan and our part in it. Look back at Romans 8:29.
For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
As part of the master plan, God knew that you would step up and accept the mission. He knew that someday you would change, even though you have free will, God knew that you would come around to be a helper in the fight. Now there has been lots of confusion on the word “predestined” used here. Some would think that God has a hand-picked list of people who will be saved, and the rest will not. But that is far from the truth. Because God has said that it is His desire that all will be saved. But sadly, not all people want to be saved…there’s that free will thing again…some do not choose to accept the mission. What “predestined” means here is “opportunity.” For God’s master plan to be a plan, He must have things happen at certain times, and this is where we come in. For example, say God wants a certain person to receive the good news of Jesus at 10AM this Saturday. First, He will predestine the person to be in the frame of mind to want to accept Christ. This could come about through some problem, tragedy, or issue in the person’s life. Then, the Lord calls upon one of us to go and speak with the person. Now it is your choice whether you decide to go. But if you decide not to go God’s plan will still happen, because someone else will step in.
As a youth pastor, I’d just entered a convenience store with a church member whose name was Jeff to pay for the gas I’d put in the church van. It was apparent that the woman behind the counter had been crying. I looked at her and said, “Has anybody told you that Jesus really loves you?” Jeff freaked out, took off, and dove into the van.
I talked to the woman for the next few minutes. After she asked Christ to come into her heart, her whole face changed.
When I got into the van, Jeff said, “Don’t ever do that again!”
“Don’t do what?” I asked.
“Witness to people like that,” he replied. “Did you see how embarrassed that lady got?”
I responded, “Jeff, you got more embarrassed than she did. I prayed with her, and she received Christ.”
I took Jeff back into the store to meet the woman, now radiant with the love of God — a complete contradiction of what she had been just a few minutes before.
As scripture tells us: many are called, but few are chosen. With the word “chosen” meaning to accept. The predestined event occurred, the woman crying, the called were present, but only one stayed to show God’s glory. When the opportunity presented itself, Jeff beat a hasty retreat while the other person stayed.
God’s master plan is in full effect, and He wants you to be a part of it. In most cases all you must do is show up and trust that He will carry you through. Remember, Jesus says that His Yoke is easy, and His burden is lite. Meaning, that God will never put you into a situation that is too hard for you. Let me leave you with an illustration of a person who used a simple means to show God’s glory.
On a recent road trip, I stopped at a McDonald’s. After placing my order, I went to the drive-up window to pay. I noticed an attractive, hand-carved cross hanging from the attendant’s neck and said, “I like your cross.”
Her reply showed how simple it is to share one’s testimony. She said, “Thank you. I like the person who died on the cross for my sins. And I love the person who rose from the grave after having died on the cross.”
She could have left it at “Thank you,” but her faithful witness touched me and drew me closer to the Lord that day, because it made me fell all good inside knowing that His master plan was in full effect. With that, all I could say was praise God!
