“COMMIT YOUR PLANS TO GOD” Prov. 16:3
INTRO – Army – “Be all that you can be.” Boy Scouts – “Be Prepared.” Someone once said – “Wherever you are, be all there.” Another person once said, “Be alert. We need more lerts.” I think I’ve heard Ken Bailey say, “If I weren’t an LSU Tiger, I’d be ashamed.” Ask little kids, “What are you going to be when you grow up?” Poster w/ cute little child on it said, “Be patient, G’s not finished with me yet.”
Today, I want to share w/ you some “Be-attitudes.” Not the Beatitudes that Jesus gave in Matthew 5, though those are some of the most awesome words He shared. No, I’d like to give you some practical encouragement from the wisdom book of the Bible on how to be what God intends for you to be. If you are going to commit your plans to the Lord, you need to BE these things:
I. BE READY FOR ANYTHING.
A. Headlines right now – Pres. Bush and gov’t. leaders were warned about a possible terrorist attack. Many of their opponents accusing Bush of not doing anything to get ready for a potential attack.
B. Life is going to throw you some curveballs and you need to do your best to be ready.
i. Terrorists will attack.
ii. Someone you love will be diagnosed w/ cancer.
iii. You will fail a test or major paper, or not get that job that you were so sure you were going to get.
iv. Death is going to unexpectedly invade your life at some point.
C. Not trying to be a prophet of gloom and doom, but these are just simple realities of life. And while we can’t prepare for every specific event that might come our way – don’t have a crystal ball to see into the future – we can be ready for them when they come.
i. This past Thursday, the Rouse Polymerics plant in Vicksburg exploded in violent ball of flames. The 18 men who were working at that time didn’t go to work that afternoon knowing that it was going to explode into a ball of flames. But that is the way life is. You can’t be prepared for every specific situation that comes your way, but you can be ready when they come.
ii. How? Max Lucado summed it up for us when he said, “Funerals, divorces, illnesses, and stays in the hospital – you can’t lie about life at such times. Maybe that’s why Jesus is always present at such time.” (God Came Near – p. 54)
D. Did you hear that last statement? There’s the Key (w/ a capital “K”) to being ready for anything that life brings your way.
i. You can be ready for anything in life – good or bad – if Jesus is in control of your life.
ii. If He is in control:
1. You can be knocked down but not out.
2. You can be unhappy about your circumstances but still have joy in your heart.
3. You can grieve over your present loss but not lose hope for the future.
E. Jesus said in Matthew 28:20, “Be sure of this – that I am with you always, even to the end of the world.” (TLB)
i. Bible also says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Ro. 8:31)
ii. “When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be w/ you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up – the flames will not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, your Savior, the Holy One of Israel.” (Isa. 43:2-3 TLB)
F. You can be ready for anything if you have Jesus. Look around you. Right here in this room today are scores of people who can give testimony to the absolute truth of this.
i. They have lost loved ones to death, some in very tragic circumstances. They have unexpectedly lost jobs. They have had children who have rebelled against them in terrible ways. They have had lifelong friends turn against them in unimaginable hurtful ways. They have had spouses be unfaithful to them and walk out of their lives. They have faced sickness and disease in their own lives and have been wracked w/ physical pain.
ii. And if you asked them about these times in their lives, they would answer you by saying, “These things were not pleasant. They were not fun. I had my feet knocked out from under me and at times, thought there would be no end to the pain that I felt. But if I didn’t have Jesus, I would have never made it through.”
1. How many of you could give that type of testimony? Raise your hands.
II. BE A STUDENT FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
A. You probably didn’t want to hear that. The thought of being a student for the rest of your life is not a pleasant one to you. Some of you have had some interesting experiences as students:
i. Heard about a conversation that a student had with one of his teachers – Teacher: “I hope I didn’t see you looking at Jason’s paper.” Student: “I hope you didn’t either.”
ii. Teacher said to Sally: “Use the words ‘defeat’, ‘defense’, and ‘detail’ in a sentence.” Sally: “The rabbit cut across the field, and defeat went over defense before detail.”
iii. A mom said to her son: “Why did you get such a low grade on that test?” Son: “B/c of absence.” Mother: “You mean you were absent on the day of the test?” Son: “No, but the kid next to me was.”
B. You need to plan on being a student for the rest of your life.
i. You need to be a student of life.
1. Life is a lot like a classroom. All types of learning experiences will come your way. Take advantage of them.
2. Whatever career you choose to go into, go into it with all you’ve got. Learn and grow in it all the time. Don’t grow stagnant.
3. Take advantage of other opportunities to broaden your horizons and learn about different things.
a. Mission trips
b. Hobbies
c. Community involvement
4. In relationships that you are in – family, friends, one day your spouse – learn from others.
a. Don’t be so prideful that you are unwilling to admit that someone knows about something that you don’t know about.
b. “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Let others sharpen you as you grow.
ii. You need to be a student of the Lord.
1. Jesus said, “A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.” (Matt. 10:24)
a. He is our Teacher. He is our Master. And you need to learn from Him.
2. If you have a relationship with Jesus, Holy Spirit has been given to you for the purpose of teaching you what you need to know in order to be the Christian that God desires for you to be.
a. “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26)
iii. You need to be a student of the logos – the Word of God.
1. One day, you will be through with scholastic textbooks. You might feel like burning that chemistry or trigonometry book.
2. But this book that Jason has given you today, the Bible, is one that you need to be a student of for your entire life.
3. Major difference between this book and other textbooks – this one is a living book that will impact your life forever!
a. Not like sitting in a “descriptive physics class” thinking, “This is not going to make any difference in my life at all!”
b. 2 Tim 3:16 says that this book is “God-breathed” and is useful for:
i. teaching – what is right
ii. rebuking – what is not right
iii. correcting – how to get right
iv. training in righteousness – how to stay right
c. 2 Tim. 2:15 – “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing – correctly handling – the word of truth.”
III. BE GOOD.
A. “Johnny B. Goode.” Name of an old rock & roll song. Name of movie in 1988. Sounds like what your parents said to you when you were a little child heading off to elementary school.
B. But at the risk of being overly simplistic, I want to challenge you to be a good person.
i. NOT to earn your salvation!
ii. But simply be a good person b/c that’s what you are supposed to be.
C. Where are the good people these days?
i. Hard to find them.
1. Newspaper article last Friday – “Cursin’ & Cussin’ – Everyday Language Getting Spicier”
D. Be someone who is known as a good person.
i. Be good b/c God is good.
ii. Be good b/c “a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.”
iii. Be good b/c you represent Jesus Christ wherever you go.
iv. Be good b/c of the consequences if you choose not to be good.
