I know the plans I have for you says the Lord

Some of the content of this sermon is from 'Word for Today' http://www.ucb.co.uk/index.cfm?itemid=88&sectionid=3
For other bits I am grateful to Martyn Atkins the retiring President of the Methodist Conference. This sermon desperately needs refining, but as I am not likely to have opportunity to do that soon, and as some of you have asked to read it, here it is warts 'n all with my prayers that God will speak to you through it....

I know the plans I have for you says the Lord…..Jeremiah 29v11

This is a favourite Bible Verse of mine, simple and to the point.
How was it received by those who heard it from the lips of the dreaded prophet, I wonder?
No-one wanted to hear what Jeremiah had to say. That the plan of God was exile for 70 years and that they should not resist. There was no point in trying to fight, despite the lies of the false prophets. And Jeremiah writes a letter from God to the exiles telling them to settle down and marry and work for the peace and prosperity of Babylon, even to pray for its peace.
..and I will choose the time when you will return. I know the plans…

well, here’s some thoughts:
1. I know the plans
Isn’t it good that God knows the plans he has for us. Sometimes we would wish that we also might be allowed to know. But whether we know or not, God knows.
It is more important that God knows than that we know.

When it comes to finding out what God knows, people use different methods.
There are those who say their prayers and ‘If the door opens I’ll walk through it’. The opening is God’s answer to prayer and I need to get on and follow his call. I have used this method on several occasions. It is in theological terms known as the VIA POSITIVA. (the way of the positive) and was promulgated by St Aquinas… though people had been doing it for years before him.
On the other hand there are those who say ‘When things go wrong, when doors have to be pushed at, when everything stacks up against a particular route, that shows me it is the way God wants me to go. The evil one is blocking the way and I need to put on God’s armour and stand, and take hold of God’s word and move forward.’ That’s called the VIA NEGATIVA (the negative way), promulgated by St Augustine. Or as Martyn says, if you’re from Yorkshire 'the bloody-minded never say nay route'.
I think I’ve been into both at some times in my Christian life !

The message in all of this is that there are plenty of times in our lives when we simply do not know what God has planned for us.
It is the acid test of faithfulness that I accept that for a time I will not know and must wait for the Lord, and must simply accept that He knows the plans He has for me even though I do not. I rest in this promise until he chooses to reveal His plans.

If you are there just now, in that waiting time, you’re in good company. God will be God, and making us wait, whilst watching and praying and living by His rules, is the way He works. Complete trust, not resignation, is the way we handle it.
Here we can help our brothers and sisters by praying for them and supporting them while they wait.

I know the plans I have for you…says the Lord. Thankyou Lord that you do, even though I don’t.

2. I know the plans
I know the plan s I have for you. Plural….’s’.
This a wonderfully gracious and liberating word is it not?
I have come across people, I could name one or two that you know, who blew it spectacularly at the age of 18, 34, 41, whatever…. they believed God had a plan for them, whether it was to go here, do this or that, marry this person, go to train for Christian work, or whatever. they were certain of God’s plan for their lives and for some reason it didn’t work out and they left it behind and now they are convinced they have blown it for ever.
Listen, God has plan s.
There is no evidence in the Christian gospel that there is just one plan, and that if we miss it we’re disqualified forever from serving God. No, on the contrary.
Martyn Atkins uses the marvellous illustration of SatNav.
‘When I first came across a SatNav it was in my friend’s Lexus. It had a beautiful, sexy voice like Joanna Lumley telling you where to go. Amazing!
Well me being a sinner, I said, ‘What happens when you don’t do as it says?’ ‘Watch’ said my friend, with an evil glint in his eye. He is after all an accountant. ‘I’ll show you.’
‘turn left in 100 yards’ said Ms Lumley. So he went straight on. Now if I had had my son’s SatNav and done that it would have uttered expletives from Dr evil telling me what a stupid bleep I was. But this was a Christian SatNav…and uttered a complete word of grace, ‘I have worked out a new route for you.’ That says Martyn is pure gospel.

You see there is not one immutable plan for your life and mine. We all mess up from time to time. Do not think that what you did back then has blown out of the water any possibility of God leading you forward into His plans.
Guidance and grace work together.
Whenever we go our own way instead of God’s, whenever we disobey, there is, as the SatNav, a pause, and then a word of grace, ‘I’ve worked out a new route for you.’…because ‘I know the plan sss I have for you’, says the Lord.
Friends, we never exhaust all the permutations of the plans. God sees the big picture. There is always another route, even when we look back and can see that what we were sure of then and now we’re not so sure of may seek to drag us down into discouragement. Discouragement is the enemy’s work.
God is a God who invites us to Renewal, redirection and fresh opportunities to serve in obedience to his will. He never gives up on us…I am a work in progress and so are you.
Hear this. You will never exhaust all the possibilities of God using little clay pots, some cracked pots, like you and me, to contain the treasure which is His good news. He has plan s


3. For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
I’m reminded here, as I’m sure you are of Romans 8v28…… ‘And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.’

God exercises His sovereignty toward the Christian in such a way that everything that touches our lives has been allowed or brought about by Him. Those things which would prove to be detrimental to our good have been kept from us. Those things which will work together for the “good” God has planned for us, God arranges and controls in such a way as to produce that good. Everything in the life of the Christian is designed for accomplishing the positive plans God has for us.
The “prosperity” for the Israelites was the restoration of their nation, beginning with their return from exile. So that which God purposes for us is of course in the future and which we cannot presently see. For us as New Covenanters that hope and a future includes our salvation, sanctification, and our future full adoption as sons of God…to put that another way.. All can be saved to the uttermost, as we shall discover at the Men’s meeting on Tues. We will be tested as God’s purpose is not so much our happiness as our holiness.

4. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD

As we think about this business of God having a perfect plan for our lives, we need to be about using the gifts and talents He has already given us, with all our hearts.
Ask yourself this: 'What are my strengths?' Do you enjoy working with computers or cars or animals? Maybe you're an adept people-manager or you like fixing things or you're good with finances. Are there certain jobs that come easily to you and you wonder why others can't do them? If so, that says something about your particular strengths and your God-given assignment in life. What kind of working environment brings out the best in you? Do you thrive on routine? Are you motivated by other people's needs? Do you enjoy tackling challenges that discourage others? And how about your relationships? Do you enjoy being part of a team, or do you function better alone? If you only come to life around people, you'll probably be miserable sitting in front of a computer all day. What lights your fire? In the movie Chariots of Fire, Eric Liddell described his zeal for running in these words: 'God made me to be fast, and when I run I feel His pleasure.' What makes you feel like that?
As we seek to serve Him and to know the plans He has for us these are things we can discover about ourselves.
Then we take what we have and offer them to God, seeking Him with all our hearts in daily living.
‘I will be found by you’ declares the Lord. ..And so His plans and purposes will come to fruition in and through us.

Conclusion
I find it really exciting that God has plans for me, don’t you? I remember when I was 50 and thinking that I was heading over the hill, getting a picture from God of the time I climbed The Cheviot. I remembered it well. Every time you thought you’d got to the top there was another hill to climb!
You see, as I have said before, Christians never retire, they only get promoted. So young people, old people, and those in the middle…God’s got plans for YOU !