Still Standing//Message #6// This Day and That Day //Prverbs 16:1-4 Nervus yesterday G Allie! We ve been talking abut the fundatins and the chices f the life that is built t last. Read Prverbs//Memrize these verses. Let me start ut with just a little review Prverbs teaches a very imprtant principle, which Andy Stanley calls the principle f the path when yu re n a path that takes yu smewhere, whether r nt yu intend t g there r nt. I used the example f packing up the family t g t Myrtle Beach re ging t g t Myrtle Beach fr a week and we pack up ur swimsuits, get sunscreen, beach chairs and twels desn t matter hw much we wanted t g t Myrtle Beach, we are never getting t Myrtle Beach. We intended t get t Myrtle Beach t matter, we gt n the wrng path. Well, hw abut if we say a little prayer abut it, ask Gd fr travelling mercies? N (I get lst a lt m nt directin riented destinatin is nt determined by ur intentins, but by the directin f the path we take. Here s the principle: (Andy Stanley): Directin, nt intentin, determines destinatin. Nw, we get that when it cmes t physical travelling there s a discnnect when it cmes that principle as it relates t ur finances r ur relatinships. Yu end smewhere in life and yu think, Hw did I end up here? The little decisins yu made alng the way put yu n a path that led yu here, that s hw. But I didn t intend t end up here. It desn t matter what yur intentins were the directin f the path yu were n tk yu there! Fr example: Many f yu girls intend t marry a great Christian husband, have a slid family and kids wh grw up in the church. But right nw yu re dating a guy wh is nt a Christian. Where d yu think that path is leading? Hw abut this ne, men: Yur intentin is fr yur kids t grw up and feel clse t yu
u but nw, yu re wrking 70 hurs a week and they never see yu. Where d yu think that path leads? Cllege students I want t be a brain surgen with 2 dctrates and a law degree but yu skip class and are, in general, an all-arund slacker? Men Parent: Yu want yur kids t grw up and lve Gd, but yu have them invlved in 10 different sprts leagues they are always ging here, ging there they have n time fr church, fr student ministries they dn t g with us t camp in the summer, they g t sprts camp and then when they get t cllege they want nthing t d with Gd and yu re left scratching yur head thinking, Hw did he get there? We didn t raise him t be that way. Yes yu did. Yu put him n a path that led him there. But I intended him t grw up and lve Gd. It desn t matter. Yu taught him at every turn that a little rund ball matters mre than the Gd f the universe. ( But I thught my kid had the chance t be a pr athlete. Get real. He s nt ging t be a pr athlete Just statistically speaking, there is n chance. Plus, he s yur kid s gt yur genes. He s nt ging t be a pr athlete.) I culd d this all day. Yu getting the pint? Directin, nt intentin, determines destinatin. If yu want t knw where yu are ging t end up, just lk at the directin f the path that the decisins yu are making are putting yu n. S here was the piece f uber imprtant advice Slmn gave his sn: 4:26, Pnder the path f yur feet, then all yur ways will be sure. That s a very imprtant principle that is ging t undergird what we talk abut tday. SUBJECT FOR TODAY: What are yu suppsed t d when yu find yurself at a place in life and yu wish yu were at a different ne? We ve all been there, haven t we? Yu had anticipated, dreamed, that yur life wuld g ne way and sme part f it ges cmpletely ff the plan. Maybe yur marriage went bad after 20 years and suddenly yu find yurself single again spuse died a lng time befre yu thught they wuld Maybe yu re 30 and yu dn t have kids and yu really thught at this pint in yur life yu d be married, and a mther, but yu re wrking in a cubicle Maybe yu re in yur 40 s and yu just lst yur jb; r maybe yu re just nt in a jb yu re really excited abut; yur career desn t seem t have gne t the places yu d thught it wuld.
Or maybe yu d just like t be ding smething else right nw I just really want t be married Or, hw abut this ne yu re sick f being a student and yu re ready t have a real jb with influence and pwer I really felt this in seminary When can I get ut there? Hw d yu deal with thse feelings f cnfusin, dissatisfactin, and impatience? We re ging t answer that questin by lking at Prverbs 16 and teach yu an imprtant Biblical principle I m ging t call, The principle f this day and that day. I take that frm Martin Luther wh said, Martin Luther, There are nly tw days n my calendar that make any difference t me: this day, and that day. That means that the wise man des nt spend his time lking backwards int things he can t change, he lives in the present (this day); he desn t lk frward int things he can t cntrl (he trust Gd with thse); He lives in this day. The ther day he thinks abut is that day, r judgment day, when he will give an accunt fr hw he lived. S, he lives this day in a way that he wn t be filled with regret n that day. Let s unpack that a little. This principle has 3 cmpnents t it: A. We must recgnize that Gd has svereignly brught us t this day (16:1, 4, 9, 33) This is ging t be hard fr sme f yu t understand, and I m nt even really sure I understand it, but it s really imprtant but Gd exercises a certain amunt f cntrl ver lives, s that we can in whatever situatin we are in, in ne sense Gd intends us t be here. 16:1 The plans f the heart belng t man, but the answer f the tngue is frm the Lrd; He s saying, Yu make plans but ultimately Gd determines the utcme. He says it again in vs. 9 16:9 The heart f man plans his way, but the Lrd establishes his steps. Yu make plans 16:33 The lt is cast int the lap, but its every decisin is frm the Lrd. Gd exercises a certain amunt f cntrl even ver what lks like dumb luck. 16:4 The Lrd has made everything fr its purpse, even the wicked fr the day f truble. Even ver bad things, even
when peple are rebelling against Gd s will and ding precisely what He tld them nt t d Gd incrprates even that stuff as a part f his plan. N matter where yu are, r hw yu gt there, Gd exercised His svereignty in getting yu there. Yu see, the wrd svereignty means cntrl T say Gd is svereign is saying ultimately, Gd is in cntrl. Yu say, I didn t plan t be here. Maybe nt, but Gd saw t it that yu ended up there. Yu say, I was unlucky. Nt really. Gd was in cntrl f the dice. Yu say, I was wrnged. And yu might have been. But Gd was in cntrl even in that. 21:1: The king's heart is a stream f water in the hand f the Lrd; he turns it wherever he will. King in thse days was the mst pwerful ruler. A lt f things can really affect where yu g s plan, because nthing is mre svereign than Gd. I knw if yu think abut this, I m telling yu, it will blw yur mind just ur Gd. Yu may nt want t think abut all this t much, because I prmise yu, if yu d, yu ll feel yur head slwly start t implde But what that means is this wherever yu are, hwever yu gt there: bad luck, stupid decisins, r the injustices f thers, yu dn t have t carry arund a lad f regret, r secnd guessing, r bitterness abut hw yu gt there. I knw that sme f yu have made bad decisins that really messed up yur life; and I knw that sme f yu feel unlucky, and sme f yu feel like yu ve really suffered at the hands f smene else, but I m telling yu the Bible is clear that NOTHING is mre svereign than Gd. Nw, I knw this really brings up a trubling questin fr sme f yu been behind the persn wh wrnged me Hw can yu say it was Gd s will? Abandned, abused Gd des nt delight in r cause evil it just means that Gd s plan is s all-encmpassing that He even the rebellin and wickedness f men will in the end be made t serve His purpses. I knw that is mind-blwing, but that s just Gd. 2 OT example f this: Pharah Really bad guy wh wrnged the children f Israel. But Gd said all that was part f His plan t wrk gd in Israel s life by teaching them mre abut Him. OT: Jseph Everything went wrng. Sld int slavery. But he ends up in a guy named Ptiphar s huse and he serves
faithfully there and sn becmes a ruler there. But then Ptitphar s wife, a lady named Httiphar, lies abut him. Ges t prisn. But in prisn he interprets a dream ecause f that Gd was able t put him in a place where he wuld rule all f Egypt and be able t save the chsen family f Abraham ne day. Here s the thing: It was nt in spite f the bad things that happened t him, but because f them, that Gd did His wrk. But I m different I really screwed up my life d be at a different place. Perhaps But yu are here and yu can t g back. And the incredible truth is that Gd can weave even that int his plan. Think abut the crss. Gd tk ur sin and made it ur salvatin. He can d the same fr yur life. Illus. Vernica and UVA Yu and I wuld never have met; yu wuld have never knwn the Summit Church, we wuld have never had ur awesme kids. All the greatest things in yur life came because f a bad attitude! Paul wuld say in Rmans 8:28. I recgnize that Gd is wrking all things tgether fr His gd purpse in my life s my respnsibility is nt t spend my time regretting, r secnd guessing, r being angry at hw I gt here, because I recgnize that thrugh all f the bad actins f thers, bad luck, and even my wn bad decisins, a svereign Gd is weaving a plan tday, this day! Befre I mve ff f this, ne mre bjectin: But I just can t understand why Gd wuld have dne it this way r hw He culd pssibly intend that painful chapter fr my gd. A lt f peple get t this pint and they start t questin whether r nt Gd is really gd r if He s even there. I understand t explain everything s wisdm. If Gd is all pwerful and all lving, He s als all wise, and if His wisdm is abve my wisdm as His pwer is abve my pwer, than I expect that there will be a lt f things in life I wn t understand fr nw. Yu lk ut at the universe and think abut hw big it is if the distance between the sun and the earth were the thickness f ne piece f paper; then the distance between earth and the clsest star wuld be a stack f paper 70 feet high; the distance acrss ur galaxy wuld be a stack f paper 310 miles high; ur galaxy is but a speck f dust. The Bible says Gd uphlds the universe by the wrd f His pwer s hw big Gd is, and hw small I am, des it nt make sense that the He may have sme purpses I dn t grasp yet? Guy like Bart Ehrman says Extrardinary faith in his abilities One f my favrite cnversatins n this is in Jb underges cmpletely purpseless evil. Why? Why? 64 seemingly irrelevant questins Can yu explain t me the mating patterns f the strich? Hw abut hw weather wrks? And he asks all these questins that Jb cannt answer, but in all these questins never gives Jb the answer t why he is suffering And the meaning f the bk f Jb is, Yur suffering is ne f thusands f mysteries in the universe yu are nt
big enugh r smart enugh t cmprehend yet. Well, we ve figured ut a lt scientifically. A scientist with the slightest tuch f humility and hnesty will tell yu that fr every ne thing we figure ut, anther 10 questins cme up. Hw des the atm hld tgether? In quantam physics, why can t we bserve a particle s speed and mass at the same time? Hw d sea turtles knw hw t find their way back t the same place they were brn t lay their eggs? Smetimes, yu just have t trust Hw? The crss I knw that my Redeemer lives. S, we must recgnize that this day is here by the plan f Gd. B. We must cmmit t beying Him in this day (16:3) 16:3 Cmmit yur wrk t the Lrd, and yur plans will be established. There is ne thing He tells yu t fcus n, and that is the day in frnt f us. This verse recgnizes that ften we find urselves in a place where we d like t be smewhere else. We ve made plans t be smewhere else we ve gt dreams, maybe we even feel called t be smewhere else. Gd says, Cmmit thse desires t me and let me establish that in my way and in my time. Yu see, many f us get s fcused n where we d rather be that we fail t experience what Gd has fr us in this mment. I ve nticed a pattern in Scripture Gd will call smene t smething a lt f times he d send them smewhere else. Jseph was given a visin frm Gd abut where he was suppsed t be, but then he was taken smewhere else. Nw, what if Jseph had said Gd has tld me I ll be a ruler, s I ll just wait arund until that pprtunity. He wuld have missed the very things Gd was using t get him t the place! David, aninted t be king! Then Gd sends him t the pasture fr the next 10 years. What did he d? Made a little crwn, bssed his sheep arund? (What if he had said I m a king, I dn t d sheep pp.). He wuld have missed the very things Gd wuld used t prepare him t be king. When he met Gliath, remember what he said? I knw Gd can kill this giant. I ve see him deliver me frm a lin and bear. Where did he learn that? It is the pattern f Scripture that Gd will put us in places fr a time t wrk n sme dimensin f ur character. And if we miss that we ll miss the very thing Gd is intending t use in ur lives. Character greatness is frged in the
pasture. Malclm Gladwell, Outliers. He pints ut that peple wh becme great didn t suddenly just becme great, they develped a pattern f greatness in their lives. 10,000 hurs. Yu may be ding smething incnsequential nw, but yu are frming a character habit that is very cnsequential. That s the path principle. Billy Graham 2 ways yu can mess this up: D nthing, and miss ut what Gd is ding in yur life in this seasn: 20:4 The sluggard des nt plw in the autumn; he will seek at harvest and have nthing. There is a time t plant, and a time t reap. But if yu dn t plant, yu wn t reap. Sme f yu, Gd has put a chapter in yur life where He is swing int yu m afraid yu re ging t mess that up because yu re nt swing in the field that is in frnt f yu! When harvest time cmes, yu ll have nthing! Dn t waste yur pain! Dn t waste yur singleness, r whatever time Gd has given yu t sw! Stry f my life is never being satisfied with where I am, but always lking ahead m 36 and I m already thinking abut retiring. A friend f mine in CA has a great take n this says that fr a lt f peple the greatest challenge t experiencing Gd s wrk in their lives is thinking abut their ptential. As Americans, we lve t talk abut ur ptential. Being all we can be. The prblem, hwever, is that keeps us thinking abut where we culd be, rather than where we are We re never fcused n where we are, because we think we were created fr greater. I m like that, but I have realized this All f me; my talents, my ptential And Gd can d with it what He wants. And here s a sbering newsflash: Gd desn t need me He s allwed guys a lt mre talented than me t die His kingdm can g n withut me. S if he puts me in a situatin where I dn t feel I m being maximally used, that is His deal, nt mine. My gifts are His. I belng t Him. The ther way we mess that up is taking a hasty detur. 19:2 Desire withut wisdm is nt gd, and whever makes haste with his feet misses his way. Yu have this desire, and it s nt being fulfilled, s yu d smething hasty Yu can t stand t be single, s yu starting dating a guy Yu drp ut f schl. Me and Bruce in seminary. Gd develps peple in the desert. S be faithful where yu are. It is in the pasture that
Gd frges character. S, yu can d nthing, take a detur; r, yu can cmmit t Gd and let Him d His wrk in yu during yur autumn seasn. We have sme ladies wh are immensely talented, but fr a time yu have kids yu struggle with that n ne side yu have yur kids; Cmmit that t Gd and be fully faithful with what is in frnt f yu. If yu re in seminary r cllege, plunge yurself int yur studies. Be faithful. If yu wrk at Chic-Fil-A, be the best dang chic-fil-a emplyee there s nthing impressive abut a guy wh is always telling yu he ll d great things; there s smething very impressive abut smene wh is great even when they d incnsequential things. III. Give Great Cnsideratin t Whm yu must answer (v. 2) 2 All the ways f a man are pure in his wn eyes, but the Lrd weighs the spirit. Pure What if everyne speaks well f yu, yu are a success in everyne s eyes, but Gd des nt? All thrugh Prverbs, mst imprtant thing t remember Yu have t give an accunt t Gd fr the way yu lived yur life. The questin f eternity is the mst imprtant questin yu will ever cnsider. Luther: nly tw days If yu died tday, what wuld it be like fr yu t stand befre Gd? Pnder the path f yur feet. What path are yu n right nw? Brad is the path, and wide is the way, that leads t destructin Gspel: Gd created us t live and serve and lve Him. But we have chsen t live ur wn way. Right nw, smene ultimately calls the shts in yur life. Yu may think f yurself as a fairly gd persn, but that s nt the pint. Is Gd fully in charge f yur life? If nt, that is called sin. And there is a punishment fr ur sin. We are separated frm Gd and under His righteus judgment. That s where Jesus cmes in. Jesus came as the Savir, t live the life we were suppsed t live and died the death we had been cndemned t die, in ur place. This is available t all wh will repent f their sin, turn ver cmplete cntrl f their lives t Jesus, and receive His free ffer f frgiveness and salvatin. Have yu dne that? Have yu ever fully received Jesus Christ as Lrd and Savir?
If nt, yu can d that tday Prayer: Jesus, I dn t want t be in cntrl f my life anymre, I want yu t be. Right nw I surrender myself t yu. I receive Jesus as my savir, and I want Him t frgive and save me. In Jesus name Gd, I ll depend n yu t bring this abut in yur way and yur time; I ll be faithful t d, with all the strength yu give me, what is frnt f me. Help me nt t be restless.
Bullpen: Malclm Gladwell had an interesting take n this in a bk I read recently called Outliers He pints ut that peple wh becme great didn t suddenly just becme great, they develped a pattern f greatness in their lives. He talks specifically abut sme Asians that have suddenly becme very successful in the accunting and cmputing business, and he says that ne f the reasns fr this stems t the culture they cme ut f. One f the main industries in Asian cuntries had been the keeping f rice patties yu have t wrk very hard, and keep very rganized and accurate accunting. What sme lder Asians find really depressing, Gladwell says, is that keeping a rice patty is cnsidered useless wrk Yu may be ding smething incnsequential nw, but yu are frming a character habit that is very cnsequential. Remember the path principle? This is it. Yu re n a path right nw that is taking yu smewhere in the future and part f that path is develping the character Gd wants fr yu. 2 nd thught is fr yu that are lder: Beware f thinking Gd may nt just change the directin f yur life unexpectedly. Heard a guy appraching retirement age ll abruptly stp and start anther ne. Yu never knw when ne will end and when anther begins. The mst imprtant thing is that yu respnd with faithfulness t every chapter. Are yu being faithful t what is in frnt f yu? Nthing impressive wh talks abut the things he is ging t d I wn t even depend n myself t bring it abut. (Sheep prayer all the way my Savir leads me. Gd has been cmmitted t my life and salvatin than I have!) (mst f ur cllege students just gt back and pretty sn sme f yu are ging t be saying, I dn t like being a student. Have truble staying fcused in yur classes Same thing with ur decisins in life. At every pint each f ur decisins are putting us n a path that is leading us smewhere. It desn t matter if we want t g t that destinatin, r intend t, if we re n that path, that s where we re
ging! Because, Anther example: I get lst a lt... fr whatever reasn when Gd was passing ut a sense f directin I gt ttally verlked re driving arund and I pull up t a stp sign, and I kind f sit there nt knwing which way t g We re in ur neighbrhd. Seriusly. Gd did nt endw any part f this brain with a sense f directin. Nw, here s the thing t matter m a sincere driver. I always intend t get t my destinatin. But the paths I get n take me smewhere. ((A friend this week: Shw me yur glry t understand, but let s us see His back s we knw that He was there III. Entrust yur dreams t Him 16:3 Cmmit yur wrk t the Lrd, and yur plans will be established. established : wrd fr creatin. make plans (battle terminlgy) cmmit Trust Gd rather than yurself! (sheep prayer) It is nt fr yu t cntrl utcmes, it is fr yu t be faithful in all things. Prv 3:5 6 (Prceed with humility 27:1: D nt bast abut tmrrw, fr yu d nt knw what a day may bring Yu may nt knw best All the way, my Savir leads me) David. Aninted but sent t a pasture. It was nt despite thse things, but because f thse things And if they had nt been faithful in the present, they wuld have gtten t that place Gd intended fr them in the future. At n pint des Gd s svereignty remve ur respnsibility t make plans! These things are hnestly beynd us. French mathematician. Wherever yu are, yu are right where Gd intends fr yu t be. Yu may nt understand hw this is wrking fr Gd s purpse, but it is.
Nt a statement that Gd authrs evil, but that Gd is in cntrl, and Gd can use the free chices f men, even acts f human rebellin fr His purpses. 16:1 4, 9 1 The plans f the heart belng t man, but the answer f the tngue is frm the Lrd. 2 All the ways f a man are pure in his wn eyes, but the Lrd weighs the spirit. 3 Cmmit yur wrk t the Lrd, and yur plans will be established. 4 The Lrd has made everything fr its purpse, even the wicked fr the day f truble. 9 The heart f man plans his way, but the Lrd establishes his steps. Be careful hw yu interpret these verses Analyze ur mtives 1 The plans f the heart belng t man, but the answer f the tngue is frm the Lrd. Plan (battle terminlgy), but trust Gd (Kitchen) 16:9 The heart f man plans his way, but the Lrd establishes his steps. 19:21: Many are the plans in the mind f a man, but it is the purpse f the Lrd that will stand. 4 The Lrd has made everything fr its purpse, even the wicked fr the day f truble. Gd asserts here, in simple terms, that His plan is s all encmpassing that even the rebellin f man will in the end be made t serve His purpses Pharah Jseph The crss (Acts 2:22 24) Rmans 8:28 Nt a statement that Gd authrs evil, but that Gd is in cntrl, and Gd can use the very act f human rebellin and autnmy fr His purpses. (Lngman) But I dn t understand Shw me yur glry Jb 2 All the ways f a man are pure in his wn eyes, but the Lrd weighs the spirit.
Prv 4:26 3 Cmmit yur wrk t the Lrd, and yur plans will be established. Cmmit: literally, t rll (Gl-el) rll yur plans nt Gd Established: wrd used t describe Gd s wrk in creatin. We are given the privilege f seeing ur plans becme a part f His-stry! We are n a path. In everything character is develping. 16:1 The plans f the heart belng t man, but the answer f the tngue is frm the Lrd; Yu make plans He ll repeat himself in vs. 9, 16:9 The heart f man plans his way, but the Lrd establishes his steps. 16:4 The Lrd has made everything fr its purpse, even the wicked fr the day f truble. Even bad things Gd uses I. Recgnize Gd s svereignty ver ur lives (16:1, 4) 16:9 The heart f man plans his way, but the Lrd establishes his steps. 16:33 The lt is cast int the lap, but its every decisin is frm the Lrd. In all things, Slmn is saying, Gd has exercised a svereign cntrl ver yur life. (This is ging t be hard t get yur mind arund, and I dn t understand all f it.) Accrding t Prverbs, wherever yu are, and hwever yu gt there, if yu are surrendered t Gd, yu are right where Gd wants yu t be. I dn t want t be here; I never intended r planned t be here If I d just made better decisins I wuldn t be here Maybe yu say, It s nt my fault I m here. I was wrnged, verlked. My husband left me. Or, I gt passed ver fr prmtin r denied entry int a prgram. But the breadth f these verses is immense 16:1 The plans f the heart belng t man, but the answer f the tngue is frm the Lrd;
16:9 The heart f man plans his way, but the Lrd establishes his steps. Dumb luck 16:33 The lt is cast int the lap, but its every decisin is frm the Lrd. They even cver when smene des what Gd didn t want them t d 16:4 The Lrd has made everything fr its purpse, even the wicked fr the day f truble. Here s anther ne n that ne 21:1: The king's heart is a stream f water in the hand f the Lrd; he turns it wherever he will. There is n king in thse days was the mst pwerful svereign. N ther svereign. Gd s plan is s all-encmpassing that even the rebellin and wickedness f men will in the end be made t serve His purpses. OT: Pharah OT: Jseph NT: The crss: Acts 2:23, This man was handed ver t yu by Gd s set purpse and freknwledge; and yu, with the help f wicked men, put him t death by nailing him t the crss. Paul, thinking n this, wuld say That means that ur respnsibility is nt t secnd guess hw we gt here, but t serve Gd at the place where we are B