God's plans || our plans

Good morning, everyone, and happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.

I got the standard socks this morning, which declares that apparently I'm number one dad.

So that settles the matter. That's the final word on that.

In fact, I got five pairs that say I am number one dad, so I get to wear them every day at work.

So, yeah, anyway.

Have a great day.

On the screen is one of my prized possessions.

It's a certificate of competency as a powder man.

Now, that's not a license as a makeup artist.

It's, in fact, an explosives license.

And I got that when I was 21.

And I don't know why you're laughing.

I used to wear flannelette shirts before they were famous and before they were fashionable.

In fact, it's when all Bogans wore them.

And so that was many years ago now.

But as soon as I got that license...

Let's go back to the other screen. Oh, good.

As soon as I got that license, I went out and bought 25 kilograms of explosives,

which I was allowed to do because I had a license.

I was a competent powder man.

And my grandmother was visiting at the time that I did this,

and so I wanted to show her my newfound skill.

And so I picked this old dead tree, which is about 300 meters from our house,

and decided that I would show her how to dislodge a tree using explosives.

I calculated the size of the tree and all that sort of stuff.

I needed about four kilograms of explosives,

so I prepared some strategic holes under the tree.

And then I had one of those moments, which you have when you're 21,

of thinking, well, what if four kilograms is not enough?

I knew, for instance, that you couldn't put...

You couldn't do a second blast.

You had one attempt at this.

And so I decided, well, let's just add a little bit more,

just to make sure.

And after topping up the four kilos,

I realised in my bucket of prepared explosives

that I had were just a little bit left over.

And so I put that in too.

And so in the end of it,

I ended up with eight kilos of explosives under this tree,

went out and got my grandmother,

stood her in the position that she needed to be standing.

I went and I lit the fuse, which is a two-minute fuse,

and you hastily walk away from the explosion site at that point.

Don't run, because you might trip over.

You hastily walk away.

And then I got to where my grandmother was,

which was just outside the back door of our house,

and in that moment,

I'm doing what sensible people do,

and you go over the calculations again

to make sure you got it all right.

Now, most sensible people do that

before they've lit the fuse.

But I'm sitting there,

and it was at that moment I thought,

oh, my goodness, there's one calculation I forgot,

and that was the calculation of amount of explosives

compared to distance from the blast site

that you need to be.

And it just went poof.

And what happens is you see it.

Then you hear it, and then you feel it.

That's what happens with an explosion.

It's awesome.

And that's going back to last week.

It truly is awesome.

And so it was at that moment I realised 300 metres from the blast site

is correct for four kilos, but not for eight.

It went off,

and it all...

You know, the tree's on its mission to Mars.

And there's stuff going everywhere.

And then there's this eerie silence.

And then I could start hearing this...

What's that?

It's getting louder.

And it's sounding like it's pretty fast.

And then...

Right!

Five metres from us,

this rock the size of my fist

embedded itself into the ground.

By the grace of God,

I just grabbed a sheet of iron and put it over us.

What else can we do?

My grandma couldn't run to the house.

I mean, it was my first attempt to think,

well, she's lived long.

I mean, it's okay.

You know?

I'm only young, you know?

I've got a lot to live for here.

I could run.

But anyway,

all this stuff comes down.

And just to give you an idea,

a lump of wood,

the size of our communion table behind us here,

landed 300 metres past us.

Okay.

So it travelled 600...

It landed 600 metres from the blast site

in the neighbour's place.

For it to land 600 metres away,

it goes twice as high.

So it went 1.2 kilometres into the air

and boom!

Into his...

You need a tractor to pull it out

of where it landed.

And it was pretty impressive.

And it was purely by the grace of God

that no one was killed.

No animals were injured

in the whole experiment.

No dents,

no windows were broken,

no cars were dented.

Nothing went wrong at all.

Now, at 21,

I had a certificate of competency

as a powder man,

but I wasn't competent

in regard to the realities of life.

That's a pretty dangerous combination.

Pretty dangerous combination.

The definition of wisdom

that we've been working with

in this series is

is that wisdom is becoming competent

in regard to the realities of life.

Wisdom is more than just pure intellect

and passing exams

and gathering qualifications

such as certificate of competency

as a powder man.

Wisdom is knowing

how things actually are

in this world,

how things work in this world,

and how to live

in accordance to that.

Now, it's 26 years

since I made that decision

and blew up that tree.

And I've got 26 years

more of experience behind me now

and I've still got the license.

I've grown and I've changed.

And if I had exactly

the same opportunity again,

I'd do exactly the same thing.

It was awesome,

let me tell you.

It was fantastic.

I mean, there's nothing like

a great explosion.

Except this time,

what I'd do is

I'd stand a bit further away.

That's all.

I'd still overload the tree.

I'd still put too much in.

It's just a habit of mine.

I overload, you know.

But I'd just stand further away.

See, making wise choices

is the key to wisdom.

It's one of the key elements,

if you like, to wisdom.

It's not too much to say

that you make or break your life,

or potentially other people's lives,

on the basis of your choices.

There's a whole category of choices

that you don't need a lot of help with.

You know, it might be

20% of the choices we face,

you don't need a whole lot of,

you don't need to spend time.

You know, for instance,

you're married or a married person

propositions you to commit adultery

and the things might not be going well

in your own marriage

and this is a very real possibility.

It's not something

you need to pray about.

You don't need to spend time

on that work.

What's the will of God at this point?

He's made it really clear

in the Bible.

Don't do it.

But there's about 80% of choices in life

where, is this the right person to hire?

Is this the right career?

Is this the right amount of freedom

to give my child in this moment?

Is this the right person

to have confidence in?

Is this the right person to marry?

In those situations,

there is a number,

multitude of options.

And most of those decisions

are moral,

most of them are legal,

most of them are allowable,

but it doesn't mean that,

therefore,

you don't need wisdom

in the choice.

Yeah, for instance,

it is totally legal

and allowable

for middle-aged men

to wear these pants.

You know,

I didn't break the law

when I bought these things.

However,

Lady Wisdom,

as Proverbs calls her,

and in my hand,

we call her Natalie,

as she suggests,

it is totally,

I should buck the trend

of middle-aged men

wearing these things

without putting shorts

over the top of them.

You see,

that's what wisdom does.

So we need guidance

to make a whole bunch

of choices in life,

all the decisions

that we face

where the Bible

is not,

you know,

black and white on them.

We need guidance

to make these wise decisions.

And the Hebrew word

for guidance

occurs a number of times

in Proverbs,

such as in Proverbs 11,

Proverbs 11:3

verse 3,

where it says,

the integrity

of the upright guides them,

but the unfaithful

are destroyed

by their duplicity.

Now,

the word that we translate

there into the English

word guidance

comes from the Hebrew word

rope.

It's the origin

of the word

is of rope.

There is the idea

of sailing boats.

The rope

which hoists the sail

or lowers the sail

or changes the direction

of the sail.

It carries the concept

of navigation

to it.

And so that's

what we're facing here.

How do we get

God's navigation?

How do we get

God's guidance?

How do we get

God's navigation

when we're faced

with all these choices

about is it this way

or that way?

That's what we're

going to look at

very briefly.

And I suspect

by the time

we finish the day

you're going to be

frustrated.

Just give your heads

up on that one.

So let's have a look

at a couple of parables.

Proverbs 21

I've got an outline

in front of you

so hopefully

some of these passages

are in front of you.

Proverbs 21

Proverbs 21:5

verse 5

and 1633.

21 5

The plans of the diligent

lead to profit

as surely as haste

leads to poverty.

Now that proverb

to us

makes sense.

It encourages

action,

planning,

strategy,

making decisions.

decisions.

That's fine

and it's particularly

good for people

with my type

of personality.

But what about

Proverbs 16

33?

The lot is cast

into the lap

but it's every

decision

is from the Lord.

Now

the lot casting

there is equivalent

to what we might

call rolling a dice

or flipping a coin

or picking

drawing a straw.

So what's it saying?

It's saying

that every

coin toss

every detail

comes down

exactly the way

that God

plans it

to come down.

How do you

hold

Proverbs 21

5

and 1633

together?

You see

we tend to feel

that either

our choices

matter

and our destiny

is fixed

or we believe

that everything

is fixed

and so

who cares

what you do?

We tend to

go on one

of those two

and yet the Bible

says that we

are absolutely

free

and absolutely

determined

at exactly

the same time.

we see it

again in

Proverbs 16

1

and verse

9

16

1

to humans

belong

the plans

of the heart

but the

Lord

comes

from the

Lord

comes

the proper

answer

of the

tongue

then down

in verse

9

in their

hearts

humans

plan

their

course

but the

Lord

establishes

their

steps

your

plans

and your

choices

are

yours

you are

responsible

of them

God's

not

forcing you

in any

direction

do something

stupid

do something

wicked

do something

cruel

do something

selfish

and there

will be

bad

consequences

for those

things

people will

hold you

accountable

and they

should hold

you

accountable

the police

will hold

you

accountable

they should

hold you

accountable

God

will hold

you

accountable

and he

should

hold you

accountable

but

what

actually

happens

as a

result

of your

stupid

choices

are

absolutely

controlled

fixed

and set

by God

I made

a stupid

decision

to overload

a tree

stump

and it was

a complete

grace of

God that

nothing went

wrong

nothing happens

that is not

in accordance

with his

plan

our choices

belong to

us

but what

actually

happens as a

result of

those plans

is set by

God

and both

of those

things happen

at exactly

the same

time

it's not

50-50

50%

free

50%

determined

it's

100%

free

in our

choices

and 100%

determined

under the

sovereignty

of God

and human

categories

cannot

work that

out

it just

blows

your mind

there is

no human

category

to fit

that in

we tend

to think

that things

are either

free

or they're

fixed

people in

ancient

times

essentially

saw that

people were

fated

the order

behind the

universe

was set

and you

either

learnt to

submit to

it in a

stoic

brave

kind of

way

or your

whole life

would be

dashed to

pieces

that's

that's the

ancient

times

one example

is

Oedipus

from

Oedipus

from Greek

mythology

who was

fated

in an

oracle

that he

was going

to kill

his father

and marry

his mother

and it

didn't

no matter

what he

did

he tried

to do

everything

possible

not to

do that

including

running

totally the

opposite

direction

to his

parents

it's

exactly

what

happened

now the

rise of

the Christian

faith

in those

times

brought

quite a

different

perspective

on the

universe

Christianity

saw the

universe

and still

sees the

universe

not as

an

impersonal

order

that

somehow

you

were

fated

with

but as

a

universe

made

by a

personal

God

who

created

human

beings

as

responsible

moral

beings

and who

cared

about

how we

live

and he

still

cares

about

how we

live

and how

we

behave

and the

choices

that we

make

our

secular

culture

has

taken

the

corrective

good

that

Christianity

brought

into our

world

and has

taken it

into the

extreme

the other

way

that is

Christianity

poured

into

our

world

the importance

of individual

choices

and our

culture

has

gone

radically

and

increasingly

individualistic

take God

out of

the

picture

and so

the

highest

purpose

of our

culture

is to

set

all

individuals

free

to live

as they

choose

without

any

hindrance

from other

people

and certainly

not from

God

and so

choice

individual

choice

is the

one

sacred

value

and

discrimination

the only

moral

evil

we

tolerate

everything

except

intolerance

that is

in our

world

nothing is

set

nothing is

fixed

nothing is

determined

your future

is what you

make of it

and we

see that

when we

move from

Oedipus

in classic

ancient literature

to Marty

McFly

in classic

modern

Hollywood

at the

end of

the

Back to

the Future

trilogy

of movies

Doc Brown

explains

the profound

message

of those

movies

and he

says to

Marty

McFly

your future

is whatever

you make it

so make it

a good

one

that's

popular

culture

that's the

way our

world

thinks

that's what

we believe

in this

country

now while

it might

be hard

to hold

together

the concept

that

intellectually

hold together

that we're

100%

free

and 100%

fixed and

determined

at the same

time

there is

something

in our

hearts

that

connects

with that

and resonates

with that

there's

something about

it that rings

true

you see

if you

believe

that you

are either

totally

free

or totally

fixed

then put it

mildly

you're stuffed

either way

if you

believe that

there is

no connection

between your

choices and

your destiny

that is

everything's

fixed

everything's

faded

then you're

going to be

totally

passive

you're going

to be

bored

you're going

to be

cynical

you're going

to be

hard

you're going

to be

indifferent

and in fact

too many

Christians who

believe 100%

in the

sovereignty of

God

default into

that position

of not

making any

choices or

doing

anything

however if

you go with

popular culture

and believe

that there is

a total

connection

between your

choices

and your

destiny

and if you

truly believe

that

that you

are free

and if you

truly thought

about it

you wouldn't

get out of

bed in the

morning

you'd be

too scared

to

what fool

knowing how

little we know

about this

world and the

way it

works

would want

to live

in a

universe

where your

future is

completely

determined

and fixed

by the

choices that

we make

day by

day

what fool

wants to

really live

like that

you'd be

too scared

to get

out of

bed

so even

though what

these

proverbs are

saying are

pretty hard

to hold

together

intellectually

they are

so practical

the bible

doesn't say

that your

choices have

no connection

to your

destiny

or that

our choices

determine

our ultimate

destiny

the bible

says that

god in his

sovereignty

partially relates

our choices

to our

destiny

but he is

the one who

fixes our

destiny

we have

every incentive

therefore

day by day

to live

wisely

to make

great

choices

but behind

it all

is a god

who is

working out

everything

for the

good of

those who

trust in

him

now

god's

guidance

is however

not always

obvious

notice

proverbs

16

4

the lord

works out

everything

to its

proper

end

even the

wicked

for the

day

disaster

now that

is saying

that not

only are

the little

things

part of

god's

plan

but so

are the

bad

things

part of

god's

plan

now if

we hadn't

just

gone through

what we

just

gone

through

we'd be

saying

well

you know

it appears

there that

god is the

author of

evil

but remember

what we've

just read

to humans

belong the

plans of

the heart

evil deeds

belong to

the evil

doer

they are

responsible

god doesn't

force anyone

to do evil

deeds

they are

your deeds

they are

my deeds

and yet

god is

going to

overrule

and weave

through that

the ultimate

good even

in the worst

of things

not necessarily

immediately

it says

in the

end

and a great

example of that

is joseph

in the old

testament

genesis

37

to 50

he's one

of many

sons to

his father

jacob

jacob

had been

poisoning

the relationship

between his

boys

by favouring

joseph

and as a

young lad

joseph

wasn't helping

things a whole

lot by kind

of rubbing

his brother's

nose in it

by showing off

he's the one

with the fancy

coloured coat

and one day

the brothers

got jack of it

they threw

him in a pit

and then they

sealed him

off to

slavery

and as a

slave in

egypt

joseph

went from

one pit

to another

pit

to another

pit

from one

dungeon

to another

dungeon

he was

accused of

wrongdoing

and it

seems that

things just

went from

bad to

worse

year after

year

he cries

out to

god

consistently

help me

god

help me

god

help me

god

and there's

no answer

only years

later

do we

see

that

because

of

each

one

of

those

things

that

god

had

shaped

him

and

elevated

him

to a

man

of

greatness

bit

by bit

by bit

and as a

result

his family

and in fact

the whole

part of

the world

are saved

from starvation

in the

end

and in

Joseph's

famous

summary

of all

these

events

of his

life

we have

an almost

exact

statement

of what

we have

here in

Proverbs

16

1

it's in

Genesis

50

20

you intended

to harm

me

but god

intended

it for

good

to accomplish

what is

now being

done

the saving

of many

lives

it's a

wonderful

forerunner

to an

even greater

example of

god at

work through

the paradoxical

and the

non-obvious

the ultimate

good the

redemption of

all humanity

was provided

by the

Lord Jesus

but it was

brought about

through an

act of

horrifying

evil

in Acts

2

Peter's in

front of a

crowd and

he's explaining

the crucifixion

of Jesus

and he says

that though

Jesus was

put to

death by

wicked

people

this was

done

Acts

2

23

by God's

deliberate

plan

and foreknowledge

and this

idea of

this proverb

lies behind

Paul's

assurance in

Romans 8

28 that

in all

things God

works for

those who

love him

who have

been called

according to

his purpose

so never

ever

ever

ever

think that

God is

not working

and

at the

same time

never

ever

ever

think

that you'll

be able to

work it

out what

he's up

to in the

immediate

it's not

always clear

what God's

doing and

he's working

but he is

he is

working

now I've

heard many

people say

that they

need God's

guidance

need to

know God's

will

according to

the Bible

God's

guidance

is something

that he

does

it's

something

that he

does

not just

something

that he

gives

that is

can I

say

right now

under the

sovereignty

of God

you are

standing

in it

you're

standing in

his

guidance

right now

you're in

the middle

of it

you're

standing in

a stream

where he's

in control

of all

things

you don't

most of

the time

we go

you know

God

which direction

which direction

he's moving

you

right now

you are

being

navigated

you just

probably

can't

see it

now of

course God

does give

guidance

so how

does he

do that

so it's

not just

something

that he

does

but it's

also

something

that he

gives

at this

point I

want to

turn our

heads

basically

turn on

our heads

the way

we normally

think about

guidance

and this

I think

is absolutely

essential

and it's

connected to

what we've

already preached

on and

what we

looked at

one of

the most

intriguing

proverbs

is

Proverbs

16

3

it says

this

commit to

the Lord

whatever you

do

and he

will establish

your plans

and we

read that

and we

go oh

that's

awesome

that's what

I'm looking

for

that's

exactly

what I

need

and this

is how

we normally

read it

it seems

so obvious

isn't it

what this

proverb is

saying

we automatically

think

it's you

know commit

your plans

to the Lord

and your

plans your

deeds will

succeed

commit your

plans to the

Lord and

your plans

and your

deeds will

succeed

and we

go wow

that's

awesome

every decision

I need

to make

in life

I just

need

Lord bless

my

plans

and then

they will

succeed

but that's

not what

that proverb

is saying

is it

it's

actually

saying the

exact

opposite

it's

saying that

if you

commit your

deeds to

the Lord

then

you'll

become more

and more

a person

who makes

the right

plans

and the

right

choices

commit your

deeds to

the Lord

not your

plans

your

deeds

to the

Lord

it's

in the

you know

in the

context of

making decisions

for us

as a church

I wrote

this in our

bulletin

this week

if you haven't

already written

it

read it

I'm convinced

that Romans

12

because I'm

asking the

question in

terms of

what do we

do as a

church

do we go

this way

this way

go this

way

and I'm

convinced

that Romans

12

is absolutely

essential for

us

do not

conform any

longer to the

pattern of

this world

but be

transformed in

the renewing of

your mind

then you'll be

able to test

and approve

what God's

will is

his good

pleasing and

perfect will

and then if

you go down

into the

rest of

chapter 12

it tells you

what it looks

like

and I'm

convinced

that what

Romans 12

says is

staff

parish

council

leadership

members

don't

think the

way the

world thinks

be

transformed

pursue

renew mind

in verse

2 of

Romans 12

have humble

views of

yourself

verse 3

look always

to Christ

in faith

in verses

3 and 6

love

authentically

abhor evil

cleave to

the good

in verse

9

rejoice in

hope

be constant

in prayer

in verse

12

Paul's

assumption

is that

that is

the way

that you

discern

the will

of God

that is

what is

good

what is

acceptable

what is

perfect

and I

would add

what is

wise

if you

commit

your

deeds

to the

Lord

then you

will become

a person

who more

and more

discerns

what the

will of

God

is

that is

commit

your life

how you

live to

the Lord

and you

become wiser

in the plans

and decisions

that you

make

now the

word

commit

in verse

16

is a

word

that

means

to put

all your

weight

on

and it's

the same

idea that

we looked

at in

Proverbs

3

last week

unconditional

trust

with all

things

that happen

in your

life

unconditionally

trust God

and you'll

become a

person who

makes plans

in accordance

with

reality

if God

says in

his word

don't do

this

go that

way

do this

you

unconditionally

put your

weight on

him and

what he

has revealed

what he

says

and you

will in

over life

grow and

grow and

grow as a

person in

wisdom

to ask

for the

guidance of

God

requires

abandonment

it's

costly

so this

proverb says

here we

don't say

if I

trust you

you're going

to give

me what

I want

if I

trust you

you're going

to give

me what

I want

that's the

way we

think about

Proverbs

16 3

at first

glance

instead

it says

I trust

you

I trust

you

I trust

you and

therefore

you give

me or

you withhold

from me

whatever

you choose

God's

guidance

is costly

we come

to God

not asking

for his

advice

on the

decision

we come

to him

asking

for his

will

and

seeking

his

will

and his

will

is not

optional

it's not

advice

where we

take it

or leave

it

it's

his

will

remember

what I

said

two weeks

ago

two

questions

to be

wise

I will

obey

anything

you tell

me

whether

I agree

with it

or not

and I

will

accept

anything

you

send

me

whether

I

understand

it

or not

the more

we saturate

ourselves

in what God

has revealed

about himself

his plans

his ways

the way

the world

works

that is

saturate

ourselves

in his

word

and commit

ourselves

to obeying

him

unconditionally

the wiser

we become

in the choices

that we make

now who

does that

totally

the unconditional

total trust

certainly not

the bloke

behind the

microphone

this morning

only Jesus

only Jesus

in Mark

14

Jesus is in

the garden

of Gethsemane

and he's

wrestling

wrestling

with God's

plan for

him to

go to

the cross

and he

has no

peace

about it

I mean

so many

people come

to me

and say

I'm

trying to

make a

decision

I have

peace

about this

one

but not

that one

as if

somehow

my peace

in my

heart

is the

settled

conclusion

Jesus

didn't

have

peace

in the

garden

of Gethsemane

he's

wrestling

with it

but in

verse

636

he says

Abba

father

everything

is possible