Proverbs | Making Plans (April 18th, 2021) - Mike Armstrong

Alright, get your Bibles open to the book of Proverbs, Proverbs 16 today.

Okay, Proverbs 16.

Now, uh, it happened to, it's happened to every single one of us here uh multiple times throughout our life, many, many times, and that is this you wake up in the morning and you basically have your whole day planned out, the calendar's full, you've got a an idea of what you want to do, what you have to do, what you get to do, what you must do.

Okay, you've got this plan only to have things in the end not quite go according to those plans.

And so and sometimes that's a those are for good reasons, sometimes maybe for not so good reasons.

Maybe a good reason is you know, you were planning to use your, again, that income tax return, right, for certain things, and now you find out pleasantly, hey, I'm getting back even more uh than I thought I was, or I don't have to pay like I thought I was, I actually have some coming back, and so that adjusts your plans in a good way.

Uh sometimes, though, it's a little bit negative.

Again, you've got appointments and schedules, and you gotta be at a certain place at a certain time, and and and you're rushing to get there on time, and then all of a sudden it's a flat tire and it throws everything out of whack.

Maybe your plan has to do with retirement and investments, and it's all financial, and for whatever reason, things just go really sideways with all of that, and your plans uh just don't quite go the way that you were hoping to.

Again, many, many examples of both you know, good or pleasant, and maybe less pleasant ways where our plans don't really work out.

Now, what our plans taking a turn really kind of tells us, I think, at the most basic level, is that we, you and I, we simply don't have the type of control over our lives as we often like to think that we have, or uh that we want to have, right?

I I think that's pretty true.

I mean, Proverbs 16 is a proverb that that basically tells us this, it speaks to the reality of that very thing, that it's it's the Lord who's sovereign, right?

It's not us.

He is the one supreme being, you know, ruler who is in control of absolutely all things.

Right?

He created all, he he knows all, meaning that he knows what tomorrow will bring.

He knows what next week or next month or next year will bring, not to mention what's gonna happen 30 minutes from now.

Okay, but it's not just that he knows what will happen, okay, it's that he's deeply invested in and bringing about all that transpires.

Yeah, that's a lot for our minds to kind of comprehend.

But when we when we take stock of those things, wisdom would tell us that our plans, you know, my desires, your vision for your life, you know, must factor in both our inheritance or our inherent limitations and and our inabilities to control everything, and we must factor in God's incredible, unlimited power and his purposes and his plans for humanity, of which you and I, of course, are very much apart.

Okay, so so here's our main idea today, with all of that being said, you can write this down.

God is sovereign over all my plans, so I will plan accordingly.

Okay, now a simple definition of sovereignty.

It's a big word.

We've we've used it many times before, but a simple definition.

When I think sovereignty and and and who's kind of well versed in this, I often think of John Piper.

So here's his real simple definition of sovereignty.

And again, this will be on the screen for you, but it's God's right and power to do all that he decides to do.

Okay, that's God's sovereignty.

Now, God's providence is something that we need to consider here as well.

God's providence isn't isn't a topic that we necessarily talk about as much, but it really gives us further insights into how God's sovereignty plays out.

It's really important here.

Providence is best understood.

I don't have this on the screen, but here's a definition for you.

And again, I think this is Piper as well.

This is what God's providence is.

God's wise and purposeful sovereignty.

All right?

God's wise and purposeful sovereignty.

So the Lord, it's not just that he's able to do what he wants.

Okay, it's not just that he has the ability and the power.

It's that he always works in loving and wise and very purposeful ways.

Okay, so he's not just all powerful, but he's also good.

I think very important for us to remember that.

God is not some distant, power-hungry, cruel or aloof God who just does whatever he wants whenever he wants.

He is good and he is loving and he is wise.

And therefore, you and I, we can trust him.

We can trust ourselves in his sovereign hands.

Now, I think it's so important for us to kind of lay that groundwork, even just in a in a small way, like we have today, as we now consider the verse we're going to look at here.

This is verse 9 of Proverbs 16.

Take a look.

Here's what it says it says, the heart of man.

Okay, some of your translations might say the mind of man.

All right, so the heart or the heart and the mind are kind of considered like the control center of a person, right?

The kind of the motherboard, if you will.

The heart of man plans his way.

Okay, but the Lord establishes his steps.

Interesting verse, right?

The Lord establishes his steps.

The Lord is the one who arranges or actually determines my steps and your steps.

Uh, Derek Kidner is a theologian.

He wrote a commentary on Proverbs.

I've been reading it along as we've gone here, and this is how he describes this verse and this really this whole Proverbs as meaning this, okay?

For all of his freedom to plan, man only in the event advances God's designs.

Kind of interesting, right?

Here I'll put it another way here.

Uh, you and I all have various plans and ideas.

You and I have these schemes that you know about life, we have these goals in life that we that we set, we want to carry them out, we want to we want to fulfill these things.

And we tend to think that we're the ones kind of doing all the work and and making them come about.

We're controlling the outcome, we're the ones that are realizing our goals.

Okay, but in the end, these these plans coming to fruition are really only ever what God allows or what God purposes.

Okay, because he deems that it somehow fits within the intricacies of his grand master plan to bring him glory in some way.

Now, I I think there's a lot for us to kind of chew on there.

You know, when you think about our freedom to plan, right?

We we do, we do have freedom to plan.

Our families plan this afternoon, I think we're still allowed to do this.

We're gonna like go outside.

We're gonna we're gonna take our dog for a hike.

Right?

That is our plan.

We came up with that, we could change the plan, maybe we will change the plan.

I don't know.

But somehow that all works within the umbrella of of God's sovereignty.

And the fact that ultimately it's it's his goals, his plans being realized.

Now, how these things kind of work together, I don't know.

I I don't know how to fully answer that.

I know that as I get older, the more I am, I stand in wonder at that.

How I I have a will, you know, we hear about free will, but at the same time, that's still in submission somehow to God's will and God's sovereignty.

I mean, that kind of blows blows my mind, to be honest with you.

For some Christians, as we consider all of this, it it's an anxiety-reducing relief.

You're like, all right, God is God is sovereign.

This brings me, this helps me to relax.

This help, this helps me to know that my future, my, you know, the way that my life is going to play out, it's ultimately in his hands.

There's joy in that, there's there's hope in that.

Because we realize that he's got this.

For others, Christians too, it it's it's inherently frustrating as we consider those things.

Right?

Because we crave that ability to control.

Right?

We want to dictate the terms, we want to do what we want.

We want to determine our plans, we want to determine our lives in, let's be honest, very godlike ways.

And so I just kind of posed the question to to all of us here, to you, like which one are you?

You know, as you think about making plans for the future, and as you think about your part in that, you think about God's sovereignty and all of that, does it frustrate you to think that that God is all powerful?

Do you have that that control idol in you, that that that power idol that you want to be in the place of God, you want to control those things?

Do you get do you get angry?

Do you get depressed when your plans don't pan out the way that you wanted?

Or are you the kind of person, and and maybe it's been through experience and learning the hard way and all of that, where you're just like, you know what, the best thing, I've just learned it, the best thing is to pray and allow the Lord to do what he wants in my life.

And really bring him into the picture and into the mix as I plan for the future.

And so, as you think about all of these things, all of that, here are five things for you and I to keep in mind as and for us to consider when it comes to making plans for the future.

Okay, so five things.

Again, you can jot these down.

Now, this is for you know those big plans that we have, those epic plans that we have in life, it's the small plans, it's the short-term plans what we're gonna do this afternoon, it's the long-term plans, what we're gonna do in 30 years from now.

Okay, five things to keep in mind.

Okay, first of all, assume that my desires are tainted by pride.

We've got to we've got to assume that.

And and I really love, again, a few verses in Proverbs 16 here that we're gonna look at throughout this, but but Proverbs 16 verse 2 now, it says this all the ways of man are pure in his own eyes.

Proverbs 16:2

Okay, but the Lord weighs the Spirit.

Meaning you and I tend to think that our ways are so pure, we're so righteous.

Oh, I'm just in it for God's glory.

That's all I want.

Really?

Right?

It's uh you know, I we just we're we're in the market for a new TV.

You know, it's amazing how easily I, you know, I'm looking at a TV, and and the bigger the TV, the more glory it will bring to God.

Oh, this will be so great for small group.

You know, you think about that, oh, watching the live stream, it's gonna be so much better.

News flash though, I get worse looking the bigger the TV gets, for sure, on the live stream.

Okay, but we gotta always assume that our desires are somehow tainted by pride in whatever we want.

Like all the ways of man are pure in our own eyes.

We tend to give ourselves a path, we tend to think that we're so righteous and holy, but the Lord is the one, he can really see it all, right?

He weighs the spirit.

Proverbs 16, verse 18 now says, pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit, an arrogant spirit, uh, before a fall.

Proverbs 16:18

And so, really, I think what this means is if we're to assume that our motives are going to be tainted by pride, it really comes down to just humbly asking the Lord, Lord, would you reveal my motives as I make plans here?

As I plan for the future, would you give me desires that are in line with your desires as I plan and strategize?

Okay, that's the first thing.

Second thing here, when we are making plans for the future, uh, making zero plans isn't the answer either.

Right?

It might be very easy for you in kind of this jaded way to consider the the sovereignty of God and be like, well, what's the plan of planning anything?

What's the point?

Like that if God's just gonna do whatever he wants, therefore I should just coast, I should do nothing, but I mean that isn't the answer.

Again, it's it really comes down to our plans being surrendered to and for the furthering of God's glory.

Right?

The building of his kingdom, not our own.

Uh, verse 3 now in Proverbs 16 says, Commit your work, okay, commit your efforts to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

Your plans will be established.

You know, again, we have to understand what with the Proverbs, and this would be one of them here, these are not promises, like every plan you ever have will be established as long as you toss out a cursory prayer to the Lord asking him to bless it.

It's not to say it's not a promise, it's just a general truth.

A general truth.

If you're honestly, you know, looking for your plans to glorify God and how you live and how you carry about your day, your time, your money, your relationships, all of that, generally speaking, your plans will be established.

Okay, so so making plans is a good thing.

It's not about having none.

That's not the answer.

Third thing I must hold my plans loosely.

We gotta hold our plans loosely.

You ever had a plan, a game plan?

Maybe it's about a vacation, and you're just like, this is gonna be the greatest thing ever, and your heart is like so tied into this, and then something goes wrong and it doesn't happen, you're crushed, you're disappointed.

But I think in general, we need to learn to hold to our plans loosely a little bit.

James chapter four uh talks about this, starting in verse 13.

I'll read it.

It says, Come now, you who say today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit.

Okay, so the person who has all these plans for making money in the future says, Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.

Bottom line, we don't.

Says, What is your life?

This brings us back to reality, for you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Instead, you ought to say, if the Lord wills, we will live and do this or do that.

As it is, you boast in your arrogance, all such boasting is evil.

So many times our our our visioning, our planning, our strategizing, there's boasting in it, there's there's arrogance in it.

We do ought to, we we ought to have the mentality of like, if the Lord wills, we'll do this.

And if he doesn't, so be it.

Glory to God.

Fourth thing here when it comes to making plans for the future, seeking wisdom from others leads to success.

Okay, I think sometimes what happens is when we're making plans, I'll use myself when it comes to the whole like we need a new TV.

Sometimes I make that plan and it's I I don't consult anybody.

Maybe I'm not really talking to Ange much about it, or I'm not you know talking to outside people, and so it's just kind of becomes this echo chamber within my own soul and my own head of like, yeah, that's a great idea, Mike.

Actually, maybe you should get the bigger one, maybe you should get the more expensive one.

And and I'm not really I'm not really bringing anybody else into that.

Again, that's just kind of a lame little example.

But when we seek wisdom from others, it can lead to success.

Again, Proverbs 15, verse 22 says, Without counsel, plans fail.

Proverbs 15:22

Without counsel, plans fail, but with many advisors, they succeed.

When you talk to somebody, you say, Hey, this is kind of what I'm thinking in terms of my retirement, or this is what I'm thinking in terms of how I want to serve in the church, or this is what I'm thinking in terms of a good way to spend my time this summer or in the evenings.

When you talk to somebody like that, they'll be able to help you walk it through, maybe give you some advice and some counsel that you weren't considering before.

Maybe they'll see a blind spot in you that you weren't seeing.

Maybe they'll be able to encourage you, maybe your thinking is in line with what is good and right.

Without counsel, plans fail, but with many advisors they succeed.

Again, this is generally true.

And then here's the final one here as we make plans for the future.

Make my plans from a place of gratitude for Christ in the gospel.

How key is this?

And I think Colossians 3, verse 17 speaks to this.

Colossians 3:17

It says, and whatever you do, okay, whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Okay, so as we as we meditate on who Jesus is, right?

He is He is God, He is the Savior of the world, as we as we consider deeply what He's done for us, dying on the cross for our sins, He's risen to new life, defeated death, defeated sin, brought us together with our Heavenly Father again.

As we consider all of this through the gospel and the life that he has blessed us with, right?

He has blessed us with life.

It's very easy to not think that, or to think that these days we're not blessed.

We can't do this, we can't do that, we can't go this way, I can't look at this person's face, I can't fist bump somebody, I can't, all the things that we can't do.

But as we really stop and consider all the ways that he has blessed us, the life that he has given us, the eternal future that he has promised for us, I think when we consider all of these things and our and our hearts are captivated by all of these things, it helps us plan accordingly.

It really does.

With gratitude in our hearts and his exaltation as our focus.

It's your families, it's with the person kind of next to you.

Again, if you need to, you can kind of move the chairs around and do all of that.

If you're at home and you want somebody to pray with, we're gonna have a prayer time at 11:45 on Zoom.

So just hang tight with all of that.

But we're gonna go to prayer.

You see the prayer points there, uh, that we really kind of get our hearts in the right place when it comes to making plans, surrendering some things, maybe confessing and repenting of some things, and that the Lord would in fact give us good success as we seek to glorify him.

So we're gonna pray in just a moment.

I'm gonna pray first, and then once you're done with your prayer time, uh you're free to leave.

Let's pray.

Lord, we thank you for your word.

We thank you for this amazing verse, Lord.

It's it communicates so many things to us, Lord.

We thank you, first of all, for your sovereignty that this proverb, Lord, uh shows us that, that you are in control, you are all powerful, you determine, Lord, and and in that you do that for your glory and with our best in mind.

Lord, we we confess that in our in our finiteness, we can't even fully wrap our minds around how that all works with the fact that we are to plan for the future and and we do have a will, and we can change our minds, and we can do all of that, Lord.

We just we stand back and we marvel at the end of the day how it all works and that you understand it, and all of that is in your hands.

And so, God, I pray that as we think about our planning and think about the future as individuals, families, as a church, Lord, I pray that our plans would be more and more surrendered to you and your kingdom, Lord, your will, your glory.

So, God, as we pray now, hear our cries.

We pray all this in Christ's name.

Amen.