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Depending on Our Designer (James 4:13-17)
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The Holy Spirit inspired James, the pastor of the church in Jerusalem, to equip the body of Christ to pass various tests in life. He had in mind practical, real-life trials such as persecution, patience, prudence, poverty/prosperity, pleasure, partiality and even profanity (or how we use our words).
By the time the author enters the 4th chapter, he is addressing advance planning tests. Since we are currently in the season of final exams for our students with many approaching their high school graduation, most of these are finalizing their plans for what comes next. Is ok to make plans for the future? If so, is there a certain way the Lord would want us to make our plans? Hmmm. Let’s ask James what he learned from Jesus.
James 4:13-17 is a good word regarding making plans for the future. These truths are timeless and can not only serve as a guide to students in their steps but will also lead those in business in drawing up their goals and marking their calendars. We will learn seven principles of planning that will help each of us chart our course in alignment with the will of our great Designer.
1. Imperative of God’s Will, v. 13
2. Indifference to God’s Will, v. 13
3. Invisibility of God’s Will, v. 14
4. Inevitability of God’s Will, v. 14
5. Instruction regarding God’s Will, v. 15
6. Iniquity over God’s Will, v. 16
7. Ignoring God’s Will, v. 17
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Growing in Grace Devotions and Inspirations
Hosted by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam Street
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
http://fbccolumbustx.org/
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Growing in Grace' and Prayer
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Growing in Grace with Pastor Victor Morrison. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas. We are praying that God will bless you as you listen to this message.
00:00:22
Speaker
If you would like additional information on worship times and ministries at FBC Columbus, you can find out more at our website, fbccolumbustx.org. And now, take your copy of God's timeless Word as Pastor Victor gives today's message.
Excitement for Graduation Season
00:00:43
Speaker
Welcome to Growing Grace. You know, right now we are in a special season of the year. I cannot wait to celebrate with the graduating high school seniors. It's always fun to see them walk that that commencement line and just so happy for them.
00:00:59
Speaker
ah Even the time of this broadcast, we're having our senior banquet and senior Sunday and Sunday night is the baccalaureate service.
00:01:10
Speaker
for our whole community. I'm just so excited about all of these things. And I get excited because, you know, God created every one of the students.
Divine Plan and Purpose Discussion
00:01:20
Speaker
Do you know there's a designer And Ephesians 2.10 says, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
00:01:38
Speaker
so it's like God already has in mind this wonderful plan that he's designed us to fulfill. remember what he said to Jeremiah the prophet? In Jeremiah 1.5, he said, before I formed you in the womb, i knew you.
00:01:53
Speaker
And before you were born, I consecrated you. I appointed you a prophet to the nations. Isn't that cool, though? i mean, it I find it restful to know that there's a bigger plan.
00:02:06
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There's someone larger, stronger, wiser than I who's helping me do life.
Faith, Deeds, and Planning with Divine Guidance
00:02:12
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And so that's what James, the half-brother of Jesus, was writing about in James 4, verses 13 through 17.
00:02:20
Speaker
verses thirteen through seventeen You know, James himself ah didn't always believe what his brother was saying, Jesus. You know, he was skeptical until a post-resurrection appearance of Christ totally changed his perspective.
00:02:36
Speaker
He later became the pastor of the Jerusalem church And even in Galatians is described like a pillar. And so definitely he became a strong man of God.
00:02:47
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But James likely wrote this letter that I'm about to read a few verses from. ah He wrote it around AD 45 to 48, just prior to the Jerusalem council, which is described in Acts 15.
00:03:02
Speaker
But ah you know some someone said it's very possible that it it could be the very first New Testament book written. But in this letter, his focus is on practical action in the life of faith.
00:03:17
Speaker
you know He's looking for a real faith that produces authentic deeds. And that's where I want to pick up with James 4, verses 13 through that connects with and how all of that connect with planning.
00:03:33
Speaker
Do you like to plan? Some people are kind of spontaneous and they don't really like to plan. Others, no, they like to have every detail figured out. So never no matter where you are on that spectrum, listen to these words from James 4, verses 13 through 17.
Considering God's Will in Life Plans
00:03:52
Speaker
This message I'm giving in honor of our graduates. 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.
00:04:06
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Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are 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 that.
00:04:24
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As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him, it is sin.
00:04:36
Speaker
I think that James has some wise words here that would be be beneficial not only for a graduate, but even for someone who's in business. So let me just sort of unpack it and let you hear some of the positive things that James is saying to us, both explicitly but also implicitly.
00:04:55
Speaker
And so I'll try to bring it out. He starts out by saying, come now. Do you realize that come is an imperative? You see, God has a plan for us.
00:05:06
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And so really, it's not like an invitation. There's a sense of urgency in this word, come now. It's like God saying, if you only could see what I have planned for you.
00:05:19
Speaker
You know, there was a man named Paul who was missing his target that God had for him. And so if you read in Acts 9, you'll see how Paul had to totally readjust his life because he was moving in the wrong direction.
00:05:33
Speaker
So here's my first takeaway from this passage. Listen and heed the imperative of God's word. God's got a plan.
00:05:44
Speaker
So why not be diligent to seek him for his plan? Don't procrastinate. Don't kick that can down the road and say, well, it doesn't matter if I do it it or not ah this year or that year or this week or that week.
00:05:58
Speaker
No, Do like Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he says to the Father, not my will, but your will be done. Let's move on to another part of verse 13, where you can see not only the imperative of God's will, but some people, quite honestly, are completely indifferent to God's will.
00:06:21
Speaker
They're not alert. They're not perceptive, if God even does have a will. And so what you have here is someone who's talking about a plan that they've made.
00:06:32
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But listen to how detailed their plan is. To be honest, they're quite good at making plans. They said, today or tomorrow, we'll go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit.
00:06:46
Speaker
Wow, I got to looking and there's timing, place, duration, activity, outcome. Man, it's got everything in there, duration and location, vocation and motivation.
00:06:58
Speaker
There's so much that's positive. The Bible is not against planning. So I wanna make sure you understand that right now. The Bible's not against planning, but there's something included in his plan and there's someone excluded from his plan.
00:07:16
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You see, it's not what he has included in his plan that James is all worked up about. It's who he's excluded from his plant plans.
00:07:27
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He's presumed that God is just gonna help him as he goes through his life without actually surrendering his plan, without seeking to to know God's plan.
00:07:39
Speaker
You know, ah over in the book of Proverbs, Proverbs 21.5, it says, "...the plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance." But everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.
00:07:53
Speaker
So the Bible is not against planning, but the Bible is warning us if you make a bunch of plans, but you haven't even said one prayer asking God for guidance, you haven't even made a plan with God anywhere on the radar, all it's saying is you're headed for trouble because what you're doing there, you're ignoring that God has a plan.
00:08:19
Speaker
You're indifferent to God's will. So the first point was the imperative of God's will.
Trusting God's Invisible Yet Inevitable Will
00:08:26
Speaker
We're gonna be diligent and say, Lord, I'm not gonna be procrastinating that I don't wanna wait till midlife and then say, okay, i wish I'd have done things God's way, but also don't wanna be indifferent to God's will.
00:08:39
Speaker
I wanna be alert. I wanna be perceptive. I wanna be hungry to know if you have a plan for me, Lord, I certainly don't wanna ignore it. I want to know it. So that's two of the points.
00:08:52
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But now let's move to verse 14, because it reminds us of a couple of more things that I think should be on our radar. The invisibility of God's will.
00:09:04
Speaker
The invisibility of God's will. You know, I remember when I lived in Alberta, Canada, I was in the bow club for a while and we would go and shoot arrows at targets.
00:09:15
Speaker
Some of them were animal targets. Some of them were just bullseyes and stuff like that. But I remember that my bow had three pin sight. It had a compound bow. It had three pins.
00:09:28
Speaker
And if I didn't take the time to align those pins properly, I'm never going to hit anything. we we You're going to miss the target every single time if you're uninformed, if you're unconvinced, if you're unfaithful.
00:09:44
Speaker
Those are just three possible pins that could be out of alignment. But think about humility. that says to God, Lord, I know that you've got more than I know about.
00:09:56
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There's more than I'm aware of that's out there waiting for me, that my designer has designed for me. And so I wanna be humble enough to realize just because I can't see it doesn't mean that it's not there and it's not a reality.
00:10:14
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You know, listen to what he says here when he says, yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
00:10:25
Speaker
You know, in Proverbs 27, 1, it's something very similar. it says, do not boast about tomorrow. You do not know what a day may bring.
00:10:36
Speaker
And so that's the whole that's the whole idea. Remember when Jesus was talking about worry? and anxiety. Do you ever struggle with anxiety and worry? you You should check out Matthew 6. Jesus has a lot of really comforting words to say about those who wrestle with anxiety.
00:10:55
Speaker
And I don't think it's just students getting ready to graduate that may have battles with anxiety. I think it's all of us. But Matthew 6, 34, Jesus tells tells us one of the tips he gives in there is, I'll tell you what will reduce your anxiety.
00:11:12
Speaker
Don't worry about tomorrow. Just do what you're supposed to do this day and do it every day, and you're going to wind up at the right place. I love that.
00:11:23
Speaker
You know what one guy said? I wrote this down because I thought, man, I hope I don't forget that, but here's what it says. Write your plans in pencil. and then give God the eraser.
00:11:35
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Why am I gonna give God the eraser? Why wouldn't I write my plans in ink and keep the eraser so that God can't erase my plans? No, His plans,
00:11:48
Speaker
They're invisible, so you're not going to be able to see them. And so that's why you're going to say, Lord, I'm going to write it in pencil. This is the best I know ah how I should plan for my next step after graduation.
00:12:01
Speaker
Or maybe let's say you're in business and you've just completed a big project or just completed ah a contract. And so now you're looking for what's next. And so why not be humble about it and say to God, Lord, you know what? I believe you've got customers and clients.
00:12:18
Speaker
You've got projects. You've got degrees and career opportunities out there waiting for me that I don't even know about. And so why should I even act like I know it all?
00:12:30
Speaker
He said, you do not know what tomorrow will bring, is what James reminds us of. So definitely to say, you know what? God's will is invisible. So at any given time in my life, I might not know it all.
00:12:44
Speaker
So that's why I should pray. and ask him, Lord, bring it to the surface, bring it into the light so that I'll know what your will is. So let's move from the invisibility of God's will and indifference to God's will and the imperative of God's will.
00:13:01
Speaker
And let's look at a fourth principle, and that is the inevitability of God's will. It's inevitable.
Aligning Life Plans with God's Will
00:13:09
Speaker
I mean, if we're talking about God's will, then we should realize, hey, this is not something that I get to vote on.
00:13:17
Speaker
This is something God's going to accomplish. So how I ought to approach it is the same way Jesus did, the Son of God, in the Garden of Gethsemane, like I mentioned earlier, where I say in prayer to God, Lord, not my will, but your will be done.
00:13:35
Speaker
If his will is going to be done anyway, then what's the best approach at planning? Yielded. surrendered. Yes, I'm going to make plans. I'm going to plan to go to such and such a city for such and such a length of time to hopefully make a profit to you know do the business I need to do.
00:13:55
Speaker
But along the way, I'm going to be saying to God, Lord, all along the way, I know it's your will that's going to stand the test of time. So I just want you to know my preference is to do your will.
00:14:09
Speaker
Do know that God is not only Lord? He's not only God over the duration of life. He's also a Lord over the donation of life, the impact of life.
00:14:21
Speaker
Don't you want your life to make a big impact? You know, it says in Proverbs in another location, the mind of man plans his way but the Lord directs his steps.
00:14:33
Speaker
So what it's saying is in the end, God has his way. And so we are to say, Lord, I don't want you to show me the hard way. wanna learn the the the right way.
00:14:45
Speaker
And we never know how much time we have left. That's what he's trying to get at here when he says, for your you are mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.
00:14:56
Speaker
He's talking about the brevity of life He's even talking about the frailty of life. You know, Psalm 90 and verse 12 says that we should number our days, not our years.
00:15:12
Speaker
hey, listen, I'm at the age in my life where I would actually prefer to put the number of my years on top of a birthday cake rather than somebody to write the number of my days on a birthday cake.
00:15:26
Speaker
I mean, really, that's what I'm saying. But you know, the Bible actually says, hey, number your days. I know that it's heartbreaking for us when we lose a classmate and the classmate's only 16, 17, 17.
00:15:39
Speaker
seventeen or 18 years of age, there's nothing more difficult in all of life. So you have my compassion on that. You have my empathy and my sympathy on that.
00:15:51
Speaker
But that's why God said to us, I want you to number your days. Live each day to the maximum rather than saying, I've got to live to be 70 or 80 or 90 or 100 years of age.
00:16:05
Speaker
No, you know, George bernard Bernard Shaw, I don't agree with everything that guy said, but one thing he said really made sense. And I thought, you know what? That's real life.
00:16:16
Speaker
Here's what George Bernard Shaw said. The statistics on death are impressive. One out of one people will die. I'm thinking, wow, that's like a wake-up call. It's not something we want to hear, but it's something that's true.
00:16:32
Speaker
It's something that's real and authentic. No wonder Proverbs 19, 21 says, many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.
00:16:45
Speaker
If that's true, that the Lord's purpose is what prevails, then why shouldn't I say, Lord, I want to align my life. I want to align my plans with what your purpose is for why you created me.
00:17:00
Speaker
And so I just encourage you to realize the inevitability of God's will The invisibility of God's will, the possibility of me saying, you know what?
00:17:10
Speaker
I'm gonna be indifferent to God's will. I don't even care about it. No, don't be that way. The imperative of God's will should say, you know what, Lord? I really would like to know your will.
00:17:22
Speaker
It's so important. That's why verse 15, James sort of says, look, he's like a coach and he's saying, this is the way you need to block. This is the way you need to pass.
00:17:34
Speaker
This is the way you need to catch. This is the way you need to run and tuck the ball and so forth. He gives us instruction regarding God's will in verse 15.
00:17:47
Speaker
But the question is, am I teachable? Do I really want to know the way that God wants me to run with the ball that he's given me in life? Do you know that people in ancient times used to end their letters with an abbreviation for a Latin phrase?
00:18:03
Speaker
They would sign their name and then they would write D-V. What does that mean? It meant Deo Volente. It means God willing.
00:18:16
Speaker
In other words, they accepted the fact that God controls the duration of life, not us. They accepted the fact that God controls the details of life.
00:18:27
Speaker
It says, you know, we should say, if the Lord wills, we'll do this, we'll live and do this or that. He knows what I do. makes a big difference to God.
00:18:39
Speaker
That's why we need to trust God for his plans, not our plans. You remember in the Lord's Prayer, you know what he said? yeah Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, that we should say to God, I defer to you.
00:18:53
Speaker
I want to learn your ways. Please coach me, Lord. There was a lady named Adelaide Pollard who longed to join a missionary team. And she said, God, all I need is for you to provide the money and I'll go.
00:19:07
Speaker
But you know what? God didn't provide the money for her to go. The team left and they left without her because the were the the funds were not there. And so she questioned, why me, Lord?
00:19:17
Speaker
Why didn't I get to go? And so she went to this prayer meeting a little bit miffed, a little angry, sort of upset. You ever get angry and upset with God? So during the prayer meeting, she hears one of the other young ladies pray this prayer.
00:19:33
Speaker
It doesn't matter what you do with us, Lord. Just have your way with our lives. She went home and that really spoke to her. She connected with that.
00:19:44
Speaker
She thought about the way she was acting and she thought, what I'm basically saying is not your way, my way. My way is the way that counts. And the next morning, she had her quiet time. She read Jeremiah chapter 18.
00:19:59
Speaker
Maybe if you're still moldable to God's will, you should read that because it talks about the prophet Jeremiah goes into a potter's house, a potter's shop, where he's making some pottery and he's there at the wheel and something's not the way he wanted it to be shaped.
00:20:17
Speaker
So he messes it all up and gets it a clump of clay again and then puts it back on the wheel and shapes it. After seeing that in God's word, she wrote a song.
00:20:28
Speaker
here's Here's what her song said. Have thine own way, Lord, have thine own way. Thou art the potter, I am the clay.
00:20:41
Speaker
Mold me and make me after thy will. While I'm waiting, yield it and still. You know, sometimes we just have to wait.
00:20:51
Speaker
We have to wait for God's will. And so I thought about when I was in that bow club, and I remember three parts to shooting a bow and arrow. There's the draw where you pull the string back.
00:21:03
Speaker
And then there's the aim where you have to carefully search for your target and make sure you're you're aiming properly. And then there's the release where you there's a certain way that you release the string so that it doesn't interrupt that string.
00:21:17
Speaker
And so I thought, really, God's will is much like shooting a bow and arrow. There's the draw where I pull back and say, Lord, I surrender to your will.
00:21:29
Speaker
There's the search for God's will as I wait. And I'm asking him, Lord, I will keep looking until me you show me the target that you have for my life.
00:21:40
Speaker
And then once I see it, I will release it. I will release it and take the first steps in the direction of God's will. But of course, we know that some are not willing to be instructed and taught.
00:21:54
Speaker
Some are like, no, I'm going to make it this. I'm going to make it that. And so unfortunately, we see what happens whenever we are not teachable. We could get into this of boasting.
00:22:06
Speaker
And here's what I'm going to do with my life. Verse 16 says, that is as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. You know, there's a better way to use our words than to boast.
00:22:22
Speaker
How about praising God? How about giving Him glory? How about giving Him thanks? Rather than embracing the worldliness that says, hey, if you don't toot your own horn, nobody else is.
00:22:34
Speaker
When we see clearly in Jeremiah 9, verses 23 and 24, the prophet Jeremiah said, look, don't boast in your wisdom. Don't boast in your might. Don't boast in your riches.
00:22:46
Speaker
So what should we boast in? He says, you boast in this, that you understand God, that you know who God is. You see, boasting, James calls it out for what it is.
00:22:59
Speaker
He said, you really, boasting his is coming from arrogance and boasting is nothing but evil. You know, worldliness is whatever makes sin look normal and righteousness looks strange.
00:23:14
Speaker
It's this desire to say, God, I really want to honor you in my life. I want to know you and I want to follow you and I want to honor you. Well, one last word before we wrap this up.
00:23:26
Speaker
Verse 17 is another principle.
Sin and Misalignment with God's Purpose
00:23:29
Speaker
The iniquity over God's will is verse 16, but ignoring God's will is verse 17. Ignoring God's will.
00:23:37
Speaker
We are to say, I don't wanna ignore God's will. I want to do God's will. I wanna be obedient. But listen to what verse 17 says. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
00:23:53
Speaker
You know what sin is, right? You take the letter S off, you take the letter off, and you've only got one letter left. What's at the middle of sin? What's the heart of sin?
00:24:05
Speaker
i doing what I want to do That's what the whole human race, that's where we got to where we are now with all of our problems and all of our heartaches, how we hurt one another, how we get off track with God's will.
00:24:19
Speaker
Because sin is saying, I'm going to do it my way. You know, Frank Sinatra sang it. Elvis sang it. A lot of people sing that same old song. I did it my way.
00:24:30
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. But you know what? There are sins of commission, but there are also sins of omission. Maybe you'd say, look, I haven't ever murdered anybody.
00:24:41
Speaker
I haven't ever stolen anything from anybody. Well, great. That's really good. But here's the question. Are there sins of omission that you have omitted from your life?
00:24:53
Speaker
are Are there sins that you would say, oh no, I haven't ever prayed about God's will. And even though you're supposed to pray about God's will. Yeah, come on, pray about it. I dare you.
00:25:04
Speaker
I challenge you to say, God, if you've got a plan for me, i just want you to know, I wanna know what it is. I want to know what it is. Would you please reveal your will to me one step at a time that I could stay in alignment with your will?
Praying for Divine Guidance
00:25:19
Speaker
And if he does, then don't ignore it You know, in 1919, there was a Major League Baseball scandal. It was called the Black Sox scandal. It happened to eight members of the Chicago White Sox.
00:25:33
Speaker
They were accused of taking bribes to lose the World Series. Now, they never convicted them in a court of law because there just wasn't evidence until one of those eight, a man named Buck Weaver, he broke silence.
00:25:50
Speaker
And he said, okay, okay, okay. The eight of us did make this plan to sort of, you know, sabotage the World Series. And so he said, we did do it.
00:26:02
Speaker
But he said, here's the truth about it, though. He said, myself, Buck Weaver, i I felt bad about it. And so I thought, you know what? I'm going to play the very best I can.
00:26:15
Speaker
And so he said, i agreed not to do it. And so I thought, you know what? I'm not going to blow the whistle on my teammates, but I'm just not going to do wrong. You know what?
00:26:26
Speaker
Just because he knew about it and he didn't do anything to stop it, he was still banned from MLB baseball for the rest of his life, just like the other seven guys.
00:26:39
Speaker
And you maybe you would say, well, that's not fair. He didn't do anything wrong. Yeah, but he didn't do what was right. Sometimes we really disobey God.
00:26:50
Speaker
We disappoint him. We dishonor him. Whenever we don't do what we know we should do is right. Are you doing the right thing? Are you trying to follow God's will?
00:27:02
Speaker
That's what James is saying in James chapter four, verses 13 through 17. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
00:27:14
Speaker
let me just encourage you to depend on your designer. He made you for a great purpose. He's got something waiting out there in your future.
00:27:26
Speaker
And only he can help you get there to find it. So I want to encourage you to say, I don't want to procrastinate. I want to be diligent. I don't want to be indifferent. I want to be perceptive and alert.
00:27:38
Speaker
I don't want to assume that I see all the variables when God's will is invisible. So I want to humble myself and say, God, please.
00:27:48
Speaker
I want to surrender my life and yield my life since you know it's inevitable God's will is going to be done anyway. I want to be teachable and ask God to instruct me in His will.
00:28:00
Speaker
I also want to choose to use my mouth to honor God rather than to give way and to choose iniquity through boasting and being prideful and so forth.
00:28:11
Speaker
I don't want to ignore God's will. I actually want to do God's will. I want to be obedient to his will. That's the way that you will fulfill your destiny and what God has made you for. i want to encourage you.
00:28:26
Speaker
to depend on your designer. Why don't we pray about that right now before we close? Let's pray together. Oh Lord, thank you so much for those who are listening today to Growing in Grace.
00:28:38
Speaker
I just pray you to encourage them first. I pray that you would let them know that their life is not an accident. Their life is so full of purpose and meaning, if they only knew you've already made a plan for them.
00:28:52
Speaker
And so, Lord, the question is, do they want to know your plan? Do they want to say to you, not my will, your will be done? I believe, Lord, that there's nothing wrong with us making plans as long as we're asking you to guide us in crafting our plans, as long as we're depending upon you to actually carry out the plan, to help us to do the plan, to be the best Christian we can as we're trying to follow the plan.
00:29:22
Speaker
And so, Lord, please, would you guide each one of us? And I include myself.
Conclusion and Blessings for Graduates
00:29:26
Speaker
I know that while we have life and breath, there's still time for us to readjust our lives like the Apostle Paul.
00:29:33
Speaker
Help us to stay on target with God's will. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Listen, friend, you have a great day and you live for Jesus. Those of you who are ready to graduate, congratulations. We're proud of you in our community and pray for God's best for you.
00:29:57
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.