Brethren, it's good to be among you and to see you again this evening. And thus far in this evening, in some ways it really ties into what we're going to consider this evening. And the topic for the sermon this evening is our plans and God's will. our plans, and God's will. And before we come to dive into that subject, let us once again ask for God's help as we come to his word this evening. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you that you have gathered us together in the name of Jesus, our Lord and our Savior. And we do pray and ask that you would be pleased to help us. Help us as we seek to proclaim your word. Help us as we seek to hear your word. We do ask that you would feed your sheep this evening and that your sheep would hear the voice of the Good Shepherd this night. We do ask for the help of your Holy Spirit to be with us. And we thank you for your mercies where you have heard our prayers. Many times we have asked and you have answered. And so we ask Lord tonight, you will do the same again and that you would answer our prayers, that you may be glorified and that we may learn better how to live to your glory. We pray and ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. The Christian life, as you know, is a journey. It is a journey that leads to eternity. There is so much to learn about God and his ways. You see, God is working on us God is working in us and God is working through us for his own glory and for our highest good. Philippians 1.6 says, He that begun a good work in you will perfect it unto the day of Jesus Christ. And as we're considering our plans, as we're on this journey, we often have to make decisions along the way. We find ourselves in circumstances which we anticipate, some catch us by surprise, and then we find ourselves at a crossroads, or we're coming to an intersection, and we need to make a decision. Should we go right? Should we go left? Should we turn around? Should we wait? What should we do? And we often are concerned as God's people with the will of God. And by way of introduction, we understand or God's will is revealed to us in three categories. That is God's decree. That's God's will, but that's something we will never know because it's not revealed to us. Our confession, the 1689 says, God has decreed in himself from all eternity, the most wise and holy, counsel of his own will, freely and unchangeably, all things whatsoever comes to pass." God's decree is what God has ordered to terms of his will, what will happen in this world. And no one knows it but God. He doesn't reveal it unto us. And we read in Deuteronomy chapter 29, verse 29, it says, the secret things belong to Jehovah our God, but the things that are revealed belong unto us and our children. And if you remember in Acts chapter one, when Jesus was about to go up into heaven, The disciples asked him and said, Lord, do you restore the kingdom at this time? And Jesus said in Acts 1 7, he said, it is not for you to know the times or seasons which the father hath set within his own authority. That's God's decree. We will never know what that is. Secondly, God's will is revealed to us in terms of the scriptures themselves, that is what is revealed. Because it says the secret things belong to the Lord, but the things that are revealed belong to us and our children. And God reveals his will to us in the scriptures. You want to know what God wants you to do? You want to know how God wants you to live? open the scriptures and say, speak Lord for your servant hears. And there, there is so much that God has revealed in the scripture. And that's what we call his revealed will. And we are responsible for that. Second Timothy 3.16 says, And so we have God's revealed will, and that is what we're responsible for. But then also God's will is revealed in another way, God's providence. God's providence. God, and our confession states this, God, the creator of all things, in his infinite power and wisdom, does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence. And there's a verse that really, um, very popular verse that expresses this Romans 8 28. And we know that to those who love God, all things work together for good to those that are called according to his purpose, all things. And I've had one preacher says, that God is in control of the very molecules. Everything in the universe, God is in control of. And he said if that molecule was an act of its own independence apart from God, then that molecule would have to be God. Because there is nothing that is outside of God's control. And so God's providence the traffic on the road tonight. That is the providence of God. And we all understand those things. So there are things that occur, whether it's traffic, whether it's tragedies, whether it's pleasant Fortunate surprises. God is working all things together according to his will. That is his providence. Now, so God's will, when we think of God's will, three categories. God's decree, which we will never know, and we cannot make a plan based upon God's decree because we don't know what God is going to do. We have God's revealed will, now that we do know we are responsible for this, and then also God's providence. All right, our first point as we get into the material here is this. Planning, that is when you make a plan, planning is a reflection of God, our Creator and Redeemer. Planning, that is human planning, When we make plans, it is a reflection of God, our Creator. Why do I say that? What are we? We are creatures created in the image of God. And as image bearers of God, we reflect our Creator in the way that we live. Now, sadly, most people on the earth do not reflect God in terms of his moral purity, in terms of his righteousness and holiness. But even unconverted men and women, they still are created in the image of God, even though they're unconverted. And even in an unconverted state, they do things that reflect their Creator. And one of the things that all men do, whether we are converted or not, is that we plan things. The Proverbs speaks about even the wicked, they plan to do evil. They do not go to sleep at night until they formulate their plans. Now that's a bad thing, it's a wicked thing, but nonetheless, they're planning. And why do they plan? Because they're made in God's image. It is in our nature to plan. It is, as it were, in our DNA to plan because we're created in God's image. Now, turn with me to Proverbs 3. Proverbs 3. So I just want you to be prepared to turn to this passage and that passage. We're going to do a bit of turning to passages. Hopefully not too much, but we'll do a bit tonight. Proverbs 3, verses 19 and 20. Proverbs 3, verse 19, it says, Jehovah by wisdom founded the earth. By understanding he established the heavens. By his knowledge the depths were broken up and the skies dropped down the dew. Now in these verses it's telling us the methodology that God used to create the world. It says, by wisdom, he founded the earth. By understanding, he established the heaven. By his knowledge, the depths were broken up. And we won't go back there, but I want you to think with me in Genesis chapter 1. And when you look at the creation, how God created the world, he did it by plan. Now, you know, God could have created the world like that. I can't even snap my fingers, like that. He created the world like that. He could have done it that way, I should say. He could have done it in an instant. But why did God do it in six days? Because the Lord was setting a pattern for his creatures, man. And when God created the world, He didn't create man first. Because if he created man on the first day, you know what was described on the first day? There was darkness, there was water, there was no land, there was no sky, there was no light. If he would have created man on the first day, where would man be? In the waters, in the darkness? You see God does things decently and in order and he does it by plan. The first day he created light. Let there be light. Interesting, keep in mind the sun isn't created till the latter part of the week. The sun isn't created on the first day. He created light without the sun. And he said let there be light and there was light. And then the next day God created the sky. And how did he create the sky? He separated the waters. And so there will be waters above the sky, waters beneath the sky. And you see where this is going? That's where we have the clouds in the atmosphere. And the waters come down and rain. And the waters beneath the sky eventually will become oceans and seas. And so he created the sky. He separated the waters and then he created the land. He had the waters gathered together and then the land appeared. And he didn't do it all on one day. He did it. He portioned his work out. to set a pattern for us to follow. And so he created this world. He created everything in his place. And then the last thing that he created was man. He had to get everything in place so that the world would be this habitable environment. And then he creates man in his own image after his own likeness. And he commands the man to rule and to subdue the earth. And then God rested. Rested? God doesn't need rest. The Bible says he doesn't slumber nor sleep, Psalm 121, but he rested on the seventh day. Eventually that day, that Sabbath rest for us was changed to the first day, but he rested on the seventh day. And then when we have the commandment, Moses through Moses, it says, remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. for in six days the Lord your God created the heavens and the earth and rested on the sabbath day and he sanctified it you see the pattern that God established for us to follow and so what I'm saying is that in terms of planning when I say this is in our DNA because we are image bearers of God he created us to make plans so I want you to understand it is a good thing to make plans It is a God-honoring thing to make a plan. Now, also I mentioned that planning is a reflection of God our Creator and God our Redeemer. So if you turn with me to Acts chapter 2, Acts chapter 2. God not only planned the creation, but he planned salvation. Acts chapter 2. On the day of Pentecost, Peter stands up and he is speaking to this gathering of people from different nations and they were there on Pentecost and there these Galilean Jews were speaking languages of all the nations that were represented and there were people from all corners of the earth and there these Jews were speaking in their languages and the people was wondering what does this mean? And this is the result of the spirit coming down. And then Peter stands up to proclaim and explains to them. And then as he continues, we jump in at verse 22. Peter says, you men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God unto you by mighty works and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, even as you yourselves know. Notice this, verse 33, him, that is Jesus, him being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God. He says, Jesus was crucified by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God according to God's decree, according to God's eternal plan. He was crucified based upon God's plan, and God made a plan. But then Peter indicts them, and he says, you, that is you men of Israel, you by the hand of lawless men, namely the Romans, they were lawless, you did crucify and slay whom God raised up. So Peter is saying, you crucified him, you did it by the hands of lawless and wicked men, But all this was done according to the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of God, according to God's decree. And then also look at Acts chapter 4, where the church is gathered for prayer. But there's a gathering, maybe not necessarily for prayer, and a report is given to the church. And they lift up their voices because Peter and John was threatened. by the Sanhedrin not to speak anymore in the name of Christ, in the name of Jesus. And as they are praying, look at verse 27. Acts chapter 4 verse 27. In their prayer they said, for of a truth in this city against your holy servant Jesus, whom you did anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles, that is the Romans, and the peoples of Israel were gathered together to do whatsoever your hand and your counsel foreordained to come to pass." So here you see the death of the Lord Jesus, His crucifixion, was all done according to God's counsel, to what God has ordained. In other words, it wasn't an accident. he died intentionally. And God utilized the wickedness of the Jews, the wickedness of the Gentiles, and all their evil that is in their heart because we read in the Gospels it was for envy that they handed Jesus over to be crucified. And so they hated Jesus, and the Romans hated Jesus. Herod was involved, Pontius Pilate was involved, All of those details was all ordained by God according to His will. So when I say planning is a reflection of God, our Creator and Redeemer, we see how God works in creation. We see that God makes plans in His work of salvation as well. Now, I'll just limit to one. I have a number of things I want to say here, but when God created man to subdue the earth, you know what the Panama Canal is? You know about the Panama Canal. The Panama Canal, it's a waterway, it's a man-made waterway that was made in Panama, Teddy Roosevelt in the early 1900s. where they were able to connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. And it was a very amazing engineering project. And there you have an example of man subduing the earth, right? He created man to subdue the earth. God create the earth, but man has the privilege to subdue the earth, to manage the earth, and there you have an example there in the Panama Canal. Or you could think of the George Washington Bridge. Just think about how that bridge was made and when they made it and the technology they had. The wisdom that God gave man to do these things is amazing. And this just underscores the fact that man is created in God's image. Now, we're not going to be making canals. We're not going to be building bridges. Maybe there could be some bridge builders here. I don't know. But here are some things that is more relevant to where we live. How about planning a budget? Ouch. Planning a budget. Planning a vacation. Planning for retirement. IRA, 401k, bonds, stocks, investments. Where are we going to live? Perhaps we'll move to Florida. Starting a business. Planning for a career, what am I going to do with my life? Perhaps you want to add an addition to your house. Perhaps you want to purchase a home. Planning for marriage, who will I marry? planning for a promotion at work. You see, these are things, these are just examples where we're ever making plans for our lives. Well, I have the five-year plan. Well, by five years, I want to be this, or we want to be doing this, and we want to accomplish this. So you set goals. and you seek to reach those goals, and when you graduate high school, you want to go to this college, and when you go to this college, you want to transfer there, and you want to get this degree, and so you hope to become a lawyer, a doctor, or a CPA, or whatever it may be. You see, we're always making plans in our life. This is in our DNA. And therefore, it is God-honoring, and it is wise to make plans. Now, That being said, we come to our second point. There's some things we need to keep in mind as we make our plans. Because our plans do not always come to pass as we anticipated. Many times they may do. I shouldn't say many times. There are times our plans do come to pass. There are times they take some twists and turns like my normal route to get here. I took some different routes to get here tonight because of the traffic. That wasn't in my plan. But our plans, we need to understand, secondly, our plans are subject to God's wisdom. Think of all the plans. Think of plans you have right now. You have plans, or perhaps you're about to make a plan. All of our plans are subject to God's wisdom. And I like how one brother said this to me, and he is so powerfully and so eloquent. He said, God overrules our ignorance. God overrules our ignorance. And to say that we're ignorant, it's not an insult. It's reality because we don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. If you say we're ignorant of what the future holds, that's not an insult to us. It's just recognizing the fact that we're creatures and we don't know the future. It's not an insult. It's just reality. Turn with me to Proverbs chapter 16, Proverbs 16. I could quote this verse, but I want us to look at it. It's helpful for the memory. Proverbs 16, verse 9. We read this, A man's heart devises his way, But Jehovah directs his steps. A man's heart devises his way. That's plan. We make a plan. But the Lord directs his steps. We plan to do something. And Bridges says, man proposes, but God disposes. So when you make a plan, the outcome of your plan is determined by God. Okay? And then this is illustrated in Acts chapter 16. I want us to look there. We see it illustrated in the ministry of Paul, the apostle. Paul made plans, but we see how God directed his steps. And although we're not the apostle Paul, and God isn't going to direct us by dreams and visions, nonetheless, God's direction of us is just as real as it was for Paul. Acts chapter 16, and this is where Paul, he takes Timothy to join him and Silas, having separated from Barnabas and John Mark. We read in Acts 16, verse 6, And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden of the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. So Paul wanted to go to Asia. I want to go to Asia. I want to preach in Asia. But the Spirit forbade him and said, no, you will not go to Asia now. And the Spirit directed him to go to Phrygia and Galatia instead. Verse 7. And when they were come over against Mysia, they desired to go to Bithynia, They wanted to go to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus permitted them not. And passing by Mysia, they came down the Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, beseeching him, saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us. And when he had seen the vision, straightway or immediately we sought to go forth to Macedonia, and notice this, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. You see how man's heart devises his way, but the Lord directs his step? Although it was in a vision, Paul wanted to go this way. God said no. He wanted to go this way. God said no. And eventually, in God's providence, coupled with a vision, and Paul, and since using his sanctified judgment, he said, well, Paul thought about the vision. He thought about, well, we didn't go to Asia. We were forbidden to go to Bithynia. And I received this vision, and Paul put two and two together, and he says, well, we conclude that the Lord wants us to preach the gospel in Macedonia. So let's go to Macedonia. All right. So our plans are subject to God's wisdom. Number three, we must not trust in our plans, but in God alone. You know, There may be some engineers here, or there may be some scholars here, and maybe you are a financial wizard where you know all about finances and how to budget, how to invest, how to save, how to manage your finances so you always have what you need, et cetera, et cetera. And you may have an excellent plan. In fact, your plan, you may have chapter and verse for your plan from the Bible. You may have principles from the Word of God, and you're doing everything dutifully and faithfully according to God's Word, whether it's the education of your children and how you're going to bring them up, whether you want to put them in a Christian school, or you want to homeschool them, or you want to put them in another situation. And you've got this all worked out, and you prayerfully, you've prayed over it, and now you're done with your plan. So, now what? Well, once you've made your plan, a God-honoring plan, don't trust in your plan. I'm not saying don't execute the plan. Yes, carry out your plan. Begin to put one step in front of the other, right? Carry on your plan, but as you're walking and working out the details of your plan, don't put your faith in your plan. Your faith belongs in God alone, because our plans are not ultimate. God's will is ultimate, and everything hinges on this, if the Lord will. Everything hinges on that, if the Lord will. That's why I say, don't trust in your plan. James 4, where it says... All right, turn with me to James 4. Trying to make sure I have enough time to get through my material. James 4, verse 13. Now, James is condemning sinful boasting when people brag about their plans. James 4, verse 13, he says, come now, listen, in other words, you that say, today or tomorrow, we will go into this city, we'll spend a year there, we'll trade, and we'll get gain, in other words, we'll make a profit. All right, that's our business plan. We're going to go to the city, we're going to trade, we're going to make a profit, whereas you do not know what shall be on the morrow. What is your life? For you are a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. For that you ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall both live and do this or that. But now you glory in your vauntings. All such glorying is evil. And you know, people are talking about, man, we're going to do this. We're going to do this next Saturday. We're going to go here. We're going to get together with our friends. And we're going to do this. And we're going to have a blast. And then after that, the next day, and then the following week, we're going to go over here. We're going to do that. And we're going to do this, et cetera. But there's no recognition about God. God is not involved in this planning. Where's God in your plans? God is nowhere to be found. And this is called sinful and evil, boasting and bragging because you don't know what's going to happen on tomorrow. You push God out. And I trust that when we're living our lives and we're making our plans, that God is involved in every aspect of our planning, that we are thinking about God. and His glory and honor. So God's will is ultimate. And then I'll just mention this passage Luke chapter 12 verses 16 to 21. And that's the passage where Jesus speaks a parable of the rich fool. who says that he's going to tear down his barns, he's going to build bigger barns, and he's going to have more increase, and then he's going to sit back and take his ease because you have so much for so many years, eat, drink, and be merry. And then in the parable of Jesus, it says, thou fool, this night your soul will be required of you. You've made all these plans, but you're going to die tonight. Are you better than God? Let me put it this way, that's not, are you a better planner than God? Of course we're not better than God. And of course we are not a better planner of God. We would not dare say such a thing. We have limited knowledge. We are prone to error because we're not in a position to make our plans happen. In fact, we really don't know the best thing for us and for God's glory. And so we really don't know what we're doing. Because only God knows what's best for us and his glory. But we have to do something. We can't just not do anything. So we have to make a plan to do it in faith with the knowledge that we have, with the understanding we have from God's Word. But of course, we are not a better planner than God. Remember that our Father in heaven, He knows what He is doing in our lives, and He makes no mistakes. He makes no mistakes. We make mistakes. Again, it's because of our weakness as creatures. And also, here's another thing to think about. God can fulfill our desires outside of our plans. God can fulfill our desires beyond our plans, apart from our plans. You see, God doesn't need our plans to fulfill our desires. God isn't limited and obligated to work according to our plans. We've made a plan, right? Now we expect God to do just as we plan? We cannot restrict God and expect God to be limited to our plans. Ephesians 3 verse 20, I'll just quote this verse, but Ephesians chapter 3 verse 20 reads this, Now unto him that is able to do, exceeding abundantly above all that we ask and think. According to the power that works in us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations forever and ever. Amen. So here in Ephesians 3.20, it says, God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask. Now just think about it. When you pray, we ask God for things. Do you know God answers our prayer better than what we ask? We're so limited in our understanding compared to God. We're so limited and we are like children. We do the best that we can for we know not how to pray as we are but God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or You've come up with a great plan. We are to love the Lord our God with all our mind. And we are loving him with our mind when we make godly plans. But even our thoughts, what we come up with, God can do far exceeding than what we ever think. So if he can do beyond what we ask, beyond what we think, surely, surely our faith should be in God and not in our plans. We must not trust in our plans, but in God alone. All right, now for some concluding lines of application here. Number one that I have, these truths will help us deal with disappointment. These truths will help us deal with disappointment in a way that honors God. You know, you have your plan, you go to carry out your plan, and the whole thing just blows up in your face, falls apart. Nothing is turning out right. And sometimes, sadly, it's easy to murmur, to complain, to have sinful anger, kick the chair because you're so mad, to have resentment. It's those people. They just won't listen to me. That person, they're always in my way. They're holding things up. And you could be resentful to people, or you can have crippling discouragement. Now I say crippling discouragement. That is discouragement where you just don't want to, you just want to give up. Because this has not only happened to you once, this seems to happen to you all the time. And very often, when we murmur and complain, we can exaggerate things, and we can look at things in the wrong way, and we say, well, this always happens to me. Doesn't always happen to you, but you just look at things in that light and murmur and complain where there's that frustration, that disappointment, and you say, well, what's the use? I mean, ah, ah. I mean, nothing ever goes right for me. I look at brother so-and-so, and everything he does, it just, he has the Midas touch. Everything he touches turns to gold. It just all works out for him. And sister so-and-so, she's smiling, she's happy, she has this, she has that, she has all these things. And here I am, I'm, you know, I'm struggling. I'm so far away from where that person is. And we always can think that the grass is greener on the other side. And that's not true. But how do we turn with me to Psalm 131? Psalm 131. Well, this is how we can be helped to deal with disappointment when our plans do not come to pass. But when we're disappointed. Psalm 131. It's a brief psalm, so I'll read it. It says, Jehovah, my heart is not haughty, mine eyes not lofty. I mean, mine eyes, nor mine eyes lofty. Neither do I exercise myself in great matters or in things too wonderful for me. Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, hope in Jehovah from this time forth and forevermore." And this psalm You can title it, Like a Weaned Child. Now, what am I talking about, like a weaned child? Well, for those of you who have had children, particularly mothers, or if you haven't had children, you may have observed this in others, where when a mother breastfeeds her child, and these days, because of our technology, children can get nourishment in other ways, but just think about, and when this psalm was written, when a child is nursing from his mother, And this is all the child understands when it comes to nourishment and food. When they're hungry, they know what to expect. But when a child has to go through that weaning process, the child doesn't understand. The child is confused. It's frustrated. The child is resistant. And a child struggles. And it may scream. It may be angry. It may be crying. It may have a temper tantrum. Because the child is only thinking, this is the only way that I can get nourishment. There's no other way for me to get nourishment. And this is being withheld from me. But when that child is weaned, what happens? The child learns that there's another way. And now they no longer are insistent on nursing from the mother. Now they realize that they can get food from other sources. And so a weaned child can sit right on this mother's lap and patiently wait to be fed. You know, a child that's not weaned, the mother said, no, no, if you bring that kid over here, the kid's gonna start crawling all over me and start, you know, just kind of set him down, keep him away from me. But here, that's what David is saying, like a weaned child. In other words, brethren, we need to wean ourselves from our plans. We need to recognize that our plans is not the only way. It may be a very good plan. It may be a plan that worked for someone else. May not necessarily work for you. and but we must remember that our plans is not the only way for God to work in our lives and therefore we must remember God is bigger and better than our plans and in his providence he has his purposes such as tonight why the traffic and all these things and this sermon I wasn't scheduled to be here this evening Pastor Smith was scheduled to be here, but this is all in God's providence. This topic, the people that are here, none of us has arranged this. We're just here in God's providence. And so we must remember, We must remember these truths. It will help us deal with disappointment in a way that honors God. And here in the psalmist, the psalmist says, O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forevermore. Keep your hope and your faith in God and not in your plans. Number two, these truths will keep us from pride. These truths will keep us from pride. In Jeremiah 9, I want to read some of these verses here. We're going to turn to some other ones, but I'll just read this one to you. But Jeremiah 9, verses 23 and 24, because what happens Let's say if all of our plans always worked out. Every time we made a plan, it comes to pass just as we planned. You know, if that happened, we would begin to think some things about ourselves that are not true. We may perhaps begin to think, you know, I'm pretty smart. I'm pretty good at this planning stuff. Because when I make a plan, it happens. I mean, I'll be humble about it. I'm not going to kind of brag. But deep down inside, and people may say, well, go see Brother So-and-so. He makes plans. They always come to pass. Find out what his secret is. Well, if we have gifts and talents and abilities and everything seems to go well, we can begin to think things about ourselves that are not true. In Jeremiah 9, Verse 23, it says, Thus says the Lord, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom. He's a wise man, but don't glory in your wisdom. Neither let the mighty man glory in his might. Let not the rich man glory in his riches. I got lots of money, and I'm somebody. But let him that glory glory in this, that he hath understanding and knows me, that I am Jehovah, who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, says Jehovah. And here, this is forbidding the wise man to glory in his wisdom, the strong man to glory in his might, the rich man to glory in his riches. And maybe you have various talents and abilities and skills. Don't glory in your talents. Don't brag about your skills and your gifts. No, don't glory in those things, but you glory in the Lord. glory that you know him, and not that you have the knowledge of God, but your glory is in God himself, who opened your eyes to know him. But I want to turn to Deuteronomy chapter 8. Deuteronomy chapter 8. I have Daniel 4 about Nebuchadnezzar, but we won't have time to read that, so I'm going to go with the Deuteronomy passage. And this passage in Deuteronomy 8, this is the second generation that came out of Egypt. When the Israelites came out of Egypt, everyone pretty much above 40 years old and up died in the wilderness except for Joshua and Caleb because they were men of faith. Everyone under 20, they lived through that 40 years, and now 40 years later, this is those young people. Now they are the next generation, and they are about to go into the land of Canaan, into the promised land. And Moses is giving them, really this is pretty much a sermon, if you will. Moses is giving them instructions and warnings when they go into the land. And then we'll read at verse 11, Deuteronomy chapter 8, beginning at verse 11. Moses, God through Moses says this, beware. lest you forget the Lord your God in not keeping his commandments and his ordinances and his statutes which I command you this day, lest when you have eaten and are full and have built goodly houses and dwell therein, And when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied, then your heart be lifted up, and you forget Jehovah your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. And then we'll drop down to verse 17. And lest you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth. You see what happens when you forget God? They came out of the wilderness, and God knows what's going to happen. When you come into the land, you're going to have all this prosperity. Nice houses, nice food, lots of money, lots of herds, cattle, you're gonna be satisfied, and then you begin to think in your heart, you know, I did pretty good for myself. I had to architect, design a house and all. I kept my herds from getting sick. I knew how to do business to exchange the crops so I can make a profit. I knew how to put money. You know, I'm doing pretty good. And you begin to say in your heart, my power and my might has gotten me this wealth. Verse 18, but you shall remember Jehovah your God, for it is He that gives you power to get wealth, that he may establish his covenant, which he swear unto his fathers as at this day." You see, if you have the wisdom and the power and the prosperity, it is God that has given you power to obtain that wealth. So there's nothing, it doesn't come from you. And so these truths, it will keep us from pride, from thinking things about ourselves that are not true. And then lastly, these truths will help us grow in contentment. They will help us grow in contentment. And contentment is to be, well, let's turn to the passage Philippians 4. That's the classic passage here on contentment, one of the passages. The other is 2 Timothy 6, but we'll stick with Philippians 4. These truths will help us grow in contentment. And now when I say grow in contentment, I'm not saying that we should settle and be satisfied and never strive to improve our circumstances. No, we should continually try to improve our circumstances. But if things are not improving, we still need to be content along the way as we continue to wait upon the Lord. Paul says this, verse 11 of Philippians 4, writing to the Philippians, and Paul is in prison, by the way, when he writes these words, Okay, that's something that is, we have to learn. It's not natural, wasn't natural for Paul, and it's not natural for us. I have learned in whatsoever state I am therein to be content. I know how to be a base, that is, I know how to have little, to be humble in humble circumstances. to be poor. I know also how to abound, how to have plenty, how to be wealthy. I don't let the wealth and all these things go to my head. In everything and in all things have I learned the secret both to be filled and to be hungry, both to abound and to be in want. I can do all things in Him or in Christ that strengthens me. And so this word contentment here, it really means self-sufficiency is the essence of the term and it doesn't mean self-sufficient in a negative way, but you can understand it to be satisfied within yourself. Not satisfied by yourself, but satisfied within, that is in your heart. You're sufficient. You have everything that you need. In other words, you're satisfied with God and His ways. And so as Lloyd-Jones mentions, you are independent of your circumstances. You are independent of your condition. whether sickness or wellness. You are independent of your surrounding. It doesn't matter what's going on around you, what's happening to you. You have this peace of God, this contentment to know that this is the hand of my God and I rest in him and I am content in God. In other words, Our plans can never produce contentment. If you think that your plans is going to make you content, you are deceiving yourself. And don't deceive yourself with your God honoring plans. Because contentment does not come from the fulfillment of your plans. Contentment has nothing to do with your plan. It has everything to do with your relationship with God. Contentment comes from God alone. And Paul says, I have learned. And that's why I say these truths will help us grow. It is an ongoing process. We may be content now. We may be content now. But what happens when the rug is pulled out from under your feet? And now you get the news from the doctor, and it's not good news. You get that C word, you've got cancer. Or your house may be at risk of going into foreclosure, or you may lose your home. and your child you had great expectations for your child and they become wayward you you trained them in the Lord you took them to Christian school and all of that and they grow up and they say I don't want nothing to do with church I don't want and it breaks your heart you had plans and hopes of that child to be useful in the kingdom of God and it doesn't mean that God may never save them but it's something that it was a plan you had it was a desire you had and it didn't come to pass Or you've been pursuing her, but she said no, she's not gonna marry you. Or you've been hoping that he would come and search you out, and he never comes and search you out, and he goes and seeks out another, and you say, wow, I really prayed that God would bring us together, right? And there are things we pray for, and it doesn't come to pass. See, our contentment does not come in the fulfillment of our plans. It comes from God alone. In Psalm 73, turn to Psalm 73. And here Asaph, he had a problem. He was a believer, but he became envious of unbelievers. He became envious of those who were not believers in the Lord. Verse 1. Now he begins the psalm where he should have been throughout, but he begins, Surely God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a pure heart. And now he reflects upon his negative and bad attitude as a believer. Verse 2 of Psalm 73, But as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh slipped, for I was envious at the arrogant. When I saw the prosperity of the wicked. I'm not going to read the entire song, but that's the that's the issue that he had. He was envious of the wicked. And then look at verse 13. He says, surely in vain have I cleansed my heart. That is, here I am seeking to have a good conscience, seeking to do things according to God's word. I have cleansed my heart. I have sought to walk uprightly, keeping myself from evil, but it's been in vain. It's a waste. It's not profiting me. It's not working out for me. In vain have I cleansed my heart and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long have I been plagued and chastened every morning. I have a difficult life as a believer. I'm going through trials, hardship, suffering, perhaps sickness. And look at the ungodly. They don't read their Bibles. They don't go to church. They have jobs. They have lots of money. They have all the pleasures of this life. They lie. They steal. They cheat. They do this. They do that. And they just seem to be so happy. And look at me. What's the profit in serving God? trials, affliction, keeping a good conscience, mortifying my sins and struggling and fighting a good fight. He said, I was envious at the wicked. But then, verse 17, until I went into the sanctuary of God and considered their latter end, then he began to realize the truth about life. And then we look at verse 25, how he concludes this. Oh, verse 26, let's say. Verse 26, I'm sorry, verse 24. Thou will guide me with thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory. There's glory that awaits me. Whom have I in heaven but you, and there is none upon earth that I desire beside you? My flesh and my heart fails, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. And then verse 28, But it is good for me to draw near unto God. I have made the Lord Jehovah my refuge, that I may tell of all thy works. And so he says, whom have I in heaven but you? And there was none upon earth that I desire beside you. My flesh and my heart fails. I get weak. I get discouraged. I get weighed down. I get disappointed and my strength fails. fails me to go on in seeking to serve the Lord it is not in me but God is the strength of my heart it is God that keeps me going it is only by his help and his grace that he keeps me going the Lord is my strength My salvation, He is my portion, that is, He is my 401k. He is my retirement plan. He is my joy. He is my financial security. Everything I need is in Him. And therefore, He got it all straight in His mind and His affections. And He realized that God is guiding me with His counsel. And afterwards, He's going to receive me to glory. And so he was no longer envious at the wicked. He realized that that's the broad way that leads to destruction. And I'm on this narrow, restricted, and difficult way, but God is with me, strengthening me on the way. And so brethren, these truths will help us grow in our contentment. So, As we conclude this, when you think about your plans, and when you think about God's will, I trust you will see, for you, it's a win-win situation. You cannot lose. You will not lose. Because God is with you. God's hand is in everything in your life. Even if you don't understand it, even if it doesn't make sense, even if it's painful and you have anxiety and fear and you dread what may happen in the future, God is with you and God knows the best thing for you. and the best thing for His glory. And remember, God can do things that are bigger and better than your plan. So don't think because your plan has crumbled before your eyes, my life is over. My life is miserable. I'm a big failure. Well, We're all failures if we're sinners, we fall short of the glory of God. But we are God's, we are the apple of God's eye. And God has the very best for us, so much so that he spared not his own son, how shall he not with him freely give us all things? God loves you. He loves you. And one pastor said, and it is true for the believer, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. And that's true for the Christian, for a true believer. God loves you and he has a wonderful plan for your life. What do we do, brethren? Trust him. Trust him. Trust him. Not tomorrow, not go home and think about it. Trust Him now. The Word is near you. The Spirit of God is here. Jesus is here. Take His Word to your soul now. Feed on it and live and walk in these truths for the rest of your days. and then you will see the wonders of God working in your heart and in your life. And to an unbeliever here, if you're not a Christian, I feel sorry for you because this is not the kind of life that you're living. And you're living by your own plans, and you're not in control. And when the rug is pulled out from under you, you're lost. You have nothing. But you can have all things. I'm not preaching wealth, health, and prosperity gospel. No, no, no. We're not preaching that. But you can be, you can have the grace of God to be with you through all the difficulty and hardship. And even in the midst of the difficulty and hardship, you can know peace in your heart, joy in your heart, the hope of eternal life. These are treasures that money cannot buy. And I don't offer you money. I offer you Jesus and come to him that you may have life and may have life more abundantly in a relationship with God that will never ever end. Let's pray. Our Father, we thank you that your ways are not our ways, and we feel secure, knowing that you are watching out for us, you are leading us, whether it's in green pastures, still waters, even in the valley of the shadow of death, even in the midst of the presence of our enemies, you are with us. And your goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and we will dwell in your house forever. Father, increase our faith. Strengthen our ability to live in this world, this fallen world filled with disappointment, sorrow, and sin, knowing the joy of the Lord for our strength. And we pray that you would save sinners who are yet in darkness this very night. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.