God’s Plan
Tim Ross | July 19, 2020
“All the chaos and the tribulation that our current culture seems to be dealing with right now—none of that is bigger than God’s plan.”
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Transcription
I'm so happy that you all are here, and if you have your Bibles, I want you to open them up. You heard me, open up your Bibles to the book of Ephesians 3. Now listen, you know it's a good time in God's presence when I'm studying for a message, when he gives me one verse and one verse only, as the subject, the theme, the topic of what He wants us to dive into today. You know we've been having an ongoing conversation of what it is to read the body of Christ of racism, injustice, and also what it is for the body of Christ to be unified, and being who God has called us to be.
I want to read you this one verse again, one verse out of the book of Ephesians 3:6, it says this, "And this is God's plan." Really, Paul? You can actually summarize for us the entire strategy of God into one verse? Yes, he did. "And this is God's plan. Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the good news share equally in the riches inherited by God's children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus."
It's only one verse and it's so good. I want to read it again. "And this is God's plan. Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the good news share equally in the riches inherited by God's children. Both are part of the same body and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus." If you're taking notes on this message is very, very simple, two words, God's plan. That's right, that's what I want to talk to you today. Two words, God's plan.
I don't know about you, but I am a strategist. This is the way my mind works, I need a plan for everything. I am a slave to my calendar. If it's not on my calendar, it actually does not exist for me. I don't know if there's anybody out there that's like me, you could raise your hand physically or you could type it in if you're watching on YouTube, put that little emoji hand up. If you are a person that is a planner, you understand what it's like to not have a plan. You understand how disorienting it can be when the plans break down, or when you get ready to do something with somebody else and they don't seem to have a plan in mind. For planners like us, for strategizers like us, it drives us crazy.
There's a verse in the book of Proverbs 16:9 that says, "We make our own plans, but God is the one that determines our steps." If I were to elaborate on that verse, I would say, we make our own plans but then there's God's plans too. When it comes to the comparison of your plan and my plan versus God's plan, His plan is going to come out on top 10 times out of 10. Here's what I want you to understand, God has a plan for His church. God has a plan for the people that He created. This plan was meticulous, it wasn't an afterthought. It wasn't a rushed plan. It wasn't contrived in the heat of the moment. This was a plan that was strategized before the foundations of the world.
I want you to make no mistake that all the chaos and the tribulation that our current cultural climate seems to be dealing with right now, none of that is bigger than God's plan. I want to take you through Scripture and just break down this one verse and really unfold for you what God's plan for his church is really about. Here's what it says in Genesis 12, but if you're taking notes, and you should be taking notes because nerds rule the world, I need you to write down as a question mark, what is God's plan? What is God's plan? I know we just read what it is, but let's break down what that means.
What is God's plan? Point number one, please write this down. That we share equally in the riches. What is God's plan? Point number one, we share equally in the riches. Here's what it says in Genesis 12:1, "The Lord had said to Abraham," that's how far I'm going back with this. "Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father's family and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you."
That's the part that we would share in the riches. All the families on Earth are going to be blessed through you. Abraham had no idea that we were part of the promise that was being made to him in that moment, but God had a plan and it started with the man. Somebody needs to write that down. Every plan that God has starts with a man. Now ladies, don't get offended by that. You are included on the inside of that because I'm talking about man, and that also includes man with the womb, woman. For the sake of my rhyme, just go with me, okay?
God has a plan for every man. For those of you that still can't get over that God has a plan for every person. Any time you come into a relationship with God, He has a plan for your life. In this faith that he started with Abraham, here's what he's saying, "I have a plan for your life, but since you're the first, I want you to understand the plan that I have for your life is going to be the plan that I have for everyone else's life that makes the same commitment to faith that you're making right now. I'm calling you out from among your family, and I'm starting with you, Abraham, and I'm making a new group of people based on the covenant that I'm making with you."
These people came to be known as Hebrews, these people came to be known as Jewish people, those that God had gone into covenant with are called the Jewish people. This promise comes to Abraham through Isaac. It is multiplied in Jacob, who is called Israel, and we have this faith that has grown because of a promise that was given to Abraham.
Now, somebody said, "Well, that was just for Jewish people, it's not for Gentiles." No, that God's plan and he says it, he almost encodes in the DNA of His promise, that in you all families are going to be blessed because of the faith that you've just stepped out into, every single family that has the same faith you do, is going to be blessed, but I'm starting with you.
See, you have to understand, God's plan all along was to bless people, but He had to start with a person before it could turn into all people. He's plan is no different for your life right now. God wants you to share in the riches of His inheritance. All you need to do is step out in faith in the same way that Abraham did in Genesis Chapter 12. Paul says this because he's trying to get people to understand that God had a plan. I know what that plan is. It wasn't given to the prophets of old, but it's clear to us now that the plan that God had was that for all of us that would call on the name of Jesus, we would be a part of God's plan.
Which brings me to point number two. Please write this down. What is God's plan? That we share one body. What is God's plan? God's plan is very, very simple, that we share one body. Here's what it says in 1 Corinthians 12, starting at the 12th verse. "The human body has many parts." Paul, let me just stop. Paul thank you so much because sometimes we try to make stuff so complicated, and we try to make stuff so difficult, and I love you, Paul. Thank you, I can't wait to get to heaven so I can just give a big hug for breaking stuff down and making it so simple, and so practical that not even a fool could err.
He says, "The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body." You talking about coming down to an elementary level. This man has a doctorate degree y'all. He is a Pharisee. He knows the law. He is a lawyer. He's like, "No, I can't break it down to you all lawyer style because you won't get it. Let me just break it down with something that you should know because you actually have a body." "The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body, so it is with the body of Christ." No. No, you what? Is it that simple, Paul? Yes, it is. Your body, His body. Your arms, His arms. Your legs, His legs?
Some of us are Jews, some of us are Gentiles, some of us are slaves, and some of us are free, but we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same spirit. Dropping down to verse number 26, "If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it. If one part is honored, all the parts are glad. All of you together are Christ's body, and each of you is a part of it." Now, this is a time in the message where I get to do my best Steve Harvey impression. Give me Emily, give me Marco, give me Lucas, okay, give me Devonte, and give me Juliette. Y'all come on up here. This is not Family Feud, this is Family Unity.
I just want you all to line up. Just line up next to each other. Yes, thank you. That's really, really good. I hope you all can see that this seems to be five different people, except in the body of Christ, we are all one. I want you all to just link arms. All right, so the body of Christ is one body. Right? Emily's not by herself, Marco's not by himself. Devonte is not by himself, Lucas is not by himself, Juliette is not by herself. This is, according to heaven's perspective looking down on people that believe in Jesus, this is one body, and when we're doing great, we all celebrate as one body, and if somebody is doing bad, we all suffer as one body.
If somebody is happy, they don't share that happiness by themselves, the whole body shares into happiness, but if one part of the body is suffering, then the whole body suffers. Let's just say, for example, that young Lucas here, got injured. I want you to drop to one knee because you got injured. There is now a member of the body that is suffering. It's already caused Juliette to start leaning over. Nothing's wrong with her member, but because she's tied to Lucas, she's starting to suffer because Lucas is suffering and there's some tension that's coming on Devonte as well.
It would be foolish of us to say because Lucas is now suffering. Well, the whole body matters. Right now, who's suffering is Lucas, and even though we are one body, Lucas matters. Go ahead and stand up. Lucas. Have you ever stubbed your toe? I mean, we got some people in here. Has anybody in here ever stubbed your toe? You ever stepped your pinky toe? Have you ever caught your pinky toe on the end of the bed or a dresser, and your whole body comes to the toe? Your arms don't go. "No, I shall not comfort that toe." My arm matters, but the toe is in pain.
I need to change some perspective because there's a lot of people that are trying to politicize which just happens to be a true statement. In this cultural climate that we're dealing with right now, of Black people are being spotlighted for the injustices that have been done in this country. It doesn't mean that no one else matters, and it doesn't mean that we're part of a political movement because we say our lives matter, what it means is as the body of Christ when one suffers, we all suffers.
There's many of you that are right now you're watching me, you live in Texas and you're a Cowboy fan. I don't associate you with losing because you associate yourself with the Cowboys. You haven't won a championship since the '90s, but if you say, "I'm a Cowboys fan." I don't automatically call you a loser or think that your life is just an L after L and no playoffs and no Super Bowl rings just because you like a team.
In the same way, if we say in the body of Christ, that a Black life matters, it doesn't mean we're also a part of a political movement. It just means the statement is true because the whole body is one body, and when one suffers, drop to one knee again, when one suffers, we all suffer, and if we could see ourselves as the one body that God had a plan for, we would stop fighting each other when we suffer, and we will start helping each other when we suffer.
Hey, body, Lucas needs some help getting back up. What does the body do when a part of the body hurts? You give it some attention. How will you give some attention to him right now? The body helps the body back up. See, what we're trying to do in this season is get the body of Christ, Big C church, to come back to the realization that we are all we got. As if we don't suffer enough persecution from the world, we can not be fighting each other.
Now maybe you've never paid attention to your pinky toe. Maybe you have some severed nerve endings, and when you stub your toe, you don't feel it. I promise you that if your pinky toe is broken, it's broken. Whether you feel it or not, whether you hear it or not, is still broken, and it needs some attention. The fact that it needs attention does not mean that the rest of the body is not important nor does it mean that the rest of the body is disconnected. It means we have to focus on the issue at hand and resolve it.
God's plan was for us to be one body because as one body we represent, we face forward to the world to show the entire world that we are one. Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian, Baptist, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Church of God and Prophecy, Assemblies of God, Church of God and Christ. It doesn't matter who you are, where you are, if you believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and God raised Him from the day, we are a part of the same body.
I'm not here to argue with you. I can't imagine the arm trying to argue with the knee. I don't understand why you bend so much. I don't understand why you wave so much. We're the same body but if we don't get a picture of what that looks like, then we'll still act like disconnect and spread out. This is the way the church has been acting for over 100 years in this country. Long before COVID brought social distancing, we did it.
The Church of Jesus Christ has been socially distant from each other based on theological belief, based on how you baptize people, based on worship styles based on preaching styles. It is time for the body to come back together because if they see us unified, then they'll have the proper picture of how they are supposed to be unified. Thank you all so much. I really appreciate you.
Listen. We are one. God made us to be one. This is the reason why I have so many stamps in my passport because I got this revelation at a very early age when I gave my life to Jesus Christ. January 14, 1996, I had this revelation of the kingdom of God. What that let me know was the whole world was open to me. God wherever you want to go, I will go. Because I want to be one with the larger body of Christ.
You have no idea how amazing it is to land in a Muslim dominant country like Malaysia and get off the plane and walk through customs and be greeted by a Malaysian, a young man that says, "Hey, brother, I'm here to pick you up." The body of Christ is the biggest fraternity and sorority in the entire world. When you include yourself as a part of that body, join together not separate Black, White, Hispanic, Asian, Indian, Southeast Asian, Chinese, Korean when you just say no, no, no, no, I know what my ethnicity is but my identity supersedes that then we all get to be one body that has one objective, and that's to make disciples of the whole world.
This is God's plan. God's plan was to make us one body. He's the one that planned it. This is not a good idea we came up with, it's just God's idea that He wants to implement. He only has one vehicle by which to do it through and that's His church.
Point number three, please write this down. What is God's plan? That we enjoy the promise of blessings. What is God's plan? That we enjoy the promise of blessings. Here's what it says in the good book of Galatians Chapter 3:15 and 16. "Dear brothers and sisters, here's an example from everyday life." Let me just stop there, Paul. Oh, I blow kisses to you, Paul. Paul is making- I love the fact somebody who's mind has gone through the intellectual rigor of memorizing the Torah and going through such lengths to make sure that he understood not just the law as it is written but the interpretation of the law and the revelation that he has on top of it. Jesus Christ that he would take all of that intellect and put it to the side and say let me just break down some everyday examples for y'all to get it.
Dear brothers and sisters, here's an example from everyday life. "Just as no one can set aside or amend," oh this is so good to me, "An irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. King James version says and his seed, and notice that the scripture doesn't say to his children as if it meant many descendants, rather it says to his child. I love this part because this is where the intellect comes in. That of course means Christ. God wants you and I to participate in the blessings and the promises that he gives.
I love this example that Paul uses. Paul says listen, let me just give you an example from everyday life. If someone makes a promise, it's irrevocable because it's going into a contract or a deed that was a covenant, promises that God made with Abraham, with Jacob with David. Here's the thing that's interesting. It's not just a promise he gave but it's the oath that he made.
When you go into covenant with someone that means that both parties are responsible for holding up their end of the deal. God knew that what he was promising Abraham, Abraham couldn't hold it up if he wanted to. He gives him a promise but he also swears by an oath. This is anytime I talk about this my voice gets loud and I get super happy feet,okay? Here's why, because God when he got ready to swear there was no one he could swear by it that was greater than himself.
If you go into a court of law right now and you are sworn in to give testimony you usually place your hand on a Bible and you raise your right hand and you swear to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth. When God got ready to make his promise he also made this promise and gave an oath but there was nobody that God could swear by except himself because there was no one greater than him. There was no one above him. He swears by himself. I swear by me that I am going to bless you with the promises I chose to give you, and to Abraham, he makes a promise that he will have a child whose life would bring redemption to all. That of course is Christ Jesus.
God wants us to share and the promise that he gave to Abraham and that promise was that he would have a son and he wasn't talking about Isaac. He was talking about Jesus. Could it be if there are some promises that God has given you and you don't feel like they're coming to pass, perhaps he spoke it to you to get it through you, for your children your children's children, or your children's children's children? What if the promise was so heavy it could not even be unfolded in your generation? That's the promise that he wants to give to you and I. That's the promise. He wants us to celebrate in together.
I made this statement last week. The thought had just jumped into my mind that perhaps the reason why God sent us all home under the guise of quarantine was to make us go back into our own homes and subsequently our own hearts and really ask ourself the question, do we want to be one body? Before you go back in my church, do you actually just want to be one body or do you want to keep your Blackness so much that it alienates you from the rest of the body? You want to keep your Whiteness so much, and it alienates you from the rest of-- You want to keep your Hispanic heritage so much, that would cause you to alienate yourself from the rest of the body of Christ.
Maybe you had a plan. Maybe your plan was White power. Maybe it was Black power. Maybe it was Brown power. Maybe it was mocha power. Maybe it was high yellow power, slightly pinkish power. I don't know these skin tones anymore, okay. There's just too many colors in the crayon box. Maybe you had a plan. As Afra mentioned, we make our own plans, but the Lord determines our steps.
God has a plan and it supersedes what you and I could ever strategize, contrive, or circle on a calendar. His plan becomes our plan because we find ourselves in Christ Jesus. What is God's plan? That we share in the riches. That we as brothers and sisters recognize that we are one body. When one suffers, we all suffer. When one rejoices, we all rejoice. Finally, we have a promise. The promise is a person and his name is Jesus.
This is the declaration we get to give to the world. Black and White and Asian and Hispanic and Southeast Asian and Korean and Brazilian and English and Australian and whatever you are. If you find yourself in Him, we all with one voice declare one person to be above all; Christ and Christ alone, the hope of glory. We are that body. We are that church. This is God's plan and we choose to execute it.
Father, God, I pray right now in Jesus' name that you would take this word and embed it deeply within our hearts. God, I feel an anointing to shake the tree until all the bad fruit falls off. I feel anointed to shake the tree until every dead limb leaves. I feel anointed to shake the tree until anything that's not connected to the root falls out. God, make us one. May our identity in Christ supersede our ethnicity in skin. May our identity in Christ supersede the politics of men. May our identity in Christ supersede our theological perspective in church. Make us one in Jesus' name.
