God’s Plan for your Life 2: That you may Test and Discern

We have looked at Jeremiah 29:11 and its misuse in understanding God’s plan for your life. Countless Christians hang on to this verse as a personal promise from God but we discovered this is misguided. You can read more here. So what is God’s plan for your life? How do a saved people live, what does God expect of us, what has God promised?

Remember God had miraculously brought Abraham's descendants out of the house of slavery and commanded them 'now live like this,' giving them the Law through Moses. The Law didn't bring people to God, God brought people to himself then gave them the Law - Exodus 19:3-6. The Law describes how a saved people live. Why give a saved people a code to live by if they are already saved? The Proverb tells us:

'Where there is no revelation [prophetic vision ESV] the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law' (Prov. 29:18)

To an unsaved people the law prescribes and proscribes. To a saved people the law describes how a saved people live in the light of God’s love, how we are blessed and a blessing, and how we need never again cast off restraint and incur God’s displeasure. A code to live by describes God’s purpose in us as saved people. The prayer of every believer is:

‘Two things I ask of you, O LORD...Keep falsehood and lies from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonour the name of my God.' (Prov.30:7-9)

The code by which God would have us live is not constraining but liberating, freeing us to live such that we don't forget or dishonour the God who saved us. That is the Old Covenant but what of New Covenant people, what is the Kingdom code for Christians?

 

The Beatitudes

The Beatitudes are the basic values the world is meant to, but doesn't, live by. Paul writes:

'And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.' Eph.1:22-23

The rule of God extends over all but finds special focus in his concern for his own, the church. Not all keep his law but kingdom people live according to the values the world despises, but which God holds dear. Those who live kingdom lives are blessed.

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…’

 

Blessed

Ashrey is the word used in the Old Testament to talk about blessing. The psalmist writes of blessings that will come to those who delight in the law of the LORD (Psalm 1:1-2) This is a promise of future reward in material goods.

Makarios is the New Testament word and the emphasis is our present state. Adopt these values and know God's presence in your life. There is some confusion about these beatitudes, what role they play in God’s plan, whether they are practical in a fallen world.

Some teach that the beatitudes are a salvation message – live this way to get right with God. This doesn’t account for the problem of sin, the fact that Jesus calls us to repent, not to do better. Others have thought it a kingdom truth - One day, in God's kingdom, we will live this way. The problem with this view is it excuses us when we fall short. Others still think it a message that is exclusive to the church – But Jesus he is king over all, even those who reject him, although he has special concern for those who are his own.

I suggest the sermon is a description. The sermon describes the way in which we are freed to live when we commit fully to the kingship of Jesus. When Jesus is near we are free to obey. Matthew begins his account of the Sermon on the mount:

'He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them...' (Matt.5:1)

The Sermon on the Mount is for people who have chosen to be Jesus' disciples and have freely committed themselves to the King.

 

Kingdom

When we think of kingdom we think of a place. When we think of God's kingdom we tend to think eschatologically, of that day when Christ will rule unchallenged on the earth. But Jesus said, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near' (Mt.4:17)

How is God's kingdom near? It is not a place, or a promise, but an action. It is God breaking into our universe and moulding times, places, people, and events for his purpose. The clearest expression of this is Jesus' life and ministry. The expression of that action today is the people of God, Christians, the church.

1. The kingdom is near in the person of Jesus.
2. The kingdom is here in the fact that God's people, indwelt by God's Spirit, are here.

The sermon on the Mount is Jesus' values for his people. It implicitly rejects the values of the world. It is difficult to live among people who reject God's values and not be influenced by the airbrushed lives of the 'beautiful people.' We appreciate, value, and are drawn by others' lives and can too easily fall into line with them. They are appealing because we tend to associate them with fulfilment.

Jesus shatters this illusion and sets up an alternative set of values that he assures will truly fulfil us. Jesus' values are not in pleasure but in longing, not in satisfaction but in hunger, not in popularity but in commitment to an unpopular cause, not in competition but in helping others to find peace with God and each other.

"Only those who throw the full weight of their confidence on God as a King who acts in and for them now can ever locate the courage to live the startling lifestyle Jesus lays out for his disciples. (Mt.5:1) The Sermon on the Mount is for people who have chosen to be Jesus' disciples and freely submitted themselves to the King. In it Jesus explains to his disciples of every age what living as a citizen of heaven's kingdom involves. Abandoning the ways of the world to adopt a diametrically different set of values and commitments." (Lawrence O Richards, Small Group Members Commentary)

How are we to live in this new, born-again, kingdom society? How are we to negotiate this fallen world as citizens of that kingdom, followers of King Jesus? What is God’s plan for my life? Paul helps us in his letter to Christians in first century Rome:

‘Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve [discern] what God’s will is-his good and pleasing will.’ (Romans 12:1-2)

In an ongoing process our minds are renewed. The plan of God for your life is that you should be equipped with a new mind, able to test and discern what is the will of God, what pleases him, make kingdom choices in every day life. Someone has said that if you want to hear from God take the Bible and read it aloud. Here in the Beatitudes we find God’s plan, we begin to understand the code of the kingdom. Now we must choose to live it.

Of course sometimes, in the midst of our kingdom living, God has a specific call for us. When the call comes it is encouraging to remember Jeremiah was a timid man (1:4-6) He was not the prophet 'type' and felt much as we do when we consider what God is calling us to. What made him a prophet was not his own character but God's provision (1:17-19) God always provides grace for the day, whether it is a routine day that tests our discernment and choices, or a stand out day when God meets us with a particular calling to serve. Either way, Christ frees us to serve.

God’s Plan for your Life 1: Do You Know It?

Are you one of those many Christians who has asked what exactly is God’s plan for my life? What do you think of when you hear those words, 'God's plan for your life?' Maybe you think everyone else has got this sorted but you have missed out. Where does this idea of God having a plan for your life come from?

''I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'' (Jeremiah 29:11)

Our local Christian bookshop manager – who does understand this verse – assured me she can sell about anything in the shop if it carries this text, they just fly off the shelf. Near the bookshop is one of those generic stalls that sells New Age trinkets and junk, from a lucky cat, through fairies and angels, to Buddha in repose. Its the sort of thing people have in their home to feed their wishful thinking. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a life as serene, magical, lucky.

Life is never as serene as Buddha sitting under a Bodhi tree, angels and fairies don’t sit on your shoulder to grant wishes, and cats are – cats. Jeremiah 29:11 is to many Christians what the lucky cat is to the wishful thinkers, comforting to contemplate but of no practical use. This is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied texts in the Bible and Christians could save themselves a lot of trouble and troubled introspection if they understood it..

 

Context

Jeremiah 29:1-2 tells us the context is the exile of Judah, including Daniel and his companions. The verse comes in the text of a letter sent by Jeremiah from Jerusalem to exiled Judah. The 'you' of verse 11 is plural, the promise of v.11 is very specific in those to whom it is being made, the exiles. If it is for us at all it is plural and for the church, not for the individual. Heaven preserve us from post-modern individualism - Context people.

Further, if you want Jeremiah 29:11 to be a promise to you, you must also have the previous 28 chapters, because they lead up to and contextualise the verse. They are full of warnings and exhortations, accusations, threat of drought, condemnation, and judgement. It isn't pretty. One example is 16:1-4. Look it up and ask yourself if you still want to enjoy the promises of God through Jeremiah – Context people.

Jeremiah 29:11 is not about God's perfect plan for your life but about restoration of a rebellious people after 70 years in exile. Context again.

God had miraculously brought Abraham's descendants out of the house of slavery and commanded them 'now live like this,' giving them the Law through Moses. The Law didn't bring people to God, God brought people to himself then gave them the Law - Exodus 19:3-6. The Law describes how a saved people live. I say again Context.

Leviticus 26:14-15, 31-33 describes what God will do if his people reject his Laws and violate the covenant. Terror, disease, fever, hunger and defeat at the hands of enemies, terror, ruin, waste, scattering and exile. Context teaches us.

Leviticus 26: 39-42 describes how God will, nevertheless, keep his promises and restore his people, 'Then I will remember you...For I know the plans I have for you...' Lev.26:42; Jer.29:11) God's plans are never thwarted. Context is understanding.

Even though we might take comfort from the general understanding that we are in God's hands and care - In all things God works for the good of those that love him' Ro.8:28 - we cannot reasonably apply Jeremiah 29:11 to us. It is an example of what has come to be known as narcisegesis, the unbiblical habit of making all Scripture revolve around me.

If God doesn't have a plan specific to my life what does he have? Is there a plan at all?

 

God’s Plan and Purpose

In his letter to the church in Ephesus Paul tells how God, through Christ, has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing (1:3); chosen us to be holy and blameless (1:4); predestined us to be adopted as sons (1:5); redeemed us through the blood of Christ (1:7); lavished on us grace, wisdom and understanding (1:8). We are not meant to be mere creatures but sons. Sons who understand and, in understanding, exercise wisdom. No surprise since we were made originally in the image and likeness of God, to have dominion (Genesis 1:26) to understand and steward the world in which we live. All this, Paul insists, is, ‘to the praise of [God’s] glorious grace’ (1:6)

Paul explains explicitly the purposes of God, revealed to all who trust in Christ:

‘And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment-to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.’ (Ephesians 1:9-10)

The thought here is that everything that fails to make sense in this world will be summed up and given perfect meaning in Christ. Its not about me, its about Christ! Everything about us, our being chosen and predestined, serves God’s purpose and plan in Christ, ‘for the praise of his glory.’ (1:11-12) Do yourself a favour and read Ephesians 1:3-14 and count the number of times ‘in Christ’ or a variant thereof appears. It is all about Jesus, and once you realise this your doctrinal understanding will be revolutionised.

God may yet have a specific purpose for particular individuals, at particular times, in church service, mission, etc. For some it is a lifetime call. But what does a purposeful Christian life look like when there isn't a specific 'plan for my life?' We will look at that next time.

On Being Disciples: Jesus and Kingdom

In my last post, Being Disciples: Jesus and Me?, we learned that a disciple is defined as much by the company he keeps as the ideas he embraces.  That learning, for a disciple, includes practice as well as theory. That Jesus chose us for his purposes and the ‘Jesus and me’ tone that pervades the church is misleading, damaging, and wrong. If Jesus didn’t come to be my life coach - and he didn’t - then why did he come?

The Kingdom

The public ministry of Jesus begins with the clear and unequivocal message, “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mk.1:15 NIV)

In another place Jesus was asked about the kingdom of God, and replied, “The kingdom of God is among you...” (Luke 17:21 ESV) Some translations (NIV, NCV, KJV) have, “The kingdom of God is within you.”  But this doesn't make sense in the context, i.e. he is speaking to the Pharisees. The ESV and the NASB translate correctly, “the kingdom of God is among you,” in your midst, within your reach, right here where the king is.

The kingdom of God is the central theme of Jesus’ teaching, and his whole person and ministry can only be understood in terms of the kingdom.

Jesus set himself up a rival authority to the Jewish Law. For example, in Mark 2:23-28 when his disciples were criticised for plucking and eating corn on the Sabbath Jesus defended himself by giving the example of King David (1 Sam.212:1-6). The point, however, is not that his disciples were doing what David’s men did, but that the Messianic king that David’s reign foreshadowed was here among them. If David could set himself above the Law how much more could Jesus?

When quizzed about divorce in Mark 10:2-12  Jesus didn’t argue the finer points of the Law but appealed to God’s original intention in the Creation narrative, that marriage was the union of one man and one woman for a lifetime. Jesus made it clear that his priority was the renewal of creation according to God’s original purposes.

This was the day so many had longed to see but that was now here (Mt.13:16-17; Lk.10:23) and it is marked by Jesus’ exercising kingdom authority over sickness, death and evil spirits. Peter declares that his “healing of all who were under the power of the devil” was a sign that God was with Jesus (Acts 10:38)

Jesus, answering the disciples of John the Baptist, declared that the miracles and the preaching of the kingdom are living proclamations that the long-awaited king has come (Lk.7:22)

A kingdom is where a king rules and a member of that kingdom lives by the laws and principles of that kingdom to serve the king's purposes. By extension, the kingdom of God is wherever God rules and reigns and, if he rules and reigns in and among us then that is where the kingdom is. If we are Christians then the kingdom of God is among us and the king has chosen us for his purposes. So, if we are chosen disciples for his purpose, what is his purpose?

Church as Community

When God made mankind in the beginning, “...he blessed them and said to them, 'Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and...rule...” Genesis 1:28 gives us a picture of God's plan from the beginning. It speaks of community, growth and stewardship.

Later, in Gen. 2:24 we read, “a man shall leave his father and his mother and be united to his wife...” so we learn of family, father, mother, children, wife, husband. Earlier in Gen.2:1 we are told that creation was completed in and by the establishment of this community in correct relationship. It is a simple arrangement with God as Creator, mankind as his steward, charged with caring for the world as we grow and establish community and as God rules and walks among us (Gen.2:8)

Genesis 3:4-5 tells us how this all began to fail when mankind chose to change the order of things and make themselves god of their own lives. We read:

“When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable in gaining wisdom, she took it and ate.” You see, the serpent had promised that by eating the fruit mankind would, “be like God, knowing good and evil.”

To “know good and evil” in these verses doesn't mean a fall from naïve innocence, as though they didn’t know right from wrong until they did wrong. That would be perverse and unjust. Rather, it is a conscious decision to ignore God's command and determine what is good and evil for themselves. To “be like God” and judge good and evil; “I know what God says, but I think…”

God knows good and evil as an omniscient being, knowing everything; man's knowledge is finite, a subset of God's knowledge. To set ourselves up as judge from such a position is fatal. We are living with the consequences to this day but we are so used to me being the measure of all things we don't notice.

In the 17^th century the French philosopher Rene Descartes tried to find a fundamental statement, an irreducible truth with which everyone, Christian, Muslim, Jew, Secularist, could agree. He came up with, “I think, therefore I am.” Can you see why a Christian can't agree with that statement? “I think, therefore I am.” This is the original sin, making me the measure of all things. A disciple of Jesus doesn't begin with, “I think...” or, “I feel...” A disciple of Jesus understands, God is, therefore I am. God knows everything and is in the perfect place to be the judge and measure of all things; that is how it was meant to be.

God’s Plan

Genesis 12 tells us that God began to put this right by calling a man named Abram out of the rebellious world and into a relationship with God. “The LORD said to Abram, 'Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to a land I will show you. I will make you a great nation and I will bless you. I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing...and all the people on the earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:1-3)

In effect, this was a family for God again. Hold onto that thought.

In Exodus we read of how that family, now grown to great size, indeed a nation as God had promised, is called out of slavery in Egypt and led by Moses to a land God has prepared for them. In effect, this is a people, a community for God, and God made plain his purposes,

“You yourselves have seen what I did in Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles wings and brought you to myself...Although the whole earth is mine, you will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Exodus 19:4-6) In other words a kingdom for God.

Through Moses God gives them the commandments, effectively saying, “This is how a called-out people of God live in relation to God and to each other.” You see, the choosing of Abraham begins with God. The calling out of Israel from Egypt begins with God. Abraham was the father of nations because of God. Israel were a people because God made them a people. As in the Creation, God is the prime mover here.

In the rest of the Old Testament story we see these people of God rebelling and then returning to him. God sent prophets to warn them, guide them, speak to them for God. But God had promised Abraham, long before, that through him and his people all the kingdoms of the earth would be blessed, through his seed (Gen.12:7)

This promise begins to be fulfilled in the gospels as Jesus, the seed of Abraham, arrives on the scene. Paul explains it this way in his letter to the Galatians:

“The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but, ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ.” (Gal.3:15-16)

That one person, Christ, declared he had come, “to preach good news to the poor...to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the Lord's favour.” (Luke 4:18-19)

Those held captive to sin, to me-centredness, because of man's rebellion in the beginning are to be freed. He died for your sins and mine so that, through faith in him “we” might be saved. You see, though we are saved individually, we are saved into community, family, the family of God; this is the church.

Disciples go where Jesus tells them, see Jesus at work in the world and worship him, struggle and doubt but trust Jesus, not letting doubts stop them; disciples are a work in progress, working in partnership, being discipled and discipling others. All to the end that God's purposes in making us disciples are fulfilled in the extension of his kingdom rule in this world.

That work goes on daily, but secretly, in people’s hearts and minds. Just like a seed growing in secret, whether we sleep or get up, (Mk.4:26-29) so the kingdom extends its borders until that last day when all will recognise his kingly rule (Philip. 2:9-11) Just like a mustard seed that seems so small and insignificant, the kingdom will grow to great size unobserved except by those working for the good of the kingdom.

Similarly, just as the growth of a seed to a great tree is elemental, something with which man has nothing to do, so the kingdom grows by the power of God and we will look at that. Some Christians have only a vague idea of the purposes of God beyond our being saved by grace and looking forward to a heavenly home prepared for us by Jesus. But our place in God’s plan is so much more and next time I will look at Jesus and the new humanity.

Previously:

1. On being Disciples: Jesus and Me?

Just Do Something

How many books have you read on seeking and finding the will of God and his “special plan” for your life? Have you found it yet? Or are you still putting off decisions until you get that inexplicable prompt from God that you just know every good and mature Christian experiences on an almost daily basis?

Search no more because Kevin DeYoung has the answer for you. Yes, another book on finding God’s will but with a refreshing twist – it works. In a soundly biblical and biblically sensible little book DeYoung administers more practical and workable common sense advice than you might find in a thousand tomes promising to put you in the centre of God’s will if you will just practice spiritual contortions to make yourself a super Christian.

Forget dreams, ‘pictures’, visions, fleeces, Words, etc. DeYoung has found the truth in the Bible. Who would have thought it? Actually there in God’s written and constant Word? He describes incisively the prevarication so typical of our times and, dismissing what he calls Christianese, he challenges his readers to stop messing about, get up and get on with it; in other words Just Do Something.

If I were a pastor or youth leader I would put a copy of this book in the hands of everyone in my ministerial care and it would lighten my burden of helping lost and aimless souls almost immediately. It would also inspire people young and not so young to finally get on with it and find the joy of making decisions the biblical way and finding God’s purpose in almost everything they do.