Sermon: God's Perfect Plan for Imperfect People, Part One
Jeff Chacon   
Sunday, 27 September 2009
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In a world of suffering and hardships it becomes difficult to understand or even believe that God has a plan for us. Join Jeff Chacon as he inspires our hearts on God’s perfect plan for imperfect people.
 

“God’s Perfect Plan for Imperfect People”
(part one of three parts)
by
Jeff Chacon
9/27/09

  1. Introduction
    1. Three week sermon series: “God’s Perfect Plan for Imperfect People”
      1. (This morning = Part One)
        1. (The idea and some material taken from book of same name by Tom Jones.)
    2. Have you ever wondered:
      1. Q: Why do bad things happen to good people?
      2. Q: Is God truly in control of this world or not?
      3. Q: In times of crisis, is someone really looking out for us, or are we actually completely on our own?
    3. Some recent news headlines:
      1. “Dozens dead in Philippines from tropical storm flooding”
        1. “At least 51 people have died and at least 21 others are missing after torrential rains and subsequent flooding pummeled the Philippines on Saturday, the government said.”
      2.  “Left For Dead at 8”
        1. “A stranger crept into Jennifer Schuett’s bedroom when she was 8, raped her in a field by her elementary school, slashed her throat, and left her for dead.”
      3. “Jaycee Dugard Found After 18 Years, Kidnap Suspect Allegedly Fathered Her Kids”
        1. “A girl who was snatched off the street 18 years ago has been found and the man-and-wife team that allegedly grabbed her has been arrested and charged with kidnapping and rape…”
        2. “…the mother told ABC News that her daughter had been held against her will all these years and confined in a box in the back of the Garrido's house.”
    4. Events like these can:
      1. shake us (fear)
      2. bewilder us (Q: Where is God?)
    5. As Christians, we say, “God is in control.”
      1. Q: Is He?
      2. Q: Do you really believe that?
    6. George Barna, a public-opinion pollster, conducted a national survey: “If you could ask God only one question and you knew he would give you an answer, what would you ask?”
      1. The top response: “Why is there pain and suffering in the world?”
      2. Most of us have asked that question…
        1. Job asked that question - (and got a very different answer than what he was looking for).
    7. Q: So can we thoroughly and comprehensively give you the definitive answer on that question today?  No, it’s a complex subject, with no easy answers…
      1. But there are some major pieces to the puzzle that have helped me understand a little bit more, and I’d like to share those with you…
    8. Read excerpt from “The Case for Faith”, by Lee Strobel

“It is not logically possible to have free will, and no possibility of moral evil.  Once God chose to create human beings with free will, then it was up to them, rather than to God, as to whether there was sin or not.  That’s why sin and evil don’t come from God, they come from man.  It’s because of free will – we can choose what we want to do.  So, built into the situation of God deciding to create human beings with free will is the chance of evil and, consequently, the suffering that results. 
Why didn’t God create a world without human freedom?  Because while that would have been a world without hate and suffering, it also would be a world without love and goodness.  Real love must involve a choice.  But with the granting of that choice comes the possibility that people would choose to hate instead of love.”

      1. God created man in his own image and likeness – w/ free will! (Refer: Gen 1:17)
      2. It seems God had two choices:
        1. Force all human beings to do good, thus eliminating all sin and it’s resultant pain and suffering in the world.
        2. Or, give us the freedom to choose, allowing the freedom to do good or evil, right or wrong, love or hate, resulting in the world we live in today.
          1. God chose to give us free-will because He wanted children, not robots.
            1. (I’d rather be a child of God than be a robot or a puppet. Q: How about you?)
            2. God did not create evil, but evil became a possibility as soon as free will was born. (And that explains much of the pain and suffering in our world.)
  1. Transition =) Q: But what about natural disasters?  That’s not the result of sin is it?
    1. Two thoughts:
      1. One: Actually, they may be.
        1. Remember, ours is a cursed world… (Genesis 3)
          1. Romans 8:20-24 = “For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.”

            1. One Commentator: “…the creation was subjected to futility because of man's sin, and will benefit from the ultimate redemption of men.  (Explain)
      1. Two: God designed this world to include pain and suffering because it’s ultimately good for the human race.
        1. Pain and suffering are agents of change, helping us to grow spiritually and preparing us for eternity!
          1. Hebrews 12:7, 10-11 = “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? …10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
          2. If there were no pain and suffering in this world:
            1. Q: How would we build character?
            2. Q: How would we develop perseverance?
            3. Q: What would motivate us to turn to God?
              1. Pain and suffering often cause us to turn to God!
              2. Quote C. S. Lewis: “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our in our conscience, and shouts to us in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
        2. This world is perfectly designed to cause people to:
          1. turn to God in repentance
          2. and grow spiritually by learning to persevere.
            1. And that helps us grow in our character  -which increases our hope of further growth and eventually heaven!
            2. Romans 5:3-4 = “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.”
        3. This world is a soul-making factory!
          1. It’s exactly as he planned it!
          2. Everything is working according to plan!
          3. No power or evil is frustrating, thwarting, or altering God’s plan in any way!
            1. God works “all things for good” in the long run (even sin and evil).
        4. Main Point = And that’s why Christians can say with confidence: “GOD IS IN CONTROL!”
  1. Transition =) Q: Okay, so pain and suffering is necessary, but how do we deal with it emotionally and spiritually? A: By focusing on Jesus and the cross…
    1. Philippians 2:5-8 = “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature God,
            did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
       7but made himself nothing,
            taking the very nature of a servant,
            being made in human likeness.
       8And being found in appearance as a man,
            he humbled himself
            and became obedient to death—
               even death on a cross!”
      1. God became a man in Jesus Christ!
      2. God walked the earth and felt the pain of a broken world!
      3. God was mistreated, beaten, abused, and crucified by evil men!
      4. He knows what pain and suffering is all about!
        1. Q: So, where is God when we’re hurting?
        2. A: He’s right there, hurting with us!
        3. Q: Where is God when we’re suffering?
        4. A: He’s right there, suffering with us!
        5. Q: Where is God when we’re crying for relief?
        6. A: He’s right there, crying with us!
          1. “…And Jesus said: ‘Come to the water, stand by my side. I know you are thirsty.  You won’t be denied. I felt every tear drop when in darkness you cried. And I strove to remind you that for those tears I died.”     
      5. Main Point = THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION: “WHERE IS GOD WHEN I’M HURTING?” IS HE’S RIGHT THERE, HURTING WITH YOU!
        1. YA GOTTA LOVE A GOD LIKE THAT!
      6. Practical ministering note:
        1. Often when people are suffering greatly (physically, emotionally or spiritually), we don’t know how to minister to them.  Try just being there with them.  Because sometimes we don’t need answers, we just need to know we’re not going through it alone.  And that’s one big reason God sent Jesus to our world – to suffer along side of us – so we’d know that we’re not alone, but that God is right there with us, relating, comforting, and sustaining us.
  2. Transition =) So, life is not haphazard.  God is in control and with us in our suffering.
    1. Q: But does God have a plan FOR MY LIFE?          
  3. Three brief points (in our time remaining):
    1. God’s got a plan for your life!
    2. God’s plan for your life is a perfect plan!
    3. It’s a perfect plan for imperfect people because grace is at the center of it!
  4. God’s got a plan for your life!
    1. Ephesians 1:3-10 = “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.”
      1. Your life is not an accident!
      2. You are not a product of blind evolutionary forces!
      3. You were chosen, predestined, and adopted – by God himself!
        1. Example: expectant mothers nesting…
          1. There’s a loving plan for that child!
          2. That child is not alone!
            1. He/She is born into a loving family with a loving plan to raise her!
              1. And that’s how God feels about you!
    2. Psalm 139:13-16 = “For you created me in my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.  When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
      1. You aren’t a product of accidental, blind evolutionary forces, nor were you mass produced and stamped with a number!
      2. You were lovingly, and carefully knit together by the hands of God!
      3. Everything about your DNA is on purpose!  You were designed by God!
        1. And God’s got a plan for your life!  (Never doubt that!)
  5. God’s plan for your life is a perfect plan
    1. Eph 1:11 = “In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will…”
      1. Because God is flawless, his plan for your life is flawless as well!
      2. Because God is omnipotent (all-powerful) and omniscient (all-knowing), he’s able to make that plan happen!
        1. Main Point = The plan for your life is perfect because God is perfect!
  6. Transition =) Q: You say, “Well, if there are no mistakes in God’s plan, then how can I be a part of it, since I’m pretty imperfect!”
  7. A: It’s a perfect plan for imperfect people because grace is at the center of it!
    1. Re-read Eph 1:7-8 = “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.
      1. Our sins and mistakes don’t mess up God’s plan!
      2. It still works, because grace is at the center of it!
      3. Example: Q: Is a marriage over as soon as someone breaks one of their wedding vows?
        1. A: No, because love is at the center of a good marriage!
          1. “…Do you promise before God and these witnesses that you will love, honor and keep him/her?”
          2. (Most of us messed that one up on the honeymoon!)
          3. But that doesn’t end the marriage!
            1. Q: Why?
            2. A: Because it’s based on love!
          4. And your sins don’t end your rel. w/ God either!
            1. Q: Why?
            2. A: Because it’s based on love! (God’s grace through the cross - verses 4b, 7-8)
  8. Some applications:
    1. Relief!
      1. You haven’t blown it beyond God’s ability to “work everything out in conformity with the purpose of his will (Ephesians 1:11).”
    2. Hope and excitement for the future!
      1. Individually
        1. God’s not done with you yet!
          1. (Ex: Moses 40 yrs in the desert before the burning bush…)
      2. As a church 
        1. Our future is bright!
  9. Close
    1. “Brothers and sisters of the Tampa Church: our best days are ahead of us!”
    2. (Part Two next week)