Coming Up: Sonday October 12, 2014
Romans 15:23-33. God’s Game Plan for Life.
Read Romans 15:23-29
Do you have a plan or goal for your life? Most of us have, at least, unwritten goals and plans. We may seek to have a spouse by the time we reach a certain age. We might seek to have a certain job or position by the time we get to a certain point in life. We may want to have x number of children in so many years from now. We might aim at self employment or early retirement. Maybe we want to have the mortgage paid off as quickly as possible.
But I wonder how many of us have Kingdom plans. I wonder if we have goals, even unwritten ones, about our faith and walk with God. Paul certainly did. Paul’s plan for years has been to visit Rome and to spread the Gospel further afield into the region around and beyond Spain. In fact, Paul’s entire life has been a Kingdom life that seeks to glorify and honour God in everything. Paul’s ongoing desire is to see people saved and to be matured in their faith. In fact, most of his letters end with a request for prayer based around his Kingdom plans.
Now of course, the Lord isn’t calling all of us to be travelling evangelists and preachers. But that doesn’t mean that He doesn’t want us to have a plan for our lives. You can plan to serve God in your current jobs, living in your current neighbourhood, serving in your current church. Perhaps God may be calling you to grow in knowledge of His Word. Maybe He’s calling you to lead a cell group and to make disciples that way. Maybe He’s wanting you to start a group that reaches a particular group of unreached people. Maybe He’s planning to send you on a short term mission or to evangelise locally. Maybe He wants you to grow in a particular fruit of the Spirit.
When Paul wrote to the Roman Church he made his plans in the light of God’s overarching and sovereign plan. It would only work by and according to God’s will (Romans 1:10, 15:7). We don’t pluck our plans from thin air or just make them to suit our desires and fantasies. Our plans are produced through persistent prayer. We seek God and ask Him to reveal His plan for our lives. Ephesians 2:8-10 spells it out very clearly.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Forming a Kingdom focussed plan for our lives begins with and ends with prayerfulness.
Spend time today asking God to show you His plan for your life. Ask Him to reveal to you where He wants you to be putting your energy and how you are to be serving Him.
Prayer:
Use today’s Bible reading and notes to pray along the following lines.
Adoration:
Confession:
Thanks:
Supplication:
¨ Pray that each person in your congregation would know God’s plan for their lives. Pray that each person would be seeking God and seeking to be obedient to God.
¨ Pray that the leadership of your church would know the plans that God has for your church and that they would be wise in leading the congregation in obedience and trust.
When we live Kingdom focused lives according to His plan, people start taking notice of the Gospel.
1. What advantages come from having a Kingdom plan or goal for your life?
2. How do you think having a Kingdom goal or plan for your life could change your life?
3. How does having a plan relate to spiritual gifts as discussed in passages such as 1 Corinthians 12?
Intro: Sometimes we don’t know where we want to go with our lives or what we are supposed to do. God wants our lives to be meaningful and directed, more like a sports star training for the Olympics than a life with no goals or plans.
Discuss the kingdom goals that you have for your life and how you came to those goals.
Read Romans 15:20
What was Paul’s ambition or goal?
If you could dream of doing anything for God, what would it be?
Pray together that God would show you His plans and goals for your life.
Intro: God wants our lives to be meaningful and directed, more like a sports star training for the Olympics than a life with no goals or plans. Instead of just idling in life God wants us to power forward and to work for His kingdom.
Discuss the kingdom goals that you have for your life and how you came to those goals.
Read Romans 15:20
What was Paul’s ambition or goal?
If you could dream of doing anything for God, what would it be?
Pray together that God would show you His plans and goals for your life.
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