YOUR PLANS in GOD'S HANDS! | Brother Chris Sermon

If you fail to include God in your plans,
you are planning to fail.

Welcome once again everyone to
this Interactive Prayer Service.

Before anything else, let us pray together.

I pray right now for each heart
connected to this service

that they would encounter the reality of Your power, love, goodness in their lives.

In the mighty name of Jesus Christ we pray.

And the people of God said, “Amen!”

First and foremost, let me greet all of
you a very Happy New Year 2025.

I have a word of encouragement
to share with you today.

It’s common at this period - when we leave one year and enter the new year -

it's very common for us to have time to think about what's ahead.

What are the plans I have
for this year that's coming?

It could be in your personal life,
your academic life.

It could be in your career -
‘I want to expand the business here.’

Perhaps relationships - ‘This year,
I want to get married!’

‘This year, we want to have children together’ - husbands and wives.

This is a time when we make plans.

We think about the year ahead,
the year to come. Good!

It's good to make plans but

don't fall into the mistake of making plans for tomorrow as if you are its owner.

Think about that, people of God.

Don't fall into the trap of making plans for the future as if it is yours to hold.

I'm not saying it's wrong to make plans.

I'm not saying it’s wrong to look ahead.

I'm saying when you make
plans as a Christian -

‘What's next in 2025? What’s ahead?

What do I want to focus on?

What do I want to achieve in my career, personal life, business, finances?

What do I want to do?’

When you make plans, you must do so
with the recognition of three things.

And I want you to write it down.
Please write this down.

This message will help you for this year.

1. Life is uncertain

2. God is sovereign

3. Each day has its provision

I'll say it again to you, people of God.

When you make plans, plan ahead,

you must do so with this awareness,
this consciousness -

1. Life is uncertain

Sometimes we will face situations
beyond our control.

Why should you make plans
as if you are in control?

Sometimes as a child of God, you may
face unchangeable events -

no amount of prayer, fasting or
spiritual maturity will change.

Life is uncertain.

2. God is sovereign

The uncertainties of life do not
change the sovereignty of God.

Yes, life is filled with uncertainties.

But one thing you can be certain of - God's goodness, God's power, God's love.

Even in the midst of the
madness of this world,

we can be assured of
the goodness of God.

He is sovereign.

And as Christians, we must recognise our lives, our times are in His hands.

God is sovereign.

3. Each day has its provision

Give us this day our daily bread.

Manna for the need of the moment.

Each day has its provision -
God gives grace for each day.

The message I have to share
with you is very simply this:

‘Your Plans In God’s Hands’.

You can say that right now. If you are with someone at home, just say to the person,

“Your plans in God’s hands.”

If you are alone, you can say it
to yourself or you can tell me,

“My plans in God's hands.”

Man plans; God executes.

Man proposes; God disposes.

As a Christian, look, I'm again not telling you that you should not make a plan,

but make plans with the awareness
that your life is in God's hands.

Make plans from a position of
submission to the Master Planner

whose ways are higher than ours,
whose plans are bigger than ours.

Those who fail to place
their plans in God's hands

are placing themselves on
the path toward failure.

I will even simplify it. I will say this -

if you fail to include God in your plans,
you are planning to fail.

Let's turn to a sober Scripture in James 4.

I want to highlight this truth so that when we are making plans for tomorrow,

we do so with the right awareness of
God's position and our position.

When you plan ahead,
remember who is the Head.

Let's read together - James 4:13.

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city,

spend a year there, buy and sell,
and make a profit...”

‘In 2025, I’m going to go there.
I’m going to do this in my business.

This is definitely going to happen.’

“...whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life?

It is even a vapour that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.

Instead you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.’”

‘If the Lord wills, this will happen in 2025.

If the Lord wills, this plan will materialise.’

James 4:16 - “But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.”

The Scripture here, I want to emphasise,
is not telling you to never make a plan,

but it’s warning you to not occupy God's position when it comes to your plan.

As I said earlier, when you look ahead, remember who is the Head - Jesus.

There is nothing more dangerous than assuming God’s position in your plan.

Assuming God's position in your plan is the sure route to that plan’s downfall - eventually.

Now, you may look at me and say,
‘What are you saying Brother Chris?

I'm not assuming God's position in my plan. How could I be God? I'm not God!’

But many of us, in the way we go
about our plans for tomorrow,

we do so in a way that assumes
ownership of tomorrow.

And do you know the danger of this?

When you assume ownership of tomorrow,

you carry a weight you were
never meant to bear,

which is why it inevitably ends
in worry, fear and anxiety.

‘What will happen? What of this?
What of that?’

Worry is a thief of joy.

Worry is a thief of peace.

Worry is a thief of rightful judgement,

necessary to be a good steward
of what is in your hands today.

Let me remind you of the wonderful words of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 6:34.

Jesus said, “Therefore do not
worry about tomorrow,

for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

Each day has its provision.

Each day has its blessings.

Each day has its troubles.

Look at what Jesus is saying here.

But why is it so common for us today to fall into the trap of worrying about tomorrow?

Because we fall into the trap
of boasting about tomorrow,

We behave as if tomorrow is ours,
whereas only today is ours.

Tomorrow belongs to God.

Now is yours; next is God’s.

Let me read another Scripture
from Proverbs 27,

echoing the words of
James that we just read.

In Proverbs 27:1, the wise man says this,

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

What am I emphasising by quoting these Scriptures, people of God,

talking about this subject?
Because it’s a new year.

It’s a time we think ahead, we make plans.

What’s the focus? What are we going to do?

I'm not against those plans, I repeat.

I'm not encouraging idleness.
I’m not encouraging laziness.

I'm not encouraging you to
sit back, fold your hands

and expect things to drop from
Heaven into your lap.

It is good to make plans, but we must do so with the recognition of God’s position.

If not, you may fall into the trap of worrying about tomorrow or boasting about tomorrow.

You may not even realise it,

but the way you react when your
plan is interrupted will show that.

This is a point of self-examination,
people of God.

You've made a plan - ‘I want to go here at this time; I want to do this in my business.’

How do you react when that
plan is interrupted?

Your reaction to your plan’s interruption reveals whose plan you truly trust.

Do you fall apart when your plans fall apart?

You begin to grumble, complain,
compare yourself with others

and measure yourself by
manmade standards.

Does your joy fall apart when
your plans fall apart?

Does your peace fall into pieces
when your plan falls into pieces?

It shows you have not placed
your plan in God's hands.

Because what you see as an
interruption in your plan

may be the step toward the
fulfillment of God's plan.

God is sovereign!

He takes care of His children.

Sometimes what you see as an interruption may actually be divine intervention

to preserve you, to prepare you, to strengthen you, to reform you, to build you up spiritually.

What you see as an
interruption in your plan

may be the step to fulfillment of God's plan.

But many times, when our plans are interrupted, interfered with,

how do we react? How do we respond?

Do you respond in faith or fear?

Do you respond with
calmness or complaining?

How do you react when
your plan is interrupted?

You have done everything
humanly possible.

You have played your part, but then
things beyond your control

come and scatter that plan.
How do you react?

This is why I said people of God,
when you make plans for tomorrow,

do so recognising life is uncertain, God is sovereign and each day has its provision.

What must you do?
Focus on the grace of today.

Some of us are so worried about tomorrow, we’re too busy thinking about tomorrow

that we are not effectively managing, stewarding what is in our hands today.

Don't expect automatically

that the grace you have today will be available for you tomorrow.

Don’t assume that what you have access to today, you will have access to tomorrow.

God gives grace for each day.

That's why you must trust Him each day.

That’s why you need to have
a relationship with Him.

Yes, you make your plans. Yes, you work hard towards their fulfillment.

Yes, you give your best with
an understanding:

Who has the final say?
Jehovah has the final say.

You remember that song!

<i>Who has the final say </i>
Jehovah has the final say

God has the final say in our lives.

Our plans are not to supersede His.

If you make a plan, place it in His hands.

This is my word of encouragement
for you today, people of God.

I repeat, I'm not discouraging you
from making that plan.

In fact, I encourage it!

As a Christian, carefully and prayerfully reflect on the year ahead.

Make a plan. Seek God’s face for it. It’s good!

Sometimes people go
too far the other way.

They say, ‘Well, if God has
promised it for me, then

He is the One that is going to
bring it to me.’ - just like that.

Let me put it like this:

Waiting on the Lord is not an excuse
for not playing your part.

‘I'm waiting on the Lord for this blessing.

I'm waiting on the Lord
for that breakthrough.

I'm waiting on the Lord for that
promise to be fulfilled.’ Good!

How do you wait on the Lord effectively?

You make use of what is
in your hands today.

Waiting on the Lord is not
an excuse for laziness.

Let us not spiritualise mismanagement.

God will not bless irresponsible stewardship with success.

You are praying, ‘God, bless my business’

but you are mismanaging what
is in your hands today.

How can that prayer come to pass?

I hope you follow what
I'm saying, people of God.

Use what is in your hands today
with the grace of today.

Let me put it like this:

Combine hard work with quiet
confidence in God for the future.

Work hard towards your dream. Your dream will not do the work for you.

Work hard towards your plan. Your plan
will not plant the seeds for you.

But as you work hard, as you give your best, you do so with the awareness -

my life is in God’s hands;
my times are in God’s hands.

Let me read to you one more proverb,
this time from Proverbs 16.

The wise man puts it so clearly.
Proverbs 16:9 says this,

“A man’s heart plans his way,
but the Lord directs his steps.”

Your plans in God’s hands.

Children of God, take this word to heart:

When you place everything in God's hands,

you will soon see God’s
hands in everything.

You must trust His hand is working

even when you cannot
trace His hand writing.

I may not know the end of the story,

But I trust the Author of the story.

I may not see the full picture.

But I trust the Master Planner.

I may not see the finished product.

But I trust the Divine Designer.

This is our position as Christians.

Let me quote something
Prophet T.B. Joshua said

to bring this message to a conclusion.

After you must have done
everything humanly possible,

leave the issue with God to mark your work.

This is how you place your
plans in God's hands.

Satan wants us to focus on what we don't have, to focus on what we don't know.

Because this causes worry,
complaint, mismanagement.

But as a Christian, what do you know?
God is sovereign. God is good.

He sees the bigger picture.

What do you have? Grace for today.

Use what is in your hands today and leave everything in His hands for tomorrow.

May God bless this word of encouragement in the midst of our hearts.