The Way Church Podcast

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Jeremiah chapter number 29 and 11. Jeremiah, chapter number 29 and 11. A familiar passage of scripture we're reading out of the New International Version of God's Holy Word, Jeremiah 29 and 11. And it reads. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord.

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Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.

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Very simply, family. This morning I want to use for a subject built by design. Built by design. As you take your seats, tell the person next to you it's already written. It's already written.

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I don't know if you've ever. And chances are you have. If you haven't walked, you've driven by a construction site in the middle of a project. Walking by it, it's noisy, it's messy, it's confusing.

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You see beams without walls, you see wires without ceilings, you see foundations without floors. It's hard to make sense when you're standing in the middle of it. If you didn't know any better, you might think somebody made a mistake. You might look around and say, this does not look like progress, but it looks like a problem. But if you had access to the architect's plans, if you could see the blueprint, you would realize that the chaos isn't proof of failure, but it's evidence that something is being built.

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And I believe this morning that is exactly where some of us are experiencing right now. For some of you, it feels like your life is under construction. Your relationship is under construction, your career is under construction, your dream and your peace is under construction. And if you are not careful, you'll mistake progress for problems. You start assuming that God has abandoned you, when actually God is assembling you.

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But here is the good news that I came to declare over your life today, that you are not abandoned. You're being architected. You're not living a life of accidents, but you are living a life of assignments. You're not scrambling for purpose. You are stepping into a story that has already been written by the hand of God himself.

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Jeremiah, chapter number 29 and 11 is not a suggestion. It is a declaration. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, Plans to prosper and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future notice. God did not say, I'm trying to figure out notice.

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He does not say, I hope that it works out. But the God that we Serve. He is sure of everything that he says. And he says, for I know. In other words, before you had questions, I had answers.

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Before you had problems, I had plans. Before you lived one single day, I wrote every chapter of life. And even when it looks confusing when you're standing in the middle of it, Heaven has already written the very life story that you are living right now. I know you are looking around and you're saying to yourself, God, what is this? God, what is going on?

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You are facing unexpected challenges. You are unclear with your direction. You are unsettling in some of the situations that you are experiencing. But I came this morning to help you settle down. I came to help you pump your brakes.

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I came to help you to chillax a little bit. Because what you are experiencing isn't accidental. It's architectural. God is not guessing about your future. God is not improvising.

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God is not it. God is intentional about everything that's going on in your life. God is not just building, but God is designing the very life that he has for you.

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He has the blueprint of your life already laid out. Even when you don't understand the construction, the master architect is still at work. Look at somebody and say, relax, he's at work. Relax, he's at work. Relax, he's at work.

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Jeremiah, chapter 29 and 11 reminds us that life isn't random. It's not a series of accidents and coincidences. It is divinely designed. Grab some context before we process this. Jeremiah delivers this powerful message in a moment of crisis.

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God's people were exiled in Babylon, living in a place they never wanted, facing difficulties they never chose. They're far from home, far from comfort, far from what made sense. And right in the middle of what they were going through. In the midst of their struggle, God assures them with this promise. I know the plans I have for you.

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Y'all missed that. Y'all missed that. I said God's people were in captivity. A place of confusion, disappointment, a place of fear. And they're wondering to themselves, is this the end of our lives?

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God sends a message through Jeremiah that says to them, this isn't the end. I know we're doing. I've already written your comeback before you even stepped into the setback. Because God does not speak the promise at the end. God speaks the promise in the beginning.
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He tells them, stay there for a little while. He tells them, build homes and plant gardens and seek peace. In other words, he's saying, I know you don't like it, but I'm working through it. And there's some people in this room today, you don't like what you're going through, but God told me to tell you he's working through what you're going through.

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So when God says, I know the plans, it is not perfect conditions. It's painful, unpredictable seasons. And he's telling them, and he's telling us, trust me, because I'm the architect. He didn't say I guess or I think, but he says, I know. Because the plans of God are not guesses, they're guarantees.

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When God has a plan, there is no devil in hell that can stop the plan of God from moving in your life. When God speaks a word over you, there is no opposition of your haters or people that don't like what God has spoken over your life. They can't do anything to stop the plan of God. Just because your life looks messy right now, just because it feels chaotic and confusing and complicated, it does not mean that your life is missing the plan of God. You are being built by design.

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Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that God has a plan, that God has a purpose, that he has a future with your name on it. And here's the shouting piece. It's already written. Yeah. You don't have to do anything.

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It's already written. But what we have to wrap our heads around, family, is the fact point number one, that God wrote it before you lived it. Yeah. In other words, you're walking through a story God already finished. Before you had a need, God had a solution.

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God is not reacting to your situation that you're going through. He already planned it out before there was a problem. He said, I had the plan. Psalm 139, 16. The Psalmist says, all the days ordained for me were written in a book before one of them came to be.

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In other words, before you stepped into your struggle, God had already scripted the success of your life.

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Tell the person next to you. You're not creating victory, you're catching up to victory. Yeah, I'm not trying to push them, push victory. I'm catching up to the victory that God already says is mine. Jeremiah reminds the exiled Israelites that God's plan existed before.

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Long before their exile began. God revealed it to Isaiah. In Isaiah 46 and 10. He says, I make known the end from the beginning, from the ancient of times, what still is to come. I say, my purpose will stand and I will do what.

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I mean, what that means is there is no crisis in your life that catches God by surprise. While you see problems, God sees purpose. Unfolding according to the divine script that he's already written. He says, this is unfolding exactly like I knew it was going to unfold. God's blueprint includes the blessings that we have not even experienced yet.

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His blueprint is including battles that we haven't even fought. We don't even know we're going to fight yet. God's plan doesn't change. Hear me, because of your circumstances. God's providence sees beyond our perspective.

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We're living in now. God has already been where we're trying to go. When a building is being constructed, the workers on the site don't create the plan as they go. They are following the master design that was completed before one brick was ever laid. They knew exactly what the architect wanted in the building.

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Our life works the same way. You're not figuring it out, you're fulfilling it. God pre-approved your victory before you ever experienced the valley that you were in. God authorized the anointing before you had an adversary that wanted to steal, kill and destroy you. God says, I'm going to give you an anointing that's going to break the yoke of the enemy, that every bondage that tries to attach itself to you will be destroyed because of the anointing.

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You were God's idea before you became anybody's issue. God says, I knew all I knew about you before anybody had a problem with you. And so watch me. Our role and our responsibility is not to rewrite the blueprint, but our role is. Point number two is to trust the architect.

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Look at somebody say trust the architect. Even when you can't see it clearly, he sees it clearly. And I will be one of the first to say there are times in my life where I could not see clearly. There were times in my life that the clouds and the darkness came and blocked and blinded my eyes so that I could not see. And all I had to do was trust the architect.

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Because if I know that I'm trusting the architect, I know everything going to be all right. Proverbs 3, 5 and 6 teaches us, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. When you're standing in the dust and your prayers seem like they're going unanswered and your dreams look like they're delayed. This is when trust becomes critical. Because if you lean to your own understanding, you will not understand it.

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But when I trust in the one that knows everything.
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Faith isn't trusting when the blueprint is clear.

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Faith is trusting when the blueprint is confusing. I came to talk to real Christians this morning. Yeah. Yeah. When you.

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You. You don't have to understand the plan. You got to trust the planner.

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You might not know the whole route, but you gotta trust the navigation of the one who is in control.

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Even when your emotions are unsettled, you gotta trust him. Trust says, I'm gonna trust you even when I cannot trace you. I'm going to trust you. Even when it feels delayed. I know that you're still denied designing even though it's delayed.

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I have to trust you. Because faith is trusting the Architect even when you can't read the blueprint. And I don't know how many honest people will be honest in this sanctified church to say there were times in my life where I could not read the blueprint. As a matter of fact, it looked like it was in a different language and a different spelling. But he says, you gotta trust him because don't miss this.

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Don't miss this. Trust isn't built on seeing. Trust is built on believing.

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I gotta believe him to trust. Because trust grows best in uncertainty, not clarity.

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That's how you know you really trust them when I can't articulate it, but I just got to keep it in his hands. See, we often struggle because we want clarity over trust God, tell me everything there is to know first, and then I'll trust the step that you're telling me to make.

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As soon as he reveals it to me and I'm comfortable with it, then I'll trust him. But understanding. But, but. But clarity requires no faith. You don't need faith for clarity because you're clear already.

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Faith is believing God's plan when his methods are unclear. Can you keep doing what you know God wants you to do, even when it doesn't make sense to your mind? Can you walk in love even when it looks like you're being treated unfairly? Oh, y'all don't want to hear me. Y'all don't want to hear me.

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Can I still praise you even though I feel like all. All the weight of the world is sitting on my chest? Can I still lift up my hands and say, God, you're worthy to be praised? Can I still give him the glory?

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You have to trust that the Architect can see what you cannot see. You have to trust that he knows what you do not know.

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We think we are in control of our lives.

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But the reality is this. Even if God gave you the whole plan, some of us would still doubt God or we would delay our own destiny because we can't Handle all that God has for us right now.

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This seems so simple to say, yet it becomes extremely difficult for us to comprehend because God does not leave his projects incomplete. We think God is like us. God never starts something that he does not finish.

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As a matter of fact, he says it in Philippians 1 and 6. He says, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it out or perform it until completion. In other words, God says, whatever I start, I'm gonna finish. I don't care what it looks like. I don't care when the dust finish flying, when all hell settles down, guess what?

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I'm going to complete everything I started in your life.

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See? But when you know the word of God, God's word tells us, so shall my words be that go forth out of my mouth. God says, I'm so sure of it. I will let you know anything that I say. I got to be careful what I say, because everything that goes out of my mouth, it will accomplish the purpose that I desire for it to accomplish.

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God finishes everything he initiates. And your situation today may not look like the promise yet, but understand this. If it doesn't look good yet, God's not finished yet.

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If it doesn't look like the promise yet, just know God is still building. God hasn't thrown in the towel. His promise is only the start of your story, but he will bring it to a victorious conclusion. If you trust the architects.

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Tell your neighbor you're under construction, but you're also under covenant. Yeah, you're under construction, but I'm also under covenants. Which means I have to remember point number three. The ending will be good, even though the middle may look messy because I'm under covenant in the middle of the situation. Sometimes we judge our situations prematurely.

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Songwriter used to say, God is not through with me. Be patient with me. God is not through with me yet. Hear me. Every significant story includes difficult chapters.

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Amen. It's kind of like if you ever watched a movie where you already knew the ending of the movie. No matter how it looks in the middle, no matter how much disappointment, no matter how much heartache, no matter how many challenges you see in the middle of the story. You can sit there and watch it calmly because you know this gonna turn out all right.

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Every compelling story has challenges in the middle, but there's victory in the end. Every great story has a messy middle. Pain does not negate your promise. Pain precedes your promise. So you will have some pain before you get to the promise.

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And that should Be a shouting piece for somebody in here that's in a little bit of pain, that's going through a little bit of struggle. Because what that signifies to me is God's not done building yet, that I'm getting ready to step in to the promise that God has for me.

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Romans says it this way, for we know all things work together for the good of those who love him and are the called of his purpose. In other words, I gotta know that in the middle of my pain, it's gonna work out for my good. Yeah, it's uncomfortable, it hurts it. Matter of fact, I'm sick of it. But guess what?

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It's gonna work out for my good.

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What am I trying to tell you? Don't judge your situation prematurely.

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If your story isn't good yet, God isn't finished.

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Every powerful story has painful twist.

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But every masterpiece has to have a messy face or wouldn't be a story. Ask Joseph. Thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, falsely imprisoned. But you read the same Joseph in Genesis chapter number 50, verse 20. He says, you intended it for evil, but God turned it around for my good.

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I went in the pits, I was sold into slavery. I was falsely accused. You meant it to evil, but God turned it around for my good.

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Some of you are giving up in the pit and in the prison when God's trying to get you to Genesis chapter 50, where you can look back and say, yeah, they meant it for my evil, but God turned it around for my grand good. They tried to destroy me, but God says, I'm going to tell you, vengeance is mine. I show will show you how to repay. I will repay everything that they try to do for you.

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Don't confuse a messy middle with a meaningless life.

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God has everything under control. Your pain is not the proof that God has failed. It's the proof that his plan is unfolding in your life. I came to encourage somebody. Your setbacks are setups.

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You feel delayed. You feel like you behind. That's the development that God is saying. I'm gonna use that to propel you to where I want you to be.

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God knows how to use broken roads.
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God uses broken road to get to blessed destinations.

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Don't you dare give up. Don't you dare throw in the towel. Don't mistake your current challenge at the final chapter.

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Because every difficult chapter, it prepares us for what is to come. The author wrote the victory before you even took one breath. He said, I already wrote your victory. And watch it. He is guaranteed a hopeful future for every one of us.

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He says I know the plans. Look at somebody and say, God's got plans, and they include you. Don't let the messy middle discourage your miracle ending. He knows what he's doing.

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So here's our assignment. And I'm done. Here's our assignment. Our assignment. Point number four, obedience over editing.

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Somebody say obedience over editing.

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Your assignment is obedience, not editing. We have to resist the urge to rewrite our story. When we come to uncomfortable scenes in the script, we have to trust the author. Hebrews chapter 12 lets us know Jesus is the author and the finisher of our faith. You are not the author.

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You are the actor.

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It's God's job to write it. It's your job to walk it out for those that want to tell God, this is what I'm going to do, and this is how I'm going to do it, and this is how I want it to be. Sometimes we try to rewrite the story because we don't like the scene that we are in.

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But listen to me. You are not the editor of the story. You don't have the authority to rewrite the script.

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Who are we to rewrite what Heaven has already authored? What do I do, Pastor? You don't know what I'm going through. You don't know the pain that I'm under. You don't understand what I'm dealing with.

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What do I do? Stay faithful in the chapter that you are in. Because your job is to walk out the script, not rewrite it. When we resist the current seasons in our lives, we sometimes try to edit it, to make it comfortable for we. For us to be able to bear it or go through it.

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Where I take matters into my own hands. I'm gonna go to my own solutions. I'm going to get my own ideas. I'm going to ask my friends, and we're going to come up with our own logic.

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Listen to me. Listen. Partial obedience is still disobedience.

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You cannot have partial obedience and think it's obedience. Ask Jonah. He tried to reroute and landed in the whale's belly as Saul. He tried to rewrite and he lost his crown as Moses. He tried to self edit and he delayed entering into the promised land.

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Obedience would have saved them heartache, unnecessary pain. But they tried to rewrite the script instead of obeying the script. See, when we try to rewrite what God wrote, we introduce. Hear me. We introduce chaos into our own lives.

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Sometimes we blame the devil for stuff that the devil ain't had nothing to do with.

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Sometimes we introduce chaos because we are not obeying what God told us to do. And we are trying to rewrite the scripture script so that we can be comfortable in the scene that we are in. Are y'all getting this?

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Your peace and your power lies in your obedience.

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Aligning with what God has already written. Full obedience keeps you aligned with full blessing. I can only have the full blessings of God when I'm fully obedient to God.

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When I obey, it aligns me with the divine narrative that God has already written for my life. Not what the culture says, not what I feel like, not what my family says. God sent me here this morning to remind somebody that God is the author and you are the actor. So stay in character.

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Stop getting out of character and be the actor in the story and not the writer in the story.

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I hear you, family. You're not walking through chaos without a cause.

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I was branded with this. It's like 3:00 in the morning. A couple nights ago, 3:00 in the morning, God branded this scripture. And I kept hearing it all day. I kept hearing it.

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And I said, God, I. Because somebody needs to understand this. You are walking through construction towards a completion that God has for your life. But you got to stay in character. You're being built by design.

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Yes, it's messy. Yes, it's uncertain. Yes, it's stretching you.

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But God has already written the plan for your life.

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God's hand is on you. His blueprint is for you. His promises are ahead of you. We don't have to panic because we go through hard times, because we go through struggles. We go through situations and circumstances in our lives.
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You understand that your project is not finished. God's still working on me. He's still building me. He's constructing the. The.

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The areas of my life that he wants to construct. And I don't have to write it because my script is already victorious. Somebody, stand with me. Don't let temporary messiness cause you to miss out on what God has for you. The architect knows exactly what he's doing.

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Even when I don't understand his methods, I have to trust his motive for my life. And if I know God has my best interest at heart, then I have to trust Him. Even when the method seems unclear, nobody in this room is random or forgotten. God says, I know the plans I have for you. Lift your hands.