Detailed Written Plans

Detailed Written Plans

1 Chronicles 28:9-10 
9"As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. 10Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be courageous and act."

1 Chronicles 28:19-20
19"All this," said David, "the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, all the details of this pattern." 20Then David said to his son Solomon, "Be strong and courageous, and act; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you nor forsake you until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.

God has called me to Three Rivers Fellowship.  He has called us to replant (rebuild) His church.  This is no small undertaking.  In fact, it’s impossible.  Jesus builds His church and calls us - invites us - to be a part of what He does.  Jesus does the building; our job is to believe and to be faithful.

We all want to know God’s will.  We want to know what career God is calling us to; what house God is leading us to buy; which school to attend; how to raise our kids; if He is calling us to have (more) kids; etc.  We all have decisions and plans to make, and it would sure be nice if Jesus would just tell us what to do.  We want to be faithful, but if we are honest, sometimes it’s hard to discern God’s will.

I want to be a good pastor.  I want to lead the church God has called me to lead well.  I want to know which direction to lead, what steps to take, what plans to make.  I have been praying about this for some time, but this week I spent a lot of time asking God one question:  What do you want us to do?  Yes, there are things on my mind - our building, our finances, our outreach plan, our leadership development plan, and our future.  But as I prayed, through our daily Bible reading plan, God led me to 1 Chronicles 28.

In these verse David instructs his son Solomon to build the Temple.  The Temple; the architectural structure beautifully built to contain the very presence of the one true God.  The glorious Temple that thousands would pilgrimage to, worship at, and find God within.

There are many things that God brought to my attention through these verses, but I will share two here.  First, God called Solomon to build the Temple.  He was chosen.  God had a specific purpose for Solomon; He chose him - not for privilege, but for vocation.  God had a job for Solomon and called him to complete it.  God has called me to pastor Three Rivers Fellowship.  He chose me and called me to La Crosse for a specific purpose.  God has called you; he chose you to be an integral part of His church.  God calls us - invites us - to participate in His work.

Second, David received detailed written plans regarding how the Temple should be built.  God spoke to David.  God gave David detailed plans - in writing - on how to build the Temple (see 28:11-18).  Detailed written plans!  God told David what to build and how to build it.  

Last week I prayed for detailed written plans for Three Rivers Fellowship.  “Lord, what do You want us to do about our building, finances, outreach, leadership, etc.?  Please give me detailed written plans so that I can lead your people well.”  The response I got went something like this, “Peace.  You are worried about so many things.  I have given you detailed written plans.  All you need to plant or replant a church is there.  Read, believe, and lead your people to be faithful.  I will take care of the details.”

I knew exactly what this response meant - the Word of God.  The New Testament contains Gospels and letters written to churches and to church leaders.  Everything we need to know is found there.

I want to invite you to read Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians repeatedly throughout the holidays.  I believe we (corporately) and you/I (individually) will find God and His will there.  We will find detailed written plans regarding our church and our life we so desire in His Word.

I’ve chosen Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians because they are short and right there together.  It will take you 15-20 minutes to read through one letter.  Start with Galatians and just start reading.  Mark where you stop and pick up there next time; leave your Bible laying open ready to go.  Underline what stands out - you will start to see similarities in these four letters.  


May the Lord bless you this holiday season.  May he keep you and make His face to shane on you.  May he be gracious to you and your families.

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