Have you made any future plans for your life in this world? And have you made plans for eternity, and are you following them?
If you plan to go to Heaven, and to have eternal life, then you have to follow a specific way. We must follow the travel plan that God has made for us. Our own plan means to be lost, to perish. God’s plan is perfect; we must not try to change or improve it.
Let us study a few aspects of the plan of God.
We are expecting a great storm ahead of us, “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” Matthew 24:21
We are to prepare to leave behind all our possessions, houses, and lands, and to escape to the mountains, away from the towns and cities. Lot left all his possessions and his house in Sodom and escaped to the mountains.
The plan of God includes study, we are to acquire knowledge. “Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read.” Isaiah 34:16. “And Jesus answering them said, Have ye not read so much as this?” Luke 6:3
If you would have studied these things, you would not be confused. Another time Jesus said, “What is written in the law? how readest thou?” Luke 10:26. If we neglect Bible study we will fail in the end. The Bible is our spiritual food, and we need it daily.
We also need to read the testimonies of Sister White. They have knowledge especially for the time of the end, in which we now live.
In the plan of God there is also a proper diet given to us. “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
“Vegetables, fruits, and grains should compose our diet. Not an ounce of flesh meat should enter our stomachs. The eating of flesh is unnatural. We are to return to God’s original purpose in the creation of man.” –Counsels on Diet and Foods, p. 380
“Those who have received instruction regarding the evils of the use of flesh foods, tea, and coffee, and rich and unhealthful food preparations, and who are determined to make a covenant with God by sacrifice, will not continue to indulge their appetite for food that they know to be unhealthful. God demands that the appetite be cleansed, and that self-denial be practiced in regard to those things which are not good. This is a work that will have to be done before His people can stand before Him a perfected people.” –Ibid., p. 381
Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and for this reason they were cast out of the Garden of Eden. If we eat or drink something that God has forbidden, we cannot enter into the Garden of Eden, which is in heaven.
In the plan of God our church meetings are the school of Christ. “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25
“Those who appreciate the words of Christ will not turn aside from the prayer meeting.” –Messages to Young People, p. 140. If we love Christ we will be present in every church meeting, in order to learn more of Him.
In the plan of God we must be flexible. “But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father; we are the clay, and Thou our Potter; and we all are the work of Thy hand.” Isaiah 64:8. We must become like a little child, ready for sudden changes. Many men of God have been suddenly taken from an active life and placed in a prison, or even to death. There is a picture of an ox, standing between the plow and the altar, ready for service, and for sacrifice. The Lord is leading us by circumstances and by providences. God did not tell Moses to leave the royal court and go to the land of Midian to care for the sheep for forty years; no, He used circumstances to accomplish it.
The plan of God involves missionary work. Jesus told to His disciples, “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:18–20
If you say, “I do not enjoy missionary work, and I do not care what happens to others, I am satisfied to save myself,” then you will fail, because you do not follow the plan of God. The condition for salvation is to love your neighbour as your love yourself. How can you prove in the day of judgment that you did love your neighbours if you did not try to save them?
The plan of God involves also believing and baptism, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.” Mark 16:16
Baptism is necessary, but it is not enough; we must also believe. How can we know what to believe? Only by reading the Bible and the testimonies of Sister White. If you know something, and you do not practice it, it becomes a willful sin to you.
David writes, “I made haste, and delayed not to keep Thy commandments.” Psalm 119:60
We also must believe that everything that happens to us is for our benefit. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28
When we do and fulfill all the conditions in the Bible, then God will do His part and pour His blessings upon us. If someone is unfaithful in tithes and offerings, can the Lord open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing upon him? No, certainly not.
In the plan of God there is another requirement. “Pray without ceasing.” 1 Thessalonians 5:17. How many think that a prayer in the morning and evening is enough? Sister White writes, “We should watch and work and pray as though this were the last day that would be granted us.” –Testimonies for the Church, vol. 5, p. 200. You can work and at the same time have a prayer connection with God.
Another thing in the plan of God is looking to Jesus. “And looking upon Jesus as He walked, he said, Behold the Lamb of God!” John 1:36
Who also was looking to Jesus as He was nailed to the cross? “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary, the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.” John 19:25. Why did these women stand by the cross beholding Jesus as He was dying? It was because they loved Him. After this they could never forget the scene of their beloved Master dying. How often should we come to the cross and behold the dying form of Jesus? DAILY.
Never forget these scenes; never turn away from the foot of the cross. Is there something that you want to watch, rather than the dying form of the One who loved you unto death? Can you, after seeing the price that He paid for your sin, go back to the life of sin?
This brings us to the last point, number ten. The plan of God for our future includes that we must love Him. We are to love God and His Son Jesus; we are to love the whole of mankind, even our enemies. We are to love the lame, the blind, the wretched sinner, also the ones in the bondage of Satan. Jesus asked Peter three times, “Lovest thou Me?” His love to Jesus qualified him for the work, to feed the lambs and the sheep of Jesus.
Now I would like to ask you, are you willing to take your own plans and throw them out, and accept the plan of God for your future? This decision you will never regret; in heaven, all through eternity you will be glad that you made the right choice.
Satan also has made a plan for you, which includes entertainment, pleasure in sin; and almost the whole world is following his plan. You have to choose. If you make the right choice, you will have fullness of joy in this world, angels protecting you, and a home in New Jerusalem, a home from which you will never move out. Let us see each other in heaven is my wish and prayer. Amen.
Timo Martin