The Promise and The Plan

We don’t always understand why God works the way He does. But we can be assured that He is always in control. At such times, it’s helpful to remember that God sees the big picture. He’s always working to accomplish His purposes. In this message, Dr. Stanley outlines seven truths from Scripture to remind us that no matter what we see, we can trust God to fulfill all His promises and complete His perfect plan. For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to www.intouch.org/watch

God is saying to you today,
“In case no one told you today: You are beautiful. You are loved. You are stronger than you think. Your life is valuable. You have so much
ahead of you. You are not amistake. You are important. I am with you always.”

Every once in a while, somebody will say to me, you know what he talked about how good God is.
And when you trust Him as your personal savior, he enters your life and you have the Holy Spirit and things get better.
Well, I trusted Jesus Christ as my personal savior and things got worse.
And all of us have probably said that about some things.
We think when you trust Jesus as your personal savior, you have all these promises in the word of God.
And sometimes it looks like a real disaster comes following what we think is the promise of God.
And sometimes we can’t explain what God is up to because we want to do the right thing.
But somehow it doesn’t turn out right.
And if you think about Moses, for example, from the time he left the burning bush, he, he listened to God.
He was absolutely stunned by what he heard, what he saw.
And so he left the burning bush committed to do exactly what God wanted him to do. And he did.
And uh he was to tell Pharaoh that he was to let the people go.
Well, instead of Pharaoh listening to him, he doubled their work.
Now, they couldn’t just make brick, they had to find the straw to make brick with.
And so the number one enemy at this particular point in the life of the Hebrew Children was of all people, Moses because Pharaoh had doubled their responsibility and his requirements.
He was sure he did what God said and he did do what God said.
But the outcome wasn’t like He expected that all of us hit those things in my life where we think we know exactly what God said.
And the same thing happens to us, it doesn’t turn out like we expected.
So when I look at this passage of scripture, I think this is a passage of scripture that describes what happens to us.
We want to do the right thing. We think we have done the right thing.
We think we’ve listened to God, it doesn’t turn out that way.
And so we judge ourselves condemn ourselves and say God, you weren’t listening at all and we build this big pity party up and accuse God.
So what is the solution to all that?
So I want you to turn for a moment if you will in the uh third chapter of Exodus, beginning with the 10th verse, therefore, come there.
He said, and I will send you to Pharaoh so that you may bring my people, the sons of Israel out of Egypt.
That was a big responsibility. And requirement.
But Moses said to God, who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt.
And he said, certainly I will be with you.
And this should be the sign to you that I it is I who have sent you when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God at this mountain.
Then Moses said to God behold, I’m going to the sons of Israel.
And I will say to them, the God of your father has sent me to you.
Now, they may say to me, what is His name? What shall I say to them?
God said to Moses, I am who I am.
And he said, thus, you shall say to the sons of Israel, I am has sent you.
So when we look at that passage scripture and then see what happens. The same thing happens to us.
Sometimes we think we see the blessings of God upon us and all of a sudden everything changes.
And we think God, where are you? Here’s what you promised.
And we’ve learned to quote some verses, my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches and glory and they got great needs that God will answer our prayer.
He’s sort of silent. And so we wonder here’s what you promise, but here’s what happens, what, what’s going on in L A?
So what I want us to notice here I want you to jot down seven things.
When trouble comes, we have to remember his promises and those promises are vital as a part of our belief system.
And if you turn to Hebrews for example, and uh let’s look at a couple of verses here in the 10th chapter, the 10th chapter, the 23rd verse, the scripture says, let us hold fast, the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promise is faithful.
And why is it here when He says, let us hold fast, that is, hold on tight.
Because you have trusted Christ as you’re saving does not mean that God’s gonna answer all your prayers or everything is gonna be all right.
It wasn’t true of Moses is not true of anybody. God doesn’t make that kind of promise. The 23rd verse.
And then uh the 36th verse, he says, but you have need of endurance so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what he’s promised.
So I think all of us probably had the idea we save life’s really get really get better for me.
And most of the time it does and probably in some way it does.
But oftentimes not the way we expect people who’ve lived a life of sin and disobedience to God just because you trust Christ as you save.
It does not mean listen carefully. It doesn’t mean he’s wiped all the consequences away.
It does mean your name is written in the Lamb’s book of Life.
It does mean that your sins have been forgiven.
It does mean you have a new life but that all the consequences don’t disappear simply because we ask Christ to save us.
So the trou when trouble comes, we have to remember his promises and his promises are always the same.
He says I will never leave you nor forsake you not. If and but if what?
No, I’ll never leave you to forsake you. He doesn’t say all your troubles will be gone.
All your troubles have been. Everything’s getting to get better in your life.
Sometimes the very opposite thing happens is a divine promise and assurance given to us by God that He will act on our behalf.
If we trust Him, it does not mean that there’ll be no troubles, no heartaches, no problems.
Secondly, he said to him, for example, in the sixth chapter, in the first verse, he says, here’s what you can expect.
Pharaoh will drive the Hebrews out of Egypt.
Well, that’s exactly what uh Moses wanted to hear and this is a promise from God.
He’ll drive them out now, notice something here.
He didn’t say when nor did he say how and oftentimes when we read a promise and we’re going through something we think.
Well, the God, this is exactly what this is what I’m looking for. Lord.
This is exactly what you need to promise me. Thank you. Very much. And we wonder when it’s gonna happen.
We say, well, God, where are you? Did I miss, did I miss the message?
No, he doesn’t tell us always when He says He will bring the Hebrews out of Egypt.
I bring you out from under the burden which was slavery to the Hebrew nation.
God said to Moses, I’ll make you. He said, watch this. I’ll make you as God, the pharaoh.
What kind of a promise was that? He’s saying to Moses, what I’m going to do?
Only I can do. And then he says, I will harden pharaoh’s heart.
Well, now that changed the whole story here are the things you’re gonna do.
And yet you tell me you’re gonna harden Pharaoh’s heart.
Sometimes when we’re going through difficulty, it looks like that God’s working on the other side.
It’s like he’s working in behalf of the enemy.
But God always wants us to look beyond the immediate circumstance because God doesn’t just work in a tiny molecule, a tiny circle.
He works with a big picture in mind.
So when he called Moses and told him what he would do, he said, remember when they ask you who I am, you because they had many gods in Egypt, you tell them that I am sent you to, to the Israelites to the Hebrews, tell them I am has sent you.
Well, they didn’t go to a lot of discussion in scripture about who I am. Was.
But of course, that’s God. I am in the past, I am in the presence I am in the future.
There’s no time when God is not tell Pharaoh, it’s gonna be as if God is speaking to him, I will harden pharaoh’s heart.
How does that fit in the will of God if you’re going to set them free, how are you going to set a framework, hardness in their hearts?
And this is why you and I should learn to listen to God carefully.
God doesn’t make any mistakes and when He speaks to your heart and sometimes people will say, well, I guess I misheard God.
No, no, you, you didn’t mishear Him. You misinterpreted what he said.
He didn’t say I’m gonna make everything easy for the Hebrews.
He said, I’m gonna set them free and I’m gonna do so by hardening Pharaoh’s heart.
Well, you already know the story hardening Pharaoh’s heart caused great havoc among the people of the Hebrew nation.
And so sometimes when God makes us a promise, listen carefully, he doesn’t give us the details.
Well, why doesn’t he? Well, you’d have to ask Him that you can, you can question God if you want to.
But listen, God knows what His purpose is. Now watch this. His goal is always for our good.
His purpose is always to work something in our life that will bring goodness that will bring joy in our hearts.
But sometimes it brings difficult and hardship and pain and suffering.
There is no promise in the word of God that guarantees we’ll have a life without suffering and heartache and pain.
And so we have to remember who we’re dealing with.
We’re dealing with a God who loves us unconditionally who saves us from our sin.
He will never leave us, nor forsake us and answers our prayers but does not promise to save us from all suffering heartache and even under death.
So when we look at this, God’s promise to Moses was an awesome promise, but he didn’t say it’s just gonna be easy.
It’s gonna be a wonderful Exodus. It’s gonna be absolutely fantastic.
Moses, you’re gonna be sitting on top of the world, none of that.
So the third thing I want you to notice is this God is working to accomplish his purpose.
We, we don’t even see it when we don’t understand it.
And in the seventh chapter of Exodus, and the uh he says, the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.
When I stretch out my hand on Egypt and bring out the sons of Israel from their midst.
He says, here’s what’s going to happen. I’m not giving you all the details.
But remember this, I am the Lord.
When I stretch out my hand on Egypt, bring out the sons of Israel from them.
Is so Moses and Aaron did as the command Lord commanded them and thus they did, Moses was 80 years old when that happened.
So he’s assuring him of what’s going to happen, but he doesn’t give him all the details.
He says, here’s what I’m going to do. So think about this, listen to that verse again.
God says, I’m gonna release them and then what happens?
The scripture says after he says, I’m gonna release them.
God unleashed a series of plagues from turning the rivers, the blood to the death of Pharaoh’s son.
How did that fit into the promise? I’m gonna, I’m gonna set my people free.
Then he says, the Egyptians are gonna know that I’m God.
And sometimes we see the evidence of God at work and we don’t understand always how He does it.
God makes his promise. You say, well, does he always keep his promise? Yes.
Does he always give us the details?
No, because that’s the way you and I grow in our faith by believing Him, trusting Him when I don’t understand Him, God nowhere promises.
I’ll always understand. He promises to keep his word. He promises that He’ll be with us in it.
He promises to provide our need, but that I’ll not that I’ll always understand.
Sometimes we see the evidence of God working in our life and sometimes we can’t, that is Moses couldn’t foresee what God had in mind.
And when He says, I’m gonna use you to set them free.
And then he sees what happens naturally.
He wonders for God, here’s what you said, but we have to remember that God does not always give us details.
Did you hear that? Well, a few of you did he? He does not always give us details.
Amen. So that’s where we find out whether we trust him or not.
And usually when God speaks about something good, he’s going to do. Here’s what we do.
Our mind jumps from the day to the good.
So we, we don’t like to think about what’s been, what’s the, what’s the difference between the promise today and the good tomorrow?
A lot of things can happen in that space of time.
And so what happens here is it took the death of Pharaoh’s son to convince him to let the people go.
Well, that’s exactly what God had planned.
He knew exactly what would have to happen before Pharaoh would let the people go.
So think about all the plagues and so forth that happened.
We’ll talk about those later, but God is working to accomplish his purpose, but not always in the ways we expect.
And I think about and trying to put my stuff in the place of somebody who just got saved in the society, in which we lived and among the people in which we live in this crazy world we live in and all the wicked vile things that are going on and ask myself the question, how, how would I respond if God says I’m really going to bless you and I look around and think, well, when and how and what do you have to do to do that?
In other words, you can ask and it’s OK to ask God when and where and how, but uh he has the right not to answer that.
He under, under no compulsion to answer some of the questions we rightfully ask.
He did not tell Moses everything he was going to do or how he’s going to do it.
He says, I’m gonna set him free and I’m sending you to Pharaoh to tell him that he didn’t give him the details.
First of all, Moses would probably had a little difficulty understanding all that himself and certainly Pharaoh would never have accepted that.
So God’s working to accomplish his purpose, whether we understand it or not, whether we see it or not, that’s not the issue.
The issue is, and this is when it comes down to whether we believe Him or not.
So what’s God’s ultimate goal in all this God’s ultimate goal in all this is to bring forth a nation of people through whom Jesus Christ, the son of God would ultimately be the sacrifice for all humanity.
So this is just one step because the Hebrews were and are the nation through which God sent his redeemer.
So the issue is this God is working to fulfill his promise.
The question is, am I willing to trust him when he’s working, working? And I can’t see it.
I don’t understand it. I can’t explain it. It looks foolish to me.
And how in the world could it possibly be true?
Am I willing to believe him when everything around me says that can’t happen, that just doesn’t happen?
That’s not the way life is.
And so the fourth thing I want you to jot down in all of this is this, we’re to trust him to keep his promise.
Our responsibility is not necessary to understand it all, but to trust Him to keep his promise. That’s a requirement.
We’re to trust the Lord and with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding in all your ways, acknowledge him and he’ll direct your path straight.
So the more difficult our circumstances, the greater our struggle and in some trials we face all we have is his word.
We had the living word of God, the Bible.
And what he said to Moses, what he you and I have today in the scriptures are the same.
It’s the same God who made this promise to Moses, who makes these promises to us.
And so God spoke to Moses and he expected Moses to follow what he said.
And then here are all these Hebrews who’ve got lots of reasons to question first of all about what authority can you tell us this?
And how do you know that Pharaoh is going to respond? They had lots and lots of questions.
So Moses in a tough spot. Watch this carefully because he’s in the, he’s in the same place.
You and I are at times. So, what did Moses have here watch this?
This is all he had and I’ll be with you and I’ll be with you.
Told him lots of things, but all he had was I’ll be with you and I want you to think about this.
That’s all you and I have everything you and I have could be lost in a second.
All of our plans could fail.
All the things we possess could burn up a crash or whatever it might be.
We have no guarantee of anything as a believer but the presence and the power and the love of Almighty God.
That’s all we have. And I think about people who spend their life investing in this and debt and accumulating and accumulating and accumulating and what they’re doing.
They’ll deny this. They, they’re trying to get more and more security.
Well, listen, security is not found in the stock market.
It’s not found in the malls, it’s not found in any of these places.
Security can only be found in the presence of the living God.
That’s all Moses had when he went to see Pharaoh. All he had.
Listen, think about this. This is the Moses who got ejected out of Egypt 40 years before now.
He’s 40 years older that there’s a different Pharaoh doesn’t know him except what they know about him.
And he’s coming back across the desert and telling, telling Pharaoh you must let the Hebrews go.
Well, that was a joke. Now was think about this.
You come in here with a shepherd’s staff telling me to free two million slaves who are building all of my enterprises.
And you think I’m gonna listen to that naturally. They didn’t think so.
So I want you to jot this down.
Number five, we must remember God is the sovereign of the universe and everything is within His power.
And my favorite verse is the Psalm 103.
And you’ll hear me quote it many times, but I just want you to turn there and if I just quote it, you won’t turn.
So Psalm one oh three verse 19, listen, the Lord has established his throne in the heavens and his sovereignty, which means His power, his love, all that he is, does what his sovereignty rules overall.
That means the power of Almighty God rules overall.
And I remember one of the things that God said to him before he left to go to sleep, I’ll be with you.
I will be with you and what he watches, what he said to Moses.
He has said to every single one of us who is a follower of Jesus.
I’ll be with you to the end of this age beyond that.
When you trust the Lord Jesus Christ is your savior.
The Holy Spirit comes into your life to live seals you as a child of God.
And so it’s not that we do this in our power.
It’s that we walk in his strength and in his power. And so it’s the power of God.
And so whatever we’re asking him about whatever we need in our life, we listen, he’s the sovereign God of the universe, which means he’s capable, powerful enough and able to do anything that needs to be done in our life.
Now, I think about people who are not Christians and they go through all kinds of difficulties.
I think how foolish, how foolish that you would reject the God who has sovereign power to control anything, everything, all things, all people, situations and circumstances, pain, suffering, and heartache, and blessing, and you reject Him, how foolish to reject Him when that sovereignty of God can be executed in your behalf through the love of God.
So the unbeliever doesn’t understand that. And sometimes I think many Christians don’t understand it.
The issue is is that the will of God now watch this.
Think about this for a moment when you trusted Jesus Christ as your savior, you and I would agree that he wrote our names in his lamb’s book of Life that he came into our life through the Holy Spirit and seal us forever.
As a child of God can’t be lost forever.
He lives in and through us, each one of us individually, his will through the power of the Holy Spirit, we have that relationship to Him.
That means we have tapped into the presence and the power of God.
For every single aspect of our life, we don’t have any reason to doubt God.
We may have some human thinking about it, but no biblical reason to doubt Him.
So when the scripture speaks of His presence for us, you and I have confidence that no matter what happens, watch this, think about this for a moment, no matter what happens in our life.
You and I can never have another experience in life alone. You cannot.
So somebody says, well, I feel real lone. That’s what you feel.
Well, I don’t see any. I, I just don’t see the presence of God in my life.
You just not looking, you have, you have the sovereign God of the universe, the same one who walked with Moses to see Pharaoh who could have obliterated him in a split second if he had chosen to, then when God said I’ll be with you, Pharaoh couldn’t do anything to Moses because God was with Him.
And sometimes we forget who we have within us and what we have because we have Him.
So we have the confidence that He will keep His word.
The sixth thing I want you to jot down God oftentimes has an unexpected plan to meet our needs.
Jot that one down. God oftentimes has an unexpected plan to meet our needs.
So when I think about that and think about what the scripture says in the Romans.
And um in Romans chapter nine verse 17, listen, what he says for the scripture says to Pharaoh for this very purpose.
Now watch this for this very purpose.
I raised you up to demonstrate my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.
So if somebody says, explain all that stuff in in Exodus, that’s the verse right there.
Look at that for the scripture says to Pharaoh for this purpose, I raise you up to demonstrate my power in you and that my name might be proclaimed throughout the whole earth.
Then pass now. So look at these two men, his pharaoh who rules over everything, two million enslaved Jews.
He thinks he’s somebody but God says, I’m gonna show him who I am.
And so what did he do in one event? He took his son.
It took that to convince pharaoh that God was God. Did it make a believer out of him?
No, because he tried to finally obliterate the Hebrews at the Red Sea.
You said, why didn’t God just take his son to begin with other words? Why?
Why did you do that? Here’s a, here’s a, here’s a beautiful example of grace of God.
Now, he knew what was gonna happen.
But he gave him a little trial over here with this plague and this plague and this plague and this plague.
And this play and this flag and then he told the Hebrews paint your door posts with blood.
But the death angel is coming through all through Egypt tonight and you’re gonna be set free.
What, why, why did you gotta do all that?
Here’s what, here’s what God was doing.
He was, he was demonstrating his awesome power against what and who was the most powerful person on earth at the time.
And so God isn’t just up to doing this and that and the other God always has a reason and they go on a purpose and one of the reasons He allows you and me to go through difficult and hardship and pain, rejection.
And all the rest is that He’s teaching us to trust Him.
He’s teaching us that the most difficult times of our life, the most painful times of our life.
God is doing something good in our life.
So you may ask a Hebrew back in those days when the plagues were coming and the things were happening all around them.
Well, it’s got a good God. They didn’t fully understand everything that was happening.
Moses knew what was happening because what did God have in mind or what did God do?
He didn’t just let him go when they went.
The Bible says they plundered the Egyptians that is they took their wealth with them.
And sometimes we can’t see what got us up to think about what happened.
God warned them and warned him and warned him, he knew before he warned them, they weren’t going to answer his request.
And so he sent them enough.
But there was one more, the ultimate, the ultimate enemy as far as the Egyptians were concerned was the power of life and death.
All those frogs and insects and bloody rivers and hail and storms, but the last plague was the plague of death.
So you say, well, why didn’t God do that in the very beginning?
I’ll tell you why. The same reason that God spoke to you and me many times before we were saved and we were saved by the grace of God who was patient with us until we finally got our eyes open and realized that we need to be saved.
We need to surrender our life to God.
Some of the things that God does us, our acts of love and grace and goodness and kindness and patience with us.
It was the last plague for the Hebrews.
It was the death of the first born in every Egyptian family, even Pharaoh’s son.
And so they would never have figured that out.
And the last statement is this, God is never late with his deliverance, never late.
We may pray a long time about some things.
We may go through some difficulty, heartache, whatever it might be, but God is never late with His deliverance.
He may be laid according to my timetable, but not His, the Hebrews.
Listen to this, waited 400 years. You. So that sounds late to me.
Not in God’s mind because the question is, what’s the purpose of God?
And here we are with the Lord Jesus Christ is our personal savior within our hearts, the assurance and awesome presence of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit and the life God knew what he was doing.
And so at the first sign of trouble, Moses ready to give up.
But I want you to remember this. God is an on time. God. He is never late.
Now, if you’re a young Christian or maybe you’re not a believer, you think.
Well, it looks like to me, God’s late. That’s the way it looks to you.
But remember who’s doing the looking and who has the power almighty.
God sees every one of us individually as his Children dwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit of God.
And these people who tell you that you can be saved and lost, saved and lost, saved and lost.
What what they’re saying is you can be saved but sin can take you out of the promises of God.
No, he can’t. So listen, those 400 years, God had a reason for it. What was he doing?
Remember they started with just the family of Joseph and now they have become almost two million people.
So they didn’t just grow up on a slave in it and just have a bad time.
God was doing something. He was watch this.
He was demonstrating to the nation of Israel that is the Hebrews demonstrating. There’s something to them.
They would never forget they would tell their children’s children’s children’s Children up to the 21st century.
And on until Jesus comes again that the God of the Hebrews is the one true God, Jehovah.
And he’s the sovereign of the universe. That’s the God in whom we believe and whom we serve.
And that’s why we can sing and shout and praise God and be unashamed that we believe Him in every circumstance of life.
So if you will recall when trouble comes, we trust him, we don’t try to figure it out.
God’s made all these promises in his Bible.
The question is, do I believe what he is given in black and white?
I will never leave you, not forsake you. I’ll be there for you no matter what happens.
I’ll provide your needs. I’ll take you through the storm and you have eternal security.
Do you know how blessed you are?
You think about all the complaining we do how blessed we are and the promise is not by somebody.
It’s by the sovereign God of the universe who has the power to bless you the way He wants to bless you, grow us all up in the faith and make our life an example and a testimony to the unbeliever who’s struggling.
And you may be one of those persons who’s struggling this morning.
Maybe you don’t know whether you believe in God or not.
You can’t give me a good reason for not believing in Him.
He, he, he’s hundreds of pages written word of God for believing in Him.
And he says, whose service shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, not might be, shall be saved.
This goodness of the God in whom we serve and in whom we believe is a God of grace, love and forgiveness.
And I challenge you. If you never trusted Jesus Christ, is your savior surrendered your life to him.
Maybe you don’t understand other things in the Bible. There’s some things that I don’t understand.
I might not have done it this way that way, but it’s God’s way.
It’s a perfect way for God knew what he was after.
He’ll forgive you of your sin if you ask him, not because you’re gonna be better, not because of the promises you make, but because his son on the cross, shed his blood and saves any and every person who’s going to call upon him just like the death angel passed through Egypt.
You didn’t have blood on the door posts. There would be death today.
You don’t trust him as your savior. You don’t believe in the blood of Jesus.
You don’t believe in the crucifixion.
You don’t believe in the crucified Lord one of these days you’ll stand before him and give an account and all your excuses are being null and void.
And I invite you, ask Christ to save you and let him change your life today and govern your life forever.
Amen. Let’s stand together, father, we love you and praise you and thank you for the awesomeness of the scripture for the way you worked in the life of your servants all through from Genesis to revelation.
And I pray that you will remind us again and again, Lord, when we need to be reminded, you never change, you said you didn’t change and you don’t, we have the awesome privilege of calling upon you in any and every circumstance of life.
You don’t have a deaf hair to your Children.
We thank you and bless you and praise you today that we have the privilege of calling upon you and the assurance that you will hear us in Jesus name.
Amen.