ARE WE THERE YET?
Pastor Mark Warda
Woodland Church
Wednesday, March 19, 2025
Jesus had a destination. It was the cross.
Jesus had a mission. It was to proclaim the gospel.
Jesus had a goal. It was to redeem us by dying in our place.
(Ephesians 1:9-11, NLT) “God has now revealed to us his mysterious will regarding Christ—which is to fulfill his own good plan. And this is the plan: At the right time he will bring everything together under the authority of Christ—everything in heaven and on earth. Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.”
God has revealed his plan to us and has chosen us through whom he makes everything work out according to his plan.
(John 3:16) “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.”
Instead of merely riding as passengers ourselves, we should rather get behind the wheel and pick up passengers, as many as we can bring to heaven with us!
Have a plan!
Ask yourself, “What is the goal or purpose that I am believing in God to help me accomplish from this fast?”
Every time you’re reminded of WHAT you don’t have, you’ll be reminded of WHO you do have.
(John 14:5-6) “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
The reality is that you DO know the way if you KNOW Jesus, because Jesus IS the way.
When we place labels according to our own understanding, and restrictions on God to suit our own desires and expectations, we no longer have the One True God, we have a “lower case g god” in our own image – basically an idol of our own making.
“Only God gets to define Himself. And only God gets to reveal who He is and how He operates in history. He is who He is, not who you say He is.” – Tony Evans, The Power of Knowing God
God wants to spend time with us.
We need to be open to God’s voice, to recognize His ringtone, and to answer His call.
(John 10:3) “The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”
(John 10:27) “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
(Psalm 95:7) “For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”
(Hebrews 3:15) “Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.”
To know God is to hear His voice.
To harden our hearts is to mute His voice.
- Would you have thought about God and your relationship with Him had you not been reminded by abstaining from that particular food?
- Do you think about the food you gave up more than think about God?
- Do you miss eating the food you gave up more than you miss time spent with God?
(Exodus 33:13) “… please show me now your ways, that I may know you in order to find favor in your sight.”
(Exodus 33:18) “Moses said, “Please show me your glory.”
(Isaiah 55:9) “For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”
To know God is to know His ways.
“The full display of the goodness of God, however, is reserved for the working of his grace in the redemption of man.” – Spurgeon
GROWTHWORK
Destination: Easter Sunday.
- What is my Goal I’m believing God to help realize by Easter?
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- What is my Mission from now until Easter?
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- How do I plan to accomplish my mission?
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- Here’s a mission we should all accept: Each one, bring one.