A Treasure You Must Not Miss, Part 1

Today Chuck Swindoll reminds us that God is always working his plan is not.

There is no lost weekend there is no one important in our present at all. Through it all. The arrangement he has put together for each one of us perfectly designed to shape also ultimately into the image of his son in this final week of staring ahead of a blank calendar with 365 uncharted days while we sketched out a preliminary plan for 2022.

We don't really know how the coming year will go.

What are the unforeseen trials ahead surprises today on Insight for living. Chuck Swindoll presents a framework for what's ahead in particular he wants is to embrace the promise that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love him, titled today's message I treasure you must not for these first two Sundays of January. I would like for us to think in tandem together about these services rolling in our lives through the year together so that will not forget will not miss some very important things all year long. This first Sunday of the year. I want to talk about our treasure. We must not miss it.

Based on Romans 828 through 30 and then next Sunday I'll talk about a true we dare not dismiss based on Romans 1133 to 36. You may want to read that over this week to prepare for it. But today will look at the familiar words of Romans eight for many either favorite verse of Scripture is 828 will trot our best to unpack it and help us realize within it is a treasurer that is easily missed, and when it is the new year becomes just as frustrating and irritating and disappointing as the old year has been for many this is a way to step into the new year with a whole new frame of mind as you remember this treasure you don't miss it you claim it only reading for us. Romans 828 through 30 and I'll be reading from the new living translation.

If you have your Bibles. Please follow along and we will see what the Lord has for us as we unpack these verses and we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

For God knew his people in advance and he chose them to become like his son so that his son would be the firstborn among many brothers and sister and having chosen them.

He called them to come to and having call them he gave them right standing with himself, and having given them right standing.

He gave them his glory, listening to insight to search the Scriptures with Chuck Swindoll sure to download his searching the Scriptures. Studies by going to insight world.org/studies Chuck titled his message. I treasure you must not miss my message for you today is a warning.

It's a warning to be heard and hopefully heated where standing today on the shoreline of an entire year and ocean of days spread before us over 360 of them remain as James writes, we do not know what a day will bring forth amazing thought is all those days before us and we have no idea what they will include, but there they are marked out clearly on a new calendar.

We just hold more wall. The beginning of the year. Not knowing what that year will include my concern is that it be filled with the stuff of life rather than the significance that there is within life. Put another way that we focus on the the trivia probably miss the treasure so easy to do. I was thinking as I was preparing my thoughts. A good illustration would would be when we travel specially when we are doing business in another city where we don't normally live but were therefore let's call it an extended period of time and we go there to work this why we are taking our time to be there. Let's say it's Washington DC, the capital of our wonderful country we got a lot of business to take care of that.

So much so that that we missed the treasurer of the Smithsonian Institute, which is right there for us to visit our we don't even in an afternoon stroll along that pathway leading to the Lincoln Memorial or the magnificent Jefferson Memorial. We don't even look into the possibility of strolling through the White House, which is HOW many are in Washington DC and have never taken in the treasurer of the White House or you may be assigned to Orlando, Florida. So you look forward to time down there work. You can get some things done going to be there maybe a week and 1/2 maybe two weeks was your weekend there that you could go to Disney World and Epcot center. If you weren't so busy taking care of business or you might spend several weeks in Los Angeles. Goodness, what is there not see you while you're there.

What you have work to do so. You need to focus on responsibility of getting your job done.

You certainly need to do that, but you have time to enjoy at least an evening at the Hollywood bowl out under the sky listening to great Symphony. Remember, Cynthia and I were there several occasions in one of my favorites was when we heard the 1812 overture with Canon are sitting there watching hairpieces lift off heads in front of me as the Chapman blast at the Hollywood bowl.

Great evening. We had such a great time having to go to Los Angeles and never taken in the treasurer of the whole or for that matter, the Rose Bowl, the parade will watch it on television really really that's like taking a shower with your raincoat on is not the same, you're missing the treasurer of the parade or the bowl itself. The game you might want to drive up the coast.

If you have the time you don't want to miss the Seventeen Mile Dr. The treasurer of a Pebble Beach walking alongside the greens. There made famous by the great golfers in the lineup. You certainly would want across the Golden gate Bridge. I fear asking for a show of hands, how many have been to California and never crossed the Golden gate Bridge moving up and down mirror wounds in Marin County where you can stroll along afternoon smell luxurious foliage that feels that wooded area. Magnificent sight. Or you you might be going across the sea to London and yet you're busy you're just so busy you you you have to admit in all the times you've been there you never been in Westminster Abbey along the Thames or visited Trafalgar Square, the great British Museum, one of the centerpieces in the world of museums treasure to Paris and you miss the Louvre or to Italy and you missed Michelangelo's David and Florence for the fountain and roll on the Sistine Chapel unit and go there when you were in Rome and I have to mention Israel love Israel, and yet how many go to Israel and don't walk along the Mount of Beatitudes or seal the Galileans see, not even once. Moving into Israel. You have a chance to go down to Judea where there is the Dead Sea over the hill and getting you can visit the caves were David hid when Saul haunted him and pursued him. What treasurer it is to be up there as far as the waterfall, having seen the kitty's of them getting or how about a Shabbat morning when you sit quietly and watch the sun rise over this marvelous Golden dome of the rock the city like Jerusalem with its treasures, but you're missing those treasures of their for the you take time for them not.

You've lived and traveled a lot of places, but I'm not referring to travel in my message. This is a warning. Remember it's a warning about living your life and missing one of the great treasures God is preserved for us and might even say missing it repeatedly year after year.

What treasurer my referring to. I'm referring to the Providence of God.

One of the authors I read he talked about missing treasures referred to it as self-inflicted poverty like GK Chesterton's way of referring to it. We hold the dust and let the goal go free. The year will unfold day after day and if you're not careful you will rarely, if ever think of the Providence of God. So today I want you to put on your thinking cap I want you to journey with me into Romans eight will be there in a moment.

First let me unpack the word so you have a better grasp of what it means. I looked in Webster's dictionary this past week and I found this simple definition chair or preparation before hand. We talk about God's providence. So this is his care and preparation before we live our lives all planned all ranged all put together so that we see his hand in the details of our life every detail of our lives.

Everyone the good the bad but we would call the bad. Even the indifferent with him. There is no monotony. There is no lost weekend, there is no unimportant he's in it all. He's threw it all.

So I come to the theological reference God's timely provisions for the needs of his people to go further our world events are personal lives are not ruled by chance or fate or lock or coincidence all of God's acts filled with his wisdom, the beauty of his plan for us. The arrangement he has put together for each one of us perfectly designed to shape us. Ultimately into the image of his son. Think of that. What a great plan.

What a great thought an entire year.

This is a warning an entire year must be live with that as our focus today Lord is in your hands before I got up out of bed. I want to remind myself as I say to you, Lord. This is your day, whatever it may hold what ever it may include whatever I may hear whatever I may be aware of whatever may happen in the events of my world.

All of it is an unfolding of your plan and it will work together for good, just as you have arranged no question before we get to Romans 801 we wrestle with this why we have pushback when we hear things like this. Why do we let another year past and failed to model and awareness of the treasure. This providence of God in our lives. Maybe a couple of reasons.

Number one because we focus on the immediate goal is quick relief were looking for things that are logical and reasonable. But God focuses on the ultimate and when he cultivates his son's character within us. It's often convoluted.

Invariably it takes time, very little of what God does. That's great for us happens quickly when it happens will be quick but there's a process preparing us for it. Remember, this is God's provision for the needs of his people as things planned for you this year that you you and I have no idea what they include the not our plans there.

His which brings me to the second reason we wrestle our knowledge is limited in God's is unlimited. His knowledge is unlimited as well as profound and deep as will see next week next Sunday over the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God, depth of the rich's plan is D takes a while to think it through to realize it's happening as I have said it best in chapter 55, my thoughts are not your thoughts, as the Lord, neither are your ways my ways, for as the heavens are high above the earth sore my way, the Lord's ways above my ways are ways and his thoughts above. I so as we begin the year we say to him, take charge. Remind me every day. Lord and the passing of every day that you're in control. Your plan is unfolding cannot be sure of that. Is this something I can count on. But look at how this third this 28 verse begins and we know this is a promise to be believed, it not ignored.

Is this something we know not something we hope for we know it is not an educated guess this is what we know now, something we feel or even praying for we know what this promise states and by the way it is unconditional but over this word no suggests an absolute unshakable confidence is not a self-confidence.

It's God confidence is knowing that God himself is engaged and involved in our situation is being sure that he is aware and at work, regardless of how what's happening may make us feel for the writ is joyful or painful for the writ is pleasant or exacting demanding.

He is aware and he's involved. We know will look further, we know God causing maybe you've never paused at that point and I want us to do that now God was so the project is God.

It's not you never thought about that before, but the year before us is all about God. We have the opportunity to live it, but we are living out God would have one. Make sure you join us next few program because Chuck Swindoll is presenting a time sensitive teaching series designed to prepare us for what's ahead today were talking about a treasure you must not miss this is insight for living. To learn more about this ministry. Please visit us online@insightworld.org well before you're an important closing comment from Chuck. I want to remind you that is, God prompts you to partner financially with insight for living. We urge you to give a donation today because of the magnitude of this request.

We sat down with Chuck Swindoll in our studio for a one-on-one conversation. His focus was on our year-long study in the book of Matthew and the ways in which this first century book gives us a plan and a focus for ministry in the new year.

Chuck's 30 minute conversation can be found online. But it might be quicker if you simply follow the link it insight.org/conversation with Chuck in recent days. You made it your mission to communicate the power of each gift given to insight for living ministries. The needs are urgent, but more importantly, each gift is channeled into reaching men and women with the life-changing power of God's grace. In that sense God transforms our charity into a tool he can use for his purpose.

Well, you're right Dave compares to grace, and each of us who has received God's grace is called to share that grace with others.

In these final hours of the year and does this holiday season draws to a close.

Let me urge you to ask the Lord how you personally can help other people experience his life-changing grace, just as you have received it then. However, he leads please obey him right away. One of the ways he might lead you to share his grace is by sending a year-end gift to insight for living ministries by December 31, or perhaps he will call you to become one of our faithful partners who generously spread the fragrance of grace through the teaching of God's word to the whole world. Please know this. Your financial support is greatly appreciated and I might add, urgently needed. So today I'm asking you to do your part, please respond to God's prompting and give a generous gift to insight for living ministries when we work together in harmony. God will use our partnership to infuse whole into those who desperately need a touch of his amazing grace, how about being a part of that process. Thanks so much you can respond to Chuck Swindoll by selecting the donate button on our convenient mobile app or you can give your gift right now by going online to insight.org/donate or give us a call if you're listening in the United States.

Call 1-800-772-8888 that's one 800-7728 88 when Dall describes a treasure you must not miss. That's Tuesday insight for living effective way to leverage your support Chuck Swindoll's ministry become a monthly companion, you know, for me it was an easy decision got far more from insight than I'll ever be back so signing up is an easy choice listening in the United States, 800-7178 88 makes me happy to know that my gift is actually helping someone get in touch with God's grace in this hospital first. People were craving just one gentle great respond today are simple act of generosity will be transform into that irresistible sweet dreams or someone decided to turn to for some unsuspecting person with someone once again for you become a monthly glistening in the United States. Call 1-800-772-8888 or go online to insight.org month companion. The preceding message treasure you must not miss Anderson recording were copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R.

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