THE MAIN IDEA
Our plans will always succeed when our plans serve God’s plan.

There are three ways that God’s plan unfolds in our lives.

GOD’s PLAN UNFOLDS IN GOD’s TIMING
Paul and his companions waited three months before traveling to Rome because traveling by sea in the winter was too dangerous. Some common sense would have helped at the start of their voyage when Paul recommended that they wait in Crete for the winter to pass. But the captain of the ship and the owner decided to take the risk and sail anyway, no doubt, to maximize their profits. But they ended up losing all their cargo and the ship as well. All their suffering could have been avoided if they had just used common sense, not on human terms, but on God’s terms. Human common sense is driven by the desire for profit. Godly common sense is driven by the welfare of the people around us. There is nothing wrong with goals and schedules, and it is good to have a vision for our lives. But when we disregard the welfare of the people around us for the sake of profit, something is wrong. Pursuing a vision for the glory of God means to pursue a vision in community, and it means to always wait for others to catch up. God is in no rush. He will accomplish everything in His time.

GOD’s PLAN UNFOLDS WITH GOD’s PEOPLE
When Paul and the team get to the Forum of Appius, 40 mi from Rome, believers came all the way from Rome to greet them and escort them into the city. And then again, when they reached the Three Taverns, about 26 mi from Rome, other believers also came all the way from Rome to greet them and escort them into the city. In ancient times, before a dignitary arrived at a destination, a greeting party would go to receive them and escort them to their final destination. There is always much joy in the giving and receiving of blessings when we meet and fellowship together with believers from around the world. Whenever we share in the joy of God’s love with fellow believers around the world, there is a profound sense of experiencing the glory of God—as if we are experiencing the joy of heaven. God invites all of us to participate in His plan of salvation for the world in Christ Jesus for His glory and also for our joy.

GOD’s PLAN UNFOLDS FOR CHRIST’s WITNESS
The endgame of God’s plan is found in the very beginning of the Book of Acts. Jesus told His disciples before He returned to the Father (Acts 1:8), “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.” That is, the Holy Spirit will give all of us the capacity and the capability to do what God has called us to do. And Jesus continues, “And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” This calling that Jesus gave to His disciples has been God’s plan all along, from the very beginning of time. In fact, this was the very first instruction that God gave to Adam and Eve (Gen 1:28a), that is, to fill the earth with the glory of God in Jesus’s name through God-fearing, God-honoring, God- worshiping, God-loving communities and families. And it is important to constantly remind ourselves of this, because we so easily forget that this is the reason that God saved us. This calling begins right here where God has placed us, but our witness only begins here. The final destination of our witness is to the ends of the earth.

DISCUSSION QUESTION
Can you think of a time (especially in church) where human common sense caused a lot of trouble? How would godly common sense have helped the situation?