Dharius Daniels - A Pain Plan

We’re glad to have you with us. I want to read the gospel of two verses found in the Gospel of John, chapter 19, verses 28 through 30. This is part four of our series on Jaywalking. In week one, we talked about the promise of Jesus from the subject «I’m Tired of This Church.» In week two, we discussed the priorities of Jesus from the subject «Crawl Before You Walk.» In week three, which was last week, we talked about the perspective of Jesus from a sermon called «A Gratitude Adjustment.» Now in week four, I want to share with you about the plan of Jesus found here in John chapter 19. Verse 28 states, «Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, 'I’m thirsty.' A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked the sponge in it and put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant and lifted it to Jesus’s lips. And when he had received the drink, Jesus said, 'It is finished.' With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.»

I want to talk for a few minutes together, family, from this subject: «A Pain Plan.» Today, in my estimation, I say this regularly and consistently, is one of the most significant days. Today begins one of the most significant seasons in the Christian calendar: the Advent season. The word «Advent» comes from the Latin word «adventus,» which simply means «coming.» The Advent season is the time when believers celebrate and appreciate the first coming of Jesus Christ through his birth, which produces the celebration of a holiday known as Christmas. So, it is a time of celebration and appreciation for the first coming and a time of anticipation for the second one. I believe that’s a good place to pause for the cause or pause for the purpose of praise because the greatest gift of Christmas was not gifts under a tree; the greatest gift of Christmas is the gift that came and hung on a tree. And I don’t know about you, but I am glad he came because he came down. There are things in my life that have gone up to another level: my mind has gone up, my relationships have gone up, and my focus has gone up because he came down.

However, for the purpose of this preaching presentation, I want to offer some additional insight into the Advent of Jesus. Here it is: Let’s look at it this way. Advent is an indication of God’s ability to execute a plan. Did you hear what I just said? The birth of Jesus, the Advent, the coming of Jesus, is a revelation of God’s ability to execute a plan. Listen to me: Jesus’s birth was not random; it did not happen haphazardly. It was not circumstantial. The birth of Jesus was strategic, orchestrated, and meticulously arranged, from the time that he would be born to the place that he would be born to the person that he would be born to. Hundreds of years before his birth, a prophet named Isaiah said a virgin shall conceive. Hundreds of years before his birth, a prophet named Micah said he would be born in a town called Bethlehem.

So God is so committed to fulfilling a plan that he oversees the circumstances surrounding Jesus’s birth for hundreds of years just to ensure it happened when he said it would, where he said it would, and how he said it would. I came to tell somebody that if he will do that for hundreds of years concerning Jesus, you better believe he can do the same thing when it comes to your life. Those things that you think are circumstantial, those things that you consider haphazard, those things that you think are random—God is like, «Before your mama met your daddy, I had this in mind,» and «I arranged the circumstances, and I orchestrated all the affairs of your life according to the counsel of my own will because I’ve got a plan.» And when I have a plan in place, Herod can’t stop it. When Herod tries to take your life, he can’t stop it because I am a God that’s committed to executing my plans.

He’s not random; watch it! He would talk to Israel about their deliverance before they even got into a dilemma. He would send a prophet and say, «Now you’re going to go into captivity for years,» before they went into captivity. Then he said, «You’re going to stay in captivity for a season, but then I’m going to raise somebody up to bring you out.» And I want to tell somebody that before you even went in, God had already set a plan in place to get you out. I don’t care what you’re in right now; God is the God that executes his plans. Don’t miss this: His birth was planned, his death was planned, and the way in which he would die was planned. It was foreshadowed in typology and antitypes all throughout the Old Testament. When a lamb would get slain, it was a part of the plan. When blood was required for the remission of sins, it was a part of the plan because God knew there was going to be another Lamb that was already slain from the foundation of the world that would shed his blood on our behalf. Don’t miss this.

So then, family, we taught you this. If Jesus is God, and if God is like Jesus, and Jesus is like God, walking like Jesus means walking with…