https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/The-Greatest-Plan.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Acts 5:27-42<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I. The rulers of the Jews were upset.<\/p>\n A. They had killed off a man whom they thought was leading the people against\nthem, but his teachings just won’t go away.\n
1. Men who were his disciples had continued to teach this man’s doctrine.<\/p>\n 2. They could not be intimidated, despite threats and punishments, they\ncontinued to teach.\n
3. Now they openly defied the rulers – Acts 5:29-33<\/p>\n B. But Gamaliel pointed out a basic fact, when man makes plans, it eventually falls\napart, but if this is God’s plan, then it would be impossible to stand against it –\nActs 5:34-39\n
II. Think about it, what great plan of man has ever withstood the test of time?<\/p>\n
A. Man is not as clever as he imagines. Even Eliphaz recognized this – Job 5:12-14<\/p>\n
1. What passes as wisdom in this world is foolishness – I Corinthians 3:19<\/p>\n
B. Man doesn’t often factor in what he cannot control, such as God – Psalm 33:10<\/p>\n
1. You can’t plan against God – Proverbs 21:30<\/p>\n 2. While wisdom is found in a multitude of advice (Proverbs 15:22), all of it\nis for nought if is against God – Isaiah 8:10\n 3. Where is the man who has been able to bring about a plan that is against\nGod? – Lamentations 3:37\n
C. Man is too short lived to insure his plans remain – James 4:13-15<\/p>\n
D. Man doesn’t have all the facts<\/p>\n 1. The Bible gives us glimpses of what goes on at times behind the scene of\nthe physical world\n
2. But how many of us truly grasp what is happening?<\/p>\n 3. The king of Syria was once frustrated because every time he went to attack\nIsrael, it seemed that Israel was one step ahead of him. He was certain that\nhe had a spy in his ranks – II Kings 6:8-20\n
a. Oh, they learned the hard way not to fight against God<\/p>\n b. But think about the young man in a panic, who couldn’t understand\nthe calmness of Elisha because he didn’t see what was happening\nbehind the scenes.\n
E. If man had the ability, he could save himself – Job 40:9-14<\/p>\n
F. But man doesn’t have the ability – Jeremiah 10:23<\/p>\n
III. The might of God’s plans<\/p>\n
A. God’s plans are forever, stretching across all of man’s generations – Psalm 33:11<\/p>\n 1. God states from the beginning how things will end, and sees that it\nhappens as He declares – Isaiah 46:10-11\n
2. In speaking of the end of the Assyrian empire – Isaiah 14:24-27<\/p>\n
B. No one can reverse God’s plans – Isaiah 43:13<\/p>\n
C. No one has the strength to oppose God or to question Him – Daniel 4:35<\/p>\n
1. It is like a pot questioning the potter’s skill – Isaiah 45:9<\/p>\n
D. God is stronger and wiser than all men – I Corinthians 1:25<\/p>\n
1. It doesn’t mean people don’t try, but they never win – Revelation 17:12-14<\/p>\n
2. Unsearchable is God’s ways – Romans 11:33-36<\/p>\n E. Even Satan, the arch enemy of God, is not able to prevent God’s attack on his own\ndomain\n
1. The world is Satan’s – Ephesians 2:1-3<\/p>\n 2. Christ’s church was founded to attack Satan in his stronghold – Matthew\n16:18\n 3. Jesus’ death destroyed Satan’s power – John 12:31-32; Colossians 2:15;\nHebrews 2:14\n
IV. The unusual features of God’s plans<\/p>\n
A. God doesn’t think like we do and it is seen in His plans – Isaiah 55:6-11<\/p>\n
B. The spreading of the Gospel by preaching – I Corinthians 1:20-31<\/p>\n
1. Why? – II Corinthians 4:7<\/p>\n 2. Think about it, the message of a man dying on a cross is able to sort out\nthe lovers of truth from the lovers of lies – II Corinthians 2:15-17\n
a. Satan has blinded people – II Corinthians 4:3-4<\/p>\n
b. Without love for the truth – II Thessalonians 2:10-14<\/p>\n
3. Hidden from the wise – Luke 10:21<\/p>\n
4. Commanded of God – Acts 10:39-43<\/p>\n
C. By God’s wisdom this spreading is done by the church – Ephesians 3:8-12<\/p>\n
D. The word of God is an unusual weapon<\/p>\n
1. Able to divide – Hebrews 4:12<\/p>\n
2. Able to pull down strongholds – II Corinthians 10:3–6<\/p>\n E. But then think that the whole world was made by God speaking. Words are more\npowerful that we realize.\n
V. A plan not to be changed<\/p>\n
A. Isn’t this why we have so many tinkering with God’s plan?<\/p>\n 1. It is not the way they would do it, so obviously it needs some\nenhancements.\n
2. It needs more pizzaz, so groups claim to see and do miracles!<\/p>\n 3. It isn’t intellectual enough, so the Bible is called too deep to understand\nexcept by a select few.\n
4. It needs something to draw people in, so they offer entertainment<\/p>\n
B. Man doesn’t understand God’s plan, so he seeks to change it – I Corinthians 2:14<\/p>\n
C. This is why, in no uncertain terms, not to alter the message – Galatians 1:6-10<\/p>\n
D. Salvation comes by God’s purpose and not man’s – II Timothy 1:9<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Acts 5:27-42 I. The rulers of the Jews were upset. A. They had killed off a man whom they thought was leading the people against them, but his teachings just won’t go away. 1. Men who were his disciples had continued to teach this man’s doctrine. 2. They could not be intimidated, despite…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[1328,47],"class_list":["post-49640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-plans","tag-salvation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":14259,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-greatest-commandment\/","url_meta":{"origin":49640,"position":0},"title":"The Greatest Commandment","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 13, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Download Audio by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Matthew 22:34-40 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0From among the Pharisees, a lawyer came to Jesus to put him to the test. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He asked, \u201cWhich is the greatest commandment?\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A difficult question, given the large number of commands found in the Old Testament. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0How do you decide\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":87860,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-the-greatest\/","url_meta":{"origin":49640,"position":1},"title":"Jesus, the Greatest","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton The greatest blessing of my life is Jesus. Without Him, my heart was dark, and my direction was aimless. I pretended that believers were as irrational about God and Jesus as children were about tooth fairies. I once challenged a preacher, and he sent me material\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57706,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-of-nazareth-the-worlds-greatest-character\/","url_meta":{"origin":49640,"position":2},"title":"Jesus of Nazareth: The World’s Greatest Character","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 6, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by N. B. Hardeman The Dallas Lectures for 1943, pages 122-125. Back in 1943, N. B. Hardeman and ten other men preached a series of sermons in Dallas, Texas-brother Hardeman was the featured speaker of the group. There were fifteen sermons with brother Hardeman preaching five of them. The sermons\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":69300,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-was-the-greatest-king\/","url_meta":{"origin":49640,"position":3},"title":"Who was the greatest king?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 14, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, brother Jeffrey! About Hezekiah, we read in II\u00a0Kings 18:5-6: Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91938,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/knowing-who-you-are\/","url_meta":{"origin":49640,"position":4},"title":"Knowing Who You Are","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Hugh DeLong As Jesus and the apostles gather for their last supper, the apostles continue to bicker and fuss about who among them was the 'greatest'. This has been going on almost the whole time they have been apostles! All three gospels record one episode (cp. Mark 9:33-37; Matthew\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63790,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/willing-to-do-his-will\/","url_meta":{"origin":49640,"position":5},"title":"Willing to Do His Will","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: John 7:14-24 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Two students enter a classroom. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One is excited about the prospect of learning this subject. Though he hasn\u2019t started yet, he has plans on how he is going to put this knowledge to use in his life. 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