what will my future hold?

What Will My Future Hold?

We learn at an early age that we should plan for our future

• How many times have parents talked to their children about an unfortunate event and used that as an example to how to avoid this event happening to you.

• Those who do not discern how actions affect the future are called fools. (Ecc 7:4-6)


• Ecclesiastes 7:4-6 - The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, But the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. 5 It is better to hear the rebuke of the wise Than for a man to hear the song of fools. 6 For like the crackling of thorns under a pot, So is the laughter of the fool. This also is vanity.


• By our wisdom alone we are greatly limited. (Ecc 8:6-7 NIV)


• Ecclesiastes 8:6-7 - For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a man's misery weighs heavily upon him. 7 Since no man knows the future, who can tell him what is to come?


• When we recognize that we do not know then the normal response is fear.

• Life is a terror to the atheist and has no purpose. Ingersoll said this:


• "Life is a narrow vale between the cold and barren peaks of two eternities. We strive in vain to look beyond the height. We cry aloud, and the only answer is the echo of our wailing cry. From the voiceless lips of the unreplying dead there comes no word."


• How often did Jesus comfort His followers! (Lk 12:6-7)


• Luke 12:6-7 - "Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. 7 "But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.


• What can we know with God’s wisdom about my personal future?

Our God holds the future in His hand

• The creator of the Universe has an infinite wisdom. (Isa 46:9-12)


• Isaiah 46:9-12 - Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, 'My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My pleasure,'


• 11 Calling a bird of prey from the east, The man who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed I have spoken it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed it; I will also do it. 12 " Listen to Me, you stubborn-hearted, Who are far from righteousness:


• God does not predetermine all things but He does have a will He will enforce.

• There is a difference between the foreknowledge and foreordination of God.

• Without God’s help we have no reason to expect a good future.

• God wanted all nations to consider what their future would be if they rejected God’s ways. (Deut 32:28-29 NASV)


• Deuteronomy 32:28-29 - "For they are a nation lacking in counsel, And there is no understanding in them. 29 "Would that they were wise, that they understood this, That they would discern their future!


• Why is this so difficult? Because a nation would have to humble itself and then walk in the ways of God. Men prefer blindness. (Jn 3:19)


• John 3:19 - "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.


• God in His mercy brings calamity to nations so that they might open their eyes.

• We serve a God who wants to be very involved with our future.

• Consider these beautiful words He spoke to Israel. (Jer 29:10-14)


• Jeremiah 29:10-14 - For thus says the LORD: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.


• 12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you, says the LORD, and I will bring you back from your captivity; I will gather you from all the nations and from all the places where I have driven you, says the LORD, and I will bring you to the place from which I cause you to be carried away captive.


• God’s love tells us He is interested in what happens to us! He knows the numbers of hairs on our head and the thoughts and desires of our hearts.

• He cares for us! (1 Pt 5:7)


• 1 Peter 5:7 - casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

How a living faith provides for our future

• Our God wants us to trust Him with our future. (Ps 27:13-14; 37:9, 34)


• Psalm 27:13-14 - I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. 14 Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!


• Psalm 37:9 - For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth.


• Psalm 37:34 - Wait on the LORD, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.


• Here is where we must win the battle with fear.

• It is in this uncertainty God will mold our faith. Consider Abraham and Jacob.

• God has revealed some things which we can be certain concerning the future.

• God revealed to David the Messiah would come through his descendants. (2 Sam 7:19-21)


• 2 Samuel 7:19-21 - "And yet this was a small thing in Your sight, O Lord GOD; and You have also spoken of Your servant's house for a great while to come. Is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? 20 "Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord GOD, know Your servant. 21 "For Your word's sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them.


• What things has God assured us concerning future specific events? (Jn 11:25-26)


• John 11:25-26 - Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 "And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"


• How many of you know the outcome of a game before it begins? God wants us to know some things. (Rom 8:24-25; 8:18)


• Romans 8:24-25 - For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.


• The application of God’s word in wisdom and discernment will determine the future.

• God will provide our real needs as we put Him first. (Mt 6:33)


• Matthew 6:33 - "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.


• There is an observable difference between the lives of the righteous and the wicked. (Prov 23:15-18; 24:19-20 NASV; Ps 37:23-25)


• Proverbs 23:15-18 - My son, if your heart is wise, My own heart also will be glad; 16 And my inmost being will rejoice When your lips speak what is right. 17 Do not let your heart envy sinners, But live in the fear of the LORD always. 18 Surely there is a future, And your hope will not be cut off.


• Proverbs 24:19-20 - Do not fret because of evildoers Or be envious of the wicked; 20 For there will be no future for the evil man; The lamp of the wicked will be put out.


• Psalm 37:23-25 - The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way. 24 When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong, Because the LORD is the One who holds his hand. 25 I have been young and now I am old, Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken Or his descendants begging bread.

• 3. The worthy woman will not fear the future! (Prov 31:25-27 NASV)

• Proverbs 31:25-27 - Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future. 26 She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. 27 She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.

• 4. We still must struggle to find wisdom and correctly apply it. God knows us!


• The worthy woman will not fear the future! (Prov 31:25-27 NASV)


• Proverbs 31:25-27 - Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future. 26 She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. 27 She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.


• We still must struggle to find wisdom and correctly apply it. God knows us!

Who will I marry?• We are right to be thoughtful about this

most important decision.• Abraham made great effort to find a wife

for Isaac. (Gen 24:2-4)

Who will I marry?• Genesis 24:2-4 - So Abraham said to the

oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, "Please, put your hand under my thigh, 3 "and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell; 4 "but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac."

Who will I marry?• Abraham prayed to God and diligently

sought His council.• Build your faith in God first and then make

decisions about dating.• Dating is designed to lead to marriage and

should always be seen with that end in mind. Dating is a process of learning about yourself and others. It is a testing ground for the relationship of marriage.

Who will I marry?• One may choose not to date or marry.

There is nothing wrong or weak about choosing the single life. (1 Cor 7:32-33)

Who will I marry?• 1 Corinthians 7:32-33 - But I want you to

be without care. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord -- how he may please the Lord. 33 But he who is married cares about the things of the world -- how he may please his wife.

Who will I marry?• We must be determined to marry a faithful

Christian. Consider these questions.• Is this person eligible to marry? (Mt 19:9)

Who will I marry?• Matthew 19:9 - "And I say to you,

whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery."

Who will I marry?• Is this person a Christian?

(1 Cor 9:5; 1 Pt 3:7)

Who will I marry?• 1 Corinthians 9:5 - Do we have no right

to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?

Who will I marry?• 1 Peter 3:7 - Husbands, likewise, dwell

with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

Who will I marry?• Does this person have proper ambition?

(Eph 4:28)

Who will I marry?• Ephesians 4:28 - Let him who stole steal

no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.

Who will I marry?• Is this person dependable?

(Eph 4:25; 1 Cor 13:4-6)

Who will I marry?• Ephesians 4:25 - Therefore, putting away

lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another.

Who will I marry?• 1 Corinthians 13:4-6 - Love suffers long

and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

Who will I marry?• You must learn wisdom at a young age.• You will learn about ever changing social

norms and about differences between the thinking and desires of the opposite sex!

• How do I find someone to date? Be willing to learn and to change plans.

• You should seek help from godly married couples and others!

What will happen to my children?

• We should be thinking about this as soon as we learn we are expecting a child.

• Manoah wanted instructions concerning the raising of her child. (Judges 13:8)


• Judges 13:8 - Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, and said, "O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born."


• Every Christian wants their child to go to heaven. (Prov 22:6; Eph 6:4)


• Proverbs 22:6 - Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.


• Ephesians 6:4 - And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.


• Our faith must be real and we must never stop teaching. (Deut 6:6-9)


• Deuteronomy 6:6-9 - " And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 "You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 "You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

• 1. How do we protect our heart? If we are unforgiving and unmerciful to others

• our children will be affected.• 2. The greatest gift we can give our

children is a great marriage between two • faithful Christians. (Lk 1:6; 1 Pt

3:7)• Luke 1:6 - And they were both righteous

before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

• 1 Peter 3:7 - Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

• 3. What do you really show what is most important to your children? Job? School?

• Conclusion: What’s in your future? (Isa 40:28-31)

• Isaiah 40:28-31 - Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.


• How do we protect our heart? If we are unforgiving and unmerciful to others our children will be affected.

• The greatest gift we can give our children is a great marriage between two faithful Christians. (Lk 1:6; 1 Pt 3:7)


• Luke 1:6 - And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.


• 3. What do you really show what is most important to your children? Job? School?

• Conclusion: What’s in your future? (Isa 40:28-31)

• Isaiah 40:28-31 - Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.


• What do you really show what is most important to your children? Job? School?

• What’s in your future? (Isa 40:28-31)


• Isaiah 40:28-31 - Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.


• 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, 31 But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

what will my future hold?

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