Know God Is in Control; Know the Plan; Hit the Goal (Matthew 26:1-5).Sunday January 25, 2026
Intro:
David heard a man taunt God, and thought, what a stupid man.
1Sa 17:18 “For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should taunt the armies of the living God?”
Goliath is confident in his own power. 1Sa 17:44 "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the beasts of the field."
He cannot see God when God is upon him.
We fast forward about a thousand years and God is in Jerusalem. Like Goliath, God is upon them, but they cannot see God.
Mat 26:3-5 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas; 4 and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him. 5 But they were saying, "Not during the festival, otherwise a riot might occur among the people."
Jesus would have disappeared and no one would have heard of how and not remembered Him.
On His part, the Lord Jesus is completely confident.
His ancestor David was also confident, and for the exact same reason.
1Sa 17:45-47 Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword, a spear, and a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have taunted. 46 "This day the Lord will deliver you up into my hands, and I will strike you down and remove your head from you. And I will give the dead bodies of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, 47 and that all this assembly may know that the Lord does not deliver by sword or by spear; for the battle is the Lord's and He will give you into our hands."
David’s deliverance was for a season; Jesus’ deliverance is forever.
Main idea: The Lord Jesus is our guide and inspiration that God has everything under control and those who believe this and also know His plans follow the correct path with courage no matter where it leads them.
Know the plan:
Jesus knows that He must be crucified and He knows that it must happen on Passover.
Mat 26:2 "You know that after two days the Passover is coming, and the Son of Man is to be handed over for crucifixion."
I will be crucified in 2 days. Now look at the meeting of the chief priests and elders.
Mat 26:3-5 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas; 4 and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth and kill Him. 5 But they were saying, "Not during the festival, otherwise a riot might occur among the people."
This was underlined in the meeting minutes: “Not during the festival.” That is 9 days from then at least.
Know that the Father has all under His control:
Jesus knows the Father’s plans and knows that the Father is in control. No matter how powerful in the world are the people who make plans against God and His timing, God will accomplish His good pleasure and in His timing.
The Father is the star director of the play and these leaders (Jewish and Romans soon to come) are only actors in it.
The clandestine meeting:
They are powerful people. They decide that it is vital to arrest Jesus in secret and kill Him after the festival (Passover + Unleavened Bread: 8 days).
The Lord brings the passion into being and no one else. He is in control of all history and, in history, your life.
Everything that is about to happen is prophesied.
Psa 2:1-3 Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, 3 "Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!"
The Lord does not fear them. He knows that they are not in control. He has read it.
Psa 2:4-6 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them. 5 Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying, 6 "But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain." [perhaps read to the end]
Comfort from the Psalms: In the gospels Jesus is quoting the Psalms about 12 times and from 9 different Psalms.
Follow the correct path with courage, no matter where it leads:
Look to the Lord:
We fix our eyes on Jesus and consider Him and we see our Lord as a man trusting that the Father has all things under control, who looks daily into the Scriptures to discover God’s plan, who lives God’s plan to further discover it and enjoy it, and who returns to Scripture, like the Psalms (God’s 150 song playlist) to be assured and comforted.
God knew your life and all that would happen to you.
Psa 139:16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.
He has a plan for your life. In that plan He has provided refuge in Him all along the path.
You write your deeds into His book. His knowledge and full understanding of them means that He motivates and guides you.
Even the Lord Jesus had to learn how to follow His Father through the things that He suffered (Heb 5:8), yet without sin.
Psa 31:1-5 In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed; In Your righteousness deliver me. 2 Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly; Be to me a rock of strength, A stronghold to save me. 3 For You are my rock and my fortress; For Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me. 4 You will pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me, For You are my strength. 5 Into Your hand I commit my spirit; You have ransomed me, O Lord, God of truth.
The goal never moves or changes.
The goal is the glory of God in which belongs the salvation of people because God is love.
Jesus knows that He has come to save the lost. He also knows that it has to happen on a certain day because God must be glorified.
Rev 21:23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
The Lamb is the preeminent one, the firstborn of all creation and the firstborn from the dead (Col 1:15-20) and notice that He is glory.
You should be pleased to know that you are not God’s top priority. His glory is.
You were saved for His name’s sake. This puts us in proper perspective and delivers us from spiritual pride.
When we understand this deeply, we will not be moving the goal to suit our desires or fancies and we will have a much clearer picture of the plan.
What is God’s plan for you and for your marriage and family and society (local, state, nation)? Know that and know that God is in control and then run the race with confidence - carrying your cross.
Bonus feature: Psalms containing the “deceit” of the enemy.
The chief priests and elders tried to use stealth.
The Lord would have refreshed Himself on the Psalms and you can as well.
Psa 10:6 His mouth is full of curses and deceit and oppression; Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.
Psa 10:12-18 Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up Your hand. Do not forget the afflicted. 13 Why has the wicked spurned God? He has said to himself, "You will not require it." 14 You have seen it, for You have beheld mischief and vexation to take it into Your hand. The unfortunate commits himself to You; You have been the helper of the orphan. 15 Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer, Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
16 The Lord is King forever and ever; Nations have perished from His land. 17 O Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their heart, You will incline Your ear 18 To vindicate the orphan and the oppressed, So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause terror.
Psa 35:20 For they do not speak peace, But they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
Psa 35:22-23 You have seen it, O Lord, do not keep silent; O Lord, do not be far from me. 23 Stir up Yourself, and awake to my right And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
Psa 52:1-2 Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The lovingkindness of God endures all day long. 2 Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, O worker of deceit.
Psa 52:8 But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.
Though your latest challenge may not be from deceitful people, the truth is that any challenge against you will fail when you take refuge in the Lord by submitting to His plan for your life.
The plans of the wicked will always fail. It is up to me to not be of them but of Christ. |