Our plans and purpose have to line up with God’s purpose, or we will never be truly fulfilled. In this second message of the short series, the pastor teaches that plans can change and that is fine, but when our plans run against the Word of God, it is sin. He shows from Scripture what God actually requires of us, why it is for our good, and how to keep walking in faith when life does not go the way we planned. It continues from Our Plans and Purpose: Aligning Your Plans with God’s Purpose by Faith.
Below you will find the full video, a structured summary of the sermon, the Scripture behind each point (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline, and practical steps you can take this week.
Sermon at a Glance
This message was preached on August 24, 2025, at the New Testament Church in Wisconsin and posted by NTC Ministries a few days later. It runs about 49 minutes and closes with communion. The speaker, who also leads the church’s worship, picks up from the previous week, when he taught that God has a strategic purpose for every life and that our own plans must stay connected to it.
His tone is direct but warm. He says he is not there to beat anyone over the head with a Bible, but because he loves the church and wants to see it blessed, he will not back away from speaking the truth.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Speaker | The pastor and worship leader (not named in the recording) |
| Series | Our Plans and Purpose (Part 2 of 2) |
| Main text | Ephesians 2:10, Deuteronomy 10:12–13 and Psalm 121 |
| Key theme | Aligning our plans with God’s purpose and walking it out by faith |
| Length | About 49 minutes, ending in communion |
Plans Change, Purpose Remains
The pastor opens by asking how many believe God has a purpose for their life, and urges those who are unsure to believe it. But believing is not enough; God wants us to walk in it. “I have to put into practice what I’m being taught,” he says. Purpose is not an excuse to sit around and be lazy.
We all make plans: to marry, to work, to go to school, to raise a family. Plans change, and when they do we reroute like a GPS. That is fine, as long as our plans keep lining up with God’s purpose. But when what we are pursuing does not align with the Word of God, he says plainly, it is sin, and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). We will make mistakes, but we cannot live in sin.
He rejects the idea that there is a fine line here: “It is a thick solid line.” You can wear a smile and act as happy as a clam, but you will never be truly fulfilled until your plans are hooked up with God’s purpose. The Lord corrects those He loves (Hebrews 12:6), and he wants to hear of healings and God’s power at work in their lives.
He points to Dr. Hohman’s teaching on kingdom faith and reminds the church that we are in this world but not of it. We are ambassadors of heaven, and faith is the only way to please God. Hebrews 11:1 says faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing (James 1:4).
Then comes his parenting picture. No good parent gives a child ice cream, cookies and candy for three meals a day, no matter how tasty they are. As a shepherd he wants the church to have God’s best, and that means eating our spiritual vegetables. Just take a bite, he says. Yet when a preacher says that whatever is not from faith is sin (Romans 14:23), people often respond, “How dare you? You hurt my feelings.” He cannot make anyone do anything, but he will keep declaring the truth.
Faith Comes by Hearing, Again and Again
He has the church repeat it: the wages of sin is death. It is not a scrape or a backhand. That truth should wake us up to live for eternity and to open our eyes for loved ones, co-workers and neighbors.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God (Romans 10:17). When people come to him in a hard spot and ask for counsel, the only counsel he can give is the Word, and his first suggestion is to come to church. Some answer that they had nine years of parochial school and already know it all. Clearly, he says, they have not applied that faith comes by hearing and hearing and hearing. It never stops; he still needs to hear it.
The reason is spiritual warfare. The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10), and when you pose a threat to the enemy, he rises up. That is why we have promises like “no weapon formed against you shall prosper” (Isaiah 54:17), which implies there are weapons, and “God is our refuge and strength” (Psalm 46:1), which implies we need one. In our own strength we fall, but the Word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12).
He calls the rest of Hebrews 11 the Hall of Fame of faith. Abraham, Moses and Noah are there because they acted on what God asked them to do. When we make excuses, we are no longer living in faith; we are living in our own strength, just hoping to get through the week, instead of rejoicing in the day the Lord has made.
You may say God never asked you to build an ark. That’s okay, he says, but he guarantees God is asking you to do something. A body that does nothing is usually dead, and God prunes what does not belong because He wants growth. So how do we put faith into action? By applying the Word in our personal life, work life, relationships, prayer life and study time.
Aligning Our Plans and Purpose With God
For the sake of time, the pastor runs quickly through the verses from the week before. Proverbs 19:21: there are many plans in a person’s heart, but the Lord’s counsel stands. Jeremiah 29:11: God knows the plans He has for you, plans of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Ephesians 2:10: we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works prepared beforehand.
Romans 8:28 adds that all things work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to His purpose. But it is up to us to activate our faith and take the step, which is why the church’s slogan is “I serve.”
Our plans cannot be allowed to overpower God’s purpose. When our plans get so full that we have no time for what He called us to do, priorities shift and things go haywire. That is usually when tragic things happen, and we end up crying out, “God, where are You?” God never left, the pastor says. We chose to. We set ourselves up for failure, or we choose to live by His Word and see success.
Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall (Proverbs 16:18). Do not think you are building a great big ministry by yourself. Sometimes, he says, we are simply the screwdriver God picks up to tighten something and make it good as new.
What God Requires of You
The center of the message is a short survey of what God requires. The pastor encourages everyone to study these and ask, “God, what do You want for my life?” He presents them as the fruits and vegetables of the Christian life, the opposite of the Twinkies that Dr. Hohman likes to joke about. The table follows the passages he reads and how he applies each one:
| Scripture | What God requires | How the pastor applies it |
|---|---|---|
| Deuteronomy 10:12–13 | Fear the Lord, walk in His ways, love and serve Him with all your heart and soul, keep His commandments | It is for your good, like a healthy diet |
| Micah 6:8 | Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly with your God | It is not me, God, it is You |
| Matthew 28:18–20 | Go and make disciples of all nations | You cannot train a disciple unless you are one |
| John 15:12 | Love one another as Jesus loved you | No excuses like “that’s just who I am” |
Deuteronomy 10:12–13 asks what the Lord requires, and answers that it is for your good. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added (Matthew 6:33). Micah 6:8 calls for humility. When he stands up to lead worship, the pastor prays: God, You have given me a gift and a talent, but it is not me, it is You. Your presence and anointing change people. So he humbles himself, takes the step of learning an instrument, and practices on his own time.
The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18–20 tells us to make disciples. But it is hard to train a disciple if you are not one yourself. Church is not just a building. Not “do as I say, not as I do”; we lead by example. Jesus saw through the Father’s eyes because He spent so much time with the Father.
That legacy question matters: did you have an impact on the people around you, encourage them, and lead them to Jesus? He tells his worship team that before they get to church, they had better already have been in church. You cannot lead people into God’s presence unless you have been there first, so he worships at home with his guitar, using the same songs, asking God to take him there. And John 15:12 commands us to love one another as Jesus loved us.
Good Works Prepared in Advance
Recalling Pastor Pam’s words that morning, he notes that parents want to give their children better than they had. If it will take all eternity for God to show how much He loves us, how much does He want to show it now?
Returning to Ephesians 2:10, the pastor asks whether anyone has hosted guests. You find out what they like, spend the day before and all morning preparing, add extra sides, plan to sit out on the deck. Then they arrive and say they are not hungry for that. Yet God prepared good works for us before time, and we answer, “I can’t,” “I don’t have time,” or “Let them do it; they’re better at it.”
You were on His mind when He made the sun, moon and stars and set the seasons in motion. We have to get past how we feel, because the righteous live by faith. The pastor admits he grew up in the church and still made mistakes and still has to ask forgiveness for following his own purpose rather than God’s. So say, “Where do I start? Give me the words to speak.”
1 Corinthians 15:58 calls us to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing our labor is not in vain. When we show Christ’s love through service and kindness, it opens a door for God to move. He declares that the church will see Merrill saved and the Northwoods on fire, starting with them. God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think (Ephesians 3:20), so do not settle for mediocrity because you are tired or have other plans.
He does not need a thank you or recognition, he says. His reward comes from his Father in heaven, now or on the way, and he keeps walking in faith, knowing he is still the object of God’s affection.
When Plans Fall Apart, Look Up
Life is not always the way we plan it, but our purpose remains the same, and God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). The pastor returns to Psalm 121: I will lift up my eyes to the hills; my help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He who keeps you will not slumber. The Lord is your shade at your right hand; you cannot outrun your own shadow, and that is how close He is.
Whatever comes, a health scare, a family crisis or trouble in a relationship, look up first. When sickness tries to come, he declares he is healed by the stripes of Jesus. Help is not on the way, he says; He is already here. God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7). Instead of doubting with “Lord, if it be Your will,” receive it as His gift.
Lamentations 3:22–23 says that through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed; His compassions are new every morning. Each morning, on the edge of the bed, we can say yes: my plans are Your plans. Our struggles are not marks of failure but opportunities to experience God’s grace. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way (Psalm 37:23).
That is why, he says, Dr. Hohman can call himself “just a hay seed from the UP” and yet see what God has done. It is not his name; he let God take him from faith to faith. And when believers come together, one can chase a thousand and two put ten thousand to flight (Deuteronomy 32:30).
The final charge is Joshua 1:3–9. Joshua, nervous about following Moses, is told that every place his foot treads is given to him, to meditate on the Book of the Law day and night, and that then he will make his way prosperous and have good success. Be strong and of good courage, for the Lord is with you wherever you go. For anyone coasting or stagnant, he adds: do not grow weary while doing good (Galatians 6:9), because all the promises of God in Him are Yes and Amen (2 Corinthians 1:20).
Living It Out This Week
Before communion the pastor reads Philippians 2:13: it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. When we align our plans with His purpose, he says, we unlock God being God Almighty in our life. Here are practical steps drawn from the message:
- Check your plans against the Word. Lay each plan beside Scripture and reroute anything that runs contrary to it.
- Keep hearing the Word. Be in church and in your Bible every day, because faith comes by hearing again and again.
- Eat your spiritual vegetables. Treat what God requires as food for your good, even when it is not what you crave.
- Be a disciple before you make one. Spend time with the Father so your example matches your words.
- Say yes on the edge of the bed. Start each morning by telling God, “My plans are Your plans.”
- Look up first. When trouble comes, lift your eyes to the Lord before you reach for anything else.
He closes with an invitation to repent where needed, receive God’s forgiveness through communion, and renew your purpose.
Timestamped Outline
- 0:00 God has a strategic purpose for you
- 0:47 Plans change: reroute like a GPS
- 1:56 A thick solid line
- 3:54 Ambassadors of heaven and Hebrews 11
- 4:49 Eat your spiritual vegetables
- 6:58 The wages of sin is death
- 7:59 Faith comes by hearing, again and again
- 10:03 The Hall of Fame of faith
- 12:22 Apply the Word to every part of life
- 13:13 Proverbs 19:21 and Jeremiah 29:11
- 14:19 When plans overpower purpose
- 16:19 Deuteronomy 10: what God requires
- 17:10 Micah 6:8 and worship with humility
- 18:10 Matthew 28: make disciples
- 20:23 Be in church before you get to church
- 23:36 The prepared meal: Ephesians 2:10
- 27:25 1 Corinthians 15:58: steadfast and immovable
- 32:15 Psalm 121: my help comes from the Lord
- 35:39 Lamentations 3: new every morning
- 37:49 Psalm 37:23: ordered steps
- 39:49 Joshua 1: be strong and of good courage
- 42:59 Do not grow weary
- 45:10 Philippians 2:13 and communion
Our Plans and Purpose Series
This message completes a two-part teaching at NTC Ministries. Start with the first message for the foundation:
- Previous: Our Plans and Purpose: Aligning Your Plans with God’s Purpose by Faith
- You are here: Our Plans and Purpose, Part 2: What God Requires and Why It Is for Your Good
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it wrong to change my plans?
No. The pastor says plans do change, and like a GPS we simply reroute. Marriage, work, school and family plans may shift over time. What matters is that each new plan still lines up with God’s purpose and His Word. The problem is not changing plans; it is pursuing plans that run contrary to Scripture, or letting plans crowd out the time God’s purpose requires.
What does the pastor mean by spiritual vegetables?
It is his picture for the things God requires that are good for us even when they are not what we crave: hearing and applying the Word, serving, loving one another and walking humbly. Just as a parent will not feed a child candy for every meal, a pastor wants the church to have God’s best. His advice to the reluctant is the same as to a child at dinner: just take a bite.
How should we pray when facing a need?
The pastor discourages praying “Lord, if it be Your will” over things God has already promised, calling that doubt. Instead he takes hold of the promise: reconciliation, health and a sound mind are his as gifts from God. He also models a simple morning prayer of surrender on the edge of the bed: this is the day You have made, open my eyes and ears, and my plans are Your plans.
Scripture References
All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:
- Ephesians 2:10 — good works prepared beforehand
- Proverbs 19:21 — the Lord’s counsel stands
- Jeremiah 29:11 — plans of peace, a future and a hope
- Deuteronomy 10:12–13 — what the Lord requires
- Micah 6:8 — walk humbly with your God
- Matthew 28:18–20 — make disciples
- 1 Corinthians 15:58 — steadfast and immovable
- Psalm 121 — my help comes from the Lord
- Joshua 1:3–9 — be strong and of good courage
How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.
Watch More Messages
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