A COMMA INSTEAD OF A PERIOD

JEREMIAH 29:11-14Bishop Genesis T. Udang

• (Jer 29:11-14 NIV) For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. {12} Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

• {13} You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. {14} I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."

The Suicide of Robin Williams

Periods and Commas serve two Important Jobs.

• A period serves to tell us to stop, or that we at the end of a thought.

• Commas serve as an inflection, for us to pause. It serve to remind us that more is yet to come, that the thought is not finished.

WHY DOES GOD PUT A COMMA INSTEAD OF A PERIOD IN OUR LIVES' STORIES?

• BECAUSE HE WANTS TO FULFILL WHAT HE PROMISED - JOSEPH GENESIS 37

BECAUSE HE WANTS TO FULFILL WHAT HE PROMISED

• The Jealousy of his brothers

• The Pit

• The Slavery

• The Prison cell

• The Forgetfulness of a Friend

But none of these were able to stop the promise to be fulfilled, Joseph in God’s time became the Prime Minister of Egypt.

WHY DOES GOD PUT A COMMA INSTEAD OF A PERIOD IN OUR LIVES' STORIES?• BECAUSE HE WANTS TO FULFILL

WHAT HE PROMISED - JOSEPH GENESIS 37

• BECAUSE HE WANTS TO FINISH WHAT HE STARTED - JONAH Jonah :1-4

BECAUSE HE WANTS TO FINISH WHAT HE STARTED

• He deliberately dis-obeyed God • He took a boat ticket for Tarshish and

not for Nineveh• He ended up in the middle of the

storm• Thrown into the sea• Ended and lodged in the whale's belly

for 3 nights• Delivered shore to shore to Nineveh.

WHY DOES GOD PUT A COMMA INSTEAD OF A PERIOD IN OUR LIVES' STORIES?

• BECAUSE HE WANTS TO FULFILL WHAT HE PROMISED - JOSEPH GENESIS 37

• BECAUSE HE WANTS TO FINISH WHAT HE STARTED - JONAH Jonah :1-4

• BECAUSE HE WANTS TO ESTABLISH WHAT HE PLANNED - JOB 1

BECAUSE HE WANTS TO ESTABLISH WHAT HE PLANNED

• God made a wonderful plan in the life of Job.

• A prosperous life• A wonderful Family• A successful business• A godly heritage• A life of influence

• Destroying his businesses

• Killing his livestock

• Killing his children

• Condemnations from friends

• A variety of incurable diseases

• A sarcastic and discouraging remark of his wife

• (Job 2:9-10 NIV) His wife said to him, "Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!" {10} He replied, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said.

• (Job 42:11-13 NIV) All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring.

• {12} The LORD blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first. He had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen and a thousand donkeys. {13} And he also had seven sons and three daughters.

• (Prov 3:5-6 NIV) Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; {6} in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

• The next time you feel like God can’t use you and establish His plan for you, just remember...

• Noah was a drunkard.

• Abraham was too old.

• Isaac was a daydreamer.

• Jacob was a liar.

• Leah was ugly

• Joseph was abused.

• Moses had a stuttering problem.

• Gideon was afraid.

• Samson had long hair and was a womanizer.

• Rahab was a prostitute.

• Jeremiah was too young.

• David had an affair and was a murderer.

• Elijah was suicidal.

• Isaiah preached naked.

• Jonah ran from God.

• Naomi was a widow.• Job went bankrupt.• John the Baptist ate locusts.• Peter denied Christ.• The Disciples fell asleep while praying.

• Martha worried about everything.

• Mary Magdalene was, well you know.

• The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once.

• Zaccheus was too small.

• Paul was too religious.

•Timothy had an ulcer...

•Lazarus was dead!