Today, most Christians have lost focus or have no knowledge of the Sovereignty of God. 
The sovereignty of God is foundational to everything we believe as Christians. 
The Bible says that God has all authority and power and He will not share His glory with any other.
Only an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Sovereign God could orchestrate our life as promised in the Scripture.
Because God is Sovereign, He is in absolute control of our life.
In His Sovereign power, only God can promise and fulfill them in our life.
God spoke through Prophet Jeremiah to the people of Israel during their Babylonian captivity.
 Jeremiah 29:11 "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."
This promise is applicable to every believer today in this 21stcentury
I. GOD HAS A PLAN FOR US
In His Sovereign power God has a perfect plan for every person’s life. 
This perception is limited to a Christian believer who has Lord Jesus Christ in his/her heart and not everyone.
II. GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR US
God’s plans always have a purpose for every believer.
We learn from scripture that God will use everything together to bring out the best in our lives and prepare us for the future.
III. GOD HAS A PLACE FOR US
God has a plan for each of us to have a place in His divine plan.
We should never lose sight of the fact that God has placed us for specific reason in this moment of world history.
Of course God uses non-believers for His greater purpose but they attribute their accomplishments and success to their intelligence, wisdom, money and power.
Only a believer can understand the things that happen in his/her have been orchestrated by God for His glory and purpose.
God has placed us with a plan and purpose for us to seek His Kingdom first.
When we seek His Kingom first, we submit and live according to His will and purpose.
Lord Jesus says "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you".

Rom. 13:11-14
11 And do this, understanding the present time: The hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.
13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 
14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
Ephesians 5:15-17  
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 
16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 
17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.                                             
This “Time” is that period between creation and the Second coming of Christ.
For an individual we can say the period between his/her birth and death.
In a way time controls us, time compels us, time cheats us, time chokes us, and time crosses us.
There is no way to retrieve even one second once it passes.    
1. Understanding the present TIME
It speaks of the present world values, morals, ethics and spirituality.
We are living dangerously in a confused and godless society.
2. It is TIME to get up
Paul is cautioning us that we are sleeping too much in our spiritual life.
Apostle Paul is saying to Roman Christian to be vigilant and active.
The brevity of our human life should keep us focused not on the physical but on the spiritual.
3. It is TIME for the Lord’s coming
Every passing day in our life draws closer and closer to the Lord’s coming.
It could happen any moment in our life or it might not  happen.
When we die that is our salvation of the soul.
We have to give a serious thought about our spiritual journey with the Lord.
4. It is TIME to get ready
A clear instruction as to how we live our lives on earth as believers.
A. “Put aside the deeds of darkness”
The deeds of darkness vary from person to person.
B. “Put on the armor of light”
In the light of HIS WORD our spiritual being is strengthened.
When we stay in the light of God’s Word we express and exhibit the character of a disciple of Lord Jesus.
C. Be careful, Be wise, Be attentive, Be submissive
The Lord’s return is eminent and may come anytime during our life time.
We have to be ready to meet HIM in our life or  afterwards.
We have to identify the dark deeds and make all out efforts to stay under the light.


We are encouraged to live out a life that pleases Lord Jesus Christ every day.

BUILDING OUR HOME ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE PROMISE LAND Numbers 32:1-7; 15-19
1 The Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for livestock.
2 So they came to Moses and Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the community, and said, 3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon— 4 the land the LORD subdued before the people of Israel—are suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock. 5 If we have found favor in your eyes,” they said, “let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan.” 6 Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your fellow Israelites go to war while you sit here? 7 Why do you discourage the Israelites from crossing over into the land the LORD has given them?
15 If you turn away from following him, he will again leave all this people in the wilderness, and you will be the cause of their destruction." 16 Then they came up to him and said, “We would like to build pens here for our livestock and cities for our women and childre 17 But we will arm ourselves for battle[a] and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place. Meanwhile our women and children will live in fortified cities, for protection from the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return to our homes until each of the Israelites has received their inheritance.
19 We will not receive any inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan, because our inheritance has come to us on the east side of the Jordan.”
The time has come for God’s people to enter the land of Canaan.
The Jordan River established the entry point into the Promised Land.
God’s iinitial instructions were to go all the way into Promise Land that is Canaan. 
But two and half tribes Reuben, Gad and Manasseh didn’t want to cross Jordan River to go into the Land of Canaan.
I. THEIR DECISION INFLUENCED BY THEIR NEED 
1 The Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands
of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for livestock. 
2 So they came to Moses and Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the community, and said, 3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon— 
4 the land the LORD subdued before the people of Israel—are suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock. 
They had a large number of livestock than other tribes.
When they saw the land was a good place for their cattle to graze and grow they decided to stay back and settle down this side of Jordan River.
The decision was a simple matter of economics and based on material factors.
In their need they did not respect the will of God, His promises for them in Canaan or His spiritual purposes for them as a nation Israel.
The blessings of God became stumbling block to obey and follow God.
2½ ttribes must have –noticed – discussed – made a decision after seeing the attractive grass.
Their thinking was totally against God’s command.
Settling outside of the Promised Land was totally based on selfish motives and carnal thinking.
Many people, even in our day, victims of such carnal thinking and settle outside of God’s promises and purposes.
The present need in our life can compel us to living on the other side of Jordan
The 2 ½ tribes did not know what they had lost in the Promised Land.
They lost sight of God’s first requirement to “possess the land”.
God had brought them to a certain point in life, but all of a sudden they decided to reject God’s leading because of reasons based on human need and circumstances.
They thought they were helping God in the distribution of the land.
Our CATTLE can be anything we have that distract us from moving forward to the Promise Land
God always has a clear plan and purpose for each one of us.
We should not let our situation and circumstances to decide what our Promise Land is.  
II. THEIR DECISION HAD CONSEQUENCES 
6 Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your fellow Israelites go to war while you sit here? 
7 Why do you discourage the Israelites from crossing over into the land the LORD has given them?
These 2½ tribes had an obligation to the rest of the Israelites. 
The plan of God for all of Israel had not yet been completed and God expected every tribe to be part of the Promised Land. 
A. Their decision affected others
Moses thought they were trying to avoid their obligations to the pack.
Moses believed this would discourage the other tribes to proceed beyond Jordan River.
Moses says time out let us talk it over.
He reminded them of their past from the 40 years of desert wandering.
8 This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land.
9 After they went up to the Valley of Eshkol and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the LORD had given them. 10 The LORD’s anger was aroused that day and he swore this oath: 11 ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of those who were twenty years old or more when they came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob— 12 not one except Calebson of Jephunneh
the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the LORD wholeheartedly.’ 13 The LORD’s anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone. 
 Because of their disobedience only 2 entered the PL from the original group of people.
The original group which left Egypt all perished in the wilderness.
These two and half tribes were willing to live just outside of their “Inheritance.”
Do you know that we influence others in many ways by our actions, words and habits?
It is called the spirit of influence.
Without our knowledge by our actions and words we can discourage others.
When we live outside of God’s will and purpose, such actions and words become a common occurrence in our life.
B. Their decision affected their families
26 Our children and wives, our flocks and herds will remain here in the cities of Gilead. 27 But your servants, every man who is armed for battle, will cross over to fight before the LORD, just as our lord says.”
Gilead was on the wrong side of Jordan.
They were not supposed to set up their tents there.
This was a compromise. 
Their decision put their families on other side of the Promise Land.
They had compromised with the culture and people around them
 Men left their families for a longer period of time to fight with other tribes.
Children did not have fathers; wives did not have husbands (Many in US)
God had never intended for them to settle apart from the Promised Land. 
The men of these tribes made the decision that they knew better than God about where to settle down and raise their families. 
 C. Their decision affected their future generations
Chron. 5:26.
So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the
Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day
152 years later they were taken into exile by the Assyrians.
Every person who made a decision not to cros River Jordan and lived in Gilead was dead by this time.
We see that their children and grandchildren paid the price.
Their position was vulnerable to the enemy because they were outside of the Promised Land
We have to remember that all the problems start with a compromise.
We have seen that again and again in the lives of many because of a compromise.
When we compromise with God’s Word and Holy Spirit’s guidance, we began to move away from the Promise Land.
That is when we will be most vulnerable to Satan to drive us further away from the LORD.
Our Promise Land is the eternal hope and we keep walking towards it every day.
When we have Kingdom priority visible in our lives, many will be impacted and nfluenced.
For people living on the East side of the River Jordan, God is not important in their lives.
They had different standards for social  and cultural behavior which was contrary to Israelites as God's people.
These 2 ½ tribes lived outside of the Promise Land had lost touch with God and His worship.
They became cold and indifferent to God of Israel because of their existence outside of Canaan.
What do we learn from this incident form the pages of Israelites history?
We can ask ourselves three questions.
Are we living on the other side of River Jordan?
What are the things that compelled us to live outside of the Promise Land?
Are we compromising to remain on the wrong side of the River Jordan?
Remember, my friend, there are consequences for such living..
Like two & half tribes we will lose the intimate fellowship with the Lord.
Like the two & half tribes we can become cold and indifferent to the Lord who saved us.
Like the two & half tribes we can be exposed to the devil and vulnarable to his attacks.
 May we repent and seek the Lord's forgiveness for living out side of His will and purpose.
May we seek the strength and guidance of the Holy Spirit to cross over to other side, the Promised Land.

HEBREWS 12:1-3
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
The Scripture speaks of Christian life is a race we all have to run.
We think 4 things from the scripture above.
The first verse speaks of WITNESSES, WEIGHTS, WEARINESS, and verses 2 &3 talk about a WINNER
All those WITNESSES mentioned in Chapter 11were people who ran their race and became wonderful examples and role models for our Christian race today.
We are encouraged, comforted and motivated by their stories from the Old Testament.
We see some WEIGHTS we need to lose to run an affective race.
As someone puts it “The problem is not with the weights are but what the weights do”
We Christians do have some unnecessary, unwanted weights that pull us done from running an effective race.
There are some unrighteous things also that become hurdles in our way.
We need to persevere in our Christian race because our race is a Marathon not a sprint.
We may some time get tired in the race but we should never get tired of the race.
Weariness can be a great concern when we run a Marathon but 'hang in' there is more important.
That is what we understand as perseverance.
2ndand 3rd verses talk about fixing our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ becaus eHE is the WINNER
A run will never look back and run his/her race.
So when we run our Christian race let us fix our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ.
My friends don’t forget that the distance of our race is a lifelong obedience and faithful living and running a Marathon until we
meet the Lord.

“MOVING FORWARD IN 2012”     PHIL. 3:12-16                       
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 
13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 
14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 
16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
We all make Plans for education, Plans for Job, Plans for vacations, Plans for relationships, Plans for relocation, Plans for travel, Plans for new projects
In 2012 include our Lord Jesus Christ in all of this.
When we put our faith and accept Lord Jesus as our Master and Lord of our life HE becomes an integral part of our personal and public life
He is intensely and deeply involved in our life whether we like it or not.
If we recognize this most vital factor, nothing should be of any concern or confusion.
Apostle Paul says, THE PAST WE MUST FORGET
We all had some painful experiences, failures, discouragements, and confusions.
Also we had rebellious nature and disobeyed the Lord Jesus many times by our actions and attitudes.
We need forget them what we have done in 2011.
Apostle Paul says, THE PRIORITY WE MUST FOCUS
His number one priority was to seek the Kingdom of God first.
We make all kinds of New Year resolutions but we hardly fulfilled them in our life.
Why not we have only ONE priority that encompasses all of our life?
 Focus on the Kingdom of God in 2012
Apostle Paul says, THE PRESENT WE MUST LIVE
He was living and acting in the present.
We tend to live in the past or future but not always in the present.
When we have the Kingdom of God fixed in our sight, we live in the present with a focus on the future glory with the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Our time, talent, and treasure will be invested in the Kingdom of God.
Give a thought my friend, and seek the Kingdom of God first.
Matthew 6:31-34
31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.