The Pathway of Planning

Before we begin, I want to introduce you to the 2025-2026 Second Baptist School Women’s Soccer Team!

These are some of my favorite people! Give them a big CityRise Welcome!

You know, this team has big plans. Last year, we lost the state in the state championship game in double overtime.

 And this year…the plan is to get back to the State Tournament! And this year, the plan is to win it all!!!

 Let’s take a moment and talk about planning. We are in 1 Chronicles 28. And we just rolled out a big video with big plans.
 
As a matter of fact, the plans are so big, we put together an entire book for this series.

 p. 20 today

 Note Commitment Card – I’ll come back to that!

 And last week, we talked about the Pathway of Legacy…

 Today, we are talking about the Pathway of Planning.
 
 Everyone has a plan. And what’s interesting about planning, is that we don’t even fully realize how much planning we really do.

 Planning is one of those everyday human instincts that quietly reveals what we believe about control, security, faith, and God’s sovereignty.

 Let me share a few thoughts on planning, as I have adopted this discipline very aggressively. This is my planner. I carry it with me nearly everywhere I go. I have fully bought into planning!

Full Focus Planner
 
How we plan…

• Daily: alarms, calendars, meals, workouts, meetings
• Weekly: schedules, practices, travel
• Monthly: bills, budgets, goals
• Quarterly: strategy, performance, direction
• Annually: vacations, resolutions, school years, finances
• Someday: retirement, legacy, dreams, “when things slow down”

 Planning isn’t sinful. It’s instinctual. It’s part of being made in God’s image—we organize, anticipate, and create.

 And The truth is: We Plan at Different Levels of Control

 Here’s a helpful way to frame it:
 
Short-Term Plans
 These feel controllable.

• “I’ll be there at 9.”
• “I’ll finish this project.”
• “I’ll call you tonight.”

 We expect these plans to work.
 
Mid-Term Plans
 These feel probable.

• Career steps
• Financial goals
• Ministry direction

 We assume cooperation from life.
 
Long-Term / “Someday” Plans
 These are faith-revealing.

• “One day I’ll slow down.”
• “Someday we’ll be generous.”
• “When life settles, then I’ll obey.”

 These plans often reveal delay disguised as wisdom.

  Scripture Talks About Plans…a LOT

 Broadly speaking, there are dozens upon dozens of passages that directly mention plans, counsel, purpose, intention, or direction. If you include wisdom literature, prophetic language, and narrative examples, you’re looking at well over 100 passages that speak to planning in some form.

  And in the Scripture, when it comes to plans, the Bible is consistently pressing on this tension:

Scripture’s Tension
 You are not wrong to plan—but you are wrong to presume.

 As we look at this next part of 1 Chronicles 28, we see an emphasis on a plan, and how to walk in it.

 For you personally, and for us corporately, the most important question when it comes to planning isn’t, “Do you have a plan?” It’s: “Whose plan is it?”

 1 Chronicles 28 shows us how God’s plans move from:

• His heart → David’s heart → Solomon’s hands → to the next generation.

 And what I want you to see is that Godly Planning:

• begins with God,
• is shaped by God,
• and must be executed according to God.

1 Chronicles 28:9-19
9 “And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. 10 Be careful now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it.”
 11 Then David gave Solomon his son the plan of the vestibule of the temple, and of its houses, its treasuries, its upper rooms, and its inner chambers, and of the room for the mercy seat; 12 and the plan of all that he had in mind for the courts of the house of the Lord, all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries of the house of God, and the treasuries for dedicated gifts; 13 for the divisions of the priests and of the Levites, and all the work of the service in the house of the Lord; for all the vessels for the service in the house of the Lord, 14 the weight of gold for all golden vessels for each service, the weight of silver vessels for each service, 15 the weight of the golden lampstands and their lamps, the weight of gold for each lampstand and its lamps, the weight of silver for a lampstand and its lamps, according to the use of each lampstand in the service, 16 the weight of gold for each table for the showbread, the silver for the silver tables, 17 and pure gold for the forks, the basins and the cups; for the golden bowls and the weight of each; for the silver bowls and the weight of each; 18 for the altar of incense made of refined gold, and its weight; also his plan for the golden chariot of the cherubim that spread their wings and covered the ark of the covenant of the Lord. 19 “All this he made clear to me in writing from the hand of the Lord, all the work to be done according to the plan.”

  Let’s look at four truths that prepare us to walk the pathway of planning.

 1. PLANNING REQUIRES KNOWING GOD PERSONALLY (v.9)

 1 Chronicles 28:9
“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.

 David starts here — as he instructs his son, Solomon.
 
 “Solomon, Planning Starts with Knowing God Personally! It’s not with materials or timelines or strategies — but with the heart.”

 Look at the phrase: “Know the God of your father… serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind…”

 David tells Solomon:
Before you build anything for God, you must know God.

 Why does David start here?

 Our Problem: You see, one of our most innate desires is to be the architect of our own lives. It’s to draw the plans of your life and hold them so tightly that you miss out on so much of what God wants for you.
 
 Remember Scriptures tension…

Scripture’s Tension
 You are not wrong to plan—but you are wrong to presume.
   
 You see, God has a plan for every single one of our lives.
 

• He knit us together in our mother’s womb.
• He gave us gifts, talents, abilities, opportunities.
• He gave us constraints, strengths, and weaknesses.

  All we have has come from his hand!

 He is the Architect and wants to be consulted on the plans of your life.
 

• What college are you planning on attending?
• Who are you planning to marry?
• What career are you planning on having?
• How many children are you planning on?

  So many of our decisions we just decide without consulting our Lord.

 King David instructs his son…Get to Know God…Know his heart.
 And how does he tell him to do that?

1 Chronicles 28:9a
“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind,
 

• A Few key words here:
• Know -- v. 9 – “Know the God of your father…” --  Knowledge acquired through experience – EXPERIENCE GOD! – This is David the Psalmist challenging his son to get to really know the Lord as he has known the Lord.
• I often tell people as they are going through difficult trials, “You are a bout to find out some things about our Lord you wouldn’t know any other way.”
• Serve – v. 9 – “serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind…” – this words means to “worship” – And it carries with it the idea that your work is worship. And you are to bring your entire heart and mind…
• Heart – the locus of the thoughts/will/emotions/conscience (right and wrong)
• Mind – The inner-self…where I think emote, feel, my will, my conscience

 So, both of these words carry the idea of the same areas of my life.
 So many of us or our family members deal with pain in the mind…God invites us to bring all of our mind and heart to him…all of our inner self…and he tells us to SEEK him…that’s the next word…
 

• Seek  -- Reach After – Try to get it…

 Slide: 1 Chronicles 28:9c
 … If you seek him, he will be found by you…
 The God of the universe invites you to SEEK AFTER HIM…and He will be Found by You!!!
 Application: Before you go and make BIG PLANS to DO…Make BIG PLANS to BE!
 Be…
 

• intimate with God…
• bring Him in on your decision-making.
• Bring your mind and heart…
• all of your inner-being, and say Lord, “What do you want? What do you have? What’s your plan?”

So, as you make plans, remember, Planning begins with relationship, not strategy.

 2. PLANNING REQUIRES WALKING CAREFULLY IN GOD’S CALLING (v.10)

 1 Chronicles 28:10
Be careful now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it.”

  David is saying:
“This calling is too sacred to take casually.”

 Building this temple was a massive task. It would take the mobilization of thousands of people over years. It required focus, leadership, and great care.
 

• Be careful.
• Be humble.
• Be intentional.
• Be prayerful.

 Good Planning is Good stewardship.

You are handling something God chose you to do. So, allow me to ask…

• Do you have a humble stewardship of your life and influence?
• Are you taking great care to steward well the gifts, and talents, and passions, and skills God has given you?
• Do you understand that He has an expectation of your life?

Luke 12:48b
 Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
 
 Application: As your pastor, I am simply a steward. And in many ways, Pathways is our Staff and leadership teams’ invitation to each person to bring their best to the Lord. And we do this with great humility and prayer, and care.

 This is not driven by ambition. Instead, it’s obedience to what God is calling us to and where He is leading us to go.

3. PLANNING REQUIRES FOLLOWING GOD’S BLUEPRINT (vv.11–18)

 1 Chronicles 28:11-12
 11 Then David gave Solomon his son the plan of the vestibule of the temple, and of its houses, its treasuries, its upper rooms, and its inner chambers, and of the room for the mercy seat; 12 and the plan of all that he had in mind for the courts of the house of the Lord, all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries of the house of God, and the treasuries for dedicated gifts;

 The details of these plans go all the way to verse 18. They are very detailed and very precise. They were big plans. So, David hands Solomon the plans — rooms, chambers, treasuries, lampstands, weights — everything.

 And then he says:
 “I received all this from the hand of the Lord.”

 You can feel the weight:
Solomon is not free to innovate.
He is called to execute God’s design.

We are called to do the same.
 God has a blueprint for your life.

Genesis 1:26-28
 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
 27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

  How is this a blueprint?

 God made you to rule, reign, and exert dominion!

 Now, me, and this soccer team…we have a little saying, don’t we?

 Q: What’s my encouragement to you?
 A: Step on their throats!
 
Friends, that is biblical!
 Notice it says…

• And let them have dominion over …over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth…(add the soccer pitch to that)!

 God’s purpose for our lives is that we would be stewards, managers, investors, leaders, innovators, hunters, gatherers, conquerors!

 But here is the key…the key…He invites us to do it in HIS image. – In the image of God…He created them!
 
 He has a blueprint for your sexuality –

Genesis 2:18-24
 18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,
 “This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”
 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
   
 What is God’s plan for our sexuality? One man and one woman for life, experiencing oneness…Body, Soul, and Spirit Oneness!

 God’s plan is not for you to sleep around and give yourself away to someone – remember, this is such a sacred life we are stewarding.

 God’s plan is to save yourself for your spouse…and for your to experience oneness…body, soul, and spirit!

 And I could go on and on…

 God has a plan for your:

• Money
• Parenting
• How to Carry Yourself in Marriage and the Roles you are to Play
• Your Growth
• Your Obedience
• The Church and Your Commitment To It
• The Nations Coming to Christ
• Israel
• His Return
• His Reign
• A New Heaven and a New Earth

 God has a plan! He has a blueprint…He is the architect!

 When God reveals His plan, our role is to follow, not improvise, subtract from it or add to it.

Proverbs 30:5-6
 Every word of God proves true;
he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.
 Do not add to his words,
lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

  Planning is not “what I think might work.”

Planning is aligning with “what God has revealed,” because the blueprint belongs to the Lord.

Principle number four…
  4. PLANNING REQUIRES GOD-GIVEN UNDERSTANDING (v.19)

 1 Chronicles 28:19
 “All this he made clear to me in writing from the hand of the Lord, all the work to be done according to the plan.”

  David says:
 “All this… the Lord made me understand…”

 David is testifying:
“I didn’t just get the plans from God — I got the understanding from God.”

 You don’t just need a plan.
You need God’s wisdom to understand the plan.

 Planning is not merely making decisions. Planning is receiving discernment.

 God must give:

• Revelation
• Understanding
• Courage
• Direction
• Strength

 That’s why David told Solomon in verse 9, “Get to Know God…Serve him with a whole heart and mind…seek him!”

  Let me show you what God does when you turn to Him for planning…insight…discernment.
 Notice the Search and Notice the Payoff…Real quick.

Proverbs 2:1-11
 My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
4 if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you…

  Do you see the hunt…the searching…the seeking…the knocking? And then…here is the reason we seek to know God’s plans and we follow them…

 Because in God’s plans, there is PEACE…In God’s Plans…there is Rest…In God’s Plans there is Wisdom…Protection…Insight and Good!

 His way is BETTER!

God invites us into His plans.
But His plans must be pursued His way:

1. Know Him personally.
2. Walk carefully in your calling.
3. Follow His blueprint.
4. Depend on His wisdom.

 Because planning is not about what we build.
It’s about who we are becoming as we build.

 And when our hearts align with His, His plans move through us — into the next generation.
 

• Where is God calling me to “be careful now”?
• What part of God’s blueprint do I need to follow more closely?
• What understanding do I need to ask God for this week?

                   Your Plan – Lord, what is it that you want me to do to join this plan?
                   Church’s Plan -- This helps us plan…
 All we want you to do right now is to put it in a place where you will come back to it and where you will be prayerful about it.

 Then…those who are ready…

 Commitment Card – Two Dates
 Advance Commitment Night – Sunday, February 22, 6p @ West U Baptist Campus
 Commitment Sunday – Sunday, March 1 right here


This blog is based on the message shared by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson on Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, at our CityRise Bellaire campus. Check out the full message below!