JACKSON, Tenn. — Sept. 17, 2008 — Those who trust in Jesus will be victorious in life, Tom McCoy told 51社区 students in a chapel service Sept. 17.
鈥淭he Lord Jesus Christ is looking at you right now saying, 鈥榊ou are going to win,鈥欌�� McCoy said. 鈥淎ll you have to do is agree with him.鈥�
McCoy, pastor of Thompson Station (Tenn.) Baptist Church and president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, used Jeremiah 1:4-10 as his text and told students that God has big plans for their lives.
As God knew Jeremiah before he was born, McCoy said that God created each person with that same knowledge.
鈥淕od has made you on purpose and for a purpose,鈥� McCoy said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e not here by accident.鈥�
God also consecrated Jeremiah and made him differently from everyone else, and he called Jeremiah for a specific task, McCoy said. In the same way, McCoy told his audience that God had special plans for them, and that they needed to discover God鈥檚 plan for their life.
He said statistics indicate that 3 percent of Americans had written goals for their lives. Another 10 percent had identified their goals mentally. That leaves 87 percent of Americans who have no goals for their lives, McCoy said.
He challenged Union students who fit that description to ask God to give them goals for their lives. He also encouraged them not to make excuses for refusing to do what God has called them to do, as such excuses don鈥檛 deter God in the execution of his purposes.
As God did with Jeremiah, God will give his people direction in life, as well as the message to speak, McCoy said. He argued that everyone has some sort of influence in their life, and that God will hold them accountable for how they use that influence. He cautioned students to be sure that they are to speak God鈥檚 word when they have opportunity to do so, and not something that they simply think is good.
God will also protect his people and provide for their needs, McCoy said, because God has victories for his people to win. But for them to win those victories, they must tear down such things as apathy and procrastination in their lives and put God鈥檚 desires before their own.
鈥淚f you want to win in life, be on God鈥檚 team,鈥� McCoy said.