Bro Gary Sunday Morning 2/19/12
Isa 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Isa 55:2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
Isa 55:3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.
Isa 55:4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people.
The 4th verse is a prophecy of Jesus. Jesus is a witness. We are blessed to have someone to turn to that is a true witness. There is lots of theology but we are blessed to have one that came from heaven and gave us the Word of God. His witness is true.
He is a leader. It is wonderful that there is an unerring Guide from eternity that will guide us all through time: through all of the seasons of life. Each one in this audience is in a particular season of their life. God’s ordained plan is that it would be a good season.
God desires that children have a good season of life. The one way that it can be is to have Christ as the leader of their life. As parents or grandparents it is important that we have the unerring guide as our leader.
Jesus is the commander. He is a governor with the heart of a shepherd. He is the savior, a witness, a leader and a commander.
Jesus Christ has the right attributes to be your and my designated leader. There is a lot of free counsel and people that want to lead you. There is a lot of talk. We each have a big enough challenge with our own mind wanting us to lead us this way or that. We recognize that we need a designated leader that knows where he is from, where he is heading, and what is right.
Pr 8 God moved on Solomon representing the messiah that was to come:
Pro 8:31 Rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of men.
Jesus only has your best interest at heart every day. Today and tomorrow you can rest assured that He will have your best interest at heart. He came from the father.
Joh 16:28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.
We are all making decisions. Sometimes we make them without realizing how serious the decision is. There is one that we can look to whose delight is with the children of men and who came from eternity.
Mat 9:36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
God the Father and Jesus the son have eyes that look from eternity. He was moved with compassion on the multitude. There is a designated leader that looks upon the children, the young people, and the adults with compassion.
Because they fainted: they were without direction and didn’t really know where they were headed. The only way we can have direction is if we follow someone that knows where they are headed. If you follow one that doesn’t know where they are headed then who knows where you will end up.
There is one that knows what is best for you and what is best for me. My thought is so strong for each one that is here this morning: God help us to let Christ lead us as the designated leader.
They were fainting and were scattered. When you and I think of being out in this world without knowing where to go and not having a designated leader, we would be fainting and scattered. The only designated leader that will lead you in the right direction is Jesus Christ. This covers our life as an individual, a family, and universally as the church of God.
Jer 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
This morning if you and I would visit the jails and prisons and see men and women who have taken the reaping for their sins. The majority would tell you that they didn’t plan to end up there. When we don’t take Jesus Christ as the designated leader we don’t know where we will end up. We as humans will chose the wrong way every time.
Luk 21:21 Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.
Luk 21:22 For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
Maybe 30 some years after Jesus died, Literal Jerusalem was destroyed. The foundations were even removed and the land was plowed.
Luk 21:24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Luk 21:25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
Perplexity is nothing new. Each of us has had it in our lives. We’ve found ourselves not knowing what to do. Where ever the arm of flesh would turn to for help there is an answer there, but it is not a satisfying answer.
The arm of flesh will start to do something and then withdraw and not know what they really want.
There is a lot of perplexity in our times. We live in a time when it is so easy for people to know so much information that their mind is torn in many directions. How good of an effect is it having on you spiritually? Are you praying more, fasting more, working more at home with souls?
I’m not a big enough person to know what all is going on in the world. I want to do a good job where I am taking care of the things that I have here to take care of.
The perplexities of our life are real. The parents in this audience this morning have perplexities in raising children. We’re glad that we know a designated leader. Follow Him, know Him, and love Him.
There will be times when you wait before God to get an answer from Him. Some here already have their children raised and they will be the first to say, “I don’t have all the answers. I live in a time of perplexities and don’t know how to deal with everything.”
I talked to a woman the other day that told me that she had a heartache that she had carried for years and just dealt with it. She didn’t understand it but said that probably I did. The reason that we understand it is because we know One that dealt with perplexity and sought God and received the answer that came even though it wasn’t what He would have chosen.
Some blot out perplexity with drugs, alcohol. Some walk away from the church or their family. We don’t have to go that way. We don’t want to be as an ostrich either that just hides his face in the sand. We want to deal with things. We have a designated leader that knows how to guide us in the exact season of life that we are in.
Psa 23:3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
If David wrote this at the end of his journey, he looked back over his life and could see where God had led him and God kept leading him. God didn’t lead David to sin, but when he repented God came back and said, “I’ll forgive you and I’ll lead you.”
We must have it settled that we will let God, the Holy Spirit, and His son lead us. There will be pressures every way. There will probably be pressures on every conviction and bible standard that you have. When we are following Jesus we don’t have to be moved by the pressures but we can say, “I’m following Jesus and He will lead me all the way.”
In tough times, people that don’t have God to turn to cannot stand the losses. In the great fire of Chicago, some people couldn’t handle the great losses. Others said, “Lets clean up the ashes and go on.” In troubling times it is vitally important that we know how to deal with stresses and perplexities.
In Luke 21 it says to take heed to yourselves lest at any time your heart be overcharged. People many times just want to have the party life. America is drunk on the party life. They are drunk on the thought of “Everything is just great.”
No, everything is not great. I’m not here just hanging crepe this morning, but when there are men and women in rest homes unsaved then we have a challenge. When children do not go to Sunday school, we have a challenge. When at the boys ranch service, people want to highjack the service so the gospel doesn’t go forward then we have a challenge.
Mind battles: the flood that goes forward not just on adults but also on little children. Children are in such difficult situations. It is not party time. There are perplexities and men’s hearts failing them. Boys and girls at a young age are put on an escalator that gains momentum to leave their lives scarred and their minds; some of them gone.
It is so wonderful that Jesus was prophesied as a leader. It seems so simple this morning what the prophet Isaiah was given that there would be this One that would be a leader. As I thought of United States of America I thought, “Oh that there would be a real leader that would show up to run for president or governor.” We need good leaders in public officials on every level.
This need is great in the church this morning. I’m not here hacking on pastors or teachers. God ordained that His son Jesus Christ would be the leader. He was ordained the leader by God and He is here this Morning.
Joh 10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.
Joh 10:2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
Joh 10:3 To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
Eastern sheepherders and sheep: a true shepherd understands that the sheep will be frightened unless they hear the shepherd from a great way off. We can expect to hear Jesus coming. This good shepherd knows our name.
‘He leadeth them out.’ I believe really good things are in store for the church. Good things are in store for everyone that serves Him. I don’t serve a God that says, “You failed and no better is ahead for you.” He doesn’t say, “You had a tough year last year and the next will be the same.” He is different than that.
He leads because when He speaks we hear. When He calls our name we respond. An invitation means a lot to you. When you get my age, and you are a long ways from being really sharp, when you are invited some place then it means a lot because you are loved.
It is marvelous to have someone love us, to have someone care. This one that came from heaven loved us.
Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.
Rev 14:2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps:
Rev 14:3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth.
Rev 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
Rev 14:5 And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.
“These are they that follow the lamb whithersoever he goeth.” No greater privilege than to follow the lamb. I hope you can envision yourself this morning following Jesus Christ. Your journey may go through some valleys but when you are following Jesus you have no need to fear. When you don’t know what decision to make, as long as you are following Him then He will tell you what decisions to make.
He wants to help us and witness to us, “This is the way, follow me.” He has the right answer for every decision in this audience this morning. There is no greater challenge than to follow the Lamb. There is always some type of distraction. We have this treasure in earthen vessels and our flesh will tell us what we want. After you get what the flesh wants there will be no satisfaction with it.
Where God places you then God will be with you even if there are dark places there. But if “The light that be in them be darkness then how great is that darkness.”
Jesus preached repentance and said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.”
More than hiking to another mountain lake or catching a pike, I’d like to help some soul and be a fisher of men. Matthew was a tax collector, a busy man that probably thought he knew where he was going, Jesus said, follow me and I will make you fishers of men.
Jesus will interrupt your plans. He’ll say, “I know you have plans, but follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” There is no sweeter labor then the job that He gives us and there is no more secure place then following Him.
You will not make it if you lose your vision of Jesus. He will know you every day and He will know your name if you will follow Him.
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