Brother Gary Sunday Morning 2/8/15

Brother Gary Sunday Morning 2/8/15

Jer 6:16  Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

It is God’s instructions recorded by Jeremiah.  He said, “Stand in the ways.”  There are a vast number of ways that people are in this morning.  We are given instruction to stand in the ways and see.  There are many ways, there are many thoughts, and there are many people that would give out information as if it were counsel and a divine revelation from God.

It is vital that every one of us knows that the road that we are traveling is the one that God ordained.  There is a high way that is way above worldly ways and man’s ways.  The way to it is Jesus Christ. 

Ask for the old paths.  We can rest assured that whatever is truth, is truth in the Old Testament and the New.  It is the truth of God the Father, and the Holy Spirit of God.  It has the witness of the Old and the New Testament.  We are right in asking for the old paths.

It is the path that led people to believe in Christ prior to Him being born.  It is the path that fulfills the Word of God where Jesus says, “I am the way.”

Where is the good way:  Isn’t it wonderful that the way of holiness, the path of God, the Highway of Holiness is a good way, a wonderful way?  This wonderful way opens a door for us to deal with our past sins, and covers those sins with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

Our past can be forgiven and we start a new life.  That is a wonderful, good way.  It doesn’t stop there but continues going on.  “Sweeter gets the journey every day.” 

Bill Gaither’s mother reached an age where she was getting closer to pass over.  He or Gloria said to grandma, “Grandma, do you have anything to say to us this day?”  She looked up and said, “Sweeter gets the journey every day.”  He went on to write the song.  Serving God really pays. 

You may be going through a difficult season in your life.  The design of the season is only to perfect you and to settle you. 

1Pe 5:10  But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.

1Pe 5:11  To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

We live in a very unsettled day.  I draw a close line in what I read and expose myself to.  There is a reason.  God never allows something to come across our pathway but that is designed to lead us on the good way.  The Word and the Spirit of God are always there working to encourage us. 

The difficulties in life are designed to settle you.  “I’m traveling a highway, a beautiful road; it leads to heaven the home of the soul.  It is marked by His footsteps and stained with His blood…”

The old paths are the good ways.  Way back in Genesis the prophecy was given that the messiah would come and bruise Satan’s head.  It is wonderful to know that there is victory through Jesus Christ.

The old way of loving your neighbor, forgiving those that trespass you.  Praying, “Our Father.”  It links us to every saved brother and sister, not just in Sanders County or Montana but to every individual that is crying out, “Our father.”  That is the old paths.

Many have mistakenly thought, “I am going to go my own way and choose my own thinking.”  When they choose their own way they reject God’s way but God chooses their delusion.

Walking in the old paths:  loving God and loving the Word of God.  You shall find rest for your soul. 

Jer 6:16  Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

It is wonderful that we can have rest for our soul.

1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.

1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

We look at the children, the young married couples, the older married couples and we think of the good things that God has in store for them.  I look at the widows in this congregation and think of when my mother became a widow in 1969, those are hard, tough years.

I have learned for every season and station of life, if we go by what the Word of God teaches, “Eye has not seen, ear has not seen, neither has entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love Him.”

In a world full of unrest.  In a world full of turmoil, but also full of terror.  It wasn’t very many years ago, no matter who knocked on our door, we would be ready to help them.  If they said they were broke down somewhere, we would try to help them.  We live in a different day today.  We would still want to help but two is better than one.

God has revealed:  God has good things and God has rest for every soul.  You may have been through a very difficult week and the week before may have been even more difficult.  God designed that we have rest.

You think, “I have obeyed God, repented and confessed my sin, so I can believe God that He will reveal some things to me.”

It is a wonderful thing: through phone calls, letters, whatever else, you can find yourself getting upset and almost to the point of churning, “What am I going to do?”  If you talk to others, they will give you their commentary.  There is a still small voice, “Come here.  Begin to pray.  Begin to seek my face.”

Many times Sister Stewart didn’t have food for the mission.  She didn’t go to the streets and start yelling.  She went to her knees and God made a way.

Fanny Crosby felt she should go to a speaking engagement and didn’t have the money for the train ticket.  It was before plastic and before the telephone.  She began to pray.  You know she was blind.  She began to pray, “I have a burden to go speak but I don’t have the money to get there.” 

A strange man knocked on her door.  The account I read said that she had ‘never seen him before.’  He knocked on the door, handed her something she took it and he left.  She said, “God I believe you have supplied.”

There is a rest to those that trust God. 

I was telling my wife, “I am praying that God would help me to know how to teach my grandchildren how to be obedient.”  I trust we taught our children to be obedient.  But it is different with our grandchildren than it was with our children.  We are not the parents.

God can give you rest.  You may have 6 quarts of beans that you can take to someone and it be an avenue of an open door. 

You might be in this audience and have a real desire to talk to your mother or father.  You may have a real desire to talk to some of your relatives about getting right with God.  You say, “I am just churning.”  Let me help you.  The bible teaches us, “Stand in the old paths ask what is the good way, walk therein and you shall find rest.”

Whatever the burden is, don’t get churning.  Love God so much that you find:  “God has revealed them to us by the Spirit.  For the Spirit searches all things, the deep things of God.”

For all those areas in our life that we need rest.  I hear the children’s request.  There are areas that they struggle.  We are not finding fault with them. 

I have a dear friend that is so troubled with fear.  I have a dear friend in Switzerland that has a hole in his heart.  I am really concerned, but remember that there is a way to rest.  Seek God with all your heart.  Seek God until there is no churning.  Seek until there is no roar in your mind or internal yell, “Crisis.”

1Co 2:12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

The Spirit of the world is always churning.  When someone in the world gets upset, everyone knows it.  We have not received the spirit of the world.  We are His child. 

Jesus taught us that all the disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ are in the Father’s hand and no man can pluck them out of His hand.  You can be secure. 

I understand the concern of having a daughter in college and children in school.  I can still remember waking up in the middle of the night churning because my daughters were in the city and I couldn’t be there. 

The Spirit of the Lord brings rest.  The spirit of the world places great yokes of control upon us.  The world and the pressure of the world to conform to look and act like the world. 

The yokes of the world:  I am not sure how far yokes go.  I have seen single yokes, double yokes, and triple yokes.  There may be more.

A single yoke causes an individual to be governed by someone behind them cracking the whip.  You that have studied about yokes know that a yoke is designed to fit and is designed with the thought of pulling a load. 

We were yoked in a single yoke pulling the load of sin and the world, the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life.  We were going to get an education and make money and buy this and that and something else.  We were in that yoke and felt the pressure of the yoke.  A yoke will leave sores upon you.

Sometimes the yoke gets doubled up.  Someone comes along and gets beside you, “You need to do this and that.”  But they leave out God.  Soon you find yourself trying to do what is in your mind and trying to do what is in someone else’s mind as well.  Soon you find that the yoke brings sores.

The yoke of Christ brings rest to the soul.

Mat 11:28  Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Every one of us found the need to come unto Christ: All that labor and are heavy laden.  For everyone that has ever gotten saved, I love to hear their testimony.  They talk about how heavy their load of sin was.  They tried to find peace, contentment, and joy.  I think of the labor to be accepted in our world today. 

How many people are trying to be accepted in society?  Jesus said to come as you are.  “All that labor.”  How exhausting the yoke of the world is. 

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

The lust of the flesh, what the flesh wants; the lust of the eyes, what people covet; the pride of life, that something that gets a hold of people that makes them want to raise themselves as better than anyone else.

The lesson on being kept from evil Wednesday night:  it is evil to be high minded.  Whenever a spirit comes to cause an individual to raise up, want to condescend, and to look down on someone else.  Don’t yield to that for a minute.

All that labor and are heavy laden, I will give you rest:  there are two rests taught here.  “Take my yoke upon you.”  It is better to experience it than to even teach it.  It is a double yoke, you are on one side and Jesus is on the other.  There is nothing more wonderful than being yoked to Christ in every endeavor.

You that have various jobs, those that are self-employed, housewives, Jesus said to “Take my yoke.”  Step right in here beside me.  Learn of me.” 

There has never been a better teacher than Jesus.  “For I am meek and lowly in heart.”  Once we get saved and repent: “I am so sorry for all my sin, please forgive me.”  Among the first things He teaches us is that God dwells with the humble.

As a teacher He never belittles you.  He says, “I’m going to help you with that.  I am the teacher, you are the student, I am yoked right here beside you.  I am not a bully; you are not the teacher’s pet.  I am the one that loves you.  I ordained the fulfillment of “You shall find rest for your soul.”” 

There was a farmer that couldn’t read and write that would go out into the field to work and as he was working God would show him scripture.  He would go to the pastor and say, does the Bible say, “Shun the very appearance of evil.”  Another time he seemed to have a lot of cares and God says, “Cast all your car upon me.” 

Jesus said, “Take my yoke and learn of me.”  None of us reaches the place where God cannot teach us.  We all want the attitude, “The wisdom from above is easily entreated.”

Mat 11:29  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Mat 11:30  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

What makes it easy is Him beside us.  He will not put more on us than we can handle; He won’t leave us without a challenge.  Jesus is right there beside us He will pull His share but He will not pull your share.

His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  The burdens of life can get really heavy.  My oven still doesn’t work.  You know that I like homemade bread, deserts, warm syrup… I could really get to churning.  Finally we said, “God we have to get this over on the Lord.” 

A man said, “I will charge you $219 to come out there.”  I asked “Will you charge us after you get here?”  He said, “It will cost $75 an hour.”  The quote he gave us at the end totaled $759. 

Have you ever felt yourself churning?  Jesus says, “Come on over. Get your eyes on me.  My yoke is easy.”  The oven is not fixed, but His yoke is easy and His burden is light.  He will never put more on you than what you and He can handle.  You will never have a load greater than what you and He can pull.

“Stand in the ways and see, ask for the old paths wherein is the good way, walk therein and you shall find rest for your soul.”