Brother Rick Wednesday Evening 7/6/16

1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

Stay on the path that God has for you.  God has a plan for our lives.  He wants us to stay on that path that He designed for us to follow.  If we tune our spiritual ears to listen to Him, He will guide and instruct us.

Jer 6:16 a  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.

Ways: a course, direction, or manner. 

I want my life to be directed by God so that I can stay on the right path.  We will come to forks in the road where there are different choices that we can make.  We want to make our choice under direction from God and His people. 

If you get on the wrong fork then the farther you go the farther you have to backtrack to get on the right road. 

The old paths are tried and true.  Thank God for the saints that can help us.  We are fortunate to have a godly pastor and saints to give us counsel and direction.  Praise God.

No other way will bring satisfaction to our life.  The wrong road will not have the peace and joy that God has for us.  Only the bible way will lead us to the desired end of heaven.  There is a wonderful reward on the end of the way that God chooses for us.

If we go in a direction that God will have us to, then we will be able to discern how to continue on this journey.  We may or may not all have a number of years ahead.  We want to make it.

It is a usual thing to ask direction when you come to a fork in the road.

The broad way would be easy to follow.  We don’t want to pick the easy way.  We want to pick God’s way.  The wrong path only appears at the beginning to be easy.  But it always ends on paths that are farther off the way.

Psa 23:3  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Paths of righteousness:  God’s paths are the only paths where we do right.  If we are on a path that is not of righteousness then we are on the wrong way.  God’s paths always bring honor to Him. 

We represent something and it is the most important thing going in this world. We represent the church of the living God.  We represent Jesus Himself.  Our good decisions may influence someone else so they do not make the wrong decisions.

Isa 35:8  And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein.

Isa 35:9  No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there:

I want to be on that highway of holiness don’t you?

Isa 35:10  And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Zion represents the church of God.  What a wonderful place to be!  We want to stay on the path that keeps us there.

Sorrow and sighing shall flee:  We go down these paths for God and we will face some sorrow and difficulties.  If you will keep on the path then you will get beyond the things in life that are difficult.  God uses the difficulties of life to refine us.  We cannot escape the things that God uses to refine us.

This highway of holiness is different than the world.  Aren’t you glad that you don’t have to follow their course to try to find satisfaction?  I was 26 years old when I got saved.  If you had seen me prior then you wouldn’t think there was much hope of me.

It is wonderful to be in the way of holiness.  It is a way foreign to the world.  I want to be different in a good way from the world. 

God has made safe passage for those that serve Him.  All we need to do is have a desire to stay on the path that God has for us and He will help us.  We may make mistakes in life and temporarily get off on the wrong road, but if we have the desire to make it through and stay true to God then He will make a way.  He will not fail us.

1Pe 4:12  Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

When the winds come sometimes they are mind battles.  We are going to have those things come to us in life.  For me the mind battles are the hardest to go through.  We feel, “I don’t even know if I am saved or have something from God.”

The slimy devil will make it seem that these trials will last forever, “You’ll never make it; you are done.  This is it.”  He is a big fat liar.  God will bring us through.

Psa 25:10  All the paths of the LORD are mercy and truth unto such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

Those things that are on the pathway of serving God are important.  Without mercy it would be difficult to go on after making a mistake.  God has mercy and realizes that we are learning as we go to be better Christians.

The truth will show us the way and give direction in all our decisions.  Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

God will help us to do what we need to do to keep going on for Him after we have failed.  We need God’s wisdom to keep going on in our life for His ways are higher than ours.  If we were to continue after our own understanding we would be in duck soup.

It is wonderful to get wisdom that is higher than ours. 

From reading Oswald Chambers I have learned that it is important that we give up our right to ourselves.  God will guide us.  We don’t have to try to figure out all the answers in our own pea brain.  He will help us through and He will not fail us.

Many of our own ideas should become null and void and allow the thoughts of God to lead, guide, and direct us.

Psa 119:35  Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.

It is a delightful thing to keep God’s commandments.  There are many things in the world that after people do them it brings them down and makes them feel bad.  But it is a delightful thing to keep God’s commandment.  It is delightful to be freed from the power that once held us.

The psalmist asked God to make him to go in the paths of His commandments.  I want to be willing to go God’s way but if I have some hang-up I want to have the same attitude, “God make me to go thy way.” 

I want to serve God.  I want to make it.  We go through difficulties and trials, sometimes they go on for a while, but we always get the victory eventually if we stay true and faithful to Him.  Thank God.

Pro 2:7  He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.

Pro 2:8  He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.

Pro 2:9  Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.

If we are walking uprightly then God will be a shield for us and protect us from many things.  He preserves the way of His saints. 

May God help us to understand every good path; He wants our understanding to increase.

Pro 4:11  I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.

As we go through these paths of life we need to be as if we were in school wanting to get an “A” grade.  We need to learn and remember the things that God teaches us so that we don’t have to make the same mistakes again and again.  If possible we want to learn from other’s mistakes so that we don’t have to make them

Staying on the path God would have us to do shouldn’t be hard; God is there to help us.  It is wonderful that we have access to God through Jesus Christ.  When we start to get off on the wrong road a bit we can look up to God, “This doesn’t seem quite right.  Am I doing right here?”  God can help us to be on the right path.

Heb 12:13  And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Adam Clarke –

Make straight paths for your feet - That is, Take the straight path that is before you, do not go in crooked or rough ways, where are stones, briers, and thorns, by which you will be inevitably lamed, and so totally prevented from proceeding in the way; whereas, if you go in the even, proper path, though you have been wounded by getting into a wrong way, that which was wounded will be healed by moderate, equal exercise, all impediments being removed. The application of all this to a correct, holy deportment in religious life, is both natural and easy.

There is a proper way to go hiking through the woods.  You don’t want to take any old trail.  You want to stay on the path that will lead you to your desired destination: heaven.

Don’t be tripping and stumbling around.  This is a journey that we must succeed at.  Check our map book daily and compare to where we are on the path.  Make sure we are in a safe place and a proper on the path so that we don’t just stumble around to get through.

Mat 7:14  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

It is a narrow way but it is the right way.  I want to be on the path that God has for me

Rom 6:4  Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

We need to have that new creature experience.  We want to be a new creature in Christ Jesus.  It will start us on the path of righteousness

Eph 5:2  And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

We want to help as many others as we can to get on this path.  The way to do it is to walk in love.  Show people that we care about them

Gal 5:16  This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

We need to be guided by God.  It is awesome how God works to bring us in contact with those that He would have us to work with.

Eph 5:15  See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,

1Jn 1:7  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

We need the light of God especially when the going gets tough.  When we try to find our way in the dark it is tough.  You don’t want to be lost at night in the woods. 

Jesus is that good light.  He can shine that beam right on the path in the darkest night.  We realize, “Thank God He made a way through once again.”

1Jn 2:6  He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Thank God we have all this documentation of how Jesus lived and what He said.  Sometimes we forget how great it is to have this red letter edition bible and see the actual words that Jesus spoke. 

The early church had just a few scraps of paper with a few scriptures that they could get a hold of.  We need to take advantage and have good devotions and really study the Word out so that we can walk as He walked.