Disclaimer:
Due to the large amount of sermons and topics that appear on this site I feel it is necessary to post this disclaimer on all sermons posted. These sermons are original to the author and the leading of the Holy Spirit. While ideas and illustrations are often gleaned from many sources including those at Sermoncentral.com, any similarities and wording including sermon title, that may appear to be the same as any other sermon are purely coincidental. In instances where other minister’s wording is used, due recognition will be given. These sermons are not copyrighted and may be used or preached freely. May God richly bless you as you read these words. It is my sincere desire that all who read them may be enriched. All scriptures quoted in these sermons are copied and quoted from the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible.
Pastor James May
CHOOSING THE RIGHT ROAD
Jeremiah 6:16-17, "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. Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken."
We stand today at a junction in the road of life. This is the last Sunday of the year 2001 and ahead is the path that we must walk as we continue our journey. Behind us are the years that we have walked with all of their joy, sorrow, pain and happiness. All of these things that have come to us, have shaped us and formed us into the person that we are today. The path we take now will determine who and what we become and we step on into the future.
As I think about the journey that we are all traveling, I think of how many people prepare for a trip.
First, there are those who will jump into a car and go without making any real plans or preparations. If we make no plans at all and just take off without any destination in mind then we should not be surprised when we arrive at a destination and either realize that we are where we didn’t want to go or else we just don’t know that we have arrived at all. So many people walk through life clueless.
I have met and I know a lot of people who cannot tell you what their plans for the future are because there are no plans for the future. They only think of right here and right now. They live and die according to the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:25, 6:31 & Mark 13:11 when He said, Take no thought for your life… "
I don’t believe that Jesus was telling us to not think of the future, not make any plans, not to consider the days ahead at all – He was simply saying that we should not face the road ahead with worry and anxiety over how we are going to make it because He will provide for us our daily bread and meet all of our needs.
On the opposite side of that are those who will plan for months to make use of every minute on a weekend trip.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t like being on a trip with these folks either. This is the type of people that have every moment of their day and every day of their life all mapped out. They live and die by a schedule book and they have set their goals and dreams in concrete and have a plan of action to accomplish what they desire for the future.
On the surface it seems that this second group of people are the “Great Achievers” of life. These are the entrepreneurs, the self-motivated, dream builders and movers and shakers of life. They seem to accomplish great things and become the leaders of all who have no real dreams and goals.
But there is one gigantic flaw in this type of lifestyle – there is no place for the Holy Spirit to move and interfere with their plans. They leave no room for God and they have no time for the things of the Kingdom of God because they are too caught up going for the gusto of life.
So ahead of us are the choices of the road we must travel through life. Has the road you traveled thus far taken you to where you thought you would be today? Do you feel that you are dwelling in the perfect Will of God for your life or do you feel that something is lacking and that your destination has eluded you and still is out there somewhere.
Don’t get me wrong – I don’t believe that any man alive has arrived completely. No matter whether we in the perfect will of God or not, there is more that God wants to accomplish in our lives and we must continue down the road of life until God calls us home and this life is finished.
God spoke these words through the Prophet Jeremiah …”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.”
If you were traveling on a journey through unmapped and unknown places and came upon a place where the road forked into several directions, which road would you choose? That’s the picture that I get when I read these words from Jeremiah.
If there is one thing that most men hate to do, it ask for directions. We would rather go off in the wrong direction and go miles out of the way than to admit that we don’t know where we are going. In our own defense though, I will say that it has come to the place in our world where you can’t always trust people to give you good directions anyway.
It is not in our nature to ask a woman for directions for that is perceived as weakness after a fashion and the “great hunter nature” within us can’t allow that to happen. So, if I have to ask for directions, I will usually find a man who seems to be from the local area and ask him instead. What I must keep in mind is that this man, having the same “hunter nature” and not willing to confess that he doesn’t know the way either, will usually give me an answer, even if it is wrong, just to give the appearance of being in control and knowledgeable.
Nevertheless, we stand at this fork in the highway of life and we do not know which way is the best way before us and we find ourselves in the uncomfortable position of having to seek advice on which road we should take.
For the Christian, this is the time when our trust in God and the leading of the Holy Spirit really comes into the picture. God knows the way and the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth and the Word of God will light our path but it will still be a walk of faith because we never know what is around the next curve or over the next hill. We must just keep walking and trust that God will bring us to our desired destination. Can you trust Him this morning? Will you hear the voice of the Spirit and listen to the Word of God and follow where He leads?
As we stand at this fork in the road we must realize that all roads don’t lead to the same place. We must learn to inquire of God which way to go. We must also realize that God will allow us to take the wrong road if we choose to go that way.
Those of us who are minister today have taken many a wrong road and discovered that we had to backtrack and find the right path once again. How much longer did it take or will it take before we finally get to the place where God wants us to be?
Those of you who don’t consider yourself as a minister, even though we are all ministers of one fashion or another, how long must we travel down the wrong path until we realize that this isn’t what God wants for us?
You see - God knows where you are and where you are going. He is ever attempting to persuade your will to turn and follow Him but we are not always listening and too often find ourselves out in left field having completely missed the will of God.
This same choice is not only a part of every individual life but it is the choice that we, as a collective body of Christ and members of Victory Temple PCG, must face.
We stand this day, in the journey of life for this church, with decisions ahead that will not be easy to make.
What kind of church do we want? What types of ministry will we work to establish? Will we plan for the ministry that we want, or the ministry that God wants? Are the desires of our heart and the desires of the Holy Spirit for our church the same or not?
We must stay on our face before God to be as certain as we can that we do not miss the Will of God and that we allow Him to lead us to the place of rest.
I have never seen Christians work harder and accomplish less than when they are doing what they believe to be what God wants and they really don’t have the blessings of God upon their work.
Sometimes we work hard, ministering to as many people and as many needs as we can, only to stop in a year or so and realize that we haven’t seen any results at all from our efforts and we get “burned out” and quit completely.
We must realize that even doing the right thing at the wrong time isn’t going to accomplish what we are hoping for. We must work in God’s way and in God’s time if we are going to do great things for God. There is no other way.
Sometimes, even though we do the right things and do them in God’s time, we still don’t see the results of our labor. There are times when we must put our trust in God that He will bring the increase and continue on anyway – but there are other factors that have an effect upon our results also.
What about our motive? What about our obedience? What about hidden sin or harboring of grudges, critical spirits, gossip, murmuring, complaining, or anything that would hinder the blessings of God or grieve the Holy Spirit within us? God cannot and will not bless the efforts of a disobedient servant. In fact, part of His corrective work in our lives is that He will withhold the blessings until we become obedience servants.
I am convince that the only place where you will find rest is in the perfect Will of God with a heart and life that is sanctified and holy as we walk before Him in righteousness.
That’s where real rest is found.
This isn’t the same rest as being laid back in your easy chair at home or reclining upon your bed at night. This rest is a rest of being totally contended with life. It is a rest of knowing that all is right with your life and that God is totally in control.
Hebrews 4:9-11 says, "There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labor therefore to enter into that rest…"
That’s the rest I speak of today. It’s a rest in the midst of labor for we know it is not our works that bring the blessing but it is our obedience to His call that allows the Holy Spirit to accomplish the work through us and to bring the increase for our labors. The labor that we must do to enter that rest is summed up in 3 words: obedience, holiness and sanctification.
Obedience – to the leading of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God
Holiness – in every word or deed and a repentant heart before God
Sanctification – in living a life that is patterned after Christ, a life that brings glory to God and not to self, a life that is pure and holy as we walk in righteousness.
…Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet.
God has set me as a watchman over this church. He has also set each of you, who hold a position of leadership in any ministry of this church, as a watchman.
It is up to us to sound the trumpet for the church to hear.
What does the trumpet represent?
The trumpet in Israel was made of a ram’s horn and later it was made of silver. It was used for a number of reasons:
Music – to sound forth the times of rejoicing and joy – we must testify and preach forth the message of the gospel for that is music to the ears of those who seek answers and who need the Lord
Calling of assemblies – there are times when we, as the leadership, must call the church together for business and for prayer because of calamities, sickness, distress or some great need among us. Perhaps it will be a time of revival and renewal or perhaps a time of travailing in intercessory prayer.
Sounding of alarms and calling to War – we must never be found sleeping when the enemy comes against us. We must stand on our watch, guarding the flock of God and sound the alarm. Early warning will prevent permanent damage to the people of God. When we see a trouble arising, we must sound the alarm, call the church to pray, and deal with each attack of the enemy quickly lest it grows stronger and brings a division.
… But they said, We will not hearken."
Israel was a hardheaded people. They would not hear the trumpet that was blown by the prophets of God. They would not heed the warnings and because of this Israel was defeated.
Oh, people of God, let us learn from their mistakes and not do the same thing. God wants us to forgive, to forget and to move on this morning. God’s will is that all of us should prosper even as our soul prospers – and that is the key. We will only prosper, we will only grow, we will only be blessed, and we will only see the increase of our labors if those labors are accomplished with a pure heart and a right attitude before God.
Lets choose the old paths of righteousness, holiness and sanctification this morning. Let’s choose the road that leads to the perfect will of God for our selves and for our church. Let’s choose to walk in love and in obedience to the Word of God.
Only then can we expect the road to take us to the place of Rest in God where the blessings of God can overtake us.
