Re: TRUSTING GOD
Posted by: fabolous3461 <fabolous3461@...>
On Wednesday, August 24, 2016, Jimmy Chapman <preacher30673@nu-z.net> wrote:
PROVERBS 3:5,6
TrUsTING GOD
When you hear the name Rand McNally, you immediately you think of roadmaps. Rand McNally is the world’s largest commercial mapmaker. I recently saw an advertisement for Rand McNally that stated that Rand McNally and Company offers the most trusted tools to discover, map and navigate your world. Founded in 1856 and headquartered in Skokie, Illinois, its motto is, “Rand McNally … the most trusted name on the map.”
Tonight I want to give you a roadmap for the believer, and it is the most trusted roadmap ever given.
Many a traveler has found it to be trustworthy and reliable. In fact, all who have followed it have never lost their way or deviated from the right path. All customers that have used it have been completely satisfied. It is a roadmap that will guide you d for all life. The roadmap I am referring to is Proverbs 3:5-6.
Now I get the idea of a roadmap from the word “ways” in verse 6. The word speaks of a road. We are all travelers on the highway of life and Proverbs 3:5-6 gives us a roadmap to guide us on our journey.
I. There is a PERSON whom faith is asked to TRUST
TRUST IN THE LORD
Our God is utterly dependable. His character makes it impossible for Him to lie. His wisdom is so great He can never make a mistake. Our God can be trusted.
A. The rejection faith makes
“Lean not unto thine own understanding.”
There is not a greater enemy knowing the will of God than the conceitedness of our own wisdom.
Jeremiah 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.”
Isaiah 5:21 “Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight
Leaning upon our own understanding will lead to trouble. Abraham leaned unto his own understanding when he went down to Egypt because of the famine. Joshua leaned unto his own understanding when he attacked the little down of Ai.
I heard about a man who had a sick mule. He asked his Uncle Joe, “Didn’t you give turpentine to your sick mule?” His uncle replied that he did.
Later the man’s mule died, and he told his Uncle Joe that his mule had died when he gave him the turpentine. Uncle Joe replied, “Yep, it killed mine too.”
Need to be careful upon whom you lean f or direction. Jeremiah 17:5 "Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD."
B. The direction faith takes
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart” —
Forsaking
All
I
Take
Him
Once there was a carriage being driven along the road. The mother sat on the front seat and the maid, carrying for the spoiled baby, on the back seat. The child began screaming for something. The mother impatiently said, “Why don’t you let him have what he wants?”
The nurse let him have it. What he was crying for was a wasp on the window. After the child screamed loudly as he felt the terrible sting of the wasp, the mother called out again to ask, “What is the matter with him now.”
The maid quietly replied, ”He got what he wanted.” How often have I seen this. It is so much better to trust the Lord and let him give the directions in and for our life.
The middle verse in the Bible is Psalm 118:9 “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes." This is what the Jochabed did when she put Moses in the Nile River, the very place Pharoah had charged the people to cast their new-born sons. Human reasoning would have suggested to carry him as far away from the river as possible. However, Jochabed acted by faith on the directions God have her.
There is a person whom faith is asked to trust
II. There is a PRACTICE which faith is asked to TEST
“In all thy ways acknowledge him”
Test what you should you do by acknowledging the Lord. Acknowledge the Lord in everything you do. He is asking us to be committed to begin, continue, and end every work, purpose, and device, with God.
A. How inclusive this is practice - “in all thy ways”
Recreation, business, home, work, worship........in all- not merely some of your ways
Colossians 3:17 “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.”
Begin with Him, and end with Him; pray for His direction and support, in all that ye do.
In all the actions and plans of life; whatever be your schemes, your desires, your doings, let it acknowledge Him. The acknowledgment of God is to be in everything. It extends to everything. If in so small matters as eating and drinking we should seek to recognize God, assuredly we should in all other things.
This acknowledgment of God is designed to be one of the chief directors of our lives. It is to guide all our conduct, and to constitute a test by which to try our actions. Whatever can be done to advance the honour of God is right; whatever cannot be done with that end is wrong.
What a change would it make in the world if this rule were everywhere followed! How differently would even professing Christians live! How many of their plans would they be constrained at once to abandon! And what a mighty revolution would it at once make on earth, should all the actions of men begin to be performed to the recognition of God!
B. How decisive is this practice
Anywhere, anytime, any cost, He will be acknowledge! It will take some firm determination. It will take some resolve to acknowledge Him in everything! Acknowledge him in your
1. Appetites, attitudes, and actions
2. Blessings, burdens, and battles
3. Company, conduct, and conversation
4. Dreams, disposition, and deportment
5. Time, treasure, and talents,
6. Possessions, pleasures, and plans (James 4:13-15)
There is a person whom faith is asked to trust
There is a practice which faith is asked to test
III. There is a PATH which faith is asked to TRAVEl
“And he shall direct thy paths” It is the path of His direction and choosing.
A. We must let GOD CHOOSE THE WAY!
1. There must be a full confidence in God.
2. There must be a faithful compliance to God.
B. WE MUST LET GOD CONFIRM THE WAY
1. God guides us by His HOLY SCRIPTURES (Psalm 119:105)
2. God guides us through His HOLY SPIRIT.
Acts 8:29 “Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.”
Acts 13:2 “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.”
God will never guide contrary to His written Word. The Holy Spirit will never contradict the Holy Scripture.
C. WE MUST LET GOD CLEAR THE WAY
“He will direct your paths” – has the idea of clearing obstacles.
“Direct” literally means to cut a path or to clear the way. For the person who faithfully trust God and acknowledges Him in all of his ways, God will bulldoze a path through the wilderness. He will go before the trusting heart to clear the pathway. He will run the interference and do the down field blocking.
No ifs or buts about it. He will direct your paths. There will be Divine direction and guidance. “He shall direct thy paths” is a promise that is predicated on your complete trust of Him.
CONCLUSION:
Once there was an old man who was an excellent checker player. There was a young lad who boasted that he could whip the old man. One day the seasoned checker player man saw the young inexperienced checker player and invited the young lad to play him. After several moves the young player began to jump some of the veteran man’s checkers. One by one the younger player removed the old experienced man's checkers. It looked to the young man that the game was soon to be his because he felt he had the old man in the corner. However, on the very next move the seasoned player jumped all of the remaining checkers of the young lad and replied, “Crown me.”
When questioned on the strategy of the veteran player in giving up so many checkers, the elderly man answered, “Son, never be concerned about giving up a few checkers when you can have a crown.”
I don’t know what you make have to give up to trust in the Lord and acknowledge Him by crowning Him Lord , but you rest assured you will not be a loser in the end.
IN HIS ETERNAL GRIP,
Pastor Jimmy Chapman
Victory Baptist Church
706-678-1855
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