God’s Path Finders - 1

God’s Path Finders - 1

Subject: Finding God’s Divine Direction in Our Lives

by Rick Welborne

Proverbs 3:1-10 (NKJV)
¹  My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands;
²  For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you.
³  Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart,
⁴  And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.
⁵  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
⁷  Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.
⁸  It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.
⁹  Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
¹⁰  So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. 

--Please invite your friends, bring paper and pen, or an IPad or something to take notes. Come ready to learn and ready to discover God’s divine direction for you. 

--We all should want to be God’s Path Finders! We should all want to know God’s plans and direction for our lives. How do we arrive at the destination God has for us?

--The truth is…say that…the truth is…You are one decision away from changing your life forever. What’s interesting is that you probably do not know what that one decision will be. 

--It is natural to think that such a big, life changing decision would be obvious. Sometimes it is, like taking a job in another state and relocating your family. Or maybe returning to school to finish your degree. 

--Maybe it is the decision of whether to marry the person you have been dating for the last several months. Decisions like this definitely can have consequences that last a long time. Good or bad.

--Clearly decisions like these cause countless consequences rippling through our lives and for years to come.

1. Small choices or decisions can have extremely big effects on our lives.

--Our lives are constantly spilling over into the lives of others, and theirs into ours. We all like standing dominos up side by side. Like these our small decisions flow into consequences we didn’t see coming.

--I love giving life examples of what I speak about…I had been the youth pastor in Covington, La. for almost three years when I felt God wanted me to finish my college degree…Where should I go to school?

--My lead pastor thought I should go to Springfield, Missouri to the A/G Bible College there…his reasoning was…that is where the A/G Headquarters was…Meet the big wigs and make connections…promote me.

--I thought, it is cold in Springfield and I do not do cold weather…I had taken kids there for college days in January and thought I would freeze. I made it a matter of prayer. God is the One Who promotes us!

--Our men’s ministry was going on a 26-mile canoe trip which turned out to be a 26-mile race but lots of fun!

--I was put with a man I did not know (he was new to our church) and was told to make him feel welcome. I find out quickly he was an avid canoer and we obviously won the race. 

--Guess what? All he wanted to talk about was what a great Bible College SE University in Lakeland, Florida was. He and his wife both had graduated from there…who knew?

--In the process of a canoe trip, I got God’s direction for where to go back to school. It was warm weather and it was exactly where God wanted me to be.

--Not only did I get my education there, I found my wife at a nearby church, which that decision alone opened a ton of doors for me in ministry…every decision we make has major consequences. 

--Every little choice you make now determines the story that you will be telling later in your life. How many would change the small choices they made years ago that set them on a wrong path.

Proverbs 1:29-30 (NLT2)
²⁹  For they hated knowledge and chose not to fear the LORD.
³⁰  They rejected my advice and paid no attention when I corrected them.

--The decision not to fear the Lord…the choice not to listen to the wisdom of parents, pastors, or teachers. They choose to reject advice and to pay no attention when people try to bring discipline.

--There was a young man in my youth group in Covington, La. who would not listen to anyone. I would spend tons of time with him (at the request of family) trying to reason with him.

--Pastor Rick, I am sick of you, my parents, my teachers, and everyone else telling me what to do and when I have to do it. I am just going to leave home and go join the army! Say what!

Proverbs 1:31-33 (NLT2)
³¹  Therefore, they must eat the bitter fruit of living their own way, choking on their own schemes.
³²  For simpletons turn away from me—to death. Fools are destroyed by their own complacency.
³³  But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm.” 

--After basic training, this simpleton came to my office at the church and as soon as he walked through my door he broke down and started crying…I am such an idiot! No argument here.

--The army tells me when I go to sleep, when I get up, when to eat, when to bath, when to run, when to drop and do 40 push-ups. They never stop yelling at me…I want to come home. 

--Proverbs says you must eat the bitter fruit of living your own way…I asked him what he signed up for…four years. Okay, you can come home in four years. Fools are destroyed by their own complacency. Their choices!

Proverbs 12:26 (NKJV)
²⁶  The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray. 

--How important is it for us to choose friends wisely…Oh, how I remember Owen and I remember my parents who were not Christians at the time telling me…He is bad news.

--You never want me to have good friends and every time I find someone you guys pick them apart. Of course, my parent’s life experience gave them wisdom I refused to accept. He was bad for me!

--Not long after I did my own thing…at the age of 13-15 I was fighting addictions I should not have been dealing with. Also, I was introduced to a life of crime and my choices began to pile up.

--I spent an entire year that every time I saw a police car near our house that I knew they were coming to get me. Owen returned to the scene of our worst crime and was caught. He lied and then, told them my name.

--I remember the officers coming to our home and remembering vividly my parents arguing about what kind of institution to have me put in. Owen and I were busted but we lied…see how choices lead to others.

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (NKJV)
¹⁵  "See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil,
¹⁶  in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the LORD your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.
¹⁷  But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them,
¹⁸  I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess.
¹⁹  I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
²⁰  that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

2. Our choices accumulate to tell our life story.

Craig Groeshel – What is always true is that the decisions we make today determine the stories we tell about our lives tomorrow. Every day, all day, we make one small choice after another. And those choses keep accumulating, each one woven into the rest, forming the tapestry that is your life story. 

--The purpose of this series is to help you make good godly decisions which enhances you to become God’s path finders. If your destination for your life is peace and joy…you must make deliberate choices to get there.

--Many people do not like to hear this but here we go…You have to be willing to take responsibility for every decision you make. Stop playing the victim card and stop blaming others because of your poor choices.

--When you choose to follow biblical principles set forth in the Word of God and you are dedicated to staying on this path for a lifetime, you will have a beautiful destination. 

--One way or another, each decision you make is the decision of a lifetime, whether or not you can see where it ultimately leads. You are one choice away from making your best decision ever.

--I loved the testimony of Phil Dunn and how he used Joseph as an example of how each new day brought new decisions and each of them were vital. Phil didn’t know he would see and Joseph didn’t know he would save his family and the world.

--The only way we can continue to make these daily godly decisions like Phil and Joseph is that there has to be an impeccable trust that the Lord ultimately has my good in mind. 

Proverbs 3:1-6 (NKJV)
¹  My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands;
²  For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you.
³  Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart,
⁴  And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man.
⁵  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
⁶  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 

--Look at verse 2…this is what obeying God’s Word will do… For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you. Daily choices lead to long life kissed with peace. 

--Do we truly trust the Lord with all our hearts when it comes to, not just big decisions, but every decision. Pastor, you make it sound like every decision is so important…In all your ways acknowledge Him. 

--Can it really matter where we eat lunch or dinner (which Mexican Restaurant)? If we acknowledge Him (if we ask Him) He may send you to a specific place to minister to a specific person. 

--I remember determining I was going to a specific place to eat and as I thought about that, I felt overwhelmed to go to another one. I simply made the decision to go where God wanted me to go. 

--I no sooner had sat down and this waitress came and sat at the table with me…thru her tears she said I prayed you would come here today…she confessed her sins, received direction, and then we prayed…it matters!

Galatians 5:25 (NKJV)
²⁵  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

3. Our decisions lead to predictable consequences. 

--The truth is many (probably most) of our choices lead to fairly predictable consequences. And as we learn to choose well, we can connect the dots of where we are and where we want to be. 

--When we choose in a moment of temptation or peer pressure to take that first drink, that first smoke, or that drug…we have just opened the door to much pain and suffering for yourself and others.

Hosea 10:12-13 (NKJV)
¹²  Sow for yourselves righteousness; Reap in mercy; Break up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD, Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
¹³  You have plowed wickedness; You have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of lies, Because you trusted in your own way, In the multitude of your mighty men. 

--The best decision you can make is always the next one. Each decision should move you closer to becoming all that God made you to be, to turn your life in the direction of a story you’ll be happy to share.