Finding God’s Direction - 2

 Finding God’s Direction - 2

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. 

Review last week: 

1. Small Decisions Can Have Huge Effects on Our Lives.

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 choices keep accumulating, each one woven into the rest, forming the tapestry that is your life story. 

3. Our Decisions Lead to Predictable Consequences. 

--Most of us look at other people and we just assume that they made some really big wonderful choices and that is why they ended up so successful. Don’t forget all those small choices no one sees.

--Let me give some examples…When you choose to forgive your spouse instead of holding on to resentment, no one sees that happen. The evidence shows up later in your marriage. 

--People may think you’re lucky your kids turned out great by serving God and working hard but no one saw you make the small choices to pray with them, to take them to church, to teach them strong ethics. 

--Small, every day choices lead to big results. This one small choice in Daniel’s life was what, I believe, led him to be exalted before God and man.

Daniel 1:8-9 (NKJV)
⁸  But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
⁹  Now God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs.

--Small decisions can have eternal consequences…Right before I moved to Florida, I bought gas at a Quick Stop…went in to pay…I made the choice to quickly share Jesus with the lady.  

--She just looked at me and said thanks. OK! When Face Book came out… I get a message from this lady. Evidently she listened to me and came to our church…I left right after that.

--She shared with me how she came to our church, she gave her heart to the Lord, and now all of her children and grandchildren are serving the Lord. The choices we make, make a difference.

1. To find God’s Direction We Must Daily Weigh the Options Before Us.

--Neurologist tell us that the first time we think about a decision, our brain starts weighing options, eliminating one possibility after another, until we settle on the one we feel is the best choice for us. 

--After a while, the tiny decisions we have to make every day, we do not have to think about that much. They just happen. In weighing options, how important is it that we know God’s Word. 

Psalm 119:9-11 (NKJV)
⁹  How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.
¹⁰  With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments!
¹¹  Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You! 

--God’s Word has to be the very foundation of the believer’s life. Every decision has to be weighed according to what God has to say about it.  

--David hid God’s Word in his heart…what does that mean? The Word was so strong in his heart that every decision was filtered through it. We need to stop being lazy about studying.

Proverbs 3:5-7 (NLT2)
⁵  Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.
⁶  Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
⁷  Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil. 

--Again, why is it so important to do every day? These seemingly no-big-deal decisions add up over time. They become habits. Our habits have a cumulative effect, ultimately changing our story.

--Let me give you a few examples of people, who if they had thought about their decisions, if they had weighed their options, would have made better choices.

--Both my parents started smoking at very young ages (10-11). Of course they thought it was cool to sneak around and do it. Do you think they knew they would both become addicted and die of lung cancer?

--I knew a minister who started taking a little money from their church (embezzling). He was the associate pastor who was set up to be the next pastor…big church. He took over $300,000. He lost everything.

--People who get addicted to prescription drugs never dreamed that abusing the drug would lead to a DUI…I know the guy and he got two DUIs two evenings in a row…spent time in jail. Decisions!

--It is so easy to hear about people like these and say I would never do something stupid like that. Small decisions can lead to big addictions or problems. 

--The truth is that you are just one decision away from changing your life forever…good or bad. The best decision ever is the next one you make…to serve God with all your heart.

2. To Find God’s Direction You Must Be Willing to Pass the Multiple Choice Test.

--Please understand that your decision can do more in your life than just help you avoid the negative. It can ignite the positive that God has planned for your life. 

--Once you make your choice to do what is right and righteous, it propels you into a deeper relationship with Jesus and helps you to honor God in everything you do.

--Let’s just say you have a desire to honor God by living debt free. God speaks to you about things you can eliminate in your life. Multiple choices. A. Yes, Lord! B. No, Lord? C. I’ll pray about it later.

--You realize you can pay more against your debt if you brown bag your lunches, if you get a lesser smart phone, get the basic cable package, stop with the special drinks…wow, $300 extra a month!

--Our oldest son had never met a dollar he couldn’t spend and he was just as gifted in spending your money as much as he was spending his. He was headed for a life of debt.

--I talked to him many times about this issue…Multiple choices…Tithe – A. Yes B. No. C. Maybe. Will you continue down this path. A. Yes B. Maybe C. Will you take a Dave Ramsey class? Yes!

--This same son now is calling me and asking me…Dad, do you have enough for retirement? Are you saving money? What is your debt load now? What a transformation! Paying their house off early.

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (NKJV)
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; 

--Do you see how God sets before us every day the multiple choice questions…the sad thing is that His choices are really no brainers. Yet, we struggle with our answers. Ok, here is your choices:

--Life or death? Let me think about it. Blessing or cursing? Now that is a tough one. God even gives us the answer to His multiple choice questions: therefore choose life.

Mark 8:34-37 (NKJV)
³⁴  When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
³⁵  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.
³⁶  For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
³⁷  Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

--God gives the answers before He gives the choices. I do not want to make any of us feel bad tonight but isn’t it obvious to us what the right answers are but we keep doing the same thing. Bad results.

Insanity – doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

James 4:17 (NKJV) ¹⁷ Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

3. To Find God’s Direction You Must Realize the Choice is Yours. 

--Our best decision ever is to follow Jesus. Rev. 3:20 tells us that He is standing at the door knocking. He wants to be in our lives and He wants to be our lives. The choice is yours!

--If you do not like the way your life is going, the good news is you have a choice and you can go a different direction. 

Groeschel – You can’t change your past, but God can help you rewrite your story and change your future. 

Jeremiah 29:11-13 (NIV)
¹¹  For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
¹²  Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
¹³  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.