God’s GPS
Pastor Jim May
My wife Pat and I both have our birthdays in March, and in the first week of April we will also celebrate our 41st wedding anniversary. While I am thinking of that let me say thank you very much for your kindness, your cards and for the nice suit that the church bought for me. I appreciate it so much that I’m actually thinking about having another birthday next month too.
Our kids were good to us too. My son treated us to a nice dinner, and my three daughters got together and bought us one of those Tom Tom GPS devices so now I won’t get lost going home from church anymore. Actually, I’m kind of impressed because it’s pretty accurate. The only thing bad about it is that now I have someone else telling me how to drive all the time. It has a female voice and I’m used to taking orders from females so it fit right into the family.
I was thinking about that GPS this morning and the thought came to me that God has his own GPS at work in our lives too. Now man’s definition of a GPS is that it is a Global Positioning System, but I believe that God’s system would be call a God Positioning Spirit. The Holy Spirit, working in your heart and life, and revealing the Word of God to you on a daily basis is what keeps you on track and headed for your final destination.
For a GPS to do you any good you have to be on the move, going somewhere. After all, why would I want to know what my position is if all I’m doing is sitting on my backside in a rocking chair? Something has to be programmed into the Tom Tom or it just sits there and has little use. All of the information that it can give, and all of the directions that are stored there to help you along the journey, doesn’t do one bit of good until a journey is begun. What concern is it of mine that there is a left turn ahead if I’m not moving? Who care what road leads to Port Vincent if I’m going to St. Gabriel?
The point of what I’m trying to say here is that if you are on your way to Heaven, then you must allow the Holy Spirit and the Word of God to guide and direct you. Let the Word tell you what road to take, where you need to make a course adjustment and whether the path that you are on is the right one or not. Then you have to let the voice of the Holy Spirit speak to your heart and mind and then listen to the directions.
Now some of us think that we know better than the Tom Tom how to get where we want to go. After all, we have lived in the area long enough that we have found shortcuts and different paths that the Tom Tom is too dumb to know. But just drive into some unfamiliar territory and you’ll soon come to realize that you need the help of that dumb little machine. If you’ve ever had to ask for directions, and been given the wrong directions, you know what I mean.
There’s a story I read once of a man and his wife who left Newark, New Jersey on a short trip to Philadelphia. Now ordinarily that wouldn’t have been a long trip, no more than a day at most, but it turned out to be much longer before the trip was done. The problem was that this man’s wife was always telling him to ask someone for directions. Every time they went anywhere that they had never been before she was always saying, “Ask that man for directions. He looks like he’s from here.” Well her husband drew weary of the constant nagging to ask for directions so he purposely decided to cure it once and for all.
As they walked into the train station in Newark on the first leg of their journey it started. “Ask that porter which train to take”, she said. He walked over, pretended to ask for directions, then walked back. “He said to take the train on track 5”, he told his wife, and of they went. She had a big smile on her face because she knew they were going in the right direction.
They boarded the train and as it pulled out of the station she saw that it was going the wrong way, and before they could get off they were in Richmond, Virginia. “Go ask that man how to get back to Newark, she ordered.” Once again her husband dutifully obeyed and went to ask for directions. “The next train doesn’t leave for 8 hours”, he said. “The best thing for us to do is catch a bus, and the bus stop is only 6 blocks away so we need to start walking.” They walked for ¾ of a mile carrying all of their luggage, then he went up to the window as she had said and again asked for directions. Now they boarded a bus and she quickly fell asleep. When she woke up they were in Atlanta, Georgia.
She kept up her demands for him to ask directions. They bought an airline ticket and boarded the plane, but instead of landing in Newark or Philadelphia, they wound up in San Francisco. Then it was on to Thailand, then to Burma, then by jungle rail to Thailand and finally, after over a week of weary traveling, when they had gotten off of the elephant’s back in Calcutta, India, she said, “Please, don’t ask anyone for directions. Just follow your instincts and get us home.” That’s all he had been waiting for. He bought another ticket and went straight home without a problem.
The moral of that story is simply this – How long are you going to keep seeking directions from friends, family and co-workers who don’t even know where you are going instead of seeking God and looking into his Word to get directions to where God wants you go?
We ask the preacher, and that’s fine as long as the preacher is listening to God too, but sadly, not all preachers are listening to the Lord. They are just as lost as you are. We ask our friends how to get to Heaven. Most of them don’t know because they are heading in the opposite direction. We ask Co-workers about the things of God and God’s direction in our lives. How can they give an answer when they probably don’t even know God and have never spoken to him or heard his voice?
Why seek the counsel and direction of men when we have God’s GPS system at our disposal? If we would only learn to listen to the voice of Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, and learn to obey the Word of God as it speaks to our heart, we wouldn’t need to ask anyone else for direction. The Word of God is alive and it will speak to you personally if you will allow it to.
There’s one great example of a man in the Bible who truly had to learn to trust in God’s GPS. That man was Abraham.
Hebrews 11:8 says, "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went."
Here was a man who learned to put his total trust in God’s ability to lead him to his Promised home. I have to admire Abraham. He left his home and family behind, forsook everything that this world had to offer, to go in search of a vague promise of God. He didn’t know where he was going, but he knew that when he arrived, that God would be there and it would be a great place to be.
But there’s also something here that I want you to see. The fact is that Abraham was a great man of faith, along with Sarah, his wife. But they aren’t alone in that category.
As I look around the church this morning I see a lot of Abrahams and a lot of Sarahs. There came a time in your life, if you have decided to follow Jesus, that you had to take that final and decisive step just like Abraham did. You had to make that quality decision to step out by faith, let God’s GPS begin to guide you toward your heavenly home. Just as Abraham and Sarah followed God, looking for a home that God had prepared for them, you have stepped out into the paths of God to live for him, obey his call upon your life and to somehow reach that city not made with hands. You don’t know where God will lead, but you are doing your best to follow him turn-by-turn. At each crossroads, and every corner of life, you will need to hear the voice of the Lord speaking to your heart.
Every once in a while you will miss a turn, but God’s GPS will keep talking, keep re-routing your course, to get you back on track. He doesn’t want you to fail, and so the Holy Ghost will be constantly updating and correcting your course to make sure that you make it to your destination safely.
James 2:23 tells us that, "… Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God." Now that’s a wonderful thing, to be called the Friend of God, but let me tell you that you and I have a better relationship with God than Abraham and Sarah did. We aren’t called just the Friend of God, No sir, now we are called the very “Children of God”. I’m an heir and joint-heir with Jesus. He is my Elder Brother, my Lord, my God and my Savior. We aren’t just friends anymore – WE ARE FAMILY!
Hebrews 11:9-10, "By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."
Just as Abraham and Sarah traveled in a strange land with only God to direct them, living in temporary housing with their children, so do we.
This body of flesh is described in scripture as being a tabernacle of flesh. 2 Corinthians 5:1 calls this body and “earthly house of this tabernacle”, but also tells us that we have an eternal house built by God in the heavens. As we travel this life, dwelling in temporary bodies of flesh, we also take along with us our children, born of the flesh into this world, and this also includes those who are birthed into the Kingdom of God through our witness of the Jesus to a lost world. All of these, both natural and spiritual children become heirs of the same promise if they too will just walk by faith like you do.
But every one of us must make that walk for ourselves. You are an heir to the promise, just as Abraham and Sarah were, but if you don’t go all the way with God, then you’ll never take possession of that inheritance. To turn back, or to fail to follow God’s GPS means that you are unfit to inherit the promises of God.
I can’t see the end of it all, at least not clearly. The closer I get to the end of the journey, the brighter the promise becomes. The longer I follow Jesus, the less the things of this world really matter. The thing that matters most is to follow the Lord, no matter where he might lead us. We want to carry as many with us as we can, but it’s their choice to follow. We want to take as much as we can of life’s blessings with us, but in the end, it all must stay here. The only things that you’ll over take to heaven with you are the souls of your children and friends that you win to Christ. Everything else stays behind, so make sure you keep your priorities straight.
I’ve seen people who though more highly of their money than of their loved ones. They must because that’s all you hear them talk about. We all need money to live on, but what good in life and money without friends and family? The poorest man on earth is rich indeed when he has good friends and a loving family. Money can’t buy you happiness or love, and you’ll not take one red cent with you when you leave this world.
The same goes for having fun, the job or anything else in this life. All of these are important, but none are more important than keeping Jesus in your life and keeping love alive in your family and home. Why work hard if there’s no one to enjoy the fruits of your labor with? What’s more important – things or people? You can replace things, but you can never replace the friends and family that are lost forever. That’s why you must keep your priorities straight. God’s GPS only works properly when your priorities are right.
Hebrews 11:11-12, "Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised. Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable."
Does this tell you anything about God’s promises to you? I’ll tell you what it says to me. God’s promises cannot fail. He will make a way where there seems to be no way. There’s nothing impossible for Him to do. Even when your strength is gone, He is still Almighty, Omnipotent God. All it takes is faithfulness and obedience, allowing God’s GPS to guide us, and we can’t fail.
You might feel like you aren’t accomplishing anything for God, but just stop and take a look around you. How many people are here because of you; not just in this church, but in this life? How many people have a chance to inherit the promise because you brought them into this world either naturally or spiritually? None of us know the full import of this question. We never know who is watching us while we live for Jesus. We never know who those we reached will also reach. The tree of influence that your life has is always increasing and just perhaps the day will come when those who spring from your life and ministry will be like the stars in the sky or the sand on the seashore.
Pat and I have ministered to literally hundreds of people, both young and old, through the years. Sometimes it seems that we just aren’t accomplishing much. But then I stop and think of all those who have left us to go and minister as God’s GPS led them into other areas of ministry. Some today are youth pastors, leading thousands of young people to Christ and establishing leaders who will also do the same thing. Some are pastors leading congregations. Some are missionaries on foreign fields. Some are evangelists, preachers and teachers influencing lives of countless numbers of other people. How far has our tree grown? It has grown so large that I can no longer see the ends of the branches and it continues to expand every day. Only God knows how many stars are there, or how many grains of sand we have influenced into the kingdom of God either personally or by proxy through others that we have influenced.
How many will come to Christ through you in the same manner? How many people in this life will say that they are glad you were a part of their lives because you made a difference for them?
You might think that you are just too small to matter in the big picture but let me remind of the story of the old beachcomber. He was walking along the beach one day and scattered on the hot sandy beach were thousands of starfish, stranded by the receding tides. As he walked along he would stop pick up a starfish and throw him back, and he continued this for some time while a man watched him walk along. The man went to the old beachcomber and asked, “What are you doing?” “I’m saving starfish”, said the old man. “You’re crazy”, said the man, “With all these thousands of starfish, how can you possibly make a difference.” The old beachcomber didn’t say anything right away. He just bent over, picked up a starfish and threw it back into the water. Then he looked into the eyes of the man and said, “I sure made a big difference for that one didn’t I”.
God works on a geometric progression system. You might influence one, but that one may influence one or many, you never know. Don’t sell yourself short. God can take even one little act of random kindness and turn it into a miracle in action.
Hebrews 11:13, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."
These heroes of the faith died in faith because they had “telescopic vision”. They could see things afar off that no one else could see. They started out walking for the Lord and never turned back. They looked always forward, to a better day, and a greater promise, and an eternal reward. They locked into God’s GPS system and never let go!
Do you have that vision this morning? Are your sights set on Heaven and are the things of the world growing dimmer every day? If you’re on God’s GPS that’s the way it will be. Check yourself this morning and make sure that you going God’s way.
The scriptures say in Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."
Satan has a way of interfering with God’s GPS and drawing you off to the side where you will face destruction. God’s ways are not the ways of man. He will lead us into paths of righteousness and holiness, never into paths of temptation. His desire is to see us victorious. God’s plan is to lead us all the way home, and when this life is over, our faith will be rewarded, and the reward will be worth everything we have had to face in this life.
Are you being guided by God’s GPS this morning? Are you on the right track to Heaven?
Make sure that you are. Give your heart and life to Jesus Christ today and serve him all the days of your life.
