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The Way Ahead!
Introduction: When God leads his children their future is always clear and God specifically guides them. Is your future heading anywhere? Have you taken some wrong decisions in the past because of which your life has been a disappointment? Are you confused as to where your life is heading now? Maybe you are saying how will I face my future? I wish I had not done that. Will God guide me again?
Subject: The Way Ahead! Series: New Beginnings Scripture: Isaiah 42:16
HF: If you are unsure of the way ahead in your life, if your future seems confused this morning I want to show you from the Word of God that God wants to lead you through a new way.
Isaiah 42:16 16I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
Brief Background:
• Israel was God’s people, directed and led by God.
• The Babylonians came and attacked them.
• Instead of seeking Godly counsel they took worldly counsel.
• They took help from the Egyptians to fight the Babylonians.
• As a consequence they lost the battle and went into Babylonian captivity.
• Now they are in Babylon.
• They did not know what to do.
• Their future was unsure and confused, there was no way ahead.
See what God says: Isaiah 42:16 16I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
The Bible says now they are blind. They do not know the way. Their future is confused.
Why did such a situation arise? Why did the people go blind?
Isaiah 56:10 10 Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep.
Israel is blind because their watchmen were blind. The watchmen never kept watch. They were sleeping when the enemies came. The whole country has been defeated and in exile.
Child of God if we are not watchful of our lives we will get into all sort of mess and end up confused and without direction in our life.
Isaiah 56:10 (Message) For Israel’s watchmen are blind, the whole lot of them. They have no idea what’s going on. They’re dogs without sense enough to bark, lazy dogs, dreaming in the sun— But hungry dogs, they do know how to eat, voracious dogs, with never enough. And these are Israel’s shepherds! They know nothing, understand nothing.
Now, Israel’s watchmen did not watch and the whole nation is blind and confused.
The Bible compares us as watchmen.
Matthew 26:41 41Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.
1 Corinthians 16:13 (KJV) 13Watch ye, stand fast in the faith.
Luke 12:15 15Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.
We are the watchmen according to the Bible and if we are lazy and do not watch our lives and our families we will be attacked by the tactics of the devil.
What are we to watch for?
1. Watch ourselves. We have to watch our spiritual life.
1 Timothy 4:16 16Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Galatians 6:1 But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
We are the watchmen of our lives.
2. Watch the Kingdom of God.
Ezekiel 33:7 7Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.
We are to watch our church, our families, our ministries.
In ancient days cities had walls. At certain points in the wall were towers where watchmen would stand and keep watch over the city. They would be on the lookout for invading armies. When an invader was spotted, they would call out the threat to the King.
Duties of Heavenly Watchman
1. Report to People.
Ezekiel 33:7 7Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.
Hear from God and warn/report to people.
2. Report to God.
2 Samuel 18:24-27 24 While David was sitting between the inner and outer gates, the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall. As he looked out, he saw a man running alone. 25 The watchman called out to the king and reported it. The king said, "If he is alone, he must have good news." And the man came closer and closer. 26 Then the watchman saw another man running, and he called down to the gatekeeper, "Look, another man running alone!" The king said, "He must be bringing good news, too."
The watchman here kept the watch over the city of David. The watchman simply reports what he sees and hears to the kings or elders who sit in the gates. The authority in the gate makes the decisions as to what actions should be taken and gives orders. Third, as long as the watchman is reporting all that he has seen and all that he has heard, he is fulfilling his responsibility.
As ministers of God we are to keep a watch over the flock and the ministry that God has given us. We have to have constant touch with the king and report the happening. The king will take appropriate action. If we do not keep watch our ministry will go blind with no direction.
Many times we fall into problems because we fail to keep watch. We fail to receive from God, we fail to warn our people, and we fail to report to God.
See what the Bible says: Isaiah 56:10 10 Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep.
Look at the consequences: We become blind. This is the reason many of us face failures, many of us are confused about our future. We are asking which way Lord? You are not clear about God’s will in your life.
Do not worry! God has a new word of promise for you today.
See what God says: Isaiah 42:16 16I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them.
God will lead the blind. V16a
How: By ways they have not known.
N16a ( NIV) I will lead the blind by ways they have not known.
N16a (Message) But I’ll take the hand of those who don’t know the way.
God is telling you if you are confused, blind, without knowing the way He will take your hand and He will lead you.
Along unfamiliar Paths I will guide them.
V16b along unfamiliar paths I will guide them.
See what God is telling them. They have lost the way because they have asked worldly guidance. Now they are blind. They do not know the way back. God is telling he will take them back to the original way they had to travel.
For understanding this you need to understand the difference between path and way.
Way: When going from Bangalore to Chennai we ask the way not the path. Way is always standard distance (point A to B). There is a standard way from one destination to another.
Path: It is a walking distance. From the depot bus stop to the church you have many walking paths. You can come here in 3 different paths. Morning walks we take different paths.
Now, God is telling you were supposed to take a particular way but you missed it and you are lost and somewhere else now. Now you are blind, you do not know the way back, you do not know what to do. You do not understand the signboards. God is telling I will take you back to the point you missed.
Secondly, when we reach the way that God wants us to take automatically your eyes will open because that is exactly where God wanted you to be. When you read the signboards you will get it clearer. But understand it is a new territory, it is unfamiliar. See what God says. V16b along unfamiliar paths I will guide them. In the unfamiliar path at the end of the way God will still guide us.
Illustration: Suppose you are going from Bangalore to Coimbatore for the first time and you miss the national highway, NH 7 and lose your way. You have gone into a village and is stuck with no way to God. One villager comes and offers help. He sits in your care and take you back to the right way. When you come back you will not know which way he took but when you come back to the national highway and you see the road and the sign boards your eyes open. You will understand this is the way I should have taken. You seem to get clear about the destination. Finally when you reach Coimbatore you will have to again take small paths to reach your final destination, that is unfamiliar, no sign boards. God is telling he will guide you through unfamiliar paths also.
If you are sitting here as a consequence of wrong career, wrong decisions, wrong choices do not worry. God will guide you this year.
V16c I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth.
Usually a highway is always smooth and well lighted. It is the small paths that are dark and rough.
When you reach the place where God wants you to be automatically darkness will become light and rough places will become smooth. God is going to change your difficulties this year and make your path smooth by restoring your ways.
Conclusion: Many of you are living in blindness. You do not know which way to go, confused, and discouraged. God is telling you:
He will lead you to your rightful way God designed for you.
He will lead you to the small paths of life day after day.
When God leads you your darkness will become light and rough places smooth.
How many of you receive it?
Commit our ways into God’s hands today. Tell him I have gone wrong, take control of my life, and lead me.
Let’s pray.
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