Introduction: My sermon title is, "Leaning To The Wind." If you have your Bibles,
please turn with me to the third chapter of the book of Proverbs,
verses five and six.
(ILL). Circuses and carnivals often have a special attraction called, "The Tight Rope
Walker." A rope is stretched tight high in the air between two poles. The star
of the show takes a death defying walk, with nothing under him but a half inch
diameter rope and nothing on either side of him but the wind. The audience
watches breathlessly as the man proceeds. He carries a wooden pole, about six
feet in length, for the purpose of balancing. When his body leans to the wind too
much in one direction or the other, he moves the pole just enough in the opposite
direction to maintain his balance. If his body leans too much to the wind without
counter balancing, using the pole, he falls to sudden destruction.
This vividly illustrates the folly of leaning too heavily on our own understanding,
leaving God out of the picture. Now, let us look at the first part of our text:
I. "Trust In The Lord With All Thine Heart" ( vs. 5a).
1. What is, "trusting the Lord?"
(1) It means that we are fully persuaded that God is able (Dan. 6:9).
God’s servant Daniel was a praying man who lived a godly life in a very
ungodly world. His nation had been defeated in battle and taken far away from
their home land, to the heathen city of Babylon. Because of Daniel’s faith and
trust in God, some wicked men plotted to kill him. This resulted in Daniel being
thrown into a den of hungry lions. After spending the night with those vicious
lions, at day break, the King of Babylon shouted into the den; "Daniel, servant
of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been ’able’ to deliver
you from the lions?" Daniel’s answer in short, was, "my God was able! Daniel,
when faced with the threat of a most certain death, could have compromised
his faith and escaped the lion’s den. He could have easily leaned to his own
understanding and found several reasons, in his own mind, why it was not God’s
will for him to provide supper for the lions.
(2) It means that we are fully persuaded that God is willing (2Chro.16:9)
Many times, I’ve heard Christians say, "I know God can, but will he?" Yes! God
is not only able, He’s also willing. Scripture says, "The eyes of the Lord, run and
fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose
heart is loyal to Him.." The context has to do with a big mistake that Asa, king of
Judah made when his enemy was threatening to destroy him. Instead of trusting
God for His wisdom and protection, Asa made a decision to trust the king of
Syria to save him. In the past, Asa relied on God and God always came through
for him. But this time he leaned to his own understanding and the results were
disastrous.
God’s eyes are always upon the righteous. His ears are always open to their
cry. When the righteous cry out to God, He delivers them! (Ps. 34:15-17)
Yes, God is willing. The problem is not His reluctance to answer. It is our
reluctance to ask. Jesus said; "ask, and you will receive, seek, and you will find,
knock, and the door will be opened for you." God is willing,waiting, and searching
for those who will trust Him and earnestly seek Him in every detail of their lives.
(ILL)-I will never forget my decision to serve God and trust Him the rest of my
life. I had gotten married at seventeen years of age. We soon had six
children. I was doing a poor job raising them. My life of sin was resulting
in bad decisions and many adverse consequences. Finally I came to realize
that, ’doing it my way’ wasn’t working. I humbled myself and prayed. I asked
the Lord to forgive my sins. I asked Him to come into my life and help me
raise my kids and provide for them. That was way back in 1957! At that time
I would never dream that God would call me to preach, make preachers
out of my two boys, save my four girls, and bless my wife and I with a long,
happy marriage and a prosperous life!
What God so wonderfully has done for me, He has also done for multiplied
millions who have decided not to lean on their own understanding but instead,
believe in God and seek His direction continually.
II. "Lean Not Unto Thine Own Understanding" (vs. 5b).
1. Why not?
(1) Because at its best it is finite and fallible.
(ILL)-I once read about a fellow who set out on a journey in a borrowed boat.
His destination was somewhere in the South. He was sure he knew the way
and was going in the right direction, so he completely ignored the compass
that was pointing North. He decided the compass was broke and could not
be trusted. Where did the man end up? North!
Yes, dear friends, a man, left to himself, will always go in the wrong direction.
He may have natural intelligence, and good common sense. But lacks the ability
to know what the future holds. His decisions are based only on the hear and now.
God’s decisions are based on forever. Only God can see clearly, what lies ahead.
A man, no matter how brilliant, no matter how highly educated; is nothing more
than an educated fool without God. The Scripture says that; "The fool says in his
heart, there is no God." The evidence of this fact is everywhere. We live in a
generation so smart they can put man on the moon. And yet they are so dumb
they can’t even find a way to make our parks a safe place to enjoy.
(ILL) I often like to wear my favorite hat. I purchased it because of what it has on
it, a picture of an open Bible, along with the word’s; "When all else fails,
read the directions!"
To be sure, our lives would be better, and our world would be better, if we would
only take time to read God’s directions and obey them!
III. "In All Thy Ways Acknowledge Him" ( vs. 6a)
1. What is it to acknowledge Him?
(1) Acknowledge His Presence, His Power, His Purpose, His Promises.
At all times.
-Times of prosperity
-Times of joy
-Times of adversity
-Times of sorrow
(ILL)- In less than two years, I experienced three great losses in my life.
My Brother, who was just a couple of years younger than me. Was
brutally murdered. And one of my Sister’s, along with my dear, precious
Mother were killed in an automobile accident (on their way home from
church) caused by a car load of people, high on booze and drugs. They
had been spending their day, foolishly crossing the highway, at a high
rate of speed, playing a game, they called, "Chicken."
The heart break and sorrow that I experienced would have been unbearable
had I not learned through my years of serving God, that He is trustworthy,
and able to supply me with all the grace I needed to endure my loss.
IV. "He Shall Direct Thy Paths" ( vs.6b).
1. Where will He Direct Us?
(1) The literal meaning of this phrase is;" He shall make thy paths smooth" or
strait. In other words, paths that are pleasant and easy to travel on.
(1) He will direct our paths in the ways of the wise.
(2) He will direct our paths in the way that is safe and secure.
(3) He will direct our paths in righteousness.
(4) He will direct our paths to the door that opens unto Eternal Life.
(Rev. 3:20)
Conclusion: Jesus is standing at your heart’s door and knocking. Won’t you
open it right now, and let him come into your life. Only Jesus is
The Way, The Truth, and The Life. He wants to be your Savior and
your Shepard. He is able to Save you and keep you. He is willing
to lead you and guide you in the way that is right. Will you trust Him?
