CLEARING THE WAY-part 6—Psalm 119:9-16
Building a house.
There must be no liens on the land.
Permits/legalities must be satisfied.
The land must be cleared!
There must be no obstructions to pouring the foundation.
There must be no dangerous objects in the soon to be yard.—safe for walking
There must be no underlying problems such as poisons from chemical spills.
If you’re in the country, the land must ‘perk.’
If you have children of any age, the moral fortitude of the neighbors must be considered.
—Much must be considered when CLEARING The WAY.
The psalmist described the means by which a young man was to cleanse his way or make his way straight in the world.
A young man entering adulthood can properly maintain his way in the world.
How can a person make their way in the world?
12 Disciplines to maintaining/making your way in the world.
We have previously found that Clearing the Way demands...
1. A PURIFYING Heart(:9a)
2. A KEEPER’s/GUARD’s/PROTECTOR’s Heart(:9b)
3. A HUNTER’s Heart(:10a)
4. A NAVIGATOR’s Heart(:10b)
5. A TREASURING Heart(:11a)
6. A REASONING Heart(:11b)
7. An ADORING Heart(:12a)
8. An OPEN Heart(:12b)
9. A CONFIDENT TEACHER’s Heart(:13)
All these disciplines can either be limited to your little world or they can be brought into the realm of service to God.
10—Clearing the Way demands...
A DRIVEN Heart(:14)
Explanation:(:14)Supplied
:14—“I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies, As much as in all riches.”
The man, truly on the cleansed path of God’s choosing, absolutely exults “in” God’s “way,” which is disclosed thru His “testimonies.” God’s open declarations of Himself, His attributes, His purposes, His heart are testimonials to His character & thereby to our “way” in Him by Christ Jesus.
If any young man(:1) is bent on cleansing his way by the Lord God, then he will be filled with the light of God in Christ & be unable to hold it back for the joy lodged within his soul. Such a reliance readily leaves diamonds, gold & acquisitions to the dust they are. For the young man there is absolutely nothing tangible which can provide a joy which YHWH offers those who are His.
Mat. 6:19-21—“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth & rust destroy & where thieves break in & steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys & where thieves do not break in & steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Some within earshot today may care more about ‘your stuff’ than about the One you claim is your Lord! You have chosen “riches” over God’s “testimonies” to your detriment.
?What gets in the way of your service to God?
Your personal satisfaction...What drives it?
A Christ-honoring man is joyful of the journey he is on, because his joy is tied to the integrity of his service to God.
If you look for bad you will always find bad...But if you look for good you will always find good!
Rom. 12:21—“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Why can’t you be pleasant to be around? Not that you have to talk a lot(most guys don’t) or be buddy-buddy with everyone or gregarious.
“Rejoiced”—sws soows—Qal Perfect—1) To exult, rejoice—1a) (Qal)--To exult, display joy. Strong—a primitive root; To be bright, i.e. Cheerful.
“Way/Following”(See :9; 15—xra)—Krd deh'-rek—1) Way, road, distance, journey, manner. Strong—A road(as trodden); figuratively--A course of life or mode of action, often adverb.
“Testimonies/Decrees/Statutes”—twde ay-doowth'—1) Testimony. Strong—feminine of de[concretely--A witness; abstractly--Testimony; specifically--A recorder, i.e. Prince]; Testimony.
“All”(See :10)—lk kol—
“Riches”—Nwh hown—Noun Masc.—1) Wealth, riches, substance—1a) Wealth, 1b) Price, high value. Interjection—2) Enough!, sufficiency. Strong—Wealth; by implication--Enough.
Argumentation:
**Mat. 6:24-34—“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one & love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one & despise the other. You cannot serve God & mammon. Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food & the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; & yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, & tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God & His righteousness, & all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
Ps. 1:1-3—“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day & night. And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season, And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers.”—Driven by God’s word!
**Ps. 119:103-104—“How sweet are Your words to my taste, Sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way.”
**2Cor. 5:14—“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
**Gal. 6:14-15—“But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, & I to the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.”
Illustration:
**There was a cartoon some years back called ‘Pinkie & the Brain.’ Pinkie had a semi-British accent who was side-kick to his bad-guy boss—the Brain. In every episode, Pinkie would inevitably ask, “What are we going to do today Brain?” to which the Brain would always respond in a defeated monotone, “The same thing we do every day Pinkie,...Try to take over the world.”/A DRIVEN Heart
**The HGTV couple who set their budget range between $1-2 million for a vacation house!...That’s $1 million to play with!!/But they want a ‘killer’ view with flawless craftsmanship above all else/If they cannot have the ‘view’ & craftsmanship, then they & all their money will go elsewhere/A DRIVEN Heart...by what they could afford & what they wanted!
NY Taxi drivers are stereotyped as those who shouldn’t be taxi drivers—bad attitude, duty only, no love of the position or job, no concern for the customer’s needs, no cheer/The nature of the job is toward separation from the concerns of others—A divider separating the back seat from the front seat/Solely centered upon getting a person from point ‘A’ to point ‘B’/It is the individual counterpart to the mass transit subway system/The result reveals the driver’s priority/A DRIVEN Heart!
You(I) do not always receive outward confirmation that my work in the Lord Jesus is effective/But you(I) know inwardly it is effective!—As you(I) see its results in the lives of others/All it takes is for you(me) to witness one life changed, either drastically or progressively/A DRIVEN Heart
Nominating Committee assigning positions in the church—If you are approached, How will you respond? Why will you respond? Are you aware of your giftedness? Will you exercise it officially?
Application:
?You fulfilling God’s demand as a father in providing A DRIVEN Heart? Your family needs it!
?You Clearing the Way for Father’s Day?
11—Clearing the Way demands...
A MEDITATIVE Heart(:15)
Explanation:(:15)
:15—“I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways.”
In preparing one’s path the young man of virtuous heart sees fit to “meditate” upon those things which God has declared outright as His intent for guiding one’s actual actions & behaviors surrounding Him. YHWH sets forth determinations which are personal, local, & universal. These “precepts” are to be pondered if one’s actual intent is upon unhindered service to God.
Such a person of godly intent will wisely cause himself to ‘look intently at’ & fully consider the “ways” of the biblical God(YHWH). In doing so the young man will discern truth from falsehood, right from wrong, & direction from diversion.
Some of you sitting here today have hearts & minds diverted from the clear direction, & the things of God.
English—“Precept”=“a command or principle intended especially as a general rule of action.”
Mat. 6:22-23—“The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness!”
“Meditate”—xys see’-akh—Qal Imperfect—1) To put forth, mediate, muse, commune, speak, complain, ponder, sing. Strong—a primitive root; To ponder, i.e. by implication--Converse(with oneself, & hence, aloud) or transitively--Utter. Used 20X.
“Precepts”—Mydwqp(plural)—1) Precept, statute. Strong—properly--Appointed, i.e. A mandate(of God; plural only, collectively, for the Law).
“Contemplate/Regard/Think about/Consider”—jbn naw-bat’—Hiphil(causative) Imperfect—1) To look, regard—1b) (Hiphil)—1b1) To look, 1b2) To regard, show regard to, pay attention to, consider, 1b3) To look upon, regard, show regard to. Strong—a primitive root; To scan, i.e. Look intently at; by implication--To regard with pleasure, favor or care.
“Ways”(See :9; :14—Krd deh'-rek)—xra o'-rakh—1) Way, path—1a) Path, road, 1b) The path, way, passing of life (fig.), 1c) Way of living (fig.), 1d) Traveller, wayfarer (meton). Strong—A well-trodden road(literally or figuratively); also--A caravan.
Argumentation:
**Ps. 1:1-5—“Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day & night. He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper. The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.”
**Ps. 77:11-15—“I will remember the works of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds. Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God? You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples. You have with Your arm redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob & Joseph. Selah.”
Prov. 14:15—“The simple believes every word, But the prudent considers well his steps.”
Lk. 1:26-38—“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, & considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb & bring forth a Son, & shall call His name JESUS. He will be great, & will be called the Son of the Highest; & the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, & of His kingdom there will be no end.” Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered & said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, & the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; & this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.” Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.”
Some of you here today do not “consider” what potential this Sunday evening/morning experience holds for you.
**Jn. 14:23-27—“Jesus answered & said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; & My Father will love him, & We will come to him & make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; & the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, & bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
Do you want to be free from worry? Free from undue stress? Free from undue obligation?
**Php. 4:8—“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue & if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things.”
**1Cor. 13:1-8—“Though I speak with the tongues of men & of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, & understand all mysteries & all knowledge, & though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, & though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long & is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.”
Illustration:
**Engineers/I have always been fascinated with mass manufacturing machinery/I try to consider the mind it took to conceive of the many steps needed to bring about a particular process, say...bottled apple cider/The apples must be gathered without injury, peeled, squeezed, bottled, pasteurized, packed, shipped/A MEDITATIVE Heart
Software designers—requires much thought on determining & relating commands to their corresponding pathways.
Applescript/A simple program to handle repetitive jobs on the computer with one button!/I am continually opening up my New Testament or Old Testament folders/In order to use Applescript I must trace my every step in the process of getting to the wanted folder/I must consider the impact of recording something wrongly or rightly/
Architects
Tilers
Application:
?You fulfilling God’s demand as a father in providing A MEDITATIVE Heart? Your family needs it!
?You Clearing the Way for Father’s Day?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
Requirements involved with building a house.
Action:
Clearing the Way(for Father’s Day) demands...
10. A DRIVEN Heart(:14)
11. A MEDITATIVE Heart(:15)
1. A PURIFYING Heart(:9a)
2. A KEEPER’s/GUARD’s/PROTECTOR’s Heart(:9b)
3. A HUNTER’s Heart(:10a)
4. A NAVIGATOR’s Heart(:10b)
5. A TREASURING Heart(:11a)
6. A REASONING Heart(:11b)
7. An ADORING Heart(:12a)
8. An OPEN Heart(:12b)
9. A CONFIDENT TEACHER’s Heart(:13)
Pts. 10-11 Presented 08/09/2015am to:
FBC C’belle
206 Storrs Ave SE(A Ave. SE)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
