The Path That Be My Portion
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PPT 2 Message main text
Psalms 23:3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name' sake.
This week we are going to talk about the paths of righteousness, and I want to combine this text in Psalm 23 with one in Hebrews 12:
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Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
I want to begin discussing the verse in Psalm 23 in context and then we will branch off from there and talk about the path God has laid out for us.
If we connect the paths God leads us in with the restoration of our soul it most likely means God guides us back to proper behavior. Restoration of the soul involves restoration to walking and living the way God wants us to. I think that is the most likely meaning of the passage, but it is not the only way we can consider it.
If we connect He guides us in paths of righteousness with the next verses, and in context it also seems likely, we get an entirely different thought about what the paths of righteousness means:
PPT 4 Text
Psalms 23:3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name' sake.
Psalms 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil...
We get a path that is of God's choosing that often meanders in difficult and dark places. The paths of righteousness become not about behavior, but are righteous because they are the paths God wants us to walk down, and may involves valleys that are under the cloud of the shadow of death. As I said earlier the first meaning I gave you I think is the most proper, but I can also see the second very clearly.
In fact we get a strong hint of that in the word "paths." You will notice it is a plural. I thinks it refers to the path of behavior, and the path of right doctrine, the path of right thinking, and the path of God's purpose and plan for our life. I want to unpack the path of God's purpose and plan for our life a little more. Let me show you the last part of Hebrews 12:1 in a couple more bible versions, first the NIV and then the Amplified:
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Hebrews 12:1...and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (NIV)
Hebrews 12:1...and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us, (AMP)
Notice it is a race marked out for us, and the Amplified calls it an appointed course.
So let's talk about God's appointed paths under a couple of spiritual principles.
1. The principle of uncertainty
PPT 6 path with man holding compass with confusing arrows
Where does the path go? I can't figure out where that compass the man is holding is pointing to. The principle of uncertainty is simply this: As sheep we aren't smart enough to figure out where we are supposed to be going, we don't get to pick our path God does. Sheep don't know the ultimate destination, they simply are to stay close to the shepherd. God's goodness and mercy following us is certain, the direction He takes us is not.
The shepherd has a destination in mind. The Word teaches us clearly that our steps are ordered, we have an appointed course, it was intentionally chosen. Selected. Lined out. An end in mind. The shepherd has both a goal in mind and the appropriate route to get there. While He may tell us parts or certain turns to make in general much of it is a mystery to us.
You may be enjoying the journey or hate every step but as sheep we must continue to walk where we are led and we must trust the heart of our Shepherd! He is trying to get us somewhere! And He often feels no need or purposely hides from us where we are going.
There is a good reason for that, some portions of our path are through enemy territory and often take us very very close to the enemy. David speaks of the possibility of having to walk in the valley of the shadow of death, and of eating at a table in the presence of his enemies. Could you imagine a sheep of it's own accord walking into a valley if it knew it were full of hungry wolves? I think if we could hear the Father and Son talking things over we might hear this said, "for their own good we better not tell them where they are going."
I think that David is hinting at the idea in this Psalm, that the shepherd has taken him places he never would have knowingly gone to, but he has learned by experience it was a path of righteousness, a path of God's choosing, and that God took care of him there. How many could say there are some paths you have gone down you would never have picked to go there?
2. The principle of certainty
While some things are uncertain on God's paths, there are other things we can be certain of. Goodness and mercy following us, ability to eat from God's table even while in the presence of ferocious enemies.
Another thing you can be sure of there will certainly be ambushments. Roaring lions, night walks with no moon light and strange noises. But there will certainly also be protection.
"Thy Rod and Thy staff they comfort me."
The staff of God can make water come out of a rock, the staff of God can turn into a snake that can eat any other snake, the staff of God can make a sea split in two. That is comforting isn't it? The rod of God can knock the enemy upside its head, and the rod of God will make sure I stay on the path on the dark and moonless nights. Sometimes you may not hear his voice but you can feel the prodding of his rod, of your way being hedged in.
Your feet will grow to be able to walk on the road of his choice.
PPT 6 video of big horn sheep easily moving on a mountain.
They have no hands, no ropes, no spikes to pound into the mountain to make climbing easier and yet they can out climbany man on earth. It is living in that place that caused them to develop those skills. In the same way, as the shepherd makes us walk in places we would rather not go to, He cause us to grow and to be able to walk in and on mountains.
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Habakkuk 3:19 The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places.
Earlier we pointed out that the Lord leads us on path's - plural. The reason is the path's variety is designed to produce growth. Why does He lead me on a path that leads me to pain? Why can't we just camp out in the nicer areas of life? Why can't we just stay by the still waters, why cant we just stay in the green pastures. Why do we have to go to places with raging torrents, and places where there is very little green grass?
If we were always on easy street, then we wouldn't grow, we wouldn't develop faith, perseverance, reliance, thankfulness.
Because there are treasures in stormy places (people - treasures of darkness), and to improve our grass finding abilities. (To sample foods that are only found in desert. The beauty of covenants, the book of lamentations, different foods that provide different nourishment.) It often takes God's prodding with His rod to get people to read some books of the bible: Leviticus, Chronicles with those long lists of names are two that quickly come to mind. Many people like eating spiritual deserts only, that leads to spiritual obesity. A pronounced condition where there is a heavy reliance on spiritual snacks.
A pastor in south Africa found a nugget, in the book of chronicles. You know the book with all those lists of names. It takes a knock on God's staff to get most folks to read that book of the bible. Kind of like many parents with their young children and green beans.
(Illus: green beans on plates. Parent says eat your beans child refuses. Parent says you aren't getting up from the table till you eat your beans. Child throws beans on floor, parent cleans off and puts back on plate. All scripture is given by inspiration and is profitable..., yet God has to force some to eat their beans)
Pastor Bruce Wilkinson found the prayer of Jabez nestled in the midst of 213 verses listing who begat who. That prayer he has prayed for more than 30 years and has seen it answered marvelously in his life. He wrote a book that has been read by and blessed by many people around the world. The Jews say that when Messiah comes, not only will He explain all the letters in the bible, but He will explain all the spaces between the words! They believe in the inspiration of scripture, they believe it is all good!
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1 Chronicles 4:10 And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.
Next thing that is certain is that God's plan is good and it is adaptable.
God's plan wasn't for David to commit murder and adultery, but when that happened God didn't say, that's it I'm done with you. No God just picked up right where David was and started leading him down a path of righteousness again. A path of God's choosing, a path that was inherently good, because it was a path of God's choosing. God never intended for David to marry Bathsheeba, but that marriage produced several children, including Solomon and Nathan both of whom are in the lineage of Jesus. One on Mary's side and one on Joseph's side. God doesn't throw in the towel when we mess up. He picks us up and starts leading us down a path of righteousness. (Illus: Jeremiah 18, when a master scupture changes a piece because the clay won't work for his original idea, he then goes on to reword the piece, and because he is a master sculpture the only thing He can produce is a masterpiece. If you were to view the piece and not know that the master had to rework it, you would be just as much in awe of it, as if he never had to rework it.)
Close: Do you need to be restored to the path of righteousness? Do you have dirt on your face? Have you wandered?
Or are you on a path that is difficult and you can't see where you are going?
Close with communion.
Communion is a reminder that the door to God's grace is always open.
(Just before communion I showed a video with the hymn, "I know Who holds tomorrow," : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oyqCYzf0UkE
