And have you noticed some people are better at giving directions than others?
Illus: A helicopter was in a storm flying around above Seattle, when an electrical malfunction disabled all of the aircraft's electronic navigation and communications equipment.
Due to the clouds and haze, the pilot could not determine the helicopter's position and course to steer to the airport.
The pilot saw a tall building, flew toward it, circled,
drew a handwritten sign, and held it in the helicopter's window. The pilot's sign read, "WHERE AM I?" in large letters. People in the tall building quickly responded to the aircraft, drew a large sign, and held it in the window.
Their sign said, "YOU ARE IN A HELICOPTER OVER SEATTLE."
The pilot smiled, waved, looked at his map, determined the course to steer to SEATAC airport, and landed safely.
After they were on the ground, the copilot asked the pilot how the sign that said "YOU ARE IN A HELICOPTER OVER SEATTLE" helped determine their position.
The pilot responded, "I knew that had to be the MICROSOFT building because, similar to their help-lines, they gave me a technically correct but completely useless answer."
Many of us have had to stop and ask for directions. After we receive the directions, the person would say, “It’s easy, you can not miss it!” And we go down the road and we miss it and really get lost!
But all chaos does not come from VERBAL INSTRUCTIONS, sometimes it comes from WRITTEN INSTRUCTIONS, such as:
• On an automatic hand dryer was a sign: "Do not operate with wet hands".
• On a poster at a conference: "Are you an adult who cannot read? If so we can help...".
• On the grounds of a private school: "No trespassing without permission".
• Dry cleaners in Bangkok: "Drop your trousers here for the best results".
• Sign on the Athi river highway: "Take notice - when this sign is underwater, this road is impassable".
• Cocktail lounge in Norway: "Ladies are requested not to have children in the lounge".
• Airline ticket office in Copenhagen: "We take your bags and send them in all directions".
• An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market, which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I saw the Pope", (el Papa) the shirts read (la papa). "I saw the Potato".
• When Parker Pen marketed a ball-point pen in Mexico, its ads were supposed to have read, "It won't leak in your pocket and embarrass you." The company thought that the word "embarazor" (to impregnate) meant to embarrass, so the ad read "It won't leak in your pocket and make you pregnant!"
• Chevrolets new Nova was released in Spain, before they realized that 'NO VA' in Spanish means "Won’t go".
• Coors Beer slogan "Turn it loose", was put into Spanish and read "Suffer from Diarrhea".
The Lord gave the disciples SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS. Mary, the Mother of Jesus, gave the folks at the wedding feast in Cana of Gaililee some good advice when they ran out of wine. In John 2:5, we read, “His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.”
That is the number one answer to success in following the Lord, “WHATSOEVER HE SAITH UNTO YOU, DO IT!” Do not half do it, do WHATSOEVER He tells you to do.
WHY SHOULD WE FOLLOW THE LORD’S DIRECTIONS? We should follow the Lord's directions because:
I. HIS DIRECTIONS ARE SPECIFIC
Look at verses 1-3, we read, “And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.”
In these verses, the Lord told the disciples three things. He told them:
• WHERE TO GO
• WHAT TO DO
• WHAT TO SAY
We all appreciate good, simple, specific instructions.
Illus: For example, these "Instructions For Giving Your Cat A Pill" have too many details.
1. Pick cat up and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and swallow.
2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left arm and repeat process.
3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.
4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm holding rear paws tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.
5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call friend.
6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get friend to hold head firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down throat, remove ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.
7. Wrap cat in large towel and get friend to lie on cat with head just visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.
8. Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Place cat in cupboard and close door onto neck to leave head showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with elastic band.
9. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges. Apply cold compress to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Throw Tee-shirt away and fetch new one from bedroom.
10. Get friend to drive you to the emergency room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new table.
11. When you get home from hospital arrange for SPCA to collect cat. Call local pet shop to see if they have any hamsters.
Through the Word of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we too will receive specific instructions.
Look at John 16:13, we read, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.”
There are some folks that profess to be saved, and they give the impression they would like to serve the Lord, but say that the will of God is too complicated and there is no way we could ever know the will of God for sure.
These people are calling God a liar, because the Word of God says the mission of the Holy Spirit is to “… GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH…”
Notice, it does not say He will guide you into some truth, but ALL TRUTH.
Illus: Suppose you are raised up in a cult and you want to know the truth. IS IT POSSIBLE? Yes, according to the Word of God He will lead us into ALL TRUTH if we are sincere in our efforts.
Illus: Many, in their effort to know ALL TRUTH, remind me of some of the television talk shows, like “CrossFire” or “Hannity and Colmes.” Out of all the years we have watched these two programs where the RIGHT SIDE and the LEFT SIDE come together, no one ever convinced anyone of anything. Why? The reason we never see anyone convince anyone else to change their views is because they come with set views, and are determined, no matter how dumb their views may appear, NO ONE IS EVER GOING TO CONVINCE THEM OTHERWISE!
Stubbornness can keep us from knowing ALL TRUTH! But if we will spend sufficient time in prayer, once our heart reaches the place where we want to know the WHOLE TRUTH, the Holy Spirit will show us. We all need a lot of help, and we need Him to help us.
Illus: We are all like the lady that prayed, “Dear Lord, so far today I've done all right. I haven't gossiped, haven't lost my temper, haven't been greedy, grumpy, nasty, selfish, or even indulgent. I'm very thankful for that but, in a very short time, I'm going to have to get up out of bed - and from that moment on I'm going to need a lot of help!”
Every day, when we crawl out of bed, we can depend on HIS DIRECTIONS BEING SPECIFIC.
Illus: A local Priest and a Minister were fishing in the canal near the roadside. They made a sign saying: "The end is near! Turn yourself around now before it's too late!" and showed it to every passing car.
One driver didn't appreciate the sign, and shouted at them: "Leave us alone, you religious nuts!"
All of a sudden, the Priest and the Minister heard a big splash, looked at each other, and the Priest said to the Minister: "Do you think maybe we should just have said, 'Bridge Out' instead?"
The LORD’S DIRECTIONS ARE SPECIFIC, but also-
II. THE LORD'S DIRECTIONS ARE SCRIPTURAL
Look at verses 4-5, we read, “All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass.”
Notice, the thing that the Lord requested the disciples to do was scriptural. He quoted the prophet. A lot of folks today are doing things that have no scriptural basis.
Jesus fulfilled Scripture to the very detail, to accomplish God the Father’s will for His life. He did everything to the DETAIL as God the Father had commanded Him to do.
Illus: Many, in their efforts to be led by SCRIPTURE, remind us of the man that was looking into the Bible for some guidance. Not knowing where to look, he simply opened the Bible randomly and pointed his finger at a passage. Wherever his finger landed, he would take that as advice.
• First he read: "And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself." Not knowing what to make out of that, he tried again.
• This time it said: "Go, and do thou likewise." Completely baffled, he tried a third time.
• He read, "That thou doest, do quickly.."
The Lord’s directions to us are SCRIPTURAL. The Lord will never direct you to do something that is not Scriptural. NEVER!
Illus: A woman that was very active in her church, said that God led her to leave her husband and marry a man young enough to be her son. Listen, she may have been led, but it was not God leading her, IT WAS THE DEVIL!
We need to follow the specific instructions of God’s Word.
Illus: A highway patrolman was sitting on the side of the highway waiting to catch speeding drivers. He noticed a car puttering along at 22 MPH. He thought to himself, "This driver is just as dangerous as a speeder".
He turned on his lights and pulled the driver over. Approaching the car, he noticed that there are five old ladies in the car, two in the front seat and three in the back, wide-eyed and white as ghosts.
The driver obviously confused, says to him, "Officer, I don't understand, I was doing exactly the speed limit. What seems to be the problem?" "Ma'am", the Officer replies, "you weren't speeding, but you should know that driving slower than the speed limit can also be a danger to other drivers."
"Slower than the speed limit? No Sir, I was doing the speed limit exactly....Twenty-Two miles an hour", the old woman said a bit proudly.
The officer, trying to contain a chuckle, explains to her that "22" was the highway number, not the speed limit. A bit embarrassed, the woman grinned and thanked the officer for pointing out her error.
"But before I let you go Ma'am, I have to ask.....is everyone in this car OK? These women seem awfully shaken and they haven't muttered a single peep this whole time", the officer said. "Oh, they'll be all right in a minute Officer. We just got off Highway 135.”
We need to follow the Lord’s mother’s advice, and DO WHATSOEVER HE TELLS US TO DO. He will never tell us to do something that the Scriptures tell us not to do.
The Lord’s directions are SPECIFIC, SCRIPTURAL, and …
III. THE LORD'S DIRECTIONS ARE SURE
Another way of saying THE LORD’S DIRECTIONS ARE SURE, is to say THE LORD’S DIRECTIONS ARE ACCURATE.
Look at verses 2-3 again, we read, “Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them.”
Look at verses 6-7, we read, “And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon.”
The disciples found things to be just as Jesus told them. The Lord will never give us directions that we can not depend on. Someone said that when the Lord speaks, we can say, “Jesus said it, and I believe it and that settles it!”
Illus: A man told D. L. Moody one day that God had told him to give him a pair of shoes. The man said, “Mr. Moody, what size shoes do you wear?” Mr. Moody said to him, “Sir, If God told you to give them to me, they will fit, because God knows what size I wear!”
A person might have the best of intentions, but that does not mean that what they are saying is ACCURATE. But the Word of God is ACCURATE every time.
A. HIS INSTRUCTIONS TELL US WHERE TO STAND
As Christians, we face many issues that our forefathers never had to face. There are people that are telling us where to stand. But as Christians, we must not allow people to tell us where to stand, we must look to the Holy Spirit to lead us.
Illus: Someone said that God looks over the millions of people and says, "Welcome to Heaven.
• The women are to go with Saint Peter.
• The men are then to form two lines. Make one line of men that dominated their women on earth, and the other of men who were dominated by their women."
With much movement the women are gone and there are two lines of men.
The line of the men that were dominated by women is 100 miles long, but the line of men who dominated women has only one man in it.
God became very upset with these men and said, "You men should be ashamed of yourselves. I created you in my image and you were all dominated by your mates? Look at the only one of you that stood up and made me proud, and prepare to learn from him!"
God turns to the man and says, "Tell them, my son, how you managed to be the only one in that line."
The man said, "I don't know, my wife told me to stand here."
Listen, the reason that many today are taking the stand they are taking, is because someone told them to stand on certain issues, not God.
B. HIS INSTRUCTIONS TELL US WHEN WE HAVE SINNED
Some give the impression that we really do not know what sin is. But I am here to tell you that the Holy Spirit of God knows what sin is, and if you are sincere and want to know, He will show you.
Illus: There was a frugal tradesman, a painter, called Jack, who was very interested in making a buck or two where he could. He often would thin down his paint to make it go a bit further. As it happened, he got away with this for some time.
Eventually the Presbyterian Church decided to do a big restoration job on one of their biggest churches. Jack put in a painting bid, and because his price was so competitive, he got the job. And so he set to, with a right good will, erecting the trestles and putting up the planks, and buying the paint and...yes, I am sorry to say, thinning it down with the turpentine.
Well, Jack was up on the scaffolding, painting away, the job nearly done, when suddenly there was a horrendous clap of thunder. The sky opened and the rain poured down, washing the thin paint from all over the church and knocking Jack far off the scaffold to land on the ground. Now, Jack was no fool. He knew this was a judgment from the Almighty, so he fell on his knees and cried, "Oh, God! Forgive me! What should I do?"
From the thunder, a mighty Voice spoke, "Repaint! Repaint! And thin no more!"
The Lord’s directions are SPECIFIC, SCRIPTURAL, and SURE.
Conclusion:
Because Jesus’ directions were followed by the disciples, it resulted in a great day, a day when God's word was fulfilled.
Look at verses 8-11, we read, “And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strowed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest. 1 And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, Who is this? And the multitude said, This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.”
Whenever we follow God's directions, the results will be special. Sinners will be challenged and saved. Saints will be edified.
I. THE LORD’S DIRECTIONS ARE SPECIFIC
II. THE LORD’S DIRECTIONS ARE SCRIPTURAL
III. THE LORD’S DIRECTIONS ARE SURE
