WESTSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH
PASTOR: TERRY VAUGHAN
SERMON TITLE: DON’T MAKE ANY TURNS
“For God so loved the world , that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” John 3:16-18
TEXT VERSE: PROVERBS 4:27 “TURN NOT TO THE RIGHT HAND NOR TO THE LEFT: REMOVE THY FOOT FROM EVIL.”
We’re living in a world where it seems like Christians are governed more by what’s going on around them than what’s going on in them. The Bible says that man looks upon the outward appearance but God looks upon the heart. What I mean by that is we need to always need to travel that straight and narrow way and don’t let anything turn us to the right hand nor to the left. If you’ve done that and you’ve gotten off God’s road or God’s highway or God’s path, if you’ve made the wrong turn...you need to return. Get back to the basics of following the Lord Jesus. It’s very easy for any of us to be persuaded to get out of the way and turn and make the wrong decision. Do the wrong things. You say, preacher how can that happen? It’s very simple. Usually when I’ve made the wrong turn it was self. The writer Psalms said mine enemy was within me. That’s what our problem is sometimes, we seem to want to follow ourselves instead of following the Spirit of God. There’s a lot of Christians along the way that have been led out of the way by their family. Just because mom don’t go to church, don’t mean you don’t have to go to church. A lot of moms and dads are trying to show their children how to live a good Christian life. Trying to tell them what decisions to make and what decisions not to make. But I’ve got news for you tonight. Make your own decisions by following the Lord Jesus Christ. There’s been a lot of churches that have caused people to turn out of the way. Just because you have 50 people, 5 people or 500 people, if you’re listening to them more than you are God; you’re out of God’s fellowship. I can preach it because I’ve been there. God doesn’t want us making any turns. He wants us right in His will. Learn to stand on your own two feet and ask God for things that you need. The Bible says if a man lack wisdom, let him ask it of God. The worst mistake I ever made was listening to people. I won’t do it again. I’m going to listen to what the Lord says. There have been times in my personal life when my wife has come to me or I’ve gone to her about a decision that we had to make and the first thing we do is check in with the Lord. A lot of people are running around trying to make their own decisions, do their own thing and lift themselves up. You’ve made a wrong turn. God wants you to stay in that straight and narrow way. Now look at these verses. PROVERBS 4:23 “KEEP THY HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE; FOR OUT OF IT ARE THE ISSUES OF LIFE.” When I thought about the heart, I thought about our treasures. The Bible says where a mans treasure is, there will his heart be also. It says Don’t lay up for yourselves treasures on earth. But rather lay up for yourself treasures in Heaven. You know why I like my treasures in Heaven? Because no moth or rust or no man, woman, boy or girl can take away what God has in store for us in Glory. There’s no way you could take away what God gives us. God knows what we need tonight and He’s going to give it to us if you’ll accept it. If you’ve already turned out of the way and you keep on turning you’re going to be in bad shape. You’ll be in worse shape after you leave tonight than you were when you came in.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:7 “BUT WE HAVE THIS TREASURE IN EARTHEN VESSELS, THAT THE EXCELLENCY OF THE POWER MAY BE OF GOD, AND NOT OF US.” We have to let God be in charge and not ourselves. MATTHEW 12:35 “A GOOD MAN OUT OF THE GOOD TREASURE OF THE HEART BRINGETH FORTH GOOD THINGS: AND AN EVIL MAN OUT OF THE EVIL TREASURE BRINGETH FORTH EVIL THINGS.” We have to follow the Lord. Quit letting people, things and circumstances run your life.
Now look at PROVERBS 4:24 “PUT AWAY FROM THEE A FROWARD MOUTH, AND PERVERSE LIPS PUT FAR FROM THEE.” I believe our mouth represents our testimony. I read in Hebrews Chapter 11 about Enich. Remember Enich from the book of Genesis, the Bible said he walked with God. If you’re walking with God, you’ll be in fellowship with Him and in fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ. John said in 1John, if you don’t have fellowship with Christ, how can you have fellowship with your brothers and sisters in Christ? Our mouths should speak the very testimony of what God has done for our souls. Not what he’s done for our outward appearance. What’s God done for you tonight?
PROVERBS 21:23 “WHOSO KEEPETH HIS MOUTH AND HIS TONGUE KEEPETH HIS SOUL FROM TROUBLE.” James when he was talking about a double minded man, he was saying not only was he double minded but he was double tongued. He said out of the same mouth proceedeth blessings and cursings and he said these things out not so to be. What kind of testimony do you have? We don’t spend enough time talking about what God’s done for us. We’ll talk about the weather, our children, school, what we’re going to go eat after church and we don’t talk about the Lord enough.
COLOSSIANS 4:6 “LET YOUR SPEECH BE ALWAYS WITH GRACE, SEASONED WITH SALT, THAT YE MAY KNOW HOW YE OUGHT TO ANSWER EVERY MAN.” If you’ve got Grace in your heart, it out to come out in your mouth. Paul said His Grace is sufficient for thee. Not just in how we look but in how we talk. There’s a lot of Christians that aren’t good listeners. The Bible in Proverbs said that the simple will believe every word. They never check in with God, they just believe it. But the Prudent man looketh well to his goings. How can you straighten somebody else out if you yourself haven’t been straightened out? You better get your heart right with God so you can judge righteous judgment. Now look at PROVERBS 4:25 “LET THINE EYES LOOK RIGHT ON, AND LET THINE EYELIDS LOOK STRAIGHT BEFORE THEE.” What’s our vision? What’s our purpose? What are we here for? There’s so many scriptures in the Bible where people were going backwards instead of forwards. The Bible said that many of his disciples went back and walked no more with Him. There’s many Christians today that have turned because their heart isn’t in the right place. Their testimony just went down hill and they’ve turned from following the Lord.
HEBREWS 12:1-2 “WHEREFORE SEEING WE ALSO ARE COMPASSED ABOUT WITH SO GREAT A CLOUD OF WITNESSES, LET US LAY ASIDE EVERY WEIGHT, AND THE SIN WHICH DOTH SO EASILY BESET US, AND LET US RUN WITH PATIENCE THE RACE THAT IS SET BEFORE US. LOOKING UNTO JESUS THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH; WHO FOR THE JOY THAT WAS SET BEFORE HIM ENDURED THE CROSS, DESPISING THE SHAME, AND IS SET DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE THRONE OF GOD.”
If you have your heart and your eyes on anything but Jesus, you’re looking the wrong way.
PROVERBS 29:18 “WHERE THERE IS NO VISION, THE PEOPLE PERISH: BUT HE THAT KEEPETH THE LAW, HAPPY IS HE.” People are just falling out of the will of God. You can’t fall out of Salvation. If that weren’t true we’d see a whole lot more Christians in church today than we do. They didn’t get saved and then unsaved. They got saved and then fell out of the will of God. It can happen.
2 CORINTHIANS 5:7 says ‘FOR WE WALK BY FAITH NOT BY SIGHT.” Our vision is not a natural vision. It’s a Spiritual vision. The Bible says the natural man can’t even receive it because it’s foolishness to him neither can he know it because it’s spiritually discerned. If your spirit isn’t working with His Spirit you’ll not get it.
Now let’s look at PROVERBS 4:26 “PONDER THE PATH OF THY FEET, AND LET ALL THY WAYS BE ESTABLISHED.” I thought about that word feet and I thought of travels. Where we’ve been and where we’re going for the Lord. You look back over you life since the Lord saved you and you can see how far the Lord’s brought you. He’s been there for me and he’s brought me through situations and he wants our travels to be following Him. That’s how we’re supposed to follow. Don’t follow man, woman, boy, girl, Deacon, Pastor...follow the Lord Jesus Christ. If you’re not following Him, you’re falling away from Him. All these families out of Church today, men running around with women and women running around with men and Christians out in the world drinking and on drugs and their not even ashamed for other people to see them. They’ve fallen out of the will of God and their making everybody else look bad. We need to make us look good. This world doesn’t need us. It needs Him. If they don’t have Jesus Christ then nothing else matters. We all need Christ in everything!
JOHN 10:27 “MY SHEEP HEAR MY VOICE, AND I KNOW THEM, AND THEY FOLLOW ME.”
We need to follow Him.
EPHESIANS 5:1 “BE YE THEREFORE FOLLOWERS OF GOD, AS DEAR CHILDREN.” You know why my children are here tonight? Because their followers. They go where I go until their 18. My son came to me before church and I knew what he wanted before he even asked and I said No. He said I haven’t even asked you yet. I said, I know what you want to ask me and you’re not changing your seating arrangements. Listen, they’ll follow you if you do the right thing. He may not have gotten to talk to his friends but he’s close to the preached word. If you want to sit in the back and pass notes or throw paper down in God’s house, you ought to find better things to do. Come get something from God. I want my children to get something from God. I want you to get something from God. He said, follow God as Dear Children.
JOHN 12:26 “IF ANY MAN SERVE ME, LET HIM FOLLOW ME.” You cannot serve God and not follow. You cannot follow God and not serve. There’s a lot of people today who think they control what the Lord does. The will of God is not something we manufacture. God does what He wants, when He wants. When He says yes, He means yes and when He says no, He means No. He does it in His time.
There’s a lot of Christians that’s turned. I don’t know why. I know I’ve been there myself. Don’t let anything come between you and the Lord. We’re supposed to going towards Christ and not letting people pull us away from Christ.
LET US PRAY: Father, I have turned away from you. I have listened to mans advice and mans opinions and I have gone astray. I ask you Lord to forgive me of this sin and to get me back on the straight and narrow path. Let me draw near to you that my inward man might glow on the outside. Help me so that I might realize that the purpose of my life is to serve you and that there are souls out there that need to be saved . In your abundant mercy you saved me and Lord I need to share that with others so that they can have what you have given me. Thank you Lord, for hearing my prayer and I ask this in Jesus name. Amen
