I can remember being in several strange cities, at night.
A. There was but one question in my mind....”Where
do I go from here”.
1. I realized that there really was a way....a road
that would lead me out of my puzzle...but
which one?
a. I can remember driving around southwest
Tulsa....just trying to get to the
Cimmaron Turnpike.
1.) We asked for directions, but we
were given bad ones.
2.) It felt like hours until we got out
of there.
a.) Pretty much it was by blunder-
ing around.....trying this road...
trying that road.
b.) Oh, how much better, if we
knew the way......if we had
a map, or a guide who knew
how to direct us properly.
Sometimes we get lost in our Christian walk.
A. We might doubt if we are really on the right road...
people have confused us and snatched our
confidence from us.
B. We might be ready to give up because the journey
is so long and we haven’t reached the goal yet.
1. Perhaps it’s dark and it’s cold out there and
we are tired..........when can we rest....when
will it get better?
C. What is the meaning of all this.....so long traveling
and yet, what have I really accomplished?
These thoughts can tear down.....they can destroy and
sidetrack a Christian in his/her walk.
A. Even though we may know the answers to these
questions and thoughts, the overwhelming
pressure that we feel......at these times, may
befuddle the mind.
1. satan is there......you can be sure.....to take
advantage of our doubts and fears.
God’s Word......as in everything else......has the answers.
A. Sometimes they seem too simplistic.
1. The right path is not complicated.....it is
simple.........not easy......but simple.
a. It saves us so much frustration and
goes so far to take away the feeling of
hopelessness and helplessness......WE
MUST LISTEN.
I. We set goals for ourselves.......this is good, but
sometimes we become so busy with and working
towards our life’s goals, ........we leave out the most
important element.
A. If God is not in our lives, our goals are only
temporal and inferior........our plans do not take
God and His will into account.
Psalm 127:1-2 - 1 Unless the Lord builds the house, They
labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.2 It is vain for you to
rise up early, To sit up late, To eat the bread of sorrows...
His be
Luke 12:16-21 - 16Then He spoke a parable to them,
saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded
plentifully. 17“And he thought within himself, saying,
‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’
18“So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns
and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my
goods. 19‘And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many
goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink,
and be merry.” ’ 20“But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night
your soul will be required of you; then whose will those
things be which you have provided?’ 21“So is he who lays
up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
Eccl. 12:13-14 - 13Let us hear the conclusion of the
whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For
this is man’s all.14 For God will bring every work into
judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or
evil.
1. If God is not working in and included in our
short term and long term goals.....we will be
building on shifting sand.
a. Men’s plans can change and be changed.
1.) There are too many variables...to
many things that are beyond the
control of man.
a.) Our health.
b.) Other peoples actions (or
inactions).
c.) The economy.
d.) The changing face of society.
e.) Weaknesses......ours and
other’s.
b. God knows all of these things and works
them into our plans.
1.) There is nothing that God has not
made provisions for.
a.) If we decide to go forward
with what appears to be the
“best plan”.....and leave God
out of the picture and out of
the planning, we leave out
many of the important factors
that come with God.
II. Related, but not especially the same.....DRAW NEAR
TO GOD.
A. There are multiple ways of drawing near to God...
all of these avenues need to be explored.
I Thess. 5:16-22 - 16Rejoice always, 17pray without
ceasing, 18in everything give thanks; for this is the will of
God in Christ Jesus for you. 19Do not quench the Spirit.
20Do not despise prophecies. 21Test all things; hold fast
what is good. 22Abstain from every form of evil.
1. We need to acknowledge what the Lord
has done in our life and REJOICE!
a. We are ready to moan and complain
but we seem to be quick to forget
the good that God has done for and
to us.
Phil. 4:4 - 4Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say,
rejoice! (Note: the last word should have been translated:
“All of you continue to rejoice”.)
a. For one to say that he has nothing to
rejoice about is to say that he has
forgotten the goodness of God....the
physical and spiritual blessings that
God has heaped upon him.
1.) Those who cannot or will not
rejoice in the Lord are locked
in the grip of self pity and
ingratitude.
2. Pray without ceasing.
a. Every little aspect of our day needs
to include God....we need to talk
with God....from minute-to-minute.
1.) Perhaps we need to redefine
the word, “prayer”........it does
not have to be any longer
than several words, or a
sentence.......our prayers
should be saying, “help me”
and, “thank you”.
** How can we be discouraged or depressed if we are
walking this closely with the Lord?
3. Hold fast to that which is good.
a. satan would have us question
everything.
1.) A person can drive himself
to distraction with much
questioning.
a.) We need to become
stabilized enough to not
constantly question
what has been
determined, from God’s
Word, to be true.
b.) There needs to come to
an end, the questioning
and doubting.
I Tim. 2:8 - 8I desire therefore that the men pray
everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and
doubting.
II Tim. 3:7 - 7always learning and never able to come to
the knowledge of the truth.
** We need to draw near to God....we need to include Him
in everything we think and do.
1. Without God.....as a primary part of our life....we
will lose our way.....lose hope.....and perhaps,
even lose our very souls.
III. Lastly, we must make our faith and our walk, in
Christ......REAL!
A. Too many function in the Church at about the
same level as they would in the “Lion’s Club”.
1. It may be an important piece of this person’s
life......but it is just a piece of it.
a. It is sort of a ritual......a drill.....something
that brings us together for socialization.
2. We can be active in the Lion’s Club without
making it a major part of our lives.
3. Being a part of the Church is not and should
never be something that we turn on and off.
a. To some, being a part of the Church
gives them a good feeling...a feeling of
“belonging”.
1.) If this is all that there is in it for
us......we might as well join the
JAYCEES....we can get a good
feeling from them, also.
b. To some, being a part of the Church
helps them to feel better than....above
the “unwashed masses”.
1.) Jesus Christ did not come and do
the things that He did, for us,
because He thought more of some
people than He did others.
Romans 3:23 - 23for all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God.
II Peter 3:9 - 9The Lord is not slack concerning His
promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering
toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all
should come to repentance.
B. “Getting real”.....for the Christian, means making
Christ, and His Word......a real part.....a total
part of our lives.
1. God is not someone whom we may turn to
when we feel like it, but the rest of the time,
ignore.
2. God is not some ethereal being that is “out-of-
sight-out-of-mind.
3. The writings of God are not to be equated
with
some fairy tale.......once-upon-a-time....long,
long ago.
a. We are dealing with reality.....a reality
that is not perceived by physical eyes and
human sound.
b. The reality of God and His Word rests in
the development of our faith.
1.) “Getting real” about God, then, is
building our faith to the point
where God is not just some
far-away illusion.......God must
become real in every aspect of our
lives.
** God will only become as real as we let Him be.
1. If we treat Him as an unimportant, afterthought...
He will never be real enough in our lives to have
an important role to play.
CONCLUSION:
We need to have confidence, in the Lord.
A. Sometimes that confidence may falter.
1. The doubts can come from many sources.
a. Those outside the Church.
b. Those who claim to be Christians.
c. It can even come from within....things
that never were really settled, in our
minds.
The question arises.....”Where do I go from here?”
A. The first order of business is to put God back in
to our lives.
1. This assumes that we ever really included God
in our busy lives and our “very important
goals”.
a. We need to openly question ourselves...
“Where have we been going...who have
we really been serving....and what is our
goal(s) in this present life.
B. The next order of business in finding our spiritual
way, is drawing close to God.
1. God wants to lead and direct.
a. When we distance ourselves from Him...
we are rejecting our best and only
reliable guide in life’s fickle twists and
turns.
1.) Let us acknowledge Him as Lord
and Master of our fate.
2.) Let us go to Him, in prayer....on
a constant basis so that we can
hear His guidance.
3.) Let us reject that which is of the
world and cling to that which is
good.
C. Let God become real in our lives.
1. Let the Word not be some good story of
“long-long-ago-and-far-away”.
a. “Getting real”....for the Christian, means
that we make Christ....His Word....His
sacrifice...His will..........a real and living
part of our lives.
God will only be as real in our lives as we let Him be.
A. How real is He in your life?
