Trust In The Lord!

*I had another divine appointment today. I went to Brookshire's in West Monroe to get some mints, and the man in front of me turned around. It was the man who almost took his life 20 years ago. He and his wife are going on vacation tomorrow. And he was laughing about all he had to do to get ready. He said, "This is my second trip to Brookshire's today." And God reminded me how He can do amazing things when we go even a little bit out of our way for someone else.

*But God creates divine appointments for us. That's how He guides us.

[3] God also gives us dreams.

*We see Paul's God-given dream in vs. 9: "And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, 'Come over to Macedonia and help us.'''

*Now, you have to be careful about dreams. I usually don't remember my dreams. But one time I dreamed that our old dog Charlie went to the movies with me. And when I looked back, a monkey was running the projector! You know what that dream meant? -- Absolutely nothing.

*But we must have God-given dreams. We must have God-given inspiration, as individuals and as a church. Proverbs 29:18 says: "Where there is no vision, the people perish." And yes, this is talking about the revelation of God's Word. But it is also talking about the kind of dream we see here: Dreams of going places and doing things for our Lord.

*And God wants His people to have big dreams, because He is a big God! One of the big dreams God has given our church right now is a dream for children to be reached through Upward Football. In Matthew 19:14, Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.''

*It's important to remember that children are some of the most reachable people. That's one reason why Robert Raikes started the Sunday School movement back in the 1700's. Children have been the most reachable group in our country for at least 100 years. And if you don't receive Jesus by age 18, there is only a 6% chance that you will. (3)

*How does God guide His people?

-Sometimes He closes doors.

-Sometimes He creates divine appointments.

-Sometimes He gives us dreams.

[4] And God has many other ways to guide His people. But His favorite way to guide us is through His Word. God wants us to have a daily diet of His Word.

*The Lord wants us to feed on the Bible every day, so He can guide us with His Word every day. Tonight our guidance comes from the Book of Acts and the Book of Proverbs. But from the first page of Genesis to the last page of Revelation, God's Word has great guidance for our lives.

*Listen again to God's guidance in Proverbs 3:5&6:

5. Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding;

6. in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

*God will surely guide us. We just have to trust Him. We must trust God enough to follow His guidance.

3. And trust Him enough to fear the Lord.

*The Lord wants us to trust Him enough to live in Godly fear. This is His message to us in Proverbs 3:7&8, where He says: