Where Am I And Where Am I Going

Joh_14:4-6 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Where Am I?

I have here four different things that we use to find our way.

1. This first is a globe which we usually use when we want to find a foreign country.

2. The second is an atlas. This used to be the thing we would have with us as we travelled to help us locate the right highways that would take us where we wanted to go.

3. Now the third thing here is the high tech way that we find our way around today. It is a GPS. Now it is neat because it talks to a satellite and actually tells us where we are at the moment and shows us a map that leads us to where we want to go.

4. Now the fourth thing I have is more hi tech than anything because it not only tells us where we are at the moment and guides our way into the future it also tells us where we were in the past. It is the Bible God’s word.

We are led to believe that the world is billions of years old and that the dinosaurs roamed the earth 500 million years ago; but, as we study the word of God we realize that the earth is only a few thousand years old. We are told of the first day when God created the earth. Then, as you read through the Bible, you will realize that you are reading the only complete history of the world and of the human race. From Genesis to Revelation, we see the journey of man from creation to eternity. We also see God’s desire to have a relationship with the creature that he made specifically for that purpose. In Genesis, it tells of how God would come down in the evening and walk through the Garden having a conversation with Adam. It tells of the fall of man and how through that fall sin entered into the world. Speaking of Adam, we are told in Romans 5:12 “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered the world and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned.” As we continue to read, we see the history of mankind and centered in this narrative is Israel. I want to point out a few things here. As you read the Old Testament, you will find out some definite things concerning Israel.

1. One thing is that when they listened to God they prospered and became a mighty nation.

2. The second thing is that when they decided they wanted new gods then they got in trouble even to the point of being held captive and eventually destroyed as a nation.

Let me make a parallel with life here please. When we as individuals are receptive (listen to) God’s word and we obey the teachings of God we will find peace that surpasses all understanding and live a meaningful life. The second half is also true in life, when we think we are too busy for God or that some other thing in our life becomes our God (check your time and your bank account out and you will find your god) then we will find our life in turmoil and eventually face destruction.

GOD’S WORD TELLS US WHERE WE ARE.

You must know where you are to know where you are going!

Your GPS has to determine where you are before it can show you the way to where you are going.

Illustration

When you enter a large shopping mall there is usually a large map that shows where all the shops are located. However, it has a big arrow pointing to a spot on the map that reads,”YOU ARE HERE.” If you don’t identify where you are, you can’t get where you want to be.

Knowing where you are is essential to getting to where you need to be. Where are you?

The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; also, scripture reminds us in Ecc 7:20 “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

So where are we? The answer is that if we haven’t dealt with the sin in our life there is a need to do it. You see God created a universal plan to rescue us from where we are.

In Luke Chapter 15 we read the story of the prodigal son. Beginning in verse 17, we see where he determined that he was in the pig pen and it wasn’t where he wanted to be. I ask you today where are you? Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Unless you have realized that this is where you are you will never find the joy and peace that God has planned for you. Unless you realize where you are you may never inherit the eternal life that the Father has in store for you. You see John 3:18 tells us that, “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believieth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Again in John 3:36 it says, “he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. Being off a little is being off all the way!!!