You Want Directions From God? Remove The Dirt

10/11/2002

You want directions from God?

Remove The Dirt!

Introduction..... Most anyone can look around today and tell you, that men sometimes have a hard time following or even asking for directions.

I have told you before that I have been lost in most every major city I have ever been to. The thing is, if I would have stopped to ask for directions, and then followed those directions, I would not have been lost for near as long.

I was lost in downtown Chattanooga one time for a very long time, but I just could not bring myself to ask for directions.

And then there are the directions that come with something that we have to put together... I mean, we are men... Men don’t have to follow directions right?

I assembled an entertainment center one time, I half way looked at the directions... Finished it and stood it up.. baseboard strip at bottom was turned inside out.... stayed that way .

...... I assembled a garden hose reel one time... not much to it.. did not need directions for that right.... Well, when you have parts left over, it really does mean something.

Of course, when I was a heavy equipment mechanic, I was a professional. Professionals have tech manuals and specific detailed instructions. I never made a mistake while working on a bulldozer or a backhoe...... yea right.

I know that most everyone in here can think of a time in their life where they did not follow the instructions, or they did not follow directions, and things went wrong.

The point is, if you want things to be right, if you want to be able to do things right, you must follow the instructions. You must follow the directions.

Transition..... Now, If we want to live the abundant life that God has in store for us, If we want to enjoy this life, then we must follow the directions that God has given and will give us.

I want us to look at the word of God this morning and see that there are a few things that we need to do, to be able to follow the instructions from the Lord.

Read Joshua 5:13-6:5

Joshua just received instructions from the Lord. He received specific instructions from the Lord on how to defeat the city of Jericho. ..... The Lord was going to do the work... all Israel needed to do was to obey..

All through the Bible we see where the Lord gave specific….. detailed instructions to his people.

Moses -- Tabernacle Noah-- ark

Even Abraham was given specific instruction..... Now, we remember that God told Abraham to “GO” and he went.... that does not sound like specific instructions does it.

Have you ever seen the man that flips through the instructions and tries to look at the highlights?

Or, how about this… the woman that reads the last chapter in a book before they start the beginning?

When God told Abraham to go, he said “Here is step one-- you get this step done and then I will give you the next step” .

And he may do the same thing in our lives today folks....... because we so much want to look at the end of the instructions.... but if we do know the end.... then we will try to take our own logical steps to get the job done..... God does not work like that. We need to obey Him.

Now, we have been given the Bible, the Word of God, the instruction manual for our lives. And we need to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us through the Word of God. ... To guide us through those instructions.

But God also has specific instructions he wants to give each and every one of us.

When we accept Jesus Christ, when we receive that Gift, God has a plan for our life... when we become Christians, he has specific instructions for our individual life. Specific things that he wants us to do, and if we do not do those specific things, then we will miss out on his blessings...

Does that mean that we will never be blessed? NO..... but we will miss out on something God wants to give us.

Now... What must we do to receive those directions?

What must we do to receive those instructions that we need to live that victorious life that God has for us?

Joshua and the Israelites were victorious over Jericho. So lets look and see what Joshua did to receive these instructions.

In verse 14, the Bible says that Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence…

Your translation may say that he fell on his face and worshiped..

The meaning is the same.... Worship.... to fall prostrate before the lord..... to give our will over to the Lord...... to give in to him totally and completely.......