Sermon Tone Analysis
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Opening
always an honor to speak
special honor to be asked to speak here by a pastor who I highly respect
and speak to a people that I love to fellowship with
I am old enough not to take these opportunities for granted
recognize WMBC, my wife
and I want to recognize one person not here for the first time . . .
Bro. Westbrook, who passed away this year . . .
a faithful member . . .
one who Pastor Brewer always took time to thank for the impact he made on his life . . .
and I appreciate you, Pastor Brewer giving him his flowers while he was living.
prayer of thanksgiving
Attention Grabber
When I ask someone, “How can I pray for you?”, one of the most common prayer requests is, “I’m seeking direction . . .
I need wisdom on which way to go . . . .
I want clarity on what my next move should be . . .
I am looking for my purpose” . . .
and I believe we all can identify with those type of requests, that’s a good request
but Wouldn’t it be nice if life just took you where you were supposed to go? . . .
There is such a plan . . .
and I found it in a familiar scripture to many
Three Benefits of Trusting in the Lord
We will focus on “And he shall direct thy paths”, but in order to get there we must have a good understanding of the first part that says, “Trust in the Lord with . . . .
Understanding of 1st part of verse
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart means that we must trust God for real, for real . . .
have full confidence in God, that sincere faith, earnest faith
not just say it, or sing it, not just preach it, but live it
live a life where you trust in his word - you KNOW his words are true
you live a life where you trust in his wisdom - you know his decisions are best
you trust in his power - you know that he is able to keep his promises
you trust in his love for you - you know he cares for you
you trust in his faithfulness - you know you can count on him
we are talking about a real trust, bet your life on it trust
and lean not into thine own understanding means that your trust God so much so that you obey him, even when conditions suggests that you should not obey him
you follow him, even when it seems that following him is not the best option
you serve him, even when serving him feels like it is a waste of time
you trust the Lord more than you even trust yourself
In all thy ways acknowledge him means that you apply your trust in God to EVERY area of your life, you don’t leave God out of anything, you invite him into everything
Where God is not just for Sundays, Holidays, and special occasions, but every day of the year
and all of that leads us to . . .
He shall direct thy paths
This verse is not suggesting that you won’t ever be shaken, or that there will never be doubts, or there will never be slip ups
but if you are determined to trust in the Lord, no matter what
if your mindset is to Trust in God with everything that you’ve got, I’ve have some good news for you . . .
and that good news is that “He shall direct thy paths”
and He shall
we see that a guarantee is presented
your faith and trust in the Lord will not be in vain
when you trust in God, you can count on a “and He shall”
that means that the Lord IS going to do something for you
that means that the Lord IS going to move on your behalf
that means that the Lord DOES have your back
we have a promise that if we “Trust in the Lord . . . . .
“ The Lord God Almighty will direct our paths
direct thy paths
what does direct thy paths mean?
in the original Hebrew: direct thy paths means that he will make your paths . . .
straight, right
we’re talking about life paths: the course of your life, your life’s road, your life’s journey . . . he will direct those paths
Therefore, when you totally trust the Lord, the Lord will make the course of your life straight
when you sell out for the Lord, the Lord will make sure that you are on the right road
when you look to God in every area of your life, the Lord will take it upon himself to make sure your path is taking you in the right direction
Does that mean life with no problems?
no, far from it
just a quick reading of the bible, will let you know that’s not the case
but it does mean that when you Trust in the Lord, The Lord will make sure that life takes you where you are supposed to go
let me phrase it this way: When you trust in the Lord, the Lord will cause life, to work for you.
instead of life working you OVER, life will be working FOR you (Sounds like Romans 8:28)
The scripture is saying that when you follow God’s directions, God promises to give your path directions
The Lord will tell your path . .
.“take them where they need to go”
“put them where they need to be”
With this is mind, let me share three benefits of Trusting in the Lord
#1 When you trust in the Lord, you don’t have to worry about your past sins and bonehead decisions
Many of us have taken time to think about , “If I could do it over again” . . .
“If I could go back to my teens/twenties/thirties . .
.” because we’ve sinned and made some bonehead decisions
we knew it was wrong and we did it anyway
or we thought we were so right, but we were so wrong
we thought we were so smart, but we were actually foolish
But when you trust in the Lord, God will direct your path to make up for all of that!
that’s a good benefit!
Remember, the apostle Paul?
When we first hear of him, he is a Pharisee, who sets himself against the church
He was a Pharisee who was an accessory to the murder of one of the first deacons of the church, Stephen
Paul then started arresting and persecuting Christians . . .
talking about someone who wish they could go back and do things differently
But speaking of paths, Jesus himself, met Paul on a path . . . the path to Damascus, and made his path straight (even had to go to straight street)
and despite all he had done wrong, despite his previous bad understanding . . .
God made sure that his path ended up taking him where he was supposed to go,
in fact, Paul’s mistake filled past gave power to his ministry because his transformation was an amazing testimony to many
His past training as a Pharisee, made him an expert on the Old Testament, and he would show many how all the Old Testament scriptures pointed to Jesus Christ
His past background as a super pro Jew type of person, made his voice meaningful when taught that the Jewish Christians needed accept the Gentile Christians
And with God directing his path, all of those past mistakes and faults could not hinder Paul
he became a great apostle . . .
wrote most of the books in the NT
and when you trust in the Lord with all of your heart, YOU don’t have to worry about your past either, and you can say like Paul . .
.,
“forgetting those things that are behind, and reaching for those things that are before, I press towards the mark for the prize for the high calling of God in CHrist Jeus
in other words, my past was jacked up, BUT YET God has me headed in the right direction
if God can make the path of a Christian killer straight . . .
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