Scripture Provides Spiritual Direction

Scripture Provides Spiritual Direction

KEY PASSAGE: Psalm 119:105 (NASB)

Lord, we have come today to worship You. You are our God, and we love You. We stand before You in humility, recognizing Your presence in this church. Your grace sustains us, Your love motivates us, and Your presence commits us to do Your will. And so, Father, we “Thank You” again for another wonderful time of praise and worship. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. God bless you, and you may have your seat.

TITHE AND OFFERING (GIVING TO GOD)

Before we collect our tithe and offering, I want to read Second Corinthians chapter 9, verses 7 to 8. “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” God wants us to be cheerful in our giving because of an understanding that God is our source. One of the ways that you know you are growing in your faith and walk with God is when you give with a glad heart in response to the goodness of God. Giving to God should be a joy and not a job. Let us all give to God today with a cheerful heart. God bless you. Ushers, please pass around the offering plates. Worship band, please lead us in worship as we collect our tithe and offering. Please follow the instructions on the screen on how to give to God.

WELCOME

Please stand up, greet some folks around you, and welcome them to worship. We welcome you to our Sunday Worship Service. We also welcome all who join us online. Let's clap for our online viewers.

ANNOUNCEMENT

Our church community outreach program will be at noon on Saturday, August 3rd. If you want to volunteer at the community outreach program, please talk to Kim and Victor Barbee. Please be sure to attend the church’s weekly activities. Wednesday Night Bible Study Connect is at 7:00 p.m. We will start the Book of Romans in August, so please join us on Wednesday night to STUDY THE WORD OF GOD. Also, our church corporate weekly prayer meeting is every Saturday at 8:00 a.m. I will call on David from our Media Team to update us on our new church App and website.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Father, in the name of Jesus, I pray that You will open our eyes so we may behold the wondrous things in Your Word. You have spoken on this subject in our text for today, and I pray we will follow Your instructions. I pray that You bless the tithe and the offering as we honor You with our gifts and substance. May our giving advance the Kingdom of God. May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O LORD, our Rock, and our Redeemer. Amen.

DECLARATION OF FAITH IN GOD

Let us stand and say the Declaration of Faith in God together.

SERMON INTRODUCTION

Please turn your Bibles with me to Psalm 119, verse 105. Psalm 119, verse 105, just one verse. If you are a Christian, you may have heard this verse all your life. This is a verse most Christians who are in Bible Study get around to learning this verse sooner or later. It says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” This verse, taken from the longest chapter of the Bible, introduces us to the Scripture as it relates to our direction. Each of us should use the Word of God personally, practically, and habitually as we make our way through this dark and sinful world.

However, no issue hits us more in living the Christian life than deciding which way to go. Which decision should we make? Which choice is the best? It can come about anything, from a job choice to a mate to a financial decision to a situation you are in right now, and you don’t know how to address it properly. We have been talking about the “Benefits of Scripture,” and today, I want us to look at a very practical “Benefit of Scripture.” And that is, Scripture gives us a spiritual direction.

SERMON EXPOSITION

There is not a Christian anywhere to be found who has not faced the issue of [what do I do.] I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where to turn. It [reminds] me of the question King Jehoshaphat faced in 2 Chronicles 20 when he was surrounded. The king said everywhere I looked, there was a mess. He said I looked North. There was a northern mess. I looked South, and there was a southern mess. I looked East, and there was an eastern mess. I looked West, and there was a western mess. There is just a mess everywhere.

And the king just threw his hands up and said, “I don’t know what to do.” Has anybody ever been in an ‘I don’t know what to do situation?’ A situation in which you don’t know which way to go. According to the Psalmist, “thy Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”

To put it another way, the Psalmist says Scripture shows us the direction we should take. He says, first of all, the Word of God is a lamp directing us in a dark world. You see, lamps were used in biblical (Bible) days, unlike how we use lights today, because, with modern technology, lights cast a great illumination over a great area. But in biblical times, when it was dark, you had a lamp, a lantern, or an oil-burning mechanism, and you didn’t get to see these great distances in the dark; it allows you to see your next step. We often asked this question, “Show me what to do next.” Well, carrying a lamp was the next step. The lamp did not answer all the questions way out there, but it helped you take the next step.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION

It is like coal miners when you see them on TV. They have their helmets on, and [they have] a little light at the top because they are in the midst of darkness. The little light shows them the next step so that they can walk and go in the right way or the right direction. The psalmist says that the Bible, the Word of God, is like a light that enables us to see in the darkness [so that we can] stay on the right course and avoid that which will take us in the wrong direction.

No person in this room who is not guilty of making bad [wrong] choices. If you have lived without bad choices, I want to talk to you after church to learn your secret. The bottom line is that we are all guilty of making bad choices. Do you know why many of our bad choices are bad? – because we did not have enough information. He says Scripture is a lamp, a light that allows you to sift through things to determine what is good, better, and best, what is right and wrong; it gives you the ability to distinguish [differentiate) between good and evil. The Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

SERMON EXPLANATION

I want us to zero in on a word that is often ignored when we read this verse. The writer says that the Scripture (that is, the Word of God) is a light to my feet and a light to my path. Now, the Word is light, and the “Word” does give you the correct path. Watch this: I like what Matthew Henry (the great British Minister from Wales) said; he said: “The word of God directs us in our work and way, and where would a dark place like the world be without the Word of God.” Where would a sinful world be without the Word of God? Where would a sinful nation be without the Word of God? Where would a sinful people be without the Word of God?

But what the psalmist says is this is personal to me (and I don’t know about you folks), not simply general to all. Why is it that one Christian can go to church every Sunday for so many years and find guidance from God, and another Christian, coming into the same church, hearing the same sermon, reading the same Bible from the same passage, and having the same problem, and gets no illumination?

SERMON ILLUSTRATION

Does God have favorites? Does God like some folks and not like others? Maybe this will help you out. When you are flying on an airplane at night, they turn out all the lights because it is at night, and the goal is for you to sleep.

But if you are like me, who likes to read, there is a light above you. (I mean directly at your seat.) Please stay with me. That light illuminates where you are, with a directed ray pointed at you, and does not disturb the person sitting next to you or the folks around you who are not interested in reading but prefer to sleep. These folks, by the way, have their light above them.

So even though the light is available to everyone (like I am preaching right now to all of you), you must utilize the light above your seat on the airplane. If you don’t push the button above your seat to get your beam of light for your book, you don’t get to do your reading. In other words, on a plane, while there is enough light for everybody sitting on the plane, it doesn’t mean everybody will benefit from the sufficient light provided for everyone on the plane.

Let’s go a little deeper with this. The way the lights are directed, you can’t use my light for your reading. My light is my light, and it is not your light. Your light is your light. And so, if you try to use my light for your reading, you will hurt your eyes. In other words, God wants a personal relationship with you through His Word. It is not a simple, general Sunday morning relationship with God. That is why when you come to read and listen to the Word of God, you want to ask God these questions: Lord, what do you have for me today? What do you want to say to me? [Because] While the Holy Spirit indwells in all believers, [Watch this] the Holy Spirit has a unique word for each believer, given your unique personality, background, and situation.

SERMON EXPLANATION

You cannot reap the benefit of someone else’s time in the Word of God, especially in terms of what the Holy Spirit wants to say to you. The psalmist says that Scripture is a lamp; it is a light that helps me see. Now, why is it so important for the Scripture to be the foundation upon which the Holy Spirit builds and utilizes to direct me in my decision-making so that I am directed by God? I think this should be the desire of every Christian. You want to be doing what God wants you to do. He says My Word will provide that for you. Let me show you the problem.

Open your Bible to 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 3. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.” Paul talks about fortresses (or strongholds) in verse four, and a fortress is a well-walled scenario. Paul says you have been trying to tear stuff down for years. He says it is not coming down because you are using the wrong weapons. Then, in verse 5, he says in verse 5, “We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”There is a lot in that passage to uncover and unpack.

Paul speaks a great deal about training the mind to think in a way that honors God because [Watch this] the mind is the primary battlefield for spiritual warfare. Paul says you are in a spiritual battle, and whenever there is a conflict regarding a decision, there is a battle. The warfare is waged in the mind. What do I think I should do? This is because a thought reaps an action, an action reaps a habit, a habit reaps your character, and your character reaps your destiny. Therefore, we must reject anything that does not honor Christ in our thinking.

Paul says that though we live in the flesh, in our humanness, we do not operate by the flesh. Now, here is the problem—there is a big problem. The problem that we are dealing with today is that far too many of us, as Christians, live in the flesh while also operating by the flesh. We are fleshy Christians. We operate on the level of our humanity—the level of our five senses. Watch this: Paul says you will never tear down fortresses that way by simply getting another human viewpoint. In verse 5, he says we are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised against the knowledge of God. He says you must react, resist, tear down, and destroy everything that interrupts your ability to get God’s viewpoint.

The word lofty that Paul uses in verse 5 is a very interesting word in Greek. The word lofty, which you would use in our English word, is partition. A lofty thing was a partition. Looking around the church, we see many rooms that are partitioned in the sanctuary. This was one big room (one big space), but there was a partition or a lofty thing, a high thing that could be diminished from one end of the room to the other end of the room. Paul says the problem with too many Christians is that their minds and thoughts are divided.

They say they are following Christ, but their minds have a partition. Watch this now. They have the God part and the worldly part, and they want both parts to operate at the same time. Whenever you partition off a room, you don’t get everything there to have in that room. When you partition a room, you lose some stuff. James has another word for lofty. And that word is “double-minded.” James 1:8 says, “A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.”

Have you ever seen someone trying to go two ways simultaneously (at one time)? That person is confused, and they are not in their right mind. And that is the problem when it comes to decision-making. He says the first thing you must do for the Word of God to illuminate your life decisions is tear down the partition so you get access to the whole room. So, the lofty thing, if not dividing you, must be the mindset that says only God’s way.

Because he says of a double-minded man in James 1:7, watch this; it is profound (it is deep). “Let that man not think that he would receive anything from the Lord.”. He says, stop trying to go two ways at one time. Stop trying to have it both ways. Remove the lofty thing so that you can have divine discernment. I like how Colossians unites this concept of tearing down lofty things and bringing every thought to Christ. It says in Colossians chapter 3, these words, verse 16, “Let the Word of Christ, richly dwell within you with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns in spiritual songs singing with Thanksgiving in your hearts towards God.”

He says let the Word of God, the Word of Christ, dwell within you richly. The word dwells means to make yourself at home. Far too many times, God is not a home. And you know, when someone is not at home, they will not communicate. When a person is not at home, they are not going to be relaxed; they are not going to share what is on their heart because they don’t feel welcome there. God says that if you are going to hear from Me and hear from Me through my Word, my Word must dwell richly; my Word must know that it is at home where you live. If I am going to illuminate you, if I am going to lead you, if I am going to direct you, then let me be at home in you by letting my Word dwell richly.

This concept of being at home is the concept of being filled with the Holy Spirit. And if you remember, we did a sermon series on the names of the Holy Spirit. The filling of the Spirit means the control of God over the total being of life of a Christian. To be filled with the Spirit is to have the Word of Christ, which is the Spirit of Christ, permeating you. And the more the Holy Spirit permeates you, [Watch this] the more transformed you become. He says if you let me be at home by allowing My Word dwell richly. Lord, what do you want to tell me? I have all my ears open, and I am listening. Please talk to me. Please tell me what you want me to do; I am Yours.

As believers, we must understand that God’s direction through His Word comes as it permeates the mind. Romans 12:2 says, “You may be renewed in your mind.” To renew the mind is to change one's thinking. The problem with us is we are too intelligent. When you are raised in Western culture, you have the prospect [opportunity] for free education. You go to college and get a bachelor’s degree, and you think, you know, a little something. Then you get a master’s degree, Lord, have mercy, and then you get a doctoral degree, and now nobody can talk to you.

You are under the illusion that you know too much. Now let me help you out because all you have to do is learn about science, and you know they keep changing the rules. Drink coffee, but don’t drink coffee. Take this, and this will not give you cancer. They keep changing. Do you know why? Because they keep coming up with new stuff and never coming to know the truth. In other words, there are limitations. It would be better if an all-knowing, all-powerful, omniscient God answered the question for you. There is only one way to do that: to get to the heart. God says it is My Word that is affecting your thinking. Romans 3 verse 4 says, “God must prove to be true, and let every person be found a liar.”

But Satan wants to put up the Berlin Wall, the lofty thing, the partition, to prevent us from knowing the truth. And we don’t get to see the whole picture at once; the Bible says we walk by faith when we follow the Word of God. Each act of obedience will show us the next step, and eventually, we will arrive at the appointed destination. We are told that we live in “an enlightened age,” but truth be told, we live in a dark world, and only God’s light can guide us. Obedience to the Word of God will keep us walking in the light.

Psalm 119 verse 133 says, “Establish my footsteps in thy word.” You know the song, “Order My Steps in Your Word.” Order my steps in Your word, dear Lord. Lead me and guide me every day. Establish my footsteps in Your Word, and do not let iniquity have dominion over me. My footsteps are like a lamp to my feet, my steps, and my choices about the direction I am heading. I found that in the Word of God – so that iniquity, evil, and sin do not rule over me. I am not controlled by it. He says for me not to be controlled by it, I have to be established in Your Word.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION

For a plane to land, several things must happen or go into action. Three things in particular must happen for an airplane to land. For an aircraft to arrive safely at the gate, one thing that happens for the plane to arrive is that the air traffic controller maintains contact with the pilot and gives permission for the airplane to land. The second thing that happens is that the runway is lit at night so the pilot can see where they are landing the airplane. When the aircraft is grounded, the ground controller directs the pilot. The ground controller signals the pilots in an aircraft, directing them to a gate and placing the airplane to connect to an air bridge.

All three things I just shared with you need to work in harmony. The same principle is also true of being directed by God. God must be able to stay in contact with you so that He can tell you when to land. Then, you have the illuminating work of His Word to show you where to land. Then, you have the Holy Spirit to show you where to pull up. You have those three: God, His Word, and His Spirit, working together. The living Word, working with the Spirit and the Father to show you and gives you direction. When those three things are working, God will answer your prayers.

Watch this: The Holy Spirit’s job is to speak to you about God’s will for you. But to hear from the Holy Spirit, He must be at home in your heart. The Holy Spirit must feel free to direct you. When you follow God’s Word, the Spirit will move your thoughts and desires toward God’s will. When moving according to the Word, you take your hints from the Scripture. And it is the Spirit’s job to work on your thinking and desires. The Bible says the Lord will give you the desires of your heart according to Psalm 37:4. It means that when your heart and His will are the same, you have just heard the voice of God speaking to you. And our thinking, our heart, and our desires must be in agreement with His Word.

Faith Appeal, Call to Action, and Altar Call

Many times, we don’t know which path leads to life and which ends in death, and we often find ourselves in the dark. But through His Word, God gives us light in our situation and leads us to safety. Let’s first talk to the omniscient God by reading His book to get direction for our lives. This will save you and me a lot of money and time, and stop getting on everybody else’s nerves about what you should do. The problem is not that you talk to people; the problem is that you talk to them first before you talk to God. “Your Word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path.” God knows your ways. God knows how to lead you in the right way if you will do it based on His Word.

Let’s recognize that God’s Word is a light to direct our paths, and we must vow today to follow it. Let’s “Thank God” and give Him all the glory and praise for giving us His Word as a guide and a life-sustaining source as we walk on the path of life. And all God’s people say, Amen. God bless you.

Eternal life is the good news that comes through Jesus Christ. But Romans 3, verse 23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” This presents the condition of our lives today—we are sinners in need of a Savior. We are all sinners when we stand before a holy God. We do good things, but our sins separate us from God. The gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ, and if you are here today and don’t know Jesus, I want you to come forward and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. And this will be the most significant decision of your life. And once you make that decision today, the Scripture says you have chosen to live for Jesus for the rest of your life. Do we have anyone? Let us stand.

BENEDICTION

Father God, I pray that You order our steps in Your Word. Let the words of our mouth be acceptable in Your sight. May You take charge of our thoughts both day and night. The world is ever-changing, but Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Thank You for Your patience with all of us. I pray that each of us here today will find time to read and meditate upon Your Word day and night. May the Holy Spirit give us direction and insight as we study God’s Word. Keep Your Word on our lips and hearts. We pray all this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

God bless you. We will see you next week at 10:30 a.m.