Paths and Doors!
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· 6 viewsWe make decisions in our lives that may seem the right course, but are often taking the broad and easy path, which leads to destruction! God says to take, His path!
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OPEN WITH VIDEO, “JOURNEY”
Mention Senior Bible study on Tuesdays
Mention of Tim Green passing away and there being a memorial service in Murfreesboro, this Monday at 3:00. (For details, they can contact Linus Vaughn)
How many people here today, can say that you have had to make some tough decisions in your life? How many people here would be willing to raise your hands and say that you are at a place in your life where you are facing some tough decisions right now? (And if you are watching our live stream and what I just asked applies to you and your life, or someone very close to you,let me encourage you to do this. Email me at “cpalmer@cumberlandworshipcenter.org” and let me know what is going on in your life and I will respond to you and agree with you in prayer on these matters! AMEN?!
How many people here today, can say that you have had to make some tough decisions in your life? How many people here would be willing to raise your hands and say that you are at a place in your life where you are facing some tough decisions right now? (And if you are watching our live stream and what I just asked applies to you and your life, or someone very close to you,let me encourage you to do this. Email me at “cpalmer@cumberlandworshipcenter.org” and let me know what is going on in your life and I will respond to you and agree with you in prayer on these matters! AMEN?!
Our lives are made up of choices and decisions. Good, or bad, right or wrong, me make decisions, each and every day of our lives.
In fact, I have mentioned this before, but, according to researchers at Cornell University, it is estimated that we make 226.7 decisions each day on food alone. And as your level of responsibility increases, so does the multitude of choices you have to make. It’s estimated that the average adult makes about 35,000 remotely conscious decisions each day. Each decision, of course, carries certain consequences with it that are both good and bad.
Assuming that most people spend around seven hours per day sleeping and thus blissfully choice-free, that makes roughly 2,000 decisions per hour or one decision every two seconds.
So, I think that it is safe to say, that we spend a fair amount of time deliberating on hard choices and decisions and also making, spur of the moment, rash decisions.
Which color will I choose to wear today, which menu item do I pick from, which car do I want, how many shot of espresso will I take today in my latte, what time will I set my alarm for and on and on and on!
“I know that my wife likes the blue one, but I think that I am going to go with the green one this time!”
“I know that this new job means more money for me, but is more money worth costing me a job that I truly love and find fulfillment in?”
A couple of years ago, I was making a crock pot of chili for dinner one night, which is quite common for our family, in the colder months! On this one fateful night, I felt froggy and adventurous and I added honey to the chili and some extra spices, just to change things up a little.
The outcome was horrible, no one in my house liked it, truth be told, neither did I! I came to the point of making a decision, “do I stay the old path and make the chili the tried and true way, or do I branch out and go down a new path with a new recipe?”
I made the choice and I suffered the consequences for my decision.
Now, did that stop me from taking other, alternate paths with my cooking?
Far from it! I NEVER follow recipes and try new concoctions all of the time!
Point being, our lives are full of decisions, that we engage in constantly.
And the decisions that we make have consequences that go with them, not only for our lives, but the lives of others as well!
The decisions made in this country dealing with that of human life and that raging war of “pro-life” versus “pro-choice”, has had horrible consequences for millions of people.
You know, unless you have been in that situation, or know someone personally who has had an abortion and you have seen the aftermath of the guilt and the shame that they deal with, it is hard to imagine. And you will not hear the secular news talk about it. And the “pro-choice” people will not counsel the women and the men about the backlash of their decision and warn them of the aftermath that emotionally plagues them!
It is a decision that people make, that affects not only their lives, but the generations that follow! (Honestly, who knows how many great scientists and doctors and preachers and evangelists have been laid upon the alter of convenience and have been aborted out of the 60+ million babies that have been aborted in this nation!)
I’m not here today to talk about that subject, but rather, I am talking with you this morning, about, “Paths and Doors”.
Which “PATHS” will you decide to walk down and which “DOORS” will you decide to open and close in your life?
Your life is a journey that you are continually moving on. You can become complacent and not want to advance the journey, but time doesn’t wait on you and thus even complacency can’t prevent the journey of your life from moving on!
Your life is a journey that you are continually moving on. You can become complacent and not want to advance the journey, but time doesn’t wait on you and thus even complacency can’t prevent the journey of your life from moving on!
And what I mean is this. Even if you refuse to move forward in an area of your life, “life”, in and of itself, doesn’t sit and wait for you and your decision!
Time keeps marching on and you can either engage in its movement and be a part of the history of time, or you can try to disengage and sit still in the stream.
But make no mistake, if you stand still in the stream of life, just like if you stand still in a stream of water, it will not stop for you. It will flow up against you and all around you and keep moving in its intended direction, but it never stops for you!
So, we must make the decisions to move and change and engage!
You and I are here this morning, because we made the decision to do so. We have engaged and moved forward today!
Now, I hope and pray that you made that decision, because it is the desire of your heart to worship the Lord God and join in with others in giving praise and honor to His name this morning!
Be that as it may, we are here and I thank God for each and every one of you that decided to be a part of the Body of Christ today!
Now some of you may have been told this morning, “Oh, you’re most definitely getting up and going to church”, but thank God you did, for such a time as this!
Your life and my life and the future of this church, this part of the body of Christ, are heading down paths and as we head down those paths, we will come to the proverbial “forks in the road” [show slide with “fork” in the road and say, “sorry, wrong fork in the road], or the “crossroads”, which will force us to decide and choose for ourselves a course, a path for the future!
And the main point that I want to stress to you this morning, about the path for your life and even that of your family's, and the decisions and choices that we make for our lives, is that God has already said which path to choose and He has even given to us a GPS that helps keep us on that path, even when the conditions for seeing ahead are not clear and obstacles lie before us that would otherwise sidetrack us.
And the main point that I want to stress to you this morning, about the path for your life and even that of your family's, and the decisions and choices that we make for our lives, is that God has already said which path to choose and He has even given to us a GPS that helps keep us on that path, even when the conditions for seeing ahead are not clear and obstacles lie before us that would otherwise sidetrack us.
Turn with me in your Bibles, please, to the Old Testament book of . (While everyone is turning to this passage, let me ask you a quick trivia question. “What is the longest book in the entire Bible?)
Most people will say the book of Psalms, because of its, 150 chapters, but in all actuality, the Old Testament book of JEREMIAH, is the longest book in the Bible!
This is based upon the number of actual Hebrew words that are used, versus just the number of chapters and verses.
Now, before we read this passage, let me quickly update you on what is taking place at this time in the history of the people of the city of Judah.
Judah was in constant rebellion against God and His commandments for His people. No matter what warnings God sent to them through His prophets, the people would not adhere to God’s will for their lives and they kept choosing their own path and doing things in their own way.
So, through a series of progressive attacks from king Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, Judah and its people were taken away and basically destroyed, right up to the last king, King Zedekiah, who led a revolt against Nebuchadnezzar. A revolt that the prophet Jeremiah warned them not to do.
King Zedekiah and his men were captured and brought before King Nebuchadnezzar. Zedekiah’s sons were slain before his own eyes and then his eyes were removed and he spent the rest of his life in chains in Babylon.
And so here, in this passage, we find God warning JUda
Now, let’s read the passage together real quick. ,
16 Thus says the Lord: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ 17 I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Pay attention to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not pay attention.’
The Lord was sending judgement upon the people if they refused to turn back to Him and His will for their lives.
It was the will of God and His heart to bless the people and their future, but they were choosing another path.
God made it known what His will for their lives was, in very familiar passage of , which reads,
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
It is and always has been, the desire and the will of God, to bless those who are His and who follow and serve Him!
But disobedience to God and His will, do not go unnoticed!
For as the Bible clearly states in the book of Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”
You see, God has a perfect PATH for you and I and for our lives that we wants us to walk and follow, and as a loving Father, Yahweh gives us the free will to choose this path for our lives.
And He doesn’t just give us the free will to make the decision to start down the perfect path for our lives, but He also gives us the free will to decide to stay on that path for the remainder of our lives, while here on earth!
That is true love, by the way; that God being omnipotent and omniscient, still allows us to decide how we will live our lives.
Even after we become His children, He allows us to make decisions for our lives, that affect our walk with Him!
Look closely at what God says to the people, through the prophet Jeremiah in this passage as I read it from the AMP version of the Bible, “Stand by the roads and look; and ask for the eternal paths, where the good, old way is; then walk in it.”
Now this is what is God was saying to the people, “look closely at the path that you have been heading down and where it is bringing you to. You have been disregarding my warnings and continuing in your self-serving lifestyles.”
“Even the prophets and the priests that you have elected to listen to, are false, as they have been telling you that all is well.”
“They have been giving you the assurance of PEACE, when there is no PEACE and on this path, there will not be any PEACE!”
" because of their false teachings and testimony, they will lie amongst the slaughtered.”
In this passage, God and His warning, can be likened to a series of signs that you see as you are driving down a road that keep telling you to prepare to stop ahead. For several miles, you will see, “PREPARE TO STOP AHEAD” and then as you close in, you see flashing lights and warning you and then STOP SIGNS and big red STOP LIGHTS, so that you must use caution and stop and acknowledge where you are getting ready to proceed on to.
SHOW “STOP” SLIDE
And God says to the people and to each one of us today, as we approach the crossroads and the forks in the roads in our lives, “STOP and look around, before you go any further.”
God even stated in verse 17, “ I posted watchmen over you who said, ‘Listen for the sound of the alarm.’ But you replied, ‘No! We won’t pay attention!’
‘Listen for the sound of the alarm.’ But you replied, ‘No! We won’t pay attention!’
But you replied, ‘No! We won’t pay attention!’
God posted men, like the prophet Ezekiel, a contemporary of Jeremiah, as a watchman over the people of Judah. God told Ezekiel, “Now, son of man, I am making you a watchman for the people of Israel.”
And then God told him to warn those who were sinning to cease from their sins and he also told him to warn the righteous, not to depart from the path of their righteousness!
‘No! We won’t pay attention!’
The watchman’s job was to announce danger to others and God said that if the watchman didn’t sound the alarm and warn the people and the people died in their sins, then their blood was upon the watchman!
As Christians, we are commissioned to spread the gospel message to everyone and in a sense, be a watchman over those who God entrusts to our care: children, co-workers, church members, etc.
If someone is living in sin, then, out of love for them and their soul, we are to “sound the alarm” and warn them of their ways, so as to bring them to repentance and back to God!
This is why, as a preacher, I take the role as a watchman very serious, because tells us, “
17 Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit.
God says that we are to ask for, to look for the ancient paths, the godly paths, the paths that lead us to the way of life in the Lord.............and then we see that path, we must CHOOSE/DECIDE to take that path!
God says that we are to ask for, to look for the ancient paths, the godly paths, the paths that lead us to the way of life in the Lord.............and then we see that path, we must CHOOSE/DECIDE to take that path!
God’s word has a number of different passages about His will for our lives and of our seeking the path that leads to righteousness and then staying on that path.
God’s word has a number of different passages about His will for our lives and of our seeking the path that leads to righteousness and then staying on that path.
David said in the Psalms, “Make me to know your ways, O Lord;
teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.
Good and upright is the Lord;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”
“You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
If we will choose God’s will and His way for our lives, and walk the path that He has for us, then we will have the promises of His word. Just as we read of in , where God is saying, “Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.!”
Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.
How many of you here today are feeling overwhelmed in your life and the sound of finding REST for your soul sounds awesome?!
I mean really, come on; how many of us wouldn’t want rest and peace in our hearts and in our souls?!
God promises that if we choose His path, the ancient and unchanging way for our lives, then we will find rest for our souls!
You know, as you move forward in your life, you will keep encountering different paths to choose from. And the reality is, no matter which of these paths you choose to follow and decide to walk down, as long as you are seeking God and His will for your life, you will ultimately end up on the same path and heading to the same destination!
But you must CHOOSE to move, He will not force you!
SHOW YOGI BERRA SLIDE
If, you are truly in the kingdom of God and serving God with your life, then all paths lead to the same WAY!
Jesus said, “I am the WAY, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Of all of the many paths that we will travail and navigate in our lives, if we are children of God and under His covering and seeking His ancient paths for our lives, they will all lead to the WAY!
Jesus said in ,
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.
Jesus, is that WAY that leads to life and the narrow gate that someone must enter in order to follow the WAY, is a place of complete self denial and abandonment to one’s own wants and desires!
For this very reason, Jesus said that “FEW” would find the WAY. (Everyone say, “FEW”)
“Many are called, but FEW are chosen!”
And just like in the days of Jeremiah and in the passage that we just read, where God said that there were FALSE priests and prophets who said that everything is good and gave the people a false assurance of PEACE, so also do we find the New Testament warning us of the same thing.
,
1 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. 2 And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed.
There are many teachers and churches and denominations who are teaching today, “everything is good where you are in your life and you are safe and we have PEACE with God”.
And yet they will not address the issues of sin that are present and they assure the people that God is pleased with them, right where they are.
Even though the individuals of these churches and who sit under these false teachers may have no real relationship with Yahweh through Jesus, they are being told, “ALL IS WELL!”
A path that is taught of that doesn’t mention denial of self and abandonment of one’s self to God and taking up our cross and following Him only, is the other path that Jesus mentions in . It is the BROAD gate and the EASY PATH that so very many are heading down! (SHOW SLIDE OF “God’s Way/My Way”)
And the sad thing is that both paths have the name of HEAVEN listed above them as to their direction!
As I have mentioned before, about denominational segregation, there is only one division within the kingdom that you ever have to worry about. And that division, or segregation takes place, when Jesus separates the sheep from the goats, (the believers from the unbelievers.)
That division actually begins by the choice that you and I make here, as to which path we are going to devote our lives to.
We can choose the non-demanding, easy to follow and seeker friendly path, (a.k.a. “the broad path”) that requires nothing of us and allows for whatever seems right to us in our own eyes, or we can choose the narrow, demanding, sacrificial and difficult path, (a.k.a. “the narrow path/ the ancient path”), which demands we separate ourselves from the world, deny ourselves and serve the Lord, wholeheartedly!
This narrow path, is really the only path that we, as believers, ever have to concern ourselves with, because every other crossroad and forked road that we will encounter in our lives will be walked out in faith and guided by Holy Spirit, per the will of God!
When you encounter a place where you are not sure of which path to take, that is, you aren’t sure of which decision is right or wrong, then you must pray and ask and believe that God will direct you and give you wisdom on making the right decision and going down the right path!
His word is faithful and true and it tells us that when we need wisdom, we are to ask Him for it and not to doubt that He will give it to us!
And when we seek His wisdom and His will within His living Word, that living and breathing Word becomes a light to our feet and a lamp unto our path!
Holy Spirit becomes the living GPS to spiritually guide us down the narrow and trying path!
There will be times, where we falter and sin and step away from the path and yet He gives more grace and leads us back, as His word tells us in ,
21 Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.
Have you ever been driving down the road and you come across a squirrel in the road? You know how they kind of freak and dart one way and then the other, completely unsure of which way they are to go for safety?
Well, that is how we are sometimes. We can become blindsided with things in this world, that have us jumping from one side of the path to the other, unsure of which way to turn!
Just remember that God will direct your steps and lead you down the safe correct path, as tells us,
23 The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives.
reminds us that, “We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps. The path of the virtuous leads away from evil; whoever follows that path is safe.”
The path of the virtuous leads away from evil; whoever follows that path is safe.
We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps.
You and I get to choose/decide which “path” we will follow. The broad and easy path that seems right and appears to lead to heaven, but ends in destruction. Or, we can choose the narrow path, the ancient path, that is THE WAY to eternal life.
You and I get to choose/decide which “path” we will follow. The broad and easy path that seems right and appears to lead to heaven, but ends in destruction. Or, we can choose the narrow path, the ancient path, that is THE WAY to eternal life.
whoever follows that path is safe.
Just as Jesus told us that He is the Way to eternal salvation, He also told us in , that He is the “door” that we must enter through to get into the kingdom of God!
There are many “doors” that seem right for you and I to enter into in our lives!
but the LORD determines our steps.
Each “door”promising something good and pleasurable and beneficial for us.
There are many religions/DOORS that we can choose between. Each of them claiming that if we enter thru them, they will put us on the “path” to eternity.
And in actuality, they are right in their promise. Every other “door” that you enter thru and every other “path” that you choose to walk, besides Jesus Christ, leads to eternity; just an eternity of suffering and separation from God!
Do you remember the TV game show, “The Price Is Right”?
Monte Hall would give the contestants the right to choose between either, instant cash, or what was behind door #1, door #2, or Door #3.
That is our lives now. We can choose to take instant gratification and what this world has to offer (the cash option), or we can also choose a religion for our lives (the three doors).
OR, you can choose to leave the game behind altogether, and choose, “the DOOR” that leads to “the WAY” down the right path, “the ancient path”!
We must move in FAITH and open and close doors in our lives. We must open the doors that lead to greater and more devoted ways of serving the Lord and close the doors that lead to only separation from Him and darkness!
It takes FAITH and courage to choose the doors that we are to open and walk through sometimes.
MENTION OF JOE McGHEE TELLING ME TO JUST STEP OUT IN FAITH AND OPEN A DOOR AND WALK THROUGH IT!
In , Jesus says to the church of Philadelphia, “This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open.”
7 “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Philadelphia. This is the message from the one who is holy and true, the one who has the key of David. What he opens, no one can close; and what he closes, no one can open:
If you and I are moving in faith and trying to stay in God’s will for our lives and we open a door that He is not ready for us to go into, He will close it somehow.
And in like fashion, he will also open another door for us to enter, that keeps us on that ancient path.
He will never abandon us and leave us to walk alone and down the wrong path, but we must choose to open the door for the right path and go through it.
THE BIG BLACK DOOR
An Arab chief tells a story of a spy who was captured and then sentenced to death by a general in the Persian army. This general had the strange custom of giving condemned criminals a choice between the firing squad and the big, black door. As the moment for execution drew near, the spy was brought to the Persian general, who asked the question, "What will it be: the firing squad or the big, black door?" The spy hesitated for a long time. It was a difficult decision. He chose the firing squad. Moments later shots rang out confirming his execution.
The general turned to his aide and said, "They always prefer the known way to the unknown. It is characteristic of people to be afraid of the undefined. Yet, we gave him a choice."
The aide said, "What lies beyond the big door?"
The general replied, “Freedom!” "I’ve known only a few brave enough to take it."
"Freedom," replied the general. "I’ve known only a few brave enough to take it."
One more witty story and I will close in prayer.
REVELATION AT THE FRONT DOOR
A new pastor was visiting the homes of some of the people in his congregation. He came to one house and he knocked but there was no answer. He could see the lights were on and it seemed very obvious that someone was home, so he knocked again. When there was no response, he took out a note card and simply wrote on it and stuck it in the door.
20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.
The next Sunday after the offering was passed he found someone had put his note card in the plate. He looked at the card and saw that they had added to it a cryptic message saying simply: . The pastor grabbed his Bible and opened it to the verse cited and began to laugh.
begins: "Behold I stand at the door and knock." reads: "I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid for I was naked."
begins: "Behold I stand at the door and knock." reads: "I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid for I was naked."
SHOW SLIDE OF JESUS KNOCKING
And here is my closing thought based on this cute story. The reality is this, just as Jesus said to the church of Laodicea in , “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me”; Jesus is standing at a DOOR and knocking and asking permission to enter.
As in this verse, He is sadly enough, standing at the DOOR of many church buildings and knocking and asking for permission to come in, so that they will truly become His church body.
But He is also standing at door of many people’s hearts and knocking and asking you for permission to come in and become the Lord and Savior of your heart!