Clarity

according to my computer, I won’t be before you long . . . so first a couple of comments

Juneteenth!

The emancipation Proclamation said that on January 1, 1863 all slaves in slave states would be free

Texas slaves did not get the message to over 2 years later, June 19, 1865

Praise God, We have an official and national day to celebrate the freedom of slaves in the United States of America.

July 4th celebrates a big step towards freedom in this country

and Now Juneteenth celebrates another big step towards freedom in this country

We haven’t reached statement, “ We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights” . . . . but it is a step forward, an important one

So there is still much work to be done, but what has happened is historic

and be encouraged, fire behind it all was a 94 year old woman from Fort Worth, good friends with my father

at age 94, she has impacted the entire country

Lesson: God can use you at any age

Father’s Day

To all the fathers, we thank you, we appreciate you, grateful to God for you

I thank my heavenly Father for my earthly Father

being the father is about a DNA test

being a father is about a decision to love, for love is an action word

My father made that decision, God used the hurt from him having a bad father to turn him into a great father

so, happy and blessed Father’s Day to all the men who are not only the father, but have decided to be a father

Now just a reminder to all fathers . . .

Proverbs 22:6 NASB95

6 Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Your job is to not only provide but to train (prepare)

train them spiritually, physically. financially. mentally for life

Training usually involves:

Teaching and explaining

leading by example - positive (do what I did) or negative (honestly admit, “don’t do what I did”)

discipline - requiring that they control themselves

and allowing them to learn from experience - get out there see what it is like to make decisions, suffer

it’s easy for us as fathers to do well in some areas, and forget about others, so examine yourself

how prepared our your kids spiritually, physically, financially, and mentally

now to our word . . .

Clarity

One of the most common prayer request I receive is for clarity

People desire direction, wisdom, vision

we all want to head in the right direction

we want to make the right moves

but life is so complicated, it often seems like a thick fog, and we are unsure of which way to go

and we ask for clarity, discernment

I have some outstanding news for those who desire . . . clarity, direction

Background

we will be using Psalm 37

it is to understand that this Psalm presents a comparison between the wicked and the righteous

it starts off saying fret not thyself because of evil doers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity

then it talks about what the wicked do, and what the righteous do

it talks about the end result of being, and the end result of being on God’s side

Psalm 37:23–24 NIV

23 The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; 24 though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

You might be more used to the KJV - the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord

there is some disagreement in translation on the pronouns in v23

whether the “one who delights” is God delighting in us . . . or us delighting in God

in this verse, the Hebrew is very ambiguous according to the scholars . . . so translations are split in half

because of context of comparing wicked to good in this Psalm, I believe it is us delighting in God

“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him”

If you are seeking to please the Lord, the Lord will guide your steps

if your heart is in the right direction, God will guide you in the right direction.

So if it is my desire to serve the Lord, God makes sure that I am on the right track!

just like a train track leads the train to its proper destination, God will guide your steps to the proper destination

God will open the right doors, close the wrong doors

roadblocks will serve to put us on the right path

God will make you stop when conditions are not right

God will push you forward when the timing is right

you can be as clueless as a train and still get to where you need to be, just delight yourself in the Lord

Therefore asking for clarity, wisdom is a good thing

but an even better prayer is “create in me a clean heart”

because if your heart is right . . .he will make your path right

if you trust in him with all your heart . . . he will direct your path

and this applies even if you mess up . . .

“though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand”

even if you stumble, the Lord will hold you up and make sure that you don’t fall

even if you jack it all up, God won’t let you fail

God won’t let your mess up, mess it up

God knows we are far from perfect, so even when we go astray, He still has us

“I got you . . . yeah, what you did was stupid, foolish, selfish, crazy, ignorant . . . you will have to go through some suffering . . . but I will still get you where you need to be at the right time

I declare to you with full confidence, that I am definitely on the right path, headed the right direction

Have I done everything right?

Have I done my very best all the time?

Have I always fought off temptation?

Have I made the wisest choices?

Have I made the best decisions?

Have all my plans been on point?

No, but yet I still am on the right path!

because God just keeps leading me, in spite of

David is the example

far from perfect

sinned, bad decisions, prone to some foolishness

he was counted out a few times, but God did not let him fall

Because deep in his heart, David wanted to please God

it was a bumpy road, but David was the best king Israel ever had

So, the question is . . .

Do I really want to please God?

(delight in him)

if God asked, “Are you with me?” three times (like Peter) . . . how would you answer

I don’t want you to fool yourself, so let me give you some things to think about

do you want to please God with the same intensity that you have when

you can’t stand to see your children sad

you don’t want to see your spouse mistreated

you don’t want to let your parents down

you want to impress your peers

A huge key to determine if you really want to please God . . . your reaction

your reaction to messing up, falling short, doing something stupid

David - about to kill Nabal, Abigail reminded him of his destiny . . . David relented

David - went to live work with the enemy . . . encouraged himself in the Lord

David - murder and adultery . . . repented, accepted punishment

David - demanded a census be counted . . . asked the Lord to just kill him instead

What’s your reaction . . . to correction, going astray, messing up

dig in deeper or turn to God

make excuses or turn to God

Some of us our looking in clarity of vision, when we need clarity of purpose

my purpose is to serve the Lord

please the Lord

praise the lord

glorify the lord

magnify the Lord

my purpose is to say “yes lord!”

and when you have that amount of clarity of purpose . . . you are guaranteed to be on the right track

have that faith, confidence, assurance!

should have, could have, would have don’t matter anymore

I might have to go through some trial, consequences

but I will be the man/woman God created me to be

husband/wife

pastor

leader

helper

business person

Invitation

If you want to please God, God has made it possible for you to become his child

The question God asks, “Do you want to roll with me?”

if so, I ‘ll pay for you to get in