I invite you, if you've turned
to the 10th chapter of the book of Jeremiah, to look at verse
22 and 23. Behold, the prophet Jeremiah
says, the noise of the brute is come and a great commotion
out of the north country to make the cities of Judah desolate
and a den of dragons. Oh Lord, I know that the way
of man is not in himself. It is not in man that walketh
to direct his steps. Let us look to the Lord. Our
Father, we're grateful this morning that we have such a God as Thou
art to be able to call upon, and we know that Thou hast bidden
us to come in boldness and confidence unto Your throne, and we come
through that new and living way, that way that was made open for
us through the rent veil through the shedding of the blood of
our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank Thee Father for that
atonement that was made and how we rejoice in sins forgiven,
sins under the blood of Jesus, sins our Father put away behind
your back as far as the East is from the West never to be
remembered against us again. How we thank Thee our Father
for your for your love toward us and for your compassion and
your mercies that never fail. And thank you that they're new
every morning. And Lord, as we come before you
this morning, we ask that the message that is upon our hearts
that we might be able today to deliver it. Oh, would you please,
our Father, give us liberty of the spirit and liberty of thought
and expression this morning that for the glory of our God and
for the praise of our Redeemer that we might be able to speak
today to the edification of those that are believers to the uplifting
of their souls that they might be encouraged in the midst of
this wilderness journey, Father, and this pilgrimage that we're
on. And then, Lord, as we think of
those that are outside of Christ, Those that are in need of a Redeemer,
I pray for them, Lord, that they might understand, first of all,
their condition. That they might understand where
they are before Thee. That they might understand what
You demand of them. that they might flee our Father
to the Lord Jesus and flee the wrath to come, that they might
hide themselves away in the bosom of Christ until the great judgment
of our Father has come upon the wicked that they should hide
themselves in Christ and find eternal life and peace and rest
in Him. Thank you Lord this morning for
peace and thank you for a measure of peace and contentment of our
hearts. Only you are able to give a contented
heart. Only you're able to give a heart
that is calm and restful, and we do pray that you might give
it to all of us today. We thank you for the measure
you've already given, and we just ask that you might receive
today the praise that you're worthy to receive from our hearts,
from our worship. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Now there was a fire built in
my soul this last week when one day I overheard one of the Egyptian
clergymen who was talking about the airplane crash in the ocean. And they made the statement,
or this gentleman made the statement, someone asked him about what
he figured went wrong. And he said, well, he says, not
even God himself knows what went wrong on that plane. Not even
God himself. And that built a fire in my soul
because, you see, I do not worship and I do not believe that you
worship a dumb God. I believe that the God that we
worship is an all-knowing God. He's an omniscient God. He knows
everything. Everything is naked and open
unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. Surely nothing
is, as the Bible says, who is he that commandeth, and it comes
to pass, except the Lord commands it. Surely God is absolutely
sovereign, surely He knows all that's going on, and surely He
is a God of purpose, and He will indeed accomplish His purpose. Now as I read these verses, I
thought a great deal about them. I have preached on them before.
But I was moved toward these verses this morning, and I believe
that the Lord would have us to spend some time on verse 23.
Now the Lord's ancient people was about to be carried away
captive to Babylon, and the prophet in our text speaks of a fact.
He speaks of a fact that was well known to him. Listen to
the words in verse 23. Oh Lord, I know that the way
of man is not in himself. It is not in man that walketh
to direct his steps. Now I say that this is a fact
that was well known unto the prophet. He knew God, and he
knew man, and he knew that the way of man was not in himself,
and he knew that man that walketh was not capable of directing
his steps. Now, it is always well, brother,
sister, to know the truth of God and to have such an understanding
of it that we're able to remember it just when we need to remember
it. Just when we need to remember
it. You know, I heard a story one time about a man that had
a perfectly good anchor, and he went out on his boat and sailed
out into the ocean, but he forgot to take his anchor with him.
And when he needed it, he didn't have it. So it is, there are
some people that know in their hearts certain things. They know
enough really to comfort them, but they do not remember it in
the time of their distress. So it is of no value to them. Jeremiah says, O Lord I know,
O Lord I know, and he uses his knowledge as a source of comfort
in his hour of need. What Jeremiah knew was this,
that the affairs of this world are not under the control of
men, however much they imagine that they are. that God is in
control and He's sovereign and that men may imagine that they're
under control as Nebuchadnezzar was about to carry the Jews away
from the land which flowed with milk and honey. to his forecountry. But the prophet consoled himself
with the reflection that whatever Nebuchadnezzar meant to do, he
was only the instrument in the hands of God for the accomplishment
of God's divine purpose. Whatever he would do, he was
only going to accomplish that which the Lord had purpose to
bring to pass. He proposed, but God disposed. God was the one that was in control.
Now the tyrant of Babylon thought that he was working out his own
will, yet he was really carrying out the will of God in chastening
that idolatrous and rebellious nation. This was Jeremiah's consolation. I do not know what Nebuchadnezzar
may do, but I do know that the way of man is not in himself. It is not in man that walketh
to direct his steps. He is saying, I know that in
God's eternal purpose every step of Judah's way is mapped out
and he will make it all work out for his own glory and the
good of those that have real true faith in Judah. God is omnipotent and he is still
working out his wise designs as he did of old in the whirlwind
of human wrath in the tempest of human sin and in the ambition
and tyranny of all rulers in this land. All the while God
is displaying his sovereign will among men even as the potter
forms the vessels on the wheels according to his own will. Now this truth ought to be remembered
by us because It tends to take away from us all the fear of
man. Did you ever have fear grip your
heart? The fear of men grip your heart? Have you ever thought about,
in the generations to come, somewhere along the line, that this nation
will not be spared from the bombs? It will not be spared from a
nuclear holocaust somewhere along the line. This thing is going
to be changed and things are going to happen in this United
States of America that maybe we never dreamed would happen.
But have you the fear of man that grips your heart? Well,
beloved, I believe that this will take away all the fear of
men, to believe that the way of man is not in himself, but
whatever happens will come forth from a wise and holy God, and
that God will use it to His end and purpose, to the accomplishment
of that which He designed. Why should we be afraid of a
man that shall die, or the son of man, who is but a worm? A
man whose breath, the Bible says, is in his nostrils. Why should
we be afraid of him? Remember the promise of God.
No weapon that is formed against you shall prosper in every tongue
that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants
of the Lord. The most powerful enemy of the
church can do nothing without God's permission. The Almighty
God is master, Lord, even over the men who imagine that all
power is in their hands. They say, well, we've got the
money, and so all power is in our hand. We've got the strength,
we've got the armies, but all power is not in their hands.
The Bible says, the Lord Jesus, He made this statement. He said,
all power in heaven and on earth is mine. All power. It belongs
to the Lord. David said, I said it once, I'll
say it again, that power belongeth unto God. God is the God that
is almighty. He's the almighty God. He's master,
lord, and even over the men who imagine that all power is in
their hands. Next, this truth also shall ensure,
I believe, our submission to the will of God. It is God who
permits it. Are we subject to God? Brother Halbert read the fourth
chapter of James. He said, Submit yourself unto
the Lord. Submit yourself unto the Lord.
I wonder this morning, do we realize that we're not to think
so much of the instrument or the second cause. It is the Lord,
let him do what pleases Him. Let Him do what He will. It is
the Lord. We spend a great deal of time,
it's like the dog who will bite the stick. that strikes him instead
of biting the hand that holds the stick. You see, we believe
that the instrument, that we should look at the instrument,
look at the second causes, and we oftentimes do that when we
should be looking to the first cause, and that first cause is
God Almighty. We know that this truth will
strengthen our faith. And it ought to strengthen our
faith to where we would bow and submit ourselves unto God. Now when fear goes, faith will
come in. You'll have faith when this fear
of man departs. And when you humble yourself
and submit yourself to God, you'll have a little peace in your soul. To trust God in a storm is not
easy. But faith in the storm, I believe,
is true faith. If you really have faith in the
storm, you can say of assurity, it is true faith. Faith in the
calm may be or may not be true faith, but it is genuine faith
that stands strong in the midst of the storms of life. God has
all things in his hands. Do you believe that? David said,
my times are in thy hands. My times are in thy hands. Well, let me try to prove to
you this morning that the words of our text are true. I know
that oftentimes when we try to preach a message like this and
somebody says, well, it looks like that the preacher believes
that all responsibility has completely been removed from the hand of
man, that man has no responsibility. His way is not in himself and
he's not responsible. Well, beloved, that is not true.
I believe that man is indeed responsible, and I'd like to
show you out of Matthew 22, if you'd want to turn there, Matthew
chapter 22 and verse 36 through 40, I'd like to show you what
the Word of God says. If you're interested in finding
wherein you're responsible and what you're responsible for,
look at it here in Matthew 22 with me. I begin with verse 36,
where there is one that questions our Lord Jesus Christ. He says,
Master, which is the great commandment in the law? And Jesus said unto
him in verse 37, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is
the first and the great commandment. And verse 39, and the second
is likened to it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself. On these two commandments hang
all the law and the prophets. Well, my friend, you can work
on this. You can begin to work on this.
This is your responsibility. You say, well, I'm not sure that
I can do that. I'm certain you cannot do it
and do it perfectly. And I'm certain that this means
that you need a Savior. Oh, you need to flee to the Lord
Jesus Christ. You need to have You make a trip
to Calvary, as Mike suggested this morning, and in faith turn
to the Lord Jesus that He might forgive your law-breaking, your
lawlessness. But I wanted to read these verses
so that you would understand this is what God would command
of a person, that they should love the Lord their God with
all of their heart, with all their soul, and with all their
mind, and love their neighbor as themselves. On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets. And so if you're wanting something
this morning, my friend, to do, this you can do. This you can
do. This you can attempt to do. This
you ought to try to do, is love the Lord with all of your heart,
all your soul, and all your strength. Now, but isn't it wonderful and
marvelous that the God of the Bible, while we're responsible
to love Him and to love our neighbors ourself, isn't it wonderful that
He is a God of purpose and a God who rules over all things and
that has made arrangements in His divine mercy for our failures
and he has brought in everlasting righteousness and good hope through
grace. I would invite you to turn with
me to Ephesians chapter 1. Ephesians chapter 1. I'm going
to prove to you that the words of our text that the way of man
is not in himself and that it's not in man that walketh to direct
his steps, that those words are true. Because God has a purpose,
and one of the things that we need to learn about the God of
the Bible, and this has opened the eyes of many, many people,
when they realize that the God of the Bible is a God of purpose. He's a God who has purpose to
do that which He does. That He's not a God who changes
His plans day by day to meet the situations that come up,
but He's a God known unto Him are all of His works from the
beginning of the world. Nothing takes God by surprise. You have never surprised God. Nobody will ever surprise God
Almighty. He's taken all things into account,
and we read here in Ephesians chapter 1, in verse 5, he says,
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.
Now He made certain claims upon our lives. He made demands of
us. We failed as Adam did. We failed
in Adam. But our God, being merciful,
chose us, those of us who would come to His Son, those of us
whom He would bring unto His Son, those of us who would finally
come to like precious faith in Christ, He gave us to His Son
before the foundation of the world that we should be holy
and without blame before Him in love, and He predestinated
us, predetermined that we would be adopted by Jesus Christ according
to the good pleasure of His will. It was the good pleasure of His
will. Don't you see? God has a will.
And God's will is a perfect will. And don't you see that God's
will, because it's perfect, and because God is wise and holy,
that His will ought to be done. say what you want to about free
agency, say what you want to about the free will of man, you
say what you want to, you say what you believe about it, and
that's your opinion, and okay. But I'm telling you there is
one will. that determines what God's going
to do and that's God's will and God's will will be done and let
me tell you something else God's will ought to be done because
it's a perfect will which comes from a heart of love true love
and which comes from a holy heart and God's will ought to be done
now then so we see in verse 5 that He's predestinated us unto the
adoption of children, and it's according to His good pleasure,
the good pleasure of His will, and I'm mighty happy about that.
I'm glad to be in the many-membered family of God. I'm glad to be
saved. I'm glad to have my sins put
away. I'm glad to be in Christ and
to be able to stand before God just as if I'd never committed
a sin. I'm glad to be in the Redeemer,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Aren't you? If you are, it's
because of His will. It's because of His purpose.
It's because He predestinated you unto the adoption of children. Now notice, if you will, verse
9. I want you to look at this verse.
Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according
to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself. You
see, God has made known unto us the mystery of his will in
the gospel, in that he has revealed how that he, our holy God, can
remain just and yet justify unholy sinners. How he's able to do
that. How he could transfer all of
our sins onto Christ. and how that Christ would answer
to him for our sin, and how that the righteousness of the Lord
Jesus would be imputed or accredited to my account or to the account
of every believing sinner, in order that they might stand perfect
and complete and accepted before God. This is the mystery that
he has made known in the gospel. And this was according to his
good pleasure. according to his good pleasure.
Aren't you glad that he didn't set up in heaven and just send
some good advice down to earth? Aren't you glad that Jesus was
made flesh and that he came down here and that he served God's
will and purpose and that he obeyed every jot and tittle of
the law, satisfied God on our behalf and that He has went back
to glory and that God said, I'm going to show you, I'm going
to show you the heart, my heart. I'll show you my heart. Here
he is, the person of the Son of God. See it, my heart, in
his work. And you see that this was according
to my good pleasure to reveal the gospel and to make known
this truth. This good pleasure which he had
purposed in himself. You see, God has a purpose. He's
going to have a family. You see, God will not allow,
you say, the world is all out of culture. You say everything's
all mixed up. You say everything is out of
order in this world. You say what you want to, everything's
going just exactly as God purposed it to go, and you can believe
this, that it is going to come out in the end where our Lord
Jesus Christ is the ultimate victor and where God Almighty
will triumph over all of his enemies and all of his enemies
will become his footstool. God is going to win out. The
victory is settled. God is almighty and all-powerful
and he'll have the victory. Okay, now there's some other
verses in the Bible in Philippians 2 and verse 13 it says, For it
is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good
pleasure. Philippians 2 and 13, it is God
which worketh in you. He said, do all things without
murmuring and disputing. No need to argue, no need to
fuss, no need to get all upset. God's working in His people to
do that which is according to His will and His pleasure. In James 1.18 it says, of His
own will begat He us. with the word of truth, of his
own will. It's of God's will. We were born
not of the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God.
Salvation is of God from the beginning to the end. It's according
to God's purpose. 2 Timothy 1 and verse 9 says,
Who has saved us? and called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. God's own purpose and grace. You see, the way of man is not
in himself. Man will not save himself. He
cannot save himself. He's a lost, a helpless, hell-deserving,
a wiggling maggot of the dust. And only when God takes hold
of him by his divine purpose and will and good pleasure will
that sinner be able to say, I'm saved, I've been rescued, I've
been delivered. God has come to my rescue. Now in Isaiah chapter 14, if
you would hold your finger in the book of Jeremiah and turn
back to Isaiah 14, let me read a couple of verses. I'm trying
to establish that this text is a true text, that I truly have
a legitimate text here this morning. In Isaiah 14, let me read verse
24 through 27. Listen to the wording. The Lord
of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have fought so shall
it come to pass and as I have purposed so shall it stand now
this is what God said he said I have sworn saying surely as
I have thought no counsel that he took counsel with he said
as I have thought so shall it come to pass and I have purposed
and as I have purposed so shall it stand Has God purposed it? Then it'll stand, my friend,
as sure as the world exists today, as God's purpose will stand. And then he goes on to say that
I will break the Assyrian in my land, and upon my mountain
tread him underfoot. Then shall his yoke depart from
off them, and his burden depart off their shoulders. Verse 26,
this is the purpose that is purposed upon the whole earth. And this
is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations. For
the Lord of hosts hath purposed, and who shall disannul it? And
his hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back? Is there
anybody going to keep me fulfilling my purpose? God said I purposed
it. Who's going to disannul it? Who
is it that's going to veto my purpose? Who is it going to say
it's not going to happen? Who is it that's going to say
no to God and say it will never happen? This is the purpose that
is purposed upon the whole earth. This covers, God's purposes cover
the whole earth from the day, first day of creation until the
very last day. God's purpose covers the entire
event of human affairs. God's purpose covers the earth. And nobody is going to stretch
out and take his hand and pull it back. Turn him back from the accomplishment
of his purpose now in Isaiah chapter 46 verse 9 10 and 11
Remember the former things of old God says for I am God and
there's none else I am I'm God and there's none like me, declaring
the end from the beginning and from ancient times the things
that are not yet done, saying, my counsel shall stand and I
will do all my pleasure. I have spoken it. I will also
bring it to pass. I have purposed it. I will also
do it. Ecclesiastes 7 and 13 says, Consider
the work of God, for who can make that straight which he hath
made crooked? And Naaman 1.3 says, The Lord
hath his way in the whirlwind and the storm and the clouds
of the dust of his feet. The Lord hath his way in the
whirlwind and in the storm and the clouds are the dust of his
feet." Sounds like he's sovereign and sounds like he's going to
bring to pass his purpose. So then my friend, these words
are true indeed. It's not in man that walketh,
to direct his steps, and I am glad to have it so, amen? I'm
glad to have it so that the sovereign God of all the universe, you
see, either God or the devil runs this world, and I'm sure
that God runs it. I'm sure that he does, though
man is able to walk. He cannot direct his steps because
there may be some obstacle. Have you ever thought about this?
Maybe some obstacle in man's way which he cannot overcome,
which will change the whole course of his life. Here's a man and
he starts out and he says, I'm going to do this, I'm going to
do that. He may be determined in his own mind that he will
do this or that. And he will go here or there,
but he cannot foresee every circumstance that may happen to him. Now,
he may be proud and very boastful, and he may have that self-centeredness
about him that just says, I will succeed where all others have
failed. But I'm telling you, unexpected
difficulties over which a man has no control, or what many
call accidents, which are really providences which will prevent
us from doing what we would. These things are true, beloved,
in ordinary life. You say, I just think I can do
what I want to do. Well, you go ahead and think
what you want to, but you will find out in the end that you
haven't done what you wanted to do, that you've done exactly
what Almighty God purposed that you would do. Now then, in business,
I know, and I've talked with a few business people back through
the years, that Very few of them that I ever met ever got the
success they really wanted. You very seldom, if ever, in
this life, ever get exactly what you want. Ever get exactly what
you want. Accomplish exactly what you feel
that you want to accomplish. You say, I'll work my way from
the bottom to the top. To found that it is not in man.
that walketh to direct his steps, and just a will and purpose in
man is not enough to guarantee his success. Only God can give
success. Another fails in health. There
are perfectly healthy people today that are in the prime of
their life. And tomorrow, their health will
fail. Depression will set in. And they
become invalids in this world. And it's of no value for us to
say, I'll do this or I'll do that. You remember the verses
that our brother read out of James 4? He said, go to now ye
that say, tomorrow I'm going into a certain city, and I'm
gonna buy, and I'm gonna sell, and I'm gonna get gain. He said,
you ought to say that if the Lord wills, we will go into such
and such a city, and buy, and sell, and get gain, because what
is your life? He says, your life is but a vapor
that appears for a little time, and then it just vanisheth away.
My friend, we do not know anything about tomorrow. And we need to
understand that. We need to believe in our hearts
that God has our tomorrows in His hand and quit going around
boasting and bragging as if they were in our hands. We know nothing
about our future and about our future life. Where and when,
God only knows. Someday beyond the reach of mortal
kin. Someday. God only knows just
where and when. The wheels of mortal life will
all stand still, and we shall go to dwell on Zion's hill, the
old song says. But God is the only one. Where
and when, God only knows. God only knows. So don't go around
bragging about how long you're going to live and about what
you're going to accomplish while you're here. Say, if the Lord
wills. If the Lord wills, my business
will prosper. If the Lord wills, I'll stay
in health. If the Lord wills, I'll see my
children grow up. If the Lord wills, I'll see my
grandchildren. If the Lord wills, I'll be able
to leave a good testimony in this world for the glory of God.
If God wills. Now it is not possible for a
man to direct his own way absolutely then, because he has not the
power to do it. He has not the power to do it.
Let him strive and struggle as he may. We will often be made
to feel And just like the man who I heard about this last week
that said, I'm at my very wit's end. I'm at my wit's end. My
life is all tangled up. And I don't know how to unravel
my life. I don't know whether to turn
to the right or to the left. I don't know whether to run.
I don't know whether just to sit down. I don't know what to
do. Well, my friend, may you know
that this text right here, may you know the truth of this text,
and that is that it is the Lord that will direct our steps, and
that we need to cast ourselves unreservedly on the Lord. Cast yourself anew on the wisdom
and the love of God. And if you're a believer, know
that He is directing, most surely He's directing your way. And
in the next place, man ought not to direct his way according
to his own will, because his will is naturally evil. Now,
if God would allow you to do exactly what you wanted to do,
I want you to know, my friend, you're not neutral. You're not
neutral. And you're not in neutral. I
want you to know that. You know, Adam was in the Garden
of Eden, and he was unbiased towards sin or evil. He was unbiased. But still, he lost paradise for
us all in that he sinned against God and fell in the Garden of
Eden. Now my friend, I want you to
know that depravity is more than a doctrine. Our flesh is not
converted. Our flesh is not converted praise
God our souls are converted but our flesh is not converted and
depravity is more than a doctrine my friend it's a matter of everyday
experience with us we live with it every day and what I'm saying
is this that we do not we do not we're not able to exercise
our heart being unbiased towards sin and evil. We're not able
to. You see, because we're biased
towards sin, and because our nature reaches out to that which
is corrupt, reaches out toward that which is sin, that which
is evil. And my friend, if God left you
to yourself, only God knows what would become of your life. If
he left you to yourself, it's certain of this, that you'd come
to a bad end. And so I say to you this morning
that God ought not leave it to you to direct your own steps. Because if he would, it'd be
disastrous. You'd bring upon yourself a thousand
sorrows if God was to say, go to it, buddy. Go to it. Just
direct your own steps. It'd bring upon you so much,
so much, so much distress. Even when grace has renewed our
souls, our judgment is still so fallible. that it's a great
mistake for any of us to attempt in pride to direct our own way. We better be seeking the counsel
of God. We better be praying. Even now,
if we trust our own judgment, we're going to be brought into
some very, very trying and difficult circumstances. Everybody here
that's had any experiences or any experience in walking with
God will tell you that they have learned that whenever they went
off on their own in a fit of rebellion that they always had
to come back to that spot and beg God's forgiveness and beg
Him to just to lead the way in their life. Now I believe God
overruled in all of that in order that they would be brought back
According to his purpose because I know as Paul said in Romans
chapter 8 and verse 28 That all things work together for good
to them that love God to them who are the called according
to what? his purpose his purpose And so God overrules it all.
Every man who is truly wise feels himself to be increasingly a
fool apart from divine guidance. Listen to me, it's a sign of
growth in wisdom and grace when a man's self-confidence continues
to grow less and less as the years go by. He has no confidence
in himself. His confidence is in the living
God. Distrust yourself! This is accurately,
may we say, gauging our own abilities and our own judgment. Beloved,
we cannot take a step in the right way without divine guidance,
divine help. How can we talk about directing
our own steps when we're absolutely dependent upon the grace of God
for every step we take? Brethren, if the Lord would help
us to the doorstep of heaven and then leave us right on the
doorstep, We would not take the last step into heaven unless
God Almighty was there directing us in the way. Doesn't that tell
the truth about us? Does it not? I'll tell you, God
must lead all the way into the glory land. We must be directed,
our steps must be directed inside the door into heavenly bliss
or we'll never arrive home to be with the Lord. Now you're
a cripple then. Oh, you say, now you're getting
down to it. You're telling me now that I'm a cripple. I'm telling
you, you cannot take a right step in your own strength. It
must be given to you from on high. If you're going to walk
with God, if you're going to please God, if you're going to
glorify God, if you're going to honor God, if you're going
to serve the Lord, The Lord must give you direction and give you
the ability to take these steps. It'd be wise for us to confess
this morning our dependence on God and not talk anymore about,
in a prideful way, about our abilities. There is one to direct
our steps. Thou shalt choose our inheritance
for us. There is no need for us to choose
for ourself. What if the Lord would let us
choose? What then? Well, cast it back in His hands.
Lord, there was an old lady, she was dying, and somebody said,
well, if you had your choice, what would you do? And they tried
to get her to say that she'd rather stay here than go on to
be with the Lord. And she said, well, I'm pulled
in two directions. But She said, if the Lord was
to give me a choice, I'd just cast it back in his hand. Lord,
thy will be done. Thy will be done. Not as I will.
Christ himself had to pray that way. Not as I will. Not as I
will. Thy will be done. What I know
not, teach thou me. Our very weakness, does it not
entitle us to cry unto the Lord for direction and for help? You
know, if you come to this place where you adopt this text and
say, it's not in man that walketh to direct his steps, you can
adopt Proverbs chapter 3, verse 5 and 6, where it says, lean
not to thine own understanding, but in all thy ways acknowledge
him, and he will direct your steps. Lean on the Lord. Lean on the Lord. I mean, your
weakness entitles you to cry to God for leadership and for
direction and for strength in these days. Well, I've come now
right to the end, and I think these words are instructive.
To this end, listen to what I have to say, and I'll soon have you
out of here. What kind of an admonition could
a preacher give from this text of scripture where it says the
way of man is not in himself and it's not in man that walketh
to direct his steps? First of all, avoid all positive
resolutions about what you mean to do in your life. Avoid it. And if you make any, make it
with a pencil and have an eraser nearby. because nine times out
of ten, you're going to be erasing. Positive resolution. I am going
to do such and such and so and so and you'll all see it before
it's over with. Oh my friend, you better not
write that in ink because you're going to come to the place where
you may have to eat those words. I say write it down with a pencil
if you're going to write it down and have a good eraser very handy. Next, let your expectation be
from the Lord. Let your expectation be from
the Lord, not your scheming. You say, well, I can just about
get the best of anybody I know. I'm smart as everybody else.
And I think I can get the best of anybody that I want to try
the best. My friend, let your expectation
be from the Lord. Let it be from God. Believe that
God, may all your springs be found in Him. What do you want
that He would not give you? What do you want? If you delight
yourself in Him, the scripture says He will give you the desires
of your heart. Can you not lean upon the Lord
and trust Him and let Him direct your steps? So you let your expectation
be from Him. God's going to be true to your
soul. He's going to be true to your soul. He's a loving Father.
He'll be true to your soul. He loves you. He invested his
son in you. And he'll be true to your soul.
God will not be false. He will not deal false with you. He said it's going to be for
your good and for your glory. For my glory, for your good.
And it's going to be alright. Wait on the Lord. Have your expectation
to be from God. Number three, avoid trusting
in your present security. You say, I'm all right, preacher. I'll get along fine. I've got
a few things. I've got a little laid up. Well,
your present security. You know, the Bible warns us,
and it warns those that are rich in this world, not to trust in
uncertain riches. because riches are uncertain. You say, oh, I got them, preacher.
I got them. Well, now, you may have them, but in the morning,
something might happen in all the banking system in the United
States of America, and you may not have what you think you got.
It may be different than what you think. And your presence
is secure. You say, preacher, I'm just in
perfect health. Heard about a fella that was
in good health last week, 58 years old, dropped over dead.
Had a heart attack, dropped over dead. I'm here to tell you that
your eyes may be closed in death within an hour. You may, you
might have already taken your journey, your last journey, before
another hour comes and goes. And I say to you, we're mortals. and we're dependent on God. God
must give you every breath you breathe. If he don't give you
the next one, you're not gonna take it. You're not gonna take
it unless God gives it to you. You're mortal, my friend, we're
all mortal. Wealth has wings and it can just
fly away. Do you have health? Think what
a marvelous mercy it is that you have health. A heart, the
poet said, of a thousand strings. What a marvelous mercy that it
should keep in tune so long. It may be they will be out of
tune before the day is out. All of these strings, all of
this mechanism that keeps you here in this world of a sane
mind. Oh, you're able to write your
name now. But God touched one nerve in
your brain and you couldn't write your name in a minute. And I
tell you, you're dependent on God. You may think you're somebody,
but I'm telling you, the God of the Bible gives you your breath. God, He gives you your clothes. He gives you your food. He gives
you your water. Everything, God gives it to you.
And you better learn to trust Him. It may be that what we should
admonish you to do is to grasp with all of your power this morning
and your strength, grasp and lay hold of God and trust Him
as you never have before. He's our everlasting portion
and our unfailing joy. This world is not, thank God,
our abiding portion. It's not our abiding portion.
And most of us have seen enough of it that we're glad to have
it so. Glad to have an inheritance over
there. incorruptible and one that fadeth
not away one that is reserved in heaven for us nothing permanent
after all in this world nothing as certain as change in this
world you must keep all earthly treasures out of your heart and
let your and let Christ be your treasure and let him have your
heart and hold your heart hold everything here with a loose
hand Hold it with a loose hand. Next, bow to the will of God
in all things. Somebody said, Jesus is gonna
be king. No, my friend, he's not gonna
be, he is. King of kings and Lord of lords.
Bow, bow to his lordship in everything. Bow to the king, the Lord Jesus
Christ. He must be free to do as he pleases,
don't you think so? God must be free to do as he
pleases. Well, if he's not free, then
who is? Certainly not me and you. He must be free to do as he pleases.
He always does what's right, submit to his will. And last,
pray about everything and make no exception. Be careful for
nothing, the Bible said, let God be free to say no as well
as yes. When you pray, is God free, as
far as you're concerned, to say no as well as yes? God directs our steps. If he
says no, it's because he's got a good reason for saying no. And the quicker we say amen,
Lord, the better off that we are. I think that We should all commit
ourselves anew and afresh to Christ this very hour and say,
take me and do with me as you will, Lord. Use me for your glory
in any way that you please. Any way that you please. Let
me honor thee. Just let me honor thee. Just
let me be used for thy glory. Let me honor thee. Let my choices
treasures be surrendered. if thy sovereign will shall so
ordain. Let my choices, treasures, be
surrendered, if thy sovereign will so ordains. Is that okay
with you? Is that all right? Our greatest
sorrow, hear this, and I'm done, will come when we begin to be
untrue to our full surrender to our God. That's when our greatest
sorrows are going to come. Be true to a full surrender to
God. Lay it down and refuse to take
it up. Lay it down. Leave it with the
Lord. Trust God with it. Lay it down. I heard a story
about a lady who had she had just become a believer and she
had a son who had gotten involved in drugs and he was in pitiful condition and she couldn't sleep at night
worrying about her son and so she was just really her health
was failing because she just couldn't rest and so she come
to the place where that she said I'm just going to cast this burden
on the Lord and I'm not going to pick it up. I'm going to just
cast on the Lord. I'm going to leave it there with
Him. The will of God be done and she did that in prayer and
she said that night was the first night in six months that she'd
been able to get a good night's rest. She just cast on the Lord
and every time for the next five months that she'd even think
about it She just cast it on the Lord, just cast it on the
Lord, just lay it down at the Lord's feet. Five months later,
the boy was saved, come to know the Lord and was delivered by
the power of God from that habit, from that drug habit, was delivered. But the only way you're going
to get any rest in this world is to lay it down. Lay it down. You got something troubling you,
bothering you greatly, disturbing you, disturbing your rest. Lay
it down at the Lord's feet. Cast your burden on the Lord.
He will sustain you. Cast on the Lord. He directs
your steps. Leave it with the Lord. Wait on Him. Well, may
the Lord bless you. I feel that that's what the Lord
would have me to say to you this morning. Let's have a song.