I invite you to turn with me
to the book of Jeremiah this morning, chapter 10. The book
of Jeremiah, chapter 10. And I want to read beginning
with the 22nd verse and read down through verse 25 of the
last verse of the 10th chapter of Jeremiah. Listen carefully. 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. O Lord,
I know, listen to the words of the prophet Jeremiah, O Lord,
I know that the way of man is not in himself. It is not in
man that walketh to direct his steps. O Lord, correct me, but
with judgment, not in thine anger, lest thou bring me to nothing.
Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon
the families that call not on thy name. For they have eaten
up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his
habitation desolate." My message this morning will be based on
verse 23 where Jeremiah tells us what he knows. He says, ìO
Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself, it is
not in man that walketh to direct his steps.î Let us You might wonder about such a
text of scripture like this on the first day of the year, but
I do believe that God in his mercy has given us a word out
of this text this morning. I do hope that each one of our
hearts will be prepared to receive it. The Lord's ancient people
were about to be carried away captive to Babylon, and the prophet
here in our text speaks of a fact that was well known to him. It
is always well, brethren, to know the truth and to know it
so certainly that you're able to remember it just when you
need it most. Nebuchadnezzar was on his way,
and we read here this morning how that the noise of the brute,
it is said, behold, 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. It was a time when when Jeremiah
knew that there was going to be a time of great calamity and
a time of great battle and that Nebuchadnezzar, that the people
of Israel was no match for him and his armies and that they
would be carried away into that distant and far country of Babylon. And so he says, you know, he
says, Oh Lord, I know I've got something that I know that is
a consolation to me. It is a stay in my soul. It's that which comforts me when
I know what is coming to pass. And you know, it's always wonderful
when we can remember a promise, when we can remember the Word
of God, and when it salves our souls, and when it comforts us,
and when it strengthens us. There was a man who had a boat.
And he had a perfectly good anchor. But when he went to sea, he left
it at home, very foolishly forgot it and left it at home. And of
course, it was of no use to him. And there's some people, some
even among us here maybe, that we know some Bible truth. We know some precious verses
out of the Word of God. We know something about the faithfulness
of our God and something about His Word and truth. But many,
many times in the day of distress, it's of no value to us because
we do not recollect it. We do not remember it so that
we might apply it to our soul. But old Jeremiah the prophet
said, Oh Lord, I know. Oh Lord, I know. And he uses his knowledge here
as a source of comfort in this great hour of need. Now what
Jeremiah knew was this. You listen to what I'm saying.
What Jeremiah knew was this. He knew that the affairs of this
world are not under the control of men, however much that they
may imagine that they are. Did you get that? That's what
Jeremiah knew. He knew that the affairs of this
world are not under the control and the management of men, however
much they may imagine that they are. Nebuchadnezzar was about
to carry the Jews away from the land which flowed with milk and
honey to his country, 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 the divine purpose. Nebuchadnezzar was nothing more
than an instrument in the hands of God. Now Nebuchadnezzar was
an evil man, he was a wicked man, he was a sinful man, but
nevertheless he was an instrument in the hand of God to fulfill
the purpose of God toward the land of Judah. He proposed, but
God disposed. God was managing the affairs. The tyrant of Babylon thought
that he was working out his own will. He said, this is what I
want to do. I want to go down there and I
want to carry them Jews captive. I want to bring them back to
my land. This is what I want to do. But he was really carrying
out the will of God in chastening this idolatrous and rebellious
nation. He was carrying out the will
of God. Now, beloved, this is very important that we see this.
There are many lessons in this. This was Jeremiah's consolation. I do not know what Nebuchadnezzar
may do. I do not know how far that God
will let him go. I do not know how long his leash
is. I do not know what he may end
up doing. 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's saying, I know that in God's
eternal purposes, every step of Judah, every step of Judah's
way is mapped out, and he will make it all work for his own
glory and the good of these people in the end. That's what Jeremiah
said. He said, I know that God is managing this situation. God is omnipotent. He is omnipotent. He has never been less than omnipotent. God Almighty cannot be God and
not be almighty. God Almighty cannot be God and
not be all-knowing. God is omnipotent to this very
hour, and He's still working out His wise designs as He did
in the days of old. He's even doing it in the whirlwind
of human wrath, and in the tempest of human sin, and in the ambition
of tyranny. All the while, God is displaying
His sovereign will among men, even as the potter forms the
vessels on the wheel according to His own will. Can you believe
that? Can you accept that? Well, I tell you, that's what
Jeremiah said he knew. You see, Jeremiah was a seer.
Jeremiah was a prophet. He knew the Lord. He knew the
almightiness of God. He knew that God was a God of
purpose. He knew that God didn't create
this world and turn it over to man, and say, you do with it
what you will, and when you get all done with it, I'll just come
back and burn it all up, and that'll be all of it. No. Jeremiah
knew that God had put a people in the world, and that God had
a family, and that God had a purpose. in the lives of his people. And
Jeremiah knew that God was superintending everything that come into their
lives and that God was going to rule and overrule everything
according to his will and according to his good purpose. This truth
ought to be remembered by every child of God. You say, Preacher,
I'm no seer. I'm no prophet. I can't know
this. Yes, you can know it. I'm telling
you this morning. I'm preaching it to you this
morning. I'm giving you a best say of the Lord this morning.
And this truth ought to be remembered. You ought to remember this truth.
You must get this truth fixed in your heart or you're going
to be on a very shaky foundation the rest of your days. As long
as you live in this world, you're going to need to know what I'm
telling you this morning. You're going to need to know
it. You need this foundation. First of all, because it tends
to take from us, I think, all the fear of man. Oh, Nebuchadnezzar
was a powerful, a powerful ruler. And he had a great army. And
there was no way that Jeremiah or any of these other Jews could
handle this man. But nevertheless, Jeremiah was
not afraid of him. Jeremiah said, Lord, I know that
the way, that the way of man is not in himself. It's not in
man that walketh to direct his step. I know. It just took the
fear out of him. Why should we be afraid of a
man that shall die? Oh, the Son of Man, who is but
a worm. Why should we be afraid of a
man? A man whose breath is in his nostrils. Why should we be
afraid of a man? seeing that the God of the Bible
rules over all. Remember the promise of God,
where He said that no weapon that is formed against thee shall
prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment
thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants
of the Lord. God is on their side, and God
rules, and He overrules. Now, the most powerful enemy
of the Church can do nothing without God's permission. I've
told you before that the devil is God's devil. I've told you
before that the devil cannot do anything that God does not
permit or allow him to do. It's a very humbling doctrine.
It is a very humbling truth. And it causes us a great deal of burden in our
souls to cry to God to be able to understand it and to live
in the light of it. But nevertheless, it's the truth.
The Almighty God is Master and Lord, even over the men who imagine
that all power is in their hands. There's nowhere on earth where
that was more evident than at the time when our Lord Jesus
Christ was crucified. In Acts chapter 2, it says that
Jesus Christ was delivered up by the determinate counsel of
God, and He was slain by the hands of wicked men. My friend,
let me tell you that those wicked men that slew our Lord Jesus
Christ on the cross, that they knew nothing of the coordination
of God. They knew nothing of the secret
decrees of Almighty God. They only did that which was
in their wicked heart to do. Away with him! Away with him!
Crucify him! We'll not have this man to rule
over us! And they nailed him to a cross. They nailed Him to a tree, and
in the doing of it, they fulfilled the will of God. The Bible says
it pleased the Father to bruise Him. The Bible teaches us that
it was the Father who exacted from the Son that day full payment
for all of the sins of all of His people, and when those wicked
men put Him to death with their wicked hands, When they turned
the venom of their heart loose on the Son of God, it just wound
up in the salvation of all God's elect. It's what saved me. That's
right. It was what delivered my soul
from eternal death, was when they put Him to death. They imagined
that they were in control. They said, we'll get rid of this
fellow once for all. We can't stand to have him around. We'll get rid of him. But when
they got rid of him, they were doing the will of God, and I
got saved by what they did. And all of God's people were
delivered by what they did. And the Lord Jesus Christ, he
was buried, but God raised him up from the grave, and he's seated
at the right hand of God this morning, and he's coming back. He's coming back to this earth.
and let wicked men do what they want and whatever they imagine,
but when they do what they do and God permits them to do it,
they are bringing to pass a part of the divine purpose. And we
need to remember that. This truth also should ensure
our submission to the will of God. It is God who permits it,
my brother. You say, I'm afflicted. You say,
I'm troubled. You say, I've got this individual
that slanders me. I've got this individual that
done me great hurt. and great harm. And oh, we all
know what that is, and we all know what it is, and we feel
it in our souls. But listen to me, listen to me.
It's like the dog, you know, that the master beats him with
a stick. And the dog, he grabs hold of the stick. He doesn't
bite the master's hand, he bites the stick. He grabs the stick
with his mouth. And you and I, you and I, we
got that same problem. We're always looking at second
causes And we're looking at those people that have done us great,
great harm and those that have deceived us and those that have
done this and that and other things and slandered us. We always
do that. We do that because that's common
to man. And because our flesh is not
converted and the old man is not converted. That's right.
And so we keep doing that. But I'm here to tell you this
morning, it ought to ensure our submission to the will of God
to know that the way of man is not in himself, and it's not
in man that walketh to direct his steps. And whatever people
do, they do because God Almighty permits it or allows it to come
to pass. That hurts. That hurts. And I'll
tell you what, you'll have to grow about a foot in the Lord
to be able to accept that and to take that. And you'll have
to learn to bow and to get down in the dust. And you'll have
to get lower and lower and lower until you can accept that from
the hand of God. Most people say, I can never
accept that. And I won't ever accept that.
And I'll tell you there ain't nobody alive had more trouble
with that than I have, but I will tell you the truth if it kills
me. This is what the Word of God teaches. That's exactly what
Jeremiah was saying. And this ought to ensure our
submission to the will of God. Bow your knee, brother. Bow your
knee, sister. Commit yourself to the Lord.
Bow your knee and quit biting the stick that's beating you.
and look to the hand that's wielding the stick. That's what you have
to do. Oh Lord, why contendest thou with me? Lord, why? Why are you contending so with
me? Why are you dealing with me like
this through these people? Now then, I tell you, the Almighty
God is Master and Lord even over the men who imagine that all
power is in their hands and they laugh as they're inflicting danger,
as they're inflicting pain upon the Lord's people. And they laugh
and they carry on and they mock the people of God. But I'll tell
you this, They're not in control. They're not in control. And that's
one of the reasons, that's one of the ways you can look at it,
and you can take it from a kind and loving Father, because the
Lord is handling the affair. Next, this truth also, I think,
as we submit ourselves to the will of God, it will permit us,
I think, to do what He would have us to do, and it will strengthen
our faith. Not only will it cause us to
not have the fear of man, and not only will it cause us to
bow to the will of God, but it will, I think, strengthen our
faith. When fear goes, faith seems to
come in its place. And old brother Barnard said
that faith is catching, and he said fear is catching. And he
said that if you go around fearful all the time, it's catching,
and other people begin to be afraid. Folks around you begin
to be afraid. But if you believe God, he said
that's catching too, and other people will begin to believe
God and trust God. To trust God in a storm is not
easy. But faith in the storm, I believe,
proves that the faith is real. Now sometimes, you know, we run
across people and we're satisfied in our dealing with them and
talking with them, there never was a storm. All of their faith
is based on a bright and cloudless day. And they've had a beautiful
time in this world. They've never had any real problems.
They've always had enough. And they've always got by quite
well in this world. And it seems like the providence
of God never crossed their path. And they've never been disappointed.
They've never been brought to the place where they just literally
were cast down on their face whenever all the ground was swept
out from under them. They've never been brought to
that place, and they say, oh, we believe God, and they sing,
faith is the victory, oh, glorious victory. My friend, I wonder
if they have any faith at all. I wonder if they believe God
at all. I'll tell you what, to trust God in a storm, it's not
an easy thing to do. Faith in the calm may be or may
not be genuine faith. I mean, if you believe God whenever
things are going well, how do you know whether you've got any
faith or not? It's whenever this thing gets
right down to where the rubber meets the road. That's when you,
if you can believe God then, that's whenever you know that
you've got genuine faith. God has all things in His hands.
And brother, sister, if we can bring ourselves to believe it,
it'll strengthen our faith. If we can just trust God. Well,
let me, this morning, my business here is to try to prove to you
that the words of our text, first of all, that they're true. I
gave you the opening remarks. Now I've got to try to prove
to you that this text is true. First, these words are true here.
It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps. Though man
is very active and man is able to walk, Jeremiah said he can't
direct his steps. He can't do it. And this may
be because there is some obstacle in his way which he cannot overcome
which will change the whole course of his life. Here's a young person,
he starts out in life, he's out of school, or she's out of school,
and they start out in life, and they've got goals, and certain
objectives that they hope to come to someday. They want to
come to a certain end, and they desire this with all their heart,
and they set to work to get a college education, and train for a certain
position, and a certain job. But my friend, you may be so
determined in your own mind that you're going to do this, or that
you're going to do that, and that you'll go here or you'll
go there, but you cannot foresee all of the circumstances that
may happen to you in the way of life. You cannot foresee it.
You do not know what a day may bring forth. There's no way that
you can say, I'm going to do it. I know I'm going to do it.
Because unexpected difficulties over which you have no control
may very well come into your life. Or what many people call
accidents, which are really providences, may prevent you from doing what
you would do. And everybody in this building
here this morning Know that what I'm telling you, all of you that
are of any age, that these things are true in ordinary life. There's
an awful lot of unexpected things happen, is that right? An awful
lot of things happen in life, and the person says, well, I
never accounted on that. I had my mind made up. This is
what I intended to do. I had the way all figured out.
I'd set my heart in that direction. But there's some things that
occurred. There's some things that happen. I've just been turned
around. I can't do what I want to do.
Things are not as I would have them to be with me, even this
morning. Now in business, there are many
that start in the business and they have a certain goal, but
very few people ever really attain the success that they hope to,
and there are others that obtain way more success than they ever
believed they would. You cannot know. You very seldom,
if ever, get what you really want in this life, my friend.
I want to tell you that this morning. You get a hold of your
chair, you very seldom, if ever, get what you really want in this
life. And you can plan all you want
to, but there'll be something that'll come up and stop it right
dead in its tracks. You must remember that the way
of man is not in himself and it's not in man, even though
he can walk, to direct his steps. You say, I'll work my way to
the top, preacher. Well, you'll find, as many others
have found, that it is not in man that walketh to direct his
steps. You say, I'll get up there. No,
you won't, unless God Almighty wills it. Another person has
good health, and they enjoy good health, but the day comes when
their health fails. It fails in the prime of their
life, and depression sets in. Must I become, must I become
an invalid? Must I come to the place where
that somebody else is going to have to help me all the time?
Where I'm going to have to be assisted every hour of the day
and night? Am I going to have to have somebody
else to depend upon? Well, beloved, let me tell you
this. Only God knows what your future holds. Only God knows
what He's planned for you down the road. I knew a lady in Indiana. She had a family. and a good
husband. And she was an industrious woman,
always, always up and about doing and doing and doing. One day
she went to, one evening she went to a bridal shower. And she got there and she was
complaining of a headache. They said, well, take a couple
of aspirins and maybe go in and lay down on a bed. And she did
that. But before that evening was over, she had a stroke. And that woman, from that day
to this, has been in a wheelchair. When she could even be up, she's
been in a wheelchair. Last time I preached in Indiana,
her husband brought her and brought her to the service. And he just
brought her. She's in diapers, and it's a
very unpleasant thing. A very, very unpleasant thing.
Even to see her, to look at her, and to talk to her. But I'll
tell you what. It can happen just like that.
And don't you ever forget it. It can happen just like that.
And it'll be all over. And you may not even recognize
anybody the rest of your days as you're here on Earth while
people are caring for you. You may not. It can happen. I'll
tell you that. And you may, in another hour,
not be able to read your own name. Might not be able to write
your own name in another hour. It's a mercy of God that things
are as well with us as they are. Well, another as we uh... looked at this I want to say
this, it's of no value to any man or to any woman any believer,
any child of God to say I will do this or I will do that it's
of no value say well preacher, shouldn't I make some plans?
You make your plans, you write them down with a pencil, and
you have you an eraser nearby, because you probably are gonna
need that eraser. And you'll probably need it right
away. I want you to turn, keep your
finger here in our text, and turn with me to the book of James,
the book of James chapter 4, and let me read to you some verses
here that you ought to memorize. Every young person in this building
ought to memorize these verses. Listen to what James says in
James 4 and 13. Go to now ye that say today or
tomorrow we will go into such a city and continue there a year
and buy and sell and get gain. Whereas you know not what shall
be on the morrow. You don't have any way to know
what tomorrow is going to bring. For what is your life? What is
your life? It is even a vapor that appears
for a little time and then vanishes away. Are you made out of iron?
Are you going to live perpetually? Are you going to go on in this
body of flesh and be strong forever? Are you going to be able to do
what you say you're going to do? He said you're just a vapor. Your life's just a vapor. It
just appears for a little while and then it just vanishes away.
For that you ought to say, seeing that we're what we are, made
of clay. and that we're dependent upon
God Almighty for every breath. We ought to say, if the Lord
will, we shall live. First of all, we'll live if the
Lord wills. And do this or that if God will. That's what we ought to say.
But now you rejoice in your boasting. You rejoice and you're glad and
happy in your heart because of your plans that you made. Listen to what he said, all such
rejoicing is sin. All such rejoicing is sin. You
say, I've got plans, preacher, and nothing's going to interfere.
My friend, you're just as foolish as you can be. You ought never
to make such a statement. You say, well, I'm just secretly
real glad and happy inside, preacher. I've got the world by the tail.
I just see that I'm going to get ahead. I can't fail, preacher. There ain't no way anything can
go wrong. It's learned, I've got it made. My friend, that's sin. That's sin. Don't let it into
your heart. Don't get happy over what you
think you might be successful in in the future. All such rejoicing
is evil. It's sin. Therefore, to him that
knoweth to do good, a man that knows that the way of man is
not in himself, and is not in man, that walketh to direct his
steps, and talks like this. Well, James says, to him it is
sin. Man that talks like that, that's
sin to him. I've known a lot of people in
my time and I've met a few people like that. They didn't have much
to say about what they had done. But boy, they had an awful lot
to say about what they were going to do. Or what always going to
do. Always going to do. If the Lord
will, you'll breathe for another hour. Your life is in the hands
of God. Now listen to me now. We know
nothing about our future. God knows all about it. Everything
is present to his all-seeing eye, but it is not present to
ours. It is not possible for a man
to direct his own way absolutely, for he doesn't have the power
to do it, and let him strive, let him struggle as he may, but
he'll be often made to feel our text this morning. It's not in man that walketh
to direct his steps. You may be today at your very
wit's end, and your life may be all tangled up. You may not
be able to unravel your situations today. You may not be able to
figure out what you ought to do, whether you ought to go to
the right hand or whether you ought to go to the left. You
may not know this morning at all what you ought to do. Well,
you're just about to the place where you're going to find out
what this text means. You need to come this morning to the place
where you cast yourself anew on the wisdom and love of God,
and if you're a believer, Just know that He is, although you
can't see it, and you can't understand it, and you can't figure it out,
that He is directing your steps, whether you can believe it or
not. He's doing it. Say, Preacher, I struggle with
it all the time. You ain't the only one. You say, Preacher,
I'm down more than I'm up with this thing. You may be, but I'll
tell you this, you're not the only one that's there. All God's
people are there. One of the things that came to
me over and over as I was studying out this sermon is this, my flesh
is not converted. I'd read some of this, I'd write
down something and I'd say, my soul, my flesh is not converted. My flesh is not saved. Is yours? I got an old nature and I'll
tell you this, sometimes bitterness and rebellion, I'm full of it
to the, I mean I'm full of it. And there's times whenever you
feel like you'll never again, listen to me, you don't know
the half of what I went through to get this sermon, to preach
this sermon to you this morning. I'll tell you this, there's rebellion
in the old natural heart against this, against this, against a
man saying, well, my life's all tangled up and I can't unravel
it and I don't know whether to go to the right or the left.
I don't know what to do, preacher, I don't know what to do. Well,
you must cast yourself on the wisdom and the love of the Heavenly
Father and believe that He's directing your way because He
is. He is. I gave my life to the Lord a
long time ago. I gave it to Him. I can take
you to the very place along a highway in Indiana, right along a highway
where I was walking, where I gave it to Him. I gave it to him. And whether I give it to him
or not, he's got it in his hands and he's doing the directing.
And you've got to believe that. You've got to believe it. And
I could go through a whole lot of things right here on the spot.
I could tell you enough to discourage you maybe. Maybe it would discourage
you. I don't know whether it would or not. But I'm here to
tell you this morning, I know that the battle, that the battle
rages right here. Is God directing me or not? Is
He directing me or not? And you're 40 years old this
morning. You may be 35. You may be 50. And you say, is
the Lord directing me or not? Is He directing me or not? Wait
till you get 60. Wait till you get 62. Wait till you get 70.
And you keep on asking, is the Lord directing me or not? He
is directing His children. He is. It's with the Lord. He is directing His children. Okay, now in the next place,
now I'm not going to keep you overly long, but you need to
hear this. In the next place, man ought
not to direct his way according to his own will because his will
is naturally evil. Would you feel comfortable if
the Lord said, just take it this morning? Just take it. Would
you feel comfortable with it? Well, only a fool would, because
the Bible says a fool, it's a fool that trusteth in his own heart.
If you would say this morning, Lord, just give it to me, I can
handle it, you're just a fool. Our flesh, as we said, is not
converted. Depravity is not just a doctrine
in our creed, it's an experience of every day. I know something
about depravity. You don't have to tell me about
depravity. I know about depravity. Do you
know about it? Do you know about it? Do you
know what you're capable of? Do you know how insistent your
own nature is in the ways of evil? Adam was in a state of
innocence when he did what he did. His will was not biased
in any direction toward good or evil. He had no bias. You see what he did? He lost
paradise for all of us. And you and I, with this so-called
free will business, will never gain it by what we do or by our
own ability to choose a way and walk in it. No, we will not. We are biased this morning. We're biased. Every one of us
are bent this morning. And you know what direction you're
bent? I'm here to tell you. I'm trying to show you this morning
the truth of these words. I'm telling you, you're biased
towards sin. If you favor anything this morning,
it's what's wrong. You would exchange bitter for
sweet any day of the week. He said, Preacher, I hope I wouldn't
do that. You would. That's your nature to do it.
That's my nature to do it. All God has to do is leave us
to ourselves and BANG! We're in trouble right off the
bat. Just leave you to yourself. A moment. And you'll go right
down the drain. We're biased to sin. Biased to it. That's the way
we're bent. You say, well, I just wondered why I'd rather read
the newspaper than the Bible. Well, that's the very reason
right there. You say, well, preacher, I just wonder, you know, why
some of these things appeal to me that appeal to me. Well, that's
because your old nature is bent toward what's wrong and toward
sinning. And if God leaves you alone,
you're going to hell. If he don't cross your path and
break your old will and do something in your soul, You're lost and
you'll ever be lost if God don't cross your path. Well, even when
grace, the grace of God has renewed our souls, still our judgment
is so fallible that it's a great mistake for us to attempt to
direct our own way. Say, well, preacher, don't you
think a man who's been born again, got the Holy Spirit in him, that
he is next to infallible, that he's not going to make no mistakes?
Well, don't let anybody here entertain that idea. We go right
back to what I said before. Your flesh is not converted. Would everybody here say that
to themselves sometime today? Your flesh is not converted,
hardhead! Listen to it! If you listen to
the old nature, you're going to find that old nature is wanting
to put you out in the cold and drive you away from everything
that's right and everything that's holy, everything that's godly.
Your old nature is against it all. Now, even now, if we trust
our own judgment, we're going to be brought, even since we've
been saved, We're going to be brought into a thousand sorrows
if we trust our own judgment. We dare not do it. We dare not
do it. Every man who is truly wise feels
himself to be increasingly a fool apart from divine guidance. Did you hear what I said? If
a man is truly wise, he will feel himself to be a fool apart
from divine guidance. Listen to me this morning. It's
a sign of growth in wisdom and grace when a man's self-confidence
continues to grow less and less. Let the humanists of this day
say what they want to say. Filthy humanist that tells us
that man is somebody and that man ought to listen to himself
and that we ought to quit listening to these old fogies of scripture
and start listening to some of the modern day prophets and free
thinkers. Humanist. They're all going to
hell. A bunch of filth mongers. But
I'll tell you here this morning, It's a mark that a man's grown
in grace and knowledge of God Almighty when his self-confidence
is becoming less and less. Boy, that won't go over good
in our day. Wouldn't go over among the schoolteachers
you know, would it, Sheila? It wouldn't go over among some
of the people that you work with, some of you folks around here.
It wouldn't go over with them. No, sir, I tell you that. Distrust
yourself. Oh my, preacher, are you telling
us not to trust ourself? Well, this is the accurate gauge
of your own judgment when you don't trust yourself. You're
a believer, you're a child of God. Don't trust yourself. Boy, that's tough. That's tough. Beloved, we cannot take a step
in the right way without divine assistance. Unless God helps
us, we can't take a step in the right direction. How can we talk
about directing our own steps when we're absolutely dependent
upon the grace of God for every step we take? How can we talk
about it? doorstep of heaven. By His grace,
help us all the way up to the doorstep of heaven. And then
say, well, now this is as far as I can go with you right here.
This is it. Got you right up here to the doorstep. We would
tumble all the way back to hell if the grace of God didn't enable
us to take that step over the threshold into glory. I'm telling
you the truth. You don't know what you're dealing
with when you're dealing with this old nature. You don't know
what you're dealing with. I'm telling you, if you get into
heaven, every step of it will have to be by the grace of God. Now, listen to me. You're a cripple.
Oh, preacher, don't tell me that. I'm telling you this morning,
you're a cripple and you cannot take a right step. You cannot
take a step toward the things of God, toward holiness, toward
the way of life. You can't take a step toward
God unless it's given to you from on high, unless strength
is given to you and grace is given to you from on high. That's
why we lay at night and cry, O God, strengthen us with might
in the inward man. The battle is raging. Strengthen
us with might in the inward man. Lord, overcome! Lord, overcome! Overrule! Give grace! Give grace! Give strength! And as we begin
this new year, my friend, I hope that you'll listen to me. It'd
be wise this morning first to confess our dependence on God
and to not talk anymore of directing. our own life and directing our
own steps. It'd be wise for us to get us
a place to pray and to cast ourselves on the Lord. There is one to
direct our steps and thou shalt choose our inheritance for us. There's no need for us to choose
for ourselves. One time there was an old lady
and she had a great decision to make and somebody said, what
are you going to do? She said, I don't know what I'm
going to do. She said, I'm just going to cast it on the Lord
and let the Lord direct me. And somebody said, well, what
what would you do if the Lord just said to you, just choose
for yourself whatever you want to choose? It's all right. Just
go ahead. And she said, I just go right
back in his lap and tell him, no, I will not choose. You choose for me. And I'll tell you, that's the
wise place for every believer to be. Throw it back in the Lord's
hands. Tell Him to choose for you. Well, not as I will, but as thou
wilt. What I know not, teach thou me. Our very weakness entitles us
to cry unto God in this way. Remember that. Our very weakness
gives you a hot line right into the throne of God. Your weakness,
brother. You're safe as long as you're
weak. You're safe. You're safe. All right, the last
thing I'd like to do is this morning, and I'll close just
briefly here after I... I think these words are instructive
to this end. Hear me out. Let me make some
suggestions, and we'll be through. First of all, avoid... I know
this is the first day of the year, and it's the day when we
make resolutions. But avoid all positive resolutions
about what you mean to do. Avoid it. Avoid it. Say, well,
don't you think it'd be all right if I just said, well, I'm going
to lose 10 pounds? It'd be all right if somebody don't bake
a cake. Say, well, you know, I just, I just, you know, I've
heard it over and over again. I was doing fine until somebody
brought this now. You ever hear that? Everything was going real well
until this, or until that. But just don't make no positive
resolutions about what you mean to do. As we said before, if
you make any, make them with a pencil and keep the eraser
right nearby, where you can rub them out. Second thing, let your
expectation be from the Lord. God will be true to your soul.
God will be true to His Word. If you expect anything, and I
don't think we have to take that attitude of the fellow that said,
blessed is he that expecteth nothing for he shall never be
disappointed. We don't have to take that attitude. But I do
think that that may be safer than the attitude that some people
have, expecting too much. Be realistic and let your expectation
be from the Lord, whatever the Lord would give, whatever he
would be pleased to do. provide. Avoid trusting in your
present security. Your present security. Some of
you may say, well, I'm just glad I got $500 in the bank this morning.
I'm glad I got a little money salted down. I'm glad I got a
little bit of something. I'm glad I have. Well, I'll tell
you what. Avoid trusting in present security. Avoid it. Be not high-minded,
but fear. Riches can take wings and fly
away. Look, they'll be gone just like
that. In your eyes, there may be somebody before this night
is over that you never laid an eye on in your life that'll close
your eyelids in death. Don't you trust in present security. Don't you do it. Don't you do
it. Trust the Lord for your security. We are mortals. Avoid trusting
in our own security. Wealth, as we said, it can fly
away. Don't trust in uncertain riches.
Do you have health? Think what a marvelous mercy
it is if you have health. Think what a marvelous mercy
it is that a harp of a thousand strings should keep in tune so
long. Just think about that. I thought
about that. Isn't it a marvelous thing that
a fella can live 62 years old and still be up and about and
do about anything he wants to do? Isn't that a marvelous thing?
That's a wonderful thing. That's a marvelous thing. But
listen to me. It may be, though, that that
harp with a thousand strings, it may be that before the day
is out, it may be all out of tune. It could be all out of
tune before the day is out. Isn't that right? Isn't that
right? You people know. You older people, I know you
know. I know you know, or you can get up in the morning and
feel mighty good, but at night you can be somewhere in a hospital
bed and preparing to operate on you, unblock some arteries
or do something else. You're ill, terribly ill. So I'm telling you, listen to me, this is my advice,
grasp Christ in the power of the Get a hold of the Lord Jesus. He's our everlasting portion
and our unfailing joy. This here is not my abiding portion. There is nothing permanent after
all in this life. Nothing is permanent here. You
must keep all earthly treasures out of your heart and let Christ
be your treasure and let Him have your heart. My son, give
me your heart. That's what I want. with your
heart. Next, you bow to the will of God in all things. He's King
of kings and Lord of lords. He must be free to do as he pleases. He always does what is right. You submit to his will. Last of all, let's pray about
everything. Pray about everything. You say,
well preacher, I say make no exceptions. Pray about everything.
Say, preacher, little things you think I ought to pray about,
sometimes the end results of little things are a whole lot
worse than the end result of big things when they start out.
And you ought to pray. It's like a fellow said, you
take an umbrella with you every day. And if it don't rain, you're
still safe. Now, that's just a way of putting
this truth. Take the umbrella with you every
day. If it don't rain, it's still alright. But when it rains, it's
obvious what you ought to do. Follow the point? You pray about
everything. And then when something big comes
along, it's obvious what you ought to do. You ought to pray.
You ought to pray. Pray about everything. Well, Paul said in Philippians 4, be
careful for nothing. Don't worry about anything, but
just remember everything but prayer and supplication. So let us all commit ourselves
for this new year afresh to the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's do it
this very hour and say, take me, Lord, and do with me as you
will. Use me for your glory in any
way that you'd be pleased, Lord, to do it. Let me honor thee.
Let my choice's treasure be surrendered if thy sovereign will shall so
ordain. Lord, whatever it is that I hold
the dearest to my life, Let me surrender it, if it's your will. Give it up. Let me abandon it.
Let me just give it up right now. Surrender it to you. Our
greatest sorrow will come when we begin to be untrue to our
full surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you get what I said? Our greatest sorrows will come
when we begin to be untrue to our surrender, our full surrender
to the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that to be a true statement. You know I've been in this thing
so long, the devil he keeps trying, he's tried for 40 some years
to get me to throw this thing down and to leave it be. But
I don't always do what I know to do. I don't always say what
I ought to say. but by the grace of God. Isn't
there anybody here who lives up to everything you know? Is
there anybody who could say, I live up to everything I know?
There ain't nobody here like that. And don't you dare stand
up and say it here in this church because we all know enough about
depravity, we know you don't live up to everything you know.
And you wouldn't be comfortable around us if you did. We would
probably just keep on agitating you until the old man
was revived. You understand what I'm saying,
don't you? Because we'd be uncomfortable if we thought there was somebody
perfect in our midst, in the flesh. But I will tell you this. The devil, he's been trying to
get me to throw this thing down. But I came back on this day,
and I preached this sermon. It's not in man that walketh
to direct his steps. I come back here today and I
honored God. I exalted the Lord. I told you
He's running a show. And you, and you, I've told you
what you are. I've told you about your situation.
I've told you where you've been in to the scheme of things. That you can't direct your steps.
You're not able to do it. So it ought to make you happy
that somebody is. That the Lord is doing it. And
I hope you can rejoice in that. I hope you can be glad in that.
I hope this morning that you say, well, I think I can start
the new year. I'm going to start it on my face before the Lord.
That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to start it on my knees.
And I'm going to believe, once again, that God took my life
when I gave it to him. And he took it. Boy, let me tell
you something. There's been an awful lot to
try about faith. You know old Jacob. Well, I've got to quit.
But old Joseph, remember in that prison? And all them dreams he
had, all that happened to him. Boy, he had a tough way to go
just to believe that God had given those dreams and that God
had spoken to him in his words. You're gonna have that trouble.
You're gonna be tested. You're gonna be tried. But the
Lord's directing the steps of his children. He is. Tonight,