Where Are You & Where Are You Going?
I. Introduction
A. Do you know what the
first question God ever asked was?
1) “Where are you?” SLIDE
2) Asked by God
Himself to Adam in the garden of Eden.
3) Genesis 3 – Adam & Eve had eaten of the forbidden
tree and were hiding themselves from the shame of their newly realized
nakedness.
4) But to say the
least, I find it to be interesting that the very first question in the Bible is
“Where are you”.
5) Hold on to that for
a minute.
B. Today we are assembled
for the first Lord’s day of 20**.
1) The last few days
have been filled with celebration of passing year and the coming of the new
one.
2) As such, it is a
natural time of reflection for most people.
3) A time when we tend
to evaluate various aspects of our lives…
a) That may be
health, career, finances, family goals.
b) But most of
all, I hope we find ourselves evaluating the spiritual facets of our lives…our
walk with God.
4) Part of that
introspection, particularly, involves us asking for ourselves the very same
question that God asked of Adam in the garden…”Where are you?”
a) What is your relationship like with God as you
sit here this very moment?
C. But I’ll add a partner
question to go along with it…Not just, ‘”Where are you,” but “Where are you going?” SLIDE
1) And the reason why
you pair them together is because one inevitably leads to the other.
2) You can’t figure
out where you’re going unless you first know where you currently are.
3) But where you are
is often relative to where you’re headed or where you need to be headed.
D. And so if you put the
two questions together you have a foundation for making necessary &
significant changes in this upcoming year.
E. So today, this is
exactly what I want us to ask one another… “Where are you & Where are you
going?”
F. But in so doing we also
understand that each person’s response is unique in its own right.
1) Even within
individual households, no two members are going to be in the exact same place
in their walk with God.
G. And so, given that fact,
what I want to do with our time this morning is take all of our possible
responses and try to summarize them into 3 broad categories.
1) Categories that
represent various places we all have been or will be at some point in our
lives.
H. The goal is to help us
all be able to open our eyes to the reality of life and see our walk for what
it really is…and if necessary begin doing something about it.
I. To find these possible
analyses about our spiritual standing, turn with me to Acts
22 as we look at the life of none other than Paul the apostle.
1) Paul’s is a life
that took about as many turns as one possibly could.
2) It was full of
highs/lows & redirections.
3) And I think his
story is one that embodies for us each of the potential ways that we all could
respond at one point or another when asked the questions, “Where are you” &
“Where are you going?”
II. In the Wrong Place, Going the Wrong Way SLIDE
A. Acts 22:3-5 – Paul’s
early days of his spiritual walk.
3 "I am a
Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the
feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers,
being zealous for God as all of you are this day. 4 I persecuted this Way to
the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5 as the high
priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I
received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those
also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.
A. One thing is for sure,
there was never a time when Paul was without spiritual influence.
1) And yet, as “good”
of a man as Paul had been.
2) As zealous as he
was for God and His law.
3) The reality was
that in the early years of his life, Paul was in a bad place walking in the
wrong direction.
a) What he
thought was pleasing and fulfilling to the Lord was actually a painful attack
against God and his own countrymen. SLIDE
B. It may be that a level
of introspection would find you in the same position as we start this new year.
1) Perhaps you think
you’re on the right path and in good standing with God, but you’re really not. SLIDE
2) Under the guise of
serving the Lord, a closer look would show that your decisions (or maybe even a
lack thereof) are actually doing damage to you and Go’s people instead of
helping them.
C. Now, I’ll throw out
this bone…it may not be intentional. SLIDE
1) Paul will say in Acts 23:1 – “I have lived my life before God in all good
conscience up to this day."
2) You may be
operating with a clean conscience & good intentions.
3) But if there is a
lack of understanding, then your good intentions may not be yielding the good
results you think they are.
D. Or maybe you’re in a
bad place because you purposefully have chosen to be there. SLIDE
1) Outright rebellion
is the name of the game that you’re playing.
a) Not
necessarily in every aspect of life, but in something.
2) And if that’s the
case, I really hope this year finds you realizing the need to stop playing that
game.
a) Because it’s
one that you’ll never be able to win.
3) I would extend to
you the words of Jesus as He spoke to the church at Sardis in Revelations 3 - "'I know your works. You have the
reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what
remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the
sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and
repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not
know at what hour I will come against you.”
E. Where are you? Where
are you going?
1) Perhaps you’re in
the wrong place and going the wrong direction.
SLIDE
III. You Don’t Know Where You’re Going
A. Continuing with Paul’s
account of his life in Acts 22:6-11 –
6 "As I was
on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven
suddenly shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying
to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? ' 8 And I answered, 'Who are
you, Lord? ' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are
persecuting. ' 9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not
understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, 'What
shall I do, Lord? ' And the Lord said to me, 'Rise, and go into Damascus, and
there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do. ' 11 And since I
could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by
those who were with me, and came into Damascus.
B. Quite literally in the
blink of an eye, Paul’s whole foundation had been rocked to its core.
1) Acts 9 records that Paul remained in this debilitated
state for 3 days, in which he neither ate nor drank, presumably because of the
emotional stress that he was under.
2) No doubt, it was
the lowest point of his life (at least to that point in time).
3) And perhaps for the
first time ever, he had NO IDEA where he was or where he was going.
C. Life is a wonderful
journey, and it’s the best when things are going our way. SLIDE
1) But Helen Keller
once stated, “The
marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if
there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so
wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.”
2) And it is in those
dark valleys that we have a tendency to lose our sense of direction. SLIDE
D. It may be that this New
Year finds you in one of life’s low points.
1) Loss of loved ones
or a close relationship.
2) Weakened health or
unexpected career changes.
3) Turbulent times,
whatever they may be, can knock us down to our knees.
4) Confusion then sets
in, and, at best we stall out in our spiritual growth, losing interest in those
things which once gave us joy and life.
5) At worst, we may
find ourselves spiraling out of control, moving further and further out of our
grasp.
6) Indeed, life is
filled with its share of hard times…some short-term, some long-term. SLIDE
7) But I promise you
that a silver lining does exist if you find yourself not knowing where you are
or where you’re going.
a) That silver
lining is found in the fact that if you’re lost, then most likely you’re
LOOKING for direction.
8) And it is in those
times that God is most able to point you in the right direction.
E. Which brings us to our
last category.
1) When asked “Where
are you and where are you going” you may find yourself…
SLIDE
IV. Going the Right Way
A. Acts
22:12-16 - 12 "And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken
of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to
me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight. ' And at that very hour I received my
sight and saw him. 14 And he said, 'The God of our fathers appointed you to
know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; 15
for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.
16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins,
calling on his name. '
B. Out of the depths of
his despair, Paul heard the message from God that finally put him on the path
of righteousness.
1) From this moment on
Paul’s life was never without perfect direction.
2) Oh sure, there were
some low times…
a) Imprisonment,
beatings, shipwrecks, stoning, continuous adversaries.
3) But the point is
that even at the low points, with the Lord’s hand piloting the way, Paul always
knew where he was and where he was going.
C. And for you it may be
the same. SLIDE
1) You know the one in
whom you have believed and you continue to do that every single day. SLIDE
2) Yes, there are hard
times that you encounter, but with the strength of your faith you are able to
endure them to the end.
3) You either are, or
have already, moved beyond the elementary principles of faith and are regularly
feasting on the meatier matters of the word of God. SLIDE
4) Your walk with
Christ is your life…not just a part of it.
5) You are able to
echo Paul’s words from Philippians 4:7-11…
7 But whatever gain I had, I counted
as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of
the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have
suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may
gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that
comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the
righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the
power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in
his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the
dead.
D. With that as the focus
of your life, your location and direction will never be in question.
1) You will always
know where you’re going. SLIDE
E. But that doesn’t mean
we sit back and stop as though we have figured everything out and there’s
nothing else to learn.
1) The truth of the
matter is that even when walking the right path, there’s is always progress
which can be made to make the walk better. SLIDE
F. And so for the last
couple of minutes we have, I want to offer a few quick practical suggestions
that are applicable to all of us, no matter where we are at the onset of this
New Year.
1) Suggestions that,
hopefully, will aid us in either continuing to see good things this year, or
help redirect us so that the end of 2015 can be brighter than it looks now if
we’re not on the right track.
SLIDE
V. How to Correct or Maintain
A. Listen to Those Who are
Wise and Who Care
Proverbs 19:20 -Listen
to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.
1) There are people
who care for you and your soul right here in this room.
2) There are people in
your household who want to see you succeed spiritually.
3) If they have
insights to help you on your walk, take the time to listen to them, evaluate
what they say as objectively as possible, and act upon it when necessary.
B. Determine to Be Engaged
With the Lord’s Body SLIDE
1) One of the easiest
ways to not feel a part of something is to remove yourself from it.
2) I can sincerely
tell you that more times than not, a person who feels as though they are not a
part of the church is the person who rarely engages in the work of the church.
3) Constantly sitting
on the fringe will not help you be in the thick of things.
4) Now, there is a
need for those of us who are busy to reach out and help those on the fringes to
be included.
5) But there has to be
a conscious decision on the part of everyone to actually be engaged with the
body if you want to be a part of the body.
C. Challenge Yourself SLIDE
1) Step outside of
your comfort zone in 2015 by doing something that you’ve never done before.
2) Or if it’s a work
that you’ve been a part of, step out in faith to move that work to the next
level.
3) Potential is never
reached if we don’t grow
4) Growth does not
occur if we never push ourselves beyond what we’re comfortable doing.
5) Yes it takes
courage and guts…but if you will challenge yourself this year, you will
experience great spiritual benefits that otherwise you wouldn’t.
D. Be In the Word Daily SLIDE
1) One of the best
ways to grow spiritually is to be in God’s word daily.
2) We’ve issued the
challenge to read the Bible through in 2015 and I hope you will accept that.
3) The value is
immeasurable. It is one of those habits that you will never regret developing.
E. Stop Making Excuses SLIDE
1) You can always find
a reason to not do something.
2) Truth is, most of
us are experts at doing that very thing, especially when we’re being asked to
do something outside the norm.
3) Life changes are not always easy to make.
4) Depending on what
situation you’re in, they may be incredibly difficult to make.
5) And it’s very easy
to excuse ourselves from doing the things that we know would make our spiritual
walk more pleasing, fulfilling and profitable.
6) So I challenge each
of us, including myself here, to stop making excuses for ourselves this year.
7) Let’s all step up
and do what we can to make the most of this year as individuals, as families,
and as a congregation.
SLIDE
VI. Conclusion
A. Where are you? Where are
you going?
B. Two very important
questions that we all need to ask ourselves as we look ahead to this new year.
C. Because our answers
will help lay a foundation for us to make the most of this year that God has
blessed us with by opening our eyes as to what we need to do.
D. Maybe you’re in a good
place and walking in the right way with God.
1) Keep it up and do those
things which will continue to strengthen that walk.
E. Perhaps you don’t know
where you are because the valleys of life.
1) In that case, lift
your eyes to the one who gives direction.
2) Set your burdens in
His hands and let God lift you out onto the path which leads to heaven.
F. And if you’re on the
wrong path and you know it, turn off of it and get back in step with God.
1) If you need to
renew that relationship with Him by repenting of sin in your life and
dedicating yourself to that faith you can do that this morning.
2) Or if you need to
become a Christian by putting on Christ in baptism…I can’t think of a better
way to begin 2015 on the right foot.
G. Won't you come while we
stand and sing.
--Cory Waddell
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