WHO ARE YOU LEANING ON, YOURSELF OR GOD

THEME: WHO ARE YOU LEANING ON, YOURSELF OR GOD

TRUST MEANS TO PUT ONE'S CONFIDENCE IN

LEAN MEANS TO BEND, CAST ONE'S WEIGHT TO THE SIDE

ACKNOWLEDGE MEANS TO RECOGNIZE

DIRECT MEANS TO POINT TOWARD

IN PROV. 3: 5 AND 6 SAIDS, TRUST IN THE LORD THINE HEART; AND LEAN NOT UNTO THINE OWN UNDERSTANDING. IN ALL THY WAYS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM, AND HE SHALL DIRECT THY PATHS.

AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS PASSAGE IT TALKS ABOUT TRUSTING GOD COMPLETELY. THEREFORE, TRUST GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART NOT HALF. LET GO AND LET GOD WORK IN YOUR BEHALF. Heb. 11:1 TELLS ME THAT, NOW FAITH IS THE SUBSTANCE OF THINGS HOPE FOR, EVIDENCE NOT SEEN. WHEN YOU STEP OUT ON FAITH, YOU ARE STEPPING INTO THE WILL OF GOD AND NOT SELF. IN EVERYTHING YOU DO DEPEND ON GOD TO BRING YOU THROUGH YOUR STORM. GOD IS THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN SEE YOU THROUGH, NOT MAN. MAN WILL FAIL YOU EVER TIME. BUT GOD SAIDS THAT HE WILL NOT FAIL YOU. BECAUSE HE WILL ALWAYS BE THERE WHEN YOU NEED HIM WHETHER IT IS AT NIGHT OR DAY. ALL YOU HAVE TO IS CALL ON HIM AND HE WILL ANSWER. ON THE OTHER HAND, GOD IS SAYING LOOK TO THE HILLS WHENCE COMETH YOUR HELP, YOUR HELP COMETH FROM THE LORD WHOM MADE HEAVEN AND EARTH.

LIKEWISE, ACKNOWLEDGE HIM WHEN HE BRINGS YOU OUT OF YOUR DILEMA. THERE ARE CHRISTIANS IN THE CHURCHES TODAY THAT DON'T ACKNOWLEDGE GOD. BUT I HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD SAYING FOR EVERYTIME YOU ACKNOWLEDGE ME, I WILL BRING YOU AND POUR MY BLESSING ON THEE SAITH THE LORD. THE BIBLE SAIDS SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN AND ALL OTHER RIGHTEOUS WILL BE ADDED UNTO THEE. FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD. AS A RESULT, WE MUST TRUST HIM COMPLETELY IN EVERY CHOICE WE MAKE. WE SHOULD NOT OMIT CAREFUL THINKING OR BELITTLE OUR GOD-GIVEN ABILITY TO REASON; BUT WE SHOULD NOT TRUST OUR OWN IDEAS TO THE EXCLUSION OF ALL OTHERS. WE MUST NOT BE WISE IN OUR OWN EYES, BUT WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE WILLING TO LISTEN TO AND BE CORRECTED BY GOD'S WORD AND WISE COUNSELOR. THEREFORE, BRING YOUR DECISIONS TO GOD IN PRAYER; USE THE BIBLE AS YOUR GUIDE; AND THEN FOLLOW GOD'S LEADING. HE WILL MAKE YOUR PATHS STRAIGHT BY BOTH GUIDING AND PROTECTING YOU.

TO RECEIVE GOD'S GUIDANCE SAID SOLOMON, WE MUST ACKNOWLEDGE GOD IN ALL OUR WAYS. THIS MEANS TURNING EVERY AREA OF LIFE OVER TO HIM. ABOUT A THOUSAND YEARS LATER, JESUS EMPHASIZED THIS SAME TRUTH (MATT. 6:33). LOOK AT YOUR VALUES AND PRIORITIES. WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU? IN WHAT AREAS HAVE YOU NOT ACKNOWLEDGE HIM? WHAT IS HIS ADVICE? IN MANY AREAS OF YOUR LIFE YOU MAY ALREADY ACKNOWLEDGE GOD, BUT IT IS IN THE AREA WHERE YOU ATTEMPT TO RESTRICT OR IGNORE HIS INFLUENCE THAT WILL CAUSE YOU GRIEF. MAKE HIM A VITAL PART OF EVERYTHING YOU DO; THEN HE WILL BE WORKING TO ACCOMPLISH HIS PURPOSES.

IN CONCLUSION, AS CHRISTIANS WE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO OUR PHYSICAL AND MATERIAL NEEDS. BUT JESUS URGED US TO STOP WORRYING ABOUT THINGS SO THAT THEY DOMINATE OUR LIVES AND VALUES. WE CAN'T DO THAT AND SERVE GOD AT THE SAME TIME (MATT. 6:24). INSTEAD, WE NEED TO REDIRECT OUR FOCUS ONTO GOD'S KINGDOM AND RIGHTEOUSNESS. THAT MEANS ADOPTING THE VALUES OF THE KING AND BRINGING HIM INTO OUR WORK AND LIVES.