Love Worth Finding

Adrian Rogers: An evangelist came home. He'd been away for a long time. He had a present for his wife, and it was quite heavy. When he came in the house, his little daughter saw it and said, "Daddy, let me take it to Mommy." This little girl had been crippled. He said, "Sweetheart, it's too heavy. You can't take it." She said, "Please, Daddy, let me take it to Mommy." And he put it in her hands, and she said, "Now, Daddy, pick me up and bring me to Mommy."

And so he picked her up, package and all, and brought her. That's what our Lord does. If our God gives us a burden, our God will pick us up, and He is the one who carries us when we get in the stream of His will. God wants to light your path if in all of your ways you will acknowledge Him.

Chris Fabry: Isn't that a great picture of what God wants to do to us? The only way you and I can do what God wants us to do is to let Him work. This is Love Worth Finding, featuring the dynamic and biblical teaching of Adrian Rogers. It's great to have you with us today as we continue reaching people with the gospel of Christ and helping them mature in their faith.

You're helping us do that each day with your gifts to this ministry. We have a special thank you that I'll tell you about after the message, but if you want to give, go to our website, lwf.org. That's lwf.org. If you're struggling with direction, if you have some big decision looming, or a bunch of small decisions, stay with us. You're going to learn the process of really trusting in God. But you ask, "Will God direct me, guide me? Will He show me the way?" Let's find answers now as we listen to the conclusion of Lighting the Future. Once again, here's Adrian Rogers.

Adrian Rogers: In Proverbs chapter three, verses five and six, it says this: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him." Now, listen. "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths." That's God's word. I submit to you it's either true or false. I believe it's true. You believe it's true. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean not unto thine own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will, he will, he will, he will, I promise he will direct thy paths.

Let's just break that down and look at it. There are three basic things I want you to see in that text that you and I are to do. First of all, we must let God choose the way. We do that two ways. How do we let God choose the way? There must be a full confidence in God. Many of us don't trust the Lord enough to let Him guide us. Notice in verse five: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart."

Sometimes my wife will say to me something like this: "Adrian, will you do something for me?" What's my first question? "What is it?" But suppose she says, "Adrian, will you do something for me?" and I say, "Well, what is it?" She says, "Never mind, just trust me." I gulp and I say, "Okay." Why? Because I love that girl and I know her love for me, and I don't have to work. Have you ever had anybody say, "Close your eyes and open your mouth?" Now, you've got to know a person before you close your eyes and open your mouth.

Is that not right? But if you know them, if you love them, and you know that they love you, then you can trust them because you know them. And the reason many of us don't trust the Lord that intimately is that we really don't know Him intimately. And don't trust your own understanding. Look at it again: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding." And always, here's the way it is: over here is God, and over here is our understanding, our reason, and we're torn between those two things.

We take the word of God and we parade it past the judgment bar of human reason, our understanding, and we try to weigh it out and see if that is really best, rather than just trusting. Now, God is not saying that you're not to have understanding. He's just saying don't lean on your own understanding. Get in the word of God. Search for God's way just as you would silver and gold, and God says that you will find it.

What we're talking about is letting God choose your way. We're saying, first of all, there must be full confidence in God. "Trust in the Lord." Do you have that confidence in Him? Not only must there be full confidence in the Lord, but there must be faithful compliance. Now, notice again, look if you will in this passage of scripture: "In all thy ways acknowledge him." In every situation. Now, you don't surrender to a plan. Most people want somebody to give them a plan for their lives. God's plan for your life is not a roadmap; it is a relationship.

There must be a full confidence and a faithful compliance. That's what He's saying. Let God choose your way. Are you really ready for God to do whatever He wants to do in your life? I mean, have you signed the contract at the bottom? Anywhere, anytime, any cost? Have you said that? You say, "Good night, Pastor, you want me to say anywhere, anytime, at any cost? How can I do that?" Do you know why you're having difficulty with that? Because you don't trust the Lord with all your heart.

So you're just afraid if you close your eyes and open your mouth, He'll put something in there you don't want. You just really don't trust Him. Now, folks, the only way this is going to work is the way it's written. "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean not unto thine own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths." Point number one: let God choose the way. Point number two: let God confirm the way. Because you see, it's one thing for God to choose the way, but it's another thing for God to confirm that this is the way He's chosen.

There are a lot of folks here in this building that say, "Well, yeah, sure, I'll do God's will, but I don't know what it is." Yes, I'll say anytime, anywhere, any cost, but what is the time? Where is the place? What is the cost? I don't know. All right. Now, the Bible says He will direct your path. If you'll do this, He will direct your path. Now, how does God confirm the way? Once God has chosen the way, how does God confirm the way? I want to mention four ways that God will confirm His will to you for your life and how God will light your future.

Number one: God directs your way by His word, by the Bible. Let me give you some scripture. Remember, we're talking about lighting your path, lighting your future. Psalm 119, verse 105: "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." The word of God. God gave you His word. Now, many people are wanting to know the will of God for their lives when they are not obeying the revealed will of God in the written scriptures. And they're wanting God to show them something else when it is as plain as day what God does want in some areas, and they've not done that.

For example, let me mention three times in the Bible where the Bible specifically says, "This is the will of God." This is the will of God. First of all, concerning your salvation. Listen to this: 2 Peter 3, verse 9: "The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." That's the will of God for you. Have you repented of your sin? Have you given your heart to Jesus Christ? Well, don't quibble with me about wanting to know the will of God for your life when the Bible clearly, plainly, black print on white paper, says God is not willing that you should perish, but that you should have eternal life. Not willing that any should perish. God wants everybody saved.

I believe that. I hope you believe that. Some theologians don't believe God wants everybody saved. I believe He wants every mother's child saved. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. All right. That's one place He just mentions the will of God. We're just talking about finding God's will in the word. Let me give you another place where He mentions the will of God.

Ephesians chapter five, verses 17 and 18: "Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess, but be filled with the spirit." Not only is it God's will that you be saved, but God's will that you be spirit-filled. That's what He says in that passage of scripture. Don't be unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. Don't be drunk with wine, but be filled with the spirit.

Now, are you now sitting there listening to Adrian, are you filled with the spirit? If not, you're out of the will of God. Because He says clearly and plainly, that is the will of God. I mean, look, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to understand that. God says, "It is my will that you be saved and spirit-filled." Now, if you're not saved and spirit-filled, why are you coming to me saying, "Oh, I wish I knew the will of God for my life?" There it is. You're going to find that in the scripture.

Let me mention a third time in the scripture where he uses the specific phrase "the will of God." 1 Thessalonians chapter four, verse three: "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication." This is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication. What is the will of God? Saved, spirit-filled, and sanctified. And in those scriptures, He absolutely says, "This is the will of God." By the way, if you just do those three steps, you'll find the rest is almost axiomatic. Did you know that? If you'll just do that.

And it's amazing. He says, "This is the will of God, even your sanctification, that you should abstain from fornication." What is fornication? It is sex apart from the marriage, sacred bonds of marriage. Sometimes in counseling, if you've ever been a counselor, ever been a pastor, you've had a man come to you, or sometimes a woman, with this proposition: "You know, I am married, and my wife and I are not getting along. We really should never have gotten married. We don't really love one another, and our marriage is a disaster. And I have discovered true love. I have discovered a God-given love. There is a woman that I love with all of my heart, and she loves me. And Pastor, I've prayed about it, and I really feel it's God's will that I marry this other woman because God doesn't want me to be in bondage, God wants me to be happy, and this is where happiness is. Pastor, would you give me some advice?"

I say, "No, I won't give you any advice. You're out of the will of God. Do you think God is a liar? Do you think that God is just going to take His word and set His word aside and say, 'Now, I know this is what I said and I know this is my will, but since you prayed, I've changed my mind'?" No! Absolutely not! You say, "Oh, Adrian, you're so narrow-minded." Some people are so broad-minded their mind gets thin in the middle. I'm just simply saying, folks, God gives His will. And you say, "Oh, I've got to do the will of God." Friend, God's will is best for you. God's will is what you'd want for yourself if you had enough sense to want it.

God is a good God. The Lord thy God is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly. I'm just talking to you about how to let God confirm His way. Number one is the scripture. You'll find so much of the will of God in the scripture. But not everything is found in His word. I mean, some of you guys and gals are thinking about where you're going to go to college, or who should you marry, or whatever. You're not going to find in the Bible, "Go to such and such a university."

The second way that God guides you is through prayer. And God will guide you through prayer beyond the shadow of any doubt. Let me give you some scriptures that teach that. For example, in the early church in Acts chapter one, they were wanting an apostle to take the place of Judas who fell. Now, listen to what it says here: "And they prayed and said, 'Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen.'" They prayed and said, "Lord, show us." Now, prayer is a two-way street. So many of us want to say, "Listen, Lord, your servant is speaking," rather than, "Speak, Lord, your servant listens." Do you have a quiet time in your prayer? This is a lost art of listening to God. God will speak directly to your heart. Directly.

Let me give you another scripture. Acts chapter eight and verse 29. Philip was a deacon who was actually holding an evangelistic crusade. And the Holy Spirit spoke to him. Listen to this: Acts 8, verse 29: "Then the Spirit said unto Philip, 'Go near and join thyself to this chariot.'" Philip is out there in the wilderness now, being led of the Spirit. Here comes the Ethiopian eunuch riding by in a chariot, and the Spirit says, "That's the one. Go join yourself to him." Now, the point I'm making is this: that God will impress your spirit with the Holy Spirit. That's very mystical, but I can tell you time and time again when I have felt God speak to my heart in that sweet communion. It's almost, again, like guiding you with His eye.

When the first missionaries were chosen, Acts 13, verse two: "As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, 'Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.'" The Holy Spirit speaks. God guides through His word. God guides when we pray and the Holy Spirit of God speaks to us. Now, let me tell you a third way that God will guide you. I'm talking about four ways now to confirm God's will: the Bible, through prayer. Number three: through the wisdom that God gives.

One of the great, great, great promises in the word of God is James chapter one and verse five, and it says this: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." Now, there's not a one of us that doesn't want and need wisdom. Well, here is an unqualified promise. "If any of you," that applies to all of us, "lack wisdom," that applies to all of us, "let us ask of God, that giveth to all men," not some men, "how? Liberally, and it shall be given him." I submit either that is true or that is not true.

Now, what is wisdom? Wisdom is not reading something in the scripture, although that's valid. Wisdom is not praying and letting the Holy Spirit impress our hearts, though that is valid. Wisdom is sanctified common sense. Do you know many of us are afraid to use our mind when it comes to knowing the will of God? Do we think that if we use our mind that we're leaning to our own understanding? No. No, when your mind is filled with the Spirit of God, don't be afraid to trust it. Get your heart clean, get your motive clear, search the scriptures, pray, and then do what you think you ought to do.

Donald Grey Barnhouse said 90% of the will of God is found between your ears. God gives wisdom. What is wisdom? Wisdom is not emotionalism. It's not getting wet around the lashes and warm around the heart and liver shivers. Wisdom is sanctified common sense. It is seeing life from God's point of view. There are certain things that you don't have to pray about. And I'm not against prayer. How many of you prayed about the necktie you would wear this morning? Now, some of you should have, but I mean, how many of you prayed about that? No, I mean, you've got enough sense to know when I get up, I shave, I wash my face, I do this, I do that. God gives you a mind. Why would God renew your mind and then not use it? "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

Now, the fourth way that God is going to guide you, and that is not only through the scripture, not only through prayer and the Holy Spirit impressing your heart, not only through the sanctified wisdom that God gives to you, but by providence. You're going to find out that God will providentially guide you when you get in the stream of His mercy. Put down this scripture: Revelation chapter three, verse eight: "I know thy works. Behold, I have set before thee an open door. I am he that openeth and no man shutteth. I am he that shutteth and no man openeth." You're going to find out that God will open doors and God will shut doors, and God will open doors and God will shut doors.

Now, here's the third and final thing, and this is very important. Number one, let God choose the way. Number two, let God confirm the way. And number three, let God clear the way. Now, most of us think, "Well, if I just knew the will of God and surrendered to the will of God, then it would all be fine." No, no. God's got to make a way for you. He's got to clear the way. Now, look in verse six, and it says there: "And he will direct your paths." The word that's used there, "he will direct your paths," it is a word that has the idea of clearing obstacles.

Let me show you another place where it is used in the Bible, and this will make it crystal clear. It's found in Isaiah chapter 40, verses three and four, and it speaks of the ministry of John the Baptist clearing the way for Messiah to come. And it says: "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, 'Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.'"

Now, what's the idea? It's like John the Baptist was a bulldozer making a way for the Messiah. Here is a mountain; He moves it out of the way. Here is a boulder; He moves it out of the way. Here is a crooked road; He straightens that road. Here is a depression; He fills it with dirt until you have a smooth highway for Messiah. "Prepare ye the way of the Lord." Now, the same phrase that is used, "prepare ye the way of the Lord," is the same phrase, same word, that is used for "direct your path."

What He is saying is this: listen. God will choose the way, God will confirm the way, and hallelujah, God will clear the way. When you get in the will of God, God will go before you. God, like a bulldozer, will clear the way. God will open and no man will shut, and God will shut and no man will open. And God Himself will take away the obstacles that keep you from His will for your life. Are you telling me that there is a God in the glory that has something He wants you to do, but it can't be done because God's not able to make it happen for you? Oh, no.

God, I promise you, will clear the way. That's what our Lord does. That's what our Lord does. If our God gives us a burden, our God will pick us up, and He is the one who carries us, and He's the one who clears the way when we get in the stream of His will. God has a plan for you. God wants to light your path. If in all of your ways you will acknowledge Him, don't lean to your own understanding. Trust Him with all of your heart. Give Him not just one-tenth, give Him ten-tenths. Give Him not one-seventh, give Him the whole week. Give it to Jesus and trust Him. And I'll tell you, He will choose the way, He will confirm the way, and my God will clear the way for you, for you. He has a plan for you.

Chris Fabry: Trusting in God means you open your life. You give everything to Him. That's a wonderful way to live, isn't it? It's really the only way for a Christian to live. Well, we want you to know that you are an important part of our Love Worth Finding family. Thank you so much for tuning in today and studying along with us.

Perhaps you have friends or family members who need to know about the love and forgiveness that Jesus offers freely to all. Please invite them to tune into these broadcasts. Our web address is lwf.org. That's lwf.org. And our toll-free phone number is 1-877-LOVE-GOD.

You know, we continually pray that these messages are penetrating hearts and healing hurts in your home, your community, and around the world. As you listen and apply these important truths to your life, God is glorified. Others come to know Him as the greatest love worth finding. That's what we're all about. I'm Chris Fabry. Thank you for joining us, and be sure to tune in next time for more insights from God's word about His never-ending love worth finding.

Carrie Vaughn: Hi, this is Carrie Vaughn, and this program has been brought to you by Love Worth Finding, a non-profit ministry showcasing the powerful preaching and teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers. We operate solely through the generous gifts of individual supporters just like you. To give a gift today, call 1-877-LOVE-GOD. That's 1-877-LOVE-GOD. Or write to us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38-600, Memphis, Tennessee, 38183.

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