Sermon Tone Analysis

Walk by Faith not Sight

If we rely on our own ability to determine the direction of our lives we are going to find ourselves in trouble.

No matter how smart we think we are and how much investigation we do, the truth is, our eyes lie to us.

what we can observe through our fallen human eyes and hearts will lie to us.

Jeremiah put it this way...

So if you take the advice of this world and follow your heart.

Do what you feel like is best and what is going to make you happy you will find that you have been lied to and tricked and decieved.

You will be sold out by your own heart and your own desires.

The truth is when it comes to choosing which way to go in our lives we are biased.

We will choose ourselves and our own best interest over God’s if we listen only to our hearts and not to HIs Word and His Spirit.

For our last time in proverbs I want us to walk through the warnings we find here and also the solutions we find on choosing the path that is best for our lives...

This proverb is repeated again in another chapter because it is really important.

It is a really important reminder to us that if we simply look at something, a path for our lives and do not consider God’s Word on that path we will find ourselves headed toward destruction.

The way that seems right to a man is a way that look like a good road.

A good path that is going to take us where we want to go.

It looks smooth and easy.

But the destination it leads to is death.

You will have a really nice ride but the end of the road is not life it is death.

the point he is making here is that if we are left to make our choices on how things look to us and on how they make us feel then we are going to choose wrongly.

I mean think about it.

Say you didn’t have a GPS or a Smart phone to get you to New York.

And you left out of here and you did not pay attention to the direction you were going.

You just picked the best looking easiest road you could find.

Oh well 70 is nice I’ll drive on that road for a while.

well I 40 and I 30 are both pretty terrible so I’m going to get off on this exit.

Well I really don’t like this road either so I’m going to take this one over here.

and well that road looks a little crowded so I’ll go down here.

Until you are hopelessly lost and have no idea where you are and depending on which neighborhood you end up in it could be really bad for you.

Like when I first moved to go to seminary over in Memphis I was a country boy who if I was real lucky might get to drive to little rock every now and then .

Well next thing I know i’m in Memphis TN.

And one night about 2 oclock in the morning I had to go pick up my roommate from the air port.

The memphis Air port is not the safest place you’ve ever been anyway.

but after I picked him up I didn’t know which way to go so I just took the road that looked the best then i did that again a few times and before I knew it we were at the back end of a neighborhood at like 2 in the morning and those people were not asleep.

Let’s just say it was clear we were not welcome there nor did we fit in.

It was not a fun moment for us.

I had to back up for a while before I could get turned around and back on the road.

If we do not consider where we are going along with the choices we make in life we will end up on the road to destruction guys.

So we don’t pick our paths based on our own understanding we allow the Lord to choose the way we are going to behave because he knows better than us.

Listen to...

If we are going to choose rightly we need a lot of humility.

Like a whole lot.

The book of Proverbs makes this really clear.

If we believe we know it all then we won’t listen when the Lord attempts to correct us.

Teachable is so important on the way of life.

We have to be open to the fact that we may in fact be wrong.

No matter how much pain it causes admitting we are wrong is key to finding the way of the Lord.

If when God rebukes you and corrects you, your response is to dig in your heels and refuse to say I’m sorry Lord I was wrong then you are on the road to destruction.

When you read the truth of His Word your first thought should not be, oh man I need to tell them that they are wrong over there cause they don’t do this right.

No your first response should be oh man am I guilty of this.

Don’t cover over your wrongs confess them and get mercy from the Lord.

He won’t forgive you until you do.

The plans of the heart belong to man,

The plans of the heart belong to man,

but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.

2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,

2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,

but the Lord weighs the spirit.

but the Lord weighs the spirit.

3 Commit your work to the Lord,

3 Commit your work to the Lord,

and your plans will be established.

and your plans will be established.

4 The Lord has made everything for its purpose,

4 The Lord has made everything for its purpose,

even the wicked for the day of trouble.

even the wicked for the day of trouble.

5 Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord;

5 Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord;

As you walk through these 9 verses you’re reminded…oh yeah God is actually in control and knows better than we do no matter how much planning or desire we put into something.

It is at the end of the day up to him.

be assured, he will not go unpunished.

be assured, he will not go unpunished.

6 By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,

6 By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,

and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.

and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.

7 When a man’s ways please the Lord,

7 When a man’s ways please the Lord,

he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

I mean we can try our best in our hearts but apart from his mercy and grace what comes out of our mouth could still be wrong.

8 Better is a little with righteousness

8 Better is a little with righteousness

Remember what Jesus said.

than great revenues with injustice.

than great revenues with injustice.

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

If our hearts are not full of him and instead full of our won desires and plans then when we speak even if we want it to be good it’s still likely to end up badly.

9 The heart of man plans his way,

9 The heart of man plans his way,

Verse 2 is really a problem for us isnt.

You see he reveals something about the way we look at ourselves.

OUr actions if we judge them ourselves end up being good in our own eyes.

Like if it’s up to us we are getting a 100 on every test.

We are never going to give ourselves a bad grade.

but the Lord establishes his steps.

but the Lord establishes his steps.

We believe what we do is right.

It is pure it says here.