Sermon Notes-God Leading Us

We were surprised to arrive at church yesterday and find out that our pastor was not feeling well (and we are praying for him to get well soon!) and one of the laymen of the church was going to preach.  We are still kind of new to this church, so we really didn't know what to expect...but God had a pleasant surprise for us.  I think one of the tests of whether or not a church is living up to its name and truly teaching the Word of God to the people is whether or not a pastor can call in sick and know that the church will still carry on, the Word will be taught and preached, the prayers will still be prayed, and the people will still come away knowing they have been in the house of the Lord.

And that is exactly what happened yesterday! Everything ran like clockwork...(actually, we got finished a little bit early...but that was okay, because we had a pot-luck dinner waiting in the fellowship hall)...We were well-fed yesterday...Food for the soul by the delivery of God's Word, partaking of the Lord's Supper, and then food for the body to send us homeward with a full tummy as well.

So now, let me share what we heard from God's servant yesterday...

The Scripture was from John 15:1-8 

1.  " I AM the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser....

2. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; 

and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

3.  You are already clean because of the word which have spoken to you.

4.  Abide in Me, and I in you. 

As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine,

neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

5.  I Am the vine,

you are the branches.

He who abides in Me, and I in him, 

bears much fruit;

for without Me you can do nothing.

6.  If anyone does not abide in Me,

he is cast out as a branch and is withered;

and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.

7.  If you abide in Me,

and My words abide in you, 

you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.

8. By this My Father is glorified,

that you bear much fruit;

so you will be My disciples."

Now for the message:

There are four distinct ways that God leads us ...within His will...

1.  By Decrees:  Not by our design, but by God's way.

In Job 42:1-2 Job answered the Lord and said:

"I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You..."

In life we often come to a fork in the road...and we can go God's way or our way.  If we continue taking our way, we will come to a fork in a road again...God gives us a choice...If we keep making our own choice and going our own way, God will keep giving us more choices until we find the right way and follow God's way...

In Acts 16:20-34, we have the story of Paul and Silas being thrown into prison...and at midnight they were singing and praying...and the prisoners were listening to them...and when the earthquake came and the doors of the prison were opened, the prisoners did not flee as the keeper of the prison expected...and he realized that these men had a faith that he wanted, so he asked them in verse 30,

"Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"  And they responded in verse 31:

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household"...

And that jailer made the choice at that moment to believe...he and all of his household...

He could have chosen to do away with himself because he knew he would be severely punished if the prisoners escaped...but God had a better plan for this jailer's life...and he chose to believe God and be saved...

2. By Direction:  God gives us commands and teachings in the Bible.  

Exodus 20:1-17 contains the Ten Commandments...what we should not do.

Matthew 5:1-12...The Sermon on the Mount: Gives us directions of what we should do. How we should live..."Love your enemies" , John 15 teaches us to Abide in Christ,  and in the Epistles God reveals His directions for how we should live as Christians in the world.  God's Word is filled with stories for everyone and every circumstance in life.

3.  By Discernment:  Detecting how we find God's leading us through the Holy Spirit...

Romans 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

The Holy Spirit shapes the mind through prayer and the Word of God.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior we are filled with God's Holy Spirit...and He will teach us what is right and wrong...God guides us through the Holy Spirit working in our hearts and lives.

4.  Declaration:  God declares to us what we should do...Acts 8:26 Philip is told by the angel to "arise and go"...

If you trust in God, He will give you a message...He'll let you know which way to go, and what is the right way or the wrong way. 

We can rest in the  declarations of God.  Romans 8:28 tells us:

"And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, 

to those who are the called according to His purpose."

Philippians 3:12-16 tells us to press on toward the goal...for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus...

The Apostle Paul's goal was to know Christ, and to be like Him...and to make Him known.

We are to lay aside those things that will keep us from being a committed Christian...

Practice the way God wants us to be...

Read our Bible, Pray, Meditate on God's Word...

God has a plan for everyone...He leads us in different ways...but we must be OPEN to God's leading...be WILLING to accept His directions...

A closing thought:

God will get you there one way or another...might as well go peacefully!!

Read your Bible, lean on God and learn of Him...

We are here to serve Him and to do His work here on earth...

We closed the service with the hymn:

"When We All Get to Heaven...what a day of rejoicing that will be...when we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory!!"

Yes, that will definitely be a day of rejoicing...

I hope you have already made the choice to accept God's free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

If not, there is no time like the present!!

Sermon Notes from FUMC, Interlachen, FL, Lay Pastor message...