Praise the Lord, Grace & Peace, great people of our “GREAT GOD”… JESUS

Presently  I see so many people who are saved and not saved trying to find directions without looking to God to give them directions; hence this week I would like to render this Golden Nugget to provoke the thought that “We can’t find our way without Gods’ way” To provoke further gospel provocation my premise scriptures are as follows:

Num 10:29-31  And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel. And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred. And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes.

When Israel of old emerged from the Red Sea, and stood upon the margin of that great and terrible wilderness which was between them and the land of promise, it was impossible for them to know their own way. The trackless sand of the desert was all around them. It was in vain to look for any footprint there. I am sure Moses felt this when he said to Hobab, “Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes” Num 10:31. Wow, how well our poor unbelieving hearts can relate to Moses appeal! How often do we crave someone to guide us in the midst of our scenic life during perplexity! How quickly our hearts will cling to someone who we believe is competent to give us guidance in moments of darkness and difficulty!

My brothers and sisters, my question to you is what did Moses want with Hobab’s eyes? It had already been established that our Lord and Savior had graciously undertaken to be their guide. For the word of God states this fact in Num 9:15-23  “on the day that the tabernacle was reared up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony; and at even, there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed; and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents. At the commandment of the Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the Lord they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle, they rested in their tents. And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord, and journeyed not. And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the Lord they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the Lord, and journeyed not. And so it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed; whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed; or whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents and journeyed not, but when it was taken up they journeyed. At the commandment of the Lord they rested in their tents, and at the commandment of the Lord they journeyed: they kept the charge of the Lord at the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses“

Saints this is proof that Israel was to be guided divinely by God! And not by the eyes of Hobab, nor the eyes of any other mortal being.

It is interesting to note that in the opening of the book of Numbers, it was arranged that the ark of the covenant was to find its place in the very bosom of the congregation; but in chapter 10 we are told that when “they departed from the mount of the Lord three days’ journey, the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them, in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting-place for them.” Instead of Jesus finding a resting-place in the bosom of His redeemed people, He becomes their traveling Guide, and goes before them to seek out a resting-place for them. Whew my brothers and sisters this is POWERFUL how God will re-position his self for us when deemed necessary! What I see here is the grace and faithfulness of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Notice that Moses asked Hobab to be their guide and eyes in the very face of God’s already established provision to lead them to a resting place. If Gods grace had redeemed them from Egypt’s bondage, and conducted them through the Red Sea, it is obvious that same grace that brought them out would guide them across that great and terrible wilderness, and bring them safely into the land flowing with milk and honey.

My brothers and sister it must be established in our minds that, in order to profit from the Lords divine guidance, we have to abandon our own will, and the confidence that is derived from socratic reasoning.  If we have Jesus as our Guide, we do not want our own eyes or the eyes of a Hobab either; because our God is more than sufficient; hence we can trust Him. Jesus knows everything it takes to cross the wilderness, and the desert. We all must continue to keep our eye on Him, and He will guild us the right way.

As a Pastor you may want to ask me “If I have lost my way, how can I find God’s way?”  Shall I turn to those great standards of orthodoxy which rule the so called religious thought and feeling of millions throughout the professing Church? What, then, are we to do? We all know there is only one way, and that is Gods way. God cannot lie, He has declared this, and therefore we should believe it; but how do we find it? Let us refer to what Job stated.

  Job 28:20-28 “Whence, then, cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. Destruction and Death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.” Does it not seem like a hopeless case for any poor ignorant mortal to search for this wondrous pathway? No, blessed be God, it is by no means a hopeless case, for “He understandeth the way thereof, and He knoweth the place thereof. For He looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; to make the weight for the winds; and He weigheth the waters by measure. When He made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder, then did He see it and declare it; He prepared it, yea, and searched it out. And unto man He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.”

Here is the divine secret of wisdom and direction: “The fear of the Lord.” This sets the heart and mind directly in the presence of God, which is its only true place. The object of Satan is to keep our mind out of this place, and to bring it under the power and authority of the flesh, to lead it into the subjection of the doctrines of men. These, plus many other things are terrible snares and stumbling blocks, which hinder our progress in the ways of the Lord.

This is why God’s Word must rule us, God’s pure and simple Word, not man’s diluted interpretation of it. Please don’t get me wrong, God may use man to unfold his Word to enhance our soul; but please note my brothers and sisters it is not man’s unfolding of God’s Word that rules you or me, but God’s Word by a man who has been unfolded…GOLDEN NUGGET!  This is so essential Saints.

My brothers and sisters one thing to keep in mind is God never gives light for two steps at a time. If He has given you light for one step, then, in the fear and love of His Name, take that one step while perpetually looking to HIM, and He will surely give you more light. That’s right, I said it, “more and more light.” But if we continue to refuse the direction He is giving, the light which is in us will become gross darkness, and our feet will stumble on the dark side of the mountain where error is perpetually found. This will cause us to become a stumbling block in the paths of others. “Lord please have us perpetually reflect off of you so that we can have a positive impact on others!”

Some of the most grievous stumbling-blocks that lie, at this moment, are those who once seemed to possess the truth, but have turned from it. The light which was in them has become darkness, and wow, how great and how disgustingly appalling is that darkness! How sad it is to see those who ought to be light bearers, become a hindrance to younger and even seasoned Saints! But I say unto you all, do not be hindered by them. The way is plain. “The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding.” Let each one hear and obey for themselves the voice of the Lord. “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

The Lord has to be praised for His precious Word He left us with, as we are guided by the inspiration of His Holy Spirit!  The Lords’ truth has already been established, hence it puts each one of us in a place where we are directly accountable to JESUS; because it tells us plainly what is Gods’ way, and just as plainly  how to find it. God Bless you all, continue to look to JESUS for direction until He takes us out of this barren land to our promise land, while remaining fully cognizant that We can’t find our  way without Gods Way!  Have a “JESUS DAY”