Staying on the Path: The Principle of the Path

Transcription

1 Staying on the Path: The Principle of the Path Intro: Wenkchemna Pass The Principle of the Path 1. Every path leads where it leads Regardless of who is on it Paths can be physical, emotional, relational, financial, spiritual 2. A principle is not an idea you can choose to apply It is applied to you Example Archimedes Principle 3. Benefits of knowing the principle of the path Helps you identify paths that lead to desirable destinations Helps you identify paths you should avoid 4. There is no fix for being lost Need change of direction Need time Decisions are not individual disconnected events they are steps in a direction

2 5. Directions not intentions determine your destination Your current direction will determine your future destination Normally we don t abandon clearly marked paths because we are looking for trouble Alternative roads promise shortcuts or a more pleasurable journey We have a propensity for choosing paths that do not lead to the destination we want 6. Lessons from Proverbs 7 We don t get lost on purpose We never know exactly when we got lost The road we are on always determines our ultimate direction Intentions are of little consequence Direction is everything Are there discrepancies between what you desire in your heart and what you are doing with your life?

3 Paths in the Scriptures Nehemiah 9:19 Because of Your great compassion, You did not abandon them in the wilderness. By day the pillar of cloud did not fail to guide them on their path, nor the pillar of fire by night to shine on the way they were to take. Job 18:10 A noose is hidden for him on the ground; a trap lies in his path. Job 22:15 Will you keep to the old path that the wicked have trod? Job 24:13 There are those who rebel against the light, who do not know its ways or stay in its paths. Job 31:7 if my steps have turned from the path, if my heart has been led by my eyes, or if my hands have been defiled, Psalm 16:11 You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand. Psalm 17:5 My steps have held to Your paths; my feet have not stumbled. Psalm 23:3 He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name s sake. Psalm 25:4 Show me Your ways, LORD, teach me Your paths. Psalm 44:18 Our hearts had not turned back; our feet had not strayed from Your path. Psalm 119:9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to Your word. Psalm 119:35 Direct me in the path of Your commands, for there I find delight. Psalm 119:101 I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey Your word. Psalm 119:104 I gain understanding from Your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path.

4 Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Proverbs 1:15 my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths; Proverbs 1:19 Such are the paths of all who go after ill gotten gain; it takes away the life of those who get it. Proverbs 2:13 who have left the straight paths to walk in dark ways, Proverbs 2:15 whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways. Proverbs 2:20 Thus you will walk in the ways of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous. Proverbs 3:6 in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 4:11 I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. Proverbs 4:26 Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Proverbs 5:6 She gives no thought to the way of life; her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it. Proverbs 5:21 For Your ways are in full view of the LORD, and He examines all your paths. Proverbs 10:9 Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out. Proverbs 11:5 The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight, but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness. Proverbs 12:28 In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality. Proverbs 15:10 Stern discipline awaits anyone who leaves the path; the one who hates correction will die. Proverbs 15:24 The path of life leads upward for the prudent to keep them from going down to the realm of the dead.

5 Proverbs 22:5 In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls, but those who would preserve their life stay far from them. Proverbs 23:19 Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path: Isaiah 2:3 Many peoples will come and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths. The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Isaiah 26:7 The path of the righteous is level; You, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth. Isaiah 42:16 I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. Jeremiah 6:16 This is what the LORD says: Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, We will not walk in it. Jeremiah 31:9 They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel s father, and Ephraim is My firstborn son. Matthew 3:3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: A voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for Him. Luke 1:79 to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace. Acts 2:28 You have made known to me the paths of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence. Romans 11:33 [ Doxology ] Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable His judgments, and His paths beyond tracing out! Hebrews 12:13 Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.