Summer Road Trip #2: Map for your Journey

Map For Your Journey (Summer Road-Trip)

Part 2

Acts 26:12-23

12 “While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, 13 at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’  15 So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.  16 But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.  17 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you,  18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ 

19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance. 21 For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.  22 Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come —  23 that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” 

NKJV

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dads in the Building…

Introduction: We are on our Summer Road Trip series…today should be fun…it’s actually going to be in 2-parts.  This week and next.

I recall a trip as a kid where we were traveling through Kansas and the weather was turning bad…did I mention we were in a cab-over camper…

All of a sudden, a lightning strike hit right in front of the truck…

Transition:  Helen Keller was asked, “What would be worse than being born blind…”she replied, “To have sight yet no vision!”

I believe this statement to be absolutely true…we have people everywhere breathing in oxygen, but they are part of the living dead…they have no direction in life or ambition outside of their own selfish desires.

Godly, journeys, Successful People who have “Determined in their hearts the way they should go…” Prov.16:9 have:

• A Dream
• A Goal
• A Vision
• A Purpose

Formula:  Vision + Goals + Strategies + Routines = Results

I mentioned these things are written in pencil…but they are written…

• Have Confidence in God…
• Having Agility within ourselves to adjust…

Prov 3:5-6

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.

6 In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make straight your paths.

ESV

There are 5 stages we go through when we get a dream from the Lord…or when we learn to dream God’s kind of Dream!

1.   Your Journey Must Prioritize the Lord
   1. a.Proverbs 3 tells us several things about our Map and Our Journey
      1. First of all…we must trust him with ALL our Hearts…
         1. 1.It’s not enough to carry the word around in a book or a device…it has to be carried in our hearts and lives…
         2. 2.The word is our GPS system for this journey…
      2. Secondly, we must acknowledge Him…or Obey him…then our paths will be straight….
         1. 1.Interesting thing about that straight path…it isn’t so straight…but it is ordered…
         2. 2.Straight here means:  Causative, fit for you, will be upright and seem good…prosperous. 
            1. a.This word straight is very similar to Romans…”make all things work together for Good…”  wasn’t good, but in time you appreciate the journey as much as the destination…
            2. b.My journey and illness…made me Merciful, compassionate…but also taught me how to tap into the Anointing…not just the anointing on my life for ministry but the anointing in my life for living….
               1. The anointing “In You” is dependent on your hunger for God
               2. The Anointing “on You” is dependent on the hunger of People for God and His gifts.  
   2. b.By Following the Principles of Proverbs 16:9 and Proverbs 3:5-6 I have watched this throughout my life….
   3. The Journey has taught me that…
      1. Would I want to go the same route if I had to do it again…NO.  
      2. I would still want the same results no matter the route I had to take. 
2. II.STOPPED BY THE MAP
   1. In Acts 26:19 Paul tells how the vision he received of the Lord stopped him dead in his tracks and he saw who he really was, but also, he saw who he could become through the Grace of God
   2. An Encounter with the Lord will always cause you to see your Position Honestly
      1. Paul thought He was going the Right Direction…doing what was right from all he ever knew and all he had ever studied… 
         1. Scripture says, He was a Hebrew of Hebrews…Jew among Jews…
         2. Yet he had missed it…He had missed Jesus.  
      2. When we depend on other things and other people, instead of the Lord, when they disappoint us, they leave us with a WOE IS ME feeling
         1. Parents
         2. Ourselves
         3. Our own dreams and ambitions outside of the plan and purposes of the Lord…
         4. People trying to save themselves end up WOE IS ME
   3. Aren’t you glad God doesn’t leave you there…He also allows you to see your POTENTIAL
      1. When we encounter the Lord, we begin to see our Possibilities in Christ
      2. You need to know that God believes in you….
      3. God rarely will show you a position without showing you your potential
      4. Isaiah for example in Isa.6 went from:  “woe is me” to “here I am Lord send me.”
      5. 5 Things happened to Isaiah
         1. He Saw the Lord
            1. This is huge we must have a fresh encounter with the Lord
         2. Isaiah saw Himself Honestly
         3. Isaiah received a fresh perspective of others
         4. Then Isaiah allowed God to change him
         5. God took Isaiah through a purification process, so he could reach others…

1. III.SENT BY THE MAP
   1. Any God-given dream will never just stop with you; it will always send you
   2. A God-given dream will help touch other people…
      1. One of the problems with the Prosperity and Purpose message of today when it is abused is the fact that the church is talking about the blessings of the Lord and MY PURPOSE while the world around them is going to hell…
      2. If God truly prospers you with SALVATION, HEALING, RELATIONSHIPS, and MONEY…it will have other people attached to that blessing
      3. Acts 26:16-18

 But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.  17 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ 

NKJV

1. 1. 1. To buy into a vision that the Lord gives will require that you involve yourself in the lives of people…
         1. It puts you in a place of being vulnerable
         2. “Saying Yes to Jesus is saying Yes to an Interrupted Life…”
2. IV.STRENGTHENED BY THE MAP
   1. A fresh encounter with the Lord will strengthen you 
   2. Have you ever set out on a trip…and if it could go wrong, it did go wrong…?  
      1. Flights Cancelled
      2. Check engine light comes on two days before leaving town
      3. Plan all year for a trip and then a Pandemic hit? 
   3. Just because you have the Map doesn’t mean there won’t be some surprises along the way, some disappointments, some breakdowns…
   4. Paul said “He obtained help from the Lord” this is a man who needed that help
   5. According to – 2 Cor. 11:23-28
      1. 5 times he was beaten with 39 lashes
         1. That is 1,755 lashes to his back and body
      2. 3 times he was beaten with rods
      3. 1 time he was stoned with rocks
      4. 3 times he was shipwrecked
      5. Paul spent one night floating in the ocean all night
      6. Went without food and water
      7. vii. Betrayed by Friends
      8. viii. Cold and exposed to weather
      9. Was Snake Bit
   6. Paul immediately goes into verses 30 – 32 and begins to boast on the strength and goodness of the Lord…
   7. Vision (The Map) Caused the Apostle Paul to Pursue through any and all Obstacles
      1. If you get a clear picture of who you can be in Christ, you will be able to go through any obstacle that comes against you (That Picture is the Lord Jesus Christ…we are to be like Him)
      2. If you get a clear vision and dream of what your marriage, family and life are to be like…baby you’ll go through some stuff to get there…
      3. The day of fair-weather Christianity needs to come to an end…Covid has taught us that…
      4. Ps 68:28

28 Your God has commanded your strength;

Strengthen, O God, what You have done for us. 

NKJV

Ps 119:28

28 My soul melts from heaviness;

Strengthen me according to Your word. 

NKJV

1. V.STRETCHED BY THE MAP
   1. IF a Dream or Vision is truly from the Lord it will require a couple of things:
      1. One, God must be involved for it to be accomplished…if you can do it without God’s help, He will let you!
      2. Secondly, A God-breathed Vision requires Faith…too many people want to make sure their ducks are in a row and completely eliminate FAITH…A GOD-GIVEN DREAM REQUIRES FAITH
         1. Story of me going to Bible School…(Sister Houston, My Grandfather, my car breaking down…)
      3. Thirdly, a God-given Dream requires you to be STRETCHED…
         1. Like the rubber band if it is not stretched it has no purpose or value…
         2. The greatness of God shows up in our lives when we, like the rubber band are stretched…and wrap around something or are shot in a particular direction.
2. VI.SATISFACTION GUARANTEED

Acts 26:19-20

19 “What could I do, King Agrippa? I couldn’t just walk away from a vision like that! I became an obedient believer on the spot. 20 I started preaching this life-change — this radical turn to God and everything it meant in everyday life — right there in Damascus, went on to Jerusalem and the surrounding countryside, and from there to the whole world. 

(from THE MESSAGE)

Gal 6:9-10

So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

1. 1. If you won’t quit…you will lay hold of the vision, Satisfaction is guaranteed…we must understand our satisfaction must come from the Lord, not anything else…
   2. We cannot have true Vision / Dream led life outside of that relationship with Christ Jesus…we win 
   3. 2007 GOING TO GRADUATION
      1. In 2005 I decided to pursue another degree…and  I graduated in 2007…but graduation was going to be in North Carolina…so Jonna and I thought a road trip would be fun and we’d arrive just in time for the graduation festivities and for me to be able to walk…
      2. Wreck in Atlanta, stayed the night, awoke the next morning to still see there was a wreck where people had spent all night in their cars…so needing to get to North Carolina…we took a detour through South Carolina…
      3. It was beautiful…we even stopped by a lake and had a picnic…It was so memorable…but it was because we didn’t let the detour still the vision of the journey. 

Transition:  Maybe this morning your life has hit a detour…let me encourage you…stop and have a picnic…put trust back in the Lord…He will make your path straight.  

1. VII.Closing
   1. Paul had a purpose for existing, for Living…but it took an encounter with the Lord to discover what that was…
   2. Paul fulfilled a destiny which reaches us today
   3. We all have a Purpose to Know God and Make Him Known through Believing God and taking Him at His Word…
   4. Today you may be like Paul….
      1. Pastor, I need a Fresh Vision of the Lord in my Life
      2. Pastor, I need STRENGTH for the Journey
      3. Pastor, I know I am being STRETCHED…PRAY!
      4. Pastor I just came today to CELEBRATE ALL GOD’S DONE IN MY LIFE!!!