Today's sermon notes

Title: Walking in God's Will
Main reference: Gen. 31:1-21

I. Pay heed to the desire of a yearning heart.

• God made our hearts full of desires.
• He gives us the desires of our hearts - but at times, our hearts do deceive us.
• So, if we delight in Him, He surely does give us the desires of our heart - listen to them.
• God works through the desires of His people's hearts.

II. Examine carefully the direction of life's pressures.

• Pressures guide us - like a weather vane points out a direction from the pressure it receives.
• Don't try to figure out a direction prematurely. (i.e. What career should my little kid have?)
• Let the natural timing of life apply pressure under God.

III. Pray surely for the illumination of the Holy Spirit.

• God takes His word and illuminates it to us.
• We should take the word of God and apply it directly to our lives.

And today - I was talking about the sermon with Ben and he said that lately he has been using specific types of markings in his bible to facilitate ways of integrating the word of God into the lives of others. Does that make sense? Anyway, that struck me as a very good idea that I want to put into practice as I read the bible every day. I mean, I usually think of applying the word of God to my own life, but I need to more actively endeavor to apply the word of God to the lives of those around me. I'm so dense that I need to make a note about a verse as it relates to a specific person or I will never think of it again.

IV. Hold closely the remembrance of former promises.

• The promises we make help anchor us to God's way.
• Examples:
• church membership,
• marriage,
• children's baptism,
• children honoring parents,
• and all of the moral law.

V. Listen wisely to the guidance of close counselors.

• Honor your father and your mother. God will use their counsel to guide you. I was thinking that that's easy if you have godly parents, but what about if you have ungodly parents? But in the sermon, the point was brought out that anytime a Christian tries to honor (an even ungodly) parent's advice, God will guide through that (if the advice isn't against the biblical precepts).
• Find good counselors and surround yourself with them.

(I didn't include all the notes - just the ones that particularly ministered to me.)

I hope to walk with Christ this week. What an audacious thought! But the Lord Himself gives me the nerve to try.
As Switchfoot so eloquently puts it, "You're the only chance I'll take."

Have a blessed day and week!