True North on the Compass of your Life
There is a magnetic north, which is not true north.
You can navigate with magnetic north for short trips. It will get you in the general vicinity.
But to navigate across the vast spaces, you need true north…..for that is calculated by lines of longitude.
So to navigate accurately, especially for long trips, over long distances and time; you must be able to ascertain true north.
As Christians, we have a long journey ahead of us. Whether we are born again as children, or adults; we have the rest of our lives to be guided as we are on our way to heaven.
This is called Eternal life….for it is a condition of life…now and forever in heaven, with God.
As journeymen in this life, we are all given a part in the Purpose of God….a personal calling and gifts, from the Lord; who gives us His Holy Spirit to enable us to do.
He give us a “goal or prize” to head for…
Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things where are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
All are called as witnesses….some as teachers of His Word, some as prayer warriors, some as preachers, some as peacemakers….etc.
We are never without purpose each day.
Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
For we are His workmanship,…..and that means that we are molded into the character of Christ Jesus,…..for good works:….and He has made full provision, so we might walk in them.
(Full provision? How? First…The Lord has provided us with His Holy Spirit, Who gives us faith by which we can overcome the way of the world (1 John 5:4-5)
Second…There is guidance….by His Word.
Third…the Holy Spirit enables us with His “fruit” in our lives: peace, joy, long-suffering, gentleness, etc. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Fourth…there is love…His love encouraging, and yes, empowering us to go on.)
Our purpose is to walk in those good works, He has given us to do.
This includes our words, and actions:
Titus 3:8 “This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.”
So, if we are to navigate our life through this wicked world; from here all the way to heaven, we need to find true north.
What is true north for each Christian?
True North for each of us is making Jesus Christ, Lord of our lives.
And He is not Lord of us, until we determine to obey Him….in all our ways.
If we were talking about a car; His Lordship is the power in the engine…submitting to Him gives us power in our lives to do anything……and our obedience is the wheels,….they are in the world…but going forward.
And of course He is driving.
John 7:17 “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whither it be of God, or whither I speak of myself.”
John 7:17 (LNT) “If any of you really determines to do God’s will, then you will certainly know whether My teaching is from God or merely My own.”
I rarely use any other translation but the King James Version. But this translation in the LNT describes what I have found to be so: We need to “really determine” to do God’s Will.
“If any man will do His will” also describes it; it is, of course by our will, which is the action to do anything. We need to will it.
But for myself, at least, this is a picture of digging in : “I’m going to do this no matter what it cost me” determination.
That is what making Jesus Christ our Lord takes.
We know His will by doing it. If we do it today, then tomorrow when we seek His Will, it will come easier.
(And of course, if we hesitate and put it off, tomorrow it will be harder to find it)
The world’s influence, and our old selves, and the devil are against us.
The old me will tell me, “Well, if I was still in charge, I would not require you to pray so much. After all, we’re busy. God knows what we need.”
And the world will say, “Why not laugh at that joke? So what, it was a little “bad”. A little won’t hurt.”
But if Jesus is Lord to me, it is not what I would do, or what the world says is OK, but where He leads, and how He would have me to go.
It is a process. I believe you can commit yourself to the Lord, as Lord; but then it is a matter of putting everything in our lives in His order.
What is first for me to see to…and sometimes it comes down to what is first today, Lord?
(I have found that five minutes to pray at the breakfast table for my family, places them before God, today. Of course, He knows what is ahead for each of us….but placing them in His hands for their conversations, actions, and the influence of the Holy Spirit in their lives….is our responsibility as their mother and father.)
No, it is not a list that is handed out; but a conviction from the Holy Spirit within which shows us the way.
This is His order:
Philippians 2:12-13 “Wherefore my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling:
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.”
Notice that we are to work out what God works in.
We are to work out, practically, the power to be saved from our sin that Christ Jesus works in us, by His Holy Spirit.
We are to work out that grace God gives….putting it to use in our lives.
We are to work out that peace which should be a hallmark of “Christ in us the hope of glory”.
Then we have that true north on the compass of our lives;……His guidance will guide us for today….tomorrow….and we will surely get to our destination…..in the joy and peace He has for us.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 