I. Intro.
A. How well do we know the ways of God?
1. I think a good way to gauge this is in how we respond to God’s hand in our lives.
a. Have you ever been surprised or confused by something God did?
b. Did you pray for something and it seemed like God did the opposite?
c. You thought you made a great sacrifice for God and expected Him to bless you for it but nothing seemed to happen?
2. This isn’t the only way to see if we understand God’s ways, but it’s a good place to start.
3. Psalm 103:7 “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel.”
a. This verse shows us there is a distinction between knowing God’s ways and His acts, the things He does.
b. If we understand God’s ways, we can align ourselves with Him and be ready.
c. If we only understand God’s acts, we will always be adjusting after the fact.
4. I believe God wants us to know His ways and that He reveals His ways to us. But we have to understand that God’s ways are not like man’s ways. His ways are higher, more intelligent, righteous, safe and true than man’s ways.
5. Isaiah 55:8&9
8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
B. What does ‘way’ mean?
1. In Hebrew, the word derek is used in the bible and it means
a. manner of life, course of life, direction of life
b. also translated as manner, custom
2. When we talk about God’s ways, we’re referring to how God thinks and acts, knowing His intentions and heart.
3. Throughout the bible and in this series you will hear ‘way’ and ‘ways’. When singular, we’re talking about the general way of God, which is righteousness, when plural, we’re referring to how God’s ways are worked out in different aspects of life.
4. That goes for us as well. We have a way about us, our life is going a certain way. But we also have ways, the various aspects of our lives.
5. Proverbs 3:5&6
“5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.”
6. So we can learn God’s way, His manner of life, His approach to life, but we must acknowledge His way in all of our ways. (Not just a Sunday Christian.)
C. Scriptures that tell the story of how humans respond to God’s ways.
1. Genesis 6:12 “So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth.”
2. Exodus 23:20 “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared.”
3. Exodus 32:8 “They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them.”
4. Psalm 25:8 “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He teaches sinners in the way.”
5. Psalm 119:9 “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.”
6. Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.”
7. Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his ownway; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
8. John 14:6 “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”
9. The bible has many more scriptures about God’s ways, but these seven give us a brief overview of God’s ways, our inability to follow them and God’s grace to teach us His ways.
10. It didn’t take long after Creation for our ways to be corrupted. But God chose a nation to teach them His ways and quickly after the Exodus from Egypt, they rebelled against Him. But in every generation, God has offered to teach us His ways. He sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our rebellion against God’s way and to show us how God’s ways are lived out.
11. So we should make a serious effort to learn God’s ways because for thousands of years He has been patiently trying to teach His people to walk in His ways.
D. Wristband.
1. Psalm 86:11 “Teach me Your way, O Lord, I will walk in Your truth, unite my heart to fear Your name.”
2. I’m asking that you wear this as a reminder to apply yourself to learning God’s ways, walking in His ways and teaching others His ways.
II. Three Main Qualities of God’s Ways.
A. A Three-Legged Stool.
1. Throughout our study of God’s ways we will see three themes repeating and intertwining.
2. These three themes are like a three legged stool, you can’t have one without the other two. They are all equally important and interrelated.
3. They are:
a. The Way of Love
b. The Way of Life
c. The Way of The Word
d. Over the next couple of weeks we’ll do a deeper dive into each one.
4. Deuteronomy 30:15&16.
15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.
5. Keeping these three ways in mind will be a great help in understanding God’s ways. It will help us to know how to live out God’s ways.
a. Is what I’m doing loving? Am I acting in a loving way?
b. Is this bringing life?
c. Am I doing what God’s Word says?
6. To me, these three are the core qualities necessary to understand God’s ways. These are the foundational characteristics. Think of these as the raw materials from which all other qualities are made.
B. The Three Ways in the Beginning.
1. We see these three qualities of God’s ways in the Garden of Eden.
2. Love: God walked with man in the cool of the day. There was fellowship between God
and the people He created. Adam and Eve had fellowship with each other.
3. Life: As long as they lived according to God’s ways, they could eat from the Tree of Life.
4. The Word: God decreed that they could eat everything but the Tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil.
C. The Consequences of Going our own Way instead of God’s Way.
1. Genesis 3:24 “So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way (hapak), to guard the way (derek) to the tree of life.”
2. The flaming sword turned in every direction to guard the way, or the road, the direction, the path, to the Tree of Life.
3. First principle: We have to observe all three qualities, love, life and obedience to God’s Word, if we are to walk in God’s ways.
a. Many people try to live God’s way by legalistically obeying the Word.
b. But there is no love or life in that way, so it falls short. (Pharisees)
c. Others try to walk in God’s way by only pursuing love & don’t follow His Word.
d. But there is no life in that, disobedience to His Word brings death.
4. As long as they obeyed the Word of the Lord, they had access to life and would know the love of God and one another. When they disobeyed God’s Word, they lost everything else, life and fellowship.
5. Second principle: Ultimately, there are only two ways, God’s way that leads to life, every other way leads to the same end, death. This is well established in the scriptures.
6. Matt 7:13&14
13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
D. We see both principles established by God in Deuteronomy 30:15&16.
15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.
1. Vs 15, only two paths, the path of life & good and the path of death & evil.
2. Vs 16 Three qualities:
a. Love the Lord
b. Keep His commandments, statutes and judgments
c. Live and multiply
III. The Symptoms of going or own way.
A. We will know which way we have been walking by the fruit, or the consequences of it, in our lives and the lives of others.
1. God’s way: life and peace, clarity, freedom
2. Our own way, all other ways: death and anxiety, chaos, confusion, bondage
3. The Book of Proverbs clearly teaches the fruit of each way.
a. Prov 1:19 “So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; it takes away the life of its owners.”
b. Prov 15:19 “The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, But the way of the upright is a highway.”
c. Prov 8:32 ““Now therefore, listen to me, my children, for blessed are those who keep my ways.
d. Prov 16:7 “When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
B. The signs and symptoms are all around us, we just have to be able to recognize them.
1. Much of what we see in our nation and the church today are symptoms of going our own way.
2. Gov’t:
a. I’m not suggesting a Christian gov’t, but one that acts with righteousness and justice, a gov’t that serves their constituents and not themselves.
b. Today, gov’t does what is best for them, for their party or their agenda.
c. Proverbs 29:2 “When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.”
3. Church:
a. One scandal after another, across multiple denominations.
b. Leader who call themselves apostles & prophets have said they don’t know what to do when the scriptures clearly tell us how to handle immorality & abuse in the church.
4. I’m not judging anyone, because if we look at our own lives, we will probably find some symptoms of going our own way instead of God’s way.
5. But I point this out to illustrate for us how quickly things go bad when we stop living in God’s way. When we stop living the way of love, life and the Word.
6. If we want to see things improve, then we must go first. We must live out God’s ways right where we are. We must be an example of what it looks like to do what is loving, life giving and obedient to God’s Word.
C. We have to recognize that rebellion is part of fallen human nature.
1. Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that seems right to a man, but it only leads to death.”
2. Hebrews 3:10 “Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.’”
3. Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
4. Rebellion, stubbornness, independence, etc. we have to learn to recognize the symptoms of these in our own lives and crucify our flesh.
IV. The Lord Helps Us Walk in the Way
A. Praise God, He will teach us His way if we humble ourselves and ask Him.
1. Isaiah 55:7-9
“7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. 8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.”
2. Psalm 32:8&9
“8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. 9 Do not be like the horse or like the mule, Which have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you.”
3. Palm 18:30-32
“30 As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him. 31 For who is God, except the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? 32 It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect.
4. Psalm 119:59 “I thought about my ways and turned my feet to Your testimonies…”
5. Isaiah 42:16
“I will bring the blind by a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light before them, and crooked places straight. These things I will do for them, and not forsake them.”