An Old message I preached about a year ago

I taught in Sunday School this Morning onPsalm 6:3 and this message I preached awhile back came to mind.
ASK FOR THE OLD PATHS--Jeremiah 6:16

Jeremiah 6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.
Intro: The days of Jeremiah's ministry to the people of Israel were days of deep spiritual wickedness. The people had sinned against God to the point where He was ready to give them up into captivity. And, in fact, they did go into captivity in just a few short years. Yet, even while they perched on the edge of judgment, the Lord desires to see them turn back to Him.

In this verse, we are given the image of a traveler who come to a fork in the road. He has the opportunity to go anyway he desires, but God tells him to ask for the "old paths, where is the good way". Instead of just traveling blindly on, this traveler is to stop an ask directions.

Of course, this is all in a religious context. The Lord wants His people to travel the right path. He wants them on a path that will lead them in His direction. While this word of correction was spoken to the Jews many years ago, there is a lesson in this verse for the modern church this evening.

It is my opinion that the Lord would still have His people to ask for the old paths. We must be sure we are walking the path which God has ordained, the one that He can bless, the one that honors Him.

I. A REQUIREMENT
A. The command that God is issuing to His people is for them not to allow themselves to be lead astray by the false prophets and leaders of their day. They are to look at men like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and others who walked the path of obedience and holiness before the Lord and they are to seek that path for themselves.

B. God's command is that they not just go anyway, but that they take the time to find the right path, that old, well-worn path that represents the best way.

C. So many in our day are leading millions off into Hell because they are changing some of the road signs of the faith. Allow me to share a few of the road signs that are being changed in our day.

1. Salvation Through The Blood –
Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
2. Belief In The Scriptures –
I Timothy 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
Psa. 119:89. For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven. (Ill. 66 books, 1,189 chapters, 41,173 verses; 774,746 words; 3,566,480 letters in the Bible. It is every ounce the infallible, inerrant, inspired Word of God.)
3. Love For The Church –
Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
4. The Reality Of Heaven And Hell-
John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
Psalms 9:17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
5. The Value Of The Human Soul –
Mark 8:36-37 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
6. The Soon Return Of Jesus -
Revelation 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
1 Thessalonians 4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
7. The Holiness Of God -We try to bring God down to man's level. He is holy –
Isaiah 6:3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.
1 Peter 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
II. A REWARD
A. God's promise to those who walk in His paths is that they will find rest for our souls. That is, in His paths, we can be assured of three great truths.
1. One, we can be sure that we will arrive at the proper destination! When we take the Lord's highway, we can be sure that it will end in His presence!
2. Two, we can travel in safety knowing that the Lord is guarding our way. Not only will we end up where we want to be, but we will get there in the safest, most peaceful manner possible.
3. We can know that while we are on the Lord's path, the deepest needs of our soul will be met! There will be fellowship with Him and joy in His presence at the end of the way!
B. However, those who fail to ask for the old paths will find themselves walking in the ways of destruction and misery. When we turn our backs on the way God has chosen as the right way we will find that the way is difficult, there is no peace or safety and the destination is ever in question. There is a reward for those who will walk in the Lord's pathway!

III. A REFUSAL
A. This text tells us that some decided that they would not walk in the Lord's will and in the Lord's path. The results of their choice is chastisement and destruction, v. 17-30. There is a high price to pay for refusing to walk in the Lord's will!
B. We are living in a day when many are refusing to walk in the old paths. Either the old way is too narrow, or they feel that God just doesn't know that what He is talking about. Yet, no matter what the world does, let us, the people of the Lord, stand tall in the old way. Let us be unashamed of who we are. Let us hold our heads high and walk in the way God has ordained without apology and without backing down. Let us be everything the Lord commanded us to be in His Word, 1 Corinthians 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Conc: The old way isn't the popular way! It is being abandoned daily by people who have decided that new is better. They are leaving the Bible, the old songs of the faith, old fashioned worship, praising the Lord, and preaching. Seeker services are replacing old time worship of the Lord.

Yet, God has not changed, Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. I can find no room to change myself. I think I'll ask for the old paths and walk in them. How about you? The enemies are changing the signs, but the Lord will knows the way. Let's ask Him and He will lead.

Concord Baptist Church Youth choir

you have to hear this man please! over and over. Praise God he is Good....Preach on Brother Allen and all these preachers.

Concord Youth Choir sings Never Grow Old

I just found this on You Tube and it is awsome, Mrs Alenn testifeis during the song Praise God it is Good I needed this Bad. Praise his Holy Name.

Strolling Down Memory Lane - Remind Me Dear Lord

I am not sure who the intro people are or the singer, but the song is one I have loved years ago when i was Lost and undone. I remember my dad would play it when I was young and the tears would just roll.
Now that I am saved it has the same affect, I cant stop crying hearing this song, it is amazing what God let me listen to when I was lost. Helps me to appreciate them more today.

How To Get The Most Out Of Reading Your Bible

The first thing I want to say is that the Bible does not contain the Word Of God, IT IS THE WORD OF GOD, to say that it contains the word of God is to say it contains someone elses word also, it is not so. It is the word of God, all of it.

1. You must be saved.
a. You must have the author in you to teach you what you are reading. Who is that author? The Holy Spirit. I Cor. 2:14
2. You must have a sincere desire to know the word of God.
a. God wrote the bible to reveal His will to man kind.
b. David said, "More to be desired" Psalm 19:10. Job said,"More in His word than that of food" Job 23:12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
3. You must have a deep reverence for God.
a. Romans 3:18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
b. fear: fear should be defined as, Oh God I am afraid to offend you.
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
4. You must learn to depend on the Holy Spirit.
a. Praying to the Holy Ghost before reading.
2 Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Learn to depend on the author(Holy Spirit)
5. You must be willing to do the will of God before you find it.
a. Submission is the attitude, Submission is the Key, Knowledge is the guide.
b. Are you willing to do what the Holy Spirit tells you or will you quench Him again.

So Far All Is Well

Had a good time going thru memory lane last night with my Brother Jay, It is amazing what we forget then remember with one simple comment. All I got to say is JAM-ON-IT, Crazy man.
But I think you need those memory lane to help you thank God of who we are Today because of what God has done for us through Salvation. Jay you have made me proud I love you Brother.
Well I got to go to work now just thought I would Blog before I left.

D-Day

D-day has happened, my little girl is now officially courting. I had a meaningful talk with the young boy this morning and gave him the rules. I explained to him the difference between dating and courting and was very receptive. I can tell he was nervous and I admit I was nervous to, The first thing I told him was that I didn't choose him and that kind of set the tone. Diana is his first girlfriend so I was pleased about that. He assured me that he would follow the rules, and I told him that if he hurt my daughter I would mess him up and boy did his eyes get wide. That was funny. Melinda and I will be praying for them, boy Diana is so happy and giggly(pathetic)
I am proud of my daughter though, and she has grown up to be a pretty girl. I told Melinda Fri. why couldn't she be ugly but hey she cant help it, her mom is beautiful. (I love her)

What the Heck

Well the day that I have been dreading has finally come. My daughter whom I love so much as a father should has grown up to be a pretty girl and well I don't like it. Why? Well after church Friday night we were leaving to go fellowship at Burger King and a young teenage boy in my church called me to his truck and as nervous as he could be he mustard up the strength to ask for permission to court my daughter. I looked at him with disgust and put my fist in his face and told him don't tell me that, you just don't say that. I asked him if he prayed about it and said yes Sir and my response was you wait and let me pray about it, but yet I wanted to break every bone in his body. In his defense he is an alright kid but he likes my daughter, and I don't like him at all, (jk) I do like him though it hurts me to know that my daughter is growing up. I got in my van and at first wanted to hit Nicole but didn't. My wife asked what happened and i told her in spanish and she was freaking out. When I got to Burger King I asked Brother Winston a Capt. with the Jennings police dept. That I needed a background check on T-Boy, oh by the way that is what they call him, his real name is Russell Sonnier. I told Brother Howard and his response is I have a message you need to read, And then he proceeded to make fun of me. I was a mess and I could hardly eat, but don't worry I manged to put it in. Afterwards we went home and couldn't stop thinking about it. My wife and I couldn't get over it. In the morning Melinda said I kept her up because I kept saying over and over, you want to court my daughter, I am a mess and it is tearing me up. I knew for awhile that Nicole liked him but yet she told my wife this morning that she didn't think that he liked her and when Melinda told her what happened last night well she giggled. It is 3:00 right now and after 5:00 today he will come over so I can talk to him and give him the rules of courting. I spoke to his father today and he is in aggreance with me on the rules. Of coures no touching, kissing, sitting close, talking alone and so on. Paranoid, no protecting yes, I told Melinda that the promise certificate will go on her door and we will be fixing her broken promise ring we gave her when she was 15. So please pray for us well more for me and maybe T-boy I'm not sure how things will go.

Mr Dane

Yesterday was a great day!!! revival has been so awesome and it has been exactly what we needed to hear!!! BUT the best part for my wife was when Mr Dane came over to her just because he wanted to...now as you all know my wife loves kids and there has been babies everywhere we go and at Calvary she met Mr. Dane or the great Dane as she calls him....at first Dane was kind of hesitant to go with us but now that he sees us in church, at fellowships or even when Diana takes care of them he has gotten use to us and yesterday during the final prayer of the night we all had our heads bowed and brother bob was praying i felt a tap on my knee and when i opened my eyes i saw Mr Dane trying to move me to get to my wife and at that moment i tapped her and she opened her eyes and i pointed down and to her surprise Mr Dane was trying to get her attention so she could pick him up...well i knew that made my wife happy and she got Mr Dane and carried him. The Lord has been so good to us and we thank Him for the little things in life!!!

I Love My Country And The Men That Serve IT!

When in England at a fairly large conference, Colin Powell was asked by the Archbishop of Canterbury if our plans for Iraq were just an example of 'empire building' by George Bush.He answered by saying, "Over the years, the United States has sent many of its fine young men and women into great peril to fight for freedom beyond our borders. The only amount of land we have ever asked for in return is enough to bury those that did not return."It became very quiet in the room. **************
Then there was a conference in France where a number of international engineers were taking part, including French and American. During a break one of the French engineers came back into the room saying "Have you heard the latest dumb stunt Bush has done? He has sent an aircraft carrier to Indonesia to help the tsunami victims. What does he intended to do, bomb them?"A Boeing engineer stood up and replied quietly: "Our carriers have three hospitals on board that can treat several hundred people; they are nuclear powered and can supply emergency electrical power to shore facilities; they have three cafeterias with the capacity to feed 3,000 people three meals a day, they can produce several thousand gallons of fresh water from sea water each day, and they carry half a dozen helicopters for use in transporting victims and injured to and from their flight deck.. We have eleven such ships; how many does France have?"Once again, dead silence. *****************
A U.S. Navy Admiral was attending a naval conference that included Admirals from the U.S. , English, Canadian, Australian and French Navies. At a cocktail reception, he found himself standing with a large group of Officers that included personnel from most of those countries. Everyone was chatting away in English as they sipped their drinks but a French admiral suddenly complained that, 'whereas Europeans learn many languages, Americans learn only English.' He then asked, 'Why is it that we always have to speak English in these conferences rather than speaking French?'
Without hesitating, the American Admiral replied 'Maybe its because the Brits, Canadians, Aussies and Americans arranged it so you wouldn't have to speak German.'You could have heard a pin drop!

Revival

Today we started revival with Bro. Andy Tully, it has been over 4 yrs since I heard Bro.Tully so couldn't really remember his preaching. Last night I took out my wife for dinner and we discussed Bro. Tully and couldn't remember his preaching. We did remember his joke telling though but after this morning it all came back. He preached on Getting Saved in Vain, and oh what a message. There was one that got saved and that was worth it all. We are looking for a awesome week of revival, but we pray that revival would fall though. On Sat. we had a church wide fish fry fellowship and being in Louisiana that would be common, but I did cook some hot dogs and hamburgers, Hey I am from Texas and we do Barbecue baby.