God Leads Us Along - Part 1 of 2

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That's it. Just Bible our God or will be in a a and in and in and and all we are told in Colossians chapter 3 verse 16 to saying Psalms hymns and spiritual songs with grace in our hearts to the Lord. Psalms contain messages of cravings. Prayer instruction and encouragement. What comfort they bring us so many times in our moments of distress read from the hymnbook that was used by God's people long ago our hands are great source of encouragement and a way by which we worship and praise God just a few days ago I sat down as I do periodically with our hymnbook just turned the pages and read the word of 1 PM after another and what strength we gain from that what truth is found in the skin.

What encouragement it gives to us today. I want us to look at him.

That has been a favorite of mine for many years. God leads us along in shady green pastures so rich and so sweet. God leads his dear children, along for the waters cool flow fades the weary one sleep God leads his dear children, along sometimes on the mount where the sun shines so bright, God leads his dear children, along sometimes in the valley in the darkest of night.

God leads his dear children, along the sorrows, the flawless and Satan oppose God leads his dear children, along through grace we can conquer defeat all our phone God leads his dear children, along away from the Myron away from the clay God leads his dear children, along the way up in glory eternities day God leads his dear children, along something the waters sums of the flood, some to the fire but all through the blood, some through great sorrow. But God gives us all in the night season and all the day long. George, a young was the author and composer of that him he was an obscure preacher and carpenter, who spent a lifetime humbly serving God in rural areas. His income was meager in his life was difficult. Through it all, George, John and his wife never wavered in their loyalty to serve God. The story is told that after much struggle and effort. The George Young family was finally able to move into their own small home, which they built themselves, but then while young was away holding meetings in another area. Hoodlums who disliked the preachers gospel message.

Set fire to the house, leaving nothing but a heap of ashes. It is thought that out of that tragic experience. George Young completed this hymn, which reaffirms so well the words of Job, chapter 35 in verse 10 God my maker who giveth songs in the night my subject God leads us along my text. John 10 three he called his own sheep by name and leader them out. God leads his children, how good to know that he led Jacob in times of old, the book of Deuteronomy chapter 32 we read of God visiting this man at an unexpected time. Verse nine.

For the Lord's portion is his people. Jacob is a lot of his inherited he found him in the desert land and of the waste howling wilderness. He let him about the instructed him. He kept him as the apple of his eye. When Jacob laid down his head that night. Taking stones for his fellow he was not expecting to be visited by God.

He was running away, but the Lord found Jacob one Jacob finding the Lord. People sometimes get that little confused in their thinking as I found little though if you found anything is because the Lord found you the love you first truly found Jacob in the waste howling wilderness and that's where he found all of us. We are in the wilderness of this world in the wanderings of our own sinful nature but he found Jacob he let him about the captain as the capital of his eye and Jacob's name was changed to Israel and God led the whole nation of Israel in Deuteronomy chapter 8 is speaking to his people, warning them that when they come into the land, they should not be lifted up in pride and in the process reminding them of the ways in which they have been led verse 14 cannot hardly lifted up about forget the Lord thy God, which brought the forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. There the first thing they were in bondage.

They were in hard labor. They groaned and the cries and God heard them and brought them out of Egypt, sending the 10 plagues upon the Egyptians parting the Red Sea, so it says who led me through the great and terrible wilderness where he and were fiery serpents and scorpions and route where there was no water, who brought the fourth water out of the rock of flint fed the in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not that he might humble you and that he might prove the to do the good. At the latter end, God led that nation, the people it seems an impossibility for people who had been enslaved for so long to come out now enjoying their freedom to make this journey. How will their provisions be made available to them.

But God brings down the manna from heaven brings water out of a rock. He leads them by the pillar of cloud in the daytime and by fire at night.

He directed their steps, how good to know that God leads his people and the fact is he still doing it. He leads his people today. Psalm 31 verse 15 says my times are in thy hand, are not glad to know that if everything was left up to you if you're present in your future was in your own hand was depending upon your faithfulness, your determination, your plans, your schemes to get through the twisted winding path of life. You might surely be driven to despair but to know that you can say with the Psalmist.

My times are in thy hand, my good times. My bad time my times when the sun shines brightly my times in the darkness at times when I'm struggling my times when I'm rejoicing at times when I'm facing difficulties.

My times when there may be opposition and enemies attacking me my times are in thy hand, God leads his people. God leads his children through trial. The hymn says, some through the waters, some through the flood. We think of Isaiah chapter 43 verse two when thou passes through the waters, I will be with the and through the rivers, they shall not overflow the one I walk us through the fire that shall not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon some to the waters. The cold waters of sorrow. The experiences that we encounter that we would not have anticipated. Jeremiah said suddenly are my tense spoil their troubles and come so unexpectedly to sweep us off our feet like the raging waters of the flood, but the promise of God is. I will be with the. The waters are deep and are very cold when the troubles seemed so severe.

You wonder how you're going to be able to get through them. But it seems that they're coming in proportions as a great flood and that you will be swept away in the midst of the troubles.

What better promise. Could you ask for than for God himself to say I will be with you and Isaiah 59 of the 19th verse he says when the enemy comes in like a flood than the spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against the enemy sometimes comes just that way many ways in which the Lord's people suffered difficulties in this life. There are those troubles that are common to all men, there are those that specifically belong to the Lord's people because Jesus said in the world. You shall have tribulation, you're going to face opposition, if you're following me if your serving me there going to be people who will be your enemy. The good news is that we don't have to face them alone. He says I will lift up a standard against them, and then some go for the fire in this very promise and Isaiah says, when thou walk was the fire, thy shalt not be burned.

Remember that Shadrach me shack in the bed to go who refused to bow to the king's demand, thrown into the fiery furnace. The heat was so intense that those who through the men were themselves consumed by the heat of it and the king sent their amazement and look sanitized, typically not casting three-man biome that I seek for only the spirit of God could make you realize that the figure that he saw and there was God himself and Italian as difficult as it is to face the fiery furnace of trials. It's better to be in the furnace and the Lord bigger side than to be out of it than the Lord having withdrawal so that fiery furnace was not a place of destruction for those three young men, but a place of joy to see the deliverance that God wrought for them.

You feel that the fire is hot.

The troubles are intense, Mona Barrett, remember you're not by yourself.

Zechariah chapter 13 and the ninth verse says, and I will bring the third part through the fire and will refine them as silver is refined and will try them as gold is try facial call on my name and I will tear them. I will say it is my people, and they say the Lord is my God.

One of the reasons the Lord leads his people even through the fire that they face from time to time is that the troughs might be considered. He is refining them as gold and silver and so it will enable us to be patient in those difficult times, and we cannot understand in those situations where we set Lord looks like to me this would be a good time to turn down the heat. Looks like I've suffered a lot and I hope I learned a lot. Could you just make it little easier, and instead, it seems that the fire gets hotter and the burden gets heavier and the trouble gets greater but is not because the Lord doesn't care for you because he does some of us are slow learners and it takes a little longer and the fire might be anticipated. Lord knows all about us knows far more about us and we know about ourselves. So the key leads us to the fire. Sometimes in the Valley in the darkest of night that we obviously would choose to be on the mountaintop, rather than in the family, but the land to which Israel journeyed was a land of hills and valleys, we have to travel in both places along the journey of life is not just in the brightness of the noonday sun.

But in the darkest night as well.

Lamentations chapter 3 verse one the prophet says I am the man that have seen affliction with the rod of his wrath. He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not in light of that strange language to a lot of people because the assumption is often been made that if I am serving God if I'm walking obediently I let him be in the dark. But here God says to the prophet Jeremiah. I have a purpose in leading you into the darkness. There some things that you're going to experience there some things that you're going to learn that you could not learn elsewhere and then in the book of Isaiah chapter 50 verse 10 he gives us instruction as to how we should respond when we find ourselves in the dark who is among you, that fear is the Lord not get what it says about the individual.

It's considered who is among you that fear the Lord, that old by the voice of his servant that walk us in darkness, and hath no light. Let him trust in the name of the Lord and stay upon his God when you're walking in darkness, you often feel so discouraged and sad as well give up. I've been trying to serve God, and it still seems that everything going wrong.

Things just keep falling apart. Why cannot I have brighter days which you use might have been deceived on the wall. Maybe I don't even know and I just need to forget about but he says this individual who is walking obediently. He fears the Lord, he obeys the voice of his servant, but you're in darkness. What is he didn't let him trust in the name of the Lord and do what runaway go back no let him stay upon his let him continue to trust, let them understand there is no other source of help is no other place to go.

He used to stay upon his God and others.

A warning given the whole don't either. Kindle a fire, the compass yourselves about with sparks walk in the light of your fire, and the sparks that ye have kindled.

This should you have of mine hand you shall lie down in shock. In other words, if you're in darkness and you decide whether to build my own fire. You're not going to accomplish anything worthwhile. If you kindled your own fire rather than to depend upon the Lord to give you the light in the warmth and that which you find so necessary that which you need, walk in the light of your fire. The sparks that you kindled once would be the result of this, should you have of my hand shall lie down in sorrow for such a tendency to do because were impatient and if we find ourselves in the darkness we want to change the situation so we began to rely on our own schemes and on the philosophies of men and upon God and his truth.

He he is be in an the human we've talked about in today's message is long been a favorite of mine. How wonderful to be assured that God does lead his dear children, along even through the most difficult of times. If you like to write us.

Our address is the Baptist Bible Auerbach 17 oh 37, Cincinnati, OH 45217 this is Sarah Bradley Junior beating you goodbye and may God bless you see all reading and a and GD and G and all