Signposts And Lifemaps
SIGNPOSTS AND LIFEMAPS
Author Guardian
Psalm 19,
SIGNPOSTS AND LIFEMAPS
I noticed over a period of several days that a "message , paraphrase bible" had been
sitting on the worktop in our kitchen and I have no idea what it was doing there or who
put it there and no one would have known I was searching and looking for what to bring
and how to bring a message.
But some after time I decided to glance at the page
, and lo and behold it was opened at Psalm 19 and so we read Psalm 19 from
" The Message "
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Psalm 19 (The Message)
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1-2 God's glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
Madame Day holds classes every morning,
Professor Night lectures each evening.
3-4 Their words aren't heard,
their voices aren't recorded,
But their silence fills the earth:
unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.
4-5 God makes a huge dome
for the sun—a superdome!
The morning sun's a new husband
leaping from his honeymoon bed,
The daybreaking sun an athlete
racing to the tape.
6 That's how God's Word vaults across the skies
from sunrise to sunset,
Melting ice, scorching deserts,
warming hearts to faith.
7-9 The revelation of God is whole
and pulls our lives together.
The signposts of God are clear
and point out the right road.
The life-maps of God are right,
showing the way to joy.
The directions of God are plain
and easy on the eyes.
God's reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,
with a lifetime guarantee.
The decisions of God are accurate
down to the nth degree.
10 God's Word is better than a diamond,
better than a diamond set between emeralds.
You'll like it better than strawberries in spring,
better than red, ripe strawberries.
11-14 There's more: God's Word warns us of danger
and directs us to hidden treasure.
Otherwise how will we find our way?
Or know when we play the fool?
Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
Keep me from stupid sins,
from thinking I can take over your work;
Then I can start this day sun-washed,
scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
These are the words in my mouth;
these are what I chew on and pray.
Accept them when I place them
on the morning altar,
O God, my Altar-Rock,
God, Priest-of-My-Altar.
Lord Father maker of heaven and earth we come to you todaY and we give you all that we
have and are in Jesus name, we give you our worries and our troubles and our despairs
and we lay them at your feet, for we do not want these things to grow over us like a
sin and blot out your light.
We want the Son and not the sin, we ask for the sun to expose and bring to light the
darkness.
We do not want our problems and worldly fears to grow like weeds and overgrow in our
lifes like the seeds scattered by the farmer overgrown by worldly things and choked.
But we need your seed to germinate and grow and produce 100 fold and more that the weeds
would have no hope but to move out and run scared.
We give you all these things in Jesus name as we give you are hearts and as we give over
to you Lord release in us a new hope and expectation .
Create revelation Lord to our hearts, direct us in all your ways, create and produce
signposts and life maps for us as we walk along your path, that we might walk in your
will and be directed by you,
Show us the way to walk that we might walk in this way, not going to the left or to
the right unless you instruct us to and to have listening hearts that are always eager
and ready to listen to your voice and instruction,
That we would not be blinded by words of men but that we would be instructed by your
very simple and clear guidance that speaks to us alone and also speaks to the body
as a whole , that we would not be fooled by the craftiness of men and their words
in Jesus name amen
In Genesis 1:6-8 we see God divided the waters and created the stary skies and we read in
Romans 1:19 that people have no excuse for not knowing God , as they whole of creation
speaks of Him and the whole universe echoes His divinity and power and His Holy Spirit
sends wave upon wave of revelation about His works.
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Yes the testimony of Gods creation speaks out and you wonder how speech can be heard
without sound or word , but in Gods Kingdom His voice can be heard without sound and His
voice never heard, and again we "see " a kind of paradox
We see and yet we do not see with our eyes always, we hear and yet we do not always hear
audibly,
You see the whole of the bible produces before the reader a series of pictures, parables,
images, stories and tales that we might learn and be instructed and see the signposts and
directions of His voice
Where even the simplest and youngest can understand and find revelation
You do not have to be a scientist or great theologian , you do not have to be a scholar or
rocket engineer to hear Gods voice or to read Gods word and to understand and hear His
voice
God can speak through a few simple words and change a life and the pictures and parables
in His word can speak a thousand words.
His creation can speak myriads of words unspoken, the sun shining in its socket in space
can speak out of Gods creation and bring revelation of the works of His Hands more than
a million times over.
Pictures can speak without words more than just words alone
We can fill our minds and fill our time with theologial discussion and debate, but in
the end it comes down to a simple " yes " to the Father.
He is not impressed with big words or fancy theology, He simply looks for a heart that
is willing and waiting and ready and He simply wants a heart that says " yes "
In Gods Kingdom you need ears to hear, but the ears that you have are not ears that
protude from your head but they are ears that hear and see the unseen, and reside in you
Every day God speaks through the seen picture, of His days that He creates beforehand.
He lays out before us each day in its turn, like a fleece that we might walk through
that day that He has given us and see the rich tapestry of Him who made all
Day after day He calls out, day after day He speaks, day after day , day after day.
He never tires or grows weary , He never slumbers or rests, He has nowhere to lay His
head and sleep and does not live in houses built by man.
In fact God speaks out so much that humankind can stop listening and simply ignore Him
Like the youngster who no longer listens to the parents voice and year after year their
voices go unnoticed, and the parent echoes the same instruction over and over and over,
But the child hearing the same thing over and over no longer hears,...until one day
the child realises and has revelation and it suddenly dawns like a new day
the true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" John 1:9
The problem is that "men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were
evil," so would not come to the light John 3:19,20
You see in the end " Do we really want to change ? "
Sometimes our prayers can be halted because simply, we are not willing to change
We might ask " Lord do this , Lord do that , Lord Make this happen "
And He might say " Okay , You do this , You do that , "
We see layed out before us in Psalm 19 another rich imagery and picture, almost like
a vision or a childrens story to illustrate and give us a mental image of God and His
creation.
We see the morning giving thanks and the evening lecturing of the maker, we see the sun
bounding accross the sky like the bridegroom chasing His bride, running the race and
encouraging the bride to run on
We see that God instructs , He makes signposts that we might follow and its a very simply
picture as we walk and run along the path thats called " the narrow way "
Becasue basically it is simply, we wait for God Father maker of all to show us the way
and He does, so what do we look for ?
Well that comes with relationship and seeking and time and growth and learning.
This morning in sunday school we looked at how God the Father spoke to Jacob and how
Jacob just happened to find the "Rock" and Jacon "rested " and had a vision or dream,
and how God spoke to Jacob and blessed him.
You see how all this ties in ? this is a signpost !!
Do you think the bible I found opened at Psalm 19 of the message bible just happened to
be there ? well no , the answer is "no"
At the time I was looking for what to bring and I could'nt make head nor tail of Psalm
19 until I read it from the " Message paraphrase "
This was a signpost...a very simple signpost...but none the less...it was a signpost.
The commandments of the Lord are right..yes, we listen for Him to speak and we do as He
commands becasue He is the Lord of heavens armies
Love your neigbour as yourself, as God loves you and love your enemies as God sends His
sun to shine on evil and good, do you think Christ only died for good people ? we were
once enemies of God.
We wewre once alienated and enemies, but through His son we became joint heirs and sons
and daughters, so in turn we love our enemies, for God would not ask you to do something
that He would not do.
Keep His commandments and walk as God instructs, for the laws of the universe are made
out of love, for all things are made out of God.
He made all the laws of the universe and all things work within these universal laws
Reverence for the Lord...
“The fear [reverence] of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” Psalm 111:10
This is a Holy fear, a fear that does not freeze up a person , but a fear that causes
action,
Psalm 130:3-4, "If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand? But
with you there is forgiveness; therefore you are feared."
For this fear works in Holy Spirit comfort and acknowledges God for who He is,
But to those who see a false image , who's minds have been blinded !!
2 Corinthians 4:4 International Standard Version
In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe
to keep them from seeing the light of the glorious gospel of the Messiah, who is the
image of God.
The enemy copies and counterfeits, he cannot create so he copies God, and he distorts
and twists the truth, he makes the image distorted and causes a picture to become something
else, he takes the childrens book full of pictures and imagery and he blinds the reader.
Now we glance back to last weeks message...
"changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man,
and to birds and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things" Romans 1:20,23
Evolution ? have we changed the image ? or has the enemy ?
has the picture been changed or corrupted ? is there a virus ?
Has the picture that God gives us of creation and His works been twisted and changed
and distorted into something different ?
Have we been deceived into thinking that somehow Genesis is simply a symbolic book full
of imagery and symbolism that is no more than a book added to Gods word like a fable
or fairy story ?
Have we believed within peer pressure of societies beliefs that somehow we have two
beginnings ? you know we either believe God or we believe a lie.
Does the world try to deceive by showing a different image where we are no more than
animals, where we are merely a fact of evolution and that we evolved from mere animals.
Is it any wonder that some behave like animals ?
I wonder how many have been deceived by this lie and how many walk in this deception,
I wonder how many have been blinded by the enemy ? I wonder how many of Gods children
also walk in this lie ?
Romans 1 ( Kings James )
22Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible
man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts,
to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more
than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
I wonder how many have the wrong picture ?
I wonder how many entertain the wrong image ?
You say " well Guardy that scripture is to do with the worship of demons and such "
Yes thats right...where do you think the lie comes from ?
We do not look at the false god being worshipped ...we look at what is behind the false
god..
You see satan wants to be worshipped , he wanted and wants to be god and in fact is a god
to millions, but they do not realise this because they have been given a blindness, a
false image....
And his hordes of demons want to be worshipped and they will put themselves behind any
object of worship, whether it be a piece of stone or money, whether it be a false worship
of the world or a false image of creation, they will put themselves behind anything they
can to be worshipped.
Now we are not demon hunting or witch finding here and we as Christians have nothing to
fear, because we can in fact take Christ from center stage in our lifes by being
distracted by other things and anything that takes our attention and stops us from racing
ahead with Jesus is to be avoided.
Instead we focus on the race and the path ahead, not being distracted by silly arguments
or theologies of denominations or human reasonings but we focus on the goal in front.
ALWAYS KEEP YOUR FOCUS ON JESUS, nothing else matters.
I wonder how many see the wrong signposts ? I wonder how many read from the wrong life
map ? I wonder how many have a distorted image ?
2 Corinthians 4:4
In their case, the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who do not believe
to keep them from seeing the light of the glorious gospel of the Messiah, who is the
image of God.
You see evolution ...that is saying as so many teach that we evolved from animals and
that we are animals is not merely tellin gus that we are mere animals that have evolved
into intelligent life, but it is actually saying that God Himself is the same and in fact
denies the existence of God
In the last message we looked into " spiritual evolutiopn " and how we in fact are
evolving and as Christians we do evolve in a " spiritual sense "
So many walk in this false illusion of evolution that denies God and His creation
...and Gods voice still cries out
If only they would turn and listen and see God leaping out like a bridegroom from His
Chamber running the race and leaping out in all His splendour to adorn their lifes
with good things,
If only we might see the strong man leaping and bounding like the sun in all His glory
running the race before Him and leaping for joy through the heavens
If only revelation might abound in the eyes of the unseeing and hearing might break
loose in the ears of those who have been deceived.
If only the light of the world might iluminate and bring revelation upon lifes like the
son shining in all its magnificence.
The heavenly runner chases His bride the Church through the skies
"run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and
finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross"
Hebrews 12:1,2.
And so we see a picture and a metaphor at the beginning of Psalm 19 and we see the sun
as "The Light of The World" JESUS...The Bridegroom after His wedding eager to run the
race.
We see a similiarity or metaphor, like a secind meaning, like a parallel.
And we see the sun....and we see the Son
Say " I am in the Son and He is in me "
You are married you see...
Nothing can hide from the suns heat, the radiation that the sun omits radiates throughout
and across space and all earth is sustained by the suns heat and light and in the same
way.....no one can hide from God, no one can hide from Jesus, no one can hide from the
Holy Spirit of God, He radiates throughout and everywhere, and He sustains all things
and all life.
Psalm 139:7
American King James
Where shall I go from your spirit? or where shall I flee from your presence?
You see like a great athlete He bounds after His bride accross the skies and she can
never run from His prescence becasue He radiates out and is everywhere.
Only in Him can she be sustained and have life.
You see Madame Days classes and Professor Nights lectures continue to speak without a
sound or word, their voice is never heard and yet their message has gone thoruhgout the
earth and their words to all the world.
The sun omits radiation and produces,creates and sustians life
The Son omits His word, becasue He is the word and creates and sustains.
His word goes forth into all the earth and brings light and ilumination
The suns rays never return without having produced, without having been received, without
having produced and suatained and without giving life and ilumination
The Sons word never returns void.
Now we go to Psalm 19:7-14
Psalm 118:89- 176
(Psalm 119:103). May the words of God be the most pleasurable, the most enjoyable
thing you could even comprehend.
More to be desired then gold
And In Psalm 19:7-14 we look to Revelation, signposts, life maps,directions and
decisions,
Sweeter than the honey on the honeycomb...and as a jewish child on your first day at
synagogue you wait in expectation to learn the Torah off by heart and be able to
memorise Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy by the age of ten.
So you wait in eager expectation on your first day at the age of 6 years old to learn and
memorise Gods word as the rabbi smears honey on your slate and intructs you to lick the
honey from the slate, so too is the word of God a sweetness in the bitter waters.
As John the baptist fed on the honey and proclaimed the word and announced the coming
word to men so we look into the Psalm of the son and have our hearts iluminated .
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for
reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (II Timothy 3:16).
the law of the LORD is perfect . . . that the man of God may be perfect"
(Psalm 19:7; II Timothy 3:17).
As we go on our journey in life we need to look for signposts to find our way on our
lifemap, remember that every day is already written in His book and you great jigsaw
puzzle that we see is already made complete in His eyes and He can see the full picture.
We may now and again not understand what God might want us to do only becasue we cannot
see the whole picutre or where a piece might fit and even when we see where the piece
fits we may not understand where the journey is going or why .
On our life map that God has for us and has designed especially for us it might be
that we spend forty years before we reach the land of milk and honey
Or it could be forty days before we see the " why and how and when and what "
depending on how we walk and where we walk and depending on what signposts we look
at on our journey.
Each day that we live is already mapped out, the day is alrady layed before us, our day
is already written in His book, and He lays signposts for us to follow,
Bible in Basic English Psalm 139:16
Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book all my days were recorded, even
those which were purposed before they had come into being.
You see many see the Christian life as a restriction, they see signposts that say "
do not go here " "WALK THIS WAY " " YOU MUST NOT " " DON'T DO THAT "
As if God is stopping them from enjoying themselves as if God is this parent who wants
His children to be boring and unhappy and a parent who places restrictions on life
And they say " I want to be free " Its my life "
But they do not see past the signpost and look beyond,
True freedom is in God alone and true freedom is only found in the life that God wants
for us .
He wants the best for His children and does not want then to get hurt..
He can see what lies ahead and what is around the corner and He simply talks to us and
tells us and instructs us the right way to walk in so that we might avoid the enemy
snares.
And so we ask the questions , "WHAT, WHERE , HOW , WHY, WHEN"
And we simply have to wait and listen and learn to walk in relationship with Him who
shines in our hearts.
And it is as simple as that
Father God in Jesus name may the wrods of our mouths and the meditations of our herarts
be pleasing to you, may we chew on your word and digest its meaning and apply it to our
lifes and see the power of you Holy Spirit bring wave upon wave of radiating life.
And as we come to the Rock and rest in you may you send angel upon angel to comfort and to
bring messages of hope and expectation, and create a ladder to heaven that bridges a
relationship between us.
Let that ladder be a ladder of constant words and messages to the one we love and let
that ladder be covered in angels coming back and forth bringing revelation and light,
bringing answered prayer and hope, bringing expectation and life.
we speak out Psalm 19:11 - 14 as our prayer Lord
Clean the slate, God, so we can start the day fresh!
Keep us from stupid sins,
from thinking we can take over your work;
Let us start this day sun-washed,
scrubbed clean of the grime of sin.
Let These words in our mouths;
Be the words that we chew on and pray.
Accept our words Lord Father God when we place them
on the morning altar,
O God, our Altar-Rock,
God, Priest-of-My-Altar.
In Jesus Nme Amen
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