5. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

6. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

7. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

8. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Let us pray.

Most holy and gracious heavenly Father, we thank You for who You are and for what You do. Father, hide Your son behind the cross, that Your people would see You and not me. Father, as I decrease, I ask that You would increase. Let the words of the mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, oh Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. In Jesus’ Name.

The people of God said amen. You may be seated in the house of God today.

He said,

5. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In some of your ways acknowledge Him... In some of your ways acknowledge Him... I hear some of you, but I don’t hear all of you. In some of your ways acknowledge Him...

6. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall (he shall) direct thy paths.

What does it mean to guide? What does that word “guidance” mean? It means to lead and to direct in the right way.

You see, there are paths that we can take. But some of them may not lead into the right way. But God, when I acknowledge Him in all of my ways, and I stop leaning to my own understanding, He’s going to make sure that I get on the path that He’s ordained for my life.

What path have I taken today? Does God still guide His people today? He guided Abraham. He guided Moses. But does God still guide us today? He guided the children of Israel. But does God still guide us today? Can we come to the Lord and ask direction of Him? Can we come to the Lord and ask Him (glory to God) to get us in the place where we make the right decisions for our life?

The answer is yes. He will guide us. He will lead us. He will direct us as long as we acknowledge that we need direction. As long as I get into a humble place with God and I say, “God, I need guidance,” He’s going to make sure that He speaks to me.

The longer we live, the more we will come to realize that we need guidance. You see, there may be a situation that you’re going through right now that you’ve asked the advice of man about, but you don’t seem to get an answer that you need.

But see, if I ask the Man upstairs about the direction that my path needs to take right now, He’s going to make sure that He leads me down that path that I should go.

When we look at the prophet Jeremiah, he puts it very clearly to us. He said, “Oh Lord, I know that man’s way is not in himself. It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” In other words, it’s not in man to guide himself.

You see, man needs a supernatural compass. God gives us that supernatural compass through His Word. You see, when I get in the place where I’m trying to lead myself, I’m going to always get off course. But if I allow the Spirit of God to lead me, He’s going to take me to that destination that God has planned for me. It’s not in me to know which way to go.

You see, too many times we ask children what do they want to do. But see, it’s up to us as parents to guide our children.

You see, when we ask God what it is and where it is that He wants us to do, what He wants us to do, and where it is He wants us to go, it’s up to God to give us guidance.

You see, I can say what I want to do. I can say I want to be a pastor, evangelist, teacher, apostle, prophet, whatever. But except God is leading me down that path, I’ll wind up in the wrong situation at the wrong time.

See, it’s not in me to guide myself. You see, I can have all the intelligence that I think I have. But I need the Spirit of God to begin to move in my life. You remember the children of Israel how He lead them by a Pillar of Cloud by day. And by night He led them by a Fire. Because they needed visualization.

But God is requiring something more of us. He told us that we walk by faith and not by sight. You might not ever know exactly where you’re going. But the Spirit of God... Oh, I feel the Holy Ghost. If you don’t feel Him I feel Him today.

The Spirit of God is going to guide me to that place, that secret place. You see, everybody ain’t going to know about that place. You see, they may think they know. But this is between me and my God. He’s going to guide me to that place that’s secret between me and Him, where I can dine at His table, where I can listen to the voice of the Lord, that He can comfort me and give me whatever it is that I need at the time.

You see, you don’t need me. You need God. Let me say it again. See, you don’t need me. You need God. See, I’m just a vessel. And I give the guidance. But the guidance comes from God. Do you hear what I’m saying? He can use a donkey to give you guidance. He can use a rock to cry out and give you guidance. He will cause us to know that the guidance truly comes from God.

He said, “I’m going to lead you. And I’m going to guide you. And I’m going to give you that direction that you need for your life.”

If you and I are left to ourselves, we make mistakes, and we get lost. Have you ever been in a place where you were riding in your car, and you did not know exactly where it was you were going? In other words, you didn’t know how to get there. So you can see a total stranger. And you got, and I have enough faith that this total stranger is going to tell me which way to go.

But see, God is not a stranger to me. And I’m not a stranger to God. If I can trust somebody that I don’t know, how much the more can I trust Somebody that I do know? Oh, I feel Jesus in this house.

Why? Why can’t we seem to find our way? It’s because we trust in self. See, self thinks that it knows the way. It’s like a man when his wife is sitting on the side of him saying, “Honey, you’re going the wrong way.” And he knowing himself that he is going the wrong way. But he know where he going but... My God.

That’s how we do with God, isn’t it? God is trying to tell us which way to go. But we refuse to let Him grab a hold of the reigns. We tell God we know where we’re going. You just sit back and relax. I got this thing.

And so if we tell God that, He will sit back and relax. He’ll say, “Okay. You got it.” He ain’t going to holler. He ain’t going to scream. He ain’t going to fuss about it. He going to say, “You got it. You keep on going.” But He’s not vindictive, is He?

When I finally humble myself and say, “God, I don’t know where I’m going,” He’s still going to speak to me. And He’s not going to say, “I told you so.”

He’s there to give us the guidance that we need. If only we would learn to accept it.

Someone can give you direction all day long. But until I accept it... I can be preached to, taught to, whatever. Until I accept it... Not halfway, but all the way... Uh oh.

We’ll get direction, won’t we? I feel You, Jesus. But we’ll follow only half of the directions. We’ll bring a spirit of compromise in it, won’t we? Oh, I feel You, Jesus. I’m still doing it halfway. Lord, I’m just not doing it all the way.

But God can’t bless what I do halfway. Because He doesn’t receive a half-hearted way, does He? It’s got to be with the whole heart that I receive what God is saying to me.

He’s giving us what we need. He speaks to us. He ministers to us. But it’s like we get in the mold where we sit back and we’re waiting for something to happen. When a person gets instruction and direction, you can’t sit back and wait for something to happen. You got to get up.

It’s like somebody with a resume, isn’t it? They’ll send a resume out, won’t they? And they’ll wait for somebody to talk to them. You better put on your shoes and get busy and get out.

What kind of guidance do you need? We’ll hear what God has to say. But then we won’t obey. We’ll let Him guide us to the point to where it interferes in what we got... Oh, my God.

“Lord, I’m going to let You guide me this far. But now You’re interfering with my plans. I’m going to step to the side. Now You’re moving again, God, the way I need you to move. But now, God, You’re kind of doing what I don’t have planned. So I’m going to step to the side again.” Isn’t that how we do Him? Oh, I feel Jesus all over me today. My God.

We will let God guide us to a certain point, until it’s not what we want. If it interferes with our plans, then we’ll make up in our minds that we’re only going so far.

Why can’t we get into a place where we can truly be lead by the Spirit of God?

Come here, brother. Come here, brother. Come here, brother. Grab hold of my back. Now you grab hold of his back. You grab hold of his back.

Okay. The Bible says... We walking. Come on. Those that are lead by the Spirit of God (oh, I feel Jesus) are the true sons of God.

Now I feel you pulling me back. You got to come on with me. See, that’s what happens, isn’t it? Don’t pull me back.

You see, we only want the Spirit to lead us in a certain direction for a certain length of time. And then just like I felt the pull, we start pulling back, don’t we? Oh, you don’t want to talk to me in this house today. We start pulling back. We can feel something on our shoulders. And we’re saying, “Wait a minute. I know You’re trying to lead me. But this is as far as I really want to go.”

Why can’t we get to the place where we’re just walking together? Come on. And wherever the Spirit of God goes, that’s where I’m going to go. If He speeds up, I’m going to speed up. If He slows down, I’m going to slow down. But whatever the Spirit of God wants to do, that’s what I’m going to do.

You may be seated. Give God a handclap of praise today.

You see, as long as He’s guiding me in what’s not interfering with me, I give Him no resistance. But as soon as He’s interfering with my plans, He can tug on the inside. I can feel Him moving. I can feel Him saying, “Uh, uh. Stay over here.” But I’m going over... “Uh, uh. Stay.” I will ignore Him, won’t I?

Will I allow Him to really guide me? Oh, Jesus. Will I? Will I really allow Him to give me the direction that He wants to give me? Will I really do that? Or am I going to do it halfway.

You see, halfway ain’t good enough. Halfway is not good enough. I’m sorry. I’m going to let you know today halfway ain’t good enough. It is not in God’s vocabulary to halfway serve Him, to halfway follow Him. It’s not in Him. He’s going to lead you all the way. He’s going to guide you all the way through that situation, that circumstance, that problem.

He’s not going to leave you halfway. He’s going to get you, not going to get you halfway to the breakthrough and then say, “Uh oh. I’m jumping off from here. You on your own.” He’s not that kind of God. He’s a follow-through kind of God.

You know, it’s like when somebody plays golf. They got to learn how to follow through. It’s when a baseball player gets ready to hit the ball, he has to follow through.

See, we don’t know how to completely follow through, do we? You see, when we get to the point where we really follow through, my God, the devil will really be scared of us.

See, you and I, we know we have an anointing. But we don’t have a follow-through anointing. We don’t have a finishing anointing. It’s like a man when he goes to the goal, when he’s playing basketball. Oh, the move was pretty. Oh, the move was smooth. But when he got to the goal, the ball didn’t go in the basket.

Where’s the follow-through? Where’s the finish? We start out strong, don’t we? Oh Jesus, I feel You today.

We receive a little instruction. But when it interferes with what we want to do (oh, my God ), we’ll pull back.

The first step in getting guidance of God for our lives is admitting that we need it. You see, if I feel sufficient within myself already, then I don’t need His guidance. If we recognize our own limitations and admit to God about our own limitations, then God can truly lead us.

It takes faith to get guidance. It really takes faith to get the guidance that you need. Because once you receive it, you got to believe it.

Where are you today in your guidance? Where are you today?

The twenty-third Psalm, David said that He leads me in the path of righteousness for His Name sake. So any path that God leads me down is going to be a righteous path. See, it ain’t going to be nothing shady and shifty about the path.

You see, when I get into a position where the paths I’m going down is kind of shady and shifty like, it ain’t God. Because He’s going to only lead me down the paths of righteousness, something that’s in right standing with Him. If it’s not in right standing with Him, then He ain’t going to lead me down that way.

Will you and I receive the guidance? Or will we go halfway? Or will we go not at all?

God has a plan. But we must follow His path. We must follow His path.

We cannot lean to our own understanding. Because something seems right, it doesn’t mean that it’s right.

You remember when Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the soldiers came to arrest Him? And Peter cut off one of the soldier’s ear, didn’t he? That seemed right at the time, didn’t it? You messing with my Savior, and I’m going to defend Him.

But then Jesus picked up the ear and put it back on. You see, when I lean to my own understanding, it may cause me to get in trouble.

You remember when Noah was building the ark on dry land? I can hear them taunting him now saying, “Noah, seem like rain, doesn’t it? Ha, ha, ha, ha.” See, it didn’t seem right for him to be doing what he was doing. But it was right.

See, that’s why I can’t lean to my own understanding. I have got to follow the Word and be lead by the Spirit.

But see, in the midst of that, we begin to think that God does not use our brain. He does use our brain. That’s why He said to be renewed in the spirit of your mind. He said let your mind be renewed by the Word. Because why? God does use your mind. He said to love the Lord with all your mind. But it’s the unregenerated mind, it’s the carnal mind that He’s not using.

You see, when you meditate on the Word of God day and night, there are going to be decisions that you’re going to have to make that are not church related. So God’s going to have to use your mind. Oh, I feel the Holy Ghost in here.

He will speak to your spirit. But He will speak to your mind too. How do I know? Because you got to read the Word. And in order to get the Word in you, it’s got to pass through this. Oh, my God. It’s got to pass through your mind.

He will guide you, even with your mind. It’s not something magical and mystical, where you walk around like, “Mm. I’m so spiritual. Thus saith the Lord.” It’s not that all the time.

I’ve got to get in a place where my mind loves Him, not just my heart. You know, the Bible talks about the heart, how it is deceitful and wicked. That’s why the Bible said to keep your heart with all diligence, for out if comes the issues of life. That’s why I’ve got to make sure that the Word not only is here, but it’s here.

The Psalmist said, “Thy Word have I,” what? “Hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” It’s got to be here. I will meditate on the Word of God day and night. It’s got to be here.

And it’s got to be here also, so that when the devil attacks my mind I can still go with my heart. And when the devil attacks my heart, I can still go with my mind. Because I know what the Word says. That’s why I got to get both on one accord.

Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy mind, all thy soul, all thy strength. Every part of me has got to love the Lord. And He will truly direct my path.

You see, you and I need guidance in something in our lives right now. We’ve been wondering which way to go. God’s going to give you direction. He’s going to tell you exactly where to go.

“God don’t move like that.” Yes, He does. The steps of a righteous man are what? Ordered by the Lord. But it’s by faith.

You see... Excuse me. When I step out of my door in the morning, and I got a problem that I need to go try to figure out and get solved, but I don’t know exactly where to go or who to turn to, I need to be still for a little while and say, “Lord, You got the reins today. Wherever You want to go, wherever, whoever You want me to talk to, that’s where I’ll be. That’s who I’ll speak to.” And He promised me that He would give me the direction and the guidance that I need.

Today whatever guidance He’s giving you, receive it. It may not be what you want, but it’s going to be health to thy navel. Do you hear what I’m saying today? It’s going to be health to me. It’s going to strengthen me. It’s going to cause me to get into that place where I need to be in. It may not be what you want to do right now.

But if God is telling you to do it right now, then by golly, why, whatever you want to say. You better do it. Because you’re going wind up in a place that’s going to be turmoil and hell, because you didn’t want to do what you didn’t feel like doing before, though He was leading you to do it. Oh, my God, my God. I must not be preaching to nobody here today.

See, we like to live for what feels good and seems good right now. But how long did Abraham and Sarah have to wait for the promise of that child? My God. And in the midst of them waiting on the promise, God was giving them guidance. He had given them direction about what was going to happen. But Abraham and Sarah got impatient, didn’t they?

When I get impatient, then I’m going to make mistakes. And just like with them, it’ll cause a war, won’t it? You could have had the promise, but now you got Ishmael. But if I had listened to the guidance and direction of the Lord before, Ishmael would have never been born. Oh, I must be preaching to me today. My God, my God.

We settle for Ishmael, don’t we? Because we want what want when we want it. But sometimes direction will cause me to wait a little while. If He’s guiding me in a certain way, He knows when to bring the promise to pass. Doesn’t He? He knows when the promise needs to come forth.

But all I have to do is follow directions and follow His guidance. It’s not based on my situation or my circumstance. It’s not based on that. You see, He sees something that we don’t see. See, you can’t see what He sees. Oh, I feel Jesus all over this house today.

See, we don’t see what He sees. He says, “My thought are not your thoughts. My ways are not your ways. You can’t see it the way I see it. See, you trying to... I done told you. But you don’t want... You want... What you want? This what you want right...

“Okay, well you get it right now. But that ain’t what I promised you. But you can have it right now if that’s what you want. I’m doing something else. But you know, you go on and do that. But I’m going to still do what I need to do.”

Follow directions. If you’re not a good direction taker, then get somebody else to write them down for you. See, He’ll give you a preacher to write down directions for you, won’t He? But we don’t want to follow the preacher. Hello, somebody. I feel the Holy Ghost moving all over me.

Preacher done told us. He done warned us. But preacher can’t be right. All he is is the man of God. Oh, I feel You down deep inside of me.

See, you can get the Word of the Lord. You can get prophetic words all day. He can guide you through prophetic words all day. This is prophetic word. But then God will even have the audacity to give you individual prophetic word. And in the midst of Him giving us individual prophetic word we still want our way. My God. Who are we? And who do we think we are? Oh, I feel the Holy Ghost in this house.

What’s in your heart today? Are you going to follow up to a certain point? And then you going to get out of step?

God’s looking at our hearts today. He’s looking at our hearts. See, the Lord got need of you.

You remember when the man went to get the donkey? The Lord... He said, “The Lord got need of this.”

See, He’s giving you direction and guidance. But what you going to do? He’s giving you what you need. He’s promised you that He was going to anoint you and carry you. But what you want? You want your cake, and you want to eat it too, don’t you? Oh, who am I preaching to today?

The things of God demand sacrifice. The things of God demand... If it was that easy, then Joe Blow could do it. But He ain’t called Joe Blow. He called you to do it.

Are you going to follow direction? Are you going to truly let Him guide you? If you’re going to let Him guide you today... And I mean you really mean it. I’m not going to ask you to lift your hand. But I want you to lift your heart. Because it ain’t none of my business. It’s His business and your business. I feel the Holy Ghost.

God has given us direction in this house. But it’s up to us to step forth and follow direction.

What really amazes me is when people tell me, you know, “I know the Lord sent me here. I know the Lord called me here. The Lord told me. He spoke to me.” It really amazes me. And then I look around and I can’t find folk no more. You mean God is fickle and He done changed His mind like that? I can’t follow Him. You don’t hear me today.

See, you got to make sure you really getting direction from God. See, if God directs you to a place, then He’s going to plant your feet in a place. Oh, don’t you tune me out now. He’ll plant your feet there. See, come hell or high water. The boat might start rocking. But your feet are planted. And you ain’t going nowhere. You ain’t going overboard. You ain’t going in the water. You going to rock with the boat in the Name of Jesus. Because you got direction.

God is not a wishy washy God. And that’s one of the one things I’m talking about. If God gives me direction, am I going to allow my direction to be governed by my feelings? Am I going to follow God according to my feelings of how I feel today?

“Oh, I feel like going to church today. Oh, I’m going to praise Him. I feel like... God told me to go to church.”

But then they cut of the lights tomorrow. Got church Tuesday. “Well, I can’t make it tonight. Something done happened.

If God sent you to church, He’s sending you to church. If He directed you to go to church, He directed you to go to church.

Hear this word today. There are days that I get up and I say, “Lord, I don’t feel like preaching today. But I’m the preacher. So it’s not according to my feeling.” Hello, somebody.

If your pastor wasn’t there, you’d be...

Somebody’s getting a revelation, whether they want to get it or not. You getting it. Because it’s plain. It ain’t hard. It’s plain.

He’ll give you direction. But will you follow it? He’ll tell you to love the unlovable. But will you love them anyway? He’ll tell you to get around somebody that nobody else wants to be around. Will you get around them anyway?

He told Hagar to go... The prophet, he said... He told him to go marry the prostitute, didn’t he? Oh, you don’t want to hear me today. Did he want to do it? I’m sure if he had went according to his feelings he would have been like, “God, ain’t no way. Ain’t no how.” Then had children. Wait a minute. Is this the same God that we serve today?

He said, “I am the Lord Thy God and I change not. When I give instruction, when I give guidance, when I give direction, it’s not according to how you feel. And it’s not according to what you want when you want it.” Mm. Who am I preaching to today?

But it’s according to us being obedient. Are you going to be obedient today? I feel You, Jesus.

There are people in this house with anointings on their lives. But we allow our situations to dictate whether or not we’re going to let God use us.

I’m not in that category. I ain’t going to let my situation dictate whether or not I’m going to allow God to use me. See, I ain’t going to try to turn this anointing on and off when I feel like it. Hello, somebody.

What I’m anointed to do, that’s what I’m going to do, until I leave the earth or Jesus come back, and I leave the earth that way.

He’s speaking to you and He’s speaking to me today. If He has given you direction, then you need to follow it. I don’t care. I don’t care about all that outside stuff. Uh, uh. I’m...

Are you sold out? Are you sold out? Can you really, honestly say to yourself that you are sold out to God completely in your life, that He has control over every aspect of you? Every aspect of you. Are you sold out?

I can say I am all day. But my actions have got to prove it. If I’m really following Him my actions will prove it.

You see, the Bible says that we have an unction (and we getting ready to close) from the Holy One. And we know all things. You see, when it’s talking about we know all things, it ain’t talking about you know things about everybody else, contrary to what we think. It means I’m going to know all things about me too.

I’m going to know if I’m really going all the way with God or I’m not. I’m going to know if I’m really allowing Him to direct me or I’m not. It’s no secret. I really know. I know.

No matter how I’ve preached, no matter how I sing, dance, clap my hands, shout, I know if I’m really sold out or not. I really know. Because my actions dictate how sold out I really am.

Saints of God, trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. But in all of your ways, acknowledge Him. And He shall direct your paths.

Come on, give God a handclap of praise.