I Know Where I Want To Go, But Don’t Know How To Get There

Introduction

It’s good to see everybody tonight. Thankfully you guys could make it out this evening. I think we’re each pretty thankful for that. Um, especially considering uh what we uh could have just come through here, uh at least in the central four-way area. Uh myself am thankful this evening um for the opportunity uh that the elders give here at this place for uh the men in this congregation to uh stand before you on these Wednesdays to to share a few thoughts uh from God’s word that hopefully will lift up and encourage you know as we work ourselves uh through yet another week. Uh personally, uh when I’ve had this opportunity, uh I always take into account and consideration what I think I personally uh need to hear.

Uh not only um for that, but I also know um, especially being a teacher, um, and I and when when students ask or don’t ask questions, uh the more than likely if it’s something, at least in that case, if it’s a question uh that the student I may have, or in this case, uh if it’s something I feel I need to hear, uh I’m probably not alone. And I think that that’s really uh when it comes to this, uh it’s a good uh thing to consider, take into consideration, and so that’s what I’ve done. Uh about a month ago, Ken preached a sermon entitled, Where will you be when you get where you’re going? And uh that one particular struck a chord with me, especially at the time, thinking of even that much ahead of time, um thinking about what I would get up here this evening and and talk to you about.

1. Historically Bad With Directions

Uh and it struck a chord with me in part because I remember little particular details like this, even though it’s a long time ago because that’s why I’m a history teacher and I remember stuff from a long time ago. But we got there, it was on a Friday. The very next day on a Saturday, I had a meeting with the guy that was I’d be working for to take care of all the paperwork and all the particulars we have to do before actually started. And we had a meeting at noon on a Saturday, it’d be kind of a slow time. We’d go. Now, this was 1998. I did not have a cell phone. I did not have a GPS. But I knew we were moving to a place where I knew people that knew where they were going, or so I thought.

So I went to my you know, my friends, girlfriend’s parents, uh, didn’t know anybody else there at the time, uh, to ask me if they could give me the directions I needed. And with my luck, uh, they had no idea. So now you all being the logical thinkers that I know that you are, uh, maybe saying to yourselves clearly, he just called the restaurant and asked them for directions. One uh I appreciate your confidence in my ability to do that. Uh two, sadly, you would be very incorrect. That is not what I did. Uh, because I’m the smart guy that I am, uh, I thought to myself, I’ll just look for it on a map. Uh I didn’t really have a map available, so for those born in the 21st century, there used to be these things called the phone book, uh, where you could look up information, you could look up uh phone numbers for people, and if it was the yellow pages, you could look up businesses and their phone numbers.

Uh in most of those, they would have some kind of a map of the city where you lived. This one did. It was a pretty crude map, it wasn’t overly detailed, but I found the road that I needed to go to, and I found the roads, or so I thought, that would get me there. So I was set off on my way, ready to go meet. On a normal day, this was a drive that usually would take me about 20 minutes. This did not take me 20 minutes that day. Again, my meeting was supposed to start at noon, and when you take into account that I left an hour beforehand to make sure I could be there on time, uh, it took me three hours to get there.

Again, historically bad with directions. Um so needless to say that didn’t start on time. Uh in that time, in that three hours, I almost crossed the Mississippi River twice into Arkansas. Uh if any of you have seen the movie uh The Blind Side, which was in Memphis, that’s where the true story was based. There’s that really bad part of Memphis that the character Big Mike is from. I end up driving through there several times. Uh and you may be thinking to yourself, now why not just stop and ask for directions? Why not find a pay phone? Because it’s 1998, and that’s what we had to use. I didn’t. Uh drop in the change required, call the restaurant that’s in the actual phone book and ask them how to get there.

2. We Can’t Figure It Out on Our Own

Not one time did I do that, and not only one time, not one time did I do not do that. I did not think to do that. It never crossed my mind. Uh why? Well, uh, outside of the obvious answer that I’m a man, and stereotypically that’s what we do, uh, I didn’t do any of that because I knew I would eventually find my way there. Eventually I did, uh, but it did waste an entire tank full of gas in doing so. Uh, and I was again historically late to my meeting. So, where’s the lesson, Eric? Uh how are you making application here? It’s simple. How many of us, how much of the world that calls themselves Christian does the exact same thing on the journey that we’re on trying to get to heaven.

That like me, when I move to Memphis, thinks to themselves, either consciously or subconsciously, I got this. I know how to get there, and even if I don’t, eventually I can figure it out on my own. If we or anyone does think that, we’re wrong. We can’t figure it out on our own. If we are, we need guidance, we need directions. Lucky for us, those are easy to find. God has laid out the roadmap. All we have to do is ask. All we have to do is search for the directions and we’ll find them. They’re right here. And don’t just take my word for it. Don’t just take a man’s word for it, anybody’s word for that. It tells you, here is the way. Jesus tells us.

3. Ask, Seek, Knock

Matthew 7, verse 7. He tells us plain as day how to do that. How to get where we want to go. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be open for you. For everyone who asks, receives. He who seeks, finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened. As we leave here tonight, hopefully these words can help you. As we go from one day to the next, let us remember where and who to turn to for directions on how to get where we’re going.

Conclusion

There’s only one place to go to get that. If anyone here needs help with that, if anyone here needs help starting that journey, ask, seek, knock. If you need to do so now, do so as we stand and sing.