Where Will You Be When You Get Where You Are Going?

Introduction

Normally, I don’t have trouble with technology here. And normally, I’m not self-conscious and intimidated because of the great work the previous speaker has done for obvious reasons. But today’s an exception.

We’re so blessed here with our young people, some of them who are transitioning into new phases of their lives, and we’re so blessed to have them a part of us. We’re so blessed for their enthusiasm and their willingness to take upon the role of leaders that God has expected them to take on, but they’ve done so and done so so Griffin, but all of our young men and women do an excellent job in serving the Lord and encouraging us in their service to the Lord. You know, I’ve been thinking about inventions recently, with the exception of those inventions that were intended for cruelty’s sake. I guess we could say every invention is intended to make our lives better. But there’s always those certain few that stand out as just being wonderful, that have changed our life so tremendously.

This time of year, I guess high up on that list would be air conditioning, wouldn’t it? But probably another invention that has changed our life lives so drastically would have to be our GPS, wouldn’t it? Isn’t that a wonderful invention? That you have that little device that knows every road in Orlando and can calculate so quickly the quickest route, maybe not the safest route, but the quickest route to get you from here to there. And we rely upon that so much. My GPS is wonderful. It’s wonderful for three reasons. Number one is it gets me to my destination. But I’ve customized my GPS. My GPS will randomly, while it’s giving me directions, give me affirmations. It will randomly say, don’t listen to her, you’re doing great.

But it gives me daily affirmations because my GPS says to me, you have arrived. Are you old enough to remember, though, having to navigate without the GPS? And the challenge that that took. And you might be thinking, particularly if you’re a younger person and your life has always been with GPS, you might be thinking, he’s talking about navigating with a map, and it’s partially true, but if, like me, you spent much of your time in a more isolated rural area, you navigated even without a map, because there wasn’t a map for the roads that you were traveling on. And so navigation took a whole nother life upon itself. You usually had to either ask for directions before you left, or to stop in the middle of that journey and ask for directions.

First place I ever preached was in South Alabama and in Pike County, Alabama. There are no maps. Probably GPS hasn’t even gotten to rural Brundage, Alabama just yet. And when we first moved there, we received an announcement that the Greenville Church of Christ would be having a gospel meeting. And so I told Deedra, I said, it’s important as the preacher, the new preacher that we go, so we’re going to go to the gospel meeting in Greenville. She said, Do you know where the church building is? I had no idea. But I know how to get to Greenville. And I knew that the church building, I can still remember the address, number 10 Commercial Street, Greenville, Alabama. I said, What we’ll do, we’ll drive to Greenville on Highway 10, and as soon as we get into Greenville, we’ll stop at the first restaurant or gas station, and we’ll ask them where Commercial Street is.

And then we’ll find Commercial Street. Greenville is so small, we’ll just drive up and down Commercial Street until we find the church building. So that was my plan. And so we got into it, we saw the city limit signs. Welcome to Greenville. And now I told Deedra, I said, All right, be looking for a gas station. There’s one. So I pulled off to the right, angled our little minivan up towards the gas station, and there were three men sitting out on oil cans out in front of the gas station. And I got out of the van and walked up to them. I said, Fellas, I said, I’m looking for commercial street in Greenville. To which they said, You just got off of it. Highway 10 becomes Commercial street in Greenville.

Well, I didn’t know that, but it’s good to know. So I turned around to go back to the van, and when I turned around, I could see across the street from the gas station. Guess what was across the street? Church of Christ. Gospel meeting now in progress was the big sign out front. But you see, I wasn’t looking for the church building yet. I was looking for the gas station. Well, because of the angle we were parked, Deedra still hadn’t seen what I saw. So I got back in the van and she said, Did you find out where Commercial Street is? I said, I’ve got one better. I know exactly where the church building is. And she said, Where? And I said, It’s right behind us across the street.

But we’re not going there yet. I said, I’m not giving those men the satisfaction of seeing me drive across the street. To have to ask directions across the highway, I said, we’re going to drive into town and go around the block and try to find a back way in, to which, with my pride, we did. Asking for directions and asking for help in getting somewhere was just a way of life back then, wasn’t it? And to a degree it still is, you’re just asking an electronic device. Where am I going and how to get there? I want us to make a spiritual application of that this morning. The Christian life, the Christian experience in Scripture is described in various ways, isn’t it? Sometimes it’s described as being a part of a family.

Sometimes we’re part of an army. But sometimes, in fact, many times in the New Testament, the Christian life is described as a journey. In fact, one of the first designations of this group of Christians is they were known as the way. Probably after Jesus, who said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. So I want us to talk in this very simple, basic lesson this morning about the Christian life as a journey. And to just remind ourselves that we are on a journey as we ask this simple question. Where will you be when you get where you’re going? The probative question, it’s intended for you to think about where you’re going. Where is your final destination?

1. We’re All Going Somewhere

Where will you be when you get where you’re going? First of all, let’s understand this basic premise that on some level we all understand, but also on many levels we may fail to practically remember, and that is we’re all going somewhere. I want to remind us what we already know, that this existence is not just a static existence. We’re not just plopped down onto this planet to live for whatever amount of time, whether short or long, and then we’re removed from this planet. But our existence on this planet, every day of our lives, is a step in a certain direction. Every hour, every minute of our existence, we are not standing still upon this globe. We’re moving somewhere. We’re headed in some direction. The New Testament reminds us that of that over and over again.

Look with me in the book of Hebrews chapter 9. Someone has said there’s only two things that are certain in life, and that is death and taxes. They’re halfway right. You can cheat on your taxes. You can’t cheat death. There’s only two things that are certain in life, the Hebrew writer says, and that is death and judgment. Hebrews chapter 9, and in verse 27, it states, and it is appointed for men to die once, and after this the judgment. Just as the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus Christ, there will be a once-for-all death for us. It is appointed for men to die. And then comes the judgment. We need to understand what we logically and academically agree to, but we need to practically in our lives live with the understanding that we are going somewhere.

We are going to our own death. And then the judgment.

2. Everyone Is on One of Two Paths

We’re going somewhere, and that in some sense we’re all headed to the same destination, that is death and judgment, but that we can also speak of life as going two different paths to that judgment. You remember the text, don’t you? In Matthew chapter 7, a very familiar text in Matthew chapter 7, in verses 13 and 14. Jesus said that there are two paths. And you know, many times we think of this statement, obviously, from the idea that there are two paths, and you need to choose which path. But I want us to think of it in a different, slightly different way this morning. That Jesus is not only saying that we must choose a path and choose the proper path, which obviously we should, but I want us to also recognize the fact that I believe that Jesus is saying, everyone is on one of two paths, that you cannot choose to set out this exercise.

Matthew chapter 7, verses 13 and 14 says, Enter the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it, because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. Yes, we see two paths. We see the path that should be chosen and the path that should be neglected, but we also understand that those two paths are all encompassing, and there is exclusive of them, there is no path. You’re going somewhere.

3. Going Somewhere and Not Aware of Where

When you get where you’re going. You know, it’s possible. We’ve established the fact we’re all going somewhere. Time and eternity is moving us forward to a destination. But it is possible to be going somewhere and not be aware of where you’re going. That happens in life, doesn’t it? Even with the GPS, we’ve all been lost. We’ve all thought we were going a certain way, only to find out that we were going the wrong way. Look with me in the book of Acts, chapter 26. Apostle Paul is a wonderful example to illustrate our point this morning. We learn earlier in the book of Acts, I’m turning to Acts chapter 26 and in verse 9. We learn earlier in the book of Acts that the Apostle Paul was breathing threatening and slaughter against God’s people.

Jesus would say, You are persecuting me. And in the midst of that journey, the Apostle Paul said this of himself in Acts chapter 26 and verse 9, speaking back to that former time.

No good Bible student would deny these two facts. Number one is the Apostle Paul, prior to his conversion, when he was persecuting Christians, that he was going the wrong way. But another undeniable Bible fact is he didn’t know it. In fact, he says, I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I was going the right way. That’s still possible today, isn’t it? To be going down that wide, easy path that leads to destruction, all the while thinking we’re on the right path. What a warning. What a warning for us to stop and think about where we’re going. And think about where we’re going, not based upon my experiences, my emotions, but to think about where I’m going based upon the word of God. Isn’t it interesting?

That this apostle who was going the wrong way, while he thought he knew where he was going, that he was confronted on the road. And they’re told that he was heading in the wrong direction. And later, this same apostle, who is now headed in the right direction, would teach us another lesson. That it is possible to be headed in the right direction and know that as well. This same man would later say, I know him in whom I have believed, and am persuaded. Now he’s going the right way, and he knows it. The confidence that we can have. In fact, listen to another apostle, John in 1 John chapter 5. Look in 1 John chapter 5 and in verse 13. Yes, it is possible to be misguided, to be lost and think that we’re right, but it is also equally possible to be going in the right direction and to know that as well.

To have the confidence that we’re going the right way.

That you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know. God doesn’t leave us floundering and wandering.

If we’re humble and willing enough to listen and to obey, and gives us the knowledge and the confidence that we’re going where we intend to go.

4. We Need to Set Goals

Makes me glad that I’m going somewhere. The evil. The wickedness. The sorrow in this life makes me glad that this is the journey, not the destination. There’s some blessing in sorrow in sickness and in death in this life. That it makes us long for something better. You’re going somewhere. But where? Now, if we’ve made up our mind that we’re going somewhere, and we’ve made up our mind to do what it takes to get there, that we know where we want to go, then we need to set goals. This morning we’re talking really in goals in two different senses. Number one is we have the idea of the big goal. Hopefully, if you’re here this morning, eleven o’clock on a Sunday morning, there is some place you want to go.

A definite destination is in mind. But goals, short-term goals, must be set and enacted in order to get there. Our obvious illustration this morning is driving, taking a journey, having a goal in mind, and understanding the steps that are necessary to get to that goal.

I was a naive, wet behind the ears teenager when I went to college. Grew up in North Alabama, about 665 miles from Temple Terrace, Florida. My parents put me in a 1976 Ford Maverick with bad breaks. Pointed south, and Dad said, Florida’s that way. The first extended period of time I’d ever spent away from home was my first year of college. I never went to camp. I was never in the Boy Scout. I was never away from home for really any extended period of time. That’s probably why they were so anxious for me to cross that state line.

To see my mom and dad.

Not just cafeteria food, bad cafeteria food. But the stars had aligned. I was going home at Christmas time, where there’s so much cooking going on. You didn’t know my mother, but she was the best cook that ever lived. She made the best chicken and dressing and red velvet cake, and they would both be waiting for me. I couldn’t wait to get home. I knew where I wanted to go. But it wasn’t just enough to have that burning desire to want to get there. There were certain steps along the way. And in a pre-GPS day, I had to know where I needed to go. I needed to know what turns to make, what exit to take. Certain goals had to be put in place and enacted for me to get to that grand goal.

Do you see the spiritual application of that? It is one thing for us to understand to look at this sin flawed, death, disease-filled world and say, I want to go to heaven. But it’s another thing to say, and here’s the goals that I need to set. Here are the things that I need to do, the sacrifices that I need to make in order to get there. Look with me in the book of Philippians, chapter 3. The apostle Paul understood that point. A man who had been on the wrong path, thinking he was going one way while going in the complete opposite way. A man who, when confronted by God in the Word of God, changed directions and could say, I’m confident now that I’m going where I want to go.

Could also say this. Philippians chapter 3, begin with me in verse 12 in this familiar text, where he says, Not that I’ve already attained or am already perfected, but I press on. I lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting the things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Do you see how Paul encapsulates in that yearning passage, encapsulates the idea of the big picture goal? There was no denying that Paul kept his eye upon the big goal of where he wanted to go, but he said, because of that, because my eyes are fixed upon heaven and upon God, I’m pressing on in this life.

No one. If I’m to understand the scriptures correctly, no one will get to heaven accidentally.

5. The Great Danger in Losing Sight of That Goal

But there has to be the pressing on of saying, that’s where I want to go. And here’s what God has asked of me to choose that narrow, difficult path that leads to life. Am I willing to set those goals? Am I willing to say, here’s what needs to be done, the sacrifices that need to be made, the obedience, the service that has to be given in order for me to reach that goal and that destination. And then lastly, we can understand the great danger that comes in losing sight of that goal. And these two points I hope describe the danger for the Christian, for the child of God, who knows where we want to go, but either fails to make the short-term goals necessary to get there.

Conclusion

Or because of Satan’s distractions, we take our eye off that goal. So I want to encourage you this morning and this week to do two things.

Or again, because of your presence here this morning, I think I can rephrase that. Think about where you want to go.

And give some serious meditation and thought to heaven. Maybe open up your Bible and read those passages that so beautifully describe the glories of heaven. And you’ll find motivation. You’ll find the encouragement and the zeal that you need to not let any obstacle deter you from this path. But then also give serious thought. Am I doing what I need to do to reach that destination? Or am I so ignorant to think that I can just coast through this life and arrive where I want to arrive. We need to be spiritually mature enough to recognize that we’re no longer children. That we’re no longer children. We can’t climb in the back seat of the car, fall asleep, and magically arrive at the destination. Spiritual maturity demands that we accept responsibility for choosing a path and aggressively walking on that path and meeting the goals that God has set for us so that we can arrive at home.

I want to go to heaven. So much so that nothing will distract me from that goal. And nothing will keep me from doing what I need to do, whatever it might be to get there. We want to encourage you this morning, if you’re not a child of God, to begin that journey today. To make that first step, step out into the aisle and come forward and express your desire based upon your faith in Jesus Christ. Repent of your sins, turning your back, changing the pathway and the direction of your life. Confess Jesus before this good audience and be baptized this day, not ending your journey, but starting that journey home. Maybe you’ve done that, but you’ve become distracted, you’ve become lost along the way. It’s time to get back on the path to that destination.

Let’s make heaven not just our home, but our goal.

Can we help you in that goal this morning? Can we help you along that journey? Would you come to Jesus Christ this morning, right now, as together we stand and as we sing.