Now, my family is made up of six people…mom, dad and four children. You would think we could decide on dinner. Nope!!! Not even breakfast is easy at our house. Someone doesn’t like cheese, someone doesn’t like eggs, someone loves bacon, someone only eats ham, someone wants to eat vegan, someone wants juice, someone wants pancakes, someone wants waffles, someone likes the idea of coffee but never drinks it, someone wants cereal with milk but does not like the milk. It is breakfast y’all, just breakfast. I could not imagine having my family run a nation. We be crazy. We are all Christians, Lovers of Jesus. You would think a follower and student of Jesus could agree on breakfast. It is just breakfast.
“Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?”
Amos 3:3
It seems kind of silly, but let’s answer this question. We will start out very small and at the beginning.
“Can two people walk together?” Well yes. I walk with my beautiful bride all the time. We are a couple who enjoys holding each other’s hand and not ashamed of a little PDA.
But, the scripture doesn’t stop there, it continues. “Without agreeing on a direction.” Ohhhhhh
Agreeing. Agreeing, not arguing. Being in agreement. Harmony. Compatible. Congruent. Noncombative. Nonconflicting.
Oh wow. Wow. There is not to many people that I agree with. Dang. There are some strong words in the definition of agreeing that speak right to my heart. Lord, since I’m not an agreeable type person, I choose D as the answer. That’s my final answer – D.
Sometimes y’all, I wonder if God is up in Heaven looking down at me and saying, “Him?, We chose to give some keys to the Kingdom to him? JJ, it is a yes or no question, D is not available.” Hahaha just kidding. God loves me.
So back to the question…the simple answer is no. In no way shape or form, can two people walk side by side in different directions. We are not Stretch Armstrong. Let’s look back at another example with my beautiful bride. If I wanted BBQ for dinner and she wants a homemade salad, then one of us would have to give up what we wanted and let the other person get what they wanted.
Which means I get what I want. Check out these verses I pulled right out of the Bible.
“In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands.”
1 Peter 3:1
YES.
“Anyone who wants to serve me must follow me, because my servants must be where I am. John 12:26
YES.
“For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord.”
Ephesians 5:22
Double Yes.
Babes, get in the truck, we be eating good ole BBQ tonight. Mmmmhmmmm. God says you need to be my servant and follow me wherever I go.
Hahaha, I am joking. I want to be clear, this is not how I treat the love of my life. I said all these things in good humor to get you to open your eyes a bit wider.
Let’s go back to our question for a bit. We have already determined for two people to walk the same direction, they have to agree on which direction they want to go. Now, I want to ask the same question, but in a different way. Can two people start in different locations, yet still meet at a specific time and place without a map or any knowledge of where they are going?
Again, the answer is no, they cannot.
So what’s the point? To be successful in anything you do, it requires more than yourself. You have to be yolked with other like minded individuals.
Y’all, there is not a marriage, a friendship, a companion, a job or a business partner that I can think of that requires only you.
So the bottom line is, you do not get it your way all the time. There has to be a balance in there, a give and take.
To be honest with y’all. I am glad no one else is like me, because sometimes I can be a very frustrating person. Sometimes, I don’t even like myself, but I know that I cannot divorce myself. I’m stuck with me!! Haha
The verse that we have been discussing comes from the Old Testament book of Amos. During this time, Israel was split into two nations. This all happened after King Solomon. Ten tribes formed the norther country (The Kingdom of Israel) and two tribes formed the southern country (The Kingdom of Judah).
There was a lot going on with the kingdoms, God, and His people. A lot of things were taking place…some good and some bad.
Both countries believed in God, but went about it in very separate ways. Both countries have different kings to rule over them. Some of the kings did right; while others dismantled their country. Eventually, the Kingdom of Israel fell to the Assyrians and twenty years later, the Kingdom of Judah fell to the Babylonians.
I want you to see this, it’s very important. The fall didn’t happen over night or even a few years and neither did the split. It happened throughout all of human history, but escalated with Solomon.
You see, Solomon had a lot of Daddy issues. He saw his dad rule with a Iron fist, but King David wasn’t home much. There was always a battle somewhere. Solomon saw how his daddy ran the household and he followed suit. Right in his dads footsteps. Mimicking his behavior, but taking it to the extreme.
King Solomon loved all kinds of women, both inside of his kingdom and out. It was his desire for foreign women that ticked God off. God was not pleased with Solomon.
Solomon lead the way he saw his father lead, but it wasn’t the way God intended.
Listen, all you men out there. No matter how strong you are, no matter how wise you are. If you marry a woman who worships a different god than you, after a period of time you will forget about your own God & start worshiping her god. Two people cannot walk together in different directions, they will inevitably tear one another apart while battling on which way to go. There isn’t a strong enough man who can stand against this alone.
So it makes sense to say to be successful, be around like minded people. That includes your wife or husband, your best friend, your best good bud, your battle buddy.
Now let’s take it a step further. Can you and God walk together, if you both don’t agree to a direction? No, no you can’t.
Adam tried,
Moses tried,
Samson tried,
Peter tried,
Saul tried,
They all tried, but they all failed.
Why did they fail? They loved something more than God.
Look at these verses in II Timonthy.
“You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires. (Such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth.) These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith. But they won’t get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres.”
2 Timothy 3:1-9
Many say we are living in the end times, the last days. Even if the rapture and tribulation are still a couple years away, your last day could be today. We never know when.
I’m going to ask y’all to do something here, something a bit different. Can you list more people who act as Paul describes in Timothy or can you list more people who act godly? Do you believe verse 1 is right now? That we are living in very different times than when you were a kid?
Now, do not go and tell these people how they are not living for God and that they are living for themselves. That’s not what we are here for, this is about you.
So. I have another question. What do you love more than God?
If I hold myself accountable and really think about it…everything. I used to love everything more than God. I loved money, people, pleasure, different gods, food, pride, I even loved being uncontrollable more than God.
Can any of you relate?
I remember hating a certain football player because he talked about God.
I remember hating church, because the people were so happy and cheerful.
I remember hating the Bible, because it told me everything I did wrong and how I was going to die.
Basically, I was lead by a band of fools down the wrong path.
I do not say any of this proudly, I say it to give examples.
So what do we do?
This is the simple part and my favorite thing about Jesus. He is willing and able to put in 100%. Jesus will match your effort. Not your ability, but your effort and obedience.
For all the numbers people, it’s like this. If I give Jesus 10%, then He gives me 10% in return. Now, understand this is Jesus, He is mighty in all He does. So, my 10% is matched by His 800,975,438,981%. But, if I give Jesus 100%, He gives me the number eight with forty zeros behind it. That’s a big number.
Do y’all remember this story in II Kings with Elisha?
“Then he commanded, “Open that eastern window,” and he opened it. Then he said, “Shoot!” So he shot an arrow. Elisha proclaimed, “This is the Lord’s arrow, an arrow of victory over Aram, for you will completely conquer the Arameans at Aphek.” Then he said, “Now pick up the other arrows and strike them against the ground.” So the king picked them up and struck the ground three times. But the man of God was angry with him. “You should have struck the ground five or six times!” he exclaimed. “Then you would have beaten Aram until it was entirely destroyed. Now you will be victorious only three times.””
2 Kings 13:17-19 NLT
The more effort I put forth, the more Jesus does.
Here is my final thought/question. When your time is up on earth. Will the last thing you do be for the Kingdom of God or will it be for Satan?
When you get to Heaven and meet Jesus face to face, how are you going to answer His question? How much effort did you give? How many times did you strike the earth with arrows?
Listen y’all. I get it. I understand. I spent the entire year of 2020 and most of 2021 asking God, “Where are You, Lord. You said, You would be there for me, where are You?” So much happened in my life during those years. I can only imagine what your lives were like. I wanted to run, but something was stopping me. I was stopping me. As bad as I hated it, I did not want to run from Him, His Goodness, His Table, His Presence.
Maybe you are in that crossroads right now. Maybe you are stuck in between thinking what should I do, what are my options. I want you to know that I have been there, we all have and we are here for you. We are all in this together.
Let me close with some encouragement. This is what I enjoy most about Paul, he may smack you around a bit, he may call you out on some things that you are doing wrong, but he won’t leave you hanging, he will motivate you. He is a lot like his Big Brother Jesus, he wants to see you walk out of prison and he will do everything he possibly can.
“But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:14-17 NLT
What’s the end of your life going to be? God centered, moving as one? Or centered around the devil & moving in chaos?
Let’s pray, thank You Father for Your Word and for walking with us. I know in my heart I will never be alone for You are with me. That doesn’t mean I can just do whatever, whenever. But that means when I find myself wanting to walk astray, You will be tugging at me and getting me back on the right road. Holy Spirit, speak to everyone who reads this, talk right to their hearts, and answer them when they ask, “what are You saying to me Lord through this message.” Amen.
The #Heb10 Church 