Corrected, I Stand

I'd like to begin today by reading a couple of verses that Jesus Christ said. You'll turn to Mark 13 and verse 33. He begins this with the words, take heed. Mark 13 and verse 33. Take heed, watch, and pray. Let's analyze what those words mean. From Thayer, lexicon, take heed includes the meaning of turn as a ship on a course. Now, let's pause for a minute. Maybe you're not used to boats or ships, but you're probably used to your car, or you're used to a vehicle.

And if you don't turn your steering wheel, you will eventually go off the road and crash. It's something we take for granted, that you have to continually correct, because the road turns a little bit, or things on the road shake you up a little bit, or maybe the front end of the car is in the line just quite right. We're kind of doing this to stay on course. A ship, when it's on the water, is being encountered by several things. First of all, the ocean has a drift, a certain speed at which it travels.

Then there are the waves of the ocean, and the swells of the ocean that change the direction of that ship constantly. Then there are wind effects on that particular ship. So when he says here, take heed, we're on a course. And he's saying, stay and turn. The word there in Thayer's is turn. Turn is on a ship. You'll turn, and you'll stay on that course. Now, you and I could be deceived to think, oh, I've called them in the church, I've got God's Spirit, just put that thing on autopilot, and I can just get up from my car or my truck, I can go in the back, hang out for a while.

That's not the case. You can't just sort of say, oh, I'll take a nap, or I'll just look out the window. I don't have to pay attention. Because, as you know, that would be utter foolishness. So why do we think on our spiritual course, what Jesus said is a narrow, difficult path, would we not think that we have to take heed? In other words, stay on top of the turns that are necessary as we shift off course a little bit. I don't know about you, but I'm a human being.

And I tend to get on course, and next thing I know, I'm off course, and I have to turn back again. It's kind of like when you're hiking in the wilderness. You're going over there, you're heading that way, you walk that way, and in time you will find that you are far off course. If you do not continually either check your compass or your heading or your direct reckoning method of seeing something in the distance. I've actually been out hunting before and came upon a footprint and a piece of candy wrapper on the ground and thought, wow, there's been somebody out here beside me in the snow.

And I got to looking at that. I thought, maybe I should take that with me because it's trash, but wait a minute. That's the same kind of candy I was eating about an hour ago. And the tracks are coming this way. And I looked and I remember being here before with that. Really odd, you know, it's really odd, but humans, when they walk or hike in woods, turn in a circle, either left or right. So you have to take heed, don't you? So what Jesus is saying here is something that we should all be fully aware of.

Take heed to make the turns. Stay on top of it. Next, he says to watch. The Greek word there from theirs means to be attentive or ready. Be ready. You know, when you're on the bridge or you're flying an airplane or something, you are watching, you're course correcting, and you're ready. You're alert, you're waiting for anything that might happen outside, inside.

I was watching a video the other day where two a big ship and a yacht were on a course. They looked like they were traveling together, but eventually they weren't paying attention. And that yacht went right in front of the big ship, and that big ship just clobbered it and rolled that yacht upside down and crushed it. Why? Because you have to be alert, you see. Same with a car. So Jesus is saying now, make your turns, be watchful, be alert, and pray. For you do not know when the time of Jesus' coming is. So, in other words, turn yourself to be spiritually ready at all times. So this is a constant challenge that you and I have.

The Apostle Paul speaks about it, Jesus speaks about it. You'll find in the life of David and so many others that you really have to be on top of it. Otherwise, we suffer shipwreck, the Bible says. How do you and I see ourselves? Do we see ourselves as somebody that needs to be steadily involved in our progress or kind of already made it, checked back, kind of like the captain of that yacht that was sailing along looking out the front window and everything's fine until all of a sudden the ship rolled over, the big boat rolled over and got crushed by this giant ship.

Let's look over in James chapter 1 and verse 23. If we're not careful, we'll see ourselves in a way that isn't reality. James chapter 1 and verse 23.

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, in other words, we think we're on course, we think we're right, we enjoy reading prophecies, we're good to go, but we're kind of curious as to what's going to happen to everyone else, but not a doer of the word, which is steering, changing course, then he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror. You know, you looked out the window, everything was fine, coast is clear, so you quit looking and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. You just forget. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work. It's a lot of work to drive, it's a lot of work to pilot, it's a lot of work to walk this difficult course with so many obstacles and hidden dangers. This one will be blessed in what he does. So this is an encouragement, and actually very, very positive encouragement, because the course will be good, it'll be sound, and we won't be surprised someday when Jesus Christ does return, and we'll say, oh, I thought I was good to go here, I didn't realize I was one of the five foolish virgins, you see. We don't want to be caught in that situation. How does our prospective husband see us? How does he see me? How does he see you? Let's go just over to Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 13. Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 13. This is how he sees you. There is no person who is hidden from his sight.

He is on course. He's looking, he's watching, he's observing. But all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. So that's our future husband. He's looking, his eyes are open, and we must give account. Now, if we go to the previous verse, we find, for the Word of God, this one to whom we must give account that's watching us, the Word of God, we find back in Revelation 19 about verse 12, his name is the Word of God, Jesus Christ. He is living, he's powerful, he's sharper than a two-edged sword. How does he see you and me? Well, he pierces even the division of the soul and spirit and the joints and the marrow and is the sinner of the thoughts and intents of your heart. He is really looking and examining. So you and I, he said there back in Mark 13, should be taking heed and watching and praying. We should be very carefully taking this course that he has laid out for us. In looking at yourself and me at myself, your view may be accurate.

It's often hard, however, to see it a totally accurate view of yourself. And what you perceive and what you see as far as your path, your character, the route of your car, etc., you might think, yes, we're going the right way. I can't tell you how many times Mary and I have been on trips in our married life and we're going the right way and it feels good and we're on this journey, this trip.

And then we'll just say, you want to just check that map real quick.

Well, yeah, we'll just check that map. Well, let's see. Where is this highway? This highway you see something, you see the sign. Where is that on the map? We think we're here, but I don't see a highway by that name here. I don't see this town there. And suddenly, you begin to find that you're off course, when in fact you felt like you were right on course.

Sometimes you can also find that maybe with a GPS, I want to go there. Okay, go there. Fine, we're on course, right? But you don't realize, maybe if you're driving a certain vehicle, that this course is going to take you over a mountain range with steep passes. It's going to take you into snow or icy weather along the way. Whereas if you got out a map and you studied and you really knew what your course was, you could take an alternate map through the path through the valleys. It'll only take you 10-30 minutes longer, save you a lot of time and trouble. See, that's what God wants us to do. He wants us to use this word and then steer that course and really be alert and aware. So how do you see yourself? Do you see yourself as being alert and ready for your judgment? Well, maybe you see a need for input, maybe you don't. A lot of us as humans just say, I'm good to go, don't tell me anything. You may see yourself as strong as a battleship. That's pretty big. I'll give you a ship communication story here. It's a story. A U.S. battleship was cruising past Victoria, British Columbia in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. It was traveling at night in fog. The captain was on the bridge of his big battleship.

The lookout reported seeing a light indicated that they were on a direct collision course with something, probably a Canadian ship. The captain called the Canadian ship, we are on a collision course. Change your course 20 degrees.

Obviously, right place, right time. Somebody else needs to change their course. A signal came back to him, you are advised to change your course, captain of the battleship. Hmm. You ever found yourself in that position where somebody told you you needed a change, and you said, no, I'm good. I'm good at go here. It's you. You need to get rid of that idea. You need to change your course. I'm fine.

The captain replied, I am a captain, so you change your course 20 degrees. The reply came back from the Canadian, I am a seamen second class. You must change your course 20 degrees now. The captain was adamant he sent back, I am a U.S. battleship. Change your course. The Canadian wrote back, I am a Canadian lighthouse. I am a Canadian lighthouse.

Captain changed his course.

You know, there's some things that we can just be so adamant about, right? And this story has been developed so many times I altered that one. Over the last hundred years, people have come up with this story and re-altered it because it's not about ships. It's about us. It's about humans. Sometimes we need to change a course, but we're too proud or we're sure that it doesn't apply to us. Who do you think you are? That I should change.

You and I are supposed to be on a spiritual journey toward the Kingdom of God. That's a very, very precious destination. But the course is honestly hidden. Hardly any will find the course. Almost no one even who knows the course, Jesus said, will find the door.

It's difficult. It's dangerous. Only a few who receive assistance and course correction will find it. So, will you and I receive assistance and course correction? We would in our car. We would in our boat. We would in our airplane. Why weren't we in our spiritual lives? Today in the sermon, I'd like to examine the Bible's topic of correction, of course correction. The title of the sermon today is, Corrected, I Stand. Corrected, I Stand.

We were created through Jesus Christ, and in John chapter 15, Jesus explains the purpose of our existence. Let's go to John chapter 15. We'll begin in verse 1.

He says, I am the true vine. We begin to find out here that we're not here to direct our own lives, our own paths. He is the vine. My father is the vine dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit.

You are already clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine. Neither can you unless you abide in me. We need his correction. We need his direction. We need his involvement. We need to be praying every day for God to direct our lives. As the model prayer outline says, your rulership come and your will be done, which just begs us to say, direct me, give me correction, give me direction. Not the correction in a negative way. I'm such a hardhead so I have to go out and get, you know, whipped. God doesn't want that. But give me coarse correction. Give me direction. Have you ever been driving in fog? My wife and I do this occasionally, especially going over the Coca-Hola. And we'll be in ice or snow or there's a certain section that oftentimes is just locked down in fog. And you can't stop where you get run over. And the traffic goes fast through the fog. I don't know how they do it. Some go slow in the fog. But here you are going down this mountain pass and it's in fog. And you're looking at little stripes in the lane going by. And you're trying to stay in your lane. And you're just hoping you're faster than who's coming up behind and slower than what's just ahead of that stripe. And you're really looking for all kinds of indications. Once in a while you'll see somebody maybe pass you slowly. And now you have an extra set of references, tail lights. And those tail lights give you a little bit of extra reference. You can see when that person does this, you need to think about doing that. And whenever that person's doing up there, it gives you a great indicator of what probably you need to be doing. But you can't just assume that. You can't just assume that. Here he's saying that, look, this is a very involved way. You need my help.

Verse 5, I am the vine, you are the branches, he who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. You can't do anything. If anyone does not abide in me, cast out as a branch. Verse 7, if you abide in me, my words abide in you, then you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. You'll be asking for direction. You'll be asking for spiritual assistance. I'm here for you. And by this, my Father is glorified that you bear much fruit so that you will be my disciples. And verse 10, if you keep my commandments, I'm directing you, I'm telling you what to do. If you keep my commandments, then you will abide in my love just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. And verse 16, you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit. So we are given this path to the kingdom and we're directed on that path. And we're commanded to do certain things. Now, King David was an individual. If you remember his life, he started out young and, wow, he's crowned king right away, went out and killed Goliath pretty fast, and his life was all set, right? Problem with David was he sort of got on a feel-good path where he thought he was doing great, and that path was way off of the route he should have been on. Later, he writes Psalm 23. Let's go through it real quickly.

He says in Psalm chapter 23 in verse 1, the Lord is my shepherd. Turns out, he said, I am nothing but a sheep. I need direction, and the Lord is my director. He is my shepherd.

So I shall not have want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. If I follow, I obey, he will direct me to just what I need as a sheep. He leads me beside the still waters where I can easily drink. He restores my life. Notice, he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake, for God's namesake, that we can give him the glory. We can be in his family, that ultimately his purpose for us can be fulfilled. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. This is a challenging path we're on, but not going to worry about that. Just because the road is going along cliffs and deep drop-offs.

Sometimes my wife on the outside, she'll say, don't get any closer over here, because that just goes down forever. One miss and we're gone. But I don't fear. Why? Why don't we fear? Because if you're careful and alert and stay in your lane, there's nothing to fear.

But you've got to steer, don't you? You have to be alert and steering. For you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Your rod is bumping me. It's telling me, go this way, go that way. Helping me make course corrections. I'm reading the word. I'm finding, oh, I'm a little off course here. I'll get back on. Oh, I'm a little too far that way. I'm back on. And your staff, you know, you're keeping danger away from me. You're keeping Satan away from me. You're keeping wild animals, wolves away. And so it comforts me. It's a great journey when we are walking with God on that path, being directed by Him.

In verse 6, surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The house of the Lord being the kingdom of God. The temple of God. The family of God. The house or the God family, the divine family.

And that is then fulfilling what we are here for. So, let's remember that we as humans have five senses, and David followed his five senses for a while, but those five senses are limited to terrestrial living as a human being. And we're on a spiritual course.

You know, our feelings about who we are, and maybe comparing ourselves among ourselves, can make us feel wise or, you know, good. If I'm better than this person and that person, I must be good to go. But our physical feelings as humans are not reliable. I'll give you an example. In flying, if you're flying along like sitting in a chair right now, and you're piloting a plane, everything's pretty much like it is on the ground, because gravity is down and you feel yourself in the seat. And then when you fly into a cloud, into a big cloud, and you're going to be in there a while, you still feel that. And you think, yeah, I'm still level because gravity is pulling me down. I was once flying with Mary and another couple, and everything felt level. The instruments were dancing around a lot, but it felt level. The reality was, when we punched out the other side of the cloud, out the front window was a highway with cars. Not a horizon like you'd expect with sun, but a highway with cars.

See, we are on a path that is a spiritual path, and you can't just go by what feels normal to a human. The result was, oh, I'll go into an instrument instruction course, and I'll learn about something I don't know, something you can't feel. You can be flying an airplane and feel, honestly, like you're turning the airplane so hard, you can feel your shoulder going into the side of the plane. Your instruments say you're flying level, and you have to decide which is right. Which do I trust?

It's the same with God. Let's go to Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse 23.

Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse 23, we as humans feel like, of course we're on is so good for me. It feels so right for me. This is going to work out great. And we can say, I'm not going to listen to anything else. Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse 23 says, Oh, Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself. It is not in a man who walks to direct his own steps. What feels right to us is not the right way. It's not the right turn. Whatever looks appealing, whatever looks self-exalting, whatever is going to titillate the five senses, that's not going to be God's way. And so we can't judge our lives, even our spiritual lives, based on those things that give us certain feelings. We have to instead realize, in verse 24, we need course correction. Oh, Lord, correct me, but with justice, not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing. So God, correct me. Direct me. Put me back on the path. Show me how to live this spiritual life that doesn't feel normal to a carnal human being that's all about themselves, but a life of sacrifice of self to love others, to love God, to put him first, to put our lives on the line, to put our jobs on the line, to put our own pleasures on the line, in order to do actually what's truly right. So we might ask, how do we see ourselves on the spiritual journey of the kingdom? And do we see ourselves correctly as human beings? Sometimes we need God's view of us. We need him to reveal that to us. Sometimes the path looks, oh, this is not going to work out. If I go this way, if I apply this scripture, if I go to Matthew 18, 15, apply that, if I humble myself, if I apologize, if I repent, if I give of what I have to others, I'm going to lose! But what if you just do it? If I submit to another human being, if I obey this and that, I will lose! Well, let's go to 1 Corinthians 11 and verse 32.

If we request God's instruction and direction, and he puts it in our mind through his Holy Spirit, then we reconnect to the true course, and we avoid failure. And it's a wonderful thing to break out of that cloud where you feel like everything's not right, and you break out of that cloud and come out and everything's right where it should be. Looks perfect, nice and level, safe and sound. In 1 Corinthians 11, now, in verse 32, it says, when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. So when God puts us back on path, and he assesses us and sees that we're off course, and he gives us correction, it's so that we're not going to be condemned. We're not going to suffer spiritual shipwreck. We, as humans, tend to be very interested in others' validation, not others' criticism. We tend to want God to really like us, not for God to correct us. We're not really interested in others saying, hey, here's how you could live your life better. I mean, honestly, who wants that? So, criticism is the opposite of what we want, which is approval. We want approval. We want validation and approval. We want to feel good. And so we'll surround ourselves with people who give us approval. I mean, you do it, I do it, don't we? If somebody's always criticizing you, you're like, you know, I'm not going to have that person over for dinner. But somebody says, oh, I think you're great. Oh, really? You're my best friend. You just come on. Let's hang out together. What was that you said? Can you write that down for me and send me cards? And I really like you. Now, who's really our friend? The one who's helping us stay off course? Or the one who said, hey, you know what? I think you should turn the wheel a little bit there. Otherwise, you're gonna ram something. Well, it's almost almost a rare person who welcomes correction. But think of the people who would welcome that type of a person. Wouldn't a spouse love it if the other spouse received correction? Said, oh, yeah, thanks for pointing that out. Yeah, I could do better. Wouldn't it be awesome if an employee were to say, oh, thank you. Yes, I can do my job better. What about a trainee? Ever heard of somebody that you're training and some person comes along and they're green as grass, but they know everything, you know? There's no way you're gonna tell them anything. You say, look, I would suggest you do it this way. Oh, no, no, I know how to do this. What do you do with that? But you get a trainee that comes in and says, oh, yeah, thanks for that. Thanks for that tip. Got any other tips for me? Anything else I can do better? Oh, you love that person. You're so happy to work with that individual. What about us as candidates for the kingdom of God? If we say to God, thank you for that course correction. Please give me some more. Help me to be more like you. Help me be more perfect, like my Father in heaven. More like Jesus Christ, wiser. Correct me from any impurities that I have. Go to Psalm 51, like David said, show me and cleanse me and help me to be in line with you. God loves that attitude, that approach. But it's a rare person that would welcome that. Let's go to Proverbs chapter 2 and read the first nine verses. Proverbs chapter 2 and verse 1. We are all children of God. Many of us have had physical children. Proverbs chapter 2 and verse 1 says, My son, my son, my daughter, the one that's precious, whether it's a literal son or like Paul in Timothy, a member of God's family, somebody you treasure, if you receive my words, my correction, my direction, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom and apply your heart to understanding.

You know, you're going to, as Jesus said, you're going to be turning it, you're going to be alert, you're going to be on top of this, you're going to be ready.

Yes, if you cry out for discernment and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, search for her as hidden treasures, I mean, you really, really want this, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. You know, there's so much to almost anything that's complex. I enjoy complex things. The more complex they are, the more I seem to be drawn to them. But in some complex things, if one person is at the helm or whatever it is, it's great to be there with them, looking and observing and watching. Because these complex things, be they planes or large boats and cars or trucks, you know, they're always things. And if you're always watching, you're going to maybe be able to make the corrections that are needed and stay on course. The most complex thing I've ever been involved in is salvation. You talk about something that takes every thought from the time you wake up. Things trying to pull you off course, distract you, occupy you, discourage you, disqualify you, whatever. These things are just constant, constant, constant, and it's great to have a second set of eyes. I really appreciate my wife. She's a woman who has wisdom and together we'll see and go places mentally in life and make decisions in life. And that second set of eyes, that second set of input is so, so valuable. And yet, how often do we as humans sometimes, say, denigrate or close our ears to other input? Because perhaps it would indicate that maybe I'm not 100% on my own and I'm so proud, you see. Well, here's God's Word and it's laid out for us. He's saying, look, if you'll just listen, if you'll just really pay attention to this on your very complex journey, then things are going to work out really well. Verse 5, then you will understand the respect of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth come knowledge and understanding and he stores up sound wisdom for the upright. That's who it's stored for, is the upright. And he is a shield to those who walk uprightly. He guards the paths of justice. There's a path and preserves the way. There's another path, this way of the saint. He is there with us, preserving us. Then you will understand righteousness and justice and equity and every good path. So again, this is a really complex, exciting journey that we're on, but we have to really be involved in it and we need input, especially from God through the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ, praying to him for direction every day. When we're moving through life, alert and ready, steering, alert, ready, then we are not condemned, as it says in 1 Corinthians 11.31, for if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. You know, the individual that is there working on that life with God's Word, with God's Spirit, and getting the input needed from the sources that God provides, doesn't need to be condemned, judged in a hard way. But if we are judging ourselves and finding things to say, oh, off course here, off a little bit there, you know, of course it's more comfortable to be with people who do not sort of help us steer that. Let's go to James 4 and verse 4, because James 4 and verse 4, we'll break in in the middle of this verse, whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. So if we don't want to hear about the course correction to righteousness, we're really a friend of those who don't want righteousness. And that's the easy path. That's the wide, broad way that leads to destruction Jesus spoke about. So if we're a friend of the easy way, then it says we're really an enemy of God.

In verse 8, draw near to God and He will draw near to you. So we need to draw back to that path with God. He'll draw near to you and then cleanse your hands. Steer back, you sinners.

Purify your hearts. You double-minded. Lament and mourn and weep and let your laughter be. Turn to mourning and your joy to gloom. Verse 10, humble yourselves on the side of the Lord and He will lift you up. That's where we want to be. Lift it up by God. Sometimes, like I said, we can get off course. Remember how far off course David got? And then Psalm 51, he's coming way, way, way back on course. It's good because in the end, he's a man after God's own heart. Things work out very well, but it's an unnecessary diversion when we drift off course.

Neglecting our direction is very self-destructive. Let's go to Romans, I'm sorry, Revelation chapter 3 and verse 17. Revelation chapter 3 verses 17 through 19. If we go off, of course, we have a different direction that Jesus Christ has for us, then notice what he says about this. Revelation chapter 3 and verse 17, because you say, I am rich, I've become wealthy, I've need of nothing, see, I'm on course, life is good, everything is provided for, that's a badge of my righteousness, because I have all these quote, blessings on court.

And he says, you do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Wow! Don't realize that we're really naked, spiritually naked. We don't have righteous clothes on. So he says in verse 18, I counsel you, who are self-directed, you've got this idea yourself, this path you're on, you think you're good to go, I want you to buy from me, I counsel you to buy. This is a good thing. Get from me pure gold, that you may be rich. Get it from me, get gold from me, the things that I consider to be gold. You're God's word, God's way. And white garments, white garments, of course, are righteousness. They are obedience to God's way, on course, that you may be clothed. Without that, we're naked.

That the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed. Verse 19, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore, be zealous, be zealous, and change course, steer. I'd like to give three points that can help us stand corrected. Three points to help stand corrected. The first point is stop being naked. That's the first one. Let's go to Revelation chapter 13 verse 18. Revelation 13, 18.

3, 18. Sorry. Revelation chapter 3, 18 again. Let's just reread this.

I counsel you to buy from me gold and white garments that you may be clothed. So, in order to not be naked, we need to be clothed in righteousness. In other words, we need to stand corrected. How do we do that? How do we put on these clothes that are not ours? They're His. Well, it's, in a way, pretty straightforward. Go to Ephesians chapter 6, and he tells us. Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 11. Put on the whole armor of God. What is the armor of God? It's righteousness. It is godliness. It is, for a naked individual, notice, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Therefore, in verse 13, take up the armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. So, if we're going to stand, we have to be corrected into what? Verse 14. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth. Let's put on some clothes here. Let's, first of all, put on the truth of God. Jesus is truth. God's Word is truth. God is truth. Put on God's truth. That will cover the private parts. Then, He says, on the upper part, put on your breast on the breastplate of righteousness. Now, all your private things are covered. Truth and righteousness. These are God's clothing for us that we can put on. So, the first point is here is stop being naked. In verse 14, stand therefore, having yourself girded with truth and righteousness. If we really focus on this, on a daily mental focus that's important. Not just sort of churchy for a few minutes, but that's really important. Then, as we see in verse 18, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for the saints. We're now watching, aren't we? We're steering. We're clothed. We're on course.

And we will stand corrected, as it says here that having done all to stand, we will stand. The second point is the most effective form of correction is self-correction. The most effective form of correction is self-correction. Somebody else grabbing the wheel and doing it for you and steering your life and your plane and your bone and whatever else you have. That doesn't really help you and me. When we can discipline ourselves and really have a desire to correct this course with God's help, with the Word of God, with His Holy Spirit, we do much better. Corrections are always needed. You know, when you think of just driving a car or a truck or something, not only does the road change, the terrain changes, the roadway and things on the roadway change, other vehicles change, there are repairs or maintenance that may change on the vehicle you're driving that need to be aware. There's fuel, there's food for the passengers, there are mistakes that are made, rerouting, there's weather that impacts it. So, once again, we should be alert. We should have the map, we should have the internet, we should we should have the focus, we should have the foresight to be involved in this. And that is being ready. Let's go to Luke chapter 21 and verse 36. Luke 21 and verse 36. Jesus says, watch therefore. Once again, that means be ready. To watch means be alert. You are ready. It's not sort of like, oh what's going on? No, you're ready. You're course correcting. You are watching and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man.

So, if we are doing this personally and we're course correcting with God's help personally, then we are going to be where we should be. Fasting is a great tool for helping us self-correct. You're fast. No one can do it for you. You will experience things no one else can experience. You're praying. You're studying. You're asking God for direction. And when it comes, it's like, aha, you have that aha moment. I found something I can course correct. I can change. I can see who I really am and now I can see where I should be. We can't always truly see where we are without really assessing.

My wife and I and Bob and Elaine Carlisle were on a night flight one time out of Lake Tahoe, and I took off the plane in the dark. And for some reason, they were in the dark. For some reason, the conditions being what they were at very high altitude, the plane, as it left the ground, didn't want to climb.

And as the plane sped forward out over the lake, which was inky blackness, it just wanted to hang there. This was not going to work well because that lake is ringed with mountains. So out into the inky darkness, we went and I was trying everything. I had the passengers in the back move up, scoot up. We scooted up as far as we could to get the center of gravity forward. That helped a little bit. It's about ready to start throwing the luggage out the window. But we started climbing about 50 feet a minute, finally. We established a 50-foot-minute climb. So down the lake, around the lake, we went in the dark, gradually climbing up. It was all hands on deck. Bob was sitting up front with me. And as I climbed and looked around in the dark, the one thing I wanted to see was the city of Sacramento. If the lights of Sacramento appeared on the horizon, that meant we were higher than the mountain. And that's a really good thing. So we were really, really excited about that. I was really excited about that. And after a while, it seemed like a long, long, long while going around and around. Finally, those lights appeared. City lights. And so Sacramento, yes.

Now, you and I might think sometimes that we need help. And at that point in time, of course, we're praying. Let's go to Hebrews 4 and verse 14. Hebrews 4 and verse 14. Come back to the story in just a minute. Seeing then that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our profession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but was in all points tempted as we are. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace in time of need. Now, we all get into situations, and we all need God's help, and we need His direction. We need to study the Bible. You know, James 1, 25. We need to look into God's perfect Word. We need to be directed by that. But then life gets busy, and we get a little distracted. Everything feels right. Once again, it can feel blessed. And there's that need to self-correct once again. It just keeps coming around. No matter what the event is, it keeps coming around.

One thing that we can add to prayer and Bible study and meditation, or is meditation, to stop and ponder and just think about it. It's like flying around in the dark, and it's coming at you so fast. There's so much to look at, and instruments to fly by, and it's so intent. And then you see the lights, and you head for the light.

To meditate is so important. Just step back and say, just need a moment here. Let me look at life. Let me look at my life. Let me look at it through the lens of this book, the instruction manual. It was right about then that Bob reached up and pointed at the compass.

The compass said east. You know, it was interesting. Sacramento is west. We're going east. But there's Sacramento, and the lights of Sacramento were coming up to the mountain ridge. I was so excited to get to Sacramento, and I just wandered away from that lake, you see. But if you stop and think, hmm, let's stop and ponder about life, what seems so real.

Consider what you're actually seeing. Oh, Carson City, Nevada. That's what we're seeing. We're flying east. We're just about to go, you know, in a totally different direction. But it can seem so right. In this case, you had to reverse course and do it over again with higher mountains. The result in 1 John chapter 1 and verse 6 is to stand in the right path, the right way, but corrected. And that's a good thing. It's a really good thing.

1 John chapter 1 and verse 6. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and work in darkness, then we lie.

And we do not practice the truth.

So we can't feel one thing and say that it's right if it's not the truth. In verse 7, but if we walk in the light as He is in the light, the real light, the real way, then we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourself and the truth is not in us.

If we confess our sins, if we say, you know what, you're right, Bob, I as a pilot should know better, but I am going the wrong way. If you confess your sin, then He's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You know, God is so ready and willing to help us turn in our path and get us going the right way. And then the result of us self-correcting is to stand, and He's happy that we would stand. He's happy, faithful. He'll never leave us or forsake us, but we have to turn the wheel. We have to be ready. We have to be involved. The third point is, the next best form of correction is external. The next best. It's better if we do it ourselves, but the next best is external from other sources, and it can come from a variety of sources. Let's look at some of those. Let's go back to James 1, verse 22 again. James 1, verse 22.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only deceiving yourselves. If we are careful, careful, then we can be instructed by God's Word. In 2 Timothy, chapter 4, and you can't say enough about that because you have an entire Bible here, you know, a thousand pages or so of instruction. It's so important to get up every day and read that instruction before setting course. It's not just a little verse we pick out and say, oh, that was a cute little verse. That kind of matches it. No, the Word of God, it is huge, and he who lives by every word of God will be blessed in what he does. There's another element in 2 Timothy, chapter 4, and verse 1. 2 Timothy 4, verse 1.

We have God, we have his inspiration, the Holy Spirit, we have the Bible, as we've seen.

2 Timothy, chapter 4, says, 2 Timothy, I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing, remember that one that we have to give account to at his appearing, Jesus Christ, he will judge us at his appearing. He says, preach the Word, be ready in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and teaching. In other words, there are those who will need to be encouraged to turn the wheel, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap for themselves up teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and be turned aside to fables. 2 Timothy, God does provide teachers of the instruction manual. The Bible is our instruction manual. God also provides teachers for that. He also provides parents. You know, in Proverbs chapter 1, verses 8 and 9, Proverbs chapter 1 and verse 8, verse 9, My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother, for they will be a graceful ornament on your head and chains about your neck.

There's some outside influence. It's very, very wise, and Proverbs comes to us like a parent, giving us stearage, giving us information. And then there is another set of group of individuals that can help us externally. And that is chapter 27 of Proverbs and verse 6.

Proverbs chapter 27 and verse 6.

In verse 5, it says, Open rebuke is better than love carefully concealed. Verse 6, Faithful are the wounds of a friend.

Faithful are the wounds of a real true friend.

But the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.

So if we have a true friend, one who is iron-sharpening-iron type of a friend, one that you help each other, you can share lessons from Scripture, lessons from life. You can talk about the Word of God on the Sabbath. You can talk about how that impacts your life. Yes, that is a great source of helping with the steering or recognizing a need for course correction. If we refuse correction, there are automatic penalties. Jeremiah chapter 2 and verse 19.

Jeremiah chapter 2 and verse 19.

Might say it's optional to be corrected, but notice what God says. Your own wickedness will correct you. See, there's an automatic correction that's going to kick in. A penalty. Your own wickedness will correct you. And your backslidings will rebuke you. So we might ask the question, who do I allow to give me correction?

Well, that's one source if we're not careful. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing that you have forsaken the Lord your God. So we don't want to go there.

In 2 Corinthians chapter 7 and verse 8, we have a positive example for receiving correction. And using that correction that we receive, 2 Corinthians chapter 7 beginning in verse 8, Paul says, For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while. Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led you to the end of the day. It led to change. You turned the wheel. You became alert. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us and nothing. Verse 10, For godly sorrow produces repentance, leading to salvation.

So godly sorrow, this recognizing that I need to change course, it leads to changing that course and to salvation, not to be regretted.

You and I have need for that at times. And he says in verse 11, For observe this very thing that you sorrowed in a godly manner. What diligence it produced in you. When we see that, we think, wow, I don't want that to happen again. I don't want to get, of course, again. If you've ever had a car accident, you know in your mind what that sounds like. You do not want to hear that sound again. It is a sound that is like no other sound when somebody runs into you. And you want to be very observant. You want to keep people from doing that again.

What diligence it produced in you. What clearing of yourselves. What indignation. What fear. What vehement desire. What zeal. What vindication. In all things, you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter. You've stepped up. You're now really, you know, captaining the ship. You're piloting your course to the kingdom of God. And sometimes those things, when they happen to us and we repent, they take us to another level that is really, really good.

We need to seek these types of course corrections in order to stay on course or to be on course. On God's path to the kingdom. If we are constantly correcting ourselves, then we can stay on that path. In conclusion, let's ask what should our trusted source of direction be? Should it be anybody that says anything? Anybody with an idea? Anybody with a complaint? Should we just bounce around? Should we follow all logical directives that sound good? Well, let's remember, God is our Father. Jesus Christ is our leader. The Word of God is our instruction manual. Their Holy Spirit is our helper. And Christ's appointed ministries are instructors of the manual. They'll help teach the manual. But our goal individually is to sear our own ship. And that's what we have to do. We have to be a person who discerns who he or she really is and is a person that is making the corrections as we go down this path and is ready to enter the kingdom at Christ's return. Let's conclude by just asking this question. Am I a person? Am I a person who is excited about the kingdom in this complicated journey? And am I a person that is steering daily and ready to enter the kingdom and be judged by Christ when he comes? If so, then you and I will stand corrected.