Constantin Brancusi: To see far is one thing: going there isanother.

Desire

We all have desires of an intended destination where wehope to arrive.

Getting more physically fitSaving for retirement or a major purchaseGetting out of debtAcquiring a new skill

Spiritual goals:Growing in one of the fruit of the SpiritKnowing God more intimatelyReading the Bible daily

Whatever the desire and whatever the destination, the rubcomes in getting from one to the other. As I’m sure you allknow, it is one thing to want something and somethingaltogether different to attain it!

The desire alone... the intention itself ... will never get you toyour intended destination.

Proverbs 13:4 speaks to this:No matter how much a lazy person may want something, hewill never get it. A hard worker will get everything he wants.

So, what is the key to getting from our desires to theintended destination?

Direction

Here is the principle that answers that question:

Direction, not intention, determines destination.

It’s what Andy Stanley calls “The Principle of the Path.”

We see this principle in Galatians 6:7, which, by the way, isitself a proverb!

Galatians 6:7What a person plants, he will harvest. MSG

Not “What a person desires, he will harvest” but “what aperson plants!”

If you desire a crop of corn but plant wheat, what will youget? Right, wheat!

If you desire a crop of wheat but plant corn, what will youget? Right, corn!

If you want wheat, what do you have to plant? Wheat!

Direction, not intention, determines destination!

This applies to so many things in life!

Every Path Leads to a Destination

There is a corollary to this principle.

While it is true that only “direction” (a path) will get you toyour destination, we need to know that not every “direction”(or path) will get you to your intended destination.

Throughout our lives, we all face multiple paths (“directions”)to choose from... but not all lead in the same direction.

So, we need to realize that:

Every path leads to a destination.

In other words, the road you take determines where you willend up.

Highways - Kansas City and I-35

If you want to get to Dallas from Kansas City, then you musttake I-35 south... not I-35 north nor I-70 east nor I-70 west.

If you get on I-70 west, then you will get to Denver, notDallas.

Probably the preferred choice. (Sorry to all the transplantedTexans here)

The Fool

While this makes total sense in regards to travel, for somereason there is a MAJOR disconnect on this principle whenit comes to living out most of the rest of life... especially inthe most important things.

... A disconnect between people’s desired destination... andthe path they are on.

So many people are on the path toward B but think it will getthem to A.

Example:

I could give lots of examples, but will focus on one here...one I’ve seen a lot of over the years.

What if it is my desire to marry someone who is aspassionately in love with God as I am?

But the path I choose is one of dating someone who has norelationship with God and no desire for that.

Where is that path taking me? What destination am Iheaded for?

Right! Marrying someone who doesn’t share my passion forGod.

So many times, when we end up where we never intendedto be, we ask, “What happened? How did I end up here?”

While people on the outside say, “Well, what did youexpect? You ended up exactly where that path took you!”

For some reason, in our fallenness, we think intentionssomehow trump the path we are on, but the reality is thepath trumps our intentions... every time!

Proverbs 7:6-21 tells a story about this:

While I was at the window of my house, looking throughthe curtain, I saw some naive young men, and one inparticular who lacked common sense. He was crossingthe street near the house of an immoral woman,strolling down the path by her house.

See, this young man took a path... and that path will movehim toward a particular destination...

It was at twilight, in the evening, as deep darkness fell. Thewoman approached him, seductively dressed and sly ofheart. She was the brash, rebellious type, never content tostay at home. She is often in the streets and markets, ,waiting to trap a man. She threw her arms around him andkissed him, and with a brazen look she said, “I’ve just mademy peace offerings and fulfilled my vows. You’re the one Iwas looking for! I came out to find you, and here you are! My bed is spread with beautiful blankets, with colored sheetsof Egyptian linen. I’ve perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes,and cinnamon. Come, let’s drink our fill of love untilmorning. Let’s enjoy each other’s caresses, for my husbandis not home. He’s away on a long trip. He has taken awallet full of money with him and won’t return until later thismonth.”

So she seduced him with her pretty speech and enticed himwith her flattery.

Solomon was looking out his window and observed ayounger man walking and he could see the outcome theyoung man’s journey... but the man couldn’t see it himself.

That’s a scary thought.

Many times, others can see the destination of the path we’reon better than we can. That’s why the wise listen to othersand consider their correction.

The Wise

That’s why:

Proverbs 21:29 says: A wicked man puts up a bold front, butan upright man gives thought to his ways.

And Proverbs 22:3: A sensible person will see trouble comingand avoid it, but an unthinking person will walk right into it andregret it later.

The wise give thought to their ways!

The wise see trouble coming and avoid it!

They live their lives in such a way that they recognize awrong turn or wrong path early and change course as soonas possible.

They know that there is a point at which you can get off awrong path and get back onto the right path with no, or verylittle, consequence....

But that point has to be pretty early on.

Wait too long to change course... and the consequencesand the costs begin to mount.

There comes a point where we hit the “Last Free Exit Sign”on our course. After that, we begin to pay a regular toll.

The wise person, if they find themselves on the wrong path,take that last free exit.

C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity: We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where youwant to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning, then togo forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on thewrong road, progress means doing an about turn andwalking back to the right road; and in that case the manwho turns back soonest is the most progressive man. Wehave all seen this when doing arithmetic. When I havestarted a sum the wrong way, the sooner I admit this and goback and start over again, the faster I shall get on. There is nothing progressive about being pigheaded and refusingto admit a mistake.

But foolish people ignore the warning signs... ignorepeople’s advice... and keep on going, missing their chanceat that last free exit.

They fail to realize that there are many roads where... if youwait too long to change course... you’ll end up in a roadwhere, in the end, there will not be many good options.

.

So, what is the bridge from desire to destination?

How do I establish my direction?

Decisions

The bridge from desire to destination is built with two things:

First, decisions.

\Decisions lead to a direction and that direction leads to aparticular destination.

Decisions set your direction...

... and if continued they will solidify your direction.

The truth is that:

Your decisions are your direction.

Your Decisions become your Actions.Your Actions become your Habits.Your Habits become your Character.Your Character becomes your Destiny.

That’s why someone has said: Our lives are a sum total ofthe choices we have made.

We need to think about our lives at the microscopic level ofour individual decisions.

In particular are those small, initial decisions that set us on aparticular course....

... those are the decisions that make or break us.

That first date, that first taste, that first look, that first click ona website... I could go on.

Nobody intends to become... an adulterer, an addict,bankrupt, etc.

But it all starts with that first small... seemingly innocentdecision.

The reality is that life is connected. God built a “Cause andEffect” order into the universe.

Decisions made today, no matter how small, haveconsequences later.

Shelley Smith knew this when she wrote that “Life is like agame of chess, in which there are an infinite number ofcomplex moves possible. The choice is open, but the movecontains within itself all future moves.”

But foolish people can’t see those connections... they can’tput the dots of their choices together.

Speaking of those small decisions, Jerry White (pastpresident of The Navigators) wrote: When we dig an ethicalgrave, it is not with a ditch digger but with a teaspoon, onesmall choice at a time.

And C. S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity: Good and evilboth increase at compound interest. That is why the littledecisions you and I make every day are of such infiniteimportance.... An apparently trivial indulgence in lust oranger today is the loss of a ridge or a railway line or abridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attackotherwise impossible.

Small things in the beginning have great impact! If a planethat takes off from Los Angeles heading to Hawaii is just1/2-of-a-degree off course, it will miss the Hawaiian islandsby 360 miles.

Warning to youth in particular!

I want to speak to the youth for a minute... those of you inmiddle school or high school or college.

The paths you choose now in your teens and your in 20s willimpact your 30s and 40s, even your 50s, 60s, and 70s.

The decisions you make as a young person can lock youinto some consequences for the rest of your life.

Don’t get me wrong... I’m not saying you can’t make achange of course... but it is really hard... and sometimesimpossible... to go back and undo some decisions.

Don’t want to wake up in your 30s and wish had taken adifferent path.

Having regrets for:

Places you wish you had never been.Things you wish you had never done.Relationships you wish you had never started.

Make those right decisions now.

Choose your path wisely!

Attention

So, decisions are you direction!

Now, let me add a corollary to that.

Attention determines direction, which in turn determines mydestination.

On every path that took a person the wrong direction,something had first caught their attention.

As your eyes go, so you go.

Driving on the highway . . . you drift toward your gaze.... ifyou look to the right, then you go to the right.

The same on a in cycling.

When making a turn on a corner, you don’t want to lookstraight ahead but want to “look through” the corner to whereyou want to end up.

I hear it’s the same in skiing.

As your eyes go, so you go.

Here is the order this happens in:

First, (1) something, or someone crosses the path of myattention.

... comes into my view.

Then (2) that person or thing grabs, or captures, myattention.

Finally, (3) I begin to pay attention to that person or thing...to give it my attention.

And once I have given my attention to something, it willaffect my decisions, which in turn will set me on the pathtoward a particular destination.

A few things about what “grabs” our attention:

1. On every path that leads the wrong way, there wassomething that first grabbed my attention

2. Be aware! The world and Satan have lots of things theywant to throw in front of us to grab our attention.

This was his strategy in the garden in Genesis 3.

He’ll throw anything in front of you he thinks will catch youreye... and distract you and thereby set you on a path awayfrom God.

3. What grabs our attention is usually small at first.

But like we just talked about with decisions, it’s the smallthings will get you every time.

4. Whatever grabs your attention has the ability to re-directyour life and put you on a path that may determine yourultimate destination.

5. Just because something grabs your attention does notmean that you have to pay attention to it.... to give it yourattention.

You have that choice.

So, while we may not choose what grabs our attention, wedo choose what we give our attention to... what we focuson

What frequently happens is I begin to give my attention to...that person or that thing... and in so doing I am setting mycourse.

Whatever we give our attention to will... more than likely...determine our direction.

The things we pay attention to will direct our life.

Summary of Attention

This is so crucial!!!!

What gains your Attention will affect your Decisions which inturn will determine your Direction which in the end decidesyour Destination

This is a humbling thought.

Knowing all of that, at what point should we pay attention towhat grabs your attention?- At the very beginning... when our attention is firstcaptured?- Or once we have already given our attention to it and areheading down that path?

Yes, at the very beginning. That’s the time to think aboutwhat has caught our attention.

Affections

This section on Attention is really important!

But as I’ve been thinking about this the last few months, Ihave come to realize the important of another thing.

My affections (what I love... what I deeply desire and longfor)... will determine what gets my attention.

What captures my attention... is merely a reflection of myown heart and values.... what grabs your attention... is areflection of your heart and values.

What grabs our attention says a lot about us... about ouraffections.

That is why even smart, intelligent people make stupiddecisions.

And when they do, we say, “Shouldn’t they have knownbetter?”

But information alone never determines our decisions.

We know “such and such” isn’t good for us, but we do itanyways.

Not because of a lack of information... but because of ouraffections for that thing.

And that’s why Bible knowledge alone never transformsanyone.

We need more.

We need to dive down to the level of our affections... to whatreally drives us.

Iris Murdoch knew this and that’s why she said: “At criticalmoments of choice, most of the business of choosing isalready over.”

Application of Attention

That’s why cultivating a heart for God... an affection forGod... is so important.

I want a healthy, God-centered heart so that the wrongthings are less likely to grab my attention.

I do this by keeping my attention on Jesus.

This is why the Bible talks so much about being careful whatwe give our attention to:

Hebrews 2:1We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what wehave heard, so that we do not drift away.

Proverbs 4:25-27Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies beforeyou. Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safepath. Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from followingevil.

Hebrews 12:2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of ourfaith.

Colossians 3:1-2Set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated atthe right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, noton earthly things.

That’s why daily time with him is so crucial!

Wrap Up of Decisions Section

As I look at this section on “decisions,” I am struck by this:

At every level... at the point of key decisions... at the thingsthat grab my attention... I must be careful to those smallbeginning points and I must listen to those around me whocare for me and can more clearly see the path I am steppingonto.

Again, in light of this principle, what is the bridge fromdesire to destination?

How do I establish my direction?

Diligence

First, our decisions (affected by what gets our attention)...set our direction.

Second, diligence secures your direction!

Another word for diligence is “hard work”.

Proverbs 14:23Hard work always pays off; mere talk puts no bread on thetable.

Specifically diligence requires two things:

∙ Disciplines and ∙ Discipline

Disciplines

Disciplines are the behaviors, patterns, rhythms and habits Imust commit to in order to get to my intended destination.

Someone has said that “Effective people are effectivebecause they commit to habits which ineffective peopledon't.”

So true!

It is probably self-explanatory, but just to be sure, let meexplain. Say, for example, I wanted to do the Bike RideAcross Kansas next year.

In order to fulfill my desire and arrive at my destination, Iwould need to begin to practice a specific set of disciplinesthat would move me toward that goal.

Discipline

But that in-and-of-itself is not enough.

Above and beyond a commitment to a set of disciplines, aperson needs discipline... the discipline to stick to thosedisciplines day-in-and-day-out (that’s like a tongue twister). .. even when you don’t feel like it.

That’s why Dave Ramsey frequently quotes Hebrews 12:11in his Peace University study on finances: No discipline isenjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! Later on,however, we have peace, for we start living the right way.

William Barclay in his commentary on The Gospel ofMatthew (speaking of Samuel Taylor Coleridge) wrote: Coleridge is the supreme tragedy of indiscipline. Never didso great a mind produce so little. He left CambridgeUniversity to join the army; but he left the army because, inspite of all his erudition, he could not rub down a horse; hereturned to Oxford and left without a degree. He began apaper called The Watchman which lived for ten numbers andthen died. It has been said of him: “He lost himself in visionsof work to be done, that always remained to be done.Coleridge had every poetic gift but one; the gift of sustainedand concentrated effort.” In his head and in his mind he hadall kinds of books, as he said himself, “completed saved fortranscription.” “I am on the eve,” he says, “of sending to thepress two octavo volumes.” But the books were nevercomposed outside Coleridge's mind, because he would notface the discipline of sitting down to write them out. No oneever reached any eminence, and no one having reached itever maintained it, without discipline.

Many people never reach the desired destination becausethey don’t know the disciplines required to get there, nor dothey have the discipline to apply those disciplines on aregular basis.

Summary

Let me summarize.

Don’t ever confusion intention with direction. Just because Iwant something to happen doesn’t mean it will happen.

I may have a dozen desires but it I’m not willing to do thethings that will move me in the direction of experiencingthem, it is only wishful thinking.

There is a process that takes you from where you are towhere you want to go.

People are quick to commit to an end result, but they are notwilling to commit to the process that will get them there.

Direction, not intention, determines destination.

Every path leads to a destination.

Decisions are your direction!

Attention determines direction,which in turn determines my destination.

Direction = Decisions + Diligence (Disciplines and Discipline)

That’s the bridge between your desires and your intendeddestination.

That’s why someone has said: It’s the things that nobodysees that create the things that everybody wants.

There is a Highway that will take you from your Hopes toyour intended Harbor.

There is an Avenue that will move your from yourAspirations to your ultimate Arrival!

What wise people know is that true success is the journey... as well as the destination.

But many people want the outcome without the journey.

Person

There’s the diagram... and the principle.

But I would be amiss if I left out the ultimate key to direction.

These are all good principles, but as I said earlier,information never transformed anyone.

Principles are important for direction... that’s the wholepurpose of Proverbs... to give us the principles we need tolive life well... to live life skillfully!

But Proverbs 9:10 says that “the beginning of wisdom is thefear of the Lord.”

So, the ultimate key to direction is a Person... God Himself!

There are three reasons why principles alone are notenough:

1. Principles rarely, if ever... capture your heart. You don’tfall in love with principles.

And as we saw, what you love influences what grabs yourattention.

But you can come to love a Person!!!

2. Principles don’t love you!

It goes without saying, right?

They are just things out there floating around. They aretrue, but they don’t care about you as an individual.

3. Principles don’t know you... and they don’t know theexceptions.

Remember, when I introduced the proverbs, I said that theyspeak to the general... what is true most of the time.

There are exceptions.

And principles can never know you personally... nor thetimes when you find yourself in the midst of a life-exception.

Ever gotten lost even though you had a map or a detailedset of directions or a GPS?

It’s happened to me more than once.

Tell of the time I got lost in Nashville.

It was before GPS and he had mailed a very detailed set ofinstructions.

But we kept missing our turn and circling around back wherewe had come from.

It was because there was one key turn (two separate exitsigns with the exact same street name) that only the localsknew and once we called and talked to him personally, wewere able to make that turn properly arrive at ourdestination.

I would rather have a person tell me the way... even better...show me the way... every time!

In the journey of life, God is that Person!

God created me uniquely... knows me personally... andknows the road ahead intimately... so only He can fully directme along life’s journey.

A relationship with God is the ultimate key to your life’sdirection!!!

This doesn’t mean I throw the principles out.

But it does mean that I need to be daily cultivating myrelationship with God so that I can hear from Him when Hedesires to speak into my life... in whatever way He chooses!

That’s why Proverbs 3:5-6 says:Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on yourown understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, andHe will direct your paths.

Or as Eugene Peterson put is:Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figureout everything on your own. Listen for God's voice ineverything you do, everywhere you go; He's the one who willkeep you on track. (MSG)

Submission

Finally, because the ultimate key to direction is a Person,direction must always begin with submission!

You have to be in a place in your life where you are willing tosubmit your life to the leadership of Jesus!

... and to obey him.

“To be a person under authority rather than a person inauthority,” as I said in my first sermon this year,

I must be willing to do what God says... unconditionally...either the principles He gives me in His book or the personalleading He gives to me... unconditionally!

Truth be told: Most of us don’t need more information. Weonly need more submission.

That’s why I drew an arrow from submission back to ourdecisions on the insert.

For if I’m committed to following Him in all things, that onechoice alone will affect all of my decisions... which in turn willset my directions!

This is so important!

Questions

I want to conclude by thinking about some importantquestions.

Pull out the bulletin insert with the large images on it.

What path are you currently on?

Is there a path that you know you need to take...but haven’tstepped onto it yet?

Are you on a path that you need to exit... to get off of?

Write that down!

Some of us here today are contemplating a crucial firstdecision that will set us on a particular path.

Is that the right decision?

Or is it a decision that will start me down a wrong path?

If it’s the right decision... what’s keeping you from makingthat decision?

Write that down!

Some of us have recently made a decision that has put uson a path.

Again, was it the right decision?

Is it the path you truly want to be on?

Do you need to unmake a decision... and make a new,better decision?

Write that down!

Some of us here today have had something recently captureour attention... or we’ve begun to give something our fullattention.

What has captured your attention?

What are you giving your attention to?

Are you giving your attention to something that will likelylead to a decision that will put you on a path you may laterregret?

Are you paying attention to God these days?

Do you need to start giving Him more of your attention?

Write that down!

Some of us here today have a desire for an intendeddestination, but aren’t working on the bridge that will get usto that destination.

Either we’ve stopped being disciplined about it... or wehaven’t even begun.

What’s a destination you desire to get to?

What bridge do you need to begin to build today?

What are some of the decisions you need to make to getstarted... some of the disciplines you need to engage tomake it happen?

Write that down!

Finally, who is a person that you can share this sheet withthis week?

A “weighty friend” that we talked about last week... someonewho loves God, knows Him and His ways well, and who isfilled with His wisdom.

Write that down!

The Principle of the Path

Constantin Brancusi: To see far is one thing: going there is another.

Direction, not intention, determines your destination!

Proverbs 13:4No matter how much a lazy person may want something, he will never get it.

A hard worker will get everything he wants.

Galatians 6:7What a person plants, he will harvest.

Every path leads to a destination.

Proverbs 21:29A wicked man puts up a bold front,

but an upright man gives thought to his ways.

Proverbs 22:3A sensible person will see trouble coming and avoid it,

but an unthinking person will walk right into it and regret it later.

So, what is the bridge from desire to destination?

How do I establish my direction?

1. Decisions set your direction!

Decisions are your direction!

Your Decisions become your Actions.Your Actions become your Habits.

Your Habits become your Character.Your Character becomes your Destiny.

Attention determines decisions and hence direction.

Hebrews 2:1We must pay more careful attention, therefore,

to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

Proverbs 4:25-27Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.

Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.

Hebrews 12:2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus,

the author and perfecter of our faith.

Colossians 3:1-2Set your hearts on things above,

where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Affections will determine what gets my attention.

2. Diligence secures your direction!

Proverbs 14:23Hard work always pays off; mere talk puts no bread on the table.

Diligence requires two things: ∙ Disciplines and ∙ Discipline

Hebrews 12:11No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful!

Later on, however, we have peace, for we start living the right way.

The ultimate key to direction is a Person!!!

Proverbs 3:5-6Trust in the LORD with all your heart

and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will direct your paths.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;don't try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;He's the one who will keep you on track. (MSG)

Therefore, direction begins with submission.