A Man Devises His Way
Scripture: Proverbs 16:9Devotional Series: Sovereignty and Prayer
Teaching: Sovereignty and Prayer pt. 1 (WED 2024-11-20) by Pastor Star R Scott
We look at Moses, and we look at Daniel. We look at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who would not bow to the world’s oppression. And God’s presence sustained them; there was a fourth Man in the furnace, hallelujah! If some of us are feeling like we’re in that furnace for one reason or another, Jesus is right with you in the midst of this furnace; amen? And it says, “Neither did the flame kindle upon them. And there wasn’t even the smell of smoke on their garments” (Daniel 3:27). That’s how God will bring you out of your trouble you’re facing. That’s how God will sustain us in this hour. I want you to understand something: the fact that Trump got elected doesn’t mean persecution isn’t going to continue against the church. They’re two different entities; one is this world’s kingdom, and the other is the kingdom of God. And these two kingdoms are still at war. Nothing has changed as it pertains to this eternal conflict. Might things get a little bit better at times? They might. We’re expecting.
I don’t know what changes are coming—hopefully, a lot of good ones. I’m looking forward to some good things coming toward our country. I’ll just say one thing: Kennedy had better stay away from Cold Stone. I want to encourage us, again, to understand that we are going to win this war on our knees in the presence of God. Our weapons are not carnal. They are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, praise God! So, following this election, I just want to encourage us again: let’s not relax. Let’s not rely on anything that is not supernatural, that does not come from the throne of God. Amen?
So as those free moral agents, Chapter 16, verse 9, tells us that, “A man’s heart devises his way…” (Proverbs 16:9). That word “devise” in the Hebrew means “creates” or “invents.” So, we look, and we say, “Okay, this is what I believe God has for me.” We won’t get into it at this particular moment, but we talked a little bit a few sessions back about our conscience. And conscience is a very important thing, but conscience cannot be totally trusted in. The word “conscience” just means “a knowing within, an inner knowing.” We saw that it comes from many different sources. It comes to us from our culture, our environment that we’ve grown up in. But the Scripture is very clear that the conscience can be seared to where it does not hear the voice of God any longer. Much of what conscience is, is what is left over in man, who was created in the image of God, that still has that awareness of good and evil, of right and wrong. And when it’s fed the truth of the Word of God, the conscience becomes sensitive to God’s Word, to truth, to goodness, to wisdom.
When conscience is infringed upon by evil, by the kingdom of this world, the god of this world, it begins to be desensitized. It can even be, as we said, seared. It can become an evil conscience, the Scripture says. Prayer is a time of renewing, rejuvenating, enlightening our conscience, that “knowing within,” so that when we’re making these decisions that he’s talking about, we become more accurate in representing the will of God; we can have more clearly heard from God.
So, he said, “A man’s heart devises his way”—we do what we believe is right— “but the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). That word “directs”—and we’ve taught on this many times—but the word “directs” here means “to set right.” Aren’t you glad that whenever you get off course, God will set you right?
I don’t know what changes are coming—hopefully, a lot of good ones. I’m looking forward to some good things coming toward our country. I’ll just say one thing: Kennedy had better stay away from Cold Stone. I want to encourage us, again, to understand that we are going to win this war on our knees in the presence of God. Our weapons are not carnal. They are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, praise God! So, following this election, I just want to encourage us again: let’s not relax. Let’s not rely on anything that is not supernatural, that does not come from the throne of God. Amen?
So as those free moral agents, Chapter 16, verse 9, tells us that, “A man’s heart devises his way…” (Proverbs 16:9). That word “devise” in the Hebrew means “creates” or “invents.” So, we look, and we say, “Okay, this is what I believe God has for me.” We won’t get into it at this particular moment, but we talked a little bit a few sessions back about our conscience. And conscience is a very important thing, but conscience cannot be totally trusted in. The word “conscience” just means “a knowing within, an inner knowing.” We saw that it comes from many different sources. It comes to us from our culture, our environment that we’ve grown up in. But the Scripture is very clear that the conscience can be seared to where it does not hear the voice of God any longer. Much of what conscience is, is what is left over in man, who was created in the image of God, that still has that awareness of good and evil, of right and wrong. And when it’s fed the truth of the Word of God, the conscience becomes sensitive to God’s Word, to truth, to goodness, to wisdom.
When conscience is infringed upon by evil, by the kingdom of this world, the god of this world, it begins to be desensitized. It can even be, as we said, seared. It can become an evil conscience, the Scripture says. Prayer is a time of renewing, rejuvenating, enlightening our conscience, that “knowing within,” so that when we’re making these decisions that he’s talking about, we become more accurate in representing the will of God; we can have more clearly heard from God.
So, he said, “A man’s heart devises his way”—we do what we believe is right— “but the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). That word “directs”—and we’ve taught on this many times—but the word “directs” here means “to set right.” Aren’t you glad that whenever you get off course, God will set you right?