The Critical Path Pt. 1

Good evening. Welcome to Voice in the Wilderness. I'm Don

Noble of Pure Heart Ministries, and I welcome you with

exceedingly abundantly and overflowing joy tonight. My message is the

Critical Path, Part one. Now what I did is I'm

doing the same message I did last week. Don't turn

the channel, but I've made some changes, made some additions

and deletions, and I really think this is such an

important message that I wanted to do it again. So

I hope you'll be patient, because I really believe you'll.

You know, sometimes you have to hear something twice because

you miss things that you didn't hear the first time.

So I'm glad that you're with me this evening, and

I hope that you will stick it out and listen

to this again. So this is part one of the

Critical Path. A well worn path makes it easier to

traverse heavy brush and densely wooded forests. I should know.

I live on forty seven acres, much of which is heavy,

dense brush and woods. This past spring I went over

the hill into the woods and it was pretty easy

to traverse. I was in search of springs, and fortunately

I found three springs I could also see the well

worn path that the deer had made to where there's

a very small creek. Now, one month later I went

back into those same woods and it was impossible to

get back there because so much brush had grown up.

It would actually have taken a machete to get through it.

And the creek, well, it's dry. We've had an unusual summer,

virtually no rain in three months, and for northern West

Virginia that's definitely not the norm. It almost feels like

we're in the southwest southwest desert here. I don't like that. Now,

getting back to paths, the Bible has a lot to

say about pass My all time favorite scripture and life

verse is found in Proverbs for eighteen and it says,

the path of the righteous is like the first gleam

of dawn, shining ever brighter until the full light of day.

Now I don't know what version of the Bible that's from,

because I memorize that scripture from a plaque that was

given to me as a gift. I know it's not

the King James or the New King James version, but

I like it. The path of the righteous is like

the first gleam of dawn. Shining ever brighter until the

full light of day. It's really a picture of our

journey as a Christian, because when we first meet Christ

get born again, it's like that first gleam of dawn.

It's like that first little bit of light comes into

our life. And as we grow amateure in the ways

of the Lord, we become brighter. And the more time

we spend each and every day studying God's word, praying,

developing our relationship with the Lord, we shine a little brighter,

just like our natural sun. It's on a path, we

call it its orbit, and as the day progresses, it

gets brighter and brighter. Now that's what a Christian should

be like, getting brighter and brighter. And I can guarantee

that will happen. As you give yourself to that quiet

time with the Lord, studying the Bible, praying, you will

become brighter. Now I'm not talking about being smarter, and

I'm not talking about being brighter mentally. I'm talking about

your countenance, changing your visible appearance, the glow of the

glory of the Lord. We have a biblical example. His

name is Moses. He was a man just like you

and I, no different who after being in God's presence

and communing and talking with God, Scripture says. In Exodus

thirty four twenty nine through thirty it says this, when

Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets

of the testimony in his hand, he did not know

that the skin of his face shone and sent forth

beams by reason of his speaking with the Lord. Where

when Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, behold, the

skin of his face shone, and they feared to come

near him. And if you read on, it goes on

to say that eventually Moses put a veil over his

face because the people could not talk to him his

face was too bright. So, yes, you and I can

exhibit that same brightness the expression of God in us.

Now there's a minister I personally know that I have

seen his face shine similar to what I'm talking about.

He was ministering at a conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and

oh my, his face was glowing. I would seriously encourage

you to find him on YouTube and listen to him.

His name is Dan Moehler m O H l E R. Yes,

I told him that I saw so much glory on

him as he preached. You see, Dan is not an

ordinary preacher. Almost every word he utters is Bible. And

he's so loving and he's so kind. He's what I

call a real Christian, a book of acts Cristian. So

take time to find him and listen. You will learn

a lot, and you'll be a better Christian gleaning the

truths that he shares. You know, I've said this many

times about Dan, and I believe it because I've watched

his life. I know I know his life. He's a

modern day Paul the Apostle and truly an incredible blessing

to the body of Christ. So I would really encourage

you to find him on YouTube and listen. When we

are talking about paths in the Bible. Now, there are

a variety of different paths that you and I can take.

We can take the straight path or the crooked path.

We can take the righteous path or the wicked path.

Can take the path of life or the path of death.

We can take a good path or the evil path.

We can even take the ancient path or the new path.

Obviously a variety of paths which we can choose to take. Now,

remember this, paths are always they always require a decision.

Is it this way or that? Hmm, which way should

I go? Remember, paths always require a decision. Where your

path ends determines your success or failure in your life

and in your Christian walk. I want to say that again,

where your path ends determines your success or failure in

your life and in your Christian walk. Choosing the right

path brings you into a place of security, prosperity, health,

peace and blessing. For example, let's look at Joshua. God

laid out a path for him to take. He could

have refused, but listen to what the Lord told him.

Now turn with me to Joshua Chapter one, and we're

going to look at verses one through eight. It says

after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord,

it came to pass that the Lord spoke to Joshua,

the son of Nun, moses assistant, saying, Moses, my servant

is dead. Now this is God talking to Joshua. Moses,

my servant is dead. Now arise, go over this Jordan,

you and all this people to the land which I

am giving to them, the children of Israel. Every place

that the soul of your foot will tread upon. I

have given you, as I said to Moses, from the wilderness,

and this Lebanon, as far as the great river, the

River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to

the great sea toward the going down of the sun,

shall be your territory. No man shall be able to

stand before you all the days of your life. As

I was with Moses, so I will be with you.

I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong

and of good courage to this people. You shall divide

as an inheritance the land which I swore to their

fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous,

that you observe to do according to all the law

which Moses, my servant commanded. You do not turn from

it to the right hand or to the left, that

you may prosper wherever you go. This book of the

Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall

meditate in it day and night, that you observe to

do according to all that is written in it. For

then you will make your way prosperous, and then you

will have good success. So there are two important things

that Moses is saying to Joshua. One is every place

you put the soul of your foot. I have given

that land to you. So there's a path being formed

everywhere I put my foot, I'm going to take that land.

And it's the land that the Lord has given. And secondly,

the success to this particular path that the Lord is

taking Joshua on is that they have to keep the

Book of the Law in their mouth. They need to

meditate on God's word day and night. And that meditation

of the word day and night is creating a path

for success, because it says, for then you will make

your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

So you see, the Lord laid out a great path

for Joshua and the Israelites. So Joshua was made responsible

for forging a new path for the Israelites. No longer

would they be going around in circles, talk about a

well worn path, forty years of going round and around.

Now they were. Now they would be taking a new

path to the promised land, forsaking the old for the new,

the land that was flowing with milk and honey. And

that path changed everything for them. The path you decide

to choose can literally change the trajectory of your life.

My personal story is one that literally changed the trajectory

of my life. So I want to share that story

with you. I had just finished a semester of substitute

teaching after I graduated from WU. I graduated in December,

and that January I started substitute teaching. That whole spring semester.

I applied for a teaching and coaching job in Grafton,

West Virginia, and I really wanted that job. I interviewed

for the job and after the interview, someone pulled me

aside and told me that I was not going to

get the job. And they said that because I wasn't local.

Another gag had also interviewed and she was likely to

get the job because she was the hometown girl. Okay,

that made sense to me. I was disappointed, but hopeful.

So now it's summer and I really need a summer job,

and the only job that I could find was working

weekends and holidays as a ward clerk in the emergency

room at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia. Now,

who in their right mind would want to work weekends

and holidays in the summer, surely not I. Well, I

needed a job, so I applied because I couldn't. I

could not find anything else. They called me for the interview.

I went to the interview and then they said you've

got the job, and I said, hmmm, I don't think

I want the job. I declined the job, and truly

I was hoping I could find something else. I mean

to be honest here, I am a nurse today, huh right,

But back then I hated hospitals. I hated blood and

all that kind of stuff, you know, death, sickness. Oh

I didn't. Yeah, I didn't want to be part of it.

But I came up short and two weeks later, still

no job, and they called me back. Isn't that crazy?

They called me back and asked me if I would

reconsider and take the job, and I said yes. I

needed a job, so I said yes. In the meantime,

I was still looking for this teaching and coaching job

for the fall, and then at some point in that

summer I finally realized I wasn't getting the job of

my dreams. So that was my summer as a ward

clerk in the er, and I you know, after a while,

I began to like the excitement of working in the ear.

There was a lot of action and activity, and one

day out of the blue, a nurse from the nick U,

the nan Natal Intensive Care, who was from Wheeling, told

me that I should think about applying for nursing school.

And she said, you know there's a nursing shortage. They

need nurses. You're gonna have. You won't have a problem

finding a job. And unfortunately, I knew that there was

a glut of teachers and that it was going to

be very hard for me to find a teaching job.

So I went to Wheeling, I interviewed, and I was

accepted into nursing school to start that fall semester. And

it was going to be interesting because I was twenty

four years old and most of my classmates were eighteen,

so I was six years older than everyone. And there

were five other classmates that were my age or even

older than myself, so I didn't feel too too bad.

So I've finished my summer job. I packed up all

my stuff. My father brought my uncle's truck and he

took my dog and the big stuff and we headed home.

I had just pulled into our driveway when my mother

came running out the front door, and I put my

window down and she said mister Strait, the principal from

Grafton High School, wants to offer you the teaching and

coaching job. Now which path would I choose? I quickly answered,

tell him, thank you that I'm going to nursing school.

And I'm so sorry. It was that quick. I knew instinctively,

even though that was my dream job, the dream job

I wanted for over a year, I couldn't go back.

I knew I couldn't go back. It was too late.

Fate had fallen, so to speak, and that was it.

I knew I could not turn around and go back.

This new path had opened up and I was about

to embark on a new journey that forever changed my life.

And I am not kidding you. I am not kidding

you when I tell you that it changed my life.

And here I am today, still in Wheeling, West Virginia.

The Lord has a way of getting us where we

need to be. And during that time, I want to

say this, because I got saved in college, and at

first I was pretty excited, you know, about being a Christian.

And then you know, a couple of years went by,

and you know, I would say today, looking back, I

was probably more of a nominal Christian at the time.

So by the time I arrived in Wheeling to start

nursing school, you know, I'm a pretty nominal Christian. And

that three years of nursing school a not being connected

to a church, not being in church, and really not

understanding how important that was. I didn't have you know,

I didn't have a spiritual mentor I didn't have discipleships.

I wasn't discipled well, and so you know, not being

in church, not being connected with other believers, that was

Those were bad decisions. But you know I was ignorant

of that. I didn't have someone to help lead me

in the right direction. So what happened is I ended

up on a path away from the Lord, and that

path kept me back slidden for twenty four years. Bad

path decision, so I in you know, looking back, I

chose the crooked path, not really understanding what that all

meant and what you know, the consequences. I didn't. I

didn't know the consequence consequences of not being in church

and fellowshipping and being actively involved and discipled. I do now,

and that's why I challenge everybody to come to my

Bible study. That's why I make a big, big deal

about Bible study. And so you know, I started the

Book of Romans and on the fourth of September, none

of you showed up. And I'm really disappointed, to be honest,

because this is going to be a phenomenal teaching and

it will change your life. And I'm telling you, you know,

that's what I'm called to teach. So that was twenty

four years of misery until the until July of nineteen

ninety eight, when I chose a better path hallelujah, and

rededicated my life to the Lord. Thank goodness that I

did that. I mean, that was a pretty radical decision.

I had really come to the end of myself, just

like the prodigal son. You know, I was the prodigal

and baby. When I came home and I came back

to the Lord, there was no turning back ever, ever,

ever again. I knew that, I knew that, I knew

I would never be walking away from God again. So yeah,

so I want to encourage you come to my Bible study.

It's on when Monday six pm. Top Hat Pools in

Stoves twenty to fifty eight twenty two fifty eight Main Street, Wheeling,

six o'clock So my question to you tonight is this,

what path is your life currently on. Are you on

the straight or the crooked? Are you on the righteous

or the wicked? Are you on the path of life?

Are you headed on the path of death? Or are

you on the ancient path or a new path, a

good path or an evil path? So let me just

say this in conclusion, friend, I am praying for you,

all of you who are listening. I'm praying for you

to take the righteous path and look. If you need help,

you can email me at Dawn at pure heart dot today.

That's all lower case letters, Dawn Dawn at pure heart

dot today. You can email me. You can write to

me at Pure Heart Ministries, PO Box eighty five, Valley Grove, West, Virginia,

two six zero six zero. You know, I'd love to

hear from you. I hope this encouraged you, and I

hope that listening to this again stirred something inside of you,

stirred something to cause you to want to walk, you know,

the righteous path, the good path, God's path. I hope

it encouraged you to do something that maybe you realized

or recognized. Ooh, I think I may be making some

bad decisions, and you know, we've all done it, so

it's not like you know, you're just like the rest

of us. We've made some bad ones, but thank Goodness

for the Lord, he always helps us to get back

on the right path. And that's what I want for you.

I want you to be on this good straight and

as Jesus says, it's actually a very narrow path. So

I look forward to being with you again next week.

This is Don Noble. You can go to www dot

pure heart dot today and listen to this podcast again.

You can download the iHeartRadio app and go to Pure

Heart Ministries podcast listen twenty four to seven. And of course,

as I mentioned, you can email me, you can write

to me, and you know, I hope some of you

would consider please consider helping support this ministry. And I've

said a million times I'll say it again. I covet

your prayers. It means a lot to me and I

certainly next week we will be doing part two and

there'll probably be a part three. This is I didn't

realize what a vast, vast topic it is, so I

look forward to being with you again next week. This

is Don Nobles saying, shalloam shalloam peace be unto you