How many of you have ever used a compass?  A compass is designed to always tell you which way is north, because one end of the needle is magnetized, and without outside interference from a magnet, it will read correctly.  If you know which way is north, you can plot the direction you wish to go and find your destination.  That is IF you know which way is north.  But suppose the compass is broken?  Then you’re without a clue which way to go.

Well, what about if you are carrying a magnet with you?  Even though the compass may be working perfectly, the needle will always point toward the magnet, and you STILL won’t know which way is north, so you will wander around without a clue which way you’re going.  And that means you’re LOST, whether you want to admit it or not.  So it is when your spiritual compass is broken.

God gave us the Holy Bible to be our guide.  It is NEVER wrong, and will always point us the right way, that is, if we take the time to read it.  An unread Bible on your coffee table is just a decoration, and it cannot be expected to guide you safely through life if it is unused.  Likewise, even if you READ the Bible and don’t heed its directions, you are still likewise lost.  Not doing what the Bible says is like discovering you are lost on your trip to Florida from Virginia.  You need to go south, but have no idea which way is south.  So you stop and ask someone for directions.  They point one way, and you choose to go the opposite way, thinking you have a better idea.  After a few hours you find you are in Pennsylvania, not Florida, and you are upset because you think the person gave you wrong directions.  No, they didn’t, but YOU chose not to follow them.

God gave us a compass, not only in our conscience, but He offers us His Holy Spirit to lead us.  The problem is, many have lived in sin for so long, they can no longer hear the voice of their conscience.  It doesn’t happen overnight, but rather over a long period of time, a little here, a little there, until the inner voice has been silenced, and nothing is seen as wrong anymore.  This has happened to America.  Oh, it didn’t happen in a day or two, but over a long period of time.  We can look back a couple generations and see the moral compass of America is non-functional.  And not just in America, but all over the world.

It seems everyone is carrying a magnet in their pocket, so the compass needle always points to yourself.  It says in Proverbs 21:2, Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts. It’s because his compass cannot function as long as he has that magnet in proximity to it.  So while he goes through life, he goes this way and that, not knowing where he is heading, because he has no correct heading.  After a while, he doesn’t feel lost anymore; he just doesn’t know where he’s going, but he really doesn’t care anymore, because that’s just the way his life has been.  It’s one thing for a person or two to be without a sense of direction, for the others can straighten him out.  But what about when the whole Nation has lost its way, and there be few that still have a functioning compass?  Will those who have lost their sense of direction LISTEN?  Not likely, for there are so many of them, that they think , “How could ALL OF US be wrong?  No, YOU are wrong.”

So there will be few that will listen to those who are correctly telling them that they are off course.  FEW, very few will listen.  But that doesn’t mean those who are “Bible thumpers” should throw up their hands and give up saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Maybe a few will listen and be saved from destruction.  Think about it, if you live in a house in the middle of a forest, and the forest is burning all around you, will you be affected?  Most likely, unless God supernaturally protects you, but wouldn’t it be better if there were no fire in the first place?  Sure.

But don’t kid yourself:  God, though rich in mercy and grace, is also a God of judgment.   And when the vast majority of people stick their finger in God’s eye and do that which is abominable in His sight, watch out!  And when the high court of the land alters the long-standing laws of the land to not only allow the abominable, but actually promote it, judgment is coming, and quickly.  I tremble at the thought of what’s coming and it won’t be pretty, and even though I stand upholding God’s Word, will those pointing the right way be spared from the coming judgment?  The last time God got fed up with the sins of mankind, only Noah and his eight family members were spared from the flood, and everyone else?  Well, they died.  They were working as usual, partying, marrying and giving in marriage, going on with life as usual, and when God shut Noah in the ark, all hell broke loose, literally, and they had no clue what was happening until it was too late.  Is it too late for you?  That depends if you will listen and obey God.

That brings me to another point:  on a percentage scale from zero percent to one hundred percent, to what percent are you living for God?  Be honest now, for God knows and you’re not going to fool Him for a moment.  Suppose you are living for God we’ll say 50%.  Well, that means you are living for the devil 50%. Is that pleasing to God?  How about if you’re married and your husband (or your wife) went to sleep half of the time with their girlfriend (or boyfriend, or BOTH, (for the laws of the land now say women having sex with women and men having sex with men is fine).  Would that marriage do well?  I think not. But you see, that’s the result of traveling through life following a broken compass.  I think you see my point.

Let’s say you’re living even 90% for God, that still means you’re still giving the devil 10% of your love.  Is God pleased with that?  How about 99% for God and 1% for the devil?  What does the Word of God say?
Rev 3:15  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16  So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Rev 3:19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Rev 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

What will happen to those who refuse God and ignore His words?  Will He be pleased and say “Well done thou good and faithful servant”?  No, they will be thrown into the Lake of Fire and BE well done. There is little time left to come out from among those following their own compass on the wide path that leads to destruction.  God is pointing the way to the path that leads to everlasting life, and He is offering you His compass to lead you safely through that narrow gate.  How about it? Would you like to find that narrow gate?

In my living room during a Friday night worship service in 1997, I was on my knees worshipping, and I had a vision.  From a viewpoint high above, I saw a wide road with multitudes of people crowded thereon, walking toward a covered bridge.  Just a few were leaving the crowd, going onto a very small path leading away before they got to the bridge.  As the rest got on the covered bridge, at the end of the bridge people were falling into the Lake of Fire, and when they saw where they were going, they tried to resist the push of the people, and tried to push their way back off the bridge, but it was too late, they could not, and they all fell to their destruction screaming. The vision was very real, I felt the heat and was sweating and when I got up I found my moustache and eyebrows were singed.  It literally scared the hell right out of me.

Will you follow the crowd who has lost its way, or will you follow God?  He isn’t happy with a 50% follower, nor a 90% or even a 99% follower.  It’s 100% or nothing with Him.  He wants ALL your love and devotion, not just part of it, because Jesus gave ALL for YOU!   And if you’re following God with what you think is your “all”, check your compass to make sure and make any necessary course correction to be at 100% serving God.  You may not like what I’m telling you, but if it leads to you being granted salvation, then I will be most happy.  And God will be, too.