The Path 4 - Getting Help Along The Way

God’s call is not just loyalty to a church seat on a Sunday. God’s call is to find freedom, get connected, lock feet down in community, and make a difference. The path God gives is not about drifting from place to place, waiting until everything feels perfect. The path God gives calls every believer to get locked and loaded so that every person has a role to play.

The direction of a life matters more than good intentions. The Bolito and N3 picture shows how a person can mean well, pack the car, load the family, and still end up at the wrong destination because the road is wrong. The rifle scope picture shows the same thing in another way: one little click today can mean hitting the target or missing it completely down the road. The small course corrections God asks for now can affect children, grandchildren, and generations still to come.

The problem is that people often do not know what they do not know. The torque wrench picture says it plainly. A person can tighten everything by feel, even with good motives, and still snap bolts, waste time, and create a bigger mess. The instruction manual in the box says the same thing. God often gives simple handles, but pride, laziness, and old patterns make people try to assemble life on their own first.

Solomon gives the handle in Proverbs: plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Wise people listen and add to their learning. Discerning people get guidance. The issue is not only finding advice, but finding the right advice from the right people. Friends may make a person feel better, but wise counselors help a person reach the destiny God has marked out.

Pride is the big enemy on the path. Pride says, “I’m sorted,” when someone loving says, “I’m worried about the direction you’re headed.” Wisdom says, “Really? What is it that you see?” Rehoboam’s story warns that a person can ask for advice, ask more than one group, and still choose only the counsel that feeds what was already wanted. Good counsel must come from people who carry the fruit of where God is calling a person to go.

Jesus’ call remains simple: follow me. God’s way is not to waste time, not to stay offended, and not to keep rebuilding what could have been built right the first time. God invites people to lock in, step out in faith, and get on board to make a difference.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Good counsel saves wasted years. Solomon’s wisdom names a mercy that often feels uncomfortable: plans fail when counsel is missing. Good advice may not stroke feelings, but it can keep a person from losing years through avoidable decisions. Counsel is not weakness; counsel is one of God’s ways of keeping a life on the right road. [52:12]
• 2. Pride makes foolishness feel safe. Pride does not always look loud or arrogant; sometimes it simply says, “I’m sorted,” when correction comes close. The foolish path can feel right because it protects image, comfort, and control. Wisdom receives the wound of honest counsel as protection, not rejection. [62:21]
• 3. Many advisers make victory sure. Solomon does not say one adviser makes victory sure, but many advisers. A single voice can confirm what a person already wants to hear, while a circle of wise voices can expose blind spots. Victory often comes through the humility to let more than one mature person speak into the urgent decision. [60:31]
• 4. Fruit matters more than familiarity. Advice is not equal just because it comes from someone close. The safest counsel comes from people who have been where God is calling someone to go and whose lives show consistent fruit. Familiar voices may bring comfort, but fruitful voices bring direction. [67:10]
• 5. Jesus keeps the call simple. Jesus does not bury His invitation under complication. “Follow me” asks for obedience before every question is answered and before every fear is settled. The path opens as a person stops wasting time and puts one foot in front of the other with Him.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [43:37] - God Find Freedom, Make A Difference
• [44:37] - Direction Determines Destination
• [47:03] - Getting Help Along The Way
• [47:31] - Knowing What Is Unknown
• [50:27] - Stop Ignoring The Manual
• [52:12] - Plans Fail Without Counsel
• [53:01] - Why People Avoid Advice
• [59:02] - Four Handles For The Journey
• [60:31] - Many Advisers Make Victory Sure
• [62:21] - Pride Blocks Wise Counsel
• [64:25] - Rehoboam Chooses The Wrong Advice
• [67:10] - Seek Counsel With Visible Fruit
• [68:18] - Practical Next Steps
• [69:09] - Follow Jesus And Lock In

Bible Reading

Proverbs 15:22
“Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.” [52:16]

Proverbs 11:14
“Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” [01:00:33]

Proverbs 13:10
“By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom.” [01:02:35]

2 Chronicles 10:1-19
“Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. And as soon as Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for he was in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from Egypt. And they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all Israel came and said to Rehoboam, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.’ He said to them, ‘Come to me again in three days.’ So the people went away. Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, ‘How do you advise me to answer this people?’ And they said to him, ‘If you will be good to this people and please them and speak good words to them, then they will be your servants forever.’ But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. And he said to them, ‘What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to you, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?’ And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, ‘Thus shall you speak to the people who said to you, ‘Your father made your yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us’; thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s thighs. And now, whereas my father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’’ So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, ‘Come to me again the third day.’ And the king answered them harshly; and forsaking the counsel of the old men, King Rehoboam spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, ‘My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to it. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’ So the king did not listen to the people, for it was a turn of affairs brought about by God that the LORD might fulfill his word, which he spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, ‘What portion have we in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. Each of you to your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.’ So all Israel went to their tents. But Rehoboam reigned over the people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. Then King Rehoboam sent Hadoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and the people of Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.”

Observation questions

1. In Proverbs 15:22 and Proverbs 11:14, what repeated theme shows up about counsel, advisers, safety, and success? [01:00:33]
2. In the picture of heading to Ballito on the N3 instead of the right road, what details show that good intentions alone are not enough if the direction is wrong? [45:00]
3. In the story of Rehoboam, what did the older advisers tell him, what did the younger advisers tell him, and which counsel did he choose?
4. In the examples of the torque wrench and the instruction manual, what kinds of problems came from doing things “by feel” instead of following the right guidance? [49:51]

Interpretation questions

1. Proverbs says plans fail without counsel, but many advisers bring success. Why does God’s wisdom put so much weight on getting help from others instead of just trusting personal sincerity or confidence? [52:46]
2. Proverbs 13:10 connects pride with strife and wisdom with taking advice. Why can correction feel threatening even when it is actually meant for protection? [01:03:26]
3. Rehoboam did seek advice, but he still ended up in disaster. What does his story show about the difference between merely asking for counsel and truly being willing to receive it? [01:06:47]
4. Counsel is not just about finding a friendly voice, but about finding someone with visible fruit in the direction a person needs to go. Why is fruit a better guide than familiarity, loyalty, or comfort? [01:07:29]

Application questions

1. Direction determines destination. Where in life does the current direction need an honest look right now—family, work, friendships, finances, spiritual life, or church commitment? What signs suggest a small course correction may be needed now rather than later? [46:31]
2. Pride often says, “I’m sorted,” even when someone loving raises concern. When correction comes, what is the usual first reaction—defensiveness, avoidance, explaining, or humble curiosity? What would it look like to respond with, “What is it that you see?” this week? [01:03:46]
3. Good counsel can save wasted years. Is there an area where an important decision is being made mostly alone right now? Who are two or three wise people that could be invited to speak into it honestly? [01:00:28]
4. It is easy to choose advice that feels better instead of advice that leads to growth. When has comfort been mistaken for wisdom? What helps in telling the difference between a voice that soothes and a voice that truly guides? [54:51]
5. Some people drift from place to place and never really lock into community. What does “locking feet down” in Christian community look like in a practical way right now? What tends to keep that from happening—offense, fear, disappointment, busyness, or something else? [57:31]
6. The manual is often already in the box, but people still try to build life their own way first. In this season, where is there a need to stop improvising and return to simple obedience in God’s Word? [50:56]
7. Jesus keeps the call simple: “Follow me.” What is one clear step of obedience that can be taken this week instead of waiting for everything to feel perfect first? [01:09:19]