I Want What God Wants 2.4.24

I Want What God Wants (this is the title slide for every week) My One Thing... February 4, 2024 Good morning and welcome to Lake Erie Church! PRAYER Let's Stand! Today we begin a new sermon series that is going to challenge every one of us, including me. It's about obedience and today I've chosen a story in the book of 2 Kings which has always intrigued me-it's the story of a sick soldier who is sent to the house of the prophet in hopes he will be miraculously healed. We pick up the story in verse 9 of chapter 5... (2 Kings 5:9-14) ...So Naaman came with his horses and chariots and stood at the door of Elisha's house. And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall be restored, and you shall be clean. But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. But his servants came near and said to him, My father, it is a great word the prophet has spoken to you; will you not do it? Has he actually said to you, Wash, and be clean? So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God, and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean. Introduction: You only like the word obey if you are a parent! No other age group likes the word OBEY! * Children don't like it. * Teenagers really don't like. * As they get older, seniors for sure don't like it. (I know this because my MIL Betty calls Shelley "the warden") ...OBEY is not a well-liked word! I assume the word obey exists because someone had to create a word to convince someone to do something they didn't want to do! Obedience is a choice I make when I don't want to do something. • There are things I'm forced to obey... o When the doctor when says "diet or die". o When the IRS says pay your taxes or go to jail. o When law enforcement say wears a seatbelt or pay a fine. o When the sign says "stand behind this line"... Even the rule followers in the room (you know who you are), don't like having to obey something you don't want to do. Our granddaughter Sadie Hope is a classic oldest kid...pleaser...rule follower, when asked her what she wants to be when she grows up she says, "in charge." She complains how hard it is to be a kid because you have to always do what your parents say. She can't wait to be an adult, so she doesn't have to do anything she doesn't want to do...(and I can't wait until she's a parent!) A few years ago, I went through a personal experience which tested me to decide if I really wanted what God wanted for my life. I began reading and searching the Bible to understand how God views our obedience. What I came to discover is the whole Bible is about obedience! In fact, the one thing God values as much as anything in His followers is obedience. 2 fundamental things are true about my relationship with God. • He wants my life and my family to be blessed. • He wants my relationship with Him to be fulfilling and empowering. What you discover the longer you follow the Lord is the plan God has to get to these outcomes is different from the plan you want. For example: • I want to learn how to handle more money by having more money... o God may want me to learn how to handle more money by faithfully managing less money well. • I want my spouse, family, and friends to change so I can love them more. o God wants me to change me by loving people who are sometimes difficult to love. • I want God to answer all of my prayers so my faith is strong. • God wants me to endure though times to grow my faith. So, here's my BIG POINT... Most of the time God and I agree on where I'm going, but we almost always disagree on how I will get there. At some point you will have to answer this question... Can I Trust That God ALWAYS Wants What Is Best For Me? The real test is when it feels like God is keeping you from what you really want to do or is asking you to do something you don't want to do-WHY IS THAT SO HARD FOR US? BECAUSE WE ARE CONVINCED OUR WAY IS BETTER! • When God asks me to forgive someone who has hurt me deeply...can I trust He always wants what's best for me? • When God asks me to not play house with someone I'm not married to...can I trust He always wants what's best for me? • When God asks me to tithe 10% of my income when my finances are already tight...can I trust He always want what's best for me? The answer is always YES-Every time...YOU CAN ALWAYS TRUST THAT GOD WANTS WHAT'S BEST FOR YOU. This story in 2 Kings is a perfect example of what we are pursuing today... • A good man with a disease needs to be healed. • The prophet he meets gives him a command, but it wasn't what He was expecting. • He disagrees with the directions and gets upset because he thinks he knows a better way to get what he wants! • He would have returned home a sick man had he not listened to the counsel of someone close to him. • When he obeyed the command of Elisha he was dramatically healed. • His healing was not the result of any special powers in the Jordan River but because He was willing to obey. • Sometimes God directs us to do what doesn't make sense but our obedience to the direction brings a power that could not have been realized otherwise. So here's the takeaway from the story. Easy Obedience Is Hardly Ever Easy • There is no such thing as easy obedience because obedience to God requires you give up something you truly treasure or desire. • When Naaman shows up at Elisha's house o Elisha doesn't even come out to greet him. o He sends a message-go dip 7x in the Jordan River o It was a simple and perhaps easy command. o But it ticked Naaman off... (v.11-12) But Naaman was angry and went away, saying, Behold, I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call upon the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?" So, he turned and went away in a rage.. • Naaman's real issue may have been his PRIDE? o After all, Naaman was a notable man in his community. o Perhaps the exercise wasn't really about the leprosy but about discovering the absence of humility in Naaman. • Sometimes you are chasing something you think is really important, but God is working deeper in you to bring about what YOU REALLY NEED! The Path Forward is One Faithful Obedient Step Every Day • Naaman wanted something flashy and big in keeping with his self-image-something dramatic that would get everybody's attention. So do we! • The miracle of Naaman's healing was one faithful dip after the last until he had done what Elisha told him to do. • Your discouraged because you want God to heal your marriage that feels like it will never change but he's probably not going to do it through a Hawaii vacation or a piece of jewelry? Instead, He's going to do it through each and every counseling appointment you attend together, or each and every church service you take your family too. • What if God is going to change your financial situation but He's not going to do it with an inheritance or the lottery, He's going to do it with every $100 check you mail to the credit card company, every credit card you cut up, and every tithe check you write? • What if God is going to take addiction from your life but he's going to do it through a progression of meetings, sponsors, small groups, and confession? God uses TIME CONSISTENCY FAITHFULNESS to perform the miraculous. • The challenge is to not stop after the first dips but keep going. Just because something didn't happen the first time-you keep going! o What miracles have we missed because we were too proud to just keep doing the unspectacular obedient things God has asked from us? CONCLUSION: I awoke to the sun in my eyes in a hotel in Lima, Peru and I heard the whisper of God saying "You have to Keep Going"...it felt like a Joshua moment-there is a future in front of you and me-God calls us to walk in His way and do as He commands and we will see everything God has promised. It may not be spectacular and in fact, it may be rather common but if we keep taking the next step in obedience there are MIRACLES to be experienced! One dip at a time. Perhaps you sit here wondering what you are supposed to do, what God wants you to do-God will always do what only He can do and count on you to do what He has asked you to do. God I am a sinner I'm sorry for my sins I believe Jesus died for my sins I believe Jesus will forgive my sins I choose Jesus