Water your Garden
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Intro and Frame Sermon | Engage
Intro and Frame Sermon | Engage
Garden at home next to car | Never go around it | Squished Plant |
If I just had the discipline to go around, instead of through | Isn’t that always the way?
Tension:
You have the head knowledge but sometimes the quicker way is better
Some Pain you can’t control | Examples | What to do: Don’t lose your joy, don’t be defeated, and pray
Some things you can control | Choose to live within your means today, or Pain of battling debt later.
Choose pain of studying for an exam today, or the pain of retaking the class tommorrow| Pain of Obeying Parents or consequences by parents tomorrw. Parents said?
You have the choice of following our God and what is in His Bible and His Plan for your life which may attract the spiritual attention of the enemy today but will allow you to step into who He is calling you to be today…or stray from the narrow path, face storms of your life outside of HIS PRESENCE and the goodness that he has for you and come back and face the pain of repentence later.
Our key scripture for the whole series:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
You have a choice - To face the pain of being disciplined in the things of God today to ENDURE the race that is set before us by fixing our eyes, or face the pain of not finishing the race.
Today’s Message: Stay off the Garden.
Endurance takes Discipline | Define Discipline:
Giving up what you want NOW, for what you want MOST. What do you want MOST?
Apostle Paul
Apostle Paul
To understand this further I want to look at Paul. | If anyone can get it right it should be him | Brief Backstory
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
The answer is where? JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD. The answer is NOT:
- Being Stronger, Being more Determined, Working harder, Doing more,
The answer is looking toward Jesus Christ, the founder and perfecter of our Faith. With the help of Christ, we will endure, the race, set before us, and we will not stumble. We will choose Discipline, over Regret. I want to go to 2 stories to discover this truth.
Jesus in the desert
Jesus in the desert
Jesus in the Desert | What was Devil doing?
Matthew 4:1-4
Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,
“ ‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ ”
drawing Jesus away from the Fathers Submission
The Enemy is saying what? Give up what you want most, for what you want now.
Jesus Does what when he gets tempted? He turns to the Word of God
Context: Spent 40 days and forty nights - he was hungry, wht are you going through?
tempting him with? Food? Go to detreonomy - the Lord HUMBLED them to check what was in their HEART!
When ever we get pride what does God do..he humbles us.
Point 1 of Discipline: Put God in the Gap. You can’t do it on your own.
Why can Jesus help you through the tempatation of going off the Narrow Path? Because he has faced it and more, and he understands and can empathasise with your pain. He is the only one.
Principle 2: Discpline Means that you have faith in the outcome.
I want to quickly visit an old testament story:
David and Saul: Saul did what was right in the Lord, until he didn’t.
He didn’t Endure, he didn’t Run the Race that was set out before him. Instead, he became prideful - Kept a king alive when God told him to kill him - It wasn’t for mercy.
What is interesting to me is when David was chosen to be king- Not the strongest, tallest etc. but God looks where? The heart - he was the youngest brother, and what was David doing when he was chosen?
1 samuel 16:11
Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.”
Where was David? Attending the sheep. - Doing the work.
God looks at the heart - He knew that David was a mans after God’s own heart. Perfect? No? Far from it.
We don’t get close to God by doing more or being better, we get close to God by understanding that we are nothing without him, by knowing that everything good, right and beautiful in this world is in God’s presence by understanding that He is in control, and all we are to do, is submit ourselves to his beautiful love.
So what happened to David?
Saul gets tipped off Where David is, takes 3,000 men to kill him - Fear / Pride
He then wonders into a Cave? Why? let’s read
And he came to the sheepfolds by the way, where there was a cave, and Saul went in to relieve himself. Now David and his men were sitting in the innermost parts of the cave. And the men of David said to him, “Here is the day of which the Lord said to you, ‘Behold, I will give your enemy into your hand, and you shall do to him as it shall seem good to you.’ ” Then David arose and stealthily cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. And afterward David’s heart struck him, because he had cut off a corner of Saul’s robe. He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do this thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed, to put out my hand against him, seeing he is the Lord’s anointed.” So David persuaded his men with these words and did not permit them to attack Saul. And Saul rose up and left the cave and went on his way.
Mens lies (Worlds Lies)
A man that knew he was going to be king, he could of just…taken a short cut..but it wouldn’t been against God.
We are called however, to be the Light
When we are discipline in the way of the World we serve as an example
What did this act do for the man trying to kill him?
He said to David, “You are more righteous than I, for you have repaid me good, whereas I have repaid you evil. And you have declared this day how you have dealt well with me, in that you did not kill me when the Lord put me into your hands. For if a man finds his enemy, will he let him go away safe? So may the Lord reward you with good for what you have done to me this day. And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.
We have the same instructions
For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed.
Principle 3: Discipline to follow God’s way is trust in Him- but you have to accept the training.
You, must take the step
**Coach story - Full trust, even though sometimes it feels wrong - Funny story of Suicides**
There are situations where it is super difficult to trust God - We spoke about Noah last week - You have to have faith to take the step.
sometimes it will provide struggle, we said last week, faith is not the absense of pain.
Garden illustration - When you walk through the garden that one time, it feels great - dopemine, but you have to turn - and take the long path, but you can’t do it on your own.
Use Examples: Money, Diet, Reading the Word, Obeying God, Following Convictions
With Power Of God however, you can turn, and take the long path and endure
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to keep your righteous rules.
I am severely afflicted;
give me life, O Lord, according to your word!
You must put Jesus in the Gap - The instructions for life is found in his Great Word, this is the narrow path.
3 years ago, body builder | Injured | Started tramping through my garden in this area of my life | 8 weeks ago, we were convicted | We, Emma and Me have decided to get disciplined in this area | But we can’t do it alone | We have each other | You have family that love you and want the best for you
What can we do?
What do I do now? I wake up and I say “Christ in ME is STRONGER than wrong desires within me.”
Some people have pretty trampled gardens, it’s pretty dead, pretty Sandy, they aint feeling close to God.
The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
It all starts with taking one step toward what God wants for you.
“ ‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth.
**Soccer Stadium**
The way I am going to open the door however is because you have obeyed my word, you have stayed disciplined and have not denied my name. We got people that are taking short cuts in their life, trampling over their Garden asking God to grow the garden back, he can’t grow the garden back while you are tramping on the flower beds! C’mon Church.
What happens if you stay off your garden
What is it? Has the Spirit Stirred you today?
It might be that money will not be an idol anymore, that you will actively put God first
It might be that you will not put up with a B Grade Marriage - You will fight to put your Spouse before your self
It might be that you are done being a lukewarm Christian - That you will grab hold the promises of God
It might be that you say that your life is not your own, that you whole heartedly give it over to God
It might be that you will STOP listening to the lies of the enemy.
Altar Call - Take that step - In a moment, we will have song, do something different - During the song.
Alter Call
Song
Alter Call