Doorway to a Great Life 8.7.22

Doorway to a Great Life (Matthew 7:24-28) Good morning and welcome to Lake Erie Church. I'm Bill Isaacs and if this is your first time to worship with us-we are very happy to have you worship with us and we hope this will not be the last time. (Take a moment and find someone you don't know and say hello!) We have come to the end of our summer series called CounterCultural and we have covered a lot of ground in the past 10 weeks... You can go back and listen to any of these messages on our podcast (screen) Great job last week by Pastor Dustin-you can't fake it and make it! I like his title better than the one I originally assigned him. Who Won't Be in Heaven! When I was a freshman in college, several of us were sitting around one night playing music and making up goofy songs. We started writing songs that no one would have the courage to sing-I wrote one called "It won't be heaven for me if you are there!" I'm pretty sure no one will sing that here. But again, good job Pastor Dustin! Today, we want to look at the final verses in chapter 7 and see if we can find the answer to this question... What is the hookup to a really great life? I think we all want to live a great life. We have a presumption in our minds of what a great life might be-you think you know that if certain things were to happen, your life would be great! The problem is as we age, the needle keeps moving. What was defined as a great life when we are in our 20s is not the same as when we are in our 50s or 80s, etc. Jesus unlocks a great principle which concludes this teaching about how we are to live our lives in a world so hostile to faith and practice. Let's read... (Matthew 7:24-27) Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn't obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash." Introduction: Here is today's good news--God Wants You Have A Great Life! How do we know this? (John 10:9-10) I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. What does a rich and satisfying life look like? * It is NOT an Abundance of things o Just owning a bunch of stuff doesn't insure success or happiness (Luke 12:15) Then he said, "Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own." o Some of the saddest people in life have everything * It is NOT Money (1 Timothy 6:10) For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. We could keep going with an endless list-fame, a new wife, a new family, a new job, sexual exploits, addiction...none of them is a guarantee of a great life! Sometimes the answer is right in front of you-- It's just 2 things...found in this passage... Listen and Follow. Jesus says, you want to have a great life-do 2 things-Listen and Follow LISTEN There once was a young woman named Hannah. Her husband loved her very much. However, she was not able to have children until she prayed to God for a son and promised to give him back to the Lord. The baby's name was Samuel and when he was old enough, he came to live in the temple with the priest Eli and he worked alongside him in the work there. One night as he was lying down to sleep, he heard a voice calling his name. He did not know the Lord's voice but his ears were trained to the voice of his teacher and mentor-Eli-so he rose and went to Eli to ask what he wanted. But Eli was not calling him. He did this again and on the third time, it was Eli who discerned that it was God who was talking to the boy and he instructed Samuel to respond-"speak Lord, your servant is listening!" That night God told Samuel about the death of Eli and the judgement that was coming upon his house. 2 things about this story that are important to you and me... * Samuel did not know the voice of the Lord-he was not trained to hear God's voice so when God spoke he did not recognize them. How many times has God been speaking to us but we did not recognize his voice because we have not trained ourselves to hear God's voice. We are trained to hear the voice of our family, friends, social media, people of acclaim but we don't know the voice of the Lord. * Samuel needed an Eli to discern and instruct him how to respond-Are there any Eli's in our church? Are you an Eli? Do you help young believers to respond to God's voice? I've been on a journey since I sat in this auditorium completely by myself and I was strongly aware of God's presence and I felt God challenge me to stop talking so much and start listening more. You and I are not listening enough to God these days... We are listening to the devil, to people who don't know God, don't lead with integrity, don't model faith in practice-but we are not listening enough to God. With 4 words-"Let there be light" (Gen. 1:3) - God created more than one hundred billion galaxies (Psalms 33:6) The LORD merely spoke, and the heavens were created. He breathed the word, and all the stars were born" What on earth might happen if he were to speak a few words to me? We must learn to recognize the voice of God (John 10:4) ...they follow him because they know his voice. They won't follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don't know his voice." Hearing God is essential to the very purpose for which you and I were made. Without it everything falls apart. But when we learn to love God's Word-to listen and obey-everything aligns. Nothing could ever be wilder or more wonderful than the human capacity to hear God's voice. At the same time, few things hold such potential to confuse and cause pain when used, abused, or ignored. Who hasn't been hurt by the misappropriation of God's word from the lips of a controlling parent, or the proud pronouncements of a arrogant preacher, or a troubled soul or even a total stranger. (Woman informing me she had a "word" for me) My Problem Is An Inability To Listen- * I have a developing problem with hearing (ambient noise distracts me) o Spiritually, we can become dull in our hearing and miss the voice of God. * I'm relearning to listen o In my own life, I recently made a decision to shut down my social media accounts for a time in order that I could focus on hearing from the Lord for my life, our church, my family and future. God began showing me that there was too much outside noise affecting my spiritual hearing. Training myself to listen to God as I read His Word How many different ways does God speak to me? * His Word * In prayer * Through others * Through dreams and visions * Through the gifts of the Spirit Those who are His will be known by just two things: * their ability to recognize his voice * their readiness to follow "My sheep know my voice and a stranger they will not follow" Hearing God begins and ends with meeting Jesus. FOLLOW There is absolutely nothing that matters as much to God as obedience- Remember what the passage from last week said? (Matthew 7:21) Not everyone who calls out to me, Lord! Lord! will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually DO the will of my Father in heaven will enter. In 2017, I started a journey to read the Bible and mark every passage that spoke about obedience. (THE WHOLE BIBLE IS ABOUT OBEDIENCE) and I was so inspired that I wrote a book with my son I Want What God Wants. When was the last time you prayed that prayer? Not what I want but what you want for me. Let's pray that right now! God knows the best way-and sometimes it's not the way we would choose and so we struggle with God- * we want our way * we want things the way we want them * it never ends well when we force our way. * King Saul was never the same after he disobeyed the Lord concerning the instructions of God through Samuel * Naaman does not get healed until he was surrendered to obey what God said through the prophet If you want the great life you have to obey * You're messed up today because you are not obeying the Lord * You have a talent to sing but you are not obeying the Lord in using your talent... * Your finances are a mess because you are not obeying the Lord-God said bring your tithes and I'll bless you but you are not giving God the tithe and God is not blessing you. * Your child are in rebellion because you're not obeying God about the environments of your house This passage DEMANDS that we make the radical, countercultural decision that we will build our lives on what Jesus says we should do and be! Regardless of popular opinion or practice. I will not have sex before marriage I will honor my parents and quit being a smart mouth I will love my enemies I will live by the Word of God and not my own desires The alternative to complete obedience is REBELLION against God and becomes a life that is self-centered and will eventually lead to destruction. Maybe not today or tomorrow but when you choose to disobey God and do things your way-IT NEVER WORKS OUT! As a culture, we have elevated self-expression to the most desired quality of life-to choose what I want to do and without regard for anything or anyone else. Look at how we express that... * It's my body and I can do what I want to do * If I want to live with my girlfriend/boyfriend before marriage that's our choice and we are not hurting anyone * If I want to choose an identity that is different than the one God chose for me, then who are you to deny me my right to do so? Self-expression is an idol (Proverbs 14:12) There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. If you want to have a great life-follow God's way! Help me to want what you want...(hand over heart) I want what you want for my life I want what you want for my family I want what you want for my future I want what you want for my health Conclusion: Is God calling you to obey? Is God calling you from where you are? I'll go where you want me to go I'll do what you want me to do The devil is trying to get in your head You belong to God You have a future that God is creating You will walk in peace from this moment forward You will do great things for God