Learn To Drive Series

(Praise Team – “On the Road Again”)

Learn to Drive

Isaiah 43:19

Learn to drive is our theme

for our Church this year.

Tonight I want to show you some things

that may convict you

and some things that will encourage you.

Jesus taught in riddles,

and if you listen to this message very carefully

you will see the direction

that God is leading us.

Many of you thought when you came here tonight

that you had already learned to drive

years and years ago.

But the fact is,

many of us have never fully understood the concept

of learning to drive ourselves

through the wilderness,

on the road that leads to the promised land.

My goal as your pastor, is to take this year,

and give you some driving instructions

that will enable you to be able to drive on your own.

“…the Lord says ... in Isaiah 43:19

I will make a road through the wilderness

and give you streams of water there.”

(GNT)

To travel on this road,

we need certain things

to make it through the wilderness.

We usually understand principles better

when we have something tangible to compare it to.

So we’re going to use the picture of a car

to identify ourselves with,

and see where we’re headed in this life.

There are two main parts of a car,

the outside, known as the body,

and the inside, known as the interior.

The body of the car is what everybody sees.

You probably take great care of this part of yourself

because you want everyone around you

to think well of you.

You wash it at least once a day,

scrub the pearly white grill maybe two times a day,

and some of you paint the car every morning.

Then you have the interior.

This is your soul, the real you,

who you really are.

You are the one who sees this part all the time,

you know both the good and the bad,

but other people only see this part

when the light comes on.

This is the part of your car

that you’ll literally drive into heaven someday.

The year of your car doesn’t really matter

because as you know, there are some antique cars out there that are more valuable than new ones.

And besides that, you didn’t choose the year of your car

because God your Creator

determined when you would be created.

But you have been allowed

to choose the make and model of your car.

Driving requires you to:

1. Pick the make and model of your vehicle.

Take a moment to mentally choose a car

that would be like yourself.——

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You may see yourself as a dump truck

with everyone elses’ debris on board.

It seems like people are always coming to you

to unload their problems and issues

and you’re starting to worry about breaking

the Department of Transportation law

of being overloaded.

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Some of you may be a garbage truck

carrying trash

you have allowed into your mind and body.

You look at triple X trash

or go to movies that laugh at sin

or listen to ungodly music

or play violent video games

or hang out with foul mouth sinners,

you load yourself full of trash so that there isn’t any room left for God.

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You may be a moving van

taking your baggage from church to church.

You come to church with the mindset of

this is how that church does it,

so that’s how this church should do it.

Let me tell you something,

We’re not here to model some other church,

we’re here to model Jesus Christ.

It never ceases to amaze me

that people expect me to serve God

in a ways He hasn’t gifted me.

If you’re curious about the long term direction

we’re going to be moving,

then study the ministry life of Paul

and the local church.

In the meantime,

don’t bring your baggage into this church,

leave it where it is.

Then there’s some of you

who wouldn’t be caught dead

in a big, slow moving vehicle, you’re like me,

you drive fast and furious

in a low slung sports coupe.

If you are like me, then you need to be careful

not to blow past people.

Some of you prefer the ordinary

and you’re happy with a mid-sized sedan.

You’re willing to coast through life

and whatever happens, happens

but don’t expect you to take any steps

to serve others or to do kingdom work.

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Then some of you prefer to live in the lap of luxury

and it doesn’t matter what it costs

for that big car.

You’re in debt up to the top of your fenders

and pretty soon it will be up to the headliner.

You are in so much in debt