“How can I live the Life I’ve always longed for?”
Scripture Reading: John 14:15-24
Barna Recaps 2006 Church Trends, Future Directions
Christian researcher George Barna has outlined what he considers his most significant findings for the year of 2006.
According to Barna, the latest survey statistics suggest Christians may be more attuned to matters of culture and entertainment than to matters of faith.
And I might add where this has been a tragic trend for past nations who have fallen away from God – it has resulted in apostasy and the spiritual decline of their nation.
Barna says, "People pay attention to what they deem important."
"These figures may be another indicator that millions of Christians invest more of their mental energy in cultural literacy than in biblical literacy."
Barna’s recent studies also found that the notion of personal and Biblical holiness has slipped out of the consciousness of the vast majority of Christian Churches and believers.
According to his research group’s findings, while just 21 percent of adults consider themselves to be holy, by these respondents’ own admission, large numbers have no idea what "holiness" means and only one out of every three believe that God expects people to become holy.
The Word of God can’t get any clearer on this subject of holiness than when it says in Leviticus 20:7
Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the LORD your God.
From the very beginning of the human race, God expected His people to live a life that was holy.
You and I will both note that if we study the Word of God where the command from God to “Be Holy” starts in one of the early Old Testament letters and weaves itself through the Bible to the last book which is the book of Revelation.
The Apostle Peter addressed it when he said 1 Peter 1:15
15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” NLT
Someone might ask the question: Well - how important is this being Holy or what we refer to as Holiness – just how important is it? I’ve not heard much about this doctrine!
Let me take you to Hebrews 12:14 where it reads::
“Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be Holy; for without holiness no one will see the Lord.”
So according to the Word of God, this command from God to BE Holy has everything to do with our spiritual journey here and now and the Hope of seeing God in Heaven..
This morning is our time to begin 40 Days of Discovery called “The Quest.”
The Quest is going to be an exciting journey for you and your small group.
I can’t tell you how important it is for every one to get into a Small Group to experience this spiritual adventure.
During these 40 Days of Discovery we want you to think about the Spirit-filled life as God’s provision for leading a life of purpose.
During this time together we will emphasize the Personhood of the Holy Spirit.
About three years ago now, our church went through 40 Days of Purpose by author and Pastor Rick Warren.
The Quest has been developed by the Church of the Nazarene to address finding Life’s purpose according to the Holy Spirit’s work in our life and the Life of Holiness.
There were two great assignments that Jesus gave to His disciples to when He left this earth and these two great assignments are still what He gives to His church to accomplish.
In our churches Mission Statement it reads: As His Church here we are to fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment by reaching the unchurched with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.
The first Great Assignment is called The Great Commission which is found in Matthew 28:19-20
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
The Other Great Assignment is found in Matthew 22:37-40 which we call the Great Commandment
37 Jesus replied: "You are to ’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Now – these two assignments were way beyond the disciples’ strength and abilities to accomplish them.
When we consider the disciples behavior up to this point, you remember, we wonder why God didn’t come up with a better plan.
-- Do you recall Peter always so unpredictable
-- James and John wanted position and power
-- Thomas was a doubter
-- They struggled in their devotion and faith
I mean how could these men possibly do what God was asking them to do?
And Jesus, this is just like Jesus, He was aware of their shortcomings – their weakness and of the enormity of the tasks He had left them to do.
I mean how could these men live a fulfilled life that Jesus had meant for them?
So, in our text Jesus prepares them for what was ahead.
Turn with me now to John 14 and let’s read the passage that deals with this: Let’s begin with verse 1 and read down to verse 6
In light of the fact that Jesus knew what lay ahead of Him He is getting ready to tell His disciples not to get troubled in heart because of what He was ahead.
1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with Me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going."
The next thing Jesus tells them is the Way to the Father
5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"
6 Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Again let me say, Jesus knew these chosen men very well and knew they needed help to accomplish what He wanted them to do –So Jesus Promises someone to help them – and He was none other than the Holy Spirit
15 "If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Now we dare not miss the significance of this passage of Scripture in preparation for Our Quest to Live the life we’ve always longed for.
Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, we must understand that Jesus is not going to leave us without help to accomplish in our lives what our purpose is suppose to be.
But it’s sad to say and tragically so many in America’s churches today are missing this Great Truth.
I don’t want to miss any of God’s truth. And I don’t want this church to miss any of it. And I’m sure you feel the same way. Can I hear “Amen?”
Last Wednesday night we learned about the last church in Revelation called Laodicea.
The churches problem was and Jesus referred to them as this way - they were a Luke-warm church.
I’ve studied this and again reminded that the Laodicea church represents the Church at the End of the Age – meaning just before Jesus comes again the majority of churches in this world will be like the Laodicean church – Luke Warm.
Their problem was:
1) They were only half-committed to Christ.
2) They were only half-committed to proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God.
3) They were only half-committed to teaching the Word of God.
4) They were only half-committed to evangelism and the spreading of missions around the world.
You see – it’s important for us to understand and own up to the fact that if we as believers are only half-committed to Christ, then we are lukewarm at the best and we are going to miss living the life we’ve always longed for.
There are so many things today that try to rob us of the right direction in life. I could mention so many …
Personal gain
Materialism
Pleasures
That big salary
That Dream Job
Let me stop right here and take time to show you a film clip that will speak to us in volumes:
As you watch this think on these questions:
What is really important in my life?
What dream am I following?
Are you on a road that you need to change directions?
Maybe some have their priorities wrong.
SHOW FILM CLIP: Chapter 25 time 1:27 to 1:30 12
Cheaper By The Dozen
If I were to ask you this morning what the most important thing is in your life? What would it be?
What is your life showing you by what you are spending all your time, means, and thoughts on?
Jesus said, “If you love Me, you will obey what I command.”
What’s more important for your life and my life than anything we are doing?
Jesus promised, “He will give you another Counselor (the Holy Spirit) to be with you forever…”
I want you to remember this was the last conversation of great length that Jesus had with His disciples before going to His death on the cross.
It’s sort of like a deathbed request
This is of great importance.
Jesus actually said: “This is what I want you to do when I leave, because I’m coming back for you…”
So Jesus made it clear that in His absence He would be making preparations for us to come and live with Him for eternity, but while He was gone and they were still alive on this earth, Jesus had some things He wanted them to do.
Somehow, I’m not sure how we do this, but we stray, come on be honest, I do! Will you be honest with me and just say we loose focus of what is really important.
Chuck Swindoll illustrates it so well:
“Let’s pretend that you work for me.
In fact, you are my executive assistant in a company that is growing rapidly.
I’m the owner and I’m interested in expanding overseas. To pull this off, I make plans to travel abroad and stay there until the new branch office gets established.
I make all the arrangements to take my family in the move to Europe for six to eight months, and I leave you in charge of the busy stateside organization.
I tell you that I will write you regularly and give you direction and instructions.
I leave and you stay.
Months pass.
A flow of letters are mailed from Europe and received by you at the national headquarters.
I spell out all my expectations.
Finally, I return.
Soon after my arrival I drive down to the office.
I am stunned!
Grass and weeds have grown up high.
A few windows along the street are broken.
I walk into the receptionist’s room and she is doing her nails, chewing gum, and listening to her favorite disco station.
I look around and notice the waste baskets are overflowing, the carpet hasn’t been vacuumed for weeks, and nobody seems concerned that the owner has returned.
I ask about your whereabouts and someone in the crowded lounge area points down the hall and yells, "I think he’s down there."
Disturbed, I move in that direction and bump into you as you are finishing a chess game with our sales manager.
I ask you to step into my office (which has been temporarily turned into a television room for watching afternoon soap operas).
"What in the world is going on, man?"
"What do ya’ mean, Chuck?
"Well, look at this place!
Didn’t you get any of my letters?"
"Letters?
Oh, yeah -- sure, got every one of them.
As a matter of fact, Chuck, we have had letter study every Friday night since you left.
We have even divided all the personnel into small groups and discussed many of the things you wrote.
Some of those things were really interesting.
You’ll be pleased to know that a few of us have actually committed to memory some of your sentences and paragraphs.
One or two memorized an entire letter or two!
Great stuff in those letters!"
"Okay, okay -- you got my letters, you studied them and meditated on them, discussed and even memorized them. But what did you do about them?"
"Do? Uh -- we didn’t do anything about them." –
(Improving Your Serve, by Charles Swindoll, p. 170-171 )
Unfortunately and tragically, this is what often happens to many believers in the church of Jesus Christ over a period of time.
I use to hear John Maxwell tell new believers not to become like old believers. And I ask him about it one day when we were together and John said, “Dan, too many believers in the church today have lost their focus.
You see - We become ineffective, unproductive and unattractive because our faith is merely cerebral, what does that mean - it means we get it intellectually, but not emotionally, not in the depths of our being.
We know the right stuff but it never touches our living. Or it touched our living at first, and then we lost it gradually.
We know how to talk it, but we don’t know how to live it.
As important as solid Bible doctrine is, folks, listen, it is not the sum total of Biblical Christianity.
Christian discipleship is not about how much you know . . . it is about who you follow.
It’s how much we listen to Him and obey Him.
In our text Jesus drives home that point well, He says in verse 15: "If you love Me you will obey what I command."
And in verse 23, "If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love Me will not obey My teaching. These words you hear are not My own; they belong to the Father who sent Me."
You see – we can sit here Sunday after Sunday and nod our heads intellectually and never respond with our hearts and actions to what Jesus told us to do.
And as a result of this, we fall way short of being what we really want our spiritual life to become.
We carry guilt in our spiritual lives because we know we’re not where we need to be spiritually.
If you were to get serious about this today you would have to agree with me that most of us need to refocus our spiritual lives beginning this New Year.
If you want to think about this like a spiritual New Year’s Resolution, that might even help you.
However you want to think about it, my desire is to get you and me to think seriously about our lives and where we’re going.
I want to share with you Two Major Points that will help you and me achieve this:
How we can life the Spiritual life we have always longed for?
1. True Belief is expressed practically
When a couple says they love each other does that mean they do?
Maybe! But not necessarily!
The test is how the individuals show their love.
True faith is not about saying certain words in an attitude of prayer.
We could quote and pray the Lord’s Prayer and only say it intellectually.
True faith is practical.
When Jesus said “I will come for you.” Does that really mean something to us?
How do we really think about Him coming for us?
George Beverly Shea, soloist for the Billy Graham crusades wrote the song, “I’d Rather Have Jesus” that has gone around the world and back again convincing our generation of the need for Christ in their lives.
My mother has sung this song for years in the church:
“I’d rather have Jesus than silver or gold,
I’d rather be His than have riches untold;
I’d rather have Jesus than Houses or lands,
I’d rather be led by His nail-pierced hand.
Than to be the king of a vast domain
Or be held in sin’s dread sway;
I’d rather have Jesus than anything
This world affords today.
Now folks, listen to me, There are many non-Christians who would sing: “I’d rather not have Jesus ….. if I have to change my life-style. I’d rather not have Jesus if I have to give up some things I enjoy now.”
Many people are searching for the meaning to the fullness of life.
They are asking, “Why am I here?”
“What is life and death all about?”
“What has happened to the excitement and enthusiasm I once had as a Christian believer?”
Many people are looking in the wrong places to find the answer to the kind of life they have always longed for.
But the only and true answer is Jesus.
The Good News is that Jesus is always patiently waiting for you to come to Him.
Jesus knocks at the heart of every person and asks the person to open their heart’s door and invite Him in.
Revelation 3:20
Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal as friends.” NLT
The amazing thing here is that many of us have misunderstood this passage.
You see – in biblical context Jesus is speaking to the Church at Laodicea – and it’s tragic that He is actually standing outside of the Church door, knocking, trying to get an invitation to enter.
Do you see this tragedy? Jesus standing on the outside of the Church – knocking to get entrance.
Believer friend, how long has Jesus been knocking at your hearts door? Do you sense it right now?
God forbid that we would ever get to the place where Jesus can’t be present in our church and our lives. And folks, we are the church.
Let me ask you - If you had to choose between Jesus and something precious to you…some alluring dream or tantalizing desire…some lifestyle …what would you choose – Jesus or something else?
Illustration:
# Joseph Stowell, president of Moody Bible College, tells of having dinner with Billy Graham at a dinner for the staff and board of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Billy was eighty years old at the time and Dr. Stowell asked him a question: “Of all your experiences in ministry, what have you enjoyed most?”
“Was it you time spent with presidents and heads of state? Or was it….”
Before he could finish his next sentence Billy Graham responded: “None of that, by far the greatest joy of my life has been my fellowship with Jesus.
Now hear me folks, here’s the Key to having the Life that will really mean something to you. Billy said:
“Hearing Him speak to me, having Him guide me, sensing His presence with me and His power through me. This has been the highest pleasure of my life!”
The fact is we are not called to obey so we can gain salvation . . . . We are called to obey because of our salvation.
"Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it--he will be blessed in what he does."(James 1:23-25)
Do you truly want to be blessed in your life?
– then you and I must look into that perfect law that God has given to us for our freedom and we continue to do this – obeying what He tells us we must do.
Oh, people, don’t miss this today! But pastor, How do I do this?
In order for you to do this – you and I must become students of His Word.
Go back up to the last part of that verse that says, “…But the man/woman who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what they have heard but doing it – they will be blessed in what they do.”
People - because of this, we will be blessed.
Because of this we will live the life we’ve always longed for.
2. The Second thing Jesus said was, “I will come to you!”
Jesus promised us “The Counselor”
We refer to Him as the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity.
When we stop and really think this through, Jesus sends to us the Gift of the Third Person of the Trinity.
What a powerful gift coming from God.
You see when we have the Holy Spirit in our lives, we actually have Jesus in our lives.
The disciples were not asked to fulfill the Great Commandment alone and they were not charged with making disciples of all nations without some help.
So Jesus promised the disciples and He promises us there would be “the Spirit of truth” sent to us.
To assist us to accomplish what we can’t do on our own.
To do the work which Jesus has called us to do.
And this is what “The Quest” is all about: Learning in the next 40 Days to discover the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
The true believer is the one who shows that they love the Lord in what they DO.
Incidentally, this is why our purpose statement as a church reads: We want to be a G.R.E.A.T. church: which is on the back of your bulletin.
I would love to see us add another part that would read like this:
"we want to train and encourage people to apply Christian truth in daily living."
Only when faith is applied . . . is it truly faith at all.
Secondly I want you to see with me that
2. Obedience is the way to Increased Intimacy and Enjoyment of God which leads to a life that is full.
Jesus makes this promise to those who obey Him: "My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make our home with him." (V. 23).
Jesus then promises a new fellowship with the Father for those who obey.
This is not like a piece of candy that is offered as a bribe to entice a child to be well-behaved.
This blessing is just common sense.
When we obey the Word we open doors to God’s blessings.
When we disobey we close those doors.
Vance Havner has it right –
"You cannot break the laws of God -- you break yourself against them. You might as well try to attack Gibraltar with a popgun as to go up against the laws of God. It will not work. You jump off a skyscraper and you do not break the law of gravitation. You break your neck, but not the law of gravitation."
You’ve seen this experience in your own life, I’m sure.
There is something you feel God wants you to do but it is inconvenient or difficult and you don’t want to do it.
A battle goes on in your soul.
Finally you decide to do what God wants because of your love for Him.
How do you feel when you have completed the task?
You feel terrific, You feel close to the Father, You feel glad you did what was right.
That’s the principle in operation here.
Every time we disobey we cut ourselves off from fellowship with the Lord.
We create and erect a barrier.
This barrier hinders the warmth of His love, the enjoyment of His person.
The goal of obedience is not material blessings as some would seem to indicate.
The goal of obedience is an increased intimacy with the Father . . . . a much better motivation than any truckload of material things. Wouldn’t you agree?
Increasing obedience yields increased fellowship and intimacy with the Father.
When you and I seriously study the lives of the OT and NT men and women who were very intimate with God you find characters who were completely in obedience to God and as a result lived a life that was fulfilled.
Conclusion
Now here is where we can apply this principle: Let me ask you some questions in coming to a conclusion:
Do you close to God or feel away from God?
Are you finding it hard to enjoy your relationship with the Father because of constant guilt?
Do you feel that your life is not where it should be in relationship with God because of sin or inconsistency?
If so you might want to examine the way you are living your life.
Are you trusting yourself rather than Him?
Are you worrying more than resting?
Are you harboring some other sin in your life that you can’t let go?
Remove the sin and you will remove the barrier.
I suspect that people will have one of two responses to what I have said in this message.
It is possible that there are some who would say: I’M DOING ALRIGHT. I’m living the victorious life and I’m up-to-date in my relationship with God.
There are some who feel they are doing a good job at their obedience.
To those people I would say, "Make sure you are measuring your obedience by the Word of God and not by the conventions of men."
Let me remind you of some of the Lord’s directives:
• Matthew 5.....If you are offering your gift at the altar and remember someone has something against you....leave your gift and be reconciled to your brother. [Should you be somewhere else this morning?]
• "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." (Eph. 4:32) [Is there a grudge you are nursing?]
• "Love the Lord Your God with ALL your Heart, Soul, Mind and Strength (Mt. 22:37) [How much of your heart love God?]
• Love your enemies . . . do good to those who spitefully use you (Mt. 5:34) [Revenge may be "sweet" but it is sinful.]
• Do nothing out of selfish ambition (Phil 2:3)
• Go into all the world and preach the Gospel (Mt. 28) [Have you gotten out of your house with the gospel yet?]
• Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Cor. 9) [Are you giving your tithe and offerings? Are you stingy with God?]
• Carry [not ignore, dread, or justify] each other’s burdens (Gal. 6:2)
• Do everything for the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31)
• Submit [give of yourself....not promote yourself] to one another out of reverence for Christ (Eph. 5:21)
• Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." (Eph. 4:29) [What do your words say about your love for the Lord?]
• Whatever happens conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel (Phil 1:27)
These are just a sampling of the commands of Scripture. If you feel you are doing a good job in your expression of love to the Savior . . . . you may not be listening.
The other response to this message might be I AM A sinner. I don’t know Jesus as my Savior and Lord.
You may wonder if you really love the Lord as you evaluate your life in light of today’s text.
I have two possible responses to that feeling:
FIRST, it may be that you have just been talking about faith.
It’s possible that you have never really given yourself to the Savior or you’ve drifted away from Him.
If that’s the case, maybe now is the time to stop playing church and begin to really trust the Lord.
If you are worried about your lack of love it is evident that the Holy Spirit is working in your life.
You see – when we get this feeling – the Holy Spirit is doing His office work in our lives.
Do you need to respond to Him today?
Take a moment and declare your unreserved willingness to trust Him for life and eternity.
SECOND, you may have already expressed a true desire to follow Him but what frustrates you is your inconsistency.
Join the club. I’m very aware of this feeling.
I think the testimony of every follower is: "I am not following in the way He deserves to have me follow".
What we need to remember is that the work of the Holy Spirit in our life is a progressive work.
It has a beginning but it also is a gradual work.
It’s been 37 years ago now when I came to the Lord for a recommitment and rededication of my life to Him.
Since then He had been working in me and drawing me long before that - but on that day I stopped fighting.
Have I been perfect in every way? NO! NO!
But on that Sunday morning I said, "Lord, I believe now that you died for my sins. I thank you for saving me from my sins, but Lord I need to give all of myself to you. I am willing to follow you as Lord of my life. Father, God I am so up and down in my spiritual life and I need the fullness of Your Holy Spirit in my life to be consistent, please sanctify me."
At that moment my life was changed.
Now 37 years later I still am not what I should be.
I still have my struggles – BUT – He has been faithful to me!
I was sanctified in a moment and filled with His Holy Spirit – And since then there has been a steady growth in holiness in my life.
Have I arrived? NO! Have I lived a perfect life for God? NO! I wish I was moving faster . . . but thank God, I am moving.
Sometimes I go up and down in my spiritual relationship with God.
I find that sometimes now I actually do the right things simply because I love the Lord.
I have found the Lord to be sweeter, more merciful and more magnificent with every passing month and year.
And friend - you will too if you are seeking to love Him in your life.
True love is practical love.
It’s more than reading the letters and talking about them . . . .it is doing something with the instructions He has given.
True love yields rich fellowship with the Father.
And the good news is this: As we continue to work at obeying His commands . . . . our fellowship with the Lord will just get sweeter and sweeter.
You and I have not yet begun to understand or appreciate the greatness of our God.
But someday we will!
