Learn to Drive Series
PROPER CARE & MAINTENANCE OF YOUR VEHICLE
We’ve been Learning to Drive for 2 months now.
How are you doing?
Had any wrecks?
Any unexpected stops?
Are you reading and obeying the road signs?
Are you staying away from steep grades?
Have you aligned yourself with your authorities
to stay under God’s umbrella of protection?
How are you doing with your new habits?
Are you having daily devotions now?
Are you more faithful doing what God wants you to do?
Are you closer to being like Christ than when we began the series?
Tonight we’re going to do a GPS check, and reposition ourselves as needed.
Hopefully, many of you will be able to honestly say
you have been making progress, and be able to move your car to the next level.
But before we get to that, I want to talk about
routine maintenance and repairs.
The first thing you need to understand is church is not where you come to have your repairs done.
Church is not a mechanic’s garage, it’s simply a filling station.
What services do filling stations offer?
•Gas / Fuel to keep you going (Encouragement)
•Windshield cleaning (Helps us see things more clearly)
•Tire pressure check (Accountability)
•Vacuuming (Get the world’s dirt off of us)
•Car wash (Praise and Worship)
Our coming together every week gives you some basic care to keep you going.
Church can’t fix a broken life.
All we can do is offer encouragement and support.
Church is a place to join with others to get
refueled, and refocused so we can continue on the road of life.
When your real car needs real maintenance or repairs, you don’t go to the filling station, you go to the garage, the repair shop.
The garage has a mechanic there (hopefully a knowledgeable one) that can fix anything that is wrong with your car, no matter how bad it’s broken.
It shouldn’t matter about the make and model of your vehicle, a good mechanic should be able to fix anything.
Now some mechanics do specialize.
So if you have a tough problem with your vehicle
you would probably want to go to the dealer’s shop.
However, most of us can’t afford dealer prices
of over 75 dollars per hour.
But if money were no object,it would make sense to take your vehicle to a reputable dealer.
They know more about your specific vehicle
than anyone else, because they specialize.
What about life?
Where is the garage for our spiritual car?
Let me recommend that you trust your life to the only garage that gives a 100% guarantee AND a lifetime warranty.
This garage has been around forever,
and you can trust them completely.
They have never have made a mistake!
How many mechanics can claim that?
If you haven’t figured it out yet,
I’m talking about God’s Garage!
You can trust Him with your life.
Not only is He the dealer, He’s also the manufacturer.
Who could possibly know more about you than He does?
Some people come to church because they got their life in a mess, and they want somebody to fix it.
Like I said, church only refuels and refocuses you.
If you’re driving a broken down, piece of junk,
because you refuse to submit to God and live right,
church can’t do much for you.
We can give you more gas to keep you choking along, but sooner or later, your junk pile is going to fall apart, if you don’t get the necessary repairs done soon.
If you really want to do something about your vehicle,
if you want to get your life straight,then go to God’s garage and get it fixed right away.
Do you see what I’m trying to say?
Don’t depend on the church to straighten out your life, because it’s not going to happen.
If you really want help for your problems, then go to the One Who can do the job right.
The One Who specializes in you.
That One is God.
Now I know that some people go to church for a patch job, a temporary fix for their problems.
They constantly complain about their problems
to every one who will listen and rehash their situation over and over again.
They hope they can get people to feel sorry for them,
and maybe even get a hand out or two.
These are the kind of people who don’t want to change.
I limit my contact with these people because my time is so valuable.
I actually have a personal policy not to waste time on anyone who chooses not to help themselves.
And I encourage you to not waste your valuable time dealing with someone who doesn’t want to change.
God even says not to cast your pearls before the swine.
I will try to help anyone, once maybe even twice.
But if they don’t pick up the ball, and starting shouldering their own burdens and take steps to help themselves, I move on.
There are just too many others out there who really DO want to live right, and are willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.
In the Bible we see folks just like us that need help.
Take David for instance, he often went to the Lord for help.
When he messed up, he wasn’t too big to admit it.
And he knew man couldn’t offer him the help that he needed.
Psalms 142:1-4 says,
“I cry aloud with my voice to the LORD;
I make supplication with my voice to the LORD.
I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my trouble before Him.
When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
hey have hidden a trap for me.
Look to the right and see;
For there is no one who regards me;
There is no escape for me;
No one cares for my soul.
When David approached God,
first he told Him exactly how he was feeling,
and he was honest about his feelings.
What to do to get the right repair at God’s garage:
1. Tell God how you feel and be honest.
David didn’t spend an unhealthy amount of time
focusing on his troubles.
He addressed them, and moved on.
David then turned his focus to God.
Verse 5 -7
“I cried out to You, O LORD; I said,
‘You are my refuge, My portion in the land of the living. Give heed to my cry, For I am brought very low; Deliver me from my persecutors, For they are too strong for me.Bring my soul out of prison, So that I may give thanks to Your name; The righteous will surround me, For You will deal bountifully with me.’”
David began to verbalize his faith by asking God to help him out of his troubles.
He asked God for help, he didn’t just expect it.
What to do to get the right repair at God’s garage:
1. Tell God how you feel and be honest.
2. Ask God for help.
Then David asked God for mercy.
Psalms 143:1-6,
“Hear my prayer, O LORD,
Give ear to my supplications!
Answer me in Your faithfulness,
in Your righteousness!
And do not enter into judgment
with Your servant,
For in Your sight no man living is righteous.
For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life to the ground;
He has made me dwell in dark places,
like those who have long been dead.
Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; My heart is appalled within me.
I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all Your doings;
I muse on the work of Your hands.
I stretch out my hands to You;
My soul longs for You, as a parched land.”
David began to beg God to answer his requests.
He also acknowledged the greatness of God by reflecting on His past works.
What to do to get the right repair
at God’s garage:
1. Tell God how you feel and be honest.
2. Ask God for help.
3. Beg God for mercy
and thank Him for His past work in your life.
Then David proved he wanted to do his part
in making the necessary changes in his life.
Verse 7 -12
“Answer me quickly, O LORD, my spirit fails;
Do not hide Your face from me, Or I will become like those who go down to the pit.
Let me hear Your loving kindness
in the morning; For I trust in You;
Teach me the way in which I should walk;
For to You I lift up my soul.
Deliver me, O LORD, from my enemies;
I take refuge in You.
Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
For the sake of Your name, O LORD, revive me. In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
And in Your loving kindness, cut off my enemies And destroy all those who afflict my soul,
For I am Your servant.”
David wanted a change in His life
and he asked God for his specific needs.
He also asked God to deliver him, to teach him,
to lead him, and to revive him.
All of these actions
would take work on David’s part as well.
What to do to get the right repair
at God’s garage:
1. Tell God how you feel and be honest.
2. Ask God for help.
3. Beg God for mercy
and thank Him for His past work in your life.
4. Ask God to help you to make needed changes in your life and take action to change.
David didn’t expect God to do all the work
to fix his life, he was willing to do his part too.
Now some people make the mistake of trying to get help from PEOPLE instead of GOD.
People are easier to see, and trusting them doesn’t take a whole lot of faith.
But that’s a mistake, because people are just like you.
No man can give you the HELP you need,they can only give you the ENCOURAGEMENT you need.
It’s up to you to take the action necessary
with God’s help, to change your life for the better.
After God answered David’s requests,
David gave Him praise.
Psalms 146:1-10 “Praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD, O my soul!
I will praise the LORD while I live;
I will sing praises to my God
while I have my being.
Do not trust in princes,
In mortal man, in whom there is no salvation.
His spirit departs, he returns to the earth;
In that very day his thoughts perish.
How blessed is he
whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose hope is in the LORD his God,
Who made heaven and earth,
The sea and all that is in them;
Who keeps faith forever;
Who executes justice for the oppressed;
Who gives food to the hungry.
The LORD sets the prisoners free.
The LORD opens the eyes of the blind;
The LORD raises up those who are bowed down; The LORD loves the righteous;
The LORD protects the strangers;
He supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He thwarts the way of the wicked.
The LORD will reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the LORD!”
What to do to get the right repair
at God’s garage:
1. Tell God how you feel and be honest.
2. Ask God for help.
3. Beg God for mercy
and thank Him for His past work in your life.
4. Ask God to help you
to make needed changes in your life
and take action to change.
5. Give God praise for answering your prayers.
When you go to God for repair,He can offer you so much more than your Christian friends can give you.
Here’s some repairs found at God’s garage:
Healing
James 5:15 – “and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick,and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.”
Mending for broken hearts
Psalms 147:3 – “He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.”
Care
I Peter 5:7 – “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”
Forgiveness
I John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Provisions
Matthew 6:31-33 - 31
“So don’t worry about having enough
food or drink or clothing.
Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things? Your heavenly Father
already knows all your needs,and He will give you all you need from day to day if you live for Him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern.
But seek first His kingdom
and His righteousness,and all these things will be added to you.”
Blessings
Matthew 7:11 - "If you then, being evil,
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your Father Who is in heaven
give what is good to those who ask Him!”
Love & Compassion
Psalms 145:8 – “The LORD is kind and merciful,
slow to get angry, full of unfailing love.”
Rest
Matthew 11:28 – “Then Jesus said,
‘Come to Me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’”
Health & Financial blessing
Proverbs 3:7-10 - 7
“Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn your back on evil.
Then you will gain renewed health and vitality.
Honor the LORD with your wealth
and with the best part of everything your land produces. Then he will fill your barns with grain,
and your vats will overflow with the finest wine.”
Discipline
Proverbs 3:11-12 “My child, don’t ignore it
when the LORD disciplines you, and don’t be discouraged when He corrects you. For the Lord corrects those He loves, just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.”
Wisdom
James 1:5 “If you need wisdom –
if you want to know what God wants you to do –
ask Him, and He will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.”
Strength, Skill in war
Psalms 144:1 – “Praise the LORD, my protector!
He trains me for battle and prepares me for war.”
Escape
I Corinthians 10:13 –
“No temptation has overtaken you
but such as is common to man;
and God is faithful, Who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also,
so that you will be able to endure it.”
Protection
Ephesians 6:13-17 13 “Therefore,take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation,
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
Healing, Mending for broken hearts, Care,
Forgiveness, Provisions, Blessings,
Love & Compassion, Rest, Health & Financial blessing,
Discipline, Wisdom, Strength Skill in war,
Escape, Protection
With this kind of service being offered to you
at God’s garage,why do you even need to go to church?
We come together to praise God with our church family.
We give and receive encouragement, support, and a fresh point of view.
Also, many times God provides for us through His people.
If God has impressed on your heart to do something for someone, make sure you do it because it may be the way
He has chosen to answer a request.
But if you feel like your needs are not being met, don’t get mad at people, talk to God.
He’s the One Who has promised to be the Provider.
How many people have gotten mad and left a church
because someone wasn’t meeting their needs?
We have seen that it isn’t people’s responsibility
to provide for you,God alone is our provider.
Our job is to praise Him!
Psalms 133:1-3
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brothers to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard, Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the edge of his robes.
It is like the dew of Hermon Coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing—life forever.”
Psalms 134:1-3
“Behold, bless ye the Lord,
all ye servants of the Lord,
which by night stand in the house of the Lord.
Lift up your hands in the sanctuary,
and bless the Lord. The Lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.”
Psalms 135:1-21
“Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, O servants of the Lord,
You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In the courts of the house of our God!
Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
Sing praises to His name, for it is lovely.”
Now anyone who has had many dealings
with a mechanic knows it’s a good thing to stay on his good side.
You want to be very friendly, and keep a good relationship going.
It’s hard to find a shop who will work on a BMW.
But I dropped my son’s old BMW off at a garage
the other day to have the clutch worked on.
My son called the mechanic a few days later
to find out how much longer before it was done,
and the mechanic would barely even give him
the time of day, because my son doesn’t have a relationship with him.
So I called the same day, and was able to get
all the information my son wanted from the mechanic
with no problem at all.
But I’ve worked at keeping a good relationship
with this mechanic,because I know I need him to work on stuff no one else will touch! And he’s treated me right.
It’s the same with God.
God isn’t a Jeannie in a bottle,there to grant our wishes whenever we choose to let Him out.
He’s our Creator, Who desires and deserves an ongoing relationship with us.
If you really want to fix the problems in your life,
or if you really need help getting through difficult times, then you need to get and MAINTAIN a close relationship with God.
The relationship begins at salvation.
And then it’s maintained through reading and studying the Bible daily and through constant on going prayer.
The Bible actually says to pray all the time.
I Thessalonians 5:17 says,
“Pray without ceasing.”
Now let’s take a moment to re-evaluate our lives.
I’m going to ask that everyone come up
to the GPS board, and if you aren’t able to move your car up then lay flat on the floor while I shoot you with this sponge ball gun.
If you can’t drive to the next level,then I ask you to come and pray over it, and ask God to help you this month with the area where you are struggling.
Then expect God to do it, and be willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.
“Pray like it depends on God, but work like it depends on you.”
Let’s pray.
