Have you walked through the Wrong Door?
Scripture: Isaiah 30:21 Date: 19 September 2010
Purpose: To share that no matter where we are in life, God is in control and we need to lay our Pride to the side and accept the Salvation that has been given to us.
A GPS is a very handy item in today’s world. I remember when I was in the Army how handy they were in getting us to the exact location we needed to be at.
Today, Stacy and I use ours on a regular basis. It just makes the trip a whole lot better as we can simply relax and enjoy the trip as we hear a voice tells us where to go. We have faith in the GPS that it will not lead us astray.
This reminds me of another and greater GPS that we have in life and if we listen we too will hear a voice directing us in all we do.
Would you please stand for the reading of God’s Word this morning?
Isaiah 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it."
If you are anything like us, you spend a good amount of time in Wal-Mart when you go. It seems like every time we are in there, we always leave with more than what we went there for in the first place. A quick short trip to Wal-Mart is never the case. Sometimes I often wonder where we live?
Since we practically live in Wal-Mart, I often use their facilities. And yes, I do mean their bathrooms. This past week Stacy and I were spending some quality time in our second home, (Wal-Mart), and I had to use their facilities, (the bathroom). I told Stacy that I would be right back but that isn't how it worked out this time.
I went into the stall, and did what I needed to do and was just about ready to leave but I found myself frozen as I heard two females entering the bathroom. At first I thought to myself, “Now Kelly, did you just go into the wrong bathroom?” But I realized that wasn't the case when I heard one of the ladies say, “Why are there Urinals in here? We must be in the Men's restroom!”
These ladies had just walked through the Wrong Door but what the really awkward thing was. Was that they went ahead and did what they came in there to do. One of them told the other one to “watch out and just make sure no one comes in.” They never even realized I was in there; they just talked and talked and talked and talked. Now I know why women always go together to the restroom. Guys trust me when I tell you, “You do not want to know the things they talk about in the restroom!!”
Now, finding yourself in the wrong bathroom sure can be an embarrassing event. I know I have walked into the wrong facilities a time or two but I can tell you that once I realized where I was, I jetted and went to where I was supposed to be.
Perhaps your life has been or is that way today. Finding yourself a bit lost, in the wrong place. Maybe you have been so caught up with life in general and you have failed to notice the signs of where you are going and you have ended up in the wrong place. You have walked through the Wrong Door. The good news is this, God allows U-turns and He desires each of us to not stay where we are. He wants to guide us and allow Him to be in control.
I. G.OD IS IN CONTROL!
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
A. The world tells us that this is a negative thing. We are told that it is a sign of weakness if we are not in control of our own lives. We are told that we will not amount to anything in life unless we take control and implement our own plans for our lives.
1. Since the fall of man, we’ve been in a power struggle with God over control. We surrender to God’s will, but when His reality interferes with our daily lives, we jump right back in the driver’s seat.
VIDEO: “The Stool”
2. How committed are we to following God’s direction in our lives?
3. Praying to Jesus and telling Him you gave your life to Him was the easy part. We all can talk the talk but can we truly walk the walk?
4. You must give yourself totally to Him and allow Him to be in control of your life.
Illustration: Growing up I didn't always agree nor did I enjoy the control my parents had over me. “Don't do this and don't do that.” Growing up I FELT LIKE THEY WERE ALWAYS TAKING THE FUN OUT OF BEING A KID!!Boy they were on a power trip. I couldn't stay up late, I couldn't eat whatever I wanted, when I wanted; I couldn't even go wherever I wanted. They seemed to always be there giving me direction in life.
I was jealous of some kids. I am sure you knew some like these as well growing up. The ones with the cool parents that allowed their kids to do whatever they wanted. Boy they had it made and they had it all.
Today many of those same kids I was so jealous over have a totally different life. No longer am I jealous over them. Some are in jail, dead, or living a life full of regret and sadness because of the wrong choices they have made in their life.
I have realized that my parents truly loved me and cared about my well-being. They weren't those mean “controlling” parents that never allowed me to have fun that I thought. They cared about me and wanted the best for me but it was so hard to see that then.
5. God too loves us and. He not only cares about our present but our future as well. We need to realize that God is in control not because of a power trip but because He loves us and wants the best for us.
6. Since God loves us and wants to bless each of us why is it that we don't believe or feel this way at times? What is it that keeps us from seeing the truth and living the life that He has designed for us to live? What is it that blinds us at times from walking through the right door?
II. P.RIDE HINDERS US!
A. Luke 18: 9-14 9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
1. I am sure we all have known people like this or perhaps have been like this at one time or another in our lives. Quite frankly, the Pharisee really was an Eagle Scout. He dotted every religious "i" and he crossed every theological "t."
2. He went strictly by the book. He had a heart for religion; the problem was his religion had no heart.
3. He was standing in the center of the inner court right in the heart of the temple. The reason he stood there was because it was there where he could be heard the clearest and be seen the best. He let everybody know just how wonderful he was and how very close to God he was.
4. This man thought what many people think today, he thought his goodness gained him brownie points with God. He thought God accepts a person based on what they do for Him. He was religious and proud of it.
5. If you are trusting anything--church membership, church attendance, baptism, religion, good works--other than Jesus Christ to make you right with God, and have God to accept you, you are fooling yourself. The Pharisee thought that God would be impressed with all that he was doing.
Illustration: I heard about a fifth grader that came home from school one day excited. She had been voted "prettiest girl in the class." The next day she was even more excited when she came home, for the class had voted her "the most likely to succeed." The next day she came home and told her mother she had won a third contest, being voted "the most popular."
But the next day she came home extremely upset. The mother said, "What happened, did you lose this time?" She said, "Oh no, I won the vote again." The mother said, "What were you voted this time?" She said, "Most stuck up."
- The Pharisee would have won that contest hands down. He had an "I" problem. Five times you will read the little pronoun "I" in these two verses.
– He suffered from two problems: inflation and deflation. He had an inflated view of who he was, and a deflated view of who God was.
- C. S. Lewis once said, "A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and of course, as long as you are looking down, you can't see something that's above you."
6. This Pharisee had fooled himself about himself. He says, "God, I thank You that I am not like other men." But he was like other men. Because "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
- Whether it is a big sinner or a little sinner, all of our peers are sinners and we are a peer to all sinners, because all have sinned.
- I don’t care who you are or how you were raised, what school you attend, we are all sinners and no sin is larger than another.
7. This man was even fooled about his prayer. In v.11 says, he "stood up and prayed about himself." When you approach God with pride, you wind up talking to yourself.
8. The Pharisee “Walked through the Wrong Door” He walked through the door of self and Pride and this hindered his relationship with God.
- Someone said, "The only person God sends away empty is the person full of himself." Prideful prayer is nothing more than an echo in your own ears.
III. S.ALVATION IS FOR US!
A. Jesus is our GPS. He wants to guide us to the perfect destination. To a place that we will never be lost in, a place full of peace, a place full of Love, a place where you know is right and there is no embarrassment of walking in the wrong door. A place that has been prepared for you and I.
John 14: 1-3 1"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me. 2In 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. 3And 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. 4You know the way to the place where I am going." 5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
1. Jesus makes a very bold statement. What Jesus says doesn’t fit in the world we live in. Where we are told to be tolerant of all beliefs. Jesus claims to be THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE (not just a way, a truth and a life). But He didn’t stop there. Jesus also said no one would come to the Father God except through Him. Jesus leaves no room for the mentality that believes all paths will lead to God.
Jesus wants us to have the assurance that He will see us through any difficulty. We should not be overcome be our circumstances; we have a future reality in heaven reminding us that Jesus is trustworthy. Our faith is not a blind faith. Ours is a faith based upon the solid reality of heaven.
Jesus is THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE.
2. Jesus is THE WAY.
- Don’t look for another path. All other roads are leading in the wrong direction; there is only ONE WAY. If you take another path you’re just going to find yourself going through the Wrong Door.
3. That’s why the apostle Paul encouraged the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” What is Paul saying? “I’ve set out on the right road; I’m following Jesus. As long as you see me walking this road you can follow me as it leads to the right place.”
4. Jesus is THE TRUTH.
- The truth does not waiver or change; it remains the same. Because Jesus is the truth we have a light for the journey. We can see clearly to follow the road without fear of going the wrong way. The truth leads us to where we want to go. Psalm 43:3 Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.
- As long as you hold to the truth you don’t have to fear going the wrong way. The WAY is illuminated by the TRUTH.
5. Jesus is THE LIFE.
-. Jesus gives us THE LIFE providing us with all the strength we need to reach our destination. Colossians 2:13 . . . God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins.
- The WAY is illuminated by the TRUTH and energized by the LIFE! If we commit to follow Jesus, He will bring us into the presence of the Father.
NO ONE comes to the Father apart from Jesus.
Conclusion: Illustration: A story is told of a missionary traveling to a remote village to train leaders of the local church. A guide was selected to take him to the village because the only way to reach this remote place was to walk through the jungle. The journey started out without much of a problem; the path was good and easy to follow. Soon, however, the path literally disappeared as the guide cut away at the overgrown jungle with his machete. The missionary grew concerned and asked, “Where is the path?”” The guide smiled; looking back he told the missionary, “I am the path.”
Looking for directions? Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. Follow Him!
We all make mistakes in life. We may be lost this morning and have never truly followed Jesus. Some of us side tracked at times and loose our direction along the path. Maybe this morning we have found that we need to make a U-turn and get into the right place.
The signs are all around us we just need to pat attention. In the Army we had a saying that I feel fits well with today’s message: “Stay Alert, Stay Alive”
I believe we all need to stay alert in this world. There is much around us that can take our focus off of Jesus and living the life He call us to. We need to stay alert or we may find ourselves in the wrong room all together.
