INTRO.- ILL.- A young man was having some money problems, and needed $200 to get his car fixed, but he had run out of people to borrow from. So, he called his parents via the operator, and reversed the charge and said to his dad, "I need to borrow two hundred dollars."
At the other end, his father said, "Sorry, I can’t hear you, son, I think there may be a bad line."
The boy shouted, "Two hundred. I need two hundred dollars!"
"Sorry, I still can’t hear you clearly," said his father.
The operator cut in, "Sorry to butt in, but I can hear him perfectly."
The father said, "Oh, good. YOU send him the money!"
We must admit that life is not always good to us. Cars break down and so do lots of other things: bodies, marriages, jobs, etc.
If you think your life is bad, listen to this man’s life.
ILL.- Neil Young sleeps on the streets, but in a very real sense he has a home.
Young spends his mornings as a client and volunteer at Lord of the Streets, a Midtown Episcopal church, Houston, TX, that serves the homeless. He attends Bible study, organizes the library and helps out wherever he’s needed.
"It helps me to stay busy," Young said. "I’ll destroy myself if I’m left to my own devices."
Young came to Lord of the Streets in 1993, when he was working as a day laborer, living in what he describes as a "seedy hotel" and drinking heavily. Although he had turned away from organized religion in his youth, he said, he liked the individual, free-thinking approach he found at Lord of the Streets.
"I’ve discovered that you cannot find God unless you find him in your own way," he said.
I don’t think many of us who have a decent roof over our heads would want to trade places with Neil Young. It’s a shame that anybody can get to that point in their lives, but it does happen. And I’m sure that Neil Young would like a better life. At least, he has enough sense to seek the Lord for that better life. Many people don’t. Many people seek happiness and/or a better life in all kinds of ways, but never seem to realize that God and Christ could offer them a better life.
Some of us may have the better life and not even realize it.
ILL.- "I couldn’t ask for a better life," 102-year-old Pearl Muller said. "I’ve had a good life with my family and with friends."
Muller will be 103 on November 21 and has lived within the same block in Woodland (IL) most of her life. She has a wealth of memories ranging from the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 to seeing a car for the first time.
"I remember a lot of things like that," Muller said. "But in a hundred years you forget some things."
"It’s the foolish stuff I remember more," she added. "I guess none of us really grew up."
Most of Muller’s memories center around her family. "The families didn’t split up then like they do now," she said. "I think that’s what gave me the close feeling I’ve always had with the family. I don’t think there was ever a closer knit family than ours was."
It sounds like Pearl Muller has found something of a better life with friends and family. They certainly make the difference.
And she didn’t say, but I suspect that she has also found a better life in the Lord as well.
ILL.- Elaine and I were watching TV one night last week and saw an interview with actor Larry Hagman, otherwise known of J.R. Ewing in his famous roll on the 1978 DALLAS TV series. Hagman said, “I’m alive. I’m rich and I’m living in America.”
Hagman’s view of the better life is being alive, being rich and being in America.
Everyone has their own idea about how to acquire a better life, but the divine prescription is always best. Since God created us and He sustains us (whether people acknowledge Him or not), He knows what it will take for us to experience a better life on planet earth.
PROP.- All of scripture is a divine prescription for life, but I want us to think about God’s prescription in Hebrews chapter 12.
1- Fine tune yourself
2- Get your heart focused
3- Learn how to worship
I. FINE TUNE YOURSELF
ILL.- I started driving cars in the early 1960’s. My first car in 1961 was a 1954 Chevrolet, 4-door, automatic, six-cylinder engine. That car wasn’t much on power, but it was transportation. I was always tinkering on that car, doing something to it. My dad used to say, “If it’s running all right, leave it alone.” That’s like saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
But I just couldn’t leave it alone. I wanted to make it run better or faster, if I could. What did I do? I would change the spark plugs and put in hotter plugs, hoping it would make it run just a bit better.
I would change the ignition points in the distributor, check the ignition timing and maybe even speed it up just a little. I bought a carb kit and would replace what was called the accelerator pump and the gaskets in the carb. I even changed the factory air cleaner. I changed it to one of those little “chrome pots,” as we called them. If nothing else, it gave the car engine that “varoom, varoom” sound. It sounded like it was faster, even if it wasn’t.
In truth, there wasn’t much you could do to those old Chevy engines to make them run faster, but at least, I tried.
Brothers and sisters, isn’t it sad how can we human beings can get all hopped up over cars, over all kinds of material things, and even our human bodies and yet the neglect the most important thing of all?
ILL.- Last Thursday night I watched ABC’s Extreme Makeover again. Did you see it? They changed a 30 year-old female punk rocker into a raving beauty! That girl had long, red dreadlocks for 12 years. She was awful looking! She had a nose ring, and ¾ inch inserts in her ear lobes. They gave her a nose job, did all usual stuff to her body such as lipo suction, etc., changed her hair completely, which was incredible and fixed her ears. The doctor said that her ear lobes were the greatest challenge since she had ¾ inch holes in them. He had to cut them and sew them back together.
When they got through with her she was an absolutely beautiful young woman! But again, the most important part was left out. WHAT WAS THAT? We all know. It was her inner person. Her spirit within.
I Pet. 3:3-4 “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”
Brothers and sisters, there is nothing wrong with making yourself look as good as possible with clothes, hairdo, etc.
ILL.- I went to my hair stylist last Thursday afternoon and said, “Could you give me a sharper image?” You see, the shop is called SHARPER IMAGE. She said, “No, you are too far gone.” No, she laughed and said, “I’ll try.”
There is nothing wrong with a good do or a changed hairdo, but if we neglect the inner person we have neglected the most important thing of all!
That which we see in the mirror is not eternal! But we have a spirit that is eternal and we need to fine tune it or give it an extreme makeover!
Heb. 12:1 “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
ILL.- Let’s think of this way. If you were going to run a long distance foot race I don’t think you would want to run wearing an overcoat and a pair of heavy work boots. No, you would want to strip down and wear as little as possible or as light of clothing as possible and a pair of lightweight running shoes.
The same principle applies to living the Christian life. We must throw off anything and everything that hinders us in this race.
The idea of the text is to cut loose, shake off, give up, ditch, drop, cast off, leave behind, lay aside, kiss goodbye. What are we talking about? You must decide for yourself.
ILL.- When I was baptized into Christ at the age of 20 years it was really quite easy for me to give up drinking beer. I did not have to drink it. I was not addicted to it. And I knew that drinking beer would not enhance my Christian life. In fact, I knew it would be a hindrance in several ways.
On the other hand, prior to becoming a Christian I had acquired the nasty habit of cussing. I did not kiss that habit goodbye so easily. It took time and prayer.
The inspired writer is not just talking about bad habits, etc., he is also talking about anything that hinders us in living the Christian life.
What hinders your Christian life? Are you so addicted to something, perhaps something seemingly harmless, but it keeps you from living a faithful Christian life?
ILL.- A young man invested his life savings in a new Ferrari sports car, and having made the investment of his life, felt that he ought to have someone bless his car—just to be on the safe side. Unsure of whom to call, he phoned the local Methodist pastor, who said, “Yes, it’s a bit out of the ordinary but I do bless things for people”; but then he added, “Oh, by the way, what’s a Ferrari?”
Thinking that if he didn’t know what a Ferrari was, his blessing wouldn’t be very good; he gave up and called a Baptist preacher who quickly said, “A Ferrari. Great! Zero to 60 in 4 seconds. Fantastic car...I just worship that model.” He paused and then added, “By the way, what’s a blessing?”
Brothers and sisters, everything good that God has given is a blessing and we can even ask God to bless it and use it to His glory. There is nothing wrong with asking His blessing on what He has given us as long as it doesn’t keep us from Christ. However, if something keeps you away from either your personal or public worship of Christ then you need to think about “kissing it goodbye.”
If you want a better life in Christ then you need to consider how to fine tune yourself in a spiritual way. Do whatever it takes.
II. GET YOUR HEART FOCUSED
ILL.- An older man of 73 moved into a senior apartment complex right on the golf course. Since he loved to play golf he thought it was ideal. However, due to his poor eyesight, whenever he hit the ball, he would lose it and spend a great deal of time looking for it. This aggravated the other younger players so soon he couldn’t find anyone to play with him.
He went to the golf pro and asked for help. The golf pro said, “You’re in luck. A new member is 92 years old but has great eyesight.’”
So, they teamed up together. At the first hole, the man with bad eyesight took a swing and whacked the ball.
“Did you see it? ’Did your see it?” said the younger man.
“Yes” replied the older man.
“Where did it go?” said the younger man.
“I don’t know,” said the older man “I can’t remember a thing.”
As we age we all will experience problems with our eyesight and perhaps our memories. We may wonder which will go first.
ILL.- I have an elder friend back in Iberia, MO, who is now 78 years old and is losing his sight to macular degeneration. Someone said to him, “I bet you can’t drive very well anymore.” Ralph replied, “I can drive just as good as ever. I JUST CAN’T SEE.”
Losing your eyesight is not a fun thing. However, losing your spiritual eyesight is far worse.
Heb. 12:2 “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…”
Col. 3:1-2 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
If we want to experience a better life we all need to get our hearts focused on Christ.
ILL.- Back in 1968 I drove a new Pontiac Firebird. It had a 4-speed transmission and a 400 cubic inch engine with lots of horsepower. 330 hp to be exact. I loved drag racing. Why? Because I had an older brother who first enjoyed it and his enjoyment and interest rubbed off on his little brother. ME.
The MOKAN dragstrip was about 30 miles from Joplin, MO, at Pittsburgh, KS, or near there. I would go there to race my Firebird. But before I began racing I had a tachometer installed on my Firebird. The tachometer is something that you find on most cars today.
It measures the revolutions per minute of the motor. Most cars are running pretty fast between 4500 rpm’s to 6000. The higher the rpm’s the faster the motor is running, but every motor has an rpm limit at which it performs best. It’s called hitting the “red line.”
My Firebird would go over 5000 rpm’s but 5000 was the top limit (or red line) for best performance. Consequently, whenever I would take off down that dragstrip I always had my eyes on that tach and whenever it hit 5000 rpm’s I would shift gears as quickly as possible.
If I missed a gear or went over my 5000 rpm’s I would lose speed and lose the race. IT WAS AS SIMPLE AS THAT. I HAD TO KEEP MY EYES ON THAT TACHOMETER CONSTANTLY OR ELSE LOSE SPEED AND POSSIBLY LOSE THE RACE.
The same idea applies to the Christian life. We all have a tachometer, so to speak, that will govern our speed and ability to win the race. What is that tach? It’s not what. It’s who. IT’S CHRIST! Any time we take our eyes of f Christ we may lose spiritual speed and possibly fail altogether.
How do we keep our hearts focused on Christ? It’s as simple as ABC. Read your Bible. Read Christian books. Pray constantly. Worship privately and publicly every chance you get. Get involved in some kind of Christian service. THESE ARE MATTERS OF FOCUSING ON CHRIST. Stop these and you will lose your spiritual focus.
III. LEARN HOW TO WORSHIP
Heb. 12:28 “Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.”
We all need to learn how to worship God in an acceptable way or a way that pleases Him. We must worship Him with reverence and awe.
ILL.- After attending church one Sunday morning, a little boy knelt at his bedside that night and prayed, "Dear God, we had a good time at church today--but I wish you had been there!"
Have you ever wondered if this could be true? Is God truly involved in our worship of Him on the Lord’s Day? Or are we just giving Him lip service?
ILL.- In a major study that was published in Leadership Journal, the authors discovered that of the 75 million Americans who attend church on a weekly basis, fewer than 1/3 say that they feel God’s presence in church. What about you?
If this is true, COULD THIS BE OUR FAULT? Could it be our fault through a lack of reverence and awe that God’s presence is not felt?
ILL.- I think it was preacher Vance Havner who said that too many church services start at 11:00 sharp and end at 12:00 dull.
ILL.- That reminds me of the little boy who asked his mother if she could remember the highest number she ever counted to. The mother didn’t know so she asked him about his highest number. He answered, “5,372.” The mother was puzzled and asked him why he stopped at that particular number. He said, “Well…church was over.”
Brothers and sisters, I’m not suggesting that we should make our worship services some kind of carnival sideshow in order to make them more exciting. Excitement doesn’t necessarily mean that God will be in our midst.
I’ve seen some pretty wild and exciting church services on TV, that is, some evangelistic services with some televangelist preaching. But wild and exciting doesn’t always mean that God is present and accounted for.
I Cor. 14:33 “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.”
The Amplified version reads this way: “For He [Who is the source of their prophesying] is not a God of confusion and disorder but of peace and order.”
I think God can be present in any kind of church service. It could be a service with traditional Christian hymns or contemporary gospel music. It could be a service with the people holding up their hands in praise or one without such a practice. It could be a service with a band or one without any musical instruments at all. It could be a service in a church building and one held outside in the woods.
GOD CAN BE WORSHIIPPED AND PLEASED IN MANY DIFFERENT KINDS OF WORSHIP SERVICES. The important thing is to allow Him in the door and worship Him with reverence and awe!
ILL.- A young couple with a four-year-old daughter were in Wal-Mart, shopping. As they were going down the aisles, the mother stopped and pointed to a big bathroom rug that was shaped like a foot. As the little girl looked at it, she said, “Mom, do you think that’s how big Jesus’ foot is?”
In her mind, Jesus was huge! She assumed that Jesus had big feet because He was such a big Savior to her.
How big is God to us? Big enough to create heaven and earth? Big enough to give us life and breath and everything else? Big enough to sustain us in life? Big enough to save us from our sins and take us to heaven?
If we consider Him that big then He deserves our best and most sincere worship and praise!
Ps. 34:1-3 Amplified Version. “I WILL bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My life makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble and afflicted hear and be glad. O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.”
When we magnify something, we make it bigger so we can see it from a new perspective. When we make God bigger in our lives through worship and praise, we see things that were previously hidden by our near-sighted faith. When we see Jesus in all His splendor, beauty and greatness, we can’t help but worship Him with great reverence and awe!
ILL.- C.S. Lewis said, “We praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment. It is not out of compliment that lovers keep on telling one another how beautiful they are; the delight is incomplete till it is expressed.”
I think Lewis is saying that in order to find the greatest enjoyment in any relationship (marriage or otherwise) we must express our compliments and praise to that person. If you want to bless your marriage then start commending and praising your mate. AND IF YOU WANT TO TRULY WORSHP THE LORD AND GET MORE FROM YOUR WORSHP, THEN START PRAISING HIM FOR EVERY BLESSING YOU SEE!
That’s the way to a better life!
CONCLUSION------------------------------------------
1- Fine tune your spiritual life. Do whatever it takes.
2- Get your heart focused on Christ.
3- Learn how to worship in deep reverence and awe.
ILL.- My daughter Holly said that her little boy Caleb who is now 18 months old is all boy. He is busy like a little boy, gets into things, likes the outdoors, dogs, cats, etc. He is enjoying life and I can’t wait to see him again!
But you know when it comes to certain times of the day (nap time, night time, or when he’s hurt, when he wants something, etc.) he generally wants only one person and that’s mama. And perhaps sometimes daddy. His life truly revolves around mama.
Brothers and sisters, while we may enjoy our lives or certain aspects of life, there is really only one person who can satisfy us fully or completely and that’s the Lord! HE ALONE SAVES AND SATISFIES! HE ALONES CARES AND CURES!
Our lives truly revolve around Him or should revolve around Him. And that’s the way to a better life, here and now.
