INTRO.- ILL.- Someone said that marriage is full of excitement and frustration:
* In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens.
* In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens.
* In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.
Quote: “It is true that love is blind but marriage is definitely an eye-opener.” This makes me wonder how Prince Charles is doing in his new marriage.
ILL.- LONDON, England — Life is good for Prince Charles: his bank account is growing and he has found contentment with his new wife, Camilla. The income of the heir to the British throne rose by 11% last year to more than $23 million, according to an annual financial report released by his household Thursday.
The royal couple’s private secretary said, "Marriage is a good thing. The two of them are very happy and things have settled down nicely.”
Brothers and sisters, it sounds like Prince Charles is having a prince of a time in life! He’s got it made: money and marriage. At least, the marriage he’s always been wanting and too few of us understand.
ILL.- Have you ever watched Larry King Live? I find Larry King’s show to be quite interesting, especially, when he has a good guest on his show instead of some nut.
What do you think of Larry King? I think most Christian people would say something like, “Well, he’s a good TV host, but I think he’s pretty liberal in his faith or convictions. AND I WOULD SAY THEY WERE CORRECT.
Larry King is a Jewish agnostic, from what I read. He doesn’t deny the existence of God and Christ, he just doesn’t know for sure. He is non-committed.
He is married to Shawn Southwick who was a singer and model. She is a devout Mormon and is raising their children as Mormons, which seems to be fine with King. They have two little boys, ages 5 and 6. She is 45 and Larry King is 71 years old. He is 26 years older than she.
But here is something I discovered about Larry King that I thought was interesting. He has been married seven times and has had three significant others, as some call them.
Does this sound like Larry King is a contented and happy man? He claims to be happy now that he is 71 years old but I guess, time will tell. No matter how happy he is or thinks he is, it won’t last and here’s why.
ILL.- Max Lucado wrote, “We are not happy here (on earth). We are not happy because we are not supposed to be happy here. ‘We are ‘like foreigners and strangers in this world.’ (I Pet. 2:11) And you will never be completely happy on earth simply because you were not made for earth. Oh, you will have moments of joy. You will have glimpses of light. You will know moments or even days of peace. But they simply do not compare with the happiness that lies ahead.”
Brothers and sisters, it doesn’t make any difference what it is: marriage, children, grandchildren, fame, fortune, fun, you name it; all these will not fully satisfy. None of these will bring complete happiness in life. That will only come when we are finally in the presence of our Heavenly Father and safe in His arms.
PROP.- There are some things that we can do to find greater happiness in this world of unhappiness. Our focus must change in order to find great happiness.
1- We must focus on grace, not goodness
2- We must focus on God’s work, not our worth
3- We must focus on the Spirit, not the flesh
I. WE MUST FOCUS ON GRACE, NOT GOODNESS
Eph. 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.”
ILL.- A man died and went to heaven. Of course, St. Peter met him at the Pearly Gates. Peter said, "Here’s how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you’ve done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in."
"Okay," the man said, "I was married to the same woman for 50 years." "That’s wonderful," said St. Peter, "that’s worth three points!"
"Three points, is that all?" he said. He went on, "Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service." "Terrific!" said St. Peter. "That’s certainly worth a point."
"One point?!!" He continued, "I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans." "Fantastic, that’s good for two more points," he said.
"Two points!?!!" Exasperated, the man cried out. "At this rate the only way I’ll get into heaven is by the grace of God." "Now you got it, that’s worth 100 points! Come on in!"
As one writer said, “When it comes to God, being good is not good enough.”
Brothers and sisters, I think we all tend to put too much stock in ourselves instead of the Lord. He should get more credit for getting us into heaven than us! In fact, HE SHOULD GET ALL THE CREDIT!
We can’t say enough about God’s grace. We are often saved from many hurtful things in this life because of God’s grace and we are also saved in eternity by His grace!
ILL.- We have heard people say about the drunk in the gutter, “There go I except for the grace of God.” But when it comes to going to heaven we always talk about how good a person is and how they deserve to go to heaven. WRONG! No one goes to heaven on their goodness, but rather on or by the grace of God!
None of us “deserve” heaven for how good we’ve been in this life. And yet this is exactly how many think. God’s plan is completely different from our thinking.
ILL.- I remember when the movie THE PASSION OF CHRIST came out. Diane Sawyer interviewed actor/director Mel Gibson on TV. She asked him about his various addictions. He said something like, “You name it and I’ve been addicted to it: drinking, smoking, drugs, coffee, etc.”
I think that Mel Gibson realizes very well that it is only by the grace of God that he is not worse than he is or has been. If Mel realizes this, how much greater should we realize this!
A major mistake that we have allowed in our churches is legalism. Most of us, if not all of us, are legalists! By this, I mean that we tend to base our salvation on our ideas of what a person should be.
ILL.- For example, we may see another Christian do something that we would never do (such as drink or smoke, etc.) and think, “Well, they may not make it to heaven.” And yet, we may even be more guilty of some sin in our lives, such as gossip, slander or hatred. And this is nothing but legalism and it throws out God’s grace altogether.
And the problem with this kind of mentality is that we make people feel guilty over every little thing they do or don’t do. And we end up feeling guilty too instead of trusting in God’s grace!
Even though we are to respond to God’s Word in obedience as best we can, no one is perfect in their obedience. NO ONE WILL DO EVERYTHING RIGHT! Therefore, we must depend on and trust in the grace of God!
No matter how good we are in this life or how bad we’ve been, no one can be saved except by God’s grace!
I Cor. 1:31 “As it is written, let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”
II WE MUST FOCUS ON GOD’S WORK, NOT OUR WORTH
II Cor. 5:21 “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
ILL.- G. Gordon Liddy, Watergate conspirator said, "I have found within myself all I need and all I ever shall need. I am a man of great faith, but my faith is in G. Gordon Liddy. I have never failed me."
I think many people are just like Liddy. THEY ARE SOLD ON THEMSELVES! In fact, they think so highly of themselves that they think little of the God who created them! They value self more than God.
ILL.- Jul 7, 2005, MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Oprah Winfrey, who runs a media company that includes her television show, was recognized for working to improve the lives of poor children in Africa and helping create a U.S. database of convicted child abusers. She will receive the museum’s National Freedom Award in November. Past recipients include King’s widow, Coretta Scott King, and former Presidents Clinton and Carter.
Museum Director Beverly Robertson described Winfrey as "a great humanitarian" who has used her Oprah Winfrey Foundation to provide scholarships and grants to help educate poor children in the United States and abroad.
"She has provided resources and money to build schools for at least 50,000 children in South Africa," Robertson said. "That is phenomenal. She doesn’t have to do that."
God bless you, Oprah. This is all well and good, but let’s not make Oprah Winfrey into some kind of super saint who is headed to heaven because of her great worth!
ILL.- Here’s another illustration of this truth. Ethiopia - Angelina Jolie and her "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" co-star Brad Pitt recently picked up the orphaned baby girl she is adopting, an official said.
Jolie has named her 5-month-old daughter Zahara Marley Jolie. The 30-year-old actress said that she and Maddox, whom she adopted in Cambodia, are "very happy to have a new addition to our family."
Again, what Angelina Jolie has done by adopting this little girl is very commendable, but let’s not make her into something she is not! She is not some kind of super saint!
WHAT GOOD THINGS HAVE YOU DONE IN LIFE? How much are you worth?
ILL.- Rick Warren is the pastor of the large Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA. He and his wife began that church in their home in 1980. Now the church runs anywhere from 16,000 to 20,000 every weekend. It’s been named the fastest growing Baptist Church in history. In the past seven years about 10,000 people have been baptized. The church has also started 34 daughter churches, and sent over 4,000 of its members on mission projects around the world.
Rick Warren is the author of the book, THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE, which is a best-seller and has sold millions of copies and has helped no telling how many people to get their lives in tune with the Lord and on track in life.
One man wrote, “I am 45 years old and have never felt like a grownup until after reading ‘The Purpose Driven Life.’ I have always had responsibilities and didn’t want them. I only wanted to play and enjoy life for the moment. I never really thought about tomorrow, and I always lived in the past, remembering the things I wish I could change. I lived in fear and was afraid of the future. I was never the father or the husband I really wanted to be. I didn’t even want to own the business that I owned.”
Brothers and sisters, it would be really easy for Rick Warren to get caught up in Rick Warren, but I don’t think he is! He realizes very well that his worth is nothing compared to God’s work!
It is God who is at work in us to do good things in life. HE ALONE IS THE AUTHOR OF ALL GOOD IN OUR LIVES! When we learn this and get our eyes off ourselves and more on Him we WILL experience greater joy in life!
Joy comes from praising the Lord, not in being self-absorbed!
III. WE MUST FOCUS ON THE SPIRIT, NOT THE FLESH
Gal. 5:16 “So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
We are more than flesh and blood, but most people consider the flesh to be mighty important.
ILL.- An elderly gentleman wasn’t feeling well and became irritated with his doctor because he wasn’t getting better after five visits. His doctor said, “I’m doing all I can to help you. I can’t make you younger.” The old man replied, “I wasn’t particularly interesting in getting younger. I just want to continue growing older.”
As we look in the mirror we all see that we are growing older. We may not like this, but it’s true.
Brothers and sisters, what we see of us is what we think we are but according to the Word of God we are more. We are also spirit. There is a part of us that is eternal and lives forever and we need to pay more attention to that eternal part. But so often we go for days without giving much thought or time to our spirits.
ILL.- This last week I went to a pond early in the morning to do some fishing. In fact, the sun hadn’t come up yet. As soon as I got near that pond I made a great discovery. I discovered what many people had told me about this part of the country. DO YOU KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT? Mosquitoes. There are jillions of mosquitoes in northeast Arkansas and about several billion descended on me when I tried to fish that pond. I found myself batting at mosquitoes more than I fished. Or so it seemed.
I was almost completely distracted by those irritating mosquitoes. The same thing happens to us in the Christian life. We need to attend to some spiritual matters such as prayer, Bible reading, meditation, worship, and service. But what happens? Our good intentions go down the drain because of those mosquitoes that are after us. WHAT’S THAT? Work. Duties. Errands. Business. Busyness. TV. 101 other things.
Sometimes we are too busy for our own spiritual good. We are sidetracked by the pesky, irritating mosquitoes of life.
Now the problem with allowing those mosquitoes of life to distract us from who we are and whose we are is that it could become very dangerous.
ILL.- I saw on TV last week where they have concluded that drivers using cell phones are four times as likely to get into a accident that can cause injuries serious enough to send them to the hospital.
What I am suggesting to you is this: If you are distracted by certain things in life you may be heading for dangerous territory. You could experience a serious spiritual disaster.
We all need to take more time for the Lord. We all need to focus more on the things of the Spirit than the things of the flesh.
Mark 1:35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went fishing…” No, it reads, “and went off to solitary place, where he prayed.”
Now it’s true that some fisherman might read fishing into that text, saying, “Jesus probably prayed while he fished.” I have prayed while I have fished, but I have prayed better while just concentrating on prayer alone.
We must attend to prayer if we intend to pay attention to our spirit and to the Spirit of God who lives within us. Prayer is a spiritual matter and it is a matter of God’s Spirit. There can be little spiritual growth and joy without prayer.
ILL.- I have heard people say things like, “Don’t talk to me until I’ve had my coffee in the morning.” Or “I don’t want to see anyone until I got some food in my stomach.”
Perhaps we should not talk to anyone in the morning until we’ve first talked to the Lord or until we have first eaten of the bread of life. Perhaps our days would go better and we would experience greater joy in life if we did this first.
CONCLUSION---------------------------------------
I’ve been thinking about those pesky, persistent mosquitoes. WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR? Not much, I think. I don’t think they’re much good for anything except to torment people, bite them, and then eventually die.
You know what? It almost seems like some people are not much different. Some people only live for themselves, they torment others, give other people trouble in life, and then eventually die. It seems that’s about all they do.
Brothers and sisters, we are better than mosquitoes! WE ARE HIGHER ON THE CREATION SCALE THAN MOSQUITOES! God put us to be better, to do better things with our lives than irritate and aggravate!
We are spiritual creatures, created in God’s image, to do exactly what Jesus did while He was on earth. And what did Jesus do? Read the gospel accounts. Jesus went about doing good. He healed, he blessed, he prayed over people, he ministered to people, he taught people about the Father, he forgave people, he loved people. And this is what we must do as His people. And as we do these things we will find far greater joy in this life than we ever expected.
