Illustration: Get an SMS or a phone call…
? Have you ever wondered what life would be like if God used technology to talk to you?
SMS messages, email (would God send FWD’s?)… How about if He used television commercials to get His message across? Check this one out. I think you’ll like it…
Roll :28, “Can You Hear Me Now?” spot.(Faith Highway)
? What’s the message? Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, I can hear you…
God is saying, “I’M LISTENING… Even when you’re in the outhouse…”
? Have you ever wondered if God could hear you from the outhouse? He can…
I mean, the spiritual outhouse… The times when we find ourselves in a “less than perfect” spiritual condition… It’s when we feel especially far from the clean and perfect life that we ideally want to live before God that we begin to wonder if He’s still listening, but He is…
He still listens and He still blesses… Even though our righteousness is like filthy rags to Him…
Isa 64:6, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;” And yet, He still answers prayer… Amen?
When I was a kid, I had a dire need for a pair of cowboy boots… Mom knew how bad I wanted those boots, but I had a problem that was keeping from the promise: I was a thumb-sucker…
Illustration: the story of the boots I received for no sucking my thumb for a month…
For thirty days, I fought the temptation and for part of that time, I secretly sucked my thumb.
At the end of the month, mom rewarded me with a beautiful new pair of cowboy boots, which I wore till I couldn’t fit my feet into them any more… And as soon as I got them on my feet, I went right back to sucking my thumbs again… Pathetic, isn’t it?
So many of us do it: we act on our best behavior, assuming God will answer our prayers because we’re being “good” and as soon as we get what we want, it’s right back to the old habbits…
Let’s face it: I didn’t deserve the boots.
Most of the gifts I’ve received in life, I didn’t deserve. Countless times, I’ve failed God in one way or another, only to return and find that He’s blessed me again. And it’s humbling… I ask Him, “Why, Lord… Why do you bless me so much? I’m a failure.” I praise Him for His mercy and grace. I’m grateful but not deserving.
You know, there was a time when I used to believe my prayers were only answered because someone more righteous than I was praying for me. But you know, it never really had anything to do with my ability to be perfect. It was more about God’s ability to be gracious and merciful.
You and I have what we’ve received from God by the grace of God.
Illustration: The Prodigal Son:
The prodigal son took his inheritance early and left his father’s house, only to spend the money on all the frivolous things the world calls “the good life…” He blew it all and came back to his dad begging for a position on staff with his servants… But instead of a harsh rebuke, dad welcomes him with open arms. He kills the fattened calf and throws a huge and costly celebration. Why? Because love ruled the day… The son didn’t deserve it. He was the recipient of Mercy and Grace, just like you and I…
The son had gone out to live the good life…
What is The Good Life:
The world calls it a wealthy, luxurious style of living. For example, Aunt Agatha left them a fortune, so now they’re enjoying the good life. [Mid-1900s]
You know, I never really experienced the good life until I got serious about my relationship with Jesus Christ… Till the power of God got hold of my heart.
Now I can’t imagine how anyone can live the good life without Him. Money, cars, pleasures, the things the world calls the good life just don’t do it for me… The good life is all about Jesus Christ.
? What is the good life?
It’s the hope of a future, the hope of salvation. The knowledge that to be away from this body of constraints, defects and limitations means to be together with Christ in Heaven.
The good life is faith: praying, experiencing God, seeing answers to long lived prayers coming to pass, watching the hand of God move in my life… Your life… Our church… That’s the good life.
Some of us here today have been praying for an answer to prayer for days… months… years…
Some have prayer partners praying for you, wearing holes in the knees of their pants in prayer, and standing in the gap for you. You’re wondering why your answer hasn’t come.
Some of you are assuming it’s because you don’t deserve it, and your right…
But you’re RIGHT- EOUS too, and I want to tell you today, The Lord hears your prayers.
Ps 145:18-21, “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.”
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth…
The scripture implies that our blessings don’t come about as a result of our own righteousness, but as a result of truthful prayer. How often do you TRULY pray?
Whenever the Lord speaks about prayer, He uses words like effectual and fervent… He talks about praying all day long from your heart, and He says I’m near to those who call on me IN TRUTH…
The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth…
Guess who wrote that Psalm… It’s a Psalm of King David. David was a sinner, just like you and I.
He murdered, he swindled and committed adultery. He was a sinner and yet he was called righteous.
The Lord said of King David, “I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.’ "From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised.” Acts 13:22-23
David was a sinner deemed righteous by faith in The Lord His God, and he received his promises by faith and today you and I are sinners deemed righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ. Love it, believe it and receive it friends! It’s what He came to give you.
? Well, if I’m so righteous, then why hasn’t God answered my prayers?
Some times, we get the inferiority complex when it comes to prayer, and we assume that because we haven’t been good enough lately, that we should have no reason to expect an answer to our prayers.
That’s the lie of the devil, friends because prayers aren’t answered according to how perfect and holy we are.
The Bible tells us the prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective (James 5:16)…
All of us who believe in Jesus Christ are called righteous, so what’s the hang-up?
I: I am righteous through the blood of the Lamb, not my feeble attempts at perfection.
>>>>>>>>>>OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS LIKE FILTHYRAGS…
James 1:5-8, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”
Knowing this, Satan will do anything he can to make you a double-minded Christian.
The devil will do everything he can to cause doubt and fear to consume your mind so you won’t be able to make right decisions.
You know, there are days in the past when I’ve traded stocks on the market.
I sat there at my desk and set realistic goals for that day. Here’s where I’m going to buy and sell…
But there are days when that little bar on the graph gets close to the mark and toys with my emotions. Doubt sets in. I begin to wonder if I made the right decisions and I second-guess the strategies I put together in my right mind.
And sure enough, every time I buy and sell on emotion, I make mistakes because of doubt, because of double-mindedness.
And there’s where the problem lies… It’s double mindedness, not righteousness…
When we let those doubts creep into our prayer life, we become double-minded, like a wave of the sea, thrown and tossed by the wind. “That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.”
So there’s the problem… It’s not that I’m righteous. It’s not about me being perfect.
It’s about double-mindedness.
Why do we doubt?
Usually, it’s either because we don’t believe God can do it, or we don’t believe we deserve it…
That’s double-mindedness.
If you believe in Jesus Christ, if you’ve asked Him to be Lord of your life, if you believe His blood is enough to wash ALL your sins away, then you are called righteous and the prayers that you’ve prayed for your family and your loved ones are being heard by God, and you will receive your answer by faith in Jesus Christ…
Stop equating holiness with successfully answered prayer. Stop believing that the better you live, the more your prayers will be answered.
Not to say that’s a license to relax your standards, but it is an opportunity to remove the guilt and anxiety that’s been keeping you from everything God has for you.
“To love God is to obey Him.”
He’s a God of the heart. He sees your heart and He knows if you’re living to please Him or not.
No more equating your righteousness with successfully answered prayers…
The fact is, believers are always heard when we pray.
None of us are good… But we are heard.
II: FALLING DOWN. BELIEVERS FALL DOWN…
Mark 10:18, “Jesus once said to a young man, "No one is good-- except God alone."”
No one is good. John isn’t good, Alma isn’t good, Brad isn’t good, David isn’t good…
Not one soul here is GOOD, but GOD alone!
- BELIEVERS CAN BE RIGHTEOUS BUT NOT GOOD:
Rom 7:18, “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.”
No one is good, yet prayers are answered here… Alma’s water heater came in after two years, the church is receiving it’s windfall blessing after one year.
Why? Because we’re all living perfect holy and righteous lives every day?
No. Because we’re called righteous through the blood of Jesus Christ.
Some of you have had powerful answers to prayer: families are being changed, transformed, restored…
Miracles are happening, prayers are being answered, God is alive and moving in our midst, and yet not one of us is GOOD…
- WE’RE ALL RIGHTEOUS SINNERS:
I Jn 1:8-9, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
- WE’RE ALL RIGHTEOUS SINNERS:
- BELIEVERS FALL DOWN, but we also fall down on our knees.
AN ADVOCATE FOR THE BELIEVER WHO SINS:
Don’t sin, but if you do, then you have an advocate who speaks to the Father on your behalf.
I Jn 2:1-3, “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense-- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.”
- BELIEVERS FALL DOWN, but we also fall down on our knees.
Believers sin, we have accidents, infidelities. But we repent, we return to God. We get down on our knees and we ask Jesus for forgiveness, and He’s there. He presents our case, then He presents His blood and we’re washed as clean as snow, righteous before the eyes of the Almighty through Jesus!
Illustration: The vision of Jesus in Heaven – How He knelt down to pick me up.
In the vision, I stepped into the courts of Heaven, and in my peripheral vision I can see how glorious and beautiful it is, but I’m not focusing on Heaven, it’s just in my peripheral vision.
My sight is focused on Jesus, and I bow before Him to worship Him. As I bow to worship Him, He kneels down… He stoops to my level and picks me up. And He says, “Brad, welcome to your Kingdom.” That was a profound revelation to me friends. My Kingdom? I was humbled…
Who am I that I should be given this Kingdom to call my own? But you see, I never earned it to deserve it… I inherited it by grace through the blood of Jesus my Savior.
It was the deepest and most touching vision I’ve ever had in my life.
I was kneeling before Him, and He picked me up.
And you know, that’s just His nature. Everyone who bends the knee before Christ will be lifted up by Christ. “He who humbles himself will be exalted…”
That’s just who He is.
When we’re down, Jesus picks us up. We stand by faith, not by self-righteousness, not by perfect holiness.
I couldn’t stand before the Son of God. I’d fall right down on my face because I’m so unholy, impure. But He lifts me up. He’s the key to standing up again, friends. He’s the key.
III: STANDING UP: I stand by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, not by the human nature.
2 Cor 5:7-9, “We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.”
Friends, that’s the GOOD LIFE. The GOOD LIFE is all about serving Jesus Christ. It’s all about bending our knee to Him. It’s all about being lifted up by the Most Holy One. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.
The good life is about a relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s about expressing your deepest desires and needs to the Lord, about being in a real relationship with Christ, about pouring out your heart to Him in repentance and being lifted up by Him in righteousness.
We close our prayers, with “In Jesus’ Name, AMEN…” Amen: so be it. May it be done! Agreed!
It’s the seal: the signet embossment of approval, for Matt 18:19-20, "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
It doesn’t say we have to be perfect, it just says we have to believe and then live like we believe.
THE POWER OF THE BELIEVERS PRAYER: If we ask according to His will, SO BE IT.
It is God’s will, what you’re asking: Alma, John, Terri?… That your children are saved, that you’re healed from your infirmities? Then receive those things by faith.
I Jn 5:13-16, “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-- whatever we ask-- we know that we have what we asked of him. If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life.”
When we see our brothers, children, friends in sin, we need to pray for them.
Some of you mothers and fathers have said everything you could, and you have nothing but the prayer of a mother of promise. That’s enough… That’s all you need. Your prayers are being heard.
CONCLUSION:
The good life is found in Jesus Christ. Jingle: “This is the gooooood life…”
It’s about discovering His Grace, His power and His plan for your life… It’s about praying and seeing the answers come to fruition over the years.
It’s not about wealth and luxury, fortune and fame… It’s about a living relationship with Jesus Christ. It’s about experiencing the GOODness of God and the hope of eternal life.
We’re heard by God because of His Grace.
We receive from God because of His Mercy.
We’re righteous in His eyes because of His Son Jesus.
