Intro: I love the Geico commercials, where they have a celebrity and a real person together. The message that comes across from this commercial is that it is better to be a real person. God spoke to me out of this commercial the other day saying, I want my people to get real with me. Until someone gets real with God, they can stay trapped in religious activity or live out a life of hypocrisy. Today, our message is simply this:
GETTING REAL WITH GOD
Today we will look at four people in the Word that got real with God. I believe God will speak to all of us today about always being real with Him. David cried cleanse me, Jacob cried bless me, Jonah cried help me, and Peter cried save me.
I. David—Psalms 51:10-12—David cried give me a clean heart, give me a right spirit. We know this Psalm as the song of repentance. David had sinned against God and he wanted to be free again in his heart and spirit to worship God. Today, if you are lost in sin, or trapped in a sinful situation, you need to get real with God.
· David got real by revealing a simple point, it is miserable to be trapped by sin. It is a terrible place to be a slave of sin. He wanted the stain removed, he wanted to be free. Today, get real with God and cry out to Him to clean you, renew you, restore your life back to Him.
· David realized even though he had sinned against others, His only hope for true forgiveness was through repentance to God. You can spend your life telling people your are sorry for this or that, but freedom will come as you confess your sins to God.
David got real with God, and God used his life for good. There were still consequences for his sin, but God restored his life back to ministry.
II. Jacob—Genesis 32:24-26 Jacob cried bless me Lord. This is the only wrestling match between man and God in the Bible that is recorded. Jacob did pretty good, I think God was letting him win a little, and Jacob got real with God right here. He said, even though I have a lot of this worlds goods, even though some would call me a success, I am miserable in life, and unless you bless me, I will not let go. Jacob had come to the end of himself and was ready to yield his life to God.
· I am tired of doing it my way, let’s do it your way.
· The only way I will ever be blessed is if you bless me with your presence and purpose and plan for my life. There is no joy or peace outside of you O God.
· I have deceived my way to the top, but I still feel like I am at the bottom of life. Bless me Lord and I will be blessed. I would rather walk with you in emptiness and brokenness, than to walk without you in prosperity and wealth.
III. Jonah—2:1—Jonah cried help me—I guess this is the first time Jonah had gotten real with God in a long time. He got to the place where God was all he had, and he would find out that God was all he would need. So many people because they run from God’s call and voice,hit bottom, and from the bottom they cry. Sometimes the bottom is the only place that will cause people to really look up, and the cry for help is a desparate cry.
· Today some need to get real and say, only you God can get me out of what I have gotten myself into. I am at the bottom and you are the only one who can lift me out of the pit and plant my feet on higher ground.
· I don’t believe God causes bad things to happen in our lives but allows them to get our attention. He allows us to run and hide ourselves, but He always knows where to find us.
· This is getting real with God, you are the only one who can help me, my help cometh from the Lord.
IV. Peter—Peter cried save me—Matthew 14:30- Peter got real with God when he started to sink. That is the story of many people, they were walking fine, they were doing good, but they took their eyes off of Jesus and they started sinking. This is where we get real with God, when we say, we weren’t doing it at all, it was always you, it was always your power.
· Peter got real by looking back to the source of his early blessing. If you are going under today in any situation, get back to your first love, get back to your first step. It isn’t that God has walked away from you, it is that you have walked away from him.
· I love the old song, I can’t even walk without you holding my hand. Peter came to that place where it was all about Jesus and not about Peter. When we get real with the Lord, it is all about us becoming nothing and him becoming everything.
Close: David cried clean me, Jacob cried bless me, Jonah cried help me, and Peter cried save me. Today is the day to get real with God. If David never gets real with God then Israel misses it’s blessing. If Jacob doesn’t get real with God his children would suffer. If Jonah never got real with God, then Ninevah doesn’t hear from God, if Peter doesn’t get real with God, the early church would suffer without him.
It is so important that you get real with God, for someone’s blessing is dependant on you getting right with God.
Lauri and I were almost 28 when we got married. Some people ask her why she waited so long to get married. She said, I was ready in my early twenties but Steve was running from God so I had to wait for God to catch him.
One final word, someday everyone will have to get real with God, better to get real with Him today, then to get real with Him in eternity.
