Wise Guidance

Raj, right here, Renetta, I can't see you behind so would you stand just a minute and we'll have a chance to identify you. They said they'd like for us to pray for their continued walk with the Lord and that God would guide them in their own personal life and their spiritual development. And we'll be praying for you guys this week. We also ask you to remember, pray for two of our missionaries. We have so many missionary people around the world that we just kind of give you a little idea of where they are. The two are overseas, this week it's for people who are working with the Muslim Iraqi people and someone in the United States and then in Kampala, Uganda. So around the world people are doing the work of God. We remember to pray for them. You'll see people have birthdays this week, it gives us a way to pray for each individual in our church family and then because all of us have burdens and concerns we carry in the Bible commands us to pray for each other. We list those concerns that you have and pray with you about those that are important to you. We have added to that list, Brenda Seaver says she wants us to pray for the healing of Achilles tendonitis for her. So we'll remember to pray for you, Brenda. I'd like to ask you to pray also a prayer of thanksgiving. This morning at New Life Church in Hoisington they had seven new people that hadn't been there before and most of them, all of them but one, were children and preschoolers. So we had an overflowing crowd in the preschool and children's room for Sunday school this morning right now while they're in class and to give thanks to God for his work in bringing people to his kingdom and allowing us to find them. These were all kids that came to vacation Bible school and so we've been following up on that and we're thankful for God's work in that church. There are many opportunities that you have and as I mentioned already, one of them we have next Sunday, we have a man who's coming who has developed an emphasis on stewardship and helped develop a program that points to the biblical patterns or teachings about how God wants us to manage money. Our program will be a little different, we'll meet in here for what would be the normal Sunday school hour, then there'll be a preaching time and then we'll have lunch here provided by the church. In case you've signed up, if you sign up outside, we'll be prepared for you to come and eat and then we're having that meeting until three o'clock. There's still some who out of, we're going to be, want to meet at Sunday evening so we'll have our Sunday evening services also but we'll be through with that one by three o'clock and time to recover a little bit by evening time. So we want you to be sure to come. Now we have a sign-up sheet out there if you have children that are too young to know about money then we want to provide for them. If they're old enough to know about money, we want them to be in the class because he tells us that this is something you can discuss with your children as well as with youth and as well as adults. So we sign up if you have some too young to be in, doesn't know about money and we need care for them, we'll provide that. And then also we have meals for you. We're going to provide the meals but we need to know you're coming. So the sign-up sheets are in the vestibule and we'll give you a chance to sign up and then we'll be ready for you and things will be prepared. Richard, you're going to talk about men's retreat. Earlier in the service, Doyle talked about men making a difference in our lives and there was a man that when Doyle was talking about it made a difference in my life and as men we need to take advantage of every chance we get to learn more about God. On October 19th and 20th is a men's retreat. It'll be held at Webster's Conference Center. The cost for it is $75 for men. Young men from 12 to 17 are also encouraged to come. Their cost is $60. This covers staying overnight, it's Friday night and Saturday, it covers all the meals. There are scholarships available. If you would, go home after church today and write that down on your calendar, 19th and 20th of October. Pray about it and ask God if this is where he wants you to be and I would almost guarantee you he does want you to be there because men, we make a difference in people's lives. We touch people that we don't even realize. I have men at my work that to me they're my sons, they're younger than my youngest daughter. We need to be making a difference in this world. This is one way we can do it, by going to this retreat and learning more about what God wants us to do as mighty men of God. Thank you. I'd like you to take a few minutes to pray and of course for guys, you ask God, is this something you want me to do? It allows us to get God's direction about the things in our life that he's looking, he's planning on us doing. I want you to pray for yourself. But is there God in my life that you want to touch or change or affirm? And I want you to pray for someone else. Who is it that God wants you to pray for? Let's take some time to talk to God. Our most gracious heavenly father, we truly thank thee for the day that we have and the day that you've given us on the Lord's day. And father, we pray this morning that you'll be with our church. We ask your blessings will be upon them. And father, we ask that you'll be with Doyle, the message that you laid upon his heart. And father, you know the condition of every heart and every soul that's in our congregation. And Lord, we're asking if there's anyone here that does not know you as their personal savior, may this be the day they'll step out and give their life to you. Father, it's a joy that have come to the Lord Jesus Christ any time of the day or night and know that God is with us and he'll guide us in all ways. Father, I ask now that you'll be with the unspoken prayer request. Father, you'll answer them according to your will. And father, we ask that you'll be with our nation. Lord, that you'll guide us in the way, even the election that's coming up. Father, we pray that you'll put the right man in there. And Lord, may we be faithful and remind ourselves that we need to uplift him every day in prayer. Thank you for our service people, Lord. They have been so good laying their life for us that we might have life here in America. And Lord, we're asking now that you'll take Doyle's message and apply it to each and every soul because father, we ask these things in Jesus' precious name, amen. You'll notice in your prayer guide that Don Cates is our commissioner to pray for this week so we ask you to remember to pray for him. We don't often have people who serve in political offices in our church but we have over the years different folks who do that and I know they make decisions that are on the front page of the paper and they'd like to have the wisdom of God to be able to do that. So remember to pray for him especially. I'm using a passage from Matthew chapter 22 if you'd find that in your Bibles. I'm going to use verses 34 through 38. In this passage, we're challenged to love God with all of our heart, soul, strength, and mind. How does a person go about loving God? There are different ways that we share love with each other. For example, if you have a friend that you really care about and you love, you might talk to them about the problems that you have. have and they might give you advice and sometimes when they give you advice you may say boy that's terrible advice I'm not going to take that because they're just another person like you they make mistakes just like everybody else makes mistakes so you may listen to your friends advice but you don't always do what they tell you you they're an equal to you then there's a relationship that we sometimes have that is of children with their parents and a child is expected to listen to their parents and take advantage of their parents experience and do what their parents tell them they're supposed to do that's the wisdom of parents so in that relationship you love your parents by doing what they tell you to do listening to their authority respecting who they are and whenever they're your parents and they have that position of authority you show your love with respect and obedience and listening to them and doing what they tell you you may discover later on as you grow up that their wisdom wasn't always that great but as a small child you do exactly what they told you to do and that shows your love for your parents and as a parent sometimes you have children and you are to love them it means that you put their interest ahead of your own sometimes you make sure that they're taking care of even if it causes you some unrest or the loss of sleep or financial cost or whatever it might be you take care of those who are in a sense less than you children less mature less responsible they're struggling to learn and so you love them by guiding them providing for them taking care of them and protecting them and trying to help them see why they're in the world so the great purpose that God has for them so there are all kinds of ways in which we show love to each other so if you're going to love God you have to begin by saying okay what does it really mean to love God who is he and what kind of relationship do I have to him Matthew chapter 22 says hearing hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees the Pharisees got together one of them an expert in the law tested him with this question teacher which is the greatest commandment in the law Jesus replied love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind this is the first and the greatest commandment it's identified as the first most important and the greatest the most essential this commandment is important to us followers of Christ it's essential to us so it's very important to understand what it means to express your love to God first of all I think it's important to understand the relationship that you have with God who is God what's he like the Bible says to as many as received him he means of Jesus Christ who received him as the Messiah the one sent from God God himself to them gave he the ability become the children of God so in this passage Jesus is talking to people who are children of God their people have been brought into the family of God so whenever you begin to be a part of a new family whatever it is you have to learn what the family really is about we've had some kids from the college come and stay with us at different times and it takes them a while you know to begin to learn who I am and who Carol is and what our family traditions are and how we do things around our house so that as they begin to learn who we are they can show their appreciation for who we are and what we do so when you come into the kingdom of God it's essential to begin to learn who God really is he's not just another person somewhere in the world his significance is really overwhelming one time there was nothing at all in the universe I don't even mean even there wasn't even space nothing and God decided he wanted a world and a universe and he spoke just two words and the Sun came into existence all the stars came into existence the universe that's so vast we can't even find the edges of it he just spoke and all that happened you don't know anyone with that kind of power and authority the power of God to do things is above and beyond anything that we can imagine the wisdom of God to plan all these things you know how the earth turns around and spins and how it revolves around the Sun so that exactly at the right time and way every season comes who could have planned this and we can't even make in the most expensive car something that doesn't break down every once in a while but in regularity all these things that God may work exactly as he wants them to God has unlimited resources he doesn't have to mine for gold he knows where every vein of gold in the whole world is found he knows where every pool of natural gas and oil can be located and anything that he wants he can simply make more of it God has power beyond what anything that we can imagine God's mind is so vast that it's hard to even imagine what he does he makes a human body and there's the back of your head a little gland called a pituitary gland and it regulates the temperature your body so when you get out in the hundred and ten degree temperature it begins to work so that it keeps your temperature right there at 98.6 level you go outside and it's 10 below and it begins to work inside of you to keep your body right there at 98.6 just a little bitty thing that regulates everything about our bodies God has planned our bodies with such meticulous care that it is unbelievable when you begin to learn all about the human body and how it functions this person that we describe as God made all of this he knows things that we haven't even began to understand or discover he has power beyond anything that we can imagine there are times in which for his people he stopped time dead in its tracks how could you do that one time he said to one of his followers I'm going to give you a command and I want to show you that it's mine and if you'll stand on the top of the stairs I'm going to make the shadow go backwards we know that when the Sun goes down the shadow gets longer this way I want to make it get shorter as the day goes by who could imagine this it is so unbelievable that many people read these stories and say it's impossible that's what he did he took his people stranded by the Red Sea and just spoke and the waters parted the soil dried up and thousands of people walked across on dry ground no one anywhere could do that with out thousands or millions of dollars and great equipment to make that happen just like that when you read the stories in the Old Testament of who God is and you see all the things that he's done and all the things that he said you begin to discover the magnitude of who this is that you're talking to you begin to discover the magnitude of what this person is really like and if you're going to love God you have to understand who he is that's the first and most important thing because understanding God and who he is only comes about by learning his experience that's how we get to know each other you get to know another person by talking to them hearing the stories of their life finding out what they do seeing how they react to circumstances and situations and the more you have your experience around them the more you know what they're like and whenever you're talking to God you can't really talk to him very well until you begin to know who he is but when you discover who he is you discover he's far far above and beyond anything that you'll ever be this is a relationship you see love is a relationship between this person of great power and authority and wisdom and intelligence and me as an ordinary human being whose life is filled with mistakes and failures so when I began to talk to God the very idea of being able to do this is incredible God at every instance every second of every day knows what everybody in the world is thinking you look at just this crowd here how hard would it be for us to be able to figure out what everybody around us is thinking right now impossible today at this very moment God is listening to the thoughts of billions of people and yet your thought is the focus of his attention so when you come into the presence of God to talk to him he expects you to understand what's going on He is the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth, the ruler of all that there is. And you know what he expects from you? Respect. So whenever you begin to talk to God or build a relationship with Him, you have to realize that you're in the presence here of someone that you have great admiration for and great respect for and great reverence for. So when you sit down to read the Bible and you begin to pray, it's not like you're talking to your buddy. It's not like you're talking to some friend that's just as stupid as you are or just as smart as you are, however you think of yourself. You're talking to someone who is extraordinary in every way. If you sit down to talk to God and you turn on the television, you say, okay, God, I want to talk to you, but I sure don't want to miss something in the news. After all, you know how important that is. How do you think God feels? You think he deserves your undivided attention when you sit down to read the Bible and pray? When you come to Sunday school class or small group class where they're opening the Bible, doesn't he deserve your undivided attention? You see, the way this works is God talks to us through all kinds of different ways. He talks to us through the Scriptures. He talks to us through people. He talks to us through the Holy Spirit inside of us. But he's chosen to use the Scripture in a powerful way and he gave us teachers and preachers because he gives them gifts to be able to talk to him, figure out what we're supposed to say, and say it to you. So every time you go to a Bible class, small group class, Sunday school, your leaders should have been praying all week, God, what should we do today? And whenever they get up to teach, they're speaking the words of God to you. And when the preacher has been praying all week and reading the Bible and he gets up on Sunday morning, if he's done his work right, he should have words from God to you. I don't know what you need. I don't know what you've been thinking this week. I don't know what you've been through. All I know is I say to God, what do you want me to say? And I work on that and I talk about it, I pray with him, I think about it, I try to edit through all the stuff to get my stuff out of it so that I'm saying to you something God wants you to hear. We had people from Texas came from vacation Bible school a couple of weeks ago and the guy came up to me after the service, one of them said, I just want to tell you, I don't know why we're here to do Bible school, I guess, but I can say one thing. We were here this morning because you said something to us that we desperately needed for. We talked about it after the service and we both agreed you were speaking to us. No, I wasn't. God was. But he can't speak to you unless you listen. That's why we come into church and make it quiet, no distractions, so that you can listen to God. He is so important to you that nothing should detract you. And you know, before you come to church you need to go to the bathroom, get you a drink, make sure everything's all settled down, and then come and you listen. Because almighty God is here and he desperately wants to talk to you. And every time you go to a Bible study or you read the Bible or you come to church, there should be something that you hear from God. So when you come, you just don't come and sit down like you do at a movie and say, well, put on the show. You come and say, God, I've come here to hear you. Here are the things I'm struggling with in my own life. Here are the questions I have that I'm trying to get answers for. Here are the relationships that I'm dealing with that I'm trying to figure out what to do. And when you begin to tell God all these things that are going on in your life, at the beginning of the service, you listen, and you listen, and you listen, and God will speak to you. If you're one of those people who thinks of God as just a nice guy that has some good ideas once in a while, then you're not going to pay very much attention in church. You're going to be bored out of your mind because all this stuff's going on. And it has nothing to do with you. And even if God were to talk to you, you're not ready to do it, so you're not interested in this. And when people are bored in Bible study or bored in church, it means that they are not listening to God as if every word that he says is critical to them. It doesn't matter how bad the preacher is. God can always speak through them. There's a story in the Bible about a man walking along, and the donkey stopped and couldn't get through, and the donkey spoke to him. The words of God. Gives me great comfort to know that God can speak through you no matter what. And you don't even know really what it is, but if you stand before God with a listening ear, he speaks. How do you love God? You give him the respect for who he is. You're the creator of the universe. You're the ruler of everything. I pay attention to you. I don't plan what I'm going to do tomorrow. I don't text. I don't do all that stuff that I could do. Instead, I'm listening to you. And if you don't do that, you insult God. Now, there's a lot of people in this world you can insult and get away with it, but I'll just tell you right now, you better not try that on God. With just one word, your life can become a living hell. You say, well, God loves me. Yeah, he loves you enough to straighten you out. Like a parent would love a child enough to make sure they live the right rules so that their life will work right. You love God by respecting him for who he is. Respecting his power, his authority, and his wisdom. And then you begin to learn what God wants you to do. You listen to him with authority, and then you learn what he wants you to do. You won't necessarily hear what God wants you to do, his direction for your life, until first you've placed him in that position of absolute authority. Have you ever had somebody come and ask you advice, and you knew that they weren't going to take it? You don't, you're not very interested in talking to them about it. You know, you're not going to do what I tell you anyway, why are you asking me this? God doesn't answer us unless he's sure that we're really interested in what he has to say. So whenever you talk to God, you see, and you go on and on and on and on and on and on and on about everything you want, and you don't stop to say, God, what do you want? The communication barrier is there. You can't love God and not listen to him. You can't love God and not be willing to do whatever he tells you. Respect for God is the key ingredient. The Lord of heaven and earth, respect that says, I listen to your words as if they were the words of truth. The scripture calls this the law, and when we think of the law, we think of the speed limit. You know, you can't go more than this, and if you do, you're going to get thrown in jail. The law in the Old Testament was more like a parent's instructions to their children. I don't want you to get out in the street because the cars are going by and you're going to get run over or hurt there. I don't want you climbing on that pole because it's an electric pole, and you could get electrocuted. Now that's not a law. You didn't call somebody together and pass it and put it on the books and publish it. It just is clear instructions about how to live. If you look at the law in the Old Testament, that's exactly what they are. They're the words of a wise father to his children about how to live. When Jesus gave us instructions about how to pray, he said, you should begin by saying, our father who is in heaven, the father I have who is in the great position of power and authority, I'm addressing you. That recognition of his power and his authority as a father is critical. When you read the things in the Bible, they are not intended to cramp your life. They're not intended to control your life. I know sometimes we feel like that. Just like when you say to your children, small children, now I don't want you to get out of the yard. I don't want you to get in the street. They think you're trying to bind them in. I had a man one time read in a book, he told a story about his son. He went to a ballgame and he said to his son, now you can play on the stands here. You can walk up and down the stands. You can walk up and down the steps here, but you see that court down there? There's a big line around it. You cannot go down there and go over that line. There'll be playing. You'll be hurt. The son played around and played around and he looked around and he looked finally down there and there was his son down there looking up at him. He was standing right next to the line. He looked at him and he put his foot over the line and took it back. He put his foot over the line. Mine took it back. That's the way we are with God sometimes. We just do not believe what he tells us. We want to get as close to the edge as we can, thinking that God is trying to keep us from the wonderful experiences of life. God so loved the world that he gave as one and only son for us. I will tell you this. God does not want to keep from you one single thing that is good and valuable in your life. He does want to keep you from the things that look good and look valuable, but are deadly. And so if you read in the law something that God says, it's just fatherly advice from the only father who's ever lived who knows everything. The only father who's ever lived who's seen thousands and millions and billions of children raised, who's watched billions of marriages operate, who's seen billions of people manage their money, and he knows what he's talking about. Not only does he know it because he made it all, he knows it because he's watched how it works. And what he wants from us is to be able to say, God, I will never have a rebellious spirit toward anything you would say to me. Not only do I respect who you are, but I have inside of me no barrier, no arrogance, no stubbornness to anything that you want from me because I believe that you always want what is best. If you can believe that, you see, you can have a good communication with God. Your father in heaven who knows everything, who has everything, who has your best interest at heart, and he wants to tell you what you need to know. The most heartwarming experience God has is for you to listen to him and say, now I understand what you want me to do. Now I understand what you don't want me to do. I've been wrong, and I'm ready to do what you ask. The heartwarming experience for all of us is when our children come to the place where they realize that the things we've been trying to tell them are really true. And the most heartwarming experience God has is when we come to him and say, now I understand. You're right. I've been wrong. When you come to God confessing our rebellious spirit, our sin, and our failure, he forgives us. But it binds us closer to him than if we'd never even sinned. It's a miracle of our relationship with God. You see, what Jesus is talking about here is not simply obeying some laws on a piece of paper. But he's talking about a relationship with God that allows him ultimate and complete authority over everything in our life. He's talking about a relationship between us and God that makes us as submissive as a little baby in the arms of its parents. I depend completely on you, God. And whatever you do, whatever you ask, I will do. This is what the Bible means, to love God. If you want to find out if your love for God is good and strong, just ask yourself this question. Is there anything that I know God wants me to do that I just refuse to do? Now ask yourself this question. If I had a child that told me that, how would I feel toward them? How would I feel? Ask yourself this question. Is there anything that I'm doing that I know God doesn't want me to do? But I want to keep on doing it. Now ask yourself this question. If you had a child and they said to you, I know you told me not to steal, but I want to do it. And I'm just going to tell you right now, if the anger didn't boil inside of you at that rebellious spirit, there'd be something wrong with you as a parent. You see, loving God means placing him in a position of authority and giving ourselves to him in submission and obedience to what he wants. Will he ask things of us sometimes that are hard? Sure he does. Every parent does. Will he ask us to do things that we don't want to do? Sure he will. Every parent does. It's time for you to go to bed. No child ever wants to hear it. But he says, that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to tell you what you need to do. Does he ask us to do things sometimes that seem really silly and dangerous? Yes, he will. But if you believe that the God you worship knows everything and loves you and cares for you, you can do whatever he asks with confidence that it's the right thing. And when you do, God will see your great love for him. To love God so much that you'd be willing to give everything to him and your life to him if he asked for it is an ultimate expression of great love. Jesus asked the rich ruler who came to him and said, I want to follow you. And Jesus said, well, sell everything you have, give it away to the poor, and then come and learn what I want you to do. What he was asking is, do you love me more than your money? And the man didn't. If the man had said, sure, I'm going to do that, it would have cost him a great deal. But Jesus would have known he loves me more than anything in the world. What happens in our lives that often causes so much trouble with our love for God is that we place things between us and him. I'll tell you this, if you really want to love God, he will keep taking those things away from you that you love so much because he doesn't stand any rivals. So if you want to love him, you must remove everything that would stand in the way of obeying him. This commandment is about relationships. How does a father who's smart, powerful, intelligent, and loving, how do you relate to him? You relate to him by saying, I know you love me. I know you care for me. I trust you with everything. And I want to say to you today, I haven't always done what you wanted me to do. But beginning right now, I will do whatever you ask. If you do that, suddenly the Bible will become important to you. Sunday school classes, small groups will become important to you. Preaching services will become important to you because you'll be hungry to hear from your father more than anything in the world. And as you begin to hear from him and do it, the whole future of your life will change for the better because your father loves you. And he wants to give you every good thing. But he needs you to be a loving, obedient child. Would you bow your heads for a moment? No one that I know would ever say, I don't love God. But that's not really the question. Would God think you loved him from your lifestyle, from the way you treat the Bible, the way you listen to him, the way you obey him? This passage is a command. I command you to love me with all your heart, soul, and mind. No one gets into heaven without this. And no one ever lives a life that's victorious without it. So if your life is a mess, you need to listen to it. If you want your life to be good, you need to listen to it. If you want to find the best of life in this world, you need to listen to this and put God as the Lord of your life. You can do that today or tomorrow. But know this, your life is a mess. You're not going to get out of it. Put God as the Lord of your life. You can do that today. If you become aware right now that God is not really completely, totally in charge of your life and he's not the most important thing to you, you can change that right now. All you say is, God, from this moment on, you're everything to me. I'll do whatever you ask, any way you ask it, I'll live for you. If you've made that promise to God, but suddenly you're aware that you're not really keeping it, it could explain a lot of things about what's happening to you. If you want to find a relationship that's satisfying between you and God, obedience is where you start. Now, how can we ever even say that word about you? You're so far above and beyond anything that we are, and yet you've given us the privilege to call you Father. Look at us as your children and search our hearts. Do we have a secret life that we think is secret from you, acting one way, living another? Don't allow it to happen. Place the condemnation in our hearts so strong that we have to stop, and God, I'll get this straight with you. Are we living our life in this world doing what we want to, making our own choices without even asking or talking to you? Seek the convicting power of your Spirit to convince us that we must let you be the Lord of everything. This time, Father of invitation, I ask for each of us that you'd bring your message in our lives so powerful and strong that we would know today what you want us to do. Give us a submissive heart that we would do what we know you tell us today without fear of what anybody says or thinks. Father, this is your time. You tell us what you want, and give us a heart of obedience to do it. Amen. This morning, we're going to sing an invitation hymn. Like if you would just stand, please, for just a moment. I'll be here at the front. Carl's here at the front. If there is some commitment that you feel God wants you to make, and you feel like He wants you to make it openly and publicly to Him today, we welcome you to do that. If it's to give your life to Christ, if it's to become a part of the fellowship of this church, if it's to do something that you've promised God, this is your time. As our Father speaks, do you love Him? Jesus is Lord of all, Lord of my thoughts and my service each day, Jesus is Lord of all. Blessed Redeemer, all-glorious King, worthy of reverence I pay. Tribute and praises I joyfully give to Him the life, the way. Jesus is Lord of all, Jesus is Lord of all, Lord of my thoughts and my service each day, Jesus is Lord of all. This evening in our services, 6 o'clock, the book of Romans chapter 3, where Paul talks about God's remedy for the world and circumstances in which we are living. Sin is pervasive. Every single one of us has it. We have it in abundance. It's deadly, but God has provided a remedy. We're going to hear how He does that, and how we can bring that message of remedy to all those around us who are caught in its power, unable to break free. You are the Lord of everything, heaven and earth, bent on redeeming us, passionate about directing us. How is it, Father, that we could ever have such a relationship with You? It is Your love, Your grace, and Your mercy. For everyone today who's recognized Your guidance and said yes to You, I ask for a special blessing of power and authority to live out what they promised. Father, for those that struggled but felt uncomfortable saying yes to You, continue as a faithful, patient Father to guide us, that every one of us might come to say, Lord, You're in charge of everything. Have Your way. For this is the way of life for us. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.