How to Make it Through Successfully - Life of Christ Part 85

Now, this past week, my staff and I were away for our annual fall retreat. And while we were down there, one of the staff guys handed me an article in a magazine that really shocked me and really saddened me. It was about Sandy Patty, the famous Christian singer most of you have heard of her. You know, she divorced her husband a couple of years ago and that I knew. But what I didn't know and what this article went on to tell me is that prior to her divorcing her husband, she had been having an ongoing affair with one of the guys in her traveling group for 17 months. And that, not only did she divorce her husband, but he divorced his wife and just several weeks ago, the two of them got married. Now, when I read this, I thought to myself, good grief.

I mean, this is scary. Sandy Patty is not a flake. Sandy Patty is not a fruitcake.

Sandy Patty is not a fruitcake. She's a person who wants to use her life to honor Jesus Christ. And here she is a few years later running her spiritual car off the road and into the ditch like so many other well-meaning Christians that you know and that I know. And I was reminded of the words of the apostle Paul who said at the very end of his life, 2 Timothy chapter 4, I have fought the fight.

I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Man, wouldn't it be good to be a Christian right now?

great to end your life like that? And yet you and I have both seen so many Christian workers, so many Christian friends who end up in the ditch and are now not able to say that at the end of their life. And you almost begin to wonder whether it's even possible to make it to say what Paul said anymore.

Well I'm here to tell you that it is possible, but it's going to demand something from us. And I want to talk to you about that because I believe that in our passage for this morning, the secret is shared with us, God shares with us the secret of how we're going to make it. And so the title of the message that I want to share with you this morning from Matthew 23 is, How to Make it Through This Life Successfully for Jesus Christ. Now here in Matthew 23, if you know the chapter, Jesus has been berating the religious leaders of Israel mercilessly for their stubbornness, their willfulness, their rebellion, their hypocrisy. And then in verse 37 at the end of the chapter, he completely changes tones to one of sympathy and of love. And here's what he says, verse 37, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you from God, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. You know when you teach or when you speak publicly for a living, what you learn is that if you can make little word pictures and help people connect up with the word pictures, that it helps them learn. And that's why Jesus of course used so many stories when he taught. And here Jesus is using a gorgeous word picture about a chicken and her little chicks.

Now the problem is that it doesn't mean much to you and me. We don't get the word picture very well because most of us don't have chickens. I mean, I don't own chickens at my house. In your townhouse, you probably don't have chickens. In fact, where I live, it's against the law to have chickens. If I had chickens, the Board of Zoning Appeals Enforcement Bureau would come out and cite me and fine me for having chickens. And you probably aren't allowed to have chickens where you are either. Most of us didn't grow up with chickens around, but these people in Israel, they had chickens.

This was an agricultural society. Every Jewish person understood chickens and how they acted because they all grew up with them. And the thing about chickens is, when the little tiny chicks get scared or frightened in any way, they scamper to their mother who spreads her wings out like a big old canopy and draws them in under those wings and provides protection and provision and nurture and comfort for these little tiny chicks.

And every single Jewish person in that day had seen chickens do that. And Jesus said, how often I wanted to do that very same thing for you. I wanted to take you under my wings and nurture you and comfort you, protect you. And notice he says, how often I wanted to do it. This is not just some passing whim, but this is the consistent desire of the heart of God. And one more thing about this, the word that's translated, how often I longed to do this, is a word that doesn't mean I wish I could or I hope I could, but it involves intent. It involves resolve and purpose. And Jesus is really saying here, how often I resolved to do this. I intended to do this. It was my purpose to do this for you. And what really makes it amazing is that this was the ongoing consistent heart of God even after these people had spurned him and rejected him and treated him the way they treated him. That's pretty impressive. Well, the verse isn't quite over.

So far, so good. But it says, how often I longed to do this, Jesus said. Look at the end of the verse, but you were not willing. You were not willing. In other words, Jesus said, I wanted to, but you didn't want to.

It's a very same word, the exact same word translated, willing and longed to. I wanted to, you didn't want to. Jesus is playing this word off against itself. I intended it to be this way, but you intended it wasn't gonna be this way.

I purposed to do this for you, but you purposed that I wasn't gonna do this for you. Jesus said, my heart's clear the complication is that you guys vetoed the whole deal. And the truth that this passage lays out for us, of course there's many truths here, but the one I want to draw your attention to this morning is the fact that man's free will frustrated and violated what the heart of God wanted to do for those very people. Now folks, you know scholars have been arguing about the free will of man and the sovereignty of God ever since church began. They've never solved it. I'm not smart enough to solve it.

I'm not even going to attempt to solve it. I'm just simply gonna leave it with you by saying that the Bible teaches God is absolutely sovereign and the Bible teaches that man has a free will and that they're both taught in the same Bible. The Bible never reconciles them and I don't know how to reconcile them either. But they're both true and for our purposes what really matters here is the free will thing. They hear God created man in the image of God and God created man with a free will. God has committed himself to the fact he will not violate the free will of man and even though God here had an expressed purpose to gather these people together like a hen gathers her chicks, thousands upon thousands of people frustrated the purpose of God by simply saying, no I don't want to do that. The free will of man.

You know our free will is so stubborn and it is so strong that it'll even resist the convincing power of Almighty God himself. I mean I think of like Pharaoh. You think of Pharaoh, huh? You remember Moses and Pharaoh and all those plagues?

Man I mean Charlton Heston was laying those babies all over Yul Brynner. You know what I'm saying and it wasn't like I mean I don't know about you but after two of those things I think I would have gone, okay okay, what can we negotiate? What kind of deal can we negotiate here Moses? I don't want any more of these things around.

But Pharaoh went six, seven, eight, nine, ten. I mean can you imagine that? Unbelievable. Don't ever ever underestimate the stubbornness of the free will of man.

And you know what? The very fact that hell exists is a testament to the free will of man because the Bible says that God desires everybody to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth and if the only thing operating was what God wanted there would be no hell. Nobody would ever go there. But the fact that hell exists proves that there's a lot more operating than just what God wants. Man has a free will and it breaks the heart of God to see this happen to people.

But it happens. He said, but Lon, to say that man has a free will and that man can say no to God I mean doesn't that compromise the power of God? Doesn't that mean that God really isn't all-powerful?

No friend it doesn't mean that. Remember we're not discussing here what God can do we're discussing what God has decided to do. Can God violate the free will of man? Sure if he wants to but God has decided that he won't. I mean can I go bungee jumping if I want to?

Yes. But I have decided of my own free will that there's no way in the world you'd ever get me on one of those things. A rubber band between me and death? Are you out of your mind with some drug addict with tattoos and earrings running this thing? Are you crazy? I'm not going up there and let some guy like that have my life in his hands. Are you nuts?

And if you do it you're crazy and I thought you were. But that's your call. But the fact that I don't do it doesn't mean I can't do it and the fact that God doesn't violate the free will of man doesn't mean that he can. He just decided that he won't. This is what the Bible teaches friends and we can never reconcile it in our mind that God is absolutely sovereign and man has absolute free will and how they work together I don't know.

But they're both there. And now I want to move from talking about what this passage teaches to talking about the really important question and you know what that question is don't you? What is it? So what? Very good. Alright proud of you.

Now so what Lon? What difference does this make to me and what does this have to do with me making it through this life successfully? I mean what are you talking about? Listen when I was a young Christian brand-new as a matter of fact I was living down in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I was going to the University of North Carolina and I was part of a fraternity. There's about 80 guys in this fraternity house and most of the guys in the fraternity house were using drugs and most of them I was the guy who would turn them onto the drugs. In fact I was the supplier for most of these guys and so I made it my goal as a young Christian to try to I wanted to share Christ with every single one of these fraternity brothers before I ever left town. And so in the beginning I set out to do that and so we were sitting up in the fraternity house as about six or eight of us in a little circle smoking dope and I would take my turn and then I'd start telling them about how Jesus loved them and how they needed to give their life to Jesus Christ until my turn was again. Well I was really serious and I really meant it and I was really sharing with them and finally one of the guys in the circle started giggling and then started laughing and I was just getting I mean I was just so irritated because I'm trying to talk about something serious so I said to him what is wrong with you man I'm trying to talk to you about something serious something eternal and you're laughing at me what's wrong with you and just like that he stopped laughing and sat up pointed his finger at me like this and he said you hypocrite he said you are such a hypocrite he said you're sitting here smoking dope getting high you were the one who provided the dope for us this afternoon and now you're telling us about sin and righteousness and heaven and Jesus and God what a hypocrite you are. See man we don't want to hear that nonsense. Well what do you say I mean there's nothing to say he was right I mean I just got up and walked out of the room went for a long walk and I said you know God I said I really want my life to count for you God and I think I just had a great example why if I keep smoking dope that might not happen as much as I'd like to see it happen so God I'm willing to stop dope and I've been saying for years God I can stop whenever I want stop whenever I feel like it but I said you know God if you and I are really honest I got to tell you the truth I'm not sure that's really true but if you I promise you today I said to God if you will give me the power to stop using dope I will stop as of today now that was 25 years ago and I've never touched any dope since and I know everybody's experience is not the same and that's fine but I'm just telling you what happened in my life but here's my point the power of God was there and it became active in my life but would you notice it took a freewill decision on my part to activate it I had to decide I wanted to go in the direction of God I had to decide I wanted to obey God I had to come to God and say God I want to do it the way you want it done and that activated the power of God in my life and I've never touched dope since but friends this is the pattern of the Bible is that we make freewill decisions first that we want to go in God's direction and then God if we're Christians by the power of the Spirit of God that lives within us then the enabling power is made available to us but you know it doesn't happen the other way around God didn't appear to me one night while I was sleeping in some vision and go hey Lon stop dope I mean I didn't happen that way I had to decide I wanted to obey God and then God gave me the power to do it that's the pattern of the Bible and friends when Paul at the end of his life said I have fought the fight I finished the grace I kept the faith the reason he was able to say that is not because his God was any more faithful to him than your God is to you or than Sandy Patty's God was to her that's not the issue the issue was that Paul every day of his life had made freewill decisions to go in God's direction and God had backed those up with his power and people who end up in the ditch make freewill decisions to go in other directions hey you know God takes the responsibility for what he does in the world but let's not hold him responsible for stuff that he didn't do we end up in the ditch and then we say well God didn't back me up God didn't give me what I knew oh oh oh oh oh oh oh wait a minute wait a minute God backs up and his power is activated every time we make a freewill decision to obey God but when we make freewill decisions we're gonna go another way it's not God's fault we end up in the ditch huh not God's fault we end up in the ditch and what I'm trying to say to you is if you want to end up like Paul ended up we have to come to grips with what the real enemy is the real enemy is not the devil the real enemy is not that God's gonna let us down the real enemy is your freewill and my freewill which by the way once you become a Christian is just as alive and nasty as it was before you became a Christian nothing happens to it it doesn't go away it doesn't get any nicer it's just as rebellious and sinful as before you started at being a Christian and if we're gonna end up where Paul did we got to deal with it let me say if you're here this morning and you've never trusted Christ in a real impersonal way as your Savior then your freewill is the issue too Jesus said behold I stand at the door of your heart and knock and if you hear my voice listen and if you go to the door and open it up and invite me in Jesus said I'll come in I'll change your life but did you notice he said you've got to be the one by your own freewill who goes to the door opens it up and invites him in Jesus does not practice forcible entry Jesus does not bust down people's doors and say here I am whether you like it or not it doesn't happen that way and the only reason Jesus Christ is in my life today as a Christian is because I invited him in of my own freewill if I had no he wouldn't be here and if you're waiting as someone who hasn't done that yet for God to somehow push you over the edge to the point that you won't have any choice it's not gonna happen friend at some point you're gonna have to make a freewill decision that you need Christ and you want Christ and you're asking Christ in and I hope you'll do that it's not gonna happen any other way but for those of us who are Christians we still got a free will to deal with huh godly living just doesn't happen automatically we've got to make up our mind and decide we're gonna obey God every day and every minute of every day we've got to say things like I will get up in the morning and have my quiet time you may not feel like doing it but once you do it God enables you and you feel great I will go to church on Sunday what are you gonna do lay home in bed and we'll expect God to levitate the bed and bring it in here and deposit it in the lobby and you're like oh great I'm at church you gotta set the alarm clock folks I will be faithful to my wife I will be faithful to my family I will share Christ with other people I will forgive those who hurt me I will live a lifestyle of personal holiness when I talk to a woman I will keep my eyes in my mind where they belong I mean these are decisions of our will will God back them up with his power so that we're able to carry them out consistently yes if we're serious but we have to make up our mind we want to go in God's direction I will stop at stop signs completely that tried to tell the officer it was the cars fault mm-hmm he said to me son you need to make a free will decision you're gonna stop at stop signs yes sir officer and just to help you remember here's a little reminder yes sir thank you sir god bless you sir are you there at this time of the morning every day sir okay you ever been in that situation so God got me a ticket uh-uh wrong Satan got me a ticket uh-uh wrong who got me that ticket I made a free will decision to roll that stop sign friends not the first one I've ever rolled but hopefully if officer whatever his name is as the way it'll be the last one this is the pattern and friends if you and I make free will decisions to move in the direction of Jesus Christ I'm telling you we can end up where Paul ended up but that's where the rub is and this is where the battles fought the battle is fought on the level of your free will decisions in mind as many of you know I have a sick little girl and she's three years old now and she's been very ill almost died a couple of times when she was one and it's just been a constant constant struggle and you know I've done some tough things in my life I've smuggled doping from Amsterdam before they had those you know dope sniffing dogs push dope on the streets they had the federal government chasing me with a warrant for my arrest I mean I've been out on the street some but I got to tell you the honest truth I have never lived three more difficult years in the last three years in my life they've been the hardest three years of my life and I used to read in the paper about how these guys would go off you know to go down to the store and get a carton of milk and they never see him again you know husbands would just disappear you know and leave a wife and children behind or how wives would say they were going out to go you know get their nails done and 20 years later they never came home and I would read about this and I'd say what people could do this to their family what people could act like this how could you just be so callous that you walk away like that I mean it was just kind of like what kind of jerks do this stuff I got to tell you something friends I understand now how people do that I understand it I understand how you get so beaten down and you get so exhausted and you get so hopeless that you just want to run I understand that now and every time I go out you get a cup of coffee and a doughnut I keep thinking gosh if I just keep on going I'll be in Colorado in a couple days I could do that Colorado would be nice but I have to make a free will decision after I scarf down my doughnut and drink my coffee to turn back around and not go to Colorado but to go home huh and you know what after I make that free will decision three years later I'm still standing here God's gotten me through God's been faithful yeah it's been hard but I'm still here the power of God's been around but I have to make that decision not to go to Colorado but to go home every day so does my wife what I'm trying to tell you guys is God will give you what you need to make it but it starts it's activated by free will decisions you and I make that we want to go in the direction God's asking us to go they say well on how am I going to do this I mean help me how am I gonna give me some advice well I'm gonna give you three quick suggestions about how to do this and how to do it well I got three suggestions for you number one ask God for help with your will ask God for help with your will listen to what King Solomon prayed he prayed may the Lord be with us and may he incline our hearts to him so that we want to walk in his ways and we want to keep his Commandments now that's a great prayer that's a great prayer because as the song says prone to wander Lord I feel it prone to leave the God I love this is where my will wants to go you put God at any one spot on the compass and I'll tell you where my will wants to go it wants to go 180 degrees another direction are you honest enough that you're willing to admit that about yourself I am that's where I want to go that's where my selfish will wants to head I need help with my will and that's what the prayer said it says Lord incline our hearts to you so that we want to walk in your ways and we want to keep your Commandments help me with this thing called my will that's why the songwriter goes on to say here's my heart taken seal it God seal it for your courts above friends I think anybody who understands the willfulness of their own will ought to be on their knees saying God incline my heart to you help me bring this uncontrolled animal under control so that I'll make the kind of decisions to go in the direction I need to go we need supernatural help that's where we got to start with this step number two consider the consequences of every decision you make I mean I love what the book of Proverbs says it says Proverbs 22 verse 3 a wise person sees danger coming and gets out the way a fool just keeps on going and suffers for it you know what this says this says a wise person looks around surveys the situation figures out the consequences says oh this is not good gets out of the way fools just keep right on going and they end up suffering for it we need to be wise people enough to sit back and consider the consequences of decisions before we make them sandy patty should have thought about what she was doing before she got into that liaison she should have sat back and said golly what's this gonna cost me I was in New York City a couple years ago at a meeting of a Christian organization and one of the guys that was on the board of this organization came up to me and said hey when we have lunch could we go out after lunch before we reconvene could we go for a little walk I said well sure so we go out for this walk and he says to me he's about 50 years old he says you know he says I need your advice so okay he said I'm in this little drama troop back home where I live and with this little community theater and and I've been in it now for a while and there was this lady that was in it and we got a couple of parts and we were kind of you know leading man leading lady type deal and over a period of time we become friends and now we're kind of a little more than friends and you know where things have gotten a little out of control and I need some help what do you advise me he said I really love this woman I really don't love my wife anymore I really love this woman what do you think I should do he said I think if I really love this woman I need to go with the woman I love what do you think what would you have told this guy I said hey what you need to do this is among the things I told him you need to count the cost of what you're considering pal you understand what this is gonna cost you so in cost you your wife so in cost you your children it's gonna cost you your business where you're an outspoken Christian the owner of a major industry what do you think all these people are gonna think that's worked for you for years and heard your Christian testimony when you do this man they're gonna blow you off and say I got everything the guy said wasn't real you know you got a reputation around the world as a Christian leader you're on the board of this organization you don't think they're gonna let you stay on this organization do you I'm not gonna let you stay on the board of this organization you do this I said man have you thought about what this is gonna cost you I said to him pal listen I want to tell you something there ain't a woman in the world worth this sorry ladies but it's true and if you're a woman is not a man in the world worth this and I said to him don't be a chump don't be a chump no woman is worth it man you need to tell this woman she is out of your life and you need to go back and deal with your wife and I'll help you if you want but you got to think what this is gonna cost you you know what he did he ran off with the woman anyway so that's great Lon I'm coming to you for advice next time too well hey look what my fault the guy ran off with the girl I gave him good advice what do you want me to tie him up and throw him in the subway for two years I mean I can't make the guy do anything but you know what every single thing that we talked about was gonna happen happened he lost his wife his kids disowned him he ruined his testimony they threw him off the board of this organ I mean everything I told him was gonna happen did was this woman worth it no no and so many times we go rushing headlong into decisions when friends if we only would stop to count the cost it would help us not to do some stupid things third and last we need not only to ask God for some supernatural help with our will and second to really think through the consequences before we do whatever it is we're thinking about the third and finally we need to get some Joab's in our life you go why I want you to turn back in the Old Testament real quick now to 1st Chronicles 21 if you're using our copy of the Bible it's page 300 1st Chronicles 21 and while you're turning let me tell you the story David's the king David was told by God you are not allowed to carry out a census of the people of Israel you say why Lon well there's a reason I don't have time to tell you about it right now just trust me okay so David decides he's gonna do it anyway and here's what happens 1st Chronicles chapter 21 verse 3 it says and Joab you say Lon who's Joab Joab was his chief general the chairman of the Joint Chiefs okay that's the Joab Joab came to David and said Lord he said may the Lord multiply your troops a hundred times over my lord the king are they not all yours I mean what do you want to count these people for David they're all yours anyway what difference to make how many of them you got look what he says verse 3 he says why does my Lord want to do this why should he bring guilt on Israel you know what Joab was trying to say to David he was trying to say respectfully hey David this is a terrible idea hey David this is a terrible decision you're about to make don't you understand what this is gonna mean why are you doing this David they're all yours anyway forget about your pride forget about your ego and obey God don't do this David well if you read the rest of the story you realize David went ahead and did it and the consequences were awful thousands upon thousands of Israelites died at the plague that God sent on the land to punish David but the point is Joab was there loving David enough caring about David enough that he was willing to go to him and say to David David this is a terrible decision you're gonna end up in the ditch if you do this now friend what I want to know is have you given anybody in your life the freedom to be able to come up to you and say hey you're making a bad decision you're headed right for the ditch this is a terrible decision you're about to make and I'll tell you why we all need those people because Jeremiah 17 says that the heart is deceitful above all things your heart is my heart is and you know what I've learned over the years friends that if I want to do something bad enough I can somehow rationalize and explain my way into believing that it's right it's right I've made some of the worst decisions in my life being absolutely sure I was right that's how deceitful my heart is I can trick myself into doing stupid stuff and you can too and we all need people around us who are able to stand back a little bit and survey the situation and say hey Lon whoa whoa wait a minute buddy time out this is a dumb move and I love you so much and I care about you so much Lon I'm just got to tell you this is a disaster you do this man you're gonna be in the ditch now have you got people like that in your life now wives are great at this in fact I'm convinced this is their spiritual gift they all come with this I don't care what she looks like on the outside they all got this on the inside the problem is guys we don't ever listen to them we don't ever listen to them and maybe that's because with the intimacy of a marriage relationship it's very difficult for a wife to be a Joab for her husband guys we need some guys around us who have been given permission to talk to us like that and ladies you need some ladies around you who you have given permission and invited into your life to talk to you like that just think if Sandy Patty had had a friend who'd sat her down and and really talked to her and prayed with her maybe this wouldn't happen but I'll bet you she was all alone out on the road touring by herself without a close friend in the world I'll bet you and Howard Hendricks who did a study down at Dallas Seminary of all these preachers who had fallen into sin said the one thing he found that was constant in every one of these guys lives is that before they did whatever put him in the ditch they first became very isolated and nobody could talk to that's vulnerable territory you need Joab's I need Joab's I've invited some guys into my life who I've said you have the freedom I want you to tell me if you see I'm about to make stupid decisions you need somebody like that in your life if you want to end up where Paul did cuz I want to end up where Paul did I don't want to be in a ditch I was down at the Naval Academy in August for parents weekend at the end of plebe summer they start with 1,100 plebes or so and by the end of the summer they have lost a fairly significant number of these guys and so the superintendent of the Academy Admiral Larson got up and here's what he said he said now we are not here to weed out young men and women that's not what we're here to do we are not here to weed them out he said however and these were exact words he said there were some young people here who did not have the dedication and the commitment it takes to make it through this program successfully and they are no longer with us now that was very discreetly put wasn't it there are some people who just didn't have the dedication the commitment it takes to make it through the program but then he said this he said but to the kids who are still here and do have that kind of commitment we are dedicated to seeing to it that they make it we're gonna see to it they make it and I thought boy that's fabulous and that's just like God is you know what the Christian life friends is not an easy deal if anybody tells you it is you tell them they're lying it takes an incredible level of commitment and dedication if you and I are going to end up where the Apostle Paul did at the end of our life but is it possible yes and does God save for the people who are willing to show that kind of dedication of will that I'm gonna see to it they make it that's exactly what God says God's your ally and all he needs from you and me is the dedication and the commitment of our will to say God we're going where you're going that's all he needs I would love to see every one of you here be able to say at the end of your life laying on a deathbed headed down in an airplane where however you go you go the line that's morbid what is wrong with you man well that's the way I want to goes in an airplane I mean really right 23 seconds out of here man that's the way to do it that's why my wife won't fly with me but I but hey you know this is the way to go but anyway whether it's there or however it is I want you to be able to say whenever it is God I kept the faith yeah I wasn't perfect and I had a few blips but I didn't end up in a ditch and I didn't dishonor your name God and you can if you're willing to let your free will follow the three steps I gave you ask for God's supernatural help in directing it number two think before you act and number three get some friends around you some joabs who'll help you not trick yourself into making dumb decisions let's pray together Lord Jesus thank you for reminding us today of what it means to finish our life successfully to be able to say we ran the race we finished it we kept the faith we didn't put the car in the ditch and Lord we know you forgive people who put the car in the ditch and we know that you'll even bring the tow truck by and pull the car out but it's never the same again and Lord I want to pray that you would help us to be the kind of people who make good decisions and who take our free will and make our free will responsible for making the decisions that will enable us to end up where Paul ended up help us not blame these things on you or the devil or anybody else Lord help us be responsible and God work in our hearts such that we will make the kind of decisions that will activate the power of God in our life so that we'll end up where Paul ended up I have kept the faith I've honored your name God Lord this is what we want we pray you would do it in each one of our hearts in Jesus name you