The Everyday Battle

Tim

Lost & Found • Sermon • Submitted 7 years ago

Luke 15:11–32

Prodigal

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Series focused on the battles faced by all as revealed in the parable of the lost son.

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LOST AND FOUND

WEEK 6 – THE EVERYDAY BATTLE

INTRO - TENSION– (Take them on a Journey and SMILE)

TODAY’s message and teaching is the easiest one so far in this series. We have talked about everyone’s battle, the brother battle, trump cards and two weeks ago Pastor Joe killed it talking about the fathers battle. Notice that each one of these topics and the connection throughout this series is the fact that a battle is taking place and there are things to be done to find success and victory in our lives. TODAY IS A SIMPLE ONE AND ALL YOU HAVE TO DO TO WIN THIS BATTLE IS SIMPLY SHOW UP.

SINGLE TEXT FOR TODAY -

Luke 15:31 ESV

And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours.

Luke 15:31

31 “His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours.

GOD IS ALWAYS WITH US – But are we present with him?

We know that the older son had a bad attitude towards they younger brother. We read it. The question is WHY? I believer it is because he failed the everyday battle. He was living in the house with the father but he wasn’t always communing with him. He was with him but he wasn’t “

THIS WAS GOD SPEAKING TO THEM ABOUT THE TABERNACLE OR THE PLACE OF MEETING

Exodus 25:22 NLT

I will meet with you there and talk to you from above the atonement cover between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of the Covenant. From there I will give you my commands for the people of Israel.

Exodus 25:22 NLT

(NLT)

22 I will meet with you there and talk to you….. (CAN YOU SEE GOD’S INTENT AND DESIRE)

HERE IS THE EVERYDAY BATTLE – ARE YOU MEETING WITH GOD? AND ARE YOU TALKING WITH GOD OR ARE YOU TALKING TO GOD. (We will always feel empty, dissatisfied, frustrated and disappointed in life if we are not regularly WITH HIM.

NOW HERE IS THE CHALLENGE WITH THAT – Many of us would call this meeting and talking with God “devotional time or quite time”. Here is the challenged with that. For years we have looked for all kinds of strategy to make those times productive and deep. We have come up with devotional manuals, expectations with massive prayer lists for senators and neighbors. Story – I have done this repeatedly in life. And most of the time all that every happened was that I would get behind in my prayer and behind in my reading and become stressed out over the very thing that should have been lifting stress and anxiety off of me. (I believe in praying for people and having strategy in my daily bible reading, but I am simply trying to say that many have either given up or never committed to daily times with God because it seems way to daunting to try. There is nothing replenishing about it because we have set up a task list instead of abiding with him and talking together.) WE ABSOLUTeLY SHOULD HAVE LIST OF THINGS THAT WE CAN PRAY FOR. YOU SHOULD HAVE A SIMPLE PLAN FOR BEING IN GOD’S WORD, BUT ALL OF THAT IS TO FACILITATE A MEETING WITH HIM TO BE WITH HIM.

ARE YOU MEETING WITH A PERSON EVERYDAY?

4 MYTHS and 4 SIMPLE GUIDELINES ABOUT TIME WITH GOD –

4 MYTHS ABOUT DAILY TIME WITH GOD

1) YOUR QUIET TIMES MUST BE BETWEEN 4-6AM

i. I am not saying it can’t be if that works for you but there is nothing spiritual about that time of the day.

1. There was a time if thought that I had to get up extremely early to meet with God. What ended up happening was I spent more time dosing off then talking with Him. I would jolt awake and felt like he was just sitting there staring at me. LIKE REALLY

2. You are incoherent, most of us don’t make any sense at 4am. IT LOOKS A LOT LIKE THIS, “Morning God, Thanks for ………………………. You jolt awake feeling guilty and embarrassed not real sure what to say next.” All the while God is like, “would you please just go back to bed. We can talk later when you are actually awake.”

3. I totally believe that you should set a time to consistently meet and talk with God. I personally want to start my day by giving him the first of my day. I think it is the same as the tithe. He gets the first and the best of my finances and time, because then the rest is blessed.

2) YOUR QUIET TIME MUST LAST AT LEAST AND HOUR

i. There is nothing in the bible that says that

ii. We have all talked with that person that has said I spent 3 hours with the Lord today. (OK THAT PERSON IS EITHER UNEMPLOYED OR DOESN’T HAVE CHILDREN.)

iii. Talk about parenting and celebrating them going to sleep

3) YOUR QUIET TIME JOURNAL MUST SOUND LIKE THE BIBLE

i. STORY - Emilee and her journal. She writes so well, so articulate and passionate. One day after listening to her share some thoughts she had written down, I opened up my journal and my entry for that day was one whole sentence “God help me not be a total jerk today”

ii. YOUR JOURNAL NEEDS TO BE YOUR HEART TO GOD. (I DO HAVE A LITTLE FORMAT THAT HELPS ME PROCESS MY THOUGHTS AND WHAT I READ THAT DAY NOW. AND I AM SO THANKFUL FOR IT. BUT YOUR JOURNAL JUST NEEDS TO BE SIMPLE.

4) YOUR QUIET TIME MUST BE EVERYDAY

i. Things are going to happen. Our desire and plan should be to spend time with him.

ii. We often times get weird about this. We miss a couple days because of breaks to our routine or something and then we get all weird getting back into quiet times, as if God is standing their waiting going “well looks who’s back, hey everyone the prodigal son has returned. What’s it been 4 days? Wow, so glad you found time for me.”

iii. Come on that’s not the fathers heart, He loves to be with you and never will guilt or shame you into time with him. We do that to each other but God never does that.

4 KEYS TO HEALTHY TIMES WITH GOD

1) QUIET YOUR MIND

i. The battle is in our minds. There is so much competing for space in our thought life. (Your mind is like, “hey, you forgot the laundry in the dryer, what’s that meeting about today, will I be able to get to Carters football game, am I even a good father, why won’t that dog next door shut up”)

ii. IT MAY TAKE YOU 3-10 MINUTES TO JUST GET ALL THAT QUIETED DOWN.

1. One great way of handling that is to have a note pad that you can write down those things that come up that you need to take care of later. Then it is out of your mind and you can focus.

Psalm 62:1 NLT

I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.

. (NLT)

1 I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.

Psalm 62:5 NLT

Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.

. (NLT)

5 Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.

2) FOCUS YOUR MIND

i. God spoke to me and taught me how to focus my mind many years ago when I was a teenager. It is really very simple. He said sing and worship me. You see when I stop the other distracting thoughts and then fill my mind and heart with words of worship to God I have no problem being focused.

1. Well TIM what if I can’t sing. Well that is the beauty of being by yourself its just you and God and he loves the noise (I mean sound) that comes out of you. It is your song your heart being expressed to your father. He loves that. EXAMPLE - Just like when my kids sing me a silly song they wrote. They may not have one congruent note or key in which they are singing, but I love it because it is their song.

2. STORY – I remember a few years back I was guest speaking at another church. I was standing in the front row with everyone as the worship team started to lead us in worship and it was horrible, I mean painful. In that moment I became instantly critical and God said I love this, they are bringing me their highest praise and I love the sound or my kids worshiping me. I instantly had a whole new understanding of what worship really is. It truly is all about what he likes and desires and worship from the heart puts all of our attention on HIM.

3. So I sing in my quiet time, and I sing they song that is in my heart and mind that day.

Psalm 100:2 ESV

Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

. (ESV)

2 Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

3) PRAY YOUR MIND

i. Remember we are talking about time with God. I am not talking about intercession in prayer. That is a totally different kind of prayer, important and needed. But we are talking today about being with Him simply because you love him and he longs for time with you.

1 Peter 5:7 ESV

casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

. (ESV)

7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7 NLT

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

. (NLT)

7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

1. You will be shocked at how much better your day and life is if you will simply learn to give God all your anxieties and worries.

a. I have said this before but you were never designed to pack or carry you were designed to cast or give you burdens to God. You’re a sheep not a donkey. God calls us sheep because he wanted us to know that we are designed to live free from burdens and trust him to be the shepherd, taking care of our needs. We follow the shepherd and he leads us to green pastures.

b. STORY – I have given that to God many times, that tells me that you have also taken it back many times.

c. PRAYER IS THE TRANSFER OF A BURDEN – IF YOU COME OUT OF YOUR PRAYER TIMES BURDENED THEN YOU DIDN’T PRAY YOU SIMPLE GRIPED AT GOD AND ARE STILL CARRYING YOUR BURDEN. (GIVE IT TO HIM)

4) RENEW YOUR MIND

1. Our mind is renewed only by the bible. Read something everyday in the word and let it be in your heart and mind that day.

2. Pick a bible that you can actually read

CONCLUSION – God simply wants to, everyday, remind you of his love, provision, and purpose he created for you to live in. He longs to take you burdens and exchange them for his peace, he longs to speak peace to your soul in exchange for anxiety and fear. Those things only happen when we are not just around the father but WITH him.