Follow Your Heart.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] we pray. Amen. All right, go ahead and have a seat. Welcome to Village Church. If this [0:05] is your first time here, my name is Steve. I’m one of the pastors here at Village Church [0:09] and as always I am thankful and grateful to see each and every one of you. If you have [0:13] your Bibles, go ahead and open them to Proverbs chapter 28. We’ll be reading from verse 26 [0:18] and various other texts this morning. This coming Wednesday night we have an event that [0:25] we try to do quarterly here as a church and that is we’re hosting our quarterly night

[0:30] of worship. We try to a couple of times a year to press pause on community groups for [0:36] just a week and gather as a church just to celebrate all that God has done, is doing [0:42] and is going to do as a church and we worship him through song and we worship him through [0:47] prayer for an evening. And the theme of this coming Wednesday is going to be assurance. [0:53] We’re going to be praying through the 23rd Psalm as a church this coming Wednesday and [0:59] so I want to invite you and just encourage all of you to come out. Every time that we

[1:04] do this it is a meaningful night and it’s a wonderful night just to reflect, just to [1:10] pray, just to seek the Lord’s face and to worship him corporately as a church. And just [1:16] by way of reminder that means that we will not be having groups this week so that you [1:21] can come out to that and have your schedule cleared. So don’t show up at their house [1:27] because they won’t be prepared. They might be in their pajamas. But on Wednesday they’ll [1:32] be here so you should as well. Last week we started a new series entitled All You Need

[1:39] Is Love and Other Lies I Used to Believe and we started by taking a look at just the phrase [1:45] in the philosophy that as a culture that we are tempted to form our lives around and [1:51] last week we started with the phrase All You Need Is Love and we took a look at why that [1:56] is unhelpful because of the way that our culture defines love and instead God is to be the [2:03] anchor through which we define all that makes up life and all that makes up what love is. [2:10] And today we’re going to take a look at a piece of advice that I assume that many of

[2:16] you have received in your life and possibly you’ve given to others in your life and it’s [2:22] a philosophy that many of us build all of our decisions around. When we can’t figure [2:27] out what to do we just we follow our heart. And quite often when somebody that we know [2:33] and someone that we love is struggling to figure out what to do with a certain decision [2:37] or a certain situation that they’re dealing with in their lives we just look to them [2:41] and we lovingly and thinking in good intentions that we’re giving them a good piece of advice

[2:46] when we tell them to follow their heart. This is a life philosophy that if you follow the [2:52] desires of your heart that you will always find happiness. It may even in some situations [2:58] and in some circumstances sound like a biblical piece of advice that we’re giving someone. [3:03] But this phrase is related to last week’s phrase in that it is wrong because of the [3:10] same thing and that is that we’re sinful. Therefore we can’t really always trust ourselves. [3:18] And whether we want to admit it or not the lie of this phrase is the reality that it

[3:23] basically means that its core essence do whatever you want to and everything is going to turn [3:30] out right. But the fact of the matter is that over and over in scripture we are warned [3:37] that when we base the decisions of this life on whatever we want to do we typically go [3:43] the opposite direction of what God has called us towards. And the truth versus this lie [3:50] is that we are called to seek God’s will. This is the only excuse me this is only problematic [3:58] when God’s will comes into conflict and doesn’t line up with what we want to do. But the problem

[4:04] in that type of situation is never God. He is not a cosmic killjoy sapping all of the [4:11] fun out of life. Instead the gospel of Jesus reveals that God is a loving father seeking [4:18] to guide us into a life of joy and glory. And if we will trust him and submit to the [4:25] life that he is calling us towards then he will give us joy. He will give us a life [4:33] worth living. We will find the purpose for which we were designed by our creator God [4:39] to live. And what I hope we will see today is that if you follow God’s heart rather

[4:46] than your own then you will find joy. And the problem is never that God’s heart is [4:54] unclear. It’s just that we struggle to submit our lives to his will. So I want to start [5:02] by taking a look at really what is one of my favorite books of the Bible and just one [5:07] verse in particular and that’s Proverbs chapter 28 verse 26. Take a look at that from King [5:15] Solomon it was recorded that he says, whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool but he who [5:23] walks in wisdom will be delivered. So number one this morning it’s very important that

[5:31] you understand the key fact that your heart can’t be trusted. Your heart can’t be trusted. [5:38] This may be contrary to everything that you’ve ever learned about the core of who you are [5:43] everything that you’ve ever learned about what the greatest wisdom that you could ever [5:46] follow in life is or the greatest love song that you’ve ever heard which are all filled [5:51] with lies to begin with. The fact of the matter is that your heart will make you foolish. [5:58] Your heart will deceive you in the moment that you need it to function in the best

[6:04] way possible that it could lead you down a path that you should not go and you never [6:10] really even intended on going. But because you did not have your life your mind and your [6:17] decisions anchored in what the book of Proverbs here calls wisdom then you’re going to be [6:24] led astray down a path and you’re going to get way further away from what you really [6:27] needed than you ever intended to go. The fact of the matter is what he’s trying to tell [6:33] us in Proverbs 28 is that it is foolish to trust yourself. Many of us go through life

[6:40] with a philosophy that we’re supposed to do the best that we can and hope for the best [6:45] results. You just do your best and you hope the best happens all the while realizing [6:51] that the best isn’t always going to happen. It is as if we think that we’re flying blind [6:58] and the only person that you can really depend on and the only person that you can really [7:03] trust is yourself. So when the big decisions of life come and we don’t know the answer [7:08] we just turn to ourselves and we just kind of throw it out there and hope that the best

[7:12] thing happens. But let’s be honest just as a circle of trust here you’re in a safe place. [7:18] You have probably made decisions that have set you back a little bit haven’t you? I [7:23] know that I have and if you’re anything like me you’ve set yourself back really far if [7:29] you’ve ever followed your heart. But in Proverbs 28 he contrasts two things and what Solomon’s [7:40] life of purpose on so that we will walk through life making the best decisions possible anchored [7:49] in what is truth and what is wisdom. He contrasts walking in foolishness versus walking in

[7:56] wisdom. Why is it then foolishness to trust your own mind? Maybe you did the math. You [8:10] don’t trust yourself. Well because of one thing that Solomon knew about you. You’re [8:17] sinful. You were born with a tilt towards sinfulness. Every one of you were born with [8:25] a tilt towards selfishness. Every one of you were born with a tilt towards doing that [8:31] which God did not design you to do. Because of sin Solomon’s point is that the mind has [8:39] been absolutely corrupted by sin. It may be retorted though that following your heart

[8:46] is totally different than following your mind. I mean you’ve never done the math to [8:50] begin with. You didn’t do that well in high school. You certainly tried to avoid it in [8:55] college and you say no I never do the risk versus reward. You know what I do? You know [9:01] what I’ve found? I just follow my gut. That feeling that I get. I follow my gut. Well [9:09] Jeremiah chapter 17 verse 9 tells us this about your gut. It says that the heart and [9:15] anytime in scripture that you read the heart unless it’s talking about anatomy what he’s

[9:18] talking about is the core of who you are. The basis from which everything that you want [9:25] everything that you value everything that you’re going after is consumed with. He says [9:29] that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick. Who can understand? [9:36] So he tells us that if you follow your gut you’ve actually gone a step down from the [9:41] mind because the gut is actually more deceitful in your life than your mind would have been. [9:50] The fact of the matter is that you were never meant to lead yourself. This means that you

[9:57] are not the one with all the answers. This means that if you are confused as to what [10:04] decisions you should make in your life as to which way you should go in the places [10:08] in your life this should actually give you great relief because you are not meant to [10:13] have all the answers to begin with. That should come as some relief to you. The fact of the [10:19] matter is that when you follow your gut we find out over and over in the stories of scripture [10:24] that whenever people followed that piece of advice to follow their heart it went wrong.

[10:28] And the Old Testament is filled with narratives about this. The book of Judges specifically [10:34] is filled with one theme phrase over and over again. And that theme phrase of the book of [10:39] Judges is that every man did that which was right in his own eyes. You may say well that’s [10:47] a pretty interesting theme. How did those stories end up turning out? Tragedy after [10:52] tragedy after tragedy after tragedy. It never goes well. Things just get worse and worse [10:59] and worser. It never goes well for them in the book of Judges. And the reason that God

[11:06] is constantly pointing us to throughout those stories of the Old Testament is that you [11:11] were never meant to lead yourself. When you do that which seems right in your own eyes [11:19] when you make yourself the judge. When you make yourself the ultimate authority. When [11:24] you make yourself the God of your own decision making ability. The scriptures warn us things [11:32] might go a little wrong. Have you ever had things go wrong when you did that which was [11:38] right in your own eyes? No I have. But the truth is that we need to be rooted in truth.

[11:47] We need to be rooted in what Proverbs chapter 28 verse 26 calls wisdom rather than just [11:54] left to speculate as to where my feelings will lead me today or tomorrow. Proverbs 9 [12:01] verse 10 helps us in finding what it means to walk in wisdom. Here’s what Solomon said [12:06] he says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and knowledge of the Holy One is [12:13] insight. See what he’s telling you there? He says it is foolish to follow your own [12:18] mind in Proverbs chapter 28 and then he says what you need to do is you need to follow

[12:23] wisdom so that begs the question. Well okay I know what foolishness is I’ve got plenty [12:27] of that to go around. It’s me. I’m foolishness. So where do I find what Proverbs 28 verse [12:34] 26 says is wisdom? And Proverbs 9 has already told us that. The father writes to his son [12:40] and he says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. He says then when you have knowledge [12:49] of him you will gain great insight. So he tells us two things. He says if you want to [12:53] have wisdom you will fear God and you will know God. God is the source of who we are

[13:02] created to be. The power also leads to authority. So his greatness leads to a submissive fear. [13:10] But he also wants us to have knowledge of who he is and how he thinks that leads us [13:17] to insight into what life is all about. So God not only wants us to submit. He not only [13:25] wants us to fear him because of the greatness of who he is and when you search the scriptures [13:30] about God about his creative power about what he can do he is a great and mighty God one [13:36] that we should be consumed with fear about. But he’s not a God who says fear me and I’m

[13:41] going to keep myself away from you and that’s all I expect. He says fear me but come under [13:49] my authority and you can do more. Know me. So he’s not just instructing us in this fearful [13:58] position that many of us tend to think about God as. He’s not just commanding with this [14:04] very authority giving mandate after mandate after mandate. No God desires for us to make [14:10] good decisions. He says the only way that you’re going to have the insight to do that [14:17] is if you come into his presence. If you get to know who he is and what he is all about.

[14:27] So number two this morning rather than following your own heart follow God’s heart. Follow [14:34] God’s heart because his heart can be trusted. Friend the purpose of your life is rooted [14:43] in God your creator. Therefore life is about becoming what God created you to be. If you [14:52] fast forward past the Proverbs past everything that he sets up that this great fearful God [14:57] who wants to give you knowledge about himself you may find yourself wondering well how in [15:02] the world do I find knowledge about such a great and mighty God that I’ve never known

[15:06] that I’ve never met. Well that is the purpose for which Jesus came. God doesn’t want us [15:11] roaming through life clueless. He wants us to walk in full wisdom of what we should do. [15:18] And Jesus reminds us of this in John chapter 6 verse 38. Here’s what Jesus says. He says [15:23] for I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. [15:31] So what Jesus is doing there is he’s being the example for us. So Jesus not only came [15:38] to be our justification. He not only came to save us. He not only came to redeem us

[15:44] from our sin but Jesus also on the other side came to live in front of us to show us [15:50] who he is so that we could see an example of how we are to live life. And so when Jesus [15:57] says things like he does in John chapter 6 verse 38 when he says I’ve not come to [16:01] do my will but the will of him who sent me. What he’s doing is he’s telling us what is [16:06] the ultimate purpose of life and that is to live for the will of God. It is to live for [16:16] the will of the one who created you. It is to live for the will of the one who spoke

[16:21] all things into existence. So you are to bring your life captive to whatever he says you [16:32] are to live for. In one sense Jesus came to save us from all of the harm that we do to [16:40] ourselves. When we lead ourselves because of sin we lead ourselves into condemnation [16:46] because in that type of life God is not the center. God is not the core. We’re the core [16:54] of our own life. We’re the core of our purpose. We’re just trying to set up the best life [17:00] that we can for ourselves so that we can get all out of this world that we can consume.

[17:06] But what if God wants you to live for more. What if God created you to live for a greater [17:12] purpose that is actually outside of yourself and even more so outside of this world. God [17:18] created you to live for him. But when we say things like follow your heart it is a belief [17:25] being communicated that you are the center of the universe. That you are your own God. [17:33] But Jesus came to show us that we are not what this life is all about. Friends when [17:41] Jesus sacrificed his life on the cross he did it to pay the penalty for your foolishness.

[17:47] He did it to pay the penalty for what occurs when you follow your own heart. You know [17:52] when you trust God every decision starts with God. Friend too often the biggest mistake [17:58] that we make in approaching the decisions of this life is that we start by thinking [18:03] about how this decision affects me. If you’re honest that’s how you start with most of the [18:11] decisions. How is this going to affect me? How is this going to help me? How is this [18:15] going to hurt me? How is this going to put me into a better situation that I’m currently

[18:22] in? Friends you are not meant to make decisions that way. The truth is that the decision making [18:32] process should begin with how this life excuse me how this decision will affect my relationship [18:39] with God. How will this decision affect my discipleship towards living for God? How [18:46] will this decision affect the gospel of Jesus in my life? What you don’t understand about [18:55] that is that when you do that when you begin all of your decisions with God rather than [19:01] with yourself you will reap the benefit. But it requires faith in God to try to make the

[19:09] trust that you will reap the benefit of the decisions that are started with the root [19:14] of what does God call me to do in this particular situation at this particular time with my [19:22] particular life. When you begin with God reap the benefit. Look in Proverbs chapter 16 [19:28] verse 9 it instructs us to look at life from the perspective that our steps are established [19:34] by God. Here’s what he writes. He says the heart of man plans his way but the Lord establishes [19:40] his steps. You’re going to attempt to plan your way to plan your life but in every step

[19:48] that you take understand that God’s the authority of that not you. You were not meant to establish [19:55] the steps of your life. God was and the only way that you can reap the benefit of having [20:01] your steps established by God is when you look at life through that lens. Too often [20:09] we try to establish our own steps and then bring God in after the fact. So I’m going [20:14] to make the decisions that I can and then what I’m going to do is I’m going to go and [20:18] I’m going to try to find a Bible verse and I’m just going to throw that on there. I can

[20:22] do all things through Christ. I’m stepping out on the water. I’m walking with Jesus every [20:27] day. I’m building my portfolio for the Lord to him be the glory alone. You bring Jesus [20:34] in as if he’s the bookend to all of your success rather than building the foundation of your [20:38] life on Jesus so that he defines what success is for your life. One is a life of worship [20:46] and the other one is a life that you’re controlling on your own and attempting to throw him in [20:51] at the beginning. You are not your leader. God is. James chapter 4 verses 13 through

[21:01] 15 make this abundantly practical. James the half brother of Jesus writes come now you [21:08] who say today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there [21:13] trade make a profit yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For [21:20] you are a miss that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought [21:26] to say if the Lord wills we will live and do this or that. Friends do not plan your [21:32] life as though it’s about you. It is not about. About God. So when you make all of the plans

[21:44] of your life when you commit all of your time when you throw all of your values into this [21:50] world and you say well I’m going to do this and I’m going to do that and I’m going to [21:53] be great and then I’m going to be good and then on Sunday I’m going to go and worship [21:56] the Lord and then I’m going to go back to my thing and then I’m going to do this and [21:59] then I’m going to do that. James is warning you he is saying you are not living for God [22:02] at all. You are not living for his will because you are not searching for his will. You are

[22:08] not searching for what he has called you to do. You are searching for what you’ve called [22:12] you to do. He is saying understand that you don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring [22:17] So what do you do when all of your plans crumble around you or what do you do when [22:22] all of your plans seem to be working out but you can’t feel the presence of God? [22:28] Saying you realize that you’re not the center of the world because you’re not even in control [22:31] of the next breath you’re going to take.

[22:33] Your life is a mist. [22:35] This is what you ought to say.

[22:39] It’s the will of the Lord. [22:41] It’s what He wanted me to do. [22:43] What would He call me to do in this life? [22:46] Friend, life is about finding the purpose for which God made you and submitting every [22:50] thought, every emotion, and every decision to His will. [22:57] And the fact of the matter is that when you lead your own life you are being held captive

[23:04] by your own emotions.

[23:07] You’re being held captive by how you feel. [23:11] But when you anchor your life in the truth of who God has revealed He is through Jesus [23:18] you have something that is firm to root your life on. [23:22] How often do you find yourself despairing because of the situations of your life? [23:27] How often do you find yourself despairing because of the way that you feel? [23:31] How often do you find yourself despairing and hopeless because a situation is not going

[23:37] the way that you want it to? [23:38] Friends, one answer that you need to cling to is that your life is not to be determined [23:45] by your situations, your circumstances, and the way that you feel. [23:49] Your life is to be determined by the anchor that’s holding in Jesus Christ. [23:54] By putting all of your emotions, putting all of your situations, putting all of your circumstances [23:59] and anchoring them into the truth of who He is.

[24:03] And no matter what comes into your life you know one thing, Jesus has never forsaken you. [24:08] And when you have your life rooted in that type of truth you endure. [24:16] When you have your life anchored in that type of truth you have joy that can’t be taken away. [24:23] When you have your life anchored in that type of truth you always have an answer and you [24:27] always have an ally and you always have wisdom. [24:32] Look in Ephesians chapter 5 starting in verse 15 the apostle Paul writes he says look carefully

[24:37] then how you walk. [24:40] Not as unwise but as wise. [24:43] So Paul’s starting with the thought, he’s saying you don’t have to be unwise. [24:48] You don’t have to be left speculating. [24:50] You can walk wisely. [24:53] And he says making the best use of the time because the days are evil.

[24:56] Therefore do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is. [25:02] There it is. [25:05] Foolishness. [25:06] Wisdom. [25:08] Contrasted. [25:09] Paul’s telling us that there’s going to be a way that you can walk through this very

[25:13] short life and it’s foolish because it’s consumed with you as if you’re God. [25:19] Is there any evidence that you’re not God? [25:21] Is guess what? [25:21] You’re going to die.

[25:24] You’re not eternal.

[25:27] You need someone that’s higher than you. [25:31] Who’s lived longer than you and who will endure forever. [25:35] He’s saying you find that wisdom in God. [25:37] Since my time on earth is limited I must seek to make every moment count and not waste [25:45] the decisions that God has entrusted me to make on anything other than God’s will. [25:52] So then you say what if I missed it?

[25:56] That dot.

[25:59] That will of God. [26:00] What if I went past it? [26:03] I’ve got good news for you. [26:05] Don’t follow your heart. [26:07] Follow God’s heart. [26:08] But third this morning God has made his heart very clear.

[26:12] God has not left you to speculate. [26:14] God has shown his will. [26:17] So first you have to anchor your life in God. [26:20] Ultimately I think everyone wants his or her life to matter. [26:27] We are in this life in many senses. [26:30] We’re searching for significance and we often foolishly think that we can find the purpose

[26:36] that will lead to significance by following our feelings, our wisdom and our insight from [26:42] inside of ourselves. [26:43] But what Jesus reveals is the truth that we must look outside of ourselves and outside [26:49] of this world in order to find out the purpose for which we exist. [26:54] Look in Proverbs 19 verse 21. [26:56] Here’s what he writes.

[26:58] He says many are the plans in the mind of a man but it is the purpose of the Lord that [27:03] will stand.

[27:06] So you want your life anchored in significance? [27:09] Do you want your life to have purpose?

[27:13] In one sense he’s saying well then throw all your plans out. [27:17] Then throw them out the window and go to the original plan. [27:23] The plan of God. [27:25] This is one thing that he makes clear. [27:27] It is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. [27:30] It is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

[27:33] So if I stack up everything that I build my life to be, let’s say I build it apart from [27:38] God and I’m just doing the best that I can, I’m in a sense I’m flying blind here baby [27:43] and I’m just hoping everything works out. [27:46] And I stack it up against the purpose of the Lord. [27:48] Whose purpose is going to stand? [27:50] God’s.

[27:51] That’s simple. [27:53] That’s what he’s saying. [27:54] So what do I need to do? [27:55] Well if I want my purpose to stand I better make my purpose about God’s purpose. [28:00] If I want my life count, if I want to have real significance that will matter forever, [28:08] who needs to be the definer of that significance?

[28:10] God does.

[28:14] Do not plan your life as though it’s about you. [28:20] Plan your life as though it is about God. [28:26] How do you do that? [28:28] Jeremiah 17, 9, we already took a look at it. [28:30] It says that the heart is deceitful, the heart is sick. [28:33] Who can understand it?

[28:35] Two verses earlier he established what your life is actually to be about. [28:39] In Jeremiah 17, verse 7, Jeremiah writes this. [28:43] He says, blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord.

[28:50] Did you read that too quickly? [28:52] You may say, does he say the same thing twice there? [28:54] No. [28:55] He says something totally different. [28:56] He says number one, trust in the Lord. [28:59] But then number two, make all of your trust about the Lord.

[29:04] In other words, every definition, trust you need to have in your life is to stem the [29:11] root of God. [29:13] When you define it by something else, you’re not defining it by whose purpose will stand. [29:20] Then he says this, he says, for he will be like a tree planted by water that extends [29:26] its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes, but its leaves will be green [29:33] and will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield.

[29:40] I mean, that sounds pretty good. [29:44] You know, I’ve got young kids. [29:46] One of the great things about having young children is that your cinema viewing really [29:52] kicks it up a notch. [29:53] I mean, you watch really classics like Dora the Explorer.

[29:58] One specific episode of Dora, she was in a race car. [30:01] I think in every episode she’s in some type of race car and some reason she goes from [30:06] the Himalayas into the deep desert. [30:07] I don’t know how she does it so quickly. [30:09] It could be because she’s an explorer. [30:12] She’s racing and the car’s radiator gets overheated.

[30:18] Don’t you hate it when you’re in that situation? [30:20] And some animal comes out and begins to explain the ecosystem of the desert. [30:25] I’m telling you, it’s very informative stuff. [30:28] And it says, look for a tree and you’ll find water. [30:33] So they go and they find a tree. [30:34] It just so happens it was like 10 feet away.

[30:37] At that point, you’re really questioning Dora’s wisdom. [30:40] The tree was right there, Dora. [30:41] You dummy.

[30:45] So they dig and they find water. [30:47] And that’s the attitude that Jeremiah is coming at us with. [30:51] He’s saying, do you want to find the life that you’re craving?

[30:57] Do you want to find the water when you’re thirsty? [31:02] Do you want to find that which will give you purpose? [31:07] Stop defining it yourself and go to the root. [31:12] Go to the source in a life that is filled with the desert of speculation and the desert [31:20] of not knowing what to do. [31:22] The smartest thing that you can do is to find the tree and then dig to the root and drink

[31:30] it in because that’s the life that will endure. [31:33] That’s the life that will have purpose. [31:35] That’s the life that will continue to grow and be worth building upon.

[31:43] And friends, when you do that, what you end up doing is you begin to communicate something [31:48] completely different about your life than you. [31:52] Because you need to purpose your life to communicate that God is the center of your life. [32:00] You see, friends, it’s not that God has been unclear about what his will for each of our [32:06] lives is. [32:07] It is that we have been rebellious and need to repent of pretending that we don’t know.

[32:15] See, because if you know where to look to find his will and you refuse to look, then [32:22] claiming ignorance just doesn’t cut it anymore. [32:24] You see, Colossians 3 tells us something very informative about the purpose of our lives. [32:31] Starting in verse 15, the apostle Paul again writes, he says, let the peace of Christ rule [32:37] in your hearts to which indeed you were called into one body and be thankful.

[32:45] He says, let the word of Christ richly dwell within you with all wisdom. [32:52] See, there he goes again. [32:54] There’s a way to build a foolish life. [32:57] There’s a way to build a wise life. [33:00] He says, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, [33:05] singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

[33:07] But then note what he says. [33:08] He says, whatever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving [33:18] thanks through him to the Father. [33:19] Friends, when you trust Jesus, this text tells us that he puts you into his body. [33:28] That’s the church. [33:31] And he says, the church then is to disciple you, to continue to build his church through

[33:39] making other disciples, to communicate to one another what life is really about. [33:46] See, I think sometimes we read that verse and we’re afraid that it’s going to turn [33:48] into a Broadway play where we have to sing and dance to one another. [33:51] And I know I’m not comfortable with that. [33:54] I know some of you are. [33:55] Stop it.

[33:57] Because people like me feel really weird and awkward. [34:00] I’ll dance. [34:02] What he’s telling us is, is that yes, we are to sing praises to God with one another. [34:09] But also, our lives are to communicate thankfulness, spiritual songs to one another. [34:16] Because we are building our life towards that which God has made abundantly clear, [34:22] that we’ve received the peace of Christ.

[34:25] Therefore, we’re not flying blind anymore. [34:27] You know how much worry it must make to fly blind through this life?

[34:34] As Rick Warren says, Jesus takes your worry and he turns it into a worship.

[34:42] Peace, Christ rules your life and then your life begins to tell a different story.

[34:50] It tells a story of thankfulness. [34:52] It tells a story of joy. [34:54] It tells a story of someone who was lost and foolish, but is now found by God and wise. [35:02] When you trust Jesus, Paul then tells you that you know the will of God by saturating your life with something. [35:12] You saturate your life with the word of Christ. [35:15] That’s the Bible.

[35:17] That’s the Scriptures that God has given us to be absolutely authoritative about what this life is all about. [35:24] As we work through life building the church, we seek to live life by using everything that we do to show the truth of Jesus to everyone around us. [35:37] I want you to notice something about verse 17 in Colossians chapter 3. [35:43] Notice that it doesn’t say whatever you want to do. [35:48] That’s different than whatever you do. [35:50] It doesn’t say in whatever you want to do, do it all in the name of Jesus.

[35:57] No. [35:58] He’s predicating everything that he says in verse 17 about what he said in verses 15.

[36:04] He said when you have the peace of Christ dwelling in you, when you’ve got that peace, when you’ve got that thankfulness, when you’ve got that joy, [36:11] then you’re going to saturate your life with the word of Christ and the word of Christ is going to lead you to live for the testimony of Christ. [36:18] It’s going to lead you to become like Christ. [36:20] It’s going to lead you to serve like Christ. [36:22] It’s going to lead you to tell others about Christ. [36:24] And when you’re doing that, guess what?

[36:26] Whatever you do in word or deed, do it all to the glory of God.

[36:34] That whatever you do is very important, what you build that upon.

[36:39] Because you’re not to speculate on that. [36:41] You don’t need to. You don’t have to. [36:42] He’s made it abundantly clear that it changes what you do and it changes why you were called to live God’s mission. [36:56] You see, the Bible is full of statements that tell us about God’s will. [37:00] They are numerous. [37:02] Summarize them.

[37:04] It is God’s will that you repent of your sins and trust in Jesus. [37:07] That is God’s will for your life. [37:09] It is God’s will that you obey God and continue to repent of sin in your life. [37:18] It is God’s will that you be thankful. [37:21] It is God’s will that you live a life of worship. [37:24] It is God’s will that you saturate your life with the Scriptures.

[37:28] It is God’s will that you make disciples and build the church of Jesus Christ. [37:36] Ultimately, all of this leads us to the reality of what Paul said in Ephesians chapter 1, starting in verse 7. [37:43] Here’s what he says. [37:45] He says, in him, in Jesus, we have received redemption through his blood. [37:51] The forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight.

[38:05] There he is from Proverbs.

[38:08] He made known to us the mystery of his will. [38:14] He got wisdom. [38:15] He got insight. [38:17] He got his will cleared up. [38:20] He says, the mystery of his will. [38:21] It’s not a mystery anymore.

[38:22] He’s cleared it up for you. [38:24] According to his kind intention, which he purposed in him in Jesus with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is the summing up of all things in Christ, things in heaven, things on earth. [38:42] God has been clear. [38:45] You exist to live for Jesus.

[38:51] You exist to be rooted in Jesus. [38:56] You exist to make disciples of Jesus. [38:59] You exist to build a church for Jesus. [39:01] You exist to be the body of Jesus. [39:04] And to put it simply, you exist to become like Jesus. [39:07] You exist to serve like Jesus.

[39:09] And you exist to tell others about Jesus. [39:12] Because in the fullness of time, your life, which is a mist, these days that are evil, when it’s all over, all that will matter is what you have done for the gospel of Jesus Christ. [39:25] God has made himself clear. [39:27] The question then is your life about you or is it about Jesus? [39:34] Is how you make decisions about what job you do about you or is it about Jesus? [39:41] Is where you’re going to live about you or is it about Jesus?

[39:46] Education? Money? What you do with their nights and weekends? [39:51] What you do with your rollover minutes? [39:53] What you do with dating? [39:54] What you do with marriage? [39:56] What you do with children? [39:57] Is it about you or is it about Jesus?

[40:02] Friends, I caution you, do not follow your heart. [40:07] Unless you have a heart that is focused on the heart of God, which is all about the mission of Jesus. [40:20] Friends, there’s one thing I want you to get.

[40:25] Life is meant to be all about Jesus. [40:32] The question that you’ve got to answer is does your life communicate that Jesus is the God of worship?

[40:46] As the band comes up, every week we as a church reflect on the Lord’s Supper. [40:53] It is meant to be a time that we intentionally focus our attention on the cross of Jesus Christ. [41:05] You see, the bread and the cup, they represent the body of Christ which was broken and which bled so that you could have the life that God designed you to. [41:18] So that you could be free from the speculation, so that you could be free from the foolishness of this world. [41:27] And so that you could live a life of growing in the wisdom of God and growing in the insight of the Holy One. [41:36] Continuing to repent of sin, growing in becoming like Christ.

[41:42] Having a life that matters because you know it’s not about you. [41:47] It’s all about Jesus.

[41:50] If you’re in here this morning, you’ve never trusted Christ, or you’re in there right now and you’re saying my life doesn’t communicate that Jesus is the God that I worship. [41:59] I don’t think my life has ever communicated that Jesus is the God I worship. [42:03] I want you to know that you can be saved. [42:06] I want you to know that here today you can turn from the life of sin that you’ve been leading without God. [42:15] And you can trust in him as your Savior. [42:17] And he has fullness of grace that he will pour on you and he’ll save you forever.

[42:24] And then he promises that he’ll never leave you and he’ll never forsake you. [42:28] And he will guide you through this life.

[42:34] Trust him. [42:35] Turn from your sin. [42:38] Friend, if you’re in here and you’re a follower of Jesus, I want to invite you to one of the four stations in the front, one of the three stations in the back. [42:47] And I want you, when you eat and drink, I want you to repent of sin. [42:52] And I want you to communicate to one another, I trust Jesus. [42:56] And I want to build my life on Jesus.

[43:00] When you’re ready to do that, come.