Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Better, Part 2

This post is a message I preached at our Church on June 24th. It is the second in our Better Series. Enjoy, and if you want to take refuge in the Lord, I want to challenge you to pray the prayer at the end of this sermon for 7 days. If you take this challenge, I would like to know about it. Please contact me. Enjoy!





            We are continuing on today with our sermon series called: “better”

            There are some things in life that are good. There are other things in life that are better, and to have a better life, you have to let go of the good life.

ILLUSTRATION- Last Tuesday morning I received a call from a member of our Wesleyan Church in Havelock, which is the church that I pastored before coming to the Ridge.

            Carol told me that her mother in law was nearing the end of her life, and as her family was having discussions about final arrangements, my name came up as a potential candidate to conduct this funeral.

            So, she was calling to see if I was avaiable.

            I struggled with what to tell Carol. Would I perform a funeral for a family that has little-to-no connection with Jesus, or do I decline and focus on the district responsibilities that I had that very same week?

            You see, not every decision that you or I have to make is cut and dry.

        Not every decision that we have make is a choice between good and evil, between sin

and righteousness.

            Sometimes the choices that we have to make are between two very good things...

       So the struggle comes in knowing what to do: Choice A-- something good---or choice B-- something good.

       If at all possible, when we have the choice, we should choose better, because, better is just better.

       How do we come to that choice? Well, that's up to you and Jesus, but given the choice between good and better, let's chose better

            The Psalmist made his choice, and he chose better:

        Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” (Psalm 84:10, NIV)

            The Psalmist stated that one day in God’s presence was infinitely better than a thousand days outside of God’s presence.

        He had a choice to make, and he chose better.

            Some things in life are good, other things in life are better, and to have a better life you have to let go of the good life.

ILLUSTRATION- In order for my wife and I to have a better night’s sleep we had to give up something good---our double bed---but what we got in return—a king size bed--- is much better.

            In order to have a better life you’ll have to let go of some good things--- some very good things--- but what you’ll get in return is something much better.

            So, what might God be asking you to give up? What good thing do you need to give up in order to enjoy something—or in this case,Someone—better?

            As you know, this series focuses on selected verses in the Bible with the word better in them, so our verse today is also taken from the book of Psalms.

            Psalm 118:8-9 tell us that: “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.

9 It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.” (NIV)

            This is an interesting set of verses. The Psalmist is telling us that it’s better to take refuge in God rather than to trust in people, or princes, or any other member of the human race.

            He didn’t say “It is good to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man …”

He said: “It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people.” (Psalm 118:8, NLT2)

In this life we have choices, and the psalmist wants us to choose better!

The obvious question that I have in response to this verse is why?

Why is it better to take refuge in-- to trust in, to confide in, to hope in-- the Lord, rather than to trust in people?

There are several reasons as to why it's better to trust in the Lord, but I want to mention what I beleive is the most significant reason:

 Because God will not let you down.

ILLUSTRATION- I’m sure that we all know at least one person who will tell you that they will do something, and then when the time comes for that thing to be done, that person is nowhere to be found.

That person cannot be counted on, because they cannot be trusted to do what they said they would do.

God isn’t like that. He is in the business of keeping His word. If God said something will happen, it will happen, when He said it will happen.

The Bible says: “God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” (Numbers 23:19, NIV)

If God said something would happen, it will happen, because God always honors His word.

            Why is it “better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people.” (Ps. 118:8, NLT2) Because God is faithful and He will never let you down.

            The Psalmist, in chapter 27, knew that God could be trusted; that God would not let him down.

            He said: “The Lord is my light and my salvation—so why should I be afraid?

       The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble?

2 When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall.

3 Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident.” (Psalm 27:1-3, NLT2)

How could David be so confident in hard times? How could he be secure when all hell was breaking loose around him?

Because he trusted in God, who was his “light… salvation…. and stronghold” (Psalm 27:1, NIV)

David could rely on, trust in, confide in Someone who was more than a man, because he knew God would never let him down.

David trusted in God to save him, no matter the situation. He placed his hope in the Lord and God rescued him.

Who do you trust today? Have you placed your trust in a particular person, or have you placed your trust in the Lord?

One of these two will lead you to a hopeless end; the other One will lead you to endless hope.  

The Bible says: “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!

4 Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.” (Isaiah 26:3-4, NLT2)

God doesn’t want His people placing their trust in other people, because other people will, eventually, let you down, but not God. His track record is perfect.

He has never lied, nor has He ever He let anyone down.

Why is it better to take refuge in the Lord rather than to trust in people? Because God will never let you down. Ever.

Some of us need to be reminded of this truth. God will never let you down.

Some of you might be hearing this truth for the first time: God will never let you down.

While your spouse, parent, BFF, boss or co-worker will let you down, know that God will never let you down.

He might not respond in the way you thought He would or should respond, but God will never let you down.  

The Bible reminds us that: “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.

2 So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea.

3 Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!” (Psalm 46:1-3, NLT2)

When all hell breaks loose in our lives, God will be there, because He can be trusted at all times, in all times.

Some people in this room today are not trusting in God. Some are trusting in people. Some are trusting in their own strength, in their own works.

Some are trusting that their good deeds are good enough or will be enough to earn God’s approval.

But, when is enough, enough? When do you stop working?

When do you stop trying to earn God’s approval? You stop working the moment you begin trusting God.

The Bible reminds us that “…it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Eph. 2:8-9, NIV)

The reason that it’s better to take refuge in the Lord rather than trust in people, is that no one but God, through Jesus, can save you from a life of sin and shame and pain and regret.

You see Jesus has not come to ruin your life; Jesus has come to give you a better life.

And to receive this better life, you’ll have to let go of the good life that you currently have.

To get a better life, you’ll have to let go of the good life of trusting in people in favor of the better life of trusting God.   

The Bible tells us that “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in princes.” (Psalm 118:9, NIV)

Why is it better? Because God will not let you down.

There are at least two types of people in this room today: those who are trusting in God, and those who are not trusting in God. I would like to say a word to each:

To those who are trusting in God: don’t give up! Continue asking, continue seeking and continue knocking.

Continue calling out to God in times of penalty and in times of want.

Continue seeking after God with all your heart; continue to thrive right where you are, because God will not let you down.

To those who are not trusting in God—let it be known that you are selling yourself short. You are settling for less that God’s best for your life.

God doesn’t want you to place your trust in another person; because another person will eventually let you down.

God wants you to place your trust in Him, and in so doing, find the better life that He has for you.

Remember: “A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!” (Psalm 84:10a, NLT2)

If you are placing your trust in someone other than God, you are missing out on His presence and you are not living the life that God intended for you to live.

The Good news is that no matter where we are; no matter who we are, we can always turn to God.

We can always turn our attention to, and place our trust in, God, because: “It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in man.  (Psalm 118:8, NIV)

            If God has been tugging on your heart about your need to trust in Him more, and trust people in less, I want to encourage you to take a step of faith and pray:

            God, take my life. Take all of me, take my life, it’s all for you, help me to take refuge in— to trust in, to place my hope in, to find comfort in—You, rather than in other people

            The Bible tells us that this is better than placing our trust in people, because people will let you down, but God never will.

            If you need to place your trust in, give your life over to, God, please do so as the band leads us in our closing song today, and remember: to get a better life, you have to let go of the good life, and the Bible tells us that it’s better to take refuge in the Lord.


            Did you know that Psalm 118:8 is the exact middle of the Bible? There are just as many verses before this verse as there are after this verse.

And the middle verse in the Bible tells us that it is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.

            If God says that it’s better to trust in Him than to trust in anyone else, He must have a reason for it, right?

            He must want us to live a better life!

Why settle for the good life of trusting in someone who will let you down, when you can have a better life and trust in God who will never let you down!

            Know that it’s not too late to come away with God. You can still talk to Him and trust Him with your very life….


Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Father's Day, 2012

Sorry for being late on this one.... my wife and I will celebrate 10 years of marraige on the 21st, and I took her away for a night..... anyway, here is the message I preached at the Ridge on June 17th. Please take your time going through it and, as always, let me know how you made out!





            Last Sunday, we began a new sermon series called “Better.”

            There are some things in life that are good, and there are some things in life that are better, and to get a better life you have to let go of the good life.

            In a roundabout way, we will continue on with this series today, but we will be going in a slightly different direction.

As we all know, today is the day that is reserved for dad’s everywhere to sit on the couch and enjoy a better game of sports—baseball—while the kids are in the basement working on that honey-do- list, while our wives are cooking bacon on the BBQ!

            Today is the day that we shoot all men who think like this!!

            As you know, today is father’s day, and it is a day that most of us stop and thank our fathers for the role that they have played in our lives.

            Did you know that the driving force behind Father’s Day was actually a woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd?

            “While hearing a sermon about Mother's Day in 1910, Sonora felt strongly that Fatherhood needed recognition as well, and after several attempts—and several years-- Fathers’ day was finally established in 1972, when then President Richard Nixon signed it into law.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father%27s_day )

            Father’s day has been observed all over the world and as one company remarked “Father’s day has become a second Christmas for all the men’s gift oriented industries” (Ibid)

            So to all the dads: may this father’s day be better than any day you’ve ever had before!

            I have been thinking about what to say on this day for well over a month now.

            The challenge, of course, is having a word that all fathers can take home, because most, if not all of us fathers, are at a different stage of life.

            Some of us have little kids running around at home. We need a relevant word.

            Some of you fathers have bigger kids running around at home; you need a relevant word.

            Still other fathers have no kids running around at home; you need a relevant word.

            Other fathers in this room have grand-kids running around at home, and we all know that you like your grand-kids just a little bit better, because you can pump them full of sugar and send them home at the end of the day.

            To those father’s with grandkids; you need a relevant word as well.

            All of the fathers in this room today, are all at a different stage of life and we all need a word for whatever stage of life that we are in.

            What could possibly be said to each father?

            Well, as I’ve said, I’ve thought about it for over a month now, and I’ve got nothing! So, you might as well just go home now.

            Hang on!

            I might not have a word for fathers but God does. In fact this word is for everyone in this room, parent or not.

            Because God’s Word is “…living and active…” (Heb. 4:12a, NIV); and because “All scripture is God breathed and is useful…” (2 Tim. 3:16a, NIV) God has a message for each person in this room today, and that message comes to us from Jeremiah chapter 29.

            If you know your OT history at all, then you know that Jeremiah 29 is a letter written to the Israelites who were sent into captivity in Babylon.

            They were sent into captivity because of their constant refusal to obey God’s commands as given in His word and as spoken through His prophets.

            A constant refusal of God’s word will always take us where we don’t want to be, and this was the exact place where God’s people wereà in a land that wasn’t their own, living a life they never imagined they would be living.

            This describes some fathers. Living in a place they never thought they’d be living, doing something they never expected they`d be doing.

It seems that we are not that different from the Bible characters after all.

            When word arrived that Jeremiah had sent a letter to all the surviving people in Exile, I imagine that they began to pack their bags, after all, they were living in a foreign land, being ruled by a foreign king, but now, now was the time to go home for God had sent a letter from His prophet Jeremiah.

            As they were packing their belongings, someone began reading this letter:   

“This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:

5 "Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.

6 Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.

7 Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

8 Yes, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have.

9 They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them," declares the LORD.

10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.

11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

14 I will be found by you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you," declares the LORD, "and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile."  (Jer. 29:4-14, NIV)

ILLUSTRATION- Have you ever visited a place, and as soon as you arrived all you wanted to do next was leave?

Everywhere you looked, you found fault with this particular place, and you wished, prayed, hoped, and schemed to get out of that place, because you just couldn’t stand being there. (It happens to me every time I go to school)

            This is how the exiles felt. They had been sent to the land of the enemy.

        They were forced to learn the customs of the enemy. They were forced to work at jobs they weren’t qualified to work atà life for them was terrible.

            Then, a word from God arrived, and told the people that they were staying put!

            They were to get comfortable where they were because this was going to be the new normal for them.

         They were going to be in this land for an extended period of time.

            They were instructed to: “Build homes... Plant gardens, and eat the food they produce.

6 Marry and have children. Then find spouses for them so that you may have many grandchildren. Multiply! Do not dwindle away!” (Jer. 29:5-6, NLT2)

Instead of asking His people to pack their bags and leave, God was telling His people to unpack and get comfortable. They weren’t just to survive; God wanted them to thrive in this new land.

They were even instructed to pray for the city they were in, because if it did well, they would do well.

This is especially interesting seeing as the children of God hated being in this city, they desipised being in this place, but if they didn’t pray for its well-being, they wouldn’t do well either.

They were told to thrive where they were. They weren’t told to dream of the good life, they were told to enjoy the life they currently had.

This was the new normal, and they were to get used to it. 

For 70 years they were to remain where they were, living the life they did not want to live.

There might be some dad’s in this room—and others for that matter—who might need to take hold of this letter.

Maybe life hasn’t been what you had hoped it would be;

Maybe something has happened and it has left you feeling hopeless;

Maybe your whole world is broken and is falling to pieces;

Maybe your kids are far from home, far from God and far from the better life you had been praying for.

Maybe you are living in a land that you don’t want to be living in, you are living a life that you don’t want to be living.

            I’m here to tell you today that God has not forgotten you! God will not forget you!

            Even if your life is not turning out the way you had hoped it would, there is still hope.

            This hope is the same hope God gave the exiles.

      Stay where you are; live where you are, go to Wal-Mart and get things to plant a garden.

Go to Home Depot and get the tools you’ll need to make a play ground for your kids and their kids.

            Live right where you are, for after a time—maybe 70 years—maybe longer—God will come for you.

            As you are living right where you are, you are instructed to do something; something the exiles were instructed to do while they were in the land they didn’t want to be in.

They—you, me, we--- are instructed to seek after God:  In those days—when you are in exile---when you pray, I will listen.

13 If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

14 I will be found by you,” says the Lord. “I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes. I will gather you out of the nations where I sent you and will bring you home again to your own land.” (Jer. 29:12-14, NLT2)

Please remember friends that God has not forgotten you. He is well aware of your current situation; He is well aware that things may not have turned out the way you had hoped they would.

What God is asking you to do in these days is seek after Him with your whole heart, because: “A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!” (Psalm 84:10a, NLT2)

If your life hasn’t turned out the way you had hoped it would, or if you are stuck in exile; God wants us to turn to, and seek Him with our entire heart, because life with God is infinitely better than life without God. Even if we are in exile.

Dads—and everyone else: I want to encourage you to seek God with all you have because God has the master plan for your life:

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jer. 29:11, NIV)

I take comfort in knowing that those words were written at a low time in the life of God’s people.

When life didn’t turn out the way they had imagined, God came to them with a message of hope.

If you’re life hasn’t turned out the way you had hoped it would, know that God is still with you, and He is inviting you to do life, life in exile, with Him. 

The message that God gave the exiles that day was live the life that they had been given.

 Don’t neglect any responsibility. Look after the land and look after your soul, for God is able to rescue and redeem any situation.

I believe this message is just as true today as it was then. God wants us to bloom where we are planted, no matter the situation.

Dads, moms and everyone in between: don’t check out from your current situation; don’t dream of something else when you have been giving something better—a letter from God that says if you seek Him, you will find Him.

If you need to trust God with your life, or with this this current chapter of your life, please come to the foot of the cross, for it’s at the foot of the cross that you will find strength and mercy to help you in your time of need.


Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Better, Part 1

The following Post is my message from Sunday, June 10. It is the first in our Better series. Enjoy, and let me know what you think!




             I’m excited to begin a new sermon series this morning. In case you haven’t figured it out, this series is called: “Better

            The Key thought of this series, the main truth that we will be coming back to throughout this series is this: “To get a better life, you have to let go of the good life.”

            There are some things in this life that are good and there are other things in this life that are better. Allow me to illustrate what I mean

ILLUSTRATION- A few weeks ago I made a breakfast sandwich in my kitchen at home, and it was good.

            The very next day, I went to an eating establishment in Nackawic and had their breakfast sandwich. It was better than the one I made at home.

            Some things in life are good; other things are better, and to get a better life, you have to let go of the good life. 

ILLUSTRATION- My wife and I recently made changes to our sleeping quarters.

        Up until recently, we had been sleeping in/on a double bed.

            This bed served us well for 9 ½ years, but neither one of us were getting the beauty sleep that we desperately needed—(some more than others, right babe?) and so, we went out and purchased a KING-SIZED BED!!!

            The double bed was good… for a while, but the king-sized bed is so much better!!

            Some things in life are good; other things are better, and to get a better life, you have to let go of the good life.

Bear with me as I share another illustration:

ILLUSTRATION- the Toronto Maple Leafs are not good; but the Mighty Montreal Canadiens, they are, well, better!

            In order to get a better life, you’ll have to let go of the good life.

            Some times in life we have the choice between two things. Sometimes we have a choice between right and wrong.

When the choice is between right and wrong, between good and evil, followers of Jesus are instructed to choose right, because it’s always better to obey God.

But there are other times in this life that the choices that we have to make are between two very good things.

Lemon meringue pie or PBCC cookies? Both are good things, but one of these things is better!

Making the choice between something good and something better can be difficult, but when given the opportunity to choose, let's choose better, because better is, well, better.

The tragic part of life is that many of us are settling for the good life, when God has something indescribably better for our life.

And to get a better life, you’ll have to let go of the good life.

God doesn’t want you and me to settle for the good life; God wants us to thrive with a better life!

Jesus said: “A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I came to give life—life in all its fullness.” (John 10:10, NCV) 

God doesn’t want us to settle for second best.

God didn’t send His Son to this earth, to suffer and die on the Cross, and rise again 3 days later, so we could live a good life.

God sent His Son so we could live a better life!

In order to experience this better life, we'll have to let go of some things: some bad things, some good things, because to get a better life, you have to let go of the good life.

Throughout this series, we will be looking at verses with the word Better in them, and our first verse is taken from Psalm 84:10, but before we look at that verse, I would draw your attention to verses 1&2.

The Psalmist says: “How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty!

2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD…” (Psalm 84:1-2a, NIV)

The Psalmist described his desire: He wanted to be where God was.

In the Old Testament, this was first in the Tabernacle, and then, later on, in the Temple.

The Psalmist wanted to get as close to God has he possibly could.

 “I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God.” (Psalm 84:2, NLT2)

There was only one place that the psalmist wanted to be: In the presence of God.

It wasn’t good enough just to hear about God, the psalmist wanted to be where God was.This was the cry of his heart.

Then, in verse 10, he declares:

 “Better is one day in your courts—better is one day in your presence--- than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” (Psalm 84:10, NIV)

The Psalmist declared that one day in the presence of God, one day in His courts, was better than anything else this world had to offer.

To prove his point, he was willing to be a doorkeeper—one of the lowest positions—in the temple of God.

He wanted to do this, because one day with God was better than a thousand days somewhere else.

Part of our problem, is that most of us don’t believe that one day with God is better than a thousand days anywhere else.

ILLUSTRATION- I don’t know about you, but when I tend to leave God out of my day, that day is awful.

      I worry more, I pray less, I become envious of other people, I think I’m overworked and underpaid!

            And then, we rationalize that this is all there is to life, and we become upset and frustrated because we can’t fix our life.

       But when someone asks us how we are doing we say: “Oh, I’m good!”      

            If that’s the good life, I don’t want it! I don’t want it; because the Bible tells me there is a better life!

            The psalmist reminded us of this better way when he said: “A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else.” (Psalm 84:10a, NLT2)

            One day with God is better because our sins have been forgiven, our hearts have been cleansed, and we have been given eternal life!

            One day with God is better because “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14a, NIV)

            One day with God is better because His ways are not our ways; His thoughts are not our thoughts. (See Is. 55:8)

            One day with God is better because we have the promise of the Holy Spirit, who is with us, who is leading and guiding us.

            One day is with God is better because He is with us no matter what happens to us! (Mt. 28:20)

            One day with God is better because we have a High Priest who understands our weaknesses and invites us to approach the Throne of God with freedom and confidence. (Heb. 4:15-16)

            One single day with God is better because “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness….” (2 Peter 1:3a, NIV)

            One day with God is better because when the storms of life come—and the storms of life always come—God will uphold us with His righteous right hand.

One day with God is better.

            If this is true, if one day with God is better, how do we spend one day with God, when many of us can’t even pray for 15 minutes without our mind turning toward something else that we should be doing?

            How do we have one day—one better day—with God?

            By living with an ongoing, unending awareness of His presence!

            The Psalmist recognized the ongoing, unending awareness of the presence of God when he wrote Psalm 139:

“I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence!

8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.

9 If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, 10 even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.

11 I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night— 12 but even in darkness I cannot hide from you.

To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are the same to you.” (Psalm 139:7-12, NLT2)

To live with an ongoing, unending awareness of God’s presence is to recognize that He is everywhere present and nowhere absent.

He is everywhere, at all times, and there is nowhere that we can be that God is not.

To have a better day with God is to recognise that He wants to be our life, not just a part of our life.

We have a tendency to compartmentalize things. We have our work life, we have our social life, we have our church life, we have our private life….

But life with God is infinitely better than having little compartments.

Paul wrote in Colossians 3: “When Christ, who is your life….” (Col. 3:4, NIV)

Jesus Christ is to be our life, and this is infinitely better than anything that we could ever dream or scheme.

The psalmist said “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere….” (Psalm 84:10a, NIV)

Why is one day with God better? Because God longs to do life with us, because God longs to be with us.

I can’t help but wonder this morning, how many of us are selling ourselves short? How many of us are missing out on something better?

Sure, we might be living the good life, but to have a better life, you have to let go of the good life.

To have life with God, you’ll have to give some things up, some bad things, some destructive things, some sinful things, but you’ll also have to give up some good things, but what you’ll get in return is something much better.

The Psalmist recognized that life in the presence of God was infinitely better than life outside the presence of God.

He was so confident of this, that he was willing to be a doorkeeper in the house of God, just so he could be close to His presence.  

He was willing to let go of something good to enjoy something better.

ILLUSTRATION- Beth and I didn’t know how much sleep we weren’t getting until we got a new bed.

            I thought it was “normal” to hog the bed, to steal the blankets- even to wind up sleeping on the couch from time to time. I thought that was as good as it gets.

            But then we found something better, and now, we can stretch out and enjoy the big bed, because it is soooo much better.

            Author and Pastor Craig Groeschel reminds us that: “If all you do is seek what this world has, all you’re going to desire is what this world gives.    

        But if you start to seek God, you’re going to develop a daily desperation for him.” (better sermon 1)

            The Psalmist desired to be with God—he wanted to be in the very place where God was. Nothing mattered more to him that being in God’s presence.

            Don’t settle for the good life when you can have the better life.

            Don’t settle for less than God’s best by thinking that you know what’s best for your life. How can you, you didn’t make you!

            God wants for you to live a better life, but to have that better life, you’ll have to let go of the good life, but what you’ll gain is something much better.

            Do you need to let go of your good life and begin living the better life?

            Do you need to invite Jesus into your heart? Do you need to develop an ongoing, unending awareness of God’s presence?

            There is only one way, and that is by surrendering our entire life—mind, body, soul and spirit over to God.

            What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice?

Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.” (1 Sam. 15:22, NIV)

Giving our lives over to God is always better than hanging on to them.

If you need to allow God to work in, or on, your life, please do so today. Don’t settle for the good life, when something better is available. 

This doesnt mean that life will always be grand. It will suck from time to time, but better is one day with God, than a thousand days without God.

Remember:To get a better life, you have to let go of the good life.” and the Bible says:

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” (Psalm 84:10, NIV)

The Band is going to come and lead us in our closing song.

If God has been knocking on your heart today, He wants you to let go of the good life and get the better life instead

Don't leave this place without having done business with God, because one day with God is infinitately better than a thousand days without God.|