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Gaining Life's Greatest Monopoly Part one in a five part series: Games People Play Presented by Pastor Paul Newell August 31, 2003 |
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Romans 10:9-10, Romans 13:14 |
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When God Has Control, You Win! We start a new series this morning entitled, Games People Play. When I was a kid there was nothing better to do on a summer afternoon than sit around a neighbor’s bedroom floor playing board games. He had some, we had some and together we had all of the really cool games: Monopoly, Life, Clue, Sorry, Aggravation, Battleship. We were too cool (or ignorant) to play Scrabble or dominos, but my parents loved those and would spend hours at night playing them with their friends while we kids were in the bedroom playing: Monopoly, Life, Clue, Sorry, Aggravation, Battleship… Then I grew up. Now I play “real life”, only it’s not a game; it’s real life. And in “real life” we still deal with monopolies, clues, battles and being sorry. Over the next few weeks we’ll look at some important issues that are not so much games as decision that will make all of us genuine winners in this life and in eternity. We start this morning with: Gaining Life’s Ultimate Monopoly. Our key verses are found in Romans chapter ten. Let’s read them together and then we’ll come back to them in a few minutes. (Romans 10:9-10,13) (9) For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (10) For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved…. (13) For “Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Gaining Life’s Ultimate Monopoly Officially “invented” in 1933, some form of the Monopoly game as been around since as early as 1903. Charles Darrow is credited most often as the inventor of a game where participants circle the game board – over and over again – buy, selling, trading and gaining real estate “monopolies”. I would guess that most of us have played the game or at least seen the game played. What strikes me most about Monopoly is the premise that the “winner” is the one who eventually “owns it all”.
There is a verse in the Bible that addresses that type of thinking. It’s found in Mark 8:34, “And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul in the process?” There is a saying, “The one who dies with the most toys, wins!” The truth of the matter is, “The one who dies with the most toys still dies!” “How do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul…” “What benefit is it to gain a monopoly and still lose?”
You see ultimately, life is not about gaining control – The true secret to winning in life is giving up control to the ONE who can really give success. That’s the challenge for this morning: “Let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you.” Those exact words are found in our second key verse, Romans 13:14. “Let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you.” The key to a fulfilling life, the way to true success, if you want to be a genuine winner is to “Let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you.” Now go back to Romans chapter ten: (9) For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (10) For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved…. (13) For “Anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” These verses tell us that the primary – pivotal issue in being saved from our sin is making Jesus “LORD”, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord…you will be saved” The word there for Lord is not one we use very often in modern English, but in ancient times it meant a great deal. Lord comes from the Greek kurious which means one who is in supreme in authority, the one who controls, who holds the monopoly.
In other
words, in order to be saved You gain life’s greatest monopoly the day you give Jesus the authority, the control, the monopoly of your life. And when Jesus is in control - you win!
When you make Jesus the LORD of your life, when you give Him the monopoly – He gives you His life in return. Your sin is forgiven and you receive eternal life!
But
you also win more! Here’s some of what you win when Jesus gains the true
monopoly in your life. When you give Jesus the monopoly in your life YOU WIN A FOCUSED HEART! Psalm 37:4 says, Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires. What do you think about the most? What obsesses your mind? Where do your passions and desires lead you? Far too often what we think we want leads us into trouble. Our “heart’s desires” are out of control. We’ve bought into the idea that what the world thinks is best for us – actually is best for us. But the Bible tells us to “delight in the LORD”. I looked up the Hebrew word for delight this week and found out something very interesting – the word means to be soft or pliable. When I allow God to shape me – when I stop fighting God’s work in my life – He gives me my true desires. Far too often we go after what we think we desire and miss what we really want. We go after sex when what we really want is intimate fellowship with another person. We chase after wealth when what we really want is security. We look for excitement when what we really need is joy. But when we delight in the LORD, when we give Jesus control of our lives we get what we really desire. Our heart is no longer torn between what we think we want and what God knows we really need. And since He made us – He already knows what best answers our desires.
Proverbs 3:5-6 says, Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not
depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will
direct your paths. When you give Jesus the monopoly in your life YOU WIN A WORRY FREE LIFE! Psalm 37:5 challenges us to simply Depend on the LORD; trust him, and he will take care of you. What do you worry about the most?
Think
about it for a moment and be honest…it’s your stuff, isn’t it?
We tend worry that we won’t have enough stuff. We worry that we will lose the stuff that we have. I hate to call people “stuff” – but we worry about the people we assume we can control as well - our families, our jobs, our friends and all the stuff attached to them. When we depend on the fact that Jesus has the monopoly, that He is in control – it takes away the worry. Jesus owns it and He will take care of it – all of it. This brings us to another thing you win when you give Jesus the monopoly in your life…
When we surrender our RELATIONSHIPS to Jesus, He gives us peace. Psalm 118:8 says, It is better to trust the LORD than to trust people. Every bit of the turmoil in your life is the result of broken relationships, when we trust in people more than we trust in the LORD. We assume that other people are the answer to every problem we face in life. If my family would just change I would be OK. If my coworkers or boss would straighten up life would be so much better. The Bible tells us it’s just easier, it’s so much better to trust the LORD. It is better to trust the LORD than to trust people. When we let Jesus have control we begin to realize that He is in control of other people to. Whatever they do, He’s still in control. Even if they don’t seem to be giving Him control of their lives – I can rest assured that He still will protect me, comfort me and give me peace. Proverbs 16:7 says, When people live so that they please the LORD, even their enemies will make peace with them. You trust the Lord that He knows what is best for you live your life to truly please Him and you will have a peaceful life. When you give Jesus the monopoly of your life…
-
you win eternal life
with Jesus. - you win a focused heart that won’t tear you in a million directions and leave you with what you with what you really didn’t want in the first place. - you win a worry free life because God owns everything in your life and it’s His problem, not yours! - you win a peaceful home because you are trusting God for every relationship and doing what He tells you to do. He blesses you with peace.
Most of our life is spent trying to gain control everything and everyone else!
It starts as soon as we are born. Why, because inside ourselves we want to be in control. There’s only one problem with being in control… It doesn’t work!
We try to keep the monopoly on our own lives. We try to play by our own rules instead of God’s. We think we are winning, but in the end we find out how much we have lost. Gaining life’s greatest monopoly means giving God control. It means giving Him the ultimate monopoly of our life.
“Confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord…” “Let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you.” How do we give Jesus our monopoly? How do we let him take control? Say it again…“For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord”. Did you catch it? Confess with your mouth To confess means “to say the same thing, to agree with, to make a covenant, to say the same word”.
Here’s the key –
Such a confession, such a commitment is not something that just happens. It’s not an emotional decision. It is a total act of the will that says, “Jesus I am making you the LORD, the BOSS, the Controller of my life: YOU ARE LORD.” This is where it all begins; because unless you are willing to make Jesus your Lord – nothing else works. It is impossible to receive God’s eternal life, to receive forgiveness of sin, to get to heaven, unless you are willing first and foremost to give Jesus the monopoly of your life and make Him LORD. You can’t have the “Savior” without taking the “LORD”. That’s why Peter in the New Testament book of Acts (2:36) proclaimed, “let it be clearly known by everyone in Israel that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified to be both Lord and Messiah!” Jesus is LORD and He is the Messiah, the one who came to save us. Ever wonder why the verse says “with your mouth” and not with your heart or mind? I think lots of things throughout the day – some of them are just thoughts that pass quickly. Often I don’t even pay much attention to those thoughts. But when I finally get around to actually speaking the thoughts – I mean them! Confessing with the mouth – is a purposeful decision. Throughout the day I have to talk to God. At every turn, every choice I must keep in mind that Jesus is my Boss, He is in control of my life. He owns the monopoly on all my decisions. Then I must talk to Jesus about them – with my mouth! It’s a conversation. We think in our brain – but we use our mouth to hold a conversation. Confessing with the mouth means we are telling Jesus and ourselves constantly that He holds the monopoly! The key to making Jesus the LORD, the key to giving Him the monopoly of your life is simply tell Him He has it! Confess it. Agree with God that Jesus is the boss. And then live every decision, every choice based on that confession! Don’t fight God’s control; simply do what Jesus wants you to do! Obey Him. And when God has control – you win! That’s why we keep singing that same simple song every week at the end of the service: "Trust God from the bottom of your heart…God is in control." God holds the ultimately monopoly on my life. And when God has control – I win! Now for the crucial point…Have you made Jesus the LORD of your life? Have you given Him the monopoly in your life? Yes, I know for many of you there has been that time when you honestly told Jesus that you wanted Him to be your Forgiver (Savior) and Boss (LORD). And that is the starting place. However, far too often we slack off on that commitment. God doesn’t. We do! We asked Him to be our Forgiver and Boss and then we went right back to attempting to control everything ourselves – including attempting to control God! Now it’s time to recommit. It’s time to give Jesus back the monopoly that you committed to Him the day you accepted His forgiveness and began a personal walk with Jesus. It’s time to give Jesus back control… Control of your heart and all of its desires: You’ve been so preoccupied with the way you think things should go that you have spent little time asking God what He really wants. Or worse, you know what God desires and you just keep ignoring His will. Control of your stuff: It’s time to acknowledge that everything you have belongs to God and whatever happens to it, it’s His. It’s time to say, “God you take control my worry is getting me nowhere.” Control of your relationships: It’s time to let God give you His peace by trusting in Him to meet your needs instead of everyone else. It’s time to give Jesus the back the monopoly of your life. Each of you received a "Title Deed" card in your Discovery Pack this morning. I want you to take it out now and look at it. Notice the verses on the front:
"For
if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your
heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by
believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by
confessing with your mouth that you are saved…For Anyone who calls on the
name of the Lord will be saved.”
Romans 10:9-10,13 “Let the Lord Jesus Christ take control of you.” Romans 13:14. Now, notice the simple prayer on the back: Dear Lord,
Today I (re)commit my life to you. I give you the monopoly in my life. Amen That's a simple prayer, but it's not easy. It will be the hardest prayer you every lived up to! But it is also the most important. Nothing else in life will work as it should until you give Jesus your monopoly. There is a place to sign at the bottom of the card, but I don't want you to sign it here this morning. I want you to prayerfully take it home and spend some time this afternoon talking to Jesus - Your Lord. Then as you talk to Him, tell Him that you are giving Him your life, completely, to do with as He wills. He's the boss! Because, when Jesus is in control - you win! Prayer: Lord Jesus, You made me. You gave me eternal life when I gave you my life. Now I want to recommit to you the fact that you own all of me and everything I have. I want you to exercise complete control of my life. I will begin to simply act in obedience to the things I already know you want me to do. I will seek the help I need to walk away from the things You know are not best for me. I trust you with my whole life and I will show You that trust by obeying You! Amen For information on the original PowerPoint presentation, |
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(c) Paul Newell 2003 FamilyFellowship Church P.O. Box 465, Beaumont, CA 92223 |
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