That is such a great song, especially in the midst of what we are talking through and talking about over these last seven weeks, that God is the healer, the healer that we all need. Well today we come to our final day in this series," The Father Knows Best." And over the last few weeks you know that the things that we've been talking about is getting a picture of, getting a glimpse of who God is and the responsibility that we have in making sure that He is a part of, the focal point of everything we do in regards to our marriages and to our relationships.
We live in a culture today where the world thinks that we all have the answers, that individuals have the answers, that we know the right things to do. But we know that according to Scripture, only God can give us the wisdom and the guidance that we need to do things the right way. And so that's why we've been talking about this important statement of "The Father Knows Best." So that we get a picture of exactly what God wants us to do. Of knowing that if we are going to have the marriages God wants us to have, if we are going to have the relationships that God wants us to have, if we are going to be successful, then we'd better start and continue down the road with God leading us every step of the way. That's why we've been talking over these last few weeks about God's definition of marriage, and God's definition of love, God's definition of how we deal with the conflicts, of how we deal with those issues that come up. Last week we talked about what we do when things are broken. That there is hope when it seems like hope is lost, that there is hope and that hope is found in the healer that we've talked about.
Well today we come to this last sermon in the series. This last sermon this morning, then Matt will share with us tonight. And finally after all of these weeks, seven weeks that we've been coming and talking about the Father Knows Best, it's true and it's so important to understand that finally we come to this place and this house behind me actually looks like what most of our houses really do look like. You know it's been clean for seven weeks. We come in every morning. Everything is in the perfect spot, everything exactly where it's supposed to be, everything is exactly the way it was intended to be but today we come in and we see that there's trash everywhere. There's junk stacked up everywhere. Piles of trash and clothes and paper and mail and all kinds of things that are just left strewn all over the room.
And we realize that in real life, you know what, this is really kind of what things are like. This is the way things go. Because you know we come to a point in our relationships when we walk down that aisle and we start that marriage and when the person stands up there, when the pastor stands up there and makes that statement, that you may kiss your bride, and we walk out of that room and, man, we walk out of that room with everything being perfect and the expectation being exactly what we want it to be. But we realize that after time, things do get messy. That after time, things do build up and problems do arise.
And today on this last day we want to talk about, this last part of the series, what do we do to clean up the house? Now I want to make this statement and I want you to get this because the house doesn't clean itself. How many of you have ever heard that from your mom, or from your wife? I've heard it from both and often, in this week, in fact, that the house doesn't clean itself, that we have some responsibilities. There are some things that we've got to do to clean up the mess, to clean up the junk, to clean up the trash that builds up in our homes, that builds up in our marriage, that builds up in our relationships. God wants us to clean that stuff up because it's not going to go away. We can't ignore it and it disappears. We can't just walk by it every day and somehow, someway in a magical sense that everything gets straightened up. No, it takes work. And it takes deliberate intentional focus. It takes us putting our hearts into it, our minds into it, understanding that this is something that we've got to do.
We opened this year in Philippians chapter 1 and we read this passage and it says this in verses 27 and following, "Only let your conduct be worthy of the gospel of Christ. So whether I am come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel and not in any way terrified by your adversaries which is to them proof of perdition but to you of salvation and that from God. For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him but also to suffer for His sake, having the same conflict which you saw in me and now hear is in me."
From that passage when we began this year, we made a statement. We came up with a mission statement and a vision statement for us as we walk forward through this year. And that statement is this, "In 2010 and beyond I will be acting right, standing strong, standing together, fearing nothing, and enduring anything with the ultimate goal in mind of bringing glory to God."
And I told you on that day in January that this was going to be the driving statement for everything that we do this year, every sermon that is presented, every conference that comes to this building, everything that we focus on is what we can do to make sure that this sentence, this statement, that we are applying it in our lives. That's why it was so important that we started this year talking about prayer because we know, as I shared with you back in January, that nothing of eternal significance is ever accomplished apart from prayer.
And then we immediately moved in to this series, The Father Knows Best, because in that sentence that I just shared with you, that passage from which that sentence comes, we understand that if we are going to do things the right way, if we're going to have strong marriages, healthy marriages, healthy homes, healthy relationships, we better be acting right. And we'd better be standing strong. We'd better be standing together. We've got to understand that we can fear nothing. We've got to endure anything. And we've got to do all of this to bring glory and honor to God.
And so today we talk about what we can do to clean up the mess. You know, over the last few weeks we've talked about how to start things right, God's definition of marriage, God's definition of love, of how to get things off on the right track. Last week we talked about when things are broken, when things are torn apart, how do we get though that? How do we survive that? Finding hope when hope is lost. Today we find out, okay, while we are right in the midst of it, when the junk is starting to pile up, when the trash is showing up, when everything is messy, how do we get out of it? How do we travel the road to come back to the right place? Doing the right things. Heading in the right direction. How do we get there?
And today we just simply must follow over into the next chapter of Philippians, into chapter 2. And we find God's plan. It says in Philippians chapter 2, verses 1 through 4, "Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ."
I want to take just a moment to make sure you understand what we are talking about. We just read verses 27 through 30 in chapter 1 and oftentimes when we read the Bible, we get to the end of a chapter and we close the book because we're going to read the next chapter the next night. Well, you know the chapter designations and the verse designations; those were things that came about around the thirteenth century. A long time after the book was written. A long time after those letters were written. And so we've got to understand that sometimes the statements that are being made, they are continuations of, there's no break.
When we read the Book of Philippians, in the first chapter, there's not a point where he stops it at the end of chapter 1 and then later on he picks up a new thought in chapter 2. It's a continuation. So when we see this in this passage in verses 1 through 4 we get a very clear picture when he says, "Therefore," because of what I just said, because of that worthy of the gospel of Christ stuff that I just shared with you, because of that enduring anything and fearing nothing, and because of that, because of what we've talked about, listen to this. "If." And the word if there is not, is it possible? No the word there "if" is the idea that since. So because of what I just told you and "since there is any consolation." That word "consolation" is the Greek word paraklesis, which is the word "encouragement." "That we find encouragement."
It's also the same kind of idea we get from lawyers in a legal sense. When we go to court and we are sitting there and for whatever reason the judge is talking to us, and the attorneys are talking, and the law books are being read, many times, although we are there, we don't have a clue what they are saying. We have no idea what they are talking about. We're lost. We're in a fog. This passage, with that statement, "consolation," and that word, "paraklesis," gives us the idea of this. Christ is there to represent us, to encourage us in the midst of that and to protect us because He knows what's going on. "So therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship, 'koinonea' of the spirit," if any affection and mercy that salvation lavishes on us because of what Christ did for us when He died on the cross.
It goes on to say in verse 2, "Fulfill my joy by being likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit but in lowliness of mind. Let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests but also for the interest of others."
Today when we talk about cleaning up the house, we talk about cleaning up the mess that begins to build up, the trash that begins to show up in the midst of our lives, we can look at this passage and we can get a plan. We can figure out what it is that we need to do. And the first thing we've got to do, and it goes back to what we talked about a few moments ago, let's act right. Let's do the right thing.
We read in verse 2, "Fulfill my joy by being likeminded," that we are on the same path, that we are traveling the same road together, having "the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. " We look at this verse and we see that statement, "having the same love, one love." One love. That's the word "Agape." You've heard that statement used before. You've heard that word used before, the description, "Agape love." And do you know what it means? It means this. It means total and unconditional. It means no matter what, nothing can separate the love that we have for each other. That's the love that Christ has for us. That's what drove Him to leave heaven and come to this earth and die on the cross for us, because He loved us that much. And so this verse is telling us, have the same love, one love, total love, unconditional love. I've got four kids. Man, I love them to death. Jonathan and Jessica and Nicholas and Natalie. In fact, today is Jonathan's birthday. Happy Birthday! Tomorrow is the twins' birthday. It's an expensive week for me. Happy Birthday, Natalie and Nicholas! Man, it's incredible. Jessica, you don't have a birthday. Happy Unbirthday to you!
But I love them to death and you know what we go through every day. I wake up in the morning, the kids are there. I go to bed at night and the kids are there. All through the day there's stuff going on. And you know we just have so much fun together. But sometimes, you know, going through those days, sometimes the kids do something that starts to wear on you, you know? Starts to get on your nerves a little bit. Might get a little loud and a little bit louder and louder and louder or something that just starts to annoy you and something that starts to get to you. And you get to the point where it is just like, man, you're going crazy. But you know what? Every night when I go to bed, there is absolutely nothing that they could have done that entire day that is going to change the love that I have for them. It is unconditional. It is absolute.
The love that I have for Shari, but man, you know there are some times…there are some times. You know what I'm saying? But you know at the end of the day, when I go to bed and I lay my head on the pillow and I pray that prayer that last prayer of the day, I thank God for Shari. And I thank God for my children and there is nothing, nothing that can change that Agape love that I have for them, that incredible, unconditional, total love that I have for each of them. Listen, that's acting right. That's what Christ wants. Having the same love.
It goes on to say, "being of one accord." That's one spirit. One spirit. That's the word sumpsuchoi. Sumpsuchoi. And you know what that means? It means this basically. It means soul-to-soul. Soul mates is the word that we use today, where literally your soul mate is there. Your souls are in tune with each other, traveling the same road.
We've all seen those commercials. You know those commercials that are on television that if you go to their website and fill out these surveys, "53 Levels of Compatibility," whatever that stuff is. And you can help find your soul mate, that person that just is absolutely in tune with who you are. Christ is telling us, if you want to have a strong marriage, if you want to have a strong relationship, act right by having one spirit, being on the same level, being of one accord. Soul mates.
Then it goes on to say, "being of one mind." That's one purpose. Being purposed together. Realizing and understanding that every day when you wake up, that no matter what, my spouse and I are on the same path, heading in the same direction, with the same purpose, with the same vision, with the same mission and we know where we're headed. We know why we exist.
When we got married, that statement was made at our wedding, where it was said that the man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. The statements made in that marriage ceremony usually, that what God has joined together, let not man put asunder, let not man separate. It's the vision statement of what God has just created.
You know what our vision statement here at the church is, our mission statement here at Thomas Road. It's to win people to Christ and to grow them in Christ and to send them out for Christ. Those three words, we say them often. Win, Grow, Send. And everything that we do here in this church, every activity, every program, every class, every group, every meeting, everything that we do falls within those three ideas, those three concepts of winning, and growing and sending. And we don't have to worry about where we are headed because we know that God has given us that statement that mission statement that we are on.
What's the mission statement for your marriage? What's the purpose in your marriage? Why do you exist as husband and wife? Why did God put you together? The Bible tells us that we've got to have one purpose, being of one mind, understanding that we are purposed together that together we can accomplish more than we could apart. That God's got a purpose and a plan and the two shall become one flesh, that we are one person.
Okay, so what' s the purpose? What's the point? What's our mission? What's our vision? We've got to have a mission statement, a vision statement with regards to our marriages because you know sometimes the marriages get messy. As we look at this set we realize this stuff just piles up and sometimes this stuff can be a distraction. Sometimes it can get us off purpose. That happens here at the church. There are times that things are happening at the church—good things. Good things that are worth doing. And we get involved in those things and sometimes they get to the point where they become so labor intensive and so important that they get us off of our mission. That's why we always go back and realize, is what we are doing, does it fall into our mission statement? Does it help us get where God has told us to go? And in our marriages, we've got to do the same thing. We've got to act right.
And so my first question for you today is, "Will you decide today that you will begin acting right for the sake of your marriage? For the sake of your home? For the sake of your family? Will you begin to act right?" "Likeminded, one spirit, one love, one purpose." We've got to act right.
The second thing we've got to do is we've got to stand strong. Standing strong. We continue reading in verse 3, "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself. "
We look at the statement, "let nothing be done through selfish ambition." We look at that word "selfish." Selfish ambition, that's the word eritheias and that's the word of, literally the idea of, a strong desire for self-promotion. That everything that I do, it's all about me. That every decision that I make, every statement that I make, every place that I go, everywhere that I take myself and everywhere that I take my marriage, it better be something that builds me up and does something for me, something that makes me more important, more valuable, that has a purpose and a value to me.
Christ is telling us, hey, you want to have a strong relationship? You want to have the kind of life that I intended for you? "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition." It's not about you. Christ is making it very clear. He's telling us it's not about you. It's not about self-promotion. It's not about selfish ambition. We've got to understand. We talked about it a few weeks ago. In I Corinthians chapter 13, verse 4, "love does not parade itself, does not boast of oneself, boast of one's life " that everything's got to put me on a pedestal. This verse tells us, "let nothing be done of selfish ambition." It goes on to say, "or conceit" and that's the idea there, that word kenadoxia. Kenadoxia, which is an idea of vanity or illusion. It's the idea that we have an illusion of what our marriage is, an illusion of who we are.
Oftentimes we go to amusement parks. We go to the county fair, the carnivals, or whatever, and one fixture in all of those places is that Fun House. Right? You know what I'm talking about? The Fun House. You go through and it's got all the things that do all the stuff and somewhere in there, there's going to be a room or outside of that building, outside of that place where they have those mirrors, those different types of mirrors. You know you walk up and you look in one mirror and it makes you look a whole lot taller than you really are. You go to the next mirror and it makes you look really short, shorter than you really are. Go to the next mirror, and man it makes you look thinner than you really are. That's the one where you stay a long time. And you just keep looking, and looking, and looking and thinking that's pretty good. And then you step over to the next mirror and that's the mirror that makes you look a lot fatter than you really are. Of course, you don't stay there long. You move back to the last mirror. But in every one of those mirrors, it's an illusion. It's not what's real.
That statement there, the conceit. "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit." Let nothing be done through an illusion, through vanity. That this marriage is about me. That I'm more important. That I'm of more value. That I look better. That I'm much much better. You need to begin looking at that mirror in a real sense and try to get a true picture. When we walk through our homes and we see the trash that stacks up, the stuff that gets thrown everywhere, we get to the point where pretty soon the stuff is all there and it almost becomes a point where we're stepping over it, we're walking around it, it becomes part of who we are. It becomes part of our existence.
And in our marriages, when that trash builds up in our life, when that trash builds up in your marriage, when it gets messy in your home and you ignore it and you keep walking by and you keep walking, pretty soon you get to the point where it's an illusion that, that's really what your marriage is. My marriage is tough and my marriage is bad. And it doesn't matter what I do I can't change it. Doesn't matter what I do, that spouse is going to continue to be like that and do this and things are never going to get better because it's an illusion. "Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit."
It goes on to say, "but in lowliness of mind." I love that word lowliness. It's the idea of modesty or humility. Basically of lowering yourself, getting down lower on the level where you can say, "What you say and who you are is more important than me, more important than who I am."
"In lowliness of mind, esteem others." That word esteem is the idea of considering others; that what they think and what they say and who they are is far more important than anything that I have to say or anything that I have to think.
A couple months ago, you will remember that we took up an offering here at Thomas Road, a Christmas offering, a gift to Christ. A gift offering that we were going to use throughout this year for missions and for evangelism, for outreach. And we asked you to pray about what God would have you do and how God would use you and move you to make that Christmas gift to Christ. And we asked you to get together as families and talk about it. In our home we did that. Shari and our four children, Jonathan, Jessica, Nicholas and Natalie and I, we got together and we talked about it.
Okay, how big of a gift should we make? We talked about it. We went around and each of them offered their opinions. Now listen I love my children but when it comes right down to it they don't truly have a real feel for, an understanding of money and the value of money. They don't understand mortgages and they don't understand bills and utility payments and all of those things that we have to do and what we have to do on a daily basis. And so when they are asked the question, "Well how much should we give?" They are like, "Well, let's just give it all. " You know, give, give, give, and you know, I could have made that decision without them. I could have made a value-decision, a right decision without them even being a part of the conversation but what we did is we talked about it together.
We prayed about it together. And we made the decision together where everybody was in absolute agreement, that on Christmas Eve when we came and we walked to this box, it was right here in the middle of the room. And we came and we put our gift in there. Everybody in our family, all six of us had talked about, had prayed about and had agreed on what we were going to do. And let me tell you something. That is a valuable thing to do. You know, that night when we placed that gift in that box, all four of them wanted to be the one to go up and place that envelope in that box. They had to do it together. We had to do it as a family. Everybody had to have a hand on the piece paper, on the envelope and go in and drop it in the box because every body took ownership. Everybody was a part of it. Every body wanted to make that gift and be a part of it.
That is what it says here, "Esteem others." When you esteem others, when you do it together, when you value their opinions and you value their worth, and you realize and see how important they are and you let them know that, it changes everything. "Standing strong, standing on the right things, esteeming others, considering others that they are more important than what we have to say and what we have to think.
So my second question for you today. The first one was "Will you decide to act right for the sake of your home, for the sake of your marriage, for the sake of your family?" The second one is, "Will you decide today that we will stand strong for the sake of my marriage, for the sake of my family, for the sake of my home?" We will stand strong. We will make sure that everything we do, we don't do it in selfish ambition or conceit but "in lowliness of mind, esteeming each other as more important than ourselves."
So we get the picture of acting right. We get the picture of standing strong, and the next one is standing together. We continue reading in this passage in verse 4, "Let each of you look out, not only for his own interests but also for the interests of others." This goes along with our last point, what we talked about. It goes along with standing strong. It goes along with acting right. Let each of you look out for the interests of others. That word "look" is an important word. It's a word that we've talked about a few times over these last couple of years here at Thomas Road. It's the Greek word skopeo. It's the word where we get our word for telescope.
Now what does a telescope do in our lives? When we get a telescope we look through one end of it and it brings things that are far off into focus, doesn't it? Things that are far, far away, it gets them to a point where we can see them and we can see minute details. We can see the beauty of something. We can see the value of something. Something that brings it close into focus so that we can understand what it is that we are looking at. Every day we walk into our homes, we walk into our marriages, we walk into life and things are messy like this. Things are just so torn up and so messy and it's in shambles. And you know the first day when we walk in and we see something like this it appalls us, doesn't it? When you come home and you open the door for the first time and you walk in and you see this, it amazes you. This is horrible. This is awful. Something's got to be done. Someone's got to clean this up. We've got to clean this up now.
If you leave it today and you come home tomorrow, you're not quite as shocked, are you? You walk in and you say, "Aw this is still messy. I can't believe this." And you move past it. The next day you come home, "Yeah, it's still a mess." The next day you come home, "Oh, this looks good. Piece of pizza. I wonder if it still tastes good." The next day you come home and you expect to see this. Who ate that, by the way?
You come home and you expect this. It gets to the point where every day that you ignore, every day that you walk over or every day that you step over the mess that is building up in your home, it just becomes part of life. You come to expect it and you begin to not see it. You can go to your neighbor's house, walk in and in an instant you can see a piece of dust over on a table across the room. If a cup was left out on the counter, you see that and you go back home and say, "Man their house is messy." And then you come back home like this and you don't say a word about what's going on in here. Why? Because you're not looking.
Last week I was walking down the hall of our home, the upstairs hall and then I'd walked out of our bedroom. I was walking down the hall. As I walked down the hall I saw in the middle of the hallway that there was an individual cup of applesauce in the middle of the hallway. It was just sitting in the hallway. I walked by and I looked at it and thought, well that's strange. Why is there applesauce here in the hallway? And I looked at it, walked around it and I walked on and went downstairs and went about my business. That night I came home and came upstairs and was going to my room and walked by and applesauce is still sitting there. Looked at it and thought, that's strange. Walked by it again. Next morning I came out and there's the applesauce. "Hey, there's the applesauce. That's good stuff." Walked by. That night the applesauce was still sitting there.
The next morning, it was interesting because I walked out of the room and I was walking down the hall and Shari was walking down the hall too and she was coming from one direction. I was coming from the other direction and the applesauce was in the middle. We were walking closer and she was looking at me and she said, "Hey, will you pick that up?" And I said, "Is that not where we keep it?" Because I'd become so used to that applesauce in the middle of the hallway it was like, "that's supposed to be there. It's furniture now."
In life we do the same things in our relationship, the same things in our marriage, the trash builds up in our marriages and it's there and we get used to it and we get to a point where we accept it and it's okay and we want it there. And we think it's okay for it to be there. It's okay for the trash to build up. The problem is the Scripture is telling us here, "Let each of you look skopeo." That word means to look with intention. To look deliberately. To find what you can do to help the interest of others not only for ourselves.
In our marriages, we want to know how to make things better? We want to know how to stand together? To make sure that our marriages are getting stronger. Every day we look to see what we can do in our relationships to make things better. We look for the trash that's in our home. We look for the stuff that's building. We look for that mess that is just stacking up in our lives and we intentionally and deliberately look for it so we can fix it now, rather than let it continue to build up and we become used to it.
If we are going to figure out how to get our marriages strong, each of us, Christ is telling us, "Let each of you look." Look, look deliberately, look with intention, seek out what you can do, and find what you can do to make things better. Look for the garbage in your own life that is destroying your marriage. Look for the garbage that you are allowing to come into your home that is ripping you guys apart. That is tearing things apart. Look, look with intention. Look deliberately. Find out what it is and get rid of it. The only way to truly find that marriage that God intends the marriage that He wants us to have is to find the trash and get rid of it because the house doesn't clean itself.
So my third question for you today is, "Will you decide today to look?" Will you decide today to deliberately, to intentionally find out what it is and rather than just simply walk into your life, walk into your home, walk into your marriage, sitting down in the marriages that we are all a part of, and moving things across, and moving things around so that we can be comfortable, but sitting here in the midst of all of the trash, of all of the garbage, and getting to the point where we just expect it. Where it's okay, things that will never get better. The Scripture tells us "to look."
My question for you today is, "In your marriage, what is it that you see? Right now if you took time to evaluate, to look deep inside of your heart, of your mind, of your marriage, of your life, to look, to truly look and find what it is that's ripping you apart? What it is that's keeping you away from, and what is it that is not allowing you to seek and find God's best? What is it today in your life that needs to be cleaned up? We've been putting up with the stuff too long. We've been putting up with the trash for way too long. We've been letting the stuff pile up. We've been getting used to it. We've been accepting it. It's got to change. It's got to change. What is it today? Skopeo, you can intentionally, deliberately look for what needs to go away?
And today we make the decision, the decision that I'll do it. I will do it. I will do it. And what will happen is that your marriage will get better. Your life will get better. Everything will get cleaner because you are working at it, because you're working at it.
This passage ends with an incredible verse. It says this, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." And what's the mind that was in Christ Jesus? The mind that He loved us so much that He looked. He looked for the garbage that was in your life. He looked for the sin that was filling your life up. He looked for the things that were separating you from Him. He looked for the trash that was piling up in your life. He looked for it and He said I want to make a way that they can find freedom, find forgiveness. He came to this earth and died on the cross for our sins. He died on the cross for your sins. He was buried and He rose again three days later for you because He looked. He intentionally, He deliberately looked for you.
Today we need to make some decisions. We need to be intentional. We need to be deliberate. We need to say today I will do what it takes. I will look for the things. I will look for what the problems are. I will look for the issues. I will look for the trash. Today we will work. One purpose. One mind. One vision. One love. In one accord. Having that mind, the mind that Christ had. That's the mind that I want. And today we will begin the next step, the next phase of the rest of our lives. Allowing God to lead us. "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus."
Lord, today we have come to you and we have opened your book, we've read your words and in these pages we've found truth. We've found answers. We've found statements that we can use and apply in our own lives, statements that will help us to do the right thing that will help us to stand together. Together, to be on the same path, the same vision, the same mission. Having one heart, one mind, one spirit. Walking together. Looking for the things that are going to eventually cause the problems that are eventually going to pile up and fixing them now. God, of finding the things that right now are a hindrance, that are problems, that are separating, that are driving apart. God, today we make the decision that we are going to find those things and we are going to fix them because we realize, God, that indeed you know best. So, Lord, I pray for every person in this room, every person who is listening to my voice, every person that is hearing what I have to say today. Lord, that they won't hear me, but that they'll hear you speaking directly to their hearts right now in this place. Asking the question, God, what is it that I need to do now?
With our heads bowed and our eyes closed and with each of us taking this opportunity, as it said it verse 4, "to look," to look into our own lives, to look into our own marriages and say, God, what do I need to do? God, what's next? What are the next steps? God, what do I need to fix? God, give me the wisdom, give me the guidance. You might be here today and the thing that you need to fix, the thing that you need to look at this morning is the fact that you've never accepted that incredible gift that God came to give when He looked for you? Maybe today you need to realize that He came, He died on the cross, was buried and rose again for you. Today you need to come to this altar and talk with one of our pastors to pray at this altar to allow Him to change you forever. God wants to do that. He wants to change you today. Accept that free gift of salvation.
Maybe you are here today and as a couple you have gone through this series and you've heard the statements and you've agreed. But you know, you haven't done anything. You've heard what the Scripture has to say but you've been trying to get through this series and think, man, this series will be over soon and we can go back to life as normal. Everything's going to be okay and I won't have to keep getting the elbows during church. Listen today is decision day. Today is the day where we just simply sit back and think, God, I know I need to fix it. God, I know things are messed up. God, I know the trash is building up. God, today we commit it all to you.
Maybe couples need to come and kneel at this altar. Maybe you want to come and join our church, come for baptism, or whatever it might be. But, let me tell you something. The decision that you make today is this. From this day forward, I will act right and I will stand strong. I will stand together. I will fear nothing. We will endure anything and we will do all of this for the glory of God. And we are going to sing that song that we sang a few moments ago. The song "Healer," because today I firmly believe that there are people in this room that need to be healed. There are marriages in this room that need to be healed. There are marriages in this room that need to be restored. Let God do it in this place today. Let's all stand and sing the song, "Healer."
We are going to continue singing that song in just a moment. But there are people here that are kneeling and praying, people in our prayer room, but right now I just want to talk to you. Wherever you are in this room, you know we've talked today about what God wants us to do and how He wants us to act. We were singing this song that tells us that God is the healer in our lives, that He can heal whatever is broken, that He can take us from where we are today to where we need to be if we will trust in Him. My question is, "Are you trusting in Him? Are you leaning on Him?" Are you saying, "God, I know I can't do it? I've messed it up? I've let the trash build. God, I know I can't do it anymore, but, God, I know that you can."
Listen, God promises us that He will do it. He will lead us. He will guide us. He will direct us. And I can't help but think that there are people in this room today that are hearing everything that we've said. They've heard every word that's been sung. They've heard the Scriptures that we've shared. Then just said, "Yes, I know but it doesn't apply to me. You don't know the problems that I've gone through. You don't know how bad my marriage is. You don't know how tough things are for me."
You are right, I don't. But it doesn't matter what I know. It matters what God knows. And God sees the inner parts of our heart. He knows where you are. He knows down in the recesses of your mind and the recesses of your heart. He knows where you are broken. He knows where the trash is. He knows how bad things are. But you know what? He doesn't care because He came to die on the cross to forgive us of all of it. And He just simply says, "Come to me all of you who are weary and heavy laden with the baggage that's on your back, the problems that you are carrying through life, the struggles that you are going through, the garbage that has filled up your home and filled up your heart. Bring it to me and I will give you rest."
I can't give you rest. These pastors that are here, they can't give you rest. This church, we can't give you rest. Oh, but friends, God can. And God wants to do it today. Right now. Wherever you are. Whatever situation you are facing. If you are here today and God is speaking to your heart right now, as we sing the next part of this song, "The Healer," listen let Him do it. It has nothing to do with me. It has nothing to do with any other person in this room. It has everything to do with this. God wants to heal what's broken. Let Him do it. Let Him do it. And let Him do it now. Let's sing right now.
Lord, today I pray for those people that have come forward this morning and I pray for those who haven't come forward. That you are working in their lives. You are dealing with them right now. And, God, I pray that as we leave this room, Lord, that you would continue to speak to our hearts. Lord, I pray that you would heal and restore marriages. God I pray that you would lead us and guide us to do the right things, to make the right decisions to understand that indeed the Father knows best and that we would do everything that we can to live our lives according to your Word, according to your principles, depending on your promises. God we thank you for what you've done. We thank you for what you are doing but, God, we also thank you for what you are going to do in the lives of the people in this room. Lord, I just pray that this would be a church full of people who want to do the right thing, seeking you in all because we know, indeed you are the healer. Lord, we pray for victory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.