Good morning, church. It is a delight to be with you as we enter into the second week of our series, where Jesus teaches us how to live the life so we can fulfill our God dream. Today we find ourselves in Matthew 7, where Jesus is teaching on the side of the mountain.  In Matthew 7:8 Jesus says, "Ask and it shall be given, seek and you shall find, knock and the doors will be opened."

But I wonder when it comes to asking, seeking and knocking whether anybody here has ever found that to be a little problematic? Maybe you can relate to someone who has prayed for financial freedom only to lose their job. Or, relate to someone that has been praying to live the life and then all havoc breaks out in their relationships. How about those who pray for healing and then find that pain is their constant company keeper. Do I have a witness here this morning? Sometimes learning how to live the life can be very frustrating. One of the reasons is because we can sometimes find ourselves asking God to be something God is not.

Has anybody else besides me read the book, Are You My Mother? It was one of my favorite stories growing up as a child. In the story, the baby bird goes around asking others “Are you my mother?” Another way of asking that question is, "Are you my life?" We become delusional in looking for things to be our life. The baby bird went on to ask the hen, the cat, the dog and the cow, "Are you my life?" We can do the same thing looking to our relationships, saying "Are you my life?" The bird went on to ask cars and planes,  "Are you my life?" The bird even went on to ask a ”snort.” We can get confused in experiencing certain emotions and wanting those things to take God’s place and be our lives.

In Matthew 7, Jesus reminds us, "To live the life and fulfill your God dreams." He is basically saying my Spirit must be your first source of assistance because my Spirit is like itself. Jesus puts it this way in Matthew 7:11, He says, “You being evil; you know how to give good things to your children who ask. How much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask?” Matthew aims with precision. What Jesus is really saying, he records the story this way, he says "You know how to give gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask." There it is. That's what Jesus' message is. Jesus wants us to first ask for the Holy Spirit to give us life because things are tied to emotions and they are always temporary and can never give the peace God intends for us to have. God's lasting peace comes from the Holy Spirit.

My 6-year-old daughter, Brea, asks me this question about every 2 weeks. It never fails. She will come up to me and say, "Dad, can I ask you a question?" I just wait because I know there is more. Brea continues, "I know you’re going to say no, but can I ask you anyway?" Sure, you can ask. Brea has gotten really good at setting me up the last couple of months. She'll ask a whole bunch of questions with yes answers and then she’ll ask the real question. Example: “Can I read a book? Can I clean my room?” Then the real question shows up. “Can I have ice cream for breakfast?” That's the real question. She's looking for life in this thing, this substance, that will give her this temporary happiness. What she is not old enough to know, however, is that there is another side to that sugar high. Ice cream would make her happy for a while but all emotional happiness has an opposite side that sooner or later shows up

That's why our God dreams must be attached to God and the Holy Spirit first, then things and stuff are put in their proper perspective. We can't look to our relationships and say "Are you my life?" because relationships have polar opposites too. It's just how it is. There are good days and there are bad days, somebody say amen. [Amen] It's the same thing with our jobs. We can't say, "Are you my life?" because there are good days and bad days. Even with our bodies, some turn to the body and ask, "Can you give me meaning?" Then, as we age and go through the changes of just being alive, some folks lose their ability to stay focused and live life because they are looking in the wrong places.

Your life situation is always going to change and be filled with good and bad emotions. But your God dreams are tied to the Holy Spirit, who is designed to be with you and lead you to your God dream regardless of your situation. The fact is we can all be a master of making heaven out of hell or hell out of heaven. Let me break that down. We can have all the stuff in the world and should be content. But, more often than not, we end up miserable if we're not tied to the Holy Spirit assisting us to make sense out of it all. It is just the opposite with many who have gone through horrific life experiences and found themselves in tough spots, but somehow anchored themselves in receiving assistance in guidance from the Holy Spirit. Even in the mist of not having enough, or even far less than enough, they have found peace in the midst of it all.

Jesus says if we are going to live the life, it begins by asking for assistance from the Holy Spirit. All these external things are a part of our life, like the waves on the top of the ocean. But deep down below the surface of the ocean there is a sense of peace. We should connect with the Holy Spirit regardless of whether it's raining or not, so we can have peace. All I'm saying is that when it's raining outside you don't have to put your God dreams on hold. This is a daily deal. Living the life is about being able to recognize that you can be tied to the source of life through the Holy Spirit on a daily basis. Let the Holy Spirit assist you and guide you into this knowledge of peace. The Spirit then guides us into knowledge of love and then leads us to the sacred, to allow us to know deep down within that God is always there even as circumstantial things change. That's the power of being connected, and asking for assistance from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit puts everything in the proper perspective and it holds everything together.

I was talking with Michael Pollard about this. Michael said, “What you are describing is similar to what is called the Jesus nut.” I asked, “What is the Jesus nut?” He said, “On a helicopter, there is a nut that holds the propulsion system together and it holds everything in proper tension.” That is actually what we're saying. The Holy Spirit, when we ask for assistance, holds all these things in our life propulsion in proper perspective.

The Holy Spirit holds things in perspective so when we ask for assistance we can begin each day living the life, remembering that everyday is a miniature lifetime and today is the day to live the life. Allow the Holy Spirit to assist me in being a good parent, a good spouse, a good employer, a good employee, a good co-worker, and being a good team player. Assist me, God, in showing the world what it means to be a King's child. Assist me so I can live this thing out.

Paul puts it this way in Philippians 4:6-7, one of my life verses, "Don't be anxious about the ripples of the waves, and don’t let that stop you from living the life and reaching your God dreams." He continues, "But in every situation make your request known under God and the peace of God will keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.” This is the power of the Holy Spirit as we ask for assistance. Having the Holy Spirit of God protects us from the storms of life hijacking our God dreams. Understand it's going to take some time to get use to this practice of asking and receiving the Holy Spirit’s assistance and the results the Holy Spirit gives.

We know the scripture tells us when we should ask, it doesn't say in a little while. It doesn't say tomorrow. It says ask and we will receive. There is no time gap there. When we are asking, seeking and knocking, we have the Holy Spirit assisting us and guiding us. But sometime there is a delay between asking the Holy Spirit and when the peace comes. We know that God gives us that in his word. But when the peace comes sometimes there is a little delay. Can I have a witness!

What if I told you I had a little secret that could diminish the time from when you ask to when the Holy Spirit shows up and the peace shows up. Would anybody want to know a shortcut? I like shortcuts. I found one. If we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us and we relinquish or release our preconceived notions about that situation, then it decreases the time. Often we try to force our will on a situation even after we have asked instead of releasing ourselves to hear and receive from the Holy Spirit what God is doing at that particular time. It is easy to talk about it, but let me tell you about how I messed up with the same advice I just gave you.

Two weeks ago I was in Maryland with my dad. Dad is having all these health challenges; problems with his hearing, his sight, with his breathing. His health wasn't good enough at one point to do anything about it, but then it improved just enough for him to have eye surgery. He was legally blind, and the eye surgery removed the cataracts and replaced a lens. He had really gotten to the point where he was giving up. After surgery, he opened his eyes, he looked at me and said, "I can see!" Then he said, “Son, I thought you looked better than that.” To hear the excitement in his voice was just great, it was fantastic. But that excitement was short lived because the next day he woke up anxious, frustrated, ornery and just downright mean. He was one of those family members you love only because they are family members. As we went through the day, I kept reminding myself, “He's your father, he's your father.” It was just tough, rough, and hard going back and forth about his medicine.

[Brian] “Dad, you have to take this medicine.”

[Dad] “I'm not.”

[Brian] “Dad, you know this medicine is for your eye to get better.”

[Dad]  “I'm not taking any medicine.
[Brian] “Dad, you have to take the medicine.”

…and my Dad says, “I don't have to take the la-tee-da medicine.”

We were going back and forth, getting nowhere and then finally I said to myself,  “Look, there has got to be a better way than this.” So I prayed, “God, let your Holy Spirit speak to me. Give me some assistance in this situation because I must not be seeing something, there is a disconnect.” The next day my dad and I began our same routine. I said, “Dad, you know we have to work together.” He said, “No we don't.” In that instance something happened, I backed off my agenda for a minute, I knew the Holy Spirit was assisting me and guiding me in this because I got off my agenda and I heard what he was saying. I said, “You know, Dad, you are right, that's an option.” Then I began to listen, I began to see something. He looked at me and knew that I saw him for the first time since this had been going on. I learned it wasn't really about the medicine at all. What was really bothering him was the fact that he had misplaced something and that was guiding the entire conversation. So there we were fussing about the medicine, when it had nothing to do with the medicine. When I slowed down and just listened, he saw that I was with him. That's what the Holy Spirit told me, just be with him. He ended up asking me where his medicine was. But the point is, we need the eyes of the Holy Spirit to assist us in not projecting our will. My will was clear cut, I was focused - you are going to take this medicine and you are going to take it today. Nothing else, that's it. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? But when I backed up and realized this wasn’t working, the Holy Spirit assisted me with putting everything in proper perspective.

God's spirit promises to show, assist and guide us. Jesus says that is not the end of how we are to live the life. You have to do something, go out seeking. Seeking is all about formulating the vision for your life. God's given you a set of gifts that really bring you alive when you use them according to God's purpose. Formulate what that looks like. Hebrews 11:1 tells us that formulating the vision is about faith. It says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for,(or it you will, the vision of things hoped for) and it's the evidence of something that is unseen.” If we are going to live the life, seek that thing. Look at the skills that God has given you and have a vision for how you will use them. What do you see God seeking? Go out and formulate what God has in mind for you.

That is part of the challenge. If we formulate the vision we are better able to stay on track. Otherwise we can make some wrong turns or end up feeling a lot of anxiety because we are not living according to the purpose that we were created. I was 17 when I had this awakening. I experienced God in a way that I never dreamed of. It just opened up so much possibility and so much power, the redeeming power of Jesus Christ. I remember praying at that time, “Now that I am here and you have given me this knowledge, show me, God, how I can be the best influence. I'm not going to map it out, you show me.” I remember God leading me back saying, it was real clear, I want you to go in the path of ministry.

I was already involved in the church, so I got intense in the church. I got behind the doors, you know back into the administrative area, involved in all the meetings and the structure of the church. I remember feeling bamboozled, getting caught up in the shenanigans of the church. It was crazy. The folks there were worried about what people were wearing to church and other stuff like that. It didn't make any sense. I had made my vision clear. I started out on the right journey, but I didn't come back to that vision daily. I got there by asking for assistance from the Holy Spirit, but then I began working on my own. I began passing on God's direction. I thought, “I am going to serve God, but there are millions of ways that I can serve so I’ll just find another way. I love science, so I went to medical school. I was there a year when God spoke to me again. God still speaks to us when we get off track. I remember after dissecting a cadaver, looking at that body and realizing that as much as I love science, I saw God telling me to treat the inside, not the outside.

I slowly began the journey back. Even though God was speaking out, I kept going my own direction and did sales for a while. I excelled at that. I became salesman of the year with one company, and eventually went onto a Fortune 500 company. The position came with a lot of bells and whistles. I began to ask, “Are you my life?” - like the little bird.  I finally realized that I was carrying a whole lot of weight on my shoulders. You can't always see it with your eyes, but you can just feel weighed down. I began to experience that weight and eventually became anxious. I began falling on my knees again saying, “God I need some assistance. Allow your Holy Spirit to let me see what I'm missing; give me some guidance in this situation. I have missed the mark. Somewhere I have messed up. Somewhere I have gotten off the mark.” I realized that before the outward situation would change the inward situation had to change. Often we change jobs or relationships, get in and out of this or that, thinking it is other people or the job. We then find the problem follows us wherever we go. Imagine that. I was smart enough to realize there was an internal problem. So after work, day-after-day, I began getting on my knees and praying, “God, just redirect me. Guide me and show me the direction that you have created for me to go in this situation.” In time, even in the sales job, the peace came back. I was then able to see where God was guiding me, and eventually he guided me to teaching and then back into the church where there were folks that were just like me.

Often we can get side tracked if we are not paying attention. One of the ways that we can stay on track is by reading Habakkuk 2:2 which says, “Then the Lord replied  write down the revelation, make it plain on tablets, so that whoever reads it may run with it.” Part of your destiny is tied to my destiny, and your neighbor’s destiny. Wouldn’t it be nice if someone could one day read of how you got to where you are and see how you began to run with your God dream? One of the blessings of being here at Ginghamsburg is that God will put you to work and will allow you to bless other folks. But at the same time, allow other folks to bless you and grow you. One of the main things that jumped out at me about Mike, when I got here, was this guy was intense. This dude is intense, and he's disciplined. How you do develop that precision of this day-to-day living the life and working with him everyday. I saw that this was no made-up stuff.

Wouldn't it be nice to have a resource to help you put it all together? Fortunately, Mike put one together. He wrote the vision and made it plain so that those who read it can run with it. I began running with this deal, I had all these different pieces of visioning, but it wasn’t concise. I was never intense enough to do it daily until I grabbed Mike’s book [shows Momentum for Life]. The acronym that Mike uses for creating the vision and putting it into action is called DRIVE. The D in DRIVE is devotion. Daily devotion for God. Waking up, looking at the word of God, getting into that devotional space, so that everything else is held in proper perspective as you go about the mission. The R is readiness for lifelong learning. In other words, when we wake up, part of our job today is to learn. So you don't miss life when you are walking right past it. I have discovered that the more people I can learn from, the smarter I can be. I look for God in strange places. I stands for invest in key relationships. Whatever you do, whatever your outward expression of living the life, using your gifts and talents, make sure there are people around you that do what you do but are better at it than you are. Surround yourself because iron sharpens iron. Surround yourself with those who are better. Invest in those key relationships and then invest in those like family and in those other relationships where people understand and appreciate your gifts, because you are going to need some encouragement along the way.

Then Mike used the V for vision - vision for the future. You are already learning and ready to move forward, but visioning for the future means you are living in the present, but you are also looking and listening as to where God is leading you. Then there’s E, E for exercise. Food taste good, and a lot of food tastes better. We have to remind ourselves each and every day the purpose of food is basically fuel. We need to eat the right portions so we can max out what God wants us to do, and exercising allows our body not to be the weak link of our ability to live the life that God has called us to live.

We are called to put the vision into practice by writing it down. When we write it down, we're able to see God leading us in a certain direction. We are more able to follow that direction as opposed to guiding ourselves, which can lead to a lot of places.  The good news is wherever you are, God can find you. God can redirect your path. The last thing Mike brings up about this whole process, is that after you have established the vision, after you seek, then knock. Knock and the doors will be opened. Knocking, that's about being proactive, being patient, and being persistent. Proactive, patient, and persistent, realizing that today is the day that I'm going to live my life. I’m going to be a part of this process, I am going to be patient with myself, but I am also going to be persistent.

This past week the Ginghamsburg Worship Design team was in North Carolina, and we were visioning. We visioned the next series for the rest of the year. Some powerful stuff took place, powerful planning so that we can be the best that we can be as we come together and experience God. We worked some long hours, and it was time to take a break. Mike Slaughter’s definition of taking a break is a seven mile hike. Go figure. So we are going along and about three miles into the hike we come to this rock. It was an amazing sight. There was a break between the rock and behind the rock was this waterfall. It was evident by looking at the ends of the rock that at one time this was one solid rock all the way across. But minute by minute, day after day, week after week, month after month, and year after year, the water would come over the rocks and what was jagged became smooth. Even the rock began to make its way down and kept knocking on the rock, and over time the rock opened up and the water was able to flow freely into this massive pond or gathering of water below. It’s like that for you and me, we are like that water. If we can be patient, persistent and proactive and just keep on knocking, keep on moving toward God's purpose, little by little, day by day, we, will find the source of life and realize that every day is the day to live the life. And our God dreams will begin to take focus.

God provides a way for you to live the life, because God is available. Ask for assistance, guidance and direction along the way. Keep knocking on doors, and they will open.  The only doors that won't open for you are the ones that God wants you avoid. Another area you can gain some strength along this journey, is to put some key verses in your Bible that you can turn to real quick. Verses that can help you along the way. For example, the Holy Spirit can speak to you through that word when you ask for assistance. For me, I have specific verses that I go to when certain people knock at my door. For example, when doubt comes knocking at my door, I sit down and read Jeremiah. Jeremiah 29:11-13 tells me. ’For I know the plans I have for you’ declares the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you, not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future, then you will call on me and come and pray to me.’” God says, “I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all of your heart.” During times when I am feeling tested, and defeated because I have made some mistakes or messed up. I go to Psalms 30:5 and it says, “For his anger lasts only a moment. But his favor last a lifetime. Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning.” We all have to learn how to preach a little bit. Be able to turn to the word and allow it to jump off the page. When it speaks to you, you look at the word and say preach it. Allow it to speak to your situation. That will give you strength during the time when the assistance of the Holy Spirit is requested and before the joy comes. It will give you strength for the journey.

There have been many times when I felt like I was on a wild goose chase, and God has shown me that if I keep to myself, I am on a wild goose chase. But God says, “If you follow me, I will take every experience that you have had and use it for my purpose.” That's what Joel 2:25 means. It says, “I will repay you for the years that the locust has devoured.” I like what it says in King James, I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm and the caterpillar, and the palmerworm have destroyed.” In other words, Jesus telling us, its never too late to live the life. That can restore everything that has been taken away and even in your mess up, God can fix up, and use the very thing that caused you to fall to help you forge ahead. What a mighty God we serve. Find those scriptures that speak to you and allow you live the dream. When there is a road block in the vision and I just feel like I can't make it through a situation I turn to Isaiah 54:17, there Isaiah says, “No weapon formed against you will prevail.” See that speaks to me when I think that situational things are going to stop my God dream. I am here to tell you, no thing can stop your God dreams once you are connected to the source.

Ask, seek, knock and look to the word as a source of strength. Finally, Jesus puts all this together. In Matthew 7, that section of the sermon on the mount, Jesus says there in the 12th verse, “So in everything do to others what you would have them do to you for this sums up the law and the prophets.” How do we a-s-k? How do we d-r-i-v-e? By doing. And what a great time for this message, as we're in servant sign-up month. Find that place that speaks to you the most and put it into action. Be proactive, be persistent, and be patient as you grow along the way.

Let me pray with you.

God, we are grateful that You are powerful enough to meet us today, to guide us, to assist us, and to direct us to live life. Even though we may have strayed far from the mark, Your power restores us. You can take us and place us back within the nest of our God dreams that You have placed within us, and You can get us to the destination You had in mind when You formed us in our mother’s wombs. Thank You for the opportunity for today. Help us and we thank You for giving us the permission and power to live the life. So let if be in Jesus’ name, Amen.