Messages Archive - Page 192 of 208 - Eagle Rock Baptist Church

Message: “Where is God When I’m Distracted?” from Dr. Rick Mandl

A message from the series “Where is God?.” Sermon Manuscript: Where Is God Message 7- Where Is God When I’m Distracted?Sermon preached by Dr. Rick Mandl, Eagle Rock Baptist Church, May 16 & 17, 2020Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.

I want to welcome you, wherever you are and however you may be watching. If you’re watching us on our YouTube channel, or on Facebook Live, or through our website, let me encourage you to make use of that chat box to let us know who you are, and where you’re watching from. Also, let me take a moment to encourage you to go ahead and download the message notes. . . Those notes look like what you see on your screen. Those notes will they’ll help you to follow along with the verses we’ll be covering as we continue the series we’ve been in called “Where Is God.”

Today looking at “Where is God When I’m Distracted.” And this is a problem for a lot of people, because today in this always connected, always on, digital age in which we’re living, it’s really easy to get distracted, and if we’re not careful it can even become dangerous… [Video Clip]

And ironically, do you know how she warned them? By TEXT! We are a distracted culture. . .

In Luke 10 we find the story of someone who was suffering from distraction. I want us to look at an incident from her life to help us answer the question, “Where is God when I am Distracted?” In Luke 10 beginning at verse 38 we find these words. . . As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

This story, even though it’s only 5 verses long, is packed with a lot of truth. Mary and Martha were sisters. They also had a brother, Lazarus, whom Jesus will raise from the dead not too long after this event. From that story in John 11 we learn that Lazarus was a beloved friend of Jesus, so it is likely that Jesus often frequented this home. It is also likely that Jesus wasn’t alone on this visit described in Luke 10. He probably had some, if not all of his disciples with Him, and they were probably all hungry! Martha we’re told was “distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.”

A lot of us are like Martha. We’re distracted by a lot of things. And not all of the things that distract us, would be described as bad things. The thing that Martha was doing in this story was a good thing. She was serving Jesus. I believe the real problem for Martha was that her distraction with the preparations, led to her being spiritually distracted. How can we tell if we are spiritually distracted? One way is to see if our lives manifest any of the signs we see in Martha.

The first sign we are spiritually distracted is we call God’s character into question. We question God’s character. Look at what Martha says to Jesus, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone?” This seems to be a common question among God’s children. Remember the account in Mark 4 when the disciples were out in a boat taking Jesus from one place to another. Jesus was sound asleep, and a big storm came upon them. The disciples were filled with fear and cried out to Jesus. They said,“Don’t you care if we drown?” God, don’t you care? This seems to be what the prophet Isaiah was addressing with the people of Israel in Isaiah chapter 40. The International Children’s Bible makes this very clear. People of Jacob, why do you complain? People of Israel, why do you say, “The Lord does not see what happens to me. He does not care if I am treated fairly”? Again and again, the Bible clearly teaches that God is love. That He is compassionate, and that He does care for us. But when we are spiritually distracted, it becomes easy for us to feel like God doesn’t care about us, or that he has forgotten about us, and to call His character into question.

A second sign that we are suffering from spiritual distraction is we’re worried and UPSET about many things. This was Martha. Using our sanctified imaginations we can picture her checking and rechecking the food to make sure it was going to be delicious, and arranging the table perfectly so that it would be pleasing to Jesus. We can see her bustling about, pouring drinks, wiping up a spill, and getting more and more agitated that she was working alone. She was “worried.” She was upset. When we’re “worried and upset” about many things, we are probably spiritually distracted.

Now let me be clear. I’m not talking about normal concern over things that are difficult or dangerous. If I’m waiting for the results of a biopsy, it is natural for me to be concerned. If I lose my job, and I’m not sure how I’m going to pay my rent or my mortgage, concern is an understandable response. But Spiritual distraction is indicated when we worry about things we can’t do anything about. Remember Jesus’ question to the crowd in Matthew 6:27, “Who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?”

Another indicator of Spiritual distraction is when we are rehearse our worries over and over, and we being to feed off of them. We’re like a cow chewing its cud. We regurgitate our concerns and chew on them over and over. For example, IF we are waiting for the results of a biopsy, it is natural to be concerned; however, Googling all of our symptoms to try to diagnose what type of cancer we may have, will feed rather than alleviate our concern. This can be a challenge for some of us during the pandemic that we’re all going through. It is understandable to be concerned, but watching hour after hour of news reports, or constantly scrolling our news feed for the latest story is not likely to be helpful. It will probably cause us to be more worried and upset.

The third sign we are spiritually distracted is when we fall into the comparison trap. This is where Martha found herself. She was hustling and bustling, trying to get everything done when she suddenly notices her sister Mary, sitting by Jesus and listening to Him. We can almost hear her saying to herself. “Why am I the one always doing all the work?” “How come I never get to sit down and watch her work?” “No one is even noticing or appreciating everything I’m doing.” Until she finally can’t stand it any more and she says to Jesus, “Don’t you care that I’m working my fingers to the bone and Mary isn’t doing anything? Tell her to help me!”

When we find ourselves comparing ourselves, and our difficulties to others, we are probably spiritually distracted. When the questions rolling around in our mind are things like… “How come I’m the only one that can never catch a break? Why do these things always happen to me?” “Why does he have a perfect wife and perfect kids, while I’m stuck with this mess?” “It’s not fair that life is so easy for her.” …we are spiritually distracted.

So where is God in the midst of all this? Where is God when I’m distracted? In the case of Mary and Martha, the truth we have been coming back to again and again every week couldn’t be more obvious. The answer is . . .

1.God is with us.Mary and Martha were in the same house. Jesus was equally present to both of them. Mary experienced the blessing of Jesus’ presence, while Martha did not. The issue wasn’t proximity, the issue was focus. Mary was focused on Jesus. Martha was focused on the distractions. The same thing happens to us today. Two people come to a church service. The Bible tells us that where two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus, He is in their midst. So we believe God was present with those two people when they came to that church service. One person comes away having encountered God, the other person leaves thinking, “That was a waste of time.” Why is that? How do you explain the difference?

Usually it’s because the first person came expecting to encounter God. They were anticipating that encounter, and they found what they were looking for. While the second perhaps came looking for a “valuable” experience, so they filtered everything through that expectation. If they liked the songs they sang – it was a good experience. If they didn’t like the songs – it was bad. If the room was a comfortable temperature – it was good. If the room was too hot or too cold – it was bad. If the preacher was entertaining and ended on time – it was good. If the preacher was dry or went too long – it was bad. If the message was uplifting or addressed a sin they don’t struggle with – it was good. If the message was convicting or hit too close to home – it was bad.

The promise of the Bible is that God is with us. Experiencing His presence may partly depend on whether or not we are looking for Him. Listen to His promise from Jeremiah 29:13, “If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” The writer of the book of Hebrews expands on this: “It’s impossible to please God apart from faith. And why? Because anyone who wants to approach God must believe both that he exists and that he cares enough to respond to those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6). God was with Mary, and He was with Martha. One experienced the blessing of His presence; The other did not. The Bible promises that God is with us. I want to challenge you this week, to be on the lookout for Him. Don’t miss out on the blessing of His presence because you are focused on so many other things. Where is God when we’re distracted? He is with us.

Also, He is calling us to cast our cares on Him. Martha did the right thing in coming to Jesus. She might have had the wrong attitude, but she did the right thing. 1 Peter 5:7 tell us, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” Martha came to Jesus asking, “Don’t you care?” God comes to us saying, I care – give me all your worries. Jesus echoed this thought in Matthew 11:28, “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis” (Matthew 11:28 TPT). I love that picture of Jesus being our oasis. Do you feel like you’ve been walking in the desert? Do you feel like no one cares about you? Come to Jesus. He is your oasis.

I recently read this explanation for h ow we cast our cares on Jesus. The secret can be found in the word “cast.” First . . . Commit your burden to the Lord. Give it over to Him who cares even more than you do, and who has the power to do what you cannot. Second. . . Ask for His help in prayer. Philippians 4:6 tells us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”

Third. . . Search the scriptures. Within them you’ll find that God has a promise to correspond to every one of your needs.

And then fourth . . . Trust Him. He has told us He cares for us, and has demonstrated that by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Will you take Him at His word?

God is with us. He is calling us to cast our cares on Him. And . . . He is inviting us to invest in the one thing that is better. Look at what Jesus said to Martha in response to her complaint. Luke 10:41-42, “You are worried and upset about many things… but few things are needed—or indeed only one.” What is the one thing? It is our relationship with Christ. That ought to be our primary focus. This is not a story about two different personality types… The contemplative and the doer, one good, one bad. And the point of this account is not that serving is bad – It’s not saying don’t serve, just sit. The point of this account is that nothing should distract us from our relationship with Jesus – not even serving Him.

The passage we looked at earlier, where Jesus asked, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” Ends with this admonition: “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). Seek first – it’s a matter of priority and a matter of focus. Martha was worried and upset about many things, Mary was focused on Jesus. Back in the good old days, when we used to be able to have our whole family over for a meal, you would often find most of us hanging out in the kitchen where the meal was being prepared. I was there to be the taste tester, but most of the family was there to talk to one another. That’s where the conversation and the laughter was. The focus was on being together.

My wife, great theologian that she is, is convinced that Martha could have solved her problem if she had just invited Jesus into the kitchen where she was doing the preparation. She could have said, “Jesus, I’d love to hear what you are saying, but I know you are all hungry, and I’m trying to get dinner on the table. Would you mind coming in here so I can participate too?” My wife is convinced that Jesus would have happily moved the party to the kitchen, and probably would have helped cut up the veggies.

Jesus invites us to invest in the one thing – our relationship with Him. We do that by including Him in all the activities of our life rather than by keeping Him in the “spiritual” compartment of our life. He doesn’t want our lives to be compartmentalized. He wants to be integrated into all of our activities. Working, playing, parenting, learning, shopping – think about how Jesus can be part of all of those activities. When we do that, these things stop being a distraction to our spiritual life, and instead are venues where our faith can be worked out. We see Martha two more times in scripture. The first takes place a few months after this when her brother Lazarus has died. Let’s look at her encounter with Jesus.

Read John 11:20-28. We’re told . . . “When Martha got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet him. But Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask.” Jesus told her, “Your brother will rise again.” “Yes,” Martha said, “he will rise when everyone else rises, at the last day.” Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die. Do you believe this, Martha?” “Yes, Lord,” she told him. “I have always believed you are the Messiah, the Son of God, the one who has come into the world from God.” “Then she returned to Mary. She called Mary aside from the mourners and told her, “The Teacher is here and wants to see you.”

In this passage we see a depth of spiritual understanding in Martha. She recognizes that Jesus is the healer. She proclaims that God will give Jesus whatever He asks for. She understands that there will be a resurrection on the last day, and she confesses that she believes Jesus is the Christ – the Messiah. Then she goes to Mary, and tells her that Jesus wants to see her. Gone is the frustration, Gone is the distraction. It seems her focus has been adjusted, and her priorities are in order. The last time we see Martha is in John 12, just about a week before Jesus is crucified. Listen to what John writes about Martha: “Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served…” (John 12:1-2). This last time that we see Martha, she is once again serving. But this time she wasn’t worried and upset. I believe she had found a way to keep the one thing “the most important thing.” My prayer is that we would learn that lesson as well. Let’s pray.

Father, the psalmist writes, “Teach me Your way, O Lord; I will walk in Your truth; Give me an undivided heart.” That is our prayer today. Give us undivided hearts. Help us not to be distracted and upset by many things. Help us to cast our cares on you. Remind us to invite you into the kitchen, and the workplace, and the car, and the grocery store. Help us to rejoice in Your presence with us, and help us to keep the one thing, our relationship with you, as our top priority. Then, empowered by your Holy Spirit, allow us the privilege of serving You, Your church, and the world you died to save. In Jesus’ Name.

Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.

Message: “Where is God in My Family?” from Dr. Rick & Judy Mandl

A message from the series “Where is God?.” Sermon Manuscript: Where Is God Message 6- Where Is God In My Home? (Mother’s Day Message)Sermon preached by Dr. Rick & Judy Mandl , Eagle Rock Baptist Church, May 9 & 10, 2020Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.

In any year, Mother’s Day is a day met with a variety of emotions. It can be a happy day for those who get to spend it with their mothers, or moms with their children with whom they have good relationships. It can be a bittersweet day for those who remember with full hearts other Mother’s Days spent with those who are no longer with us. It can be a day filled with longing for those who desire to be a mom but have not had that opportunity. It can be a painful day for those who have miscarried, or lost a child, or lost their mother. It can be a day filled with regret for those who are estranged from their mother or their child. This year, it seems even more complicated as traditional gatherings are replaced by zoom meetings and FaceTime conversations, and families are separated from those they love, especially their most senior members. I don’t know your emotions as you come to worship today, but I know the One who does. Let’s go to Him in prayer. [PRAY]

Today as we continue our “Where Is God?” series because it’s Mother’s Day weekend, we are going to consider the question “Where is God in my family?” Like most of the other questions in this series, the first answer is going to sound somewhat familiar.

He is with you (no matter what your home/family looks like) and He wants to make you part of a bigger family

And what I mean by that is he wants to invite you into an eternal home with Him. Over the past few weeks we’ve hit the first part of this point pretty hard, because it is so important. Where is God? He is with you in any, and every circumstance in your life. Look at these verses from Isaiah 42:5-6, “God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth. And it is he who says, “I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you…”

As followers of Jesus Christ, we have a God who takes us by the hand. That’s how closely He walks with us. He’s holding us by the hand. He’s holding us by the hand whether we are widowed, or married, or single. He’s present with us, whether we have a full-house, or an empty-nest. He is watching over us, without regard to whether our family of origin was happy, or dysfunctional, or non-existent. God is with you right now, He will be with you when you turn off your device and go about your day. He will be with you tomorrow, and the next day, and the day after that. He’s with you when you are full of joy And He’s with you when you are weeping. He’s with you when you acknowledge His presence. And He’s with you when you feel abandoned.

He will never leave you. He wants you to rest in that fact. God is with us, and His presence is enough. But God, in His grace and mercy toward us, calls us into a relationship with others. Sometimes, that is a biological relationship, but beyond that, He calls us into a familial relationship with the other members of His forever family. This is what Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 2 when he writes. . . “So you are no longer outsiders and strangers. You are citizens together with God’s people. You are also members of God’s family.” When you enter into a relationship with Jesus Christ, you become a child of God, and in the process you gain brothers and sisters all over the world. We need to cultivate those family relationships.

One of the high points of my week, is when we get together as a Life Group. Here’s a picture of our Life Group. This isn’t the entire group, but it is pretty close – 19 of 21. Life Group has been different these last past weeks, as we’ve been meeting via Zoom, instead of meeting in person. But there are actually some advantages. Maybe it’s because on those evenings when you might be running a little bit late in terms of all the things that you had to get done before Life Group… Getting the family fed, or the homework done. At those times it can be tempting to figure, “I’m already running late, I don’t want to drive to Life Group, because I’ll probably arrive half-way through the meeting. For some reason that’s not been a problem when we’ve been meeting online. We have folks dropping in and out at different times and we’re just so glad to have them there at all, regardless of when they arrive or when they have to leave. Also, meeting by Zoom allows us to connect with members of our group who are travelling – members who are out of state. One of the guys in our group, Carlos, has been joining us each week, for the past three weeks from Iowa. And it’s been great to reconnect with him. I appreciate everyone in our group.

Tracy Johnson is another member of our life group, and one thing I especially appreciate about Tracy is, when he addresses something to our Life Group, he often starts with, “Hey Family!” Tracy is constantly reminding us that we are brothers and sisters. We belong to each other. God is with us. He welcomes us into His forever family. And the eternal home He is preparing for us is beyond anything we could conceive of in our wildest imagination. It is a place where there is no sorrow, no sickness, no death, and no dysfunction. A place where we will live in harmony forever with other family members from all nations, and from all time. Listen to this description by the Apostle John of his vision of our eternal home from Revelation chapter 7.

John writes. . . “After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar, ‘Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!'” God is with you. If you are a follower of His, He has made you a member of His family, and He is preparing a forever home where we will live together with Him for all eternity.

The second answer to the question, “Where is God in my family?” is

He is giving me guidelines for healthy relationships.

Sometimes we are unhappy with our homes and our families. We feel like we’ve been dealt a bad hand, and we question where God is in all of it, when the reality is, we have disregarded His plan for how our family, and relationships in general should work. The Bible gives some pretty specific instructions about the family. It tells us that it should be based on a faithful marriage relationship between a man and a woman who love one another, mutually submit to one another, and who are willing to make sacrifices for one another. Marriage is God’s plan for the foundation of the family.

The Bible also tells us that parents are supposed to model for their children what it looks like to follow Jesus. Look at these verses from Deuteronomy 6, “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.” Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.

Notice what these verses are saying to the adults: YOU must love the Lord your God. YOU must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands. YOU must teach them to your children, over and over, throughout all the activities of the day. It starts with you, moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles. You love God, you follow Him, and you teach the next generation by words and example what it means to walk with God. The Bible tells children to obey their parents, and to honor their father and mother. It also tells parents not to exasperate their children, don’t be unpleasable. Train your children, but differentiate between what is merely childish behavior and what is disobedience or defiant behavior. Exercise grace, just as God exercises grace toward us.

The Bible also gives guidelines for healthy relationships in and beyond the nuclear family. They are contained in the “one anothers” of the scripture. Honor one another. Be devoted to one another. Look out for one another. Pray for one another. Encourage one another. Do good to one another. Don’t lie to one another. Be kind to one another. Be patient with one another. Be hospitable to one another. Bear one another’s burdens. Give preference to one another. Forgive one another. Love one another.

What would our relationships, our families, and our homes be like if we actually did those things? My guess is, as I read that list there were one or two things that jumped out to you. And you thought, “Man, if my spouse, child, parent, roommate, friend would only do that for me, everything would be so much better!” That was my first thought too! But that’s not God’s intention in giving us these commands. His intention is that we would look at them and say, “What area do I need to grow in so that my relationships will be what God wants them to be?” Do I need to be less self-absorbed, and instead look out for others? Do I need to be less critical and instead encourage others? Do I need to be more patient, instead of so quick tempered?

God gives us these instructions in His Word so that we will obey them, because in obeying them, we will honor Him, and have the most satisfying human relationships. But we need to do more than just listen to the Bible in a sermon on the weekend, or give it a quick read in the morning. We need to put it into action. Look at these words from James 1 in the Message version. “Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, He says, that person . . . is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.” When we act on God’s Word, we will find delight in the action.

I’d encourage you to look over that list of one anothers again. Take a few minutes to honestly evaluate which one or ones you struggle with most – if you struggle with all of them, just pick one or two – you’ve got to start somewhere. Remember, I said the ones you struggle with most – I didn’t ask you to point out which ones the people around you struggle with. Pick one or two and ask God to help you to grow in that area, and then look for opportunities to exercise those relationship muscles in the weeks ahead. As we follow God’s guidelines for relationships that honor Him, I believe we will experience His presence to a greater and greater degree in our homes. When we consider this particular “Where is God? Question, there’s an element to consider that is a little different than in some of the other questions, and that is the area of personal responsibility.

Where is God in my home?

He is challenging me, to make Him, the center of my home.

Let’s look at an example of this from Joshua 23 & 24. A few weeks ago we looked at an earlier incident in Joshua’s life when, as the relatively new leader of the people of Israel, he failed to seek God’s counsel and got the people entangled in a treaty they should not ever have entered into. Now, as Joshua’s life draws to an end, he calls all the people of Israel together to give them some final words. He reminds them of what God has done for them in giving them the land He had promised, and he instructs them to continue to follow God. Take a look at his words. . . “So be very careful to follow everything Moses wrote in the Book of Instruction. Do not deviate from it, turning either to the right or to the left” (Joshua 23:6). “Cling tightly to the Lord your God as you have done until now” (Joshua 23:8). “So be very careful to love the Lord your God” (Joshua 23:11).

Then Joshua reminded them again of how God has kept His promises to Israel. “Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed: all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed” (Joshua 23:14). And Joshua went on to say that just as all the good things God had promised had come to pass, the warnings God gave for failure to put Him first, and to obey His commands, would also come to pass. Joshua said there are positive consequences for clinging to God, loving Him, and obeying Him, and there would be negative consequences for disobeying God and for following the gods of the culture around them. He ended by issuing this challenge: “So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone. But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve. Would you prefer the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates? Or will it be the gods of the Amorites in whose land you now live? But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:14-15).

God has given us instructions for how to have a healthy personal life, a healthy home life, and healthy relationships. Listen to what God told Joshua at the beginning of his time as leader of Israel: “Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” This is not a guarantee of material and financial success, it is a guarantee of success in God’s economy: bringing glory to Him, being a wise leader, laying up treasure for eternity, positive relationships.

And the bottom line in obeying God’s Word is: put God first. Love God most. Remember Jesus’ answer to the lawyer who asked Him what the greatest commandment was? “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37-38). Love God, that’s the primary command – and the way we show our love for God is by obeying Him. If we do not obey Him, we will not reap the benefits that come from living the way He designed us to live.

And then Jesus said there’s. . . “A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” Love our neighbors as ourselves. Paul expanded on this commandment to love in Romans 13: “Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law” (Romans 13:8-10).

Joshua challenged the people to decide: Who are you going to serve? Who are you going to love? Who are you going to follow? And God issues us a similar challenge today. If you want to know where God is in your home or where He is in your family, you also have to ask yourself – Where am I allowing Him to be? I’m not saying that God is weak and can only go where you let Him. God can go anywhere He wants, and He already is present everywhere. But God is a gentleman, and He generally waits for an invitation. Have you invited Him into your home and into your family life? Is He the center of your home, or is He an accessory to your life? Is pleasing God a priority, or is it a consideration only when it is convenient? Who are you going to serve? Who are you going to worship? The gods of this world: money, fame, power, self-interest. Or the one true God. God wants to be the center of your life, of your home, of your family, and of all your relationships. Choose today who you are going to serve.

As we close today I want to address those of you who might be listening to the message today and thinking, “But you don’t know my home. You don’t know my background. No one ever taught me to be a good husband, wife, mother, father, friend – you fill in the blank. I didn’t have good role models. My family is a mess, and I’m a product of my environment. If that’s you, there’s something God wants you to know. The generational cycle of dysfunction can stop with you. You may not be able to change your history, but God can change your future. . . And through you, your family’s future, and maybe even your extended community’s future. It’s not easy. It means being intentional about how you live and the choices you make. It means being aware when you are falling into destructive or unhealthy patterns of behavior. It means being willing to change course. It’s not easy, But with God’s help, it is possible. God is saying to you, let me be the boss of your life, and of your family. Surrender yourself to me. Put me first, and let me take care of the rest.

Where is God in your home? He’s with you. He’s showing you how to have the best relationships possible on this side of heaven. And He’s challenging you to put Him first. Let’s ask Him to help us do that today. Would you pray with me . . .

Recorded in Los Angeles, CA.