WHY SHOULD JESUS BE MY BOSS?
This past week, on Halloween to be exact, an article by Richard Dawkins was printed in the “Times on Line”. The title of the article was “Why there is no God”. In response to this article, I wanted to preach this morning on why I know that I know that I know there is a God. Not only why I know there is a God, but also why I know His name is YAHWEH and how I know Him personally. How many of you could give testimony to that fact this morning?
I would love to preach on that this morning, but I was not led to. Instead, I have been led this morning to ponder the question, “Since there is a God and many people in this country claim to know Him, including the majority of us in this room, then why do so many act as though God does not exist?”
In Psalm 14:1 we read:
>Psalm 14:1 The fool says in his heart, “God does not exist.”
We understand and accept that. The Bible tells us that sin, and the prince of the earth has blinded people’s eyes and closed their minds to the truth. Some folks are foolish and try to convince themselves there is no God.
What I cannot understand, however, is why when we believe and know there is a God, and when we claim to know Him, why there are so few who actually live as though He is the Boss in their lives. There are several places in the Bible where God laments that fact.
- Isaiah 1:2-3
> Jeremiah 2:32 Can a young woman forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding sash? Yet My people have forgotten Me for countless days.
> Luke 6:46 Why do you call Me “Lord, Lord,” and don’t do the things I say?
This morning I would like to examine, primarily, one verse and from that verse, point out why it is to your benefit to make Jesus the Boss of your life.
> Proverbs 29:18 Without revelation people run wild, but one who keeps the law will be happy.
Why should you let God be the Boss of your life? Why should God be the Boss of your work, your home, your marriage, your wallet, and your life this coming year?
Some of you probably won’t let God be the Boss of your life, and you aren’t even really interested in knowing why you should. The rest of you, I would like you to pray with me right now, and ask the Lord to open your eyes. Will you do that with me?
- Pray
Why should God be the Boss in your life? Let’s assume for a moment that every one of you is Christians. You already have salvation taken care of. You know your sins are washed away and know for sure that if you were to die right now that you would go to heaven. The why should you let God be the Boss of your life this coming year?
Some of you may remember, shortly after Gladys, Drew and I moved back here, that we had a couple of cows we raised. We also raised cows when we lived in Mississippi. Now, when we got those cows, we worked on the fences. I wanted them to stay exactly where I put them. I didn’t want them to go anywhere. Imagine what would happen if there was no fence there, if I had no way to keep those cows in or control them. I would have some problems, and 4 come to mind immediately.
1. They would be worthless to me – First, if I had no way to control those cows, they would be worthless to me. Those cows in Mississippi, I want you to know that we bought those calves and raised them. We fed them. We nursed them through the winter. We gave them medicine when they needed it. We gave them the vitamins and minerals they needed, but in spite of all of that, if I had no way to constrain them, they would be worthless to me. If I had no way of controlling or catching those cows, they would be no use to me at all.
2. They would never be all they could be – Not only would those cows be worthless to me, but also they would never be all they could have been. They would never be as healthy as they would have been if they stayed within my restraints. I wanted those cows to be as healthy as possible so I balanced their feed with a good mixture of calories and protein. I gave them shots to help them grow and to protect them from disease.
What would happen if them had no restraints? They could find other food, but it would not be balanced. They would have nothing to protect them from disease. Those cows would never grow as well or ass healthy if they were outside the fence, if they had no restraints.
3. They would get hurt – Third, if those cows were not in the pasture, they would get hurt. Listen, how many times do you think those cows could cross Doyle Road before they got hurt? How many roads do you think they could walk before a pack of dogs found them? How many times do you think they could eat Bernice’s flowers before they had an unfortunate accident? If those cows were not restrained, they would be hurt.
4. They would hurt others – Fourth, if those cows were not restrained, they would hurt others. Tell me, what kind of shape do you think a driver of a VW would be in if he hit one of those cows in the middle of the night? Do you think perhaps that a person driving one of those compact cars you see around here might be hurt, when they clipped one of those cows and it ended up in their laps? If those cows were not retrained, they would hurt others.
Now please look at Proverbs 29:18 with me again. Why should you make God the Boss of your life, because Without revelation people run wild, but one who keeps the law is happy.
II. THE DOWNSIDE OF DISOBEDIENCE
The word translated as “vision” in the KJV and “revelation” in the NIV and HCS means, a God-inspired sight. It’s not talking about a vision for the future, nor a picture of things coming later. It refers to godly insight. Godly insight about what? According to the second part of the verse, it means a godly insight about the law. In other words, when you don’t think that the Bible applies to you, when you choose not to make God the Boss of your life, you cast off restraint. You run wild. You are just like a cow without a fence. You’re like a rhino in New York, without a zoo. You’re like a dog in Deltona without a cage. You go where you want, you do what you want to do, when you want to do it, and you suffer the same downside ass a cow with no fence.
When you choose to do your own thing, you are worthless to God as a servant, you will never be all you could be, you hurt yourself, and you hurt others. Let me give you an example.
1. Service – In Matthew 5:16 we are told
> Matthew 5:16 …let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
a. You and I are to serve, partially, so that what we do will bring glory to God. When you are not serving, when you are not working, you are an unfaithful servant to God.
b. If you do not serve God and use the talents He has given you, then you will never be all you could be. You will never be blessed the way you could be. If you remember, in the parable of the servants and the talents, the faithful servants were given more talents. The unfaithful one was given none.
c. If you do not serve God and use the talents He has given you, then you hurt yourself. If you remember, the unfaithful servants had the talent he possessed taken away from him. Even what he already had was taken away from him
d. Id you do not serve God and use the talents that He has given you, then you hurt others. Tell me, what people are not being reached today, what children are not being taught, what neighbor is not being blessed and encouraged because you aren’t using the talents God has given you?
My friend, there is a downside to disobedience. There is a downside to acting like the Bible doesn’t apply to you.
2. Sex & Marriage –
> Genesis 2:24 For this reason shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.
> Exodus 2:24 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
God intends for one man to be married to one wife, and for all sexual relationships to be reserved for within that relationship. Now, what happens when people refuse to see that those verses apply to them?
a. When you live together without being married, or when you run around on your spouse after you are married, you destroy your witness. You cannot be used by God the way He planned, as long as you are living in sin.
b. Number 2, your marriage, your love life, will never be all that you want nor all that you intended. God is the One Who invented marriage, and sex, and all of that. He knows how it is supposed to work and when you act like the rules don’t apply to you, when you live with no restraint, you are cheating yourself. Not only that, but you are also hurting yourself.
c. You are hurting yourself and others – Think of the number of people today who are living with guilt or regret because of their disobedience. Think of the number of people who have lost their marriages, or who have gotten sick because they thought God’s rules about sex and marriage didn’t apply to them. Think of the broken hearts, think of the devastated spouses, and children; hurt, because someone lived with no restraint.
3. Tithing – Tithing is another example.
> Malachi 3:10 Bring the full 10 percent into the storehouse so that there may be food in My house. “Test Me in this way,” says the Lord of Hosts. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.”
Now, think for a moment about what happens when you live without godly vision, when you act like that verse doesn’t apply to you. What happens when you have no godly restraints on your spending?
a. You’re and unfaithful servant to your Master the Lord. You’re not accomplishing everything He intended for you to accomplish.
b. You’ll never become all that you could have – Think about it. When you steal from God you’re saying, “God, I don’t really trust You to take care of my bills and financial obligations.” I’ll tell you this. If you don’t have any more faith in God than that, then you will never be all that you could have been.
c. You’re hurting yourself – Third, you’re hurting yourself. God promised in Malachi, “If you faithfully bring My tithe into the storehouse, then I will open the windows of heaven and pour out such a blessing that you won’t be able to contain it all. What happens when you don’t? Simple. You miss out on God’s blessings.
** Disobeying before Christmas. Finding a gift in the closet later.
d. You are hurting others - ** Little boy, praying about shoes. Not getting any. “God sent them alright. It’s just that someone wasn’t listening.”
Tell me, what missions are unsupported, what people arte unreached, what Bibles are unsent; what people are being hurt because of your disobedience?
Sir, mam, young person, there is a downside to disobedience. On the other hand, there are blessings that go with obedience.
- Proverbs 29:18
III. THERE ARE BLESSING THAT GO WITH OBEDIENCE
The end of this verse says, “but the one who keeps the law is happy”. Blessings, happiness are yours when you live within God’s restraints. I’ll give you an example.
1. Remember the Sabbath day – The Bible says you and I are to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 6 days shalt thou labor and do all thy work, but the seventh is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God. Etc. Now, what happens when you obey God’s command and set aside a day each week for rest and worship?
a. Your body is refreshed
b. Your spirit is refreshed
c. You are witness to your neighbor
d. You are a witness to your family, teaching them that there are priorities in your life more important than work and recreation.
2. Though shalt not commit adultery – Think about the blessing that you have when you and your spouse keep your marriage vows and don’t mess around outside of marriage.
a. A better love life – Number one, you have a better love life. A recent survey in a leading women’s magazine revealed that people who are married and faithful, have better sex lives, and are more pleased with their sex lives than people who are not. Married people are more pleased with their love relationship even than people who aren’t married and who are simply living together. Now I’m not trying to be indiscrete, but if you can’t talk about God’s plan for your love life in church, then where can you talk about it?
b. You avoid hurting yourself and others – Think of the heartache, worry, and regret that you avoide by keeping what God planned for marriage, within a marriage relationship. Think of how your family is blessed when you, your spouse and your children all know that there is love, trust, and faithfulness in the house. My friends, there are blessings to living within God’s restraints in your love life.
3. Finances – Think about the blessings that come when you trust the Lord with your finances.
a. Relief of burden – You know God is going to take care of it.
b. Blessings from heaven – Mama – Things just don’t seem to break.
IV. CONCLUSION
My friend, you are going to leave this church this morning saying one of teo things. Either you are going to say, “Yes Lord, I trust You. You will be the Boss over every area of my life. Or, you will say, “No, Lord. I don’t believe You. I think I can do a better job of living my life. I am going to continue to be my own boss.” One of those paths has a downside, the other brings blessings. Which is it going to be?
