(Praise Team – “On the Road Again”)
Learn to Drive
Isaiah 43:19
Learn to drive is our theme
for our Church this year.
Tonight I want to show you some things
that may convict you
and some things that will encourage you.
Jesus taught in riddles,
and if you listen to this message very carefully
you will see the direction
that God is leading us.
Many of you thought when you came here tonight
that you had already learned to drive
years and years ago.
But the fact is,
many of us have never fully understood the concept
of learning to drive ourselves
through the wilderness,
on the road that leads to the promised land.
My goal as your pastor, is to take this year,
and give you some driving instructions
that will enable you to be able to drive on your own.
“…the Lord says ... in Isaiah 43:19
I will make a road through the wilderness
and give you streams of water there.”
(GNT)
To travel on this road,
we need certain things
to make it through the wilderness.
We usually understand principles better
when we have something tangible to compare it to.
So we’re going to use the picture of a car
to identify ourselves with,
and see where we’re headed in this life.
There are two main parts of a car,
the outside, known as the body,
and the inside, known as the interior.
The body of the car is what everybody sees.
You probably take great care of this part of yourself
because you want everyone around you
to think well of you.
You wash it at least once a day,
scrub the pearly white grill maybe two times a day,
and some of you paint the car every morning.
Then you have the interior.
This is your soul, the real you,
who you really are.
You are the one who sees this part all the time,
you know both the good and the bad,
but other people only see this part
when the light comes on.
This is the part of your car
that you’ll literally drive into heaven someday.
The year of your car doesn’t really matter
because as you know, there are some antique cars out there that are more valuable than new ones.
And besides that, you didn’t choose the year of your car
because God your Creator
determined when you would be created.
But you have been allowed
to choose the make and model of your car.
Driving requires you to:
1. Pick the make and model of your vehicle.
Take a moment to mentally choose a car
that would be like yourself.——
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You may see yourself as a dump truck
with everyone elses’ debris on board.
It seems like people are always coming to you
to unload their problems and issues
and you’re starting to worry about breaking
the Department of Transportation law
of being overloaded.
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Some of you may be a garbage truck
carrying trash
you have allowed into your mind and body.
You look at triple X trash
or go to movies that laugh at sin
or listen to ungodly music
or play violent video games
or hang out with foul mouth sinners,
you load yourself full of trash so that there isn’t any room left for God.
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You may be a moving van
taking your baggage from church to church.
You come to church with the mindset of
this is how that church does it,
so that’s how this church should do it.
Let me tell you something,
We’re not here to model some other church,
we’re here to model Jesus Christ.
It never ceases to amaze me
that people expect me to serve God
in a ways He hasn’t gifted me.
If you’re curious about the long term direction
we’re going to be moving,
then study the ministry life of Paul
and the local church.
In the meantime,
don’t bring your baggage into this church,
leave it where it is.
Then there’s some of you
who wouldn’t be caught dead
in a big, slow moving vehicle, you’re like me,
you drive fast and furious
in a low slung sports coupe.
If you are like me, then you need to be careful
not to blow past people.
Some of you prefer the ordinary
and you’re happy with a mid-sized sedan.
You’re willing to coast through life
and whatever happens, happens
but don’t expect you to take any steps
to serve others or to do kingdom work.
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Then some of you prefer to live in the lap of luxury
and it doesn’t matter what it costs
for that big car.
You’re in debt up to the top of your fenders
and pretty soon it will be up to the headliner.
You are in so much in debt
that you’re not able to serve God
because you’re enslaved to your bills.
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You may see yourself as a compact car,
zipping here and there.
You are tight and cheap,
and you miss God’s blessing
because you refuse to tithe
and give God love offerings.
You will always run around
with bald tires and a smoking engine
because you’re not willing to trust God
with your finances.
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Some of you see yourselves in a mini van
with lots of room for everyone.
You carry the responsibility of the people around you and sometimes get in God’s way
of disciplining them.
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Many of you prefer the pickup version
because all you want to do in life, is work.
You are living your life to get things
and pay for them.
Your focus is not on other people,
your focus is on yourself.
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And finally there are those of you
who see yourselves as a SUV.
Nothing is going to get in your way
and nothing is going to get you down.
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We all have choices in this life.
We can choose the make and model
that we’re going to drive this year.
The good word I have for you tonight
is that you have the power to make a change.
You can choose a new vehicle
that doesn’t carry baggage, trash, and debris,
or one that is anything but ordinary.
What you drive this year is totally your choice.
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I’ve noticed that the kind of car you choose to drive
has a lot to do with who you hang around.
ILL. The Harley Hog folks tend to ride
with other hogs.
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Those who drive the cars from yesteryear,
put on a free, drive in Sunday show
at the local A&W root beer stand.
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Those who root with their overgrown 4x4’s
get down and dirty with their own kind too.
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It’s pretty amazing that we hang around
those who look and act like us.
Be careful who you hang out with.
How do you find the right kind of friends
to hang out with?
Here’s an important driving lesson:
Drive as fast as you can
toward the cross,
then look over your shoulder
and see who’s keeping up with you—
That’s who you should hang out with.
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Driving requires you to:
1. Pick the make and model of your ride.
2. Get a good battery— (Salvation)
Without a good battery, you’re going nowhere.
You can’t go to NAPA and buy this one,
there’s only one Distributor that can hook you up
and that’s God your Creator.
This battery you need is salvation.
Write “salvation” next to “battery”.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world
that He gave His only Son,
so that everyone who believes in Him
will not perish but have eternal life.”
The great thing is that unlike most batteries,
this one won’t cost you a dime.
God has already paid for it
and He will give it to you if you’ll just ask.
Just say, God I need to be charged up
with eternal life.
I believe that you paid for my sin
with your Son’s life.
I ask you to forgive me for my sins
and come into my life and be my navigator.
Thank you for a fresh new start
and for a charged battery.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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Now that you’ve got your battery,
you need some fuel to keep you going.
So grab a Bible and don’t just read it—study it.
Driving requires you to:
1. Pick the make and model of your ride.
2. Get a good battery— (salvation).
3. Get some fuel— (Bible study).
Write “Bible study” beside “fuel”
Make sure you take time in your day
to personally study the scriptures.
II Timothy 2:15 says,
“Study to show yourself approved unto God,
a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Chiurch is another place to get some fuel.
Make plans not to miss even one service
because you may run out of fuel
before you get to next week.
If you’re driving one of those
big SUV’s or if you’re a Christian,
you may need an extra fill up
that you can get at the adult Bible study or if you’re a teenager you can find fuel at the youth meetings.
Driving requires you to:
1. Pick the make and model of your ride.
2. Get a good battery— (salvation).
3. Get some fuel— (Bible study).
4. Get a G.P.S.— (Prayer)GPS = Good Prayer Said.
It’s easy to get lost, but not if you have GPS.
Have you ever heard the saying
“ You don’t have a prayer?”
How many of you have a prayer tonight?
I Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray at all times.”
On this road through the wilderness you will have
to maintain constant contact with your navigator
through the GPS connection
to know for sure where you’re going.
This reminds me, you need a navigator
on this road trip.
Driving requires you to:
1. Pick the make and model of your ride.
2. Get a good battery— (salvation)
3. Get some fuel— (Bible study)
4. Get a G.P.S.— (Prayer)
5. Get a Navigator— (God)
The Bible talks about life being a race.
Hebrews 12:1 “Since we are surrounded
by such a huge crowd of witnesses
to the life of faith,
let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us.”
I think it’s a lot like a long off-road race.
In off road racing,
there are always two people in the vehicle.
In the past you’ve allowed me, your pastor,
to drive while you rode along in the passenger seat.
Now, it’s time for you to slide over into the driver’s seat and allow God to sit next to you
and be your new Navigator.
Proverbs 3:1-35 says,
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
Seek His will in all you do,
and He will direct your paths.”
Many people have been looking to me
to be their God and perform miracles in their lives.
I don’t want to disappoint you tonight,
but that’s not my job, it’s God’s.
Now it’s true that I live a godly life as your example
and it amazes me all the time
how God blesses people around me.
Good things happen around me all the time
and I stand there in amazement
and humbly thank God
for His mighty moving
and for His awesome blessing.
But I don’t want any of you to rely on me
in a spiritually unhealthy way.
I should be able to leave town
without you feeling insecure.
Let God be your Navigator,
let Him fill what’s missing in your life
let Him fill the voids in your life.
So to re-cap what we’ve learned tonight.
Carefully pick the make and model of your ride.
What you choose to drive determines how others will see you,
how God will see you,
and how you will be used for eternal work.
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Make sure you have a good battery.
If you’re not saved, or you’re not right with God
then you’re just spinning your wheels in this life.
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You also need to have some fuel to get going.
This comes from Bible study personally,
corporately, and in groups.
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To know for sure you need to have a GPS
Good prayer said: daily, hourly, by the minute,
stay in constant contact with your Heavenly Father.
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Finally you need to have the right navigator
in your life.
This is God, The Almighty, The King of Kings,
The Creator,
The Alpha, the Omega the Beginning and the End.
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Let’s Pray.
I want to close tonight with a time of commitment.
If you are ready to drive your own life,
to take responsibility for your own physical,
mental and spiritual well being,
with God as your Navigator,
I want you to come forward right now.
If you want to make a commitment to God tonight
to drive in 2005,
stand up and come forward right now.
After you make your commitment,
I will give you something that you can use this year
to remind you of your commitment all year.
Pray (Pass out Key Chains w/ church logo)
Oh, before you get too excited.
I am not Oprah, and the key on that ring
is a dummy key, it doesn’t really go to anything!
It’s simply a reminder
that you’re in control of your own life.
And you will now take responsibility
of who you are, who you will become,
where you are going, and how you will get there.
Ladies and Gentlemen: START YOUR ENGINES!
(Praise Team – “On the Road Again”)
