Robert Morris – From Broken To Blessed – Blessed Families

all right we are in a series called the blessed families and this we talked about the broken family Adam and Eve we talked about the blessed marriage last weekend this weekend I want to talk about from broken to blessed and I want to remind you that we all came from a broken family Adam and Eve and again not referring to divorce referring to the brokenness of sin all right so I want to show you looking at a broken family in Luke 15 probably one of the most famous family stories in the Bible the story of the prodigal son I want to show you four stages that we all go through to go from broken to blessed because we're all born broken we're born broken so we're gonna talk about how to go from broken and bless right so these are the four stages they all have two words each point and the second word is me in every point so it's it's really hopefully you can remember these four points right number one the stage is give me give me this is where we all start every person every baby every spiritual baby every marriage we all start with give me let me show it to you in the prodigal son Luke 15 verse 12 and the younger of them said to his father father give me give me the portion of goods that falls to me now let me say this again every baby starts here every baby starts give me every child starts here we we desire as parents for our children to grow out of the give me stage would you agree some of us are thinking yeah I got a 27 year old still in the give me stage some of you might think I got a 45 year old and I'm married to him alright but let's not talk about that alright but we all start here we also start here spiritually maybe you've never thought about this but we are born again so we are spiritual babies and I want you to understand God doesn't resent that that we're in the give me stage as spiritual babies he doesn't resent it you don't resent it when your newborn baby wants a bottle you don't resent that baby because you're not expecting any more out of that baby then it just be a newborn baby in the same way God's not upset because we start out in the give me stage if you think about it many of us get saved out of selfishness I want you to think about it we get saved because we don't want to go to hell we get say because we want God to clean up the mess that we've made we get saved any times out of a give me mentality in other words many times we don't get saved people don't give their lives to Jesus so they could do something for God it's so God can do something for us right and again I'm trying to tell you God's not upset about this he understands he does want us to grow up Paul had to address this to the church in Corinth and say you're still babies and by now you ought to be teachers you ought to grow up you do need to grow up but we start with to give me stage okay same with marriages marriages start in the give me stage the husband wants the wife to meet his needs and the wife wants the husband to meet her needs now there are some needs that God has designed a husband can meet and a wife some needs that God is designed that a wife can meet and a husband but you have to understand there are some needs that only God can meet and if you're looking for your spouse to meet the needs that only God could meet you're going to be disappointed this give me spirit you can see it throughout the scriptures let me show you another famous give me in one of the disciples that you know about the one who betrayed Jesus Matthew 26 14 and 15 then one of the twelve called Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and said what are you willing to give me if I deliver him to you and they counted to him thirty pieces of silver give me that's where we all start you know we have been I have grandchildren and we love grandchildren our grandchildren are obviously wonderful they're maturing they're growing but they're still children so they're in the give me stage we love to do things with our grandchildren but here's what I've noticed about my grandchildren we never get to do what I want to do we always do what they want to do they never say to me papaw you're such a good pop off what would you like to do today they tell me what they want to do they tell me what movie they want to watch that day I've seen frozen 3472 times so that's the first stage give me here's the second stage use me use me now I'm going to shock you there is they use me that is pure and from amateurs end point and we're going to get to that but well I'm going to phrase it a little differently than this but the second stage we move into is use me and it's not a good use me it's used me so I can be seen or significant R feel important this is the next stage that every Christian goes through give me and then use me it's we talked about a few weeks ago Fame how fame entered in after the fall it's that wanting to be significant wanting to be seen let me say another way we say give me because of selfishness we say use me because of selfish ambition Philippians 2:3 says let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than so now I underline selfish ambition here's the reason I underlined it that's two words to us in the English in the Greek it's one word it's only one word it's in the New Testament seven times sometimes it says self-seeking James 3:14 says about self-seeking okay but here's the point of what you notice when the Bible talks about ambition it puts the word selfish as a part of it now please hear me because people say well isn't there a good ambition listen not according the Bible because here's why the definition of ambition is self seeking self promoting so what you say well wait a minute what about someone who has Drive that's great that's great if they have Drive but why say when I'm looking at training young men and young women in the gospel and in ministry I literally I'm trying to beat selfish ambition out of them because I know what's there every person is born with it and that's where we move into we move into this give me stage and then we move into this use mistakes let me show you a verse this is told not Simon the magician he sees the laying on of hands and the giving of the Holy Spirit from Peter and John and then this is what he says to him acts 8 verse 19 saying give me give me this power also that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit in other words give me something so I can feel significant so I can have power ok let me relate this again to a marriage in a marriage we start out like give me something so I'll feel good about myself or so I'll be happy and then we move into you're not meeting my needs you're not making me happy so I need to do something to make me happy now think about this I've done a lot of marriage counseling most of the marriage counseling fits around he's not meeting my needs or she's not meeting my meets that's the give me face but then the next step they move into is ok I've realized I'm not gonna get happiness out of this person which I thought I would so now I need to do something to be happy this is normally when divorce occurs a person means try to do something to get happiness and happiness does not come from something it comes from someone only his name is Jesus okay so in the prodigal son's life this is when he left to do something that would make him happy Luke 15 verse 13 and not many days after the younger son gathered all together journey to far country and there wasted his possessions was prodigal or sexual immoral living that's what that means sexually immoral okay so he decides to do something to make you happy how many times have we seen people go through this stage many times it happens at about 10 years in a marriage just to just to say that I'm not trying to scare anyone I'm safely saying you need to press send to God normally I've watched around 10 years in the marriage and then sometimes at 20 and 30 as well all of a sudden they get tired of this person's not meeting my needs so I'm going to try to find my needs met somewhere else now we're talking about the family so let me say something about marriage I like to say things that shocked you one is it causes you to think secondly it's it's just fun okay but God did not create marriage to make you happy some of you are thinking it's working here's why God created marriage God created marriage ready here's another shot to kill you some of your thinking it's working it's a slow death but it's working okay in essence yes he created marriage to make you happy yes but he knows that the only way that you'll ever be happy is if you die to self so he created marriage to kill you so you think about it God creates Adam and he thinks okay the only way he'll ever be happy is if he's not selfish if he dies to self so what can we do to get him to die to self I know let's make him live with someone and let's make her listen I love this phrase the opposite sex yeah let's let's have him live with someone who's opposite of him that'll drive me crazy and then she needs to die itself to know if living with the man doesn't kill her let's give both of them children that will for sure kill them so we go from the give me to the use me stage here's the third stage search me now we're beginning to move into maturity search me in Luke 15 in the prodigal son's life the change came verse 17 but when he came to himself he sent another way when he began to search his own heart when he begin to search himself this is the way the psalmist says it Psalm 139 verse 23 and 24 search me O God this is probably a scripture you've memorized or heard at some point search me O God and know my heart try me and know my thoughts and see if there be any wicked way in me this is when we stop focusing on someone else may your needs or what's wrong with our spouse and we start focusing on what's wrong with us you know it's amazing when I talk about blessed families or blessed marriages here's what many of us are doing we're thinking way to go pastor fix him I'm glad you're gonna preach on family marriage because she needs it can I just say something real straightforwardly to you you're immature believer you're immature because the maturation process is that you stop focusing on give me and use me saw you have focused and attention to me to search me I don't want to anymore search and see what I can find out what's wrong with him I want to find that what's wrong with me if you really want to bless marriage and the Blessed family fix yourself work on yourself quit trying to work on the other one let God take care of that one fix yourself so this process is when we begin searching I want you to think about this I remember one time saying to the Lord he was he was getting on to me about an attitude and I said yeah but did you see what she did and he said to me no I was just looking at you and he gave me this little vision that I've never shared with the church and I want to share it with you I want you to think about if God had a tube and he put that tube over you and he was watching you from heaven everywhere you went everything he did and then he sees you throw a fit and he says hey hey hey that's not right and we say yeah but God did you know I'm not looking at her right now I'm looking at you say I'm not responsible for anyone else's actions I'm only responsible for my actions and my reactions by the way God could have put that tube over his son and every action and every reaction was perfect even when they nailed him to the cross here's what God saw God saw his son say father will you forgive them they don't know what they're doing say this is a sign of maturity when we stop telling God look what they did to me and we start saying God search my heart search me to try me search search that word search I got to thinking about that word search where we are son James when he was about 2 and 3 years old God went through this little phase of hiding and we would have to sir for him and I mean search for him and he was really good at hiding he you know how a child will hide and you can go on the room first of all they hide and you can still see them you know then they but they're not they don't think you can see their legs sticking out from under bed but you know and then they get a little smart and realize you can see okay but you can go on a room and you can say like is James in this room you know and you hear this and so you know he's there you know okay he never he'd never and he was quiet I mean it was just crazy you know and he would hide and I mean it scared us and I mean literally I adored rooms and say James I'm not playing anymore and if you don't come out right now I am going to spank you you understand right now come out he wouldn't come out and one time he hid and I mean it was about an hour we had looked everywhere I even got in the car and started driving the neighborhood you know I mean I we were just about to call the police and I said to the Lord Lord you got to help me I mean I weren't where where is my son and I remembered I had built this little like a little lean-to about this high just about four feet off the ground maybe two and a half three feet wide where I could put the lawnmower underneath that sort of wouldn't get rain down on the edge of our house and that came to my mind I had already looked there but I hadn't looked way down far I just went and looked and I saw the lawn mower so I went back and I'm bent way down and I could see him sitting on the lawn mower this had been an hour and I looked up there and says to me I had good [Laughter] I wanted to say I spanked good but I was so happy to see him you know I didn't okay but my point is I thought about this word search and I thought we used to have to search diligently think about if you lost a child in a mall or something some of you men have done it but your wives don't know that yet but and you just you frantically search okay here's my question how diligently are you searching your own heart that's what David said search me search my heart try my thoughts and see if there's any wicked way this is a sign of maturity here's the fourth stage is make me make me see we start with give me we move to use me but it's for the wrong reason we then start saying God search me I really want to have purity on the inside and then we move to make me and let me just fill in the blank here a vessel fit for the Masters use we say it another way make me a servant to my spouse to my family to the church to you Lord let me show it to you in the in the prodigal son's life Luke 15 verse 19 I'm no longer worthy to be called your son make me there they are those two words make me like one of your hired servants now you know I actually think he's saying that he's actually saying I know I'm your son but make me a servant I never had a servant's heart or servants attitude make me now when we talk about the prodigal son sometimes we could have the tendency to say well that really doesn't relate to me I've never gone into sin like that remember that this father had two sons and did you know that the same attitude that was in the younger son was in the older son he just didn't leave home remember we're the younger son started give me the portion of goods have cost me give me we all start with give me that's the very first stage watch what the older son remember the younger son comes home that the dad chose the party and the older son won't go in watch what the older son said Luke 15 verse 29 so he answered and said to his father load these many years I've been serving you I never transgressed her commandment at any time and yet you never gave me he's still in the give me stage you never even gave me a young goat that I might make merry with my friends by the way the fodder response verse 31 and he said to him son you are always with me and all that I have is yours can I tell you the answer to the maturing process and that give me attitude that we all have God is trying to tell us listen it's not what I can give you it's that you can be with me and when you're with me everything I have is yours it's not even that I need to give you something to make you happy anymore you're happy because you're with me but when you're with me everything I have is yours you get it all when you're with me I was thinking about this series blessed families and I want to just remind you that the word blessed means happy the word blessed there's a Hebrew word for blessed in a Greek word the Greek word is macario's and it means happy if you go to the Beatitudes and blessed are the poor in spirit blessed are you when you're persecuted for my name's sake all the blessed blessed are those who seek God all that okay listen we beings happy happy so when we talk about being blessed when I talk about financial blessings or anything like that I'm talking about happy just being happy being happy joyful happy some people I feel actually feel guilty when God starts blessing them because they've come from such a brokenness but they don't feel worthy well you need to know first of all you're not worthy but you believed in Jesus who is worthy and the father wants to bless you just like you want to bless your kids same way the blessing really doesn't have anything to do with you or your performance yes to do with him and who he is his nature in character but I got thinking about this blessed in the word Macarius and I want to just share in closing a phenomenal phenomenal testimony everyone know I mentioned pastor Jack Hayford a moment ago about seven or eight years ago pastor Jack was walking he walks around in his neighborhood in the mornings for the evenings for exercise and to pray and things and he was walking and he just had this thought just a thought came in his mind you know years ago he had a golden lab and he just thought I'd kind of like a golden lab again to walk around the block with me had that thought and then went right oh never thought about it didn't think about it for more than that one statement a few days later this is when his first wife Anna was still alive they were driving to a vacation home they have out in the country they came up over a hill there was a car parked on the side of the road they could see a man saying to a dog stay and then he got in his car and drove off and they thought I think that man's abandoning that dog and they drove up the dog was just sitting there and another car was coming the other way and blady stuff and said did y'all see that it looks like this man AB and that man abandon that dog and they said we did they said we have a home nearby and so we'll take him and call the vet call the shelter see if someone's missing him maybe maybe give the guy the benefit of doubt maybe he have the dog found the dog himself and thought no this is right the dog needs to go home and this is where I found him and you know I'm gonna heal go back home you know or something I don't know so Jack went over to get him and he you know you can see it in your mind he's just wagging his tail and they smile on his face and so he named him Mac short for Macarius which means happy he told me his full name is Macarius Jack Hayford but his he calls him Mac and squeak it's this dog puts him in the back seat goes to the vet takes him the vet says hey is anyone filed for a lost dog or a steno they called the shelters but they check him out winds there and he said he's already had his shots you know the dog is very good health he's 1 to 2 years old it's just perfect because he's out of that puppy stage where he's changed through everything and a few weeks went by and no one called and so they thought well this is just a gift from the Lord you know and so then he was walking again one day he's got the dog beside him and he came to that same place and he remembered just a few weeks earlier he'd had that thought I'd like a golden lab to walk with me and now here's the dog you know and then he had this thought why would I think that God would arrange all those details just because I had the thought that I wanted a dog and he said as soon as I thought it he said the Lord spoke to him and said why wouldn't I arrange all those details why wouldn't I - bless you here's what I want to say to you quit thinking why would God want to bless me start thinking why wouldn't God the God that sent his own son to die for you and to purchase your salvation why wouldn't he want you to have a blessed family and to take you from brokenness to blessing because he's a good god I want you to bow your head since once your eyes I want you to just take a moment like we do it ever service and just ask the Lord Lord what are you saying to me through this you might review the points in your mind you might say Lord am I kind of in the give me stage and I want to say something I forgot to say during the message and that is that we don't we can be even at stage for drift back to stage one you know it's not like after so many years we're at stage four forever and we never have thoughts of stage one again so maybe you're going through a give me top stage maybe you're going through a use me type stage I don't know what's the Holy Spirit setting you maybe you've had a difficulty because you did come from a broken family you've had a difficulty believing that God could give you a blessed family or that even wants to but he does he really does that's why he's seen his son to die for us so he could redeem us and bless us or bring joy and happiness into our lives so just take a moment and just say Holy Spirit what are you saying to me sometimes the Lord answers the question immediately sometimes he answers it sometime this week in your quite time but Lord what are you saying to me and we want to pray with you no matter what you're going through they may relate to the message today it may not you may need a job you may need some financial a breakthrough right now you may need a health breakthrough they may need to be in your marriage or in your family or with one of your children or grandchildren some but if you need prayer for any area of your life every week every week a gateway we have leaders at the front of every campus and if you need prayer we want to pray with you we won't - we won't - so if you need prayer for any area of your life and I want to say this you don't have to be a member of gateway church to come for proof that that's not the point we want you to be a member if you don't have a church home but if you if you're not it's okay it's okay if you need prayer for any area of your life in just a moment in every campus we're gonna stand we have one more worship song we ask that no one leave during this time unless you have an emergency because this is part of the service as well and if you're not coming for prayer we want you to worship but I want you to worship God and create an atmosphere for people to receive ministry and prayer but if you need prayer for any area of your life every campus as soon as we stand up you just stand up step out and come to front and you'll see other people coming you won't be the only one just come to the front say to one of the leaders I need prayer about this and let us pray with you all right Holy Spirit I pray you'll draw every person at every campus that needs prayer today in Jesus name Amen

Channel: gatewaychurchtv

Views: 122,521

Keywords: gatewaypeople, Gateway, Gateway Church, Robert Morris, Pastor Robert, Savior, Dallas, Southlake, Texas, Jesus, Sermon, salvation, christ, Love, the blessed marriage, From Broken TO Blessed

Id: 9HnMFPqJBGU

Length: 28min 50sec (1730 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 29 2018