The Blessed Life | Dr. John Maxwell

about twenty years ago I spent an entire year just reading studying and and just allowing the the Sermon on the Mount to to penetrate my heart it was very life-changing and I would like to talk to you a little bit today about just a little part just a very small part of that great message of Christ and I would like to talk to you about how to have a blessed life how to how to live a blessed life we we hear a lot of times people you know though they'll say blessings and you know bless you and and it's a wonderful phrase I love for somebody to say bless me and and you know every once while when you sneeze somebody says bless you you know and this is going to be a little deeper than a sneeze okay but but how many of you want to live a blessed life let me just listen to a little survey here come on folks let's get with it here you know what's so beautiful is Jesus teaches us how to live a blessed life and we're going to talk about it today we're gonna talk about climbing with him being his climbing companions on 60 minutes they did an interview several years back now of where a man who just climbed it Mount Everest with a party of people and it was a very difficult climb and in fact they lost a couple members in that climb and so the 60-minute interviewer was talking to him and asking him why do you go through such danger such difficulty right why do you risk your life to get to the top of the mountain and and the the mountain climber just looked at the interviewer from 60 minutes and and he just says it's obvious to me you've never been on the top of the mountain and when you go to the top of the mountain and you climb you become a climbing companion with Jesus it begins to be really awesome and there's a passage of scripture that are good just gonna be foundational for us today it's in in Matthew chapter 5 it's on your screen Jesus is just coming off the lake and now he's seeing that his ministry is beginning to draw huge crowds so what did he do at the Lakeside when he saw that the large crowds he climbed a hillside and those who were apprenticed to him the comitted climbed with him arriving at a quiet place he sat down and taught I love this phrase his climbing companions and in my Bible back on June 8th 1996 I wrote in the side of the Bible I want to be a climbing companion of Jesus I want to take that climb I want to I want to I want to go up that hill with him because it's obvious to me when you really see this scripture in context that there were a mass of people at the lake but as he began to climb the comitted went with him in other words not everybody heard this great sermon not not everybody enjoyed what what a few enjoyed the those that were willing to to take the energy make the effort take the time to decline the the mountain and so I'm gonna share with you in this session five ways to live a blessed life okay number one and what's so beautiful about these five things I'm going to share with you is that they're they're very reachable every one of you here on all the campuses every one of you you can reach these these are all achievable you can scale this you can get here it's not above us it's not beyond us it's not too hard for us in fact look at your neighbor and say them even you can have this blessed life go ahead and tell them that number one if you want to live this blessed life number one make an effort to spend time with Jesus we've already seen that illustrated in the very beginning of this stories that unfolded to us that the it was the climbing companions that got to to hear him often you've heard me talk about because I wrote a book called intentional living and when I talk about intentional living because I think it's it's absolutely the essence of a successful life I do a visual and the visuals very simple I just hold my arm up in the air like I am doing right now and basically I tell people what I'm telling you everything worthwhile is uphill everything you have nothing worthwhile in your life that you did not have to climb to get it your dreams they're all uphill your hopes they're all uphill the relationships that are the most different dear to your heart they're all uphill if you've been successful it's all uphill no one ever no one ever wrote a book called sliding to success we you've never heard it you've never heard of you never heard of a successful person talk about accidental accomplishments it's all uphill and see to get uphill you've got to be intentional no nobody went uphill nobody's ever gone up hill by accident you've never seen a successful person interviewed and and they said to him how did you get to the top of the mountain and you've never seen a successful person kind of look around go [Music] I have no idea I just woke up Here I am oh happy day know if you get to the top you do it on purpose it takes energy it takes effort when I wrote the book the 15 laws of growth the first law and I did it purposely the first of all is the law of intentionality and the law of intentionality just says growth doesn't just happen if you grow you do with on purpose if you if you really want that we have a blessed life you do it you do it on purpose and it's gonna take energy it's gonna take several years ago I had the privilege of being in Jordan and visiting Petra one of the seven most scenic wonders of the world and it's if you've been there you know it's a it's a it's a hard day a lot of walking London's quite a bit of climbing and it happened to be when my left knee was very bad and in fact I was knowing I was going to have to have a replacement on it but but but I wanted to see it so I walked it and we had a late lunch that day probably about two o'clock in the afternoon and I know I was tired and this knee was just bothering terribly and our guide said did you enjoy it all was incredible and then he said you know there's one more thing most people don't see but he pointed to a mountain he said on top that mountain he is a library just carved out a stone that is incredible to see and he said most people don't don't make the effort to go see that I remember looking at my family and and I said I'm going to take the mountain and and I didn't want to take the mountain but I didn't want to miss it then and you know you just don't go to Petra every day and so it took me a while night to made that climb and I got up there and I saw that sight then I got off that mount took me two hours to get off the mountain and I went to my hotel and I started started icing and soaking and praying and asking forgiveness and getting a knife to cut it off and then you know and calling the surgeon immediately and saying I'm ready I'm ready you know uncle uncle you know what I'm saying you you see the only way that the only way to see that last library is to make the effort you see when you make the very best effort that you could make you will not always be successful but you will always be fulfilled and all Jesus is really saying as he climbs up this mountain is he said do you want to do you want to climb with me do you want to be a climbing companion do you want to make an effort and why were they climbing up the mountain because Jesus ministry was full of adding value to people you want self-worth hanging around with Jesus because he would look at you not as you are but as you could be and he would say you could become salt you could become light if you want hope hang around with Jesus he would say I've come that you might have life and have it even more abundantly you want unconditional love just watch how he treated the woman caught in adultery I neither do i condemn you go and sin no more you want some healing jesus said I'm a doctor if you want peace he said well I gave you a peace stuff like the world can give it to you at all the peace I give you they can't give it to you they can't take it away you want forgiveness that you you've got forgiveness I've come to seek and save those which were lost you want purpose follow me I mean look he looked at the disciples these these fishermen he said guys I know you've been catching fish but if you follow me you'll become fishers of men you see every time Jesus walked in somebody's life he lifted them to a higher level and when you find Jesus and he lifts you to a higher level you're willing to climb a higher level to be with him it's worth the journey it's worth the effort it's worth the time it's worth thee it's worth the energy this is incredible it's incredible when you think of how he wants to spend time with you but when he spends time with you he wants you to climb with him and when I look at him and what he does he's asking you and me today we had climbed the hill with me we we will you be a climbing companion of mine he's always wanting to have relationships he's talks about we opened the door if I'd knock on the door I mean I'll come to the door could you take a couple steps and just open the door if you're a lost sheep well I'll come and find you all you've been leave people that are safe and whole and then the pen and and I'll come and I'll look for you and I'll keep looking for you until I until I find you he wants a relationship with you several years ago when we lived in Atlanta when you know when you had house phones went our house phone would ring Margaret would always answer it because there'd be times when I well a lot of times I'd be gone but many times I'd be studying working and she knows that what I'm writing or something that really don't want to be interrupted in so anyway she had handled the phones for me at the house and and so I was walking through the room one day and I could tell she was trying to put somebody off and basically you know say he's not going to be available and and then she said she kept she said do you know a coach Dick Vermeil I said give me that phone give me that phone coach Vermeil how are ya yeah I'm good and of course he was back then coaching the Super Bowl champion st. Louis Rams and he said John I listen to your tapes I'll read your books and and he said I I just good I just want to call it could I spend some time with you as soon as it could I spent some time with you I I didn't say well hopefully someday somewhere under the rainbow I said well could you come over in ten minutes I mean hello hello well he said he was in st. Louis he could come but but but but I couldn't get over that he wanted to spend time and he now forget Dick Vermeil here's what I want you to catch real quickly before we go to the next point God would like to spend some time with you not Dick Vermeil God good wants to spend some time with you this is huge the god of the universe's could we hang a while make your best effort the spend time is God secondly if you want to live a blessed life admit your need for God the blessed life begins with a broken life admit your need for God what does he say in verse three you're blessed when you're at the end of your rope with less of you there's more of God I love that another words he says you're blessed when you're when you're just barely hanging on he said it's a good day because when you can harden me when you can when you're at the end of the round you just hardly hang he says and you're just you can't hang on any morning and you let go he's gonna find out that you're not holding the Rope I'm holding you you see you say every miracle in the Bible in the New Testament every miracle in the Bible has one thing to comment just one thing in common trust me on this I've studied it the only thing that come every miracle in the Bible begins with a problem you never see a miracle in the Bible it's not a problem first there's a problem and then a miracle so what does that mean well what that means is that when you have a problem you're blessed because you're a candidate for a miracle you see the only person that has a problem is the person that doesn't have a problem you see if you have a little problem you're a candidate for a little miracle if you got a big problem your candidate for a big miracle I mean choose the problem and choose the miracle but if you have no problem you're not a candidate for a miracle I feel badly for you you know every about every time I teach here I come down and get people invitations to come and let me pray with them to accept Christ and I'll do that in a few minutes of the day and and but maybe it will have a different kind of an invitation this this may be its it they are oh do an invitation like I've never done before I'll ask people to come forward who have no problems [Laughter] yeah that's good innit huh and I'll lay hands on him and I'll say God give them a problem because you can't have a miracle without a problem now let me ask you a question how many of you are candidates for a miracle yeah look at your neighbor and just say to them you're a candidate for a miracle trust me trust me you're blessed you're blessed when you're at the end you're blessed when you're the end of your rope I have a coaching company and its secular it's because only because I just want to be salt lightened I found out that to be salt Lite you gotta have a lot of lost friends I got a lot of lost friends I hang out around with sinners all the time i i love sinners it's you've said boy why do you do that I'm just trying to be like Jesus just trying to be like Jesus nothing's more christ-like than to hang with sinners and love them and let them see the difference and love them into the Kame nothing nothing's better and so in this coaching company Mike faculty start it off now I've mentored him they're not that way now but they start off and they were just a you know a bunch of he'd than to be honest with you okay I mean really wife yeah I had an agnostic and an atheist I had a New Ager I had a cult person III just had I mean they were really good in their subjects but I mean they were they were lost as a goose and I had a lot of Christians who came to me were greatly concerned that I would have a lost faculty and and I totally believe in unequally yoked it to win people to Christ I just I don't want to go there right now so I won't but but just trust me on this I it's it's it's the only way I can reach me don't wacker reach me the only way I can reach lost people for Christ is to go find some lost people okay it's all I could that can't do it Kevin anyway and head and by the way aren't you tired of just always hanging around Christians don't you get a little bored you see when we go to heaven we hang together the whole rest I mean we have a eternity to hang around Christians and we got a short life now we gotta hang around some sinners so that we can take them to heaven with us alright you've got that don't you okay so so what am I one of my faculty members he was an agnostic his name was rowdy he's a beautiful beautiful Christian today because I've been able to prove early but but but in the beginning he was interviewing he teaches our coaches how to speak and so his interviewing me and he said John he said is there something you never shared with me about you know your speaking I said yes I said Ronnie I said I asked God to help me before I speak right now while I'm speaking I asked God to help I just asked God to help me and he got real quite and said well you know I'm an agnostic I said that's ok it's ok it's ok with God yeah you don't upset God when you're an agnostic God's not shook up he's gonna be ok it's okay I said you asked me I said I ask God to help me and he's and he said does he what said of course he does right that's all the time buddy sure he helps me on I have a relationship with him he got real quiet I said rowdy I God will help you to you I'm an agnostic I said it's okay okay God's all right you're all right okay you'll still help you just ask you what's another thing could be hard to ask her if I'm not sure he's there I said it's okay just just if you ever need him just ask him to help you about a month later he's doing a speaking seminar and it's just the first five minutes are just going bad the sounds bad it's it's not going well and it's just know people are restless and and for five minutes it's kind of all downhill and Ronnie heard remember what I said about asking God and so under his breath of course they didn't vote out loud he he just asked I said god help me and immediately everything turned and and he's doing the speaking seven Arnie he's going oh my gosh something something happened there so and he told me said JAMA it was over I'm going to my elevator back to my hotel I said I'm in the elevator and I'm saying thank you God for he remember and there's only wait about not even sure I believe in God what am i doing what what what am i doing this is the wonderful world I live in I just just livid I'd let it I let it I led one of my other faculty members it was a called Gao to the to the Lord and so after I let her Lord I checked on her the next morning and and I said how did it go chi texted me if you actually said Johnny went pretty good she said it was like a first date it was a little awkward but I'm learning and I'm going to get excited about knowing him better don't you love it it's just like a first date it's a little hang around with sinners they're just they're so much fun they they haven't learned all the Christian stuff yet and I was able to lead him to Christ now here's the point here's the point just like Ronnie I don't know where you are in your faith life and God loves you unconditionally God loves rowdy as much as he loves me he loves you Hey he doesn't parse what love because we're good he parcel has love because God's good and I just want you to know that that in in this blessed life that you have all you got to do is say I need you God and God I'll say Here I am the third way to have a blessed life is that through your losses allow God to love you not only when you're at the end of your rope but when you're having some very dark difficult days allow God to love you through those losses what did he say in verse 4 you're blessed when you feel that you've lost what is most dear to you only then can you be embraced by the one most dear to you he says we're blessed when we're at the end of a rope he says we're blessed when we lose people that are close to us because all of this allows us to turn to him the prodigal son I love the story of the prodigal son and you know the story so I don't need to go in depth with it but but the kid has gone and blown all the money and he's partied out and and he's not doing good and he's now in a pigpen which is not a good place for a Jewish boy to be and the Bible says he came to himself which means he came to him census and he said wait a minute if I go back to my dad's house it was so much better at dads house so he decides to go back to his dad's house but he's lost everything and so what he does is he goes back to Dad's house he begins to put his losses and his expectations together and he begins to say well okay I can go back to Dad's house but because I've messed up so badly I'll not go back as a son I'll go back as a servant and he begins to dumb down everything and lower everything because he's messed up he's lost it all I'll get a lecture I'll have a bumpkin in the barn I'll do the chores he's got a list of all the things he's going to do because it's better than where he is now but he's he doesn't come back to God he doesn't come back to the Father with high expectations he comes back with low expectations but but God amazed him he didn't expect he didn't expect that when he came to that last Bend of the road had to go that last part of that last quarter mile journey to up to the house he didn't expect to see his father standing out there looking down that road looking for his son he didn't expect a father looking for a Senate and when he saw him he didn't expect his father to come running to his son and he didn't expect his father to be excited that he was coming home and it didn't expect his father to hug him and he didn't expect his father to come and get all the other people the services they look at my son that was lost has come back he's returned hey you know killed the cow he'll get the rope get the ring we're gonna have a party tonight this is wonderful this is the best thing that's ever happened to me he had none of those expectations and let me just say this to you sin always takes your expectations of God and reduces them and that is a trick of the evil one because God is never more excited God is never more turned on than when you come to him just as you are a big mess at the end of your rope when you've lost everything you see that's how God wants you it was the prodigal losses that had him that caused him to go home to the Father your worst day in your life hear me now you're worse than your life becomes your best day in your life when it drives you back to God all right okay are you learning how to live this blessed life nut number four number four are you learning something okay okay okay should I go on or should we just quit now if you insist number four live a life of contentment look what Jesus says here you're blessed when you're content with just who you are no more no less that's the moment that you find yourselves proud over donors of everything that can't be bought my favorite relationship passage in the Bible with Jesus there's one that I'm going to show you now on the screen I I have it on my iPhone and I've had it since 2010 and there's never a week that goes by in my life that I don't go to this passage and read it again and reflect on it so just let me show you what a good relationship with Jesus looks like here we go are you tired worn out burned out on religion come to me and you'll recover your life I'll show you how to take a real rest walk with me and work with me and watch how I do it learn the unforced rhythms of grace I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly walk with Jesus enjoy his presence work with Jesus accept his partnership watch Jesus follow his example that's the contented life one that is in the rhythm of grace with number five you live the blessed life when you develop a hunger and thirst for God here's what Jesus said you're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God oh I love that he's true to drink in the best meal that you will ever eat CS Lewis said hunger would be observed if there was no such thing as food thirst would be observed if there was no such thing as water loneliness would be observed if there was no possibility of satisfying that yearning in relationship with another human being the desire to find God would be observed if he did not exist so I was talking to my atheist friend the other day I've been working with him now for six years he's it's it's really beautiful it's it's so beautiful about a year ago he said okay John he said I would like to talk about the historical Jesus not not the Bible Jesus just the historical Jesus the fact that he lived here and what kind of a man was he oh I said I'll be glad that's historical Jesus is really good I I like historical Jesus I just like Jesus historical biblical anyway you want to slice it I like Jesus and spacing out historical Jesus so we've been working on the historical Jesus which all the historical Jesus I teach him comes from the Bible but it's amazing how you can teach atheist if you don't tell them it's the Bible you gotta sneak up on them so the other day he got really open with me I mean really open and he said you know what things aren't going well and we were having a real intimate conversation of which I said you know we've been good friends now for some time I said III know you don't believe in God but I said for people like you that are close friends of mine I like to pray for them I said can I pray with you we should yeah he said yeah he said you can do that you okay you you can do that I said now you don't have to pray I'll just pray you don't don't you worry you don't even have to listen so I prayed with him I was on phone call conversation he lives in London and he taught the conversation he said you know John he said done you're just not gonna believe this he said while you while you were praying he said I just kind of I just kind of raised my hands there's nothing more exciting to me than an atheist raising his hands while I pray see with you folks that's old stuff I don't I got just look at you and I raised my hands with you and we all worship together but but when you got a theist raising their hands and and I looked at any minute and I said to him on the phone that day I said I know I know you don't believe in God but I can tell you sure do miss him of course every person living today was created to know God and there is a void in that life there's a void in that life that until you know him you don't even maybe know who he is but you're missing him and if you at this point of your life you began to think that there's something beyond this life and and there's something when you look at creation there's got to be a creator behind it and if you look at a relationship and say there's got to be something deeper than this relationship that I have and if you feel like there's something missing in your life my friend I just want you to know that's God you're just looking for God and so in my world with lost people they'll tell me sometimes I'll say you know I just I'm just I'm very anxious I'm very fearful and I look at him and I say wow I got it I I'm sorry I just wish I'll say they'll say what what do you wish well I just I just wish what what do you wish well I just wish that you knew God I wish you had my faith because you see there's an answer for that anxiousness that you have in your life it's in my faith in God and and sometimes I'll say well you know I just got questions that's oh I'm sorry I wish I just wish and that's what I wish for all of you because I don't know where you are in your journey but I do know this there's a person named Jesus who wants to take the journey with you and that journey gets so much better when you develop a relationship with him would you bow your heads and close your eyes please on all of the campuses please with every head bowed and every eye closed there are some of you this morning within yourself you can sense that you really want to know God in a better way and there's a there's a little hunger inside of you saying WOW John this this this man that can not only forgive me my sins but can add so much value to my life I would really like to I would really like to have a relationship with him I really would like to know him in a personal way and with every head bowed and every eye closed how many of you right now would raise your hand all over the auditorium and say and say John I would like to know God in this personal way and you just raise your hand real high all over the auditorium my goodness dozens oh my dozens dozens I mean dozens of hands are being raised just raise if I hi I would just I would just like to have this relationship that you're talking about it's it's such an added value relationship and I'm just kind of hunger I'm just kind of hungry to to know God and the personal okay everyone if you have your hands raised to keep them up for a moment if you've got your hands raised keep them up that's it okay look at me just look at me if you've got your hands up watch me I'm coming right down to the floor right now the reason I've come down to the floor is it a moment when we stand I want you to come down and meet me right here and I'm going to pray with you and you're going to have the opportunity to know God in this personal way so every one of you to have your hands raised as soon as we stand just step out of your seats some of your way back in the balcony you just step out of your seats and you come on down and let me have a word of Prayer with you let's stand together you two have your hands up come on down right now that's right just slip right on out come on come on down this is beautiful folks they're coming come on in come on just come on down come on down come on in real close to me this is beautiful come on all over the audit or they're coming folks heaven is rejoicing right now come on come in close beautiful beautiful beautiful come on down come on in close come on there's room for you come on in yes please come in tight they're still coming down that aisle please come in tight come in real tightly come on in they're still coming down down please there's many coming come as come as close as you can keep coming Ken D can you make room for them on that side over there just keep coming down oh my goodness there's still some on the other you can't even get up here it's okay it's okay if you if you didn't get quite up here Jesus knows right where you are he knows right where you yeah [Applause] in a moment I'm gonna lead you in a prayer but before I lead you in a prayer my heart just rejoices in seeing you here because you're about to meet the best friend of God you're about to meet the best friend out there and this you have no idea you're so special and precious in my sight but you have no idea how precious you are in God's sight he he's rejoicing right now because his his his lost creations coming back home so repeat this prayer out loud with me would you please Lord Jesus I am a sinner and I'm sorry for my sailor only you can forgive me so I come only to you I confess my sins I want a relationship with you I want you to come into my life I want you to be my personal Savior I want you to be my personal friend so just now I open my heart and I ask you in my life as my personal Savior and as my personal friend thank you Jesus for hearing my prayer amen amen welcome [Applause] [Music]

Channel: Christ Fellowship Church

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Keywords: Christ Fellowship, Christ Fellowship Church, Latest Message, Latest Sermon, Dr. John Maxwell, John Maxwell, John Maxwell Ministries, God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Bible, Bible teaching, encouragement, freedom, hope, peace, faith, blessed, living the blessed life, blessing others Hillsong Church, Elevation Church, Gateway Church, Church of the Highlands, Lakewood Church, North Point Community Church, Saddleback Church, Life Church, Vous Church

Id: c_4F6CyZQ8o

Length: 36min 37sec (2197 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 04 2018