*Video Transcript‍

What is God doing with you? 

Who wonders that sometimes? Who wonders, “What are you doing, God?”

Love. It's a plan. It's a ridiculous plan of overflowing love.

And this thing you're going through that's hard. And this thing you're going through that you're wondering what you're supposed to do. It's all bringing it to know you're loved.

It's what it's all about, to know you’re loved. If you go back to the vine and the branches it's like you remain in Him. You can't do work without Him. We've said that it’s greater to know that your joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. But then you'll know you're loved and that love will spill all over people.

Okay. So Lewis in the 4th Book of Mere Christianity, says this:

[.text-color-blue]“We are statues and there's a rumor going around the shop that some of us are someday going to come to life.”- C.S. Lewis[.text-color-blue]

It’s a little like the movie Toy Story here. We're sitting around going, “Is there more? Is there more than this?” 

“Awake, oh sleeper,” He's saying. He's calling you in. There's more life. There's much more than we're messing around with. But He's not really beating us up and saying it's negative. He's saying, "Come on. There's a rumor going around.”

You're being called to much more than the task list of today.

You're being called and it's here now. It's here now and you're called into it now.

And the more you believe you're going to have it later, the more you can live in it now. 

[.text-color-blue]“The whole three-fold life of the three personal being is actually going on in this ordinary little bedroom where an ordinary man is saying his prayers.”- C.S. Lewis[.text-color-blue]

What's this saying? 

The Lord's prayer is given to us as the way to pray, but the Lord Jesus’ prayer is also John 17. The whole Being, Father, Son, and Spirit as we are one. Make them, make him one with us.

The whole Being of God is a three-fold life. Well, it's a three-fold life because there's a Father who cares for you more than you care for yourself and is providing for you more than you think.

You've never prayed for yourself the way God wants to pray for you. Not perfectly. I sure haven't. I don't know anybody who has.

I would tell whoever, the more they know God, the more they know they've never prayed the way that God is praying for us. So, He's offering us all this. The Father's offering, the Son is saying, "I paid for it. I got it. I did it. I love you more than you love yourself. And I've proven it.”

And the Spirit is saying, "I'm trying to get you to understand all this." He's bringing it to life. He's saying, "This is how it all works." And so the three-fold life is this knowing you've got a rich, rich Father who is providing more than you can think or imagine of an unbelievable brother who put it all down perfectly and said, “I got you.” And a Spirit that's saying, “You don't understand this. Come on in.”

But in John 17, he's saying, "As We're one, make them one." You're invited to total communion with God. How would that change work today? You're in total union with Father, Son, and Spirit. That's the invitation. 

How would that change work today? 

Who gave you the situation? The tough one. the one you're excited about, this thing you can't wait to do this weekend, the thing that is most difficult, it's from Him. The power to do it is through Him. And the reason to go forward is for Him.

[.text-color-blue]“If you picture time as a straight line along which we have to travel, then you must picture God as the whole page on which the line is drawn.”- C.S. Lewis[.text-color-blue]

So, who wonders how can God handle all these prayers? How can He know us the way that I need to be known? How can he know all these people at once? And oh, by the way, there are a couple of million other people praying at the same time.

How does He do it?

How long has He known you? He is pleased with you. He knows the mistake you made. He saw that when He chose you.

He allowed you to walk through some stuff. And there's some stuff He didn't allow you to walk through. “I'm protecting her from that.” There's some stuff He’s walked through with you. But He knows the answer from the beginning. So He's never surprised.

He's never reactive. Our prayers are reactive. “Oh goodness, Lord, get me out of this.”

He sees. He's painting a beautiful mural and it's all connected from the very beginning of time. And we think what's going on in the news and what's going on in life, what's going on in social media is a big thing today or the thing we're worried about is a big thing. He's woven the whole thing together that somehow what Cain and Abel were up to affects you more than tonight's news.

If the market were to drop 80% tomorrow, I promise you what went on with Joseph and his brothers is more relevant than that. He's made 40 totally imperfect human beings to make up the lineage of Christ. He was perfectly implanted by the Father, by the Holy Spirit in Mary.

He sees the whole picture. He knows the exact day you're going to meet Him face to face and He's putting it all together in one glorious picture. He knows it.

So, He's giving you nothing that's not helpful for you and He's not holding back anything that's good for you.

Becoming Like Him

Who's raised a child? Sometimes you thought it was the end of their life, Dad, because you're human, but sometimes you're like, "Let's let that play out a minute." And the more mature you got as a father, the more you went, “Let's let that play out a minute.” Let's not rescue them in every spot.

They just skinned their knee. I hate that they're bleeding, but I bet they're not going to jump off the third step again this week. That would be used for their good.

His goal is to bring you to Himself. How are you bringing me to yourself, Lord?

Not everything is perfectly clear, but He's bringing you to Himself. And He knows the ending.

[.text-color-blue]“The son of God became a man to able men to become sons of God.”- C.S. Lewis[.text-color-blue]

He did this so that you could be like Him. Lewis loves this so much and we should love it so much because you can't find anything like this in history.

You can't find any other made up gods. And all the other gods are made up. They're not real. Some of them are of great darkness. And so they're little g's like we turn money into mammon. That's a little g.

There are all sorts of little things that we make gods that are dark and demonic and we're saying that we've got to have. But the God who made you is saying, "I'm making you like me." It's Jesus who spoke the earth into existence. 

That's what it's for. That's what this hard thing you're going through is for, that's what this incredibly joyful thing you're going through is about. It's about becoming more like Him.

[.text-color-blue]“He works on us through each other. Men and women are mirrors or carriers of Christ to others.You might say when two Christians are following Christ together, there's not twice as much Christianity as when there are as when they're apart, but 16 times as much. What's that saying? When two Christians are following Christ together, there's not twice as much Christianity.”- C.S. Lewis[.text-color-blue]

So, listen to that song. Pride by U2. But they decided at the beginning of their careers that we will never split differently. It's all everybody's. A little youth group band, became a little punk rock band, but they all said we're in this together no matter what. We won't leave the other one hanging. But we're going to be together and how much more could they do? How much more can a team working together do? Where have you seen it?

A team really rowing together. 

I mean, yeah, really going together can improve 20, 30%. A person walking with Jesus, helping a person walk with Jesus, 16x more than you can think or imagine because you're curious about what's leading God. But it goes on. 

[.text-color-blue]“But never never pin your whole faith on a human being. Not if he's the best and the wisest in the whole world. There are lots of nice things you can do with sand, but do not try building a house on it.”- C.S. Lewis[.text-color-blue]

Why can't I build my house on somebody I respect as much as Tim Keller's life if he were still alive? Why not?

So, wait a minute. Walking together can get 16x, but building everything solely on one person is sand.

That's what he says. Yeah. Paul says, "Follow me as I follow Jesus." I'm knowing God better. So it's not saying don't take a guide. Don't get some help. It's not saying that.

Somebody had the marriage example yesterday in the group. There are marriages that fall apart because one person's the other person's life and they don't have a life with Jesus. There are partnerships that fall apart for that reason. Really good ones because then they want something more. But somehow it's 16x if we stay together and help each other get better. Who knows the other guys in U2? I don't know their names. Maybe they're the ones always helping the other people. Maybe they're saying, "Hey, you were off last night. Are you okay? I know you're the greatest, but are you okay?" 

And so if I'm totally dependent on somebody else, it'll fall apart. Because if I do everything even Billy Graham did, I'll think my whole pinnacle of life is to have a house in the mountains with a library that's beautiful. And I'll aim for the house in the mountains, which is beautiful. There's nothing wrong with it, if used correctly. But if everybody goes for that, they're going to be off.

If I go for everything I'm gonna follow him because I like the way his life is turning out. That'd be wrong. I'm following him because he follows Jesus. I'm following her because she follows Jesus. 

Remember what David Montague said? He met with Soup on that verse “follow me as I follow Jesus.” He met with other people. But what did he say that first night that he wondered if Jesus was real? “Lord, I don't know if you're real. But if you are, show me your word and I'll do it. Show me what's true and I'll do it.” 

He just means there’s way more we can do rowing together for human means when Jesus is connected to us.

It's John 15:5. And what I'm doing, my extra effort and my extra rowing is worth zero if it's not connected to Jesus. And that's why he's saying you can do more than you can think or you'll do greater works than these when you're connected and you're helping each other.

But how does that then come down to real life with a brother or sister in Christ? Sometimes in 16x relationships, somebody's more off than the other. Even if the one who's been the leader and taught you a hundred things.

I've got people in my life who have taught me a hundred things, but sometimes I understand things just a little bit better. And I'll say, "I don't know if that's what God's saying." They're then ready to receive it, even though they're 100x smarter than me. And then they were able to take it in more too if the Holy Spirit's in them.

We can see what in each other's lives is Holy Spirit bound and what is man bound and what is performance bound and what is self-preservation bound. We can see it and we can see that's why you can lead from below because the person who knows Jesus the most in the moment is the leader.

But it's saying we can go do this together. Your incredible partner or spouse has been so good and now it's your turn to say, “I got you, sweetheart. I got you on this. I got you on that.”

Don't pin it all down to one person. Not even the wisest and the smartest on this planet. See, even test and approve what is good and perfect. And you'll know what My will is. 

[.text-color-blue]“Cutting the grass may keep it short, but it still produce grass and wheat. If we want to produce wheat, the change must go deeper than the surface. It must be plowed up and resown.” - C.S. Lewis[.text-color-blue]

Go to the book of James. Read all three of the first chapters. He's plowing us up.

You feel like your life's in turmoil? Praise God. He's plowing us up.

[.text-color-blue]“Christ says, 'Give me all. I don't want so much of your time and so much of your money, so much of your work. I want you.'" - C.S. Lewis[.text-color-blue]

He's not just saying turn every minute of work over. Don't turn just your nickels over on this redemptive investment thing. No, turn your whole heart over and then this other stuff, the stuff you do and the stuff you invest and the way you see your talents will come to life.

[.text-color-blue]“Look for Christ and you will find him with everything else thrown in.”- C.S. Lewis[.text-color-blue]

Is there a verse that says that? It's been a memory verse. Look for Christ and you will find Him and with Him everything else is thrown in.

“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And all things will be added to you. Amen.”- [.no-reftag]Matthew 6:33[.no-reftag]

That's it. Seek first. And oh, if I got it, Lord, if I make today 100% about you, I'll get exactly what I was thinking about yesterday?

No. No. If I seek your will, you'll transform me.

It's not some mechanical change. If you'll transform me to be like you, my will becomes your will. If I seek your will, I'll see it the way you see it.

As Kennon Vaughan said in the sermon before a significant plane crash. He said the wise saint says, "What are you doing here, Lord?" 

Building a Living House

[.text-color-blue]“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps you can understand what he's doing. He's getting the drains. He's cleaning out the junk. He's stopping the leaks.” - C.S. Lewis[.text-color-blue]

Let's stop what's hurting this house. Let's clean out the drain so stuff flows.

Who needs to be cleaned out? You knew that those jobs needed doing.

And so, you're not surprised that some of the junk in your life falls off. But here's what He's not saying. He's not saying, "Clean up your cussing and come to know me." He's saying, "Come to know me." And you'll be surprised at how the stuff just falls off like a weight.

But presently, He's knocking the house about in a way that hurts. Who's been hurt by a change in their life? Who's gone through some stuff that doesn't make any sense to you whatsoever?

What on earth is He up to? You say, "What are you doing?" That's a fair question. "What are you doing? Help me understand." Not that you need to know why right now, but, "what are you doing?Help me to see it."

The explanation is He's building quite a different house from the one you thought of. He's building a new wing here. He's putting on an extra floor there. He's running up towers. He's making courtyards. He's creating this thing beautifully. There's more and more beauty. There's more and more life. There's more and more than you thought. There's 16 more times.

Even on this planet, there's way more He's doing now than you can think or imagine. You thought you were going to be a nice little cottage and be able to participate with everybody else and just have a nice little happily ever after life. But He's building a palace that He intends to live in.

In fact, He's already living in it. He's rebuilding everything even now.

It feels like He's wrecking it up. He's building it. Here's the heart of the lesson.

[.text-color-blue]“Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is simply nothing else." - C.S. Lewis[.text-color-blue]

Lord, you're my shepherd. I lack nothing. It's not akin to this thing I've been thinking about so much that I want that I'm not positive is from Him. I might think it's from Him.

I might think it's something He wants for me. I might, but I've got to surrender it because He might be doing something far more than I can think or imagine. 

He's saying, "I'm doing more than you can think. Way more. I'm making you like myself." Jesus abides in you. He's with you.

He's for you. He's saying, “Come be like me in your relationship. Have these deep relationships with other people that only point you to Jesus." 

Walk with people who are saying, "Is that helping you know Him?”

How are you tempted to settle for less?

What's the little thing that you're saying? Ah, that'll be enough. Yeah, if I just get to that age and if you give me this many nickels, I'll be able to give to others.

But let me store this up. Let me get right and then I'll really start giving. Then I'll really start going.

Let that be different than praying, “Lord, I'm just worn out and will you help me get through the night. Will you help get me to this next thing?

Would you help me? Would you provide a friend along the way to help me? This is getting really hard, Lord.”

But see, He's at the center of that prayer versus if I can just get to this part of my career or I can just get to this many nickels or I can get to this many things, then I'll be all right. Then I'll be independent enough. He's saying, "No way. I made you to be dependent. I made you to run on me." 

Like I made you to run on me and if you're trying to run on yourself and be independent, it's going to kill you.

Don't settle for less. A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further, turned away from God, would be just as desperately in need of salvation as a miserable world and might even be more difficult to save. Don't just get me to nice.

Don't just get me to slightly better than my neighbors. Don't just get me to an East Memphis Christianity that can just say if I'm giving away, you know, a little more than my neighbor. If I go to church a few more times than my neighbor, if I'm in a bunch of Bible studies, then it’s going to be really nice and then it'll really start clicking for me.

No, surrender everything. He's saying, Lord, take it all. Take everything in my life that's keeping me from knowing you and make it new. Make it new.

You abide in me. Help me to abide in you. That's what He's saying. Not just a little better. That's performance.

What's keeping you from being all God has designed you to be?

It's mostly me getting in the way of me anyway. It's mostly that. Amen.

If you aim to be equal or better than somebody earthly, that's the sand. That's exactly what he's saying. 

People took a survey. I think Keller covers this in Counterfeit Gods, but people took a survey. I certainly got the research when I covered the book, but like do you want a million dollars?

If a whole world was going to get a million dollars, would you rather have that or would you rather have a half million and nobody else gets anything extra? Which one would you want? 

They say the second one. I'm trying to get a leg up. So, we don't really want everything for everybody.

You're His. And for the thief on the cross, it wasn't until just before he met Him in paradise.

And for some people, they're going to carry around that weight the whole time and they're His and they're going to carry it. Walk with some people, care for some people, let them know. Because the more you do things that rely on things you can only do with Jesus, the more you become like Him.

That's it. For mere improvement is not redemption. The redemption always improves people.

Got it? You'll get better when you know you're His, but that's not what keeps you going. 

[.text-color-blue]“God became man to turn creatures into sons, to be like Him, to be people like Him. Not simply to produce better men, but to produce a new kind of person. It's not like teaching a horse to jump better and better, but like turning a horse into a winged creature. Of course, once it’s got it’s wings, he'll soar over fences which he could never have jumped and thus beat the natural horse at his own gain. But there may be a period while the wings are just beginning to grow where it cannot do so. And at that stage, the lumps on his shoulders, no one could tell by looking at them that they're growing into wings.” - C.S. Lewis[.text-color-blue]

The suffering is growing into a wing. The difficulty is growing into a wing.

But even they’re looking more and more awkward. They're looking like they don't know what they're doing, but they're becoming a creature that's gonna fly.

[.text-color-blue]“Every Christian is to become a little Christ. The whole purpose of becoming a Christian is nothing else.”- C.S. Lewis[.text-color-blue]

This is true for you. Everything you've dropped, you've been glad you dropped it. You've not said, "Lord, take that away from me." And He took it and you've been sorry. 

“Hey guys, drop those nets. Come and follow me. More joy, more comfort, more security, independence.”

Am I doing this to make myself independent and get what I want and get my rights and create this and get this job just the way I want it? Or am I willing to be in this job and just serve Him and see what the next thing the Holy Spirit's prompting me to do and whether I'm supposed to stay in this job or not. 

How is me getting it my way helping him know Jesus better? 

Is it sand for me to build my house on this thing? Even though to the world it appears good. Is it?

And people are not killing themselves with it. It seems pretty good. A little cottage. That's all I'm asking for. And He's saying, "Quit asking for a cottage." He's building a mansion inside of your heart, a tower of a person who's going to rule over kingdoms and cities later like Him. He's saying build the kingdom now. Is the thing I'm doing building the kingdom?

Who's coming to know Jesus from this thing? If I'm specific? I would say it's better to quit your job than to keep mulling around in it and not building the kingdom in that work.

You are going to work 80,000 hours as a human if you live to the retirement age. Like he's saying how fruitful is it? 

That's the first fruit. The second fruit, how are other people to come to know the Lord from it? That's what He's saying.

So, I judge it not based on this security thing I'm trying to get to or this nickel thing I'm trying to get to or this status thing I'm trying to get to or even this comfort. If I could just have this kind of house, then it'd be cool. Literally, he's saying that's a cottage with dirty pipes and a leaky roof. Come take the mansion. 

Prayer

Lord. You're so good to us. As we gaze at you, Jesus.

The Holy Spirit and all things are illuminating. As we gaze at you, we become more and more like you. Your word tells us.

So, help us to look at what you're doing and join what you're doing. And this promise that we really can't get our minds around on this planet that we're becoming more and more like you, in the way that you are love, in the way that you are glorious. More and more, you're inviting us to that.

Would we accept it? Would we run towards you? Would we find people who point us to you that we can have 16x relationships with, growing more and more in you, that they care more about us knowing you than they care about the thing that we're worried about. That they keep pointing us to you.

Would we have that? Would we be that for somebody else? Would we take what you've given us, the love that you love us as the Father loves you.

Help us to love others the way you love us. In your name, Jesus. Amen.

Resources: 

Video: The Difference Between Good and Evil Explained | Howard Graham

Video: The Advantage of Knowing the Meaning of Life | Howard Graham