Dr. John Maxwell | Every Miracle Begins With A Problem | New Sermon 2022

I have had the busiest year of my life. I just don't know what happened, but it slipped out and I've traveled more than I've traveled and I've talked more than I've talked and So a couple of days ago, knowing that I would have the privilege of returning to my church, I just I snuck into town and set my heart at ease and just needed to not have to watch people talk. I just needed time to be with the Lord and stay grounded and it was such a good couple of days I had here because as soon as I was done, today I got back on the plane and the race started again, but when I got to Todd today and I saw the sign welcome home.

I thought I'm home. I'm just at home. Am at home. There are a lot of places I go and I meet a lot of people, but like I said. many times before there was no place like this anywhere near this place so this must be the place and be here to see your faces to be able to minister to you today to share the word to observe your ministry in the prayer time this morning . It was so satisfying to my own soul and heart and I just love the church. I love what is happening here at Christ Fellowship and I love what is happening at all of our locations.

You know, we continue to grow. Know? I was a pastor you didn't have a satellite you didn't do all these things you just tried to have them all in one building we were like the nursery rhyme about there are so many kids they should know what to do you already know

every

thing deal you just kept cramming into one service and now you have them

every

where, they are just scattered in many places, but one church, one heart, one ministry, one vision, one service to the community, so anyway I love you and I hardly can. wait, I woke up this morning very early, but I wake up every morning early, so it's not a big deal, but I woke up and I wanted to call you around 5 15. and say: let's start, let's, we could, we can, we can, we can, let's go ahead and get. started I mean, I'm ready, you know, I'm, I'm ready, can we, we can go and luckily for you, I don't know your number or we would have been calling you and we would have been saying, come on.

Get going because I want to talk to you I want to talk to you today about how to live a blessed life because the world I live in is quite secular on purpose because I'm trying to be Salt and Light and share the faith and make a difference, but in the world in the one I live in, they really don't know what a blessed life is and so I constantly have a heart to share with them that there is a higher ground for them and that no matter where they are, they could. They could go higher if they wanted to, they could have more because this blessed life is an incredibly abundant life.

Several years ago on 60 Minutes I saw an interview of a mountaineer who had just gone through a really difficult situation, yes, they just went to the top of Mount Everest, but it was a very difficult time, they had lost a couple of people on this climb and had had severe adversity, so when it was all over, 60 Minutes was interviewing this man about the dangers of climbing. and the difficulties of climbing and one of the questions was: why do you endure all the

problem

s to get to the top of the mountain? and the mountaineer looked the interviewer directly in the face and said it's obvious.

I you've never been to the top of the mountain you just haven't been there if you know if you would have been to the top if you could see what I see if you could experience what I experienced if you could know what I know you wouldn't ask that question and let's talk about climbing, climbing higher, seeing more experience things we've never experienced before and the scripture is in Matthew chapter five, it's the Sermon on the Mount. I know this very well and I'm going to start with just a couple of verses here, uh, we'll start with verse one, when Jesus saw his ministry drawing great crowds, he went up a hillside and those who were apprenticed to him, the committed ones, went up.

With him I love that those who are his apprentice from the committee who climbed with him and when he arrived at a quiet place he sat down and taught his climbing partners now they don't miss it, large crowds come to see him. Jesus, because they are discovering about the blessed life. Jesus has a message for you and it's about how to have a blessed life, so it's very attractive and people come in crowds and as they gather around the base of the lake, there are only thousands. of people who came and to give them more space he had to climb higher on the mountain and what is really interesting is that when he went up the slope, the committed person said that he went up with him, you know that there is a meaning in this passage. that not all of them climbed that some of them said, you know, I just like the lake, well, I feel like there's a little breeze coming off the lake, there are boats out there, the kids are fishing.

I like the lake and Jesus began to climb, but the committed ones climbed with them. If there is also a sense in this passage that not everyone heard this message, it is possible that those who stayed in Lower Ground never came close enough to hear the words of Jesus that I am about to share with you, who are about to be a blessed life. changing words now I spent a year many years ago, in fact, back in 1996, that was a long time ago, I spent the year, a year alone in the Beatitudes, those are the only passages of Scripture that I really focused on and decided learn. them inside and out because this was the teaching of Jesus and I felt that if I could really understand what he said, I could probably understand the fullness of life and literally, and I know that is a tremendously long time for a very short time. . scripture to get through a year but you have to understand I'm slow and when you're slow you're slow you just start you know you're just not fast or quick or you know it and then I took it and it was it changed my life and I can still remember it because I came out .

I actually put it on my iPad today. I am traveling on June 8, 1996 after spending about six months on this scripture. I wrote in my Bible. Want to be. a climbing partner of Jesus that's what I want to do I want to climb I want to climb I don't want to stay in the lake no hey I don't want to hey I don't want the people who climbed with him to come back and tell me what I missed I don't want to go back say oh my God John what he said today oh is oh I would hate the last words I want to hear is for someone to say oh I wish you had been there and one One of the reasons we meet with Christ Fellowship on all of our campuses is to be involved in feeling what God is doing and the ministry that is happening and you know when you leave you can't take it with you, I mean, or you can tell people about it, you can say oh, I wish you could have been with us today oh, the worship time was amazing, You know, I went ahead and someone prayed for me and the little ones sent a message to Julie, I mean there are things I can share but you know as well as I do that there are some things unless you're a church there are some things you just can't take away. home you can tell it to someone but there's a difference between telling it to a story and being in the story is like the welcome home sign, well, you know, if all you do is just come to the Sunday morning service, it's like welcome home but you've only been in one of the rooms if I came to see you and you said you know there are several rooms at Christ's Fellowship you said oh my gosh I had no idea I just rush in and stay in the garage, you mean I can go in, you mean there are other people to meet and other places to go and other things other things other things to do wow so let's talk about the flashlight what I want you to know about the blessed life is this The blessed life is not a life free of adversity, difficulties or

problem

s, it is not the blessed life, it is not an easy life.

I want to have a good, realistic solid ground with you as I read this lesson. Now the blessed life is blessed because Jesus is in it, don't miss this if you don't have Jesus in your life, it's not a blessed life. life he makes it blessed wherever you are, whatever you are doing when he is in that life starts to be a blessed life, so with that we go to number one of this blessed life and by the way, the blessed life is the best life. in fact, tell your neighbor right now tell him that the blessed life is the best life tell him that right now is better and tell your neighbor right now stay with John, now he will teach you how to get there, come on, help him, help him. out and by the way I'll help you myself I'll take notes and you know if you miss it it's okay I'm with you no let's go to number one you need to make an effort to spend time with Jesus.

If you stay at the bottom of the lake and don't climb with him you're simply not going to get everything he has for you. You've heard me say many times that anything worthwhile is uphill, the reason why everything worthwhile is worth is uphill is because everything worthwhile is uphill, you know? Someone came to town. What do you mean by everything worthwhile here? I said well, my name is John. I am your friend. I try to teach simple lessons. I try not to make it difficult. I try to put the cookies. on the bottom shelves or if I can have some of everything that's worth it's uphill it's all his if you have a great relationship in your life what's up Phil Mark and I have been married 53 years it's uphill it's uphill are you with me it's uphill it's not easy if it's easy everyone would stay married if success was easier everyone was successful if earning a lot of money would it would be easier but I have a lot of money you have to understand it you have to understand this it's not complicated my name is John I'm your friend everything everything that's worth it is uphill now let me put the spiritual touch on it everything that's worth it is uphill and Jesus is uphill you want to be you want to be a climbing partner see if you if you give your best effort you will succeed most of the time but you will be satisfied all the time and people miss it and why why these people why they were so committed to climbing with Jesus it is very simple because Jesus was adding value to their lives, he was giving a blessed life, think about it, it was Jesus who taught them about self-esteem, he said, your salt, your light, you make things better, you make things brighter, it was Jesus who taught them about hope, in fact.

He said: I have come to the point that not only can you have life but you can have it more abundantly. It was Jesus who taught her about unconditional unconditional love and then showed it when he died on the cross. It was Jesus who healed him. It was Jesus who brought peace, he said the world can't even touch it, it can't give it to you and he said the world can't take it away from you. It was Jesus who taught forgiveness, freedom, life change, purpose, I mean, think about. Think about when he was on the lake and he saw these guys fishing their whole lives, basically every day on the boat, putting out the nets to fish, this was his life and one day he looked at them and said: Do you know what would happen if the would you continue?

I could level you up. I could take you to Higher Ground. I know you're catching fish, but if you follow me, you might catch men. You see everything Jesus does when he touches it, blesses it and makes it better. and that's what I just don't want you to miss is the fact that Jesus gives a teaching that will change your life and that's why the crowd is so big and that's why the committed went up the hill with him when I was 17 . I receive Christ like receiving Christ in the church and the Friday that was a Tuesday was a revival that I was saved, it was a Friday that I was getting ready to go to school and I was looking, I was reading in Corinthians.

Therefore, if any person is in Christ, they become a new creation, old things pass away, above all things, because I knew it was my first glimpse of a blessed life that with Jesus everything improves, that's why you have to spend time and make an effort to escalate to be with him as close as possible, so that's number one. Now we're going to start talking about blessing number two, which is actually the first blessing, Jesus says. that if we want to be blessed we need to admit our need for God, what did he say? you are blessed when you are at the end of your rope with less of yourself, there is more of God in other words, you are blessed, I love you this, you are blessed when you are at the end of the road, now let me talk to you for a second.

None of us thought we would ever reach the end of our rope and we are just trying to hang on. and we weren't sure we could hold on and we were just saying, I'm incredibly blessed. The only person who would come into your life and give you this perspective is Jesus because he is the only one. Do not miss it. he is the only person who can bless you at the end of the rope, he is the only one, so what he said you are blessed when you are at the end of the rope, what he is teaching us is very simple, this is where all a sudden say I can't do it anymore I can't I can't take it anymore and Jesus will say yes yes because when you are at the end of Europe he says there is less of you that is always a good thing and There is more of God and there is just more of God, but there is more of God in his government within your life.

This is absolutely huge, which is why you know Todd and I were talking. Before the service I was talking about his message that he preached recently.about Miracles and the incredible thing about

miracle

s is that every

miracle

in the Bible or in the Old Testament and the New Testament does not matter because I preached about each one of them and there is only one thing that every miracle in the Bible has in common only one thing It caught your attention it caught your attention and it is not faith I know people who obtained miracles they did not even have faith they were surprised it is not prayer I love prayer but that is not prayer I know people did not pray at all for a miracle and they obtained one the only thing that each Miracle has in common Old Testament New Testament every Miracle it doesn't matter it doesn't matter the only thing every Miracle has in common is every Miracle starts with a problem every mirror starts with a problem for everyone so when you're at the end of your rope let me in case do not understand that you have a problem, it is not good and Jesus says now when you are at the end of the Rope this is a good thing less of you more of Me Oh Happy Day every Miracle

begins

with a problem now I don't know what that does to you this morning no I know but I'm going to assume that more of us here have at least one problem because yeah, how many of you are sitting next to your problem right now?

Let me explain something to you. If you raise your hand on that second question, you have a problem; In fact, they have a bigger problem now that you're in church than before they came into church. Yes, you did, you just had a real problem. Now Jesus says: I want you to understand, it's true, you see, the blessed life is not an absence of problems, there is no great lack here. We think that when we become followers of Christ everything should go well and everything doesn't go well, it's not supposed to go well but it's supposed to come out blessed because Jesus starts to be a part of our life, so if you have a little problem you are candidate for a small miracle if you have a big problem here can it be for a big miracle maybe at the end of my participation this morning I will do something different?

I'll ask people to come forward who don't have a problem, wouldn't that be fun? I've never done that before because you can't have a miracle without a problem, so if you don't have a problem, you can't have a miracle, so if you don't have a problem, you have a problem and we would like to help you, come forward, we will impose on you hands, we'll just say, dear God, give them a problem, yes, give them a privilege, I know what you're doing. are you saying are you going to say I'm going to stay away from that guy I'm telling you right now because when you have a problem you are a candidate for a miracle Jesus said this Jesus said I want you to know yourself you are very blessed in the midst of your problems when you are at the end of Europe when it's very difficult when you can't see the way because he said until you're at the end of your rope humanly what we do is try our best to solve our own problems, we become very self-sufficient, which is not what Jesus wants.

Jesus said that we have to become like little children when we come to him, we are very dependent and full of great confidence, so Jesus says. You are blessed if you have come to the end of your mantle, that is blessing number one, so if you have a problem this morning, very difficult, you are in the if you are just hanging on Jesus said you are blessed now. you are you are blessed because it is the problem that leads us to him are you with me if you are at the end of your rope and you are not including Jesus you do not have a blessed life you have a life that is about to fall, so you have to understand that he has than to be in the center of blessed life.

Jesus is right in the middle of everything you do, so the number one blessing is that you admit your need for God. The third thing he said, which is blessing number one. The second is through your losses, allow God to love you because in Matthew 5 4, what does he say? You are blessed when you feel like you have lost what you love most. Only then can you be hugged by the one you love most. You, who would say that you are blessed when you are at the end of your rope, who would say that you are blessed when you have lost the person dearest to you, only Jesus, because Jesus, when he enters the scene, it does not matter what the reason is. ?

When he comes into the picture, it is immediately a blessing in your life whenever you open up enough space for him to come in and work and live and minister and teach. The moment you include it, that's when the blessed life

begins

and Jesus says when you've lost everything, in other words, he said, if you don't understand the part where I said, if you're at the end of the rope, you're law, you're blessed. , he said, let me, let me be nice. to take it out a little bit more before saying in case you've missed that when you've lost it all, in other words, that's for people like me, a little slow when you've lost it all, John, you're blessed because when I've lost everything now suddenly you find the one that I Jesus you find the one that loves you it's the story of the prodigal son we know him well we children Hello dad I want to have my own life give me the money he got the inheritance that he took it broke down he had parties he had friends he stayed without money years later he is in a pigsty he is not doing very well he is thinking about his father's house and says do you know if I went home you know what I won I will no longer be a son.

I've already ruined my life so much. I can't be a son, but maybe I could, maybe I could be a servant, maybe I could have a bunk in the barn and he finally comes home. here I don't want you to miss this when he was going home what did he expect he expected to be a servant not a son he expected a

sermon

from his father hey son what the hell did you do with the money they gave you? a whole group who are those friends what were you doing how could you ruin it he was waiting for a lecture he was waiting to tell his father that he was not worthy of being a son now why these expectations were so low in his life because all his expectations were without the father don't miss this when your expectations are without Jesus you don't live a blessed life you live a cursed and mocked life because all you see in every perspective you have is without him he said it's okay, it's okay I'm going home I mean I'm going to home because I'm desperate I'm in a pigsty I'll go home but you know I'll be a servant I'll get a lecture by the way The reason it took him so long to get home is because I didn't expect him to be too good.

I've never heard anyone teach this. If he had known how his father loved him. If I had known that when he lost everything, Fr. I would love him unconditionally if I had known that he would have been in a pigsty, went and spent those hey, no, no, well, he was in trouble before he lost all his money, he would have gone home, he would have gone home. Believe me, the reason he didn't come home is because the father wasn't in the picture. The reason we don't have a blessed life is because Jesus is not in the picture and the moment he is in the picture, it doesn't matter where. no matter what is happening to you when he is in the picture he gets good so he expects a luxury he is expected to be a servant leave him aside now that is what he expects because he expected it because the father is not in the picture so he He goes home and instead of getting what he expected he got what he didn't expect, everything changed, I mean now he's going home, he didn't expect his father to be looking for him, he didn't expect that when his father saw him. that he wouldn't wait for him to get to him that the father would immediately start running towards him he didn't expect the father to be excited to see him he didn't expect the father to take the family ring and put it on his finger he didn't expect him to put a ring on it robe I didn't expect the father to be happy and say my son, he's lost and you're coming home I didn't expect the father to call him son He expected them to throw him a party but that's what God did and He wants to do it for you so blessed life the moment you put the father in the picture now life starts to be blessed without him in the picture good luck hey without him in the picture you are alone my world lives with people who don't have him in the picture and that's why I loved being in that world to show him what happens when he's in the picture, okay? blessing number three I have to hurry I have more blessings than time what does Jesus say number four you are blessed when you live a life of contentment this is blessing number three we know this passage you are blessed when you are happy with who you are, no more no less, that is the moment when you find yourself proud owner.

I love this phrase about everything that can't be bought, so now it talks about the spirit of discontent thinking that you earn something or buy something or deserve something. something and he says: let me help you. I want to talk to you about something that is beyond earning it, deserving it or buying it in your life. So what are you talking about things that can't be bought? You see when I share my faith in my world it's the things that can't be bought that's the gateway to sharing my faith with it because the people I've been with already bought everything follow me so if you can buy it they have it and Yes they can because they work hard if you could earn it they got it and Jesus said no no no no no no no no let me talk about the blessed life you can't buy it you can't earn it so what can't you buy? what cannot be well peace that is beyond human understanding only Jesus can give that Abundant Life only Jesus can give that do not forgive us only Jesus can give that personal relationship only Jesus can give that these are the things that cannot be I bought one of my favorite scriptures is Matthew 11.

Verses 28 to 30. Jesus is speaking listen carefully to the words Are you tired? Are you exhausted? Are you exhausted by religion? Come to me and you will get your life back. I'll show you how to take a real break, walk with me and work with me and watch how I do it, learn Grace's unforced rhythms. I will not put anything heavy on you or that does not suit you, keep me company and learn to live freely improbable Jesus tells us three things he says first walk with me in other words enjoy my presence work with me accept my association wow look at me follow my example peace comes with peace proximity you have to be close to look and walk with someone you don't do that at a distance you don't do that when you stay at the lake are you with me? you don't do that when you don't do that either when your microphone falls off your back there sorry I just put it in my pocket we're fine don't do that don't do that when you're away from him in other words he said have this Amazing life, I'm telling you. about you having to stay close to me on purpose again.

One of the beautiful things about the communion of Christ and other beautiful churches as well is that it allows us proximity now. I know, I know, I know it's a great personal relationship. I can talk to God anywhere. Whenever. There is some doubt about it everywhere, but there is something beautiful about believers coming together. There is something beautiful that happens when you come to service or when you get involved in the different aspects of congregation growth. This is the beautiful thing: you need proximity to people. of God that allows you to have a closer proximity, a different dynamic of proximity with God, it's not that you can't worship Him anywhere, we can worship God anywhere, he is everywhere, okay, that's very simple , but there is something incredibly beautiful when we gather in that proximity. and we begin to feel who he is and what he does and one of the beautiful things is that we see how it happens in the lives of others and what happens is when I see them, in fact, today, for example, a perfect example when I saw some of you come. for prayer and you prayed, obviously it's when you came to the service today that you had a burden on your heart, you had something that made me feel a little heavy and I'm watching you come and listen to someone who cares about you, listen to someone, they .

I'm praying that you would hear someone touch you, hear someone lay hands on you now do you see it's the personal touch and that just warmed my heart and the moment you experience that you only experience proximity with a person of faith in Christ, a brother? or sister and the Lord you experience closeness with him with him okay, I'm leaving a lot out, trust me, dear Lord, you're just, you're getting okay, but it could have been great, okay, it could have been great, but I needed three hours to be great, okay, but that's not going to happen, so let me give you the last thought, just the last thought, you are blessed, Jesus says that ultimately when you develop a hunger and thirst for God, that is the blessing number four. the way Jesus said is that you are blessed when you have tried hard.

I love that this has whetted a good appetite for God. He is food and drink in the best food you have ever eaten. Sometimes I use this quote from C.S Lewis um because it's it fits here and sometimes in the community that I live in most of the time it's appropriate this is what he said hunger would be observed if it didn't exist thirst for food it would be absurd if it didn't exist water and humility would be observed if there was no possibility of a relationship the desire to find God would be observed if he does not exist that's why I told my atheist friends when Fred when I was with him I've been working with him for 11 years I'm sorry a lot but I won't leave, I'll hang it up, I'll be there.

Just waiting for the moment, believe me, every person has a moment where they want to have God, but you have to be there in a relationship with that moment, so he was saying to my atheist friend. I told him: I know, I know, I know you. Don't believe in God, you surely miss him, don't you? Yes, I do.strange, but because we were created, oh my God, we were created to know him, oh, we are, we were created like you know, what do we do. say in Christ we feel that we were created to know God we were created to grow in a relationship with God we were created to discover our purpose we were created to have an impact on our world that is why we gather here because those are beautiful things I love you There are four second foreigners left here on this campus, I don't know, I guess they have some books for me to sign and I'll go out and sign books, but can I? let's pray for you, let's pray father, it's been so good to be here and it's been good for me to come home, it's good to see the people that I love and the people that love me and the people that love you, it's good, it's good to come back home and I pray that our hunger to meet you.

I pray that our desire to climb with you is possible, that you can wet our appetite for more of you, God, simply more of you, and when we climb we don't always know it. what the message will be, but we know the message will be for us, so help us not hang around the lake and listen to other people talk about how great the service was or how they reached out and had people pray for them. and lay hands on them and and and the lesson that they experienced Lord, let us experience you firsthand as close as we can.

Lord, lift me up and let me stand by faith at the table of heaven, that's what we want, so I pray a prayer of blessing over everyone here on all of our campuses a prayer of blessing over each of them Father and help them understand life blessed always has you in the middle of the image it is, it is, it is you plus everything else, but it is you help us to seek first your kingdom your righteousness so that all other things may be added to you and everyone said God bless you I love you very much thank you for joining us for this week's service we pray that God has used this time to really impact your life Yes, but it doesn't have to end here.

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