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Taking God as your partner

There’s only one place of peace in this world: living all day, everyday, in the presence of God.

Introduction

A little more than 300 years ago, a middle aged man named Nicholas Herman entered a monastery in France and lived the remaining 30 years of his life as a cook. (He was, you might say, a French Friar.) Though his life was lived in obscurity, he accomplished one thing that destined him for greatness. He sought and eventually achieved the ability to walk continually in God's presence.

As he approached the end of his life, he wrote about it in a book that came to be called The Practice of the Presence of God. This book, written by an obscure monk who later became known as Brother Lawrence, has influenced countless Christians over the centuries, helping them discover the joy of living day-in, day-out in God's presence.

In one of his writings, he said, "If I were a preacher I would, above all other things, preach the practice of the presence of God. For there is nothing in the world sweeter or more delightful than a continual conversation with God."

For the next four weeks we will talk about how to practice the presence of God—experiencing God in your life 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Today, we're tackling the first step: Taking God as your partner.

Whatever it is that you do with the majority of your time—whether you're a business person, a student, a parent, or whatever else it may be—God wants to be part of it.

Today we'll look at Psalm 127. These verses can be applied to any area of life—our business, our home life, our marriage, and so on. They teach us that God wants to be involved in every area of our lives; everything we do is important to him.

Listen to what the Psalmist says in verse 1, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” There are three things I want you to notice here.

God wants to be in charge of our responsibilities.

First of all, this Psalm is saying that whatever it is we have to do, God wants to be involved. If you've got a house to build, God wants to build it. If you've got a city to watch, God wants to guard it. You've got a business to run, he wants to run it. You've got a family to take care of, he wants to be the Lord of your home. Whatever it is you do, God wants to be involved; he wants to be in charge. There's nothing about your life that is unimportant to him.

Sometimes we may wonder if God is really concerned whether or not I make this sale; if God is really concerned whether or not I meet this deadline; if God is really concerned about whether or not I make a good grade on this test. The answer is always yes!

He wants to be involved in your responsibilities, and not only involved, he wants to be in charge. Whatever it is you have to do, he wants you to do it his way. There's a good reason for this: His way is always the best way.

So, as we approach our responsibilities in life, we are to surrender them to his control. We're to say, "God, I'm giving you control of my business; build it for your glory. God, I'm giving you control of my marriage, I'm giving you control of my family; build us together for your glory. God I'm giving you control of my future; build it for your glory.”

When Herman Cain took over as CEO of Godfather's Pizza, the company was in the midst of a severe financial crisis. Within one year, he brought the company into profitability. When he was asked how he did it, he said, "The secret to my success is my faith in Christ and God almighty—and they are no secret! I have to give God the glory in everything I do and in every success I've achieved."

Whatever it is that you're responsible for, God wants to be in charge. He wants to build the house. He wants to run the business. He wants to watch over the family. He wants to be in charge, because his way is the best way for you.

Giving God Responsibility for our life doesn't relieve us of responsibility.

The second thing that Solomon says in verse 1 is, “Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” Do you see what he's saying? The builders keep building, even though God is charge of the house. The watchmen keep watching, even though God is guarding the city.

He's saying that we are to keep doing our jobs, even though we've given control to God. You give your business to God, but you still show up for work. You give your family to God, but you still spend time with your children. You give your academic life to God, but you still study.

Giving God responsibility for our life doesn't eliminate our responsibility. However, it empowers us. Even though we're still working hard, we're no longer trusting ourselves for the results, we're trusting God for the results.

Have you ever seen the bumper sticker that says, "God is my co-pilot"? I've seen a variation on that one that is probably more accurate. It says, "God is my pilot. I'm just the co-pilot." This is more than just a matter of semantics. It's a matter of who's in charge. Our attitude shouldn't be, "God, this is what I'm doing, please bless it." It should be, "God, show me what you want me to do, how you want me to do it, so I can do things in a way that will bring you honor." Giving God responsibility for our life doesn't relieve us of responsibility; it just puts us in the position of co-pilot.

Giving God responsibility is the key to finding peace.

Listen to what Solomon said in verse 2, “In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat—for he grants sleep to those he loves.”

"Responsibility" is a heavy-handed word. People who take their responsibilities seriously tend to worry about them to the point of losing sleep. They're conscientious; they work hard. They get to the office early; they stay up late. They go the extra mile. And they frequently find themselves frazzled.

There's nothing wrong with getting up early and going to bed late. That comes with having high expectations for yourself, but you don't have to live in a constant state of tension. You don't have to lie awake at night, staring at the ceiling, wondering how you're going to make it through another day...if you're going to make it through another day. A wonderful by-product of giving God control is peace of mind. If you let him build the house, then it becomes his problem, not yours.

When you give God responsibility for your life, he takes it. He handles it. Does this mean things always work out the way you want them to? No. Better than that. It means things always work out the way that he, in his sovereign mercy, allows them to. When you give God responsibility for your life, you can face everyday with the assurance that he will cause all of the events of your life to work together for good.

This is exactly what Paul said in Romans 8:28, “We know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose.”

I can make you a promise. It's not my promise; it's God promise. If you want to live in God's presence twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, you can. You can experience God's presence in your life. You can experience God's protection in your life. You can experience God's peace in your life. It is there. It is available.

And there's more. You can live with the assurance that everything that happens in your day-to-day life will work out for the best and for your best. That is God's promise. He will take care of you. He will take responsibility for your responsibilities. He will lift the burden that you carry, and he'll carry it for you. He will give you peace.

What do you have to do? You have to open the door of your heart and your life to him. Some of you have never done that before. You've never come to the point in your life where you've said, "Jesus, I give my entire life to you. Be the Boss. Take control." If you haven't made that choice, and you want to, you can do it right now.

There are also some here today that have been following Christ for years, but you stubbornly keep putting yourself back in the driver's seat. As a result, you're trying to do everything on your own. You're attempting to build your own house, and watch your own city. You're discovering that what Solomon said was true: “In vain you rise early and stay up late.”

And yet, when you try to do it on your own, there's just no peace. You'll never find peace in your hard work, or in your accomplishments, or in your possessions, or in your relationships, or in anything. There's only one place of peace in this world: living everyday—all day, day-in, day-out—in the Presence of God.

Today we've talked about how the first step in living around the clock Christianity is in taking God as your partner. But understand: it is not a 50/50 arrangement. You're not equals. He's the senior partner; you're the junior partner. You follow his lead, and he will take you to the best place you can possibly be.

Steve May has been a pastor to pastors for more than 20 years, helping preachers and teachers to become more effective communicators of the gospel.

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Sermon Outline:

I. Introduction

God wants to be involved in every area of our lives because everything we do is important to him.

II. God wants to be in charge of our responsibilities.

III. Giving God responsibility for our life doesn't relieve us of responsibility.

IV. Giving God responsibility is the key to finding peace.

Conclusion

Since God is the senior partner in the relationship, you are to follow his lead knowing he will take you to the best place you can possibly be.