Live Free with Josh Howerton - Rock Solid Wisdom | Ep. 143 | Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Episode Date: August 23, 2023

What if happiness wasn’t an external goal to achieve but was actually an internal state available to us now that results from a humble dependence on God’s grace? Tune in as Pastor Mike unpacks this idea and how we can find deep satisfaction and fulfillment when we hunger and thirst for God. For more information, visit lakepointe.church/dailydrive

Thanks for tuning in to today's Daily Drive with Lake Point Church, a daily dose of God's Word for your morning drive. When the word, not the world, becomes the majority of your week, your life will start to change. For that reason, our prayer is that God will speak to you through today's devotional. For more digital content to feed your faith, visit lakepoint.combe. And now let's dive in to today's devotional. Hey, what's up? Hope your summer has been fantastic, and you have had the chance to make some memories. Thanks for tuning in to the podcast. My name is bro, and grateful that you would give this a listen each weekday. And thanks for sharing it with friends as well. I mean, I pray for our listeners every single day,

and I hope that these few minutes are really helpful to you. We are currently unpacking the little section of the Bible known as the Beatitudes. It's kind of the introduction to this amazing sermon that Jesus gave 2,000 years ago, and it is still so fresh, so countercultural, so upside down, so inside out. He says at the end of his message in Matthew chapter 7, anyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise person who builds their house on a rock-solid foundation. I'm telling you, it really is something foundational upon which to build your life. So we're just looking at this first little section.

Like we're reviewing the ascending rungs of a ladder, where each step builds upon the one before it, such as Jesus starts out by saying the first step to, happiness is the acknowledgement of your spiritual poverty. He says, blessed of the poor and spirit, those who recognize they're busted, that they need God in their life. Then the second wrong is happy are those who mourn. So you say, mourn over what? The fact that they have discovered how spiritually busted that they actually are. They move to an authentic brokenness that humbly comes to God saying, God, I want to get well. Then the next step is coming to God in that brokenness and say,

I'm done, God, I'm done playing you. I want to relinquish control of my life, just hand it over to you. That's what it means to be meek. And Jesus said when you're ready to surrender control of your life to a strong, wise, loving God, man, you are on your way to the kind of life he calls blessed. Now, some of you have taken those first three steps and have become a follower of Jesus. And I'm learning that it's not a one-time come-to-Jesus moment, but a humble daily dependence upon the grace of God. And it's in that daily dependence that real life is found, that freedom is found, that healing is found, that forgiveness and joy and pleasure and purpose is found. We're at wrong number four today as Jesus gives us the key to maintaining this new kind of life.

He says this, happy, fortunate, blessed are those who hunger and thirst for God's right ways, for they will be filled. I like the way the message translation puts this verse, you're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink and the best meal you'll ever eat. You see, the key to deep fulfillment is found in him. King David, poetically said, like the deer pants for water. So my soul pants for you, oh God. Now Jesus one time told a woman by a well,

he said, anyone who drinks this water that you're drawing from this well will soon become thirsty again, but those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life. Again, happiness, fulfillment doesn't come from what's around you, but from what's in you. So blessed are those who hunger for God. You do that, and you will be filled. You will be deeply satisfied. Now, how many of you moms, when you were pregnant got some pretty weird cravings?

I know that some of you right now are probably wrestling with the whole blueberry waffles with A1 sauce kind of thing, right? Strange cravings going on in your body. And we all have occasional cravings, don't we? My family will hear me from time to time rummaging through the fridge or the pantry, saying almost frantically, I just got to have something sweet. Or, oh, man, are we out of popcorn? I mean cravings, whether we're pregnant or not. We all get cravings, right? And a lot of people are living their lives that way. They're hungry, but they don't know what for. They got these cravings, but nothing seems to satisfy. You know, the Rolling Stones gave us, what, could be the theme.

For an entire generation, I can't get no what? Yeah, satisfaction. 50 years later, that's still the major complaint of the average of American, and the Rolling Stones are still touring during that. I can't get no circulation to her. These states because they're in their 80s. Today, there are more products available to us than ever before and they all promised satisfaction guaranteed.

There are already twice as many products available to us as there were just at this time last year. But are people twice as satisfied? Nope. Our cravings dictate the direction of our life. And a lot of times our cravings will lead us to load up on junk food. I'm talking about spiritual junk food, the kind that gives you a rush here and there, fills you off for a little while, but then leaves you unnourished,

unfulfilled, unsatisfied, and actually unhealthy. That dream house we think we just have to have, pretty much Doritos, that SUV we cannot live without. Twinkies, that's all. The applause of people. Pop-Tarts, at best, that stock portfolio that we're going to spend a lifetime building? Gummy bears? Too many people are filling themselves with stuff that doesn't matter and leaves them sick and empty.

Solomon, like we said before, did all that and more conclude it. It's like chasing the win. I often think he would have done well to heed the invitation of his dad, David. when David wrote in Psalm 34 verse 8, taste and see that the Lord is good, just taste and see. For those of you who are seeking, have yet to decide to follow Jesus Christ, for those of you who are still a little hesitant about stepping over the line,

for those of you that might be searching for satisfaction like I was, my challenge to you is the same. Just taste and see, come on. Just taste and see, because when you do, you'll discover the Lord is good. So let's climb the ladder again. says, wrong one, blessed are you when you acknowledge your spiritual poverty. Rung two, happier are you when you mourn over that truth, and you come to God in your brokenness. Rung three, you're blessed when you humble yourself and you relinquish control of your life

to him. And rung four, if you will hang right here in hunger and thirst for more of him, you will be satisfied in the depths of your soul in ways you never dreamed. You will be filled. Our cravings dictate the direction of our life. dictate the direction of our day. So this day, why not taste and see that the Lord is good? Thanks for tuning in today. For more biblical teaching and worship, join us for our church online live weekend services on Saturdays at 6 p.m. and Sundays at 9.30

and 11 a.m. Central Standard Time. Also, if this podcast was helpful to you, would you be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast to help get the word out. For more information about all digital ministries of Lake Point. Visit lakepoint.compt.combe. Church slash daily drive.