Get Another Life — Steve Mays

It's the 2010 Summer of Sermons with Steve Mays.

You need to get another life. Pastor Steve Mays says.

Real Life Begins at the Cross

Real life starts at the cross.

And maybe there's a better way to live your life. Maybe you can enjoy the fullness of the Holy Spirit. To see the power of God working in you. That you know that greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world.

Do you remember playing the Milton Bradley game called life? If my memory serves me correctly, which it doesn't do all the time, in order to win I had to make a lot of money and move into millionaire states.

Doesn't this sound a lot like what most of us try to do in real life? But as Steve points out today, chasing after that kind of life is not going to satisfy. Like the game, once you get there, then what?

Game over? Well, Steve wants to encourage you to get another life. But this time, make it really count. And here he is to tell you about it.

Galatians 2:20 and the Call to Get Another Life

Turn with me to Galatians chapter 2. I'd like to draw your attention this morning to chapter 2. And we'd like to take a look at verse 20. Probably in all the Bible, there are great, great scriptures and favorite scriptures.

But I don't know if there's one that's more pregnant with truth than this one in chapter 2, verse 20 of the book of Galatians. And so if you're taking notes, you can just jot down get another life. And you're going to say, well, what in the world is he talking about, get another life?

Steven, it's get a life. Well, let me tell you just a little bit about that. When our children were home, that was quite a few years ago. I remember vividly coming home from church, and it had been a long day, and so I walked to the door of my house, and my wife has always met me and kissed me and always been happy, and she's a pretty happy person.

But this day, I remember so vividly, I opened the door, and she was staring into midair. So I didn't know if she had a stroke or maybe she had a vision. What in the world happened to her? And so I said, well, what happened?

She goes, I've been with your children. Now, I don't know why that is. When they're good, they're hers. When they're bad, they're mine. So I said, well, what happened? She said, well, one of your children told me to get a life.

And I said, you're kidding. She said, no. They looked right in my eyes and said, mom, get a life. And I said, well, what did you say? She goes, I didn't know what to say. And I said, well, what do you think you ought to say?

And she goes, I think I ought to kill them. And I said, no, no, no. So we talked, and it has always been kind of a family joke about Gal getting a life. And so she threw herself into the ministry, and she got a life, but that's not the life that the kids were talking about.

They were simply saying to her, you know, there's more to life than the Bible and church and being a Christian. And I said, no, there isn't. And so what I want to share with you this morning is what they should have said is, get another life.

You see, the problem today is that people are telling you, get a life. And so you're out working day and night. You are seeking to do all that you can to try to make an impact within the life in which you live, hoping that through your life you would leave a legacy behind.

And so you are willing to sacrifice and hoping that things will go your way, willing to save and willing to do certain things because you desire that people would know that you have a wonderful life. And there is inside of us that desire to have that abundant life, to be entrepreneurs, to be able to do the things that we want to do very well within our life.

But the problem is, is that in this world in which you live, it is going to be brutal. And people are going to take advantage of you, and you're going to make mistakes, and you're going to have difficult times.

And you seeking to try to get a life could be the very thing that destroys your whole being. I would rather say to you, listen, you need to get another life. You need to come to the end of yourself where you have understood throughout your adult life that everything that you have tried to do hasn't always been easy.

And you're tired and you're exhausted. And maybe there's a better way to live your life. Maybe you can enjoy the fullness of the Holy Spirit, to see the power of God working in you, that you would now come to know the peace of God and that full assurance of hope that if you were to die that you would go to be with the Lord.

And that whatever happens in the world in which you live, that you know that greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world. And so Paul now begins to speak to these Galatians. And he says to them, listen, it's not about your life.

It's not about the selfishness of who you are. But it's about you coming to die to yourself. And the moment that you're willing to die to yourself, there's another one called the Comforter that's going to come and fill your heart with the goodness of God.

And the blessings of God and the anointing of God and Pentecost is going to explode within your life. And so he says very simply in Galatians chapter 2 verse 16, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith of Jesus Christ.

Even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by faith of Christ and not by works of the law. For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. So Paul was saying that God is not willing to reform your flesh.

That God is not willing to deal with your flesh. There is only one sentence that God has against our flesh and that is the sentence of death. So all the labor, all the things I'm doing seeking to please God is not going to please Him at all.

It is by faith that I'm imputed into righteousness. And no man can please God except he come to God and believe that God is. And so the whole essence of your life is to believe what God has said. He said in verse 17, but if while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners.

Is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroy, I make myself a transgressor. For I through the law am dead to the law that I might live unto God.

Crucified with Christ and Alive by Faith

And then the verse we want to look at this morning, I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. And so today in my heart I am crucified. I identify with Christ. And as he was crucified, as he was buried, as he resurrected, so I am crucified.

I have died and I am now resurrected in the newness of the spirit. And that's what he's talking about, being partakers of that divine nature, allowing the spirit of the living God now to take residence within your life.

That your eyes would become his eyes. That your heart would become his heart. That your thoughts and your actions and your motives would now become governed by the kingdom of God. And so when you are seeking him, longing for him, it is God drawing you back to an intimate relationship with him.

I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ that liveth in me. And so no longer am I living for myself, but I am now living for the king of kings. And he is now living inside of me.

And the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith. And here it is, the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Notice in chapter 6 verse 14, Paul goes on to declare in Galatians 6 verse 14, but the conjunction, God forbid, and Paul now is bringing a clear and clear closure to what he is speaking to these people of the church of Galatia.

But God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world. Now we understand, but God forbid that I should glory. So if I am going to become puffed up in my life, that I am going to boast that I am a Christian.

I am going to tell the world that I have died with Christ. And my glory will be in the wisdom of God. By the determined counsel of God, he sent Jesus to die upon the cross. And it has become a stumbling block to the world.

You can talk about anything, but you talk about Christ and the place is going to go crazy. And so it says in the very last verse, by whom the world is crucified, unto whom I unto the world. In other words, Paul in a very simple way puts together a picture.

Living in the World Without Belonging to It

That you are in this world, but you are not of this world. That the world in which you live, they do not understand your commitment. And you have no right to be part of this world. You are a pilgrim living in it.

You are not of it. And this is one of the great dangers that happened during the captivity you remember in Babylon. That the children of Israel were taken into this 70 year captivity because of idolatry.

And it was during that 70 years, that living in Babylon, that 70 years of captivity something very tragic happened in their life. When the years were up and they were now able to return back to that very humble setting in Jerusalem.

And Ezra cried out, let's go. It's time to once again rebuild the temple. It is said that very few people would leave. And so we find that Zerubbabel said the very same thing, guys we need to go. And Nehemiah encouraged the people, but they didn't want to go.

You see what happened is that they were in Babylon being dealt with. But while they were in Babylon, Babylon got into them. And it's one thing to have a ship and be in the water, but it's a whole other thing to have the water inside the ship.

And so you are in the world, but you are not of the world. And the world cannot get inside of you. The dictation or the cosmo of this world cannot begin to dictate your life, the value system of this world.

Deliverance from Sin Through the Cross

And so we find very simply how can I be free from myself? And the answer is very, very simply I need to get another life. And my goal this morning is try to encourage you in such a way that when you look at your life, no longer will you become discouraged.

You will become helpless. And in that helplessness and in that hopelessness trying to be a Christian, you're going to say what Paul said in Romans chapter 7. He said, who is going to deliver me? That which I don't want to do, that I do.

And that which I want to do, that I don't. I open the icebox. I look at the leftover piece of pizza. I know I ought not to do it. I tell myself, I even quote scriptures, gluttons will not enter the kingdom of God, anything.

I'll make up scripture. And yet, sitting in front of that TV with that juicy cheese dripping down with the pepperoni, I don't want my wife to have it, so I got to eat it. I feel called by God to deliver her.

She can be thin, but I can be fat. That's okay. And then I look in the mirror. And every night, sideways, I say, oh my, when did you become pregnant? And I begin to think, oh Lord, now you know I didn't want to eat that pizza.

And God, you didn't help me. And I hear this voice, shut the icebox. Leave it alone. Give it a rest. That which I don't want to do, that I do. And finally, I have to come to a point that in me is no good thing.

I don't have the strength to say no to sin. I don't have the ability to stay pure in a relationship. I don't have the ability to do whatever I think I can do. Because this body of sin, this flesh, is stronger than I am.

So who is going to deliver me? Who is going to help me? How am I going to get victory? How am I going to remain faithful? How am I going to serve you the way you want to serve me? And the answer, Paul said, is you need to come to the cross.

And you need to die. And the moment that you die, I'm able to take over your life. And God now sends his Holy Spirit to become the residence of your life. And now he begins to call the shot. So greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world.

And it's not by might nor by power, but it's by my spirit this thing's going to get done. And I begin to see the peace of God. I begin to understand that there's someone in my heart that now is dictating my life.

The Body as the Temple of the Holy Spirit

So Paul declared that your bodies are not your own. You've been filled with the power of God. Therefore glorify God in your body. And so when I walk in to a place, I'm taking the Lord with me. You go into a bar, you're going to take him in with you.

You don't say, Jesus, sit out here by the dock. I'm going in, getting drunk, I'm coming back out, hop back in my life. If you go to bed with a non-believer or vice versa, you commit adultery or fornication, you take Christ through that relationship.

It's a horrible thing to think about. And so what God is saying very simply is that he's in your heart. And when he begins to take over, and so the work of the Holy Spirit is to bring the fullness of God.

And God cannot bring forth his power until I'm willing to die to all that I am. You say, well, Steve, I realize I'm selfish, but I really want to deal with my selfishness, then die. I really want to save the marriage, but I just don't know how to, die.

I really want to win the kids, but I just don't know what to do, die. You see, the moment that you give up, the moment that you surrender all, the moment that you go the way of the cross, everything begins to make sense in your life.

Walking by the Spirit Through the Way of the Cross

The Bible, you remember, declares in Ezekiel 47 verse 1, he said that when the water came from underneath of the door by the altar, and it came down the mountain, it says in verse 1, it went by the way of the river and by the way of the altar.

And so the thing that you and I must come to understand is that when we talk about walking in the Spirit, or we talk about being led by the Spirit, or we talk about the anointing of God upon our life, that is not the gift of tongues or God using me in a special way.

What he is saying is that if you want to walk after the Spirit and you want to be led by the Spirit, I guarantee you and promise you, he'll take you by the way of the cross. And there's no way around the way of the cross in the life of the believer.

And so if you're seeking to get away from that cross, then you're not understanding the fullness of God. The moment you surrender, he'll take you to the cross. And he wants to teach you there something.

He wants to teach you that in that hopelessness, in that helplessness, he becomes everything in your life. And the moment you die, you begin to live in the power of the resurrection of Christ. And it's no longer you fumbling around within your life, trying to be this Christian, trying to be good this week.

It's now you are driven and there is a power within your life and there is a torrent of living water. And now God is doing something in your mind, your heart, and you're being transformed. And you're beginning to think like him and act like him and you're beginning to be what we really believe a Christian is all about.

They're Christ-like. And so it says the way of the Spirit very simply is Christ. And he had to come and Christ had to die. His whole life was preparing him for that one moment. Jesus came for one reason.

What? To die. His whole life for 30-some years was living for what reason? To die. And the reason why? That in that death, he would bring redemption. In that death, he would set you free. In that death, he would bring the resurrection.

And in that death, he would bring eternal life. So in the death of the cross comes the blessings of God. And the moment that I'm willing to die, the blessings of God are going to come in my life in a very fulfilled way.

So he came to fulfill the Father's heart and that was to die. And God wants us to come the way of the cross. There's just no other way around it. You remember the Bible declares before the foundations were, he was slain.

And then it says here that before the whole world publicly, he wanted them to see his death. And then at the very end in the book of Revelation, we will worship the Lamb that what? Was slain before the foundations of the world.

So the greatest word and the greatest moment of our Lord's life was his death. And the greatest moment in your whole life is when you die. To be absent in the body is to be what? Present with the Lord.

And there are some wonderful things when you begin to realize what it is. And just imagine if you're a bride and your husband has gone the way of the cross and you want to be with him, then you need to be like him.

And if God is the husband and we are the bride and this is the way that he has chosen, then this is the way that I must come to live my life. So death gave him the power of the resurrection. And death gave him the victory over sin.

And death gave him the resurrected power. And death gave him everlasting life. But I must understand it. And so I stand before you today simply asking, do you really understand what we're talking about here?

Salvation Through Christ's Substitutionary Death

Two thousand years ago there was a cross. And I need to understand that in that cross would come salvation. That I would reckon myself dead unto God and alive unto Christ. That he would take my sins and he would substitute his life.

That he would give his back. That I would be able to give my life. But not only do I need to understand it, I think it's important that I need to live it. I need to accept what he did. That he gave his heart, gave his life, recognizing what he wants to do.

And in giving his life he set a pattern. And when I look at the cross or this death, I think of just a few things that really kind of stand out to me. Number one, I think that in his death there was humility.

If I look at the cross of Christ it said that he thought it not robbery to be equal with God. But took upon him the form of a servant was made in the likeness of man. He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

He humbled himself. So you say, well, Steve, help me understand what you're really saying. The crucified life is a life of humility. You see, what is lacking in our society today is humility. What is lacking with our children, humility.

What is lacking in our marriage is humility. No one wants to die. No one wants to give it up. Everyone wants to be right. But Jesus hanging on that cross, though he was right, gave it up that I might be saved.

And God is asking you if you go the same way. If through your humility you're going to win him back. But if I'm unwilling to humble myself, the marriage can never be saved. If I'm unwilling to humble myself with my children, my kids are never going to come home.

If I'm unwilling to humble myself at work, then I'm going to lose my job. In other words, in death, there comes a humility he hung upon that cross. The Bible says he let them tie his hands. He could have come down at any moment.

But he chose to do the Father's will through a life of humility. And that's important when I look at a man or a woman who says, well, I live the crucified life. The first thing I'm going to look for is a humility within your life.

Is there a brokenness? And that's what the cross does. It breaks you. And people today say, I don't want to be broken. You need to be broken in this way. We're broken in every other way. Our marriages are broken.

Relationships are broken. Teens are broken. Businesses, everything's broken. Because we're not broken here. And so when Satan says, you don't want to come to Christ because you're going to break, he's absolutely right.

And in your mind, you can't handle one more breaking. But in this breaking, everything gets healed. And so Satan has you over here. This is wrong and that is wrong and everything's wrong. Hey, when you're wrong with God, everything's wrong.

But when you're right with God, everything's right. God will make even your enemies be at peace with you. And so if you're trying to put this together, that's what it is. Get a life. Put this together.

Put this together. And so you buy your homes and buy your cars and have the things and have the money. But you go to bed and you're empty. But the moment you're broken here at the cross, there's a humility.

Helplessness, Surrender, and Dependence on Christ

You don't need this. You have this and God usually gives you this. But second thing, not only humility, but I find there was a helplessness. Yes, he could have come down, but he allowed them to tie him to that cross, to knell him to that cross.

There was a helplessness before God. My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? And I believe that, listen to me very carefully, there needs to become a helplessness within your life. God, I just can't do it.

I've tried to stop cussing and I can't. I've tried to stop lusting and I can't. I've tried to stop spending my husband's money, but I can't. What do you say about that? Well, it's said in the Bible, she needs more dough.

What can I say? But you can't. Though you want to, you can't. I want to love the guy, but he drives me crazy. I want to shoot him. I'd love the kids, but hope they don't come home right now. And so there's this ability to work things out, independence.

But when you become helpless, I quit. I surrender. My marriage is a mess. My life is a mess. My church is a mess. Lord, if you can take me, I'd sure like you to turn this thing around. And thereupon that cross, that thief said, oh Lord, we deserve to be here under your curse.

But would you remember me? And she said, this day you will be with me in paradise. I just can't say I'm helpless, then no paradise. I just can't get humble, no paradise. Are you saying, Stephen, that to have paradise there has to be humility and helplessness?

I'm saying to have paradise, you need to be broken and desperate. And we're not. Because we can pull it together and we can do this and we don't need church and we don't need this. I'm telling you, you need Jesus Christ.

That's what's going to heal your life. That's what's going to give you a new life. And not just another life, but someone living inside of you, who was able to encourage you, who will never let you go.

He'll never leave you, no forsake you. He'll be with you to the very ends of the world. That which he has begun, he's able to complete until that day. He bought you. He made you. He knows you. You say, well, Steve, I feel like such a failure.

He knew that when he bought you. You're not disturbing him a bit. I can't believe how horrible I feel. Well, God knew that you were going to do it. He's just waiting for you to do what? To come to the cross.

He's waiting for you to become helpless in the sense that you give him permission because the Holy Spirit will not force his way upon your life. And then also I find that on that cross, after his death, he was restful.

Rest, Death, and the Hope of Resurrection

He died. We did a funeral the other day and he was laying inside this coffin and they opened it up and I have to confess, you're going to think, oh man, this guy is morbid. I thought, he's with God. Here we have the church and we do this and we do that and we got to go home and do the dishes.

Boy, good night's sleep. That's pretty cool. You think, oh man, how sick can you get? Well, the Bible says to be absent in the body is what? No taxes, no fat, no cholesterol, no shots, no nothing. Singing and worshiping and praising God versus Carson.

Hands down. I'm ready to go. He's just laying right there. That smile, I remember when Chuck buried this one man who was a great pastor teacher. We would walk by and he had a Bible in one hand and a fork in the other.

And that's how he won it. Because the reason why, he used to love dessert and he would always say in his Bible studies, and the best is yet to come. And so they put a fork in his hand. The best is yet to come.

I like that. The joy of knowing that through death eternal life comes. Oh, don't talk about death. The whole Bible talks about death. You are to die to yourself. The corn is to die to bring forth the wheat.

If you're unwilling to die, then you're unwilling to live. Well, I want to live, but I want to live my way. Oh, a horrible way to live. So I begin to realize very simply that the fellowship, I think Thomas said it, we will go and die.

Oh, that's great. I mean, it's great. We'll go and die. The other disciples say, hey, knock it off, Tom. You might want to die, but we really don't want to die. Jesus just listened. Peter said, I will go to the ends with you and fight, and I will die with you.

Jesus, yes. Okay, Pete, no problem. I think what Jesus could have said to them is you guys, in just about one week, you're going to see what it means to hang on that cross with me. And I think the greatest example is that thief.

And when they saw that thief bleeding and death, this is what Jesus said. This is the death. And in that one moment where the man was hopeless, check this out, the man was helpless, and the man was cursed.

He had enough sense to say, remember me. He quit. And Jesus said, today, paradise. And that's the message this morning. Stephen, I'm helpless today. I'm hopeless today. You will be with me in paradise.

Closing Call to Receive Another Life in Christ

And so as we close, greater is he that's in you. The life that you now live, you live by the faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave himself for you. Another life. Not your life, another life.

Pastor Steve Mays, with positive instruction on how we can experience life to its fullest. Glad to have you with us today for this encouraging message called Get Another Life. Now, I don't know if you're aware of this, but there's something tugging at you right now.

It's called the lure of sin. It's constantly trying to draw you out. So it's important that you learn how to deal with it. In Pastor Steve's resource called A Life Out of Control, he shares how you can stand your ground even in the face of temptation.

Using the example of Samson, Steve talks about the danger of living too close to sin. And he shares ways that you can put distance between you and the enticements of the enemy. A Life Out of Control is a publication that will support your desire to make good and wise choices.

And we're sending it out to say thank you to those who appreciate the teaching that Pastor Steve brings us each day and can send a contribution so the program can continue right here on this station. There are quite a few expenses involved in bringing this broadcast your way each day, and we rely on you, our listeners, to help us with the costs.

So if you can, we hope you'll take the opportunity to get involved with the work here at Light of the Word. And with your donation, please be sure to mention that you'd like a copy of Steve's booklet called A Life Out of Control.

Ask for it when you write to Light of the Word Box 300 Torrance, CA 90507. Or call us at 1 -800 -339-WISE. That's 800 -339-WISE. Online, we're at lightoftheword .org. That just about does it for right now, but join us next time when we once again dive into the Light of the Word.