Putting Jesus on the Throne of Your Heart

This chair we fight over as a family all the time. This is my throne. I love this chair. It's comfortable. My kids love this chair as well. My wife and I, if we get up at the same time, we'll like fight over who can sit and drink coffee here in the morning. But it's so comfortable. You sit, you kick your legs back. I'll be honest, I could preach the whole message like this. Like super comfortable. It's just like comfortable. Like in our house, in our living room, this is the spot. This is the throne in our house. [00:35:27] (37 seconds)  #HomeThroneSpot

And I want to take us back to the very first place, this origin story, the story of the first home. And where we're going to be is we're going to be in the very first chapter in the very first book of the Bible. And I think it's important we go here because these two first chapters, chapter one and chapter two of Genesis, are actually really important chapters for us. It talks about who we are. It talks about who God is. And it really talks about our identity. [00:36:22] (28 seconds)  #BackToGenesis

God created us. I think that's important. God created you. You're not a mistake. He created you by design. And you begin to know you can actually learn a lot about God when you look at yourself. You gotta go here with me. Like, kids are the perfect example. You make kids as a parent, and for better or for worse, they're kind of like you, right? You see these things. They have these characteristics that are a lot like you. [00:37:31] (29 seconds)  #CreatedByDesign

We believe in one God. But how we experience God is through three different persons. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Christianity, it's this really important principle called the Trinity. And if I was to boil it down to the most rudimentary example, I would say the Trinity is kind of like H2O. H2O can be experienced with water, liquid, vapor, like a fog or a cloud, or like solid, like an ice. It's all the same thing. [00:39:24] (31 seconds)  #TrinityLikeH2O

So does that mean that man is a God? Or God is a man? No. Does it mean that God is a female? No. What it actually means, and this is not new gospel, this is very traditional Christianity theology, God is actually non-gendered, but shares the qualities and characteristics of both men and women. Now we default think of God being father, man, because he's father, and son, and Holy Spirit. But really, God shares the qualities of a female and a man, and he makes man and woman from that. [00:40:34] (37 seconds)  #GodBeyondGender

But really, God shares the qualities of a female and a man, and he makes man and woman from that. Here's what I'm trying to say, though. Please take this from this. God created you by design. Whether you're a woman or a man here today, he created you, not by accident. You didn't trip and fall and you showed up. No, you are supposed to be here and you have a purpose for being here. [00:41:03] (29 seconds)  #MadeWithPurpose

I hope at some point you do have a good home experience. I know Christmas season very specifically is not a lot of the times like a peaceful great home experience. A lot of us come from broken homes or have to walk through broken homes or we have to see people we don't want to see during the holidays. And so the idea of home is not necessarily a good feeling but the idea of this Eden home is different. God created Eden perfect. [00:44:50] (30 seconds)  #GodCreatedEden

He would come into the garden and once the sun came down he even picked the perfect time to walk. You know in the summer times when it's a little hot here once the sun goes down it's like 70 degrees. It's like perfect. You're watching this beautiful sunset and it's cool enough that you can go on a nice walk. So God picks the perfect moment. He comes with Adam and Eve in the garden. They're probably grabbing some fruit that's not on the tree of good and evil. They're eating that fruit and they're just walking and they're talking and they have this like healthy, normal relationship with God. How it was supposed to be. [00:45:40] (37 seconds)  #GodWalksWithUs

I think the key with this perfect home idea is that God was at the center of the house. The reason why Adam and Eve had this great experience was that God was the focal point. He walked with them. He talked with them. He built for them and they built their life with him. And I think it's pretty cool because it's also a picture of what heaven is to come. [00:46:33] (25 seconds)  #GodCenteredHome

It's also this idea of maybe you're single today, maybe you're dating, you're thinking about marriage way down the road, maybe you're building a family right now. Biblically, putting God at the center of your house is the best way to build a lasting house that won't be pushed aside or blown over when the wind and the waves come. [00:46:59] (21 seconds)  #GodAtCenterOfHome

You ever been there when you know the right thing to do, but you end up doing the wrong thing? It's like a magnet. You know you shouldn't be doing the wrong thing, but you keep getting closer to the edge. You just want to, there's the fence. You're not going to jump over the fence, but you want to peek over the fence. You are not any different from anybody else. We all go there. And at best, we don't do it most of the time. But if we're an Adam and Eve spot, you guys, we're doing the same thing. [00:49:10] (35 seconds)  #TemptationIsUniversal

It's like one of my favorite places right up the street, Moppy Cafe. They know me my name. I should have a pastor's discount. I go, there's so much. And I go in and they're like, oh yeah, get this omelet. And I'm like, should I get the cheese or not cheese? I'm like, yeah, that's all right. Get the cheese, you know. And then my wife makes a bunch of cookies last night. I'm like, well, looky here. Right? And then the fast food is always so available. What I know I ought to do, I don't do it. [00:51:03] (31 seconds)  #EverydayTemptations

Who will be on the throne of your heart? Because just like in a house, we have a chair or a seat where everybody likes to sit. There is a throne in your heart. And people and things love to be on the throne. You love to be on the throne, in control. Sex loves to be on the throne. Money loves to be on the throne. [00:51:56] (30 seconds)  #ThroneOfYourHeart

You love to be on the throne, in control. Sex loves to be on the throne. Money loves to be on the throne. Titles and positions love to be on the throne. Work loves to be on the throne. Marriage loves to be on the throne. Sports loves to be on the throne. Kids loves to be on the throne. You know what I'm saying? Everything demands this position. And Jesus asks for the throne. [00:52:15] (34 seconds)  #EverythingWantsTheThrone

We can work really hard. Here's the crazy thing. We work really hard. We get up. And by the end of the day, we've given God the throne of our hearts. Lord, you can have it. Finally. I fought. This is your throne. You go to bed. Did you know you wake up back on your own throne? And every day, you have to choose to give God the throne of your heart. [00:52:48] (23 seconds)  #ChooseGodEveryDay

Like, there's this moment. And so really, the big question is, who will be on the throne of your life? This is the moment. And I want, and I will ask you this question at the end of the service. What I want to do is, I want to invite you and actually challenge you to make the most important decision that you can make. I don't want to manipulate you. You know that's not what we're about here. I'm not going to yell or scream at you. But I'm going to challenge you that this decision, who you put on the throne of your life, is the most important decision you could ever make. [00:53:21] (35 seconds)  #WhoWillBeOnYourThrone

the first home? And they got kicked out of the house for rebelling. And at that moment, they got removed from God. The presence of God is gone. And then, there's this thing called Emmanuel. Emmanuel means God with us. And so, God's presence came back with Jesus. [00:55:33] (25 seconds)  #EmmanuelGodWithUs

You need to know prior to Emmanuel, God with us, your only hope is you're bringing an animal in to be killed and they're gonna spray some blood on it and you hope that's gonna appease God. That's your connection to God. You understand how special Emmanuel is. That from the garden we're broken. But it's to the garden Jesus brings us. He fulfills and brings his presence back. And it's through the presence of God that everything changes. [00:56:30] (44 seconds)  #JesusBringsGodsPresence

Your brokenness can be renewed. Your marriage can be renewed. Your addiction can be broken and healed. These things happen through the power of Christ if we trust him. But it happens by putting away the distractions of the season. Now the distractions of the season isn't even about Christmas season stuff. It's about the distractions of your idea of religion maybe. It's the distractions of your idea of a person. A person that's hurt you. A relationship that you were in. Maybe a sin you committed. This thing that you think you're so far from God. [00:57:14] (44 seconds)  #RenewalThroughChrist

But you need to set that aside for a moment. And come back to the chair. God lets us at any moment invite him back into the chair. And I want to give you that opportunity today. And I don't want to discount this moment for anybody. Because not only are we required to give God the chair every day, but maybe somebody in here has been fighting to let God be on the chair for a long time. And this is your moment. You know you have to give up control. And when you really give up control, it's the most terrifying thing. You gotta trust that God is gonna come through in that moment. [00:58:00] (45 seconds)  #GiveGodTheChair