I Did It My Way

Well Frank Sinatra's signature song was I did it my way. I want you to listen to the words of that song. I'm not going to sing them for you. I've had a couple of offers for people to do that this morning, but I just want to read some of the words. Notice the philosophy that is indicated by these words. And now the end is near and so I face the final curtain. My friend, I'll say it clear, I'll state my case of which I'm certain. I've lived the life that's full. I've traveled each and every highway, but more, much more than this. I did it my way. Regrets I've had a few, but then again too few to mention, I did what I had to do and saw it through without exemption. I planned each charted course, each careful step along the by way, and more, much more than this. I did it my way. Yes, there were times I'm sure you knew when I bid off more than I could chew, but through it all when there was doubt I ate it up and spit it out. I faced it all and I stood tall and did it my way. That philosophy of self-assured independence that will not let anyone tell me what to do, I'm going to live my life my way. I'm going to chart my own course. I'm going to do it the way I want to do it. I don't care what anybody else says, that is the philosophy of our age. That is the philosophy of our culture and more and more so that will come to be the case. Paul prophesied that in 2 Timothy chapter 3 verses 1 and 2. When he said, Mark this, there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, and you go on to list a lot of other things, but that philosophy of life that I will listen to no one else, I will chart my own way, I will do my own thing, I'm going to live my own life, that resistance to authority, resistance against parents, resistance against teachers, law enforcement officers, eventually the attitude that no one, not even God has a right to tell me how to live, the Bible is no authority, I'm going to do it my way. That philosophy is the spirit of our age and it has no place in the life of a follower of Jesus Christ, has no place in the life of a believer. But it can be very subtle, that philosophy can creep into our thinking almost without our realizing it. There are lots of ways that we live out that credo, I'll do it my way. I'll make decisions the way I want to make them. I'll marry who I want to marry. I'll have whatever relationships I want to have. I will pursue the lifestyle I want to live. It even happens in church and in ministry. Well, I will pull whatever strings are necessary to get the ministry, to get the church, to get the position that I want. You know that attitude is nothing new. It goes all the way back to Adam who was the first one to say, regardless of what God says, I'm going to do it my way. But it is especially seen in a passive scripture we look at today is we trace the life of Moses. It is especially seen in Moses' life. We last saw him last week being led as a little lad to the palace in Exodus chapter 2. There's about a 30 year gap, 30, 35 year gap in the record when we come to our text today in Exodus chapter 2 in verse 11, where we find him at this point 40 years old grown up and we pick up the account of his life in Exodus chapter 2 verse 11. If you have your Bible open, follow along as I read just five verses here beginning in verse 11. One day after Moses had grown up, he went out to where his people were and watched them at their hard labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people, looking this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. The next day he went out and saw two Hebrew fighting. He asked the one in the wrong, why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew? The man said, who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me? As you killed the Egyptian, then Moses was afraid and thought, what I did must have become known. When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian where he sat down by a well. As we look at what this story tells us about Moses, what we will find today is that Moses is an example of the tragedy of living life your own way. He is a perfect example of our tendency to do that, but he is an example of the tragedy that it leads to when we decide to chart our own course, live our own way and do it our way. Now as we look at this story, we will also pull from a new testament account of this same story from Acts chapter 7. In fact, that's where we'll begin because what we find first in this story is the advantages in Moses' life. I want us to see the kind of advantages he had which made it very likely that he would say, I can handle life on my own. The account in Acts, Acts chapter 7, which is Stephen's great sermon, kind of a summary, cliff notes version of the Old Testament story of Israel, in the section of his sermon on Moses in Acts 7 verse 22, Stephen says this, Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action. The record in Exodus does not tell us that Stephen fills in a gap of Moses' life leading up to this story, but it highlights some of the advantages in his life. From that text you can tell, first of all, he had the advantage of wealth. I mean, he had moved from a little shack into a palace. He had moved from a corner in that shack to a whole suite of rooms in the palace. It would be like someone going from living in a trash dump in a third world, major city in our world to being suddenly moved into the White House. That kind of wealth immediately was dropped into Moses' life and he grew up with those kinds of surroundings in that kind of wealth, but he had not only the advantage of wealth, he had the advantage of education. That passage tells us there in Acts 7 that he was well educated, trained in all that the Egyptians had to offer. We know from archaeology that there was a major university that no doubt Moses would have attended called the Temple of the Sun. It was considered the Oxford of the ancient world. It was an amazing place to learn and Moses had everything at his fingertips by way of education. In this highly developed civilization, quite possibly the most developed of its age, Moses was attending the most prestigious university. He would study astronomy from a civilization that developed a highly technical calendar. He would study engineering from a civilization that built the pyramids. He would study medicine from people that perfected the art of enbalming. He would study, as we know from archaeology, he would study chemistry, he would study theology, he would study philosophy, he would study law, he would study military history and strategy, he would study literature, he would study the arts, including sculpture, music, painting. I mean this was a broad liberal arts education and specific enough to have him well versed in every major area of educational pursuit. It was a rigorous discipline of studies that would prepare him for the throne. He would be uniquely qualified to lead a nation. And from all that we know from both Jewish and Egyptian historical sources, particularly from a Jewish historian named Josephus, Moses displayed a keen intellect and acts tells us that he was very well advanced, very well educated. So you want wealth, he's got all you can ask for. You want education, he's got the best. But he also had leadership skills. The Jewish historian Josephus tells us that at age 30 the Ethiopians attacked Egypt and Moses was put in charge of the army and led the Egyptian army to a rousing victory over the Ethiopians. When he's 30 years old, he demonstrates the kind of leadership skills that would catapult him to the head of the nation someday. But he also had experience. By the time we find him in this text 40 years old, he's got a wealth of experience, power, influence in all areas of Egyptian life. So he had wealth and education, leadership skills, experience, and also charisma. The passage in Acts tells us that he was well versed. He was eloquent in speech and powerful indeed, mighty in words. He spoke with ease. He had a win some personality, which becomes all the more interesting when we see him 40 years down the road. And one of his complaints to God is I can't speak very well. But the Bible tells us that in his training in his early years, he was very eloquent, powerful in word and indeed. So Moses made a name for himself. Moses earned a respect of everybody around him. He was highly valued. He was competent. He was courageous, highly qualified, primed to be the leader of the nation of Egypt. He was the pride of the nation. But he was also very vulnerable, very vulnerable. Anytime you have so many advantages in your life, so much going for you, it's easy to put all of your confidence and hopes in yourself. Why? Because you are so highly skilled, so highly ready for whatever may come your way. You don't need any help. If anyone could sing, I will do it my way. It could have been Moses. And maybe that's you today. Maybe you have some of those same kind of advantages in your life. Maybe God has opened wonderful doors for you to have those kinds of things that Moses may have had. And you're the kind of person that everybody looks to. You're the kind of person that has the personality and the leadership skills and maybe the education and experience that everybody looks up to you. You are a leader in your field. You are also on very dangerous ground. Because you may be convinced that you have what it takes to figure out your own life and chart your own course and do it your way. And you will be successful. You've got success written all over you. There's no way you can fail. So you think. So you think. Paul in referring to the history of Israel in the wilderness in 1 Corinthians chapter 10 made this warning to the Corinthian church. Let him who thinks he stands take heed. Let's see fall. Those who have great advantages if they put their confidence in those advantages are primed for a fall. And such was the case with Moses. Great advantages. But then notice the next step of the story which describe the ambition in Moses life. Now we are in Exodus chapter 2 verse 11. One day after Moses had grown up and Acts 7 tells us he was 40 years old now. So one day after Moses had grown up he went out to where his own people were and watched them at their hard labor. Now there are a couple of clues in this verse as to what's really going on in Moses heart. First of all it says he went out to where his own people were. In other words Moses knew who his people were. He knew the people that ethnically, racially and heart wise he identified with. He knew he was not an Egyptian. He knew he was a Hebrew. He knew who his people were. That had been drilled into him in those early years under the training and care of his mother. And he never forgot that. But there's another little clue as to what was going on. You see the word watched them. It's a particular word in the original language that means to watch with concern and care with sympathy and it can even be used at times of grief. So Moses is interested in identifying with his own people and he wants to see what they're going through and as he sees it his heart is drawn to them. His hardest crust he's moved. He's very sympathetic to their plight. And so I think that gives us a little bit of a clue what's going on in Moses heart and life at this time. You know there are lots of folks when they look at the view of the life of Moses that think Moses really did not know what God was wanting him to do. He did not really know his life's calling until much later when God appears to him at the burning bush. Then he realized God wants to lead him to or God wants him to lead his people out of Egypt. I don't think so. I think that is already stirring in the heart of Moses right here. He knows who his people are. He is moved to identify with them to see what they're going through and his heart is touched and drawn toward them. I believe that Moses senses at this stage in his life when he's 40 years old a stirring in his heart to do something for his people maybe even to be used of God to deliver his people. I'm convinced he never forgot what his mother taught him about who he was his people and that God had a special plan for him. We saw that at his birth and I think you never forgot that. I love what the old British expositor from the 1800s F.B. Meyer had to say in his book Old Testament Men of Faith. He says this about Moses. He says in spite of all that he had going for him in Egypt. He says beneath all another thought was always present with him and gradually dwarfed all others as it grew within his soul. He could not forget that his parents were slaves that the bondmen who were groaning in the brick fields beneath the lash of the taskmasters were his brethren. He never lost the thought that of that God to whom his mother had taught him to pray and in his most successful moments when sipping the intoxicating cup of earthly success he could not rid himself of the impression that his destiny did not lie amid such surroundings as those but was in some way to be associated with the fulfillment of that promise which he had heard so often from his mother's lips. I agree I think that's what was stirring in the heart of Moses and that is a worthy ambition. There's nothing wrong with Moses' ambition. That's good. But what we will see is that Moses will decide to take matters into his own hands that he will decide this is what God is stirring me to do. I believe I identify with my people. I'm moved by their plight. I want to do something and he decides to do it his own way. He decides to push God's plan because things aren't happening fast enough for him. Things aren't happening like he thinks they should happen so he's going to look for a way to jumpstart the process and get things moving. If the rock is immovable in the way then I'll find some way to move it. I'll do it myself. I'll do it my way. The ambition of Moses is not the problem. The lack of patience to wait on God's timing and that's the problem. That's what we often face in our own lives. God moves in our hearts. He's stirring in our hearts. He's putting a desire and ambition there which is a good ambition. A godly drive and desire. But we want it to happen now. We want God's work to move in this direction now. We want to see this happen now and I'm not going to wait on it so I'm going to manipulate and push to get it done now in my time. In order to do that I'll do it my way. Some of us do that with our families when we're concerned about what we see and rather than committing it to God and waiting and praying and waiting on his timing and plan and for him to move and move us to be used by him we'll push it our own way and we'll just bulldoze through whatever's happening. Leave shattered hearts in the wake. Some of us do that with our work. Rather than waiting on God's timing to open that door or to solve that situation in the office or in the workplace we're just going to take matters into our own hands and do it our way. If it's going to happen I'll make it happen. You see you see that spirit of independence of not waiting upon God. The ambition is good but he will not wait on God. So that leads us to the third part of the story and that is the action in Moses life. Moses does decide to take action. He decides to move things and so what he does is describe beginning in the middle of verse 11. He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his own people looking this way and that and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hit him in the sand. The next day he went out and saw two Hebrews fighting. He asked the one and the wrong why are you hitting your fellow Hebrew. Now let's stop there because those verses describe what action Moses takes and there really are three actions that he takes and amazingly they very well parallel the three kinds of actions we are liable to take when we begin pushing things our way. The first is a bold move and we decide okay it's time for actions, time for something to happen. I'm going to push it with a bold move so Moses does that as he's out seeing the plight of his people he sees a mistreated slave and there are some who think Moses kind of snapped at that point and was kind of acting out of his head. I don't think so. I think Moses saw an opportunity to initiate his plan. God is putting a stirring in his heart to do something to help his people. He sees an opportunity to show loyalty to his people that he is with them, that he's one of them hoping that will be the thing that pushes things forward so he looks around. He doesn't see another Egyptian in sight and he decides okay this is my chance. He kills the Egyptian. I again believe he was sincere and that he thought he was striking a blow for God's people. In fact that's the way Stephen preached it in the book of Acts. Look at these two verses, Acts chapter 7 verses 24 and 25. He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian and he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian. Now notice the next verse, Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them but they did not. But you see Stephen feels the gaps of the record and Exodus by showing us by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit what was in Moses' mind as he kills the Egyptian. This is a bold move on his part to rally the support of his people. To show them I am your leader. I'm the guy you've been looking for. Now gather behind me and we will make this happen. He takes the situation into his own hands just like we do. Pushing our own way. Trying to help God get things going. God doesn't seem to be moving. God doesn't seem to be working. God doesn't seem to be answering my prayer. So I'd better push a little harder rather than humbling ourselves, seeking God more and waiting on his timing and his way. You see Moses made this mistake. He looked to the left and he looked to the right. He did not look up. And that's the mistake we often make. It's the mistake that so many people throughout Bible times have made. It's the mistake that Abraham made. When God had made him a promise that you will have a son in 25 years go by and there's no son. And so Abraham decides well you know God needs a little help. And so he and Sarah can cock this plan for him to have a child through his through Sarah's servant girl. And that created all kinds of a mess. Ishmael was a horrible problem for Abraham. Sarah and the eventual God given son Isaac. But because Abraham decided I've got to push this thing along. I'm tired of waiting on God. It happened to Saul. First king of Israel. And the Philistines are gathering in first Samuel 13 in a mighty army. I mean the Bible says they numbered like the sand of the seashore. That was the impression they gave as Saul and his pitiful group of 600 men looked out on this great army. And so Samuel the prophet has agreed with Saul they will not go into battle until Samuel arrives within seven days to offer a sacrifice commit the army to the Lord dedicate them to the Lord and then they will go into battle. Saul is waiting. He's trying. He's waiting. But Saul the Samuel doesn't show up in seven days. And so Saul says guys are starting to lead the army because they're scared of what they're seeing. I got to do something. So he grabs a sacrifice and offers it himself. And about that time Samuel shows up. And Samuel looks at Saul and says what have you done? Saul has a good answer. At least it sounds like it to us. Guys we're deserting. They were leaving the army because of fear and this great army's out here again. We got to do something. And what he said basically was Samuel said you have put yourself in the place of God. You did not wait on God. You lacked patience and because of that God's going to look for someone else who was a man after his own heart to be the king. So it happens Saul. I imagine if I had been in the army of Israel as they face their first battle as they went into the land as Joshua took them into the land the battle of Jericho and God gives these really weird battle plans. I want you to take some priests and take the Ark of the Covenant and march around the walls of the city for seven days. And then on the seventh day march around at seven times, blow some trumpets and give a loud cry and the walls will fall down. You know what I would have been thinking? Well if it's a loud cry that's going to bring the walls down why don't we have to wait seven days to do that? Why don't the march around this? Let's do it on day one. Come on let's get this thing done. You see we are so apt in our own eagerness to make a bold move to get stuff done that we may jump ahead of God. Whether it's in church or families or job situation or personal situation, whatever it may be, Moses made a bold move. But the second action of Moses is a result of that bold move. It's a cover-up. Because of his bold move, now he's got to cover up on his hands. You see it there? In verse 12, he killed the Egyptian and then he sat around, I got a body at my feet. What am I going to do with this? So he hid him in the sand. So the second action of Moses was a cover-up. You know anytime we act in the flesh, we're going to have something to cover up. We're going to make a mess of things and we're going to have something to cover up. We're going to have a motive that we're going to have to cover up, try to explain away the way we manipulated the situation or manipulated people to get our way. We're going to have to cover that up somehow. We'll have a lie or a half truth to cover up, a boast to cover up, a rash act to cover up. The truth will catch up with us. And when we realize what we've done, then we start trying to cover our tracks. The problem is when we move in to do things on our own, we make a mess and we create a bigger mess. And there we are, stuck with a corpse at our feet, a shovel in our hands, and trying to figure out how to cover the mess up. Again, it happens often to people in Scripture and it happens to us as well. So, happened with Abraham, happened with Jeff in the book of Judges when he makes this rash, vow, promises God, if you give me victory, whatever is the first thing to come into my side, I'll offer to you as a sacrifice. And the first thing comes into his side is his daughter. How are you going to work that thing out? It happens so often. Most of us are not very good at cover-ups. Most of us just make things worse when we've tried to act boldly in the flesh on our own, rather than trusting God and waiting upon him and letting him work the situation out, or give us the wisdom to know when to move, most of us make a real mess. Obviously, Moses didn't do a very good job of covering this guy up, because he was found. If you wait and let God do things, he does it right. There would come a time when God would decide to cover up the whole Egyptian army with water, and he did a good job of it. There was no evidence left. Cover up. But then I think there's the third action on the part of Moses, and that is an attempt to carry out his plan. You see what he did in verse 13. The next day he went out and ceased to Hebrew's fighting, and he tries to break them up. Now, what's going on here? We know from the account in Acts, Moses thought that what he was doing would garner support from the other Israelites, and they would realize, here's the guy to lead us, here's the guy to deliver us. So why did he go out again the next day to rally the troops? I mean, that's what Acts 7 says was in his mind. He thought that God would use this bold move to make him the leader, the people that would follow him. He still thinks his plan is okay, that it will work, and he feels, if I just go out the next day, the Jews will see me as their deliverer. They will rally around me, they'll grab their pitchforks and say, lead on, great leader. That's charged the palace. It didn't happen. He had proved himself loyal to the Hebrews, and now he goes back to the scene to rally the troops. That's his plan. Sounds like a great plan. The problem is, it's not God's plan. It's not God's time, and it is not God's way. And whenever we move to do things our way, without earnestly seeking the face of God and determining his way, his time, and his plan, we're going to create a mess. And that leads to the last part of the story, what I'm going to call the Abilance in Moses' life. It's described for us in verses 14 and 15. The man said, who made you ruler and judge over us? You think of killing me as you killed the Egyptian? And Moses was afraid and thought what I did must have become known. When Pharaoh heard of this, he tried to kill Moses, but Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in Midian where he set down by a well. The reason I like the image of an Abilance here is because if you've ever skied, I don't know if any of you have been caught in an Abilance, you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I've seen some of this on television where people are out there skiing, seeming to have a great time, and all of a sudden the slope of the mountain, the snow starts giving way, and they are suddenly caught in a slide that is absolutely out of their control. And that's exactly what's happening in Moses' life. He has swept away in tumbling series of events that is totally out of his control, and it is not at all what he expected. He expected the ski ride into the situation the next day, well, maybe not in the Egyptian desert, but he expected just to come right on the situation the next day. The people rally around him, charge the palace, and he will lead his people to victory. But suddenly his world caves in, and events spiral out of control, the exact opposite of what he expected. Can you imagine, first of all, the surprise, when he arrives on the scene the next day, that he brews or fighting each other, there's two guys fighting, they're supposed to be waiting for him, pitchforks in hand, eager smiles on their face. Oh mighty leader, we're ready for you, but he finds two guys fighting. And so he steps in to try to break it up, and he gets a response he never could have imagined. Look at what, again, Stephen says in Acts chapter 7, the next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting, he tried to reconcile them by saying, man, you're brothers, why do you want to hurt each other? Now notice this little detail that's not in Exodus, but the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, who made you ruler and judge over us? It's just not a case of mistaken identity here. It's just, it's not just that this guy didn't recognize this is the same guy who killed the Egyptian yesterday, and he's our great leader? No, he doesn't care for Moses. He pushes him aside. Come on fancy boy, you and the fancy Egyptian dress, get out of here. Who made you a ruler over us? Moses has never heard that. Moses is used to people bowing to his chariot when he rides through the streets of the cities in Egypt. Moses is used to people doing anything he says or expects. He's not used to someone shoving him aside saying, get out of here. He's not used to that. I can only imagine the kind of surprise, the shock, the sting of those words in Moses' ears and heart, a guy who's used to getting whatever he wants. But the surprise is quickly followed by confusion. I am sure Moses was thinking, what's happening here? I believe God wants me to be the leader. I know who my people are. I remember what my parents taught me. I believe God wants to use me to lead them. I'm trying to strike the match, but the fire won't burn. It won't happen. And I've tried to rally the troops and they're just getting me out of here. They won't follow. Sometimes when we push ahead, thinking that we're doing what God wants us to do, but it's not his time, it's not his way, it's not his plan, it's our plan in our time and our way. It leaves us totally confused. Why didn't things have? I thought I was doing God's work. I thought I was doing what he wanted me to do. Why? A confusion sets in. And then the next part of this avalanche of circumstances that are out of control now is fear. The Bible says he was afraid in verse 14. Moses was afraid, and thought what I did must have become known. That known just beyond this guy, known just beyond the ones who saw me. This is being widely known and maybe even known among the Egyptians as indeed it was. And so fear grips his heart. Sure enough Pharaoh now sees Moses as disloyal and tries to kill him. The one who is poised to be the next on the throne of Egypt is now being hunted for his life by Pharaoh. Moses is now reaping the consequences of his foolish actions. Maybe you've been there. Maybe you're there right now. Desire, ambition, zeal, plenty of that. But you strike out on your own in the flesh and you've created an unbearable situation. You need the wisdom of God to sense God's will and God's timing because you've made a mess of things and you're afraid you're ready to lose it all. And so what's next? Moses ends up running. When Pharaoh tries to get to him, Moses fled from Pharaoh, went to live in Midian, verse 15 says, where he sat down by a well. Just imagine, highly qualified, but now he's running for his life. One of the most the most, maybe the second most, important man in Egypt, now absolutely useless. Running out into the desert. By the way, the desert of Midian is like a moon scape. There hardly any plants, bushes, trees there. It's just desert. Mountainous, rocky desert. It is later the area where the children of Israel will wander. But I guarantee you on this day, Moses wasn't strutting down the road toward Midian, say, I did it my way. Now he's crushed because he did it his way. Frightened, confused, disillusioned, his whole life ruined. It appears. All that intellect, all that wealth, all that charisma, that military victory. That means nothing now. He's lost it all. Believe it or not, when you find yourself in that position, when you have decided you're going to try to run your own life and you're going to do your own thing and you've made a royal mess of it and it looks like you are going to lose or maybe have already lost everything. Lost your family, lost your job, lost your standing with others, maybe you've lost it all or you're on the verge of that. You fear that. Believe it or not. You may be in just the right position for a spiritual breakthrough. I love the way verse 15 ends. Went to live in Midian where he sat down by a well. Now here's where Moses is and it may be where you are. When self life runs its course, it leads to a desert. Always, always does. It always leads to a place where what you wanted and what you hoped for vanishes before your eyes. Your great plans and ambition, your desires, your way ruins everything and you stumble to a stop wondering what have I done and your life is shattered. Self life always leads to a desert but when self life finally stops, there is a well of new life nearby. So yes, he goes to Midian. What does he do? He sits down by a well. And we don't know it yet. We'll see it next week. That's where God begins to rebuild his life. Write it that well where he decides to settle. God begins to give him a spring of life, of refreshing taste of new water in his life and it will all start at the end of himself. So my friend, if you find yourself there today, you've been running from God or you've just been living life your own way, choosing to do it according to your plan, your wisdom, your timetable, maybe you've not even consulted God, maybe you've never prayed about what those decisions have been in your life. But you're pursuing it your way. I plead with you, come back to him, sit down at a well of water where he will refresh your spirit and begin to rebuild your life, begin to free you from your own self will and mold and shape you to be like him. In other words, I plead with you, stop running and fighting and pushing your own way. Let him have his way. Wherever you are today, my friend, let him have his way. You know, maybe you're pursuing heaven like Moses pursued this plan that he thought was God. Maybe you're thinking, I'm going to do it my way. I'm going to get to heaven my way. I'm going to try my hardest, I'm going to live my best, I'm going to do this and I'm going to go to church, I'm going to do my best for my family to be a good husband and father or mother. I'm going to do my very best. You just watch and see, I've got what it takes. My friend, you will make a mess of your life and you will never get to heaven that way. What you need to do is stop pushing your own way, stop fighting against God, recognize that you are a sinner in need of a savior and trust the Lord Jesus to save you. Or maybe you are a believer here today, you're a Christian but you're way, way out of fellowship with God. It's been a long time since you ever really seriously considered what God's plan and purpose and way was for your life. But you've been pushing hard for your own success, for your own way, for your own plan, your own ambitions and you find things beginning to crumble all around you and you're losing the things that were most dear to you. My friend is time to wake up, it's time to wake up and say my way is ruining my life. I need to submit to God's way. Will you do that today? Let's pray together.