Do You Want To?
The sermon encourages listeners to surrender their old lifestyle and seek to live according to God's standard, guided by His voice and Spirit.
John Wesley emphasizes the transformative journey of being born again, urging believers to surrender their old lifestyles for the new one outlined in the Sermon on the Mount. He reassures that the key to this transition is not in learning a new way of life but in recognizing our need for it and listening for God's guiding voice. Wesley illustrates this with a metaphor of a shepherd guiding his sheep, highlighting God's constant presence and direction in our lives. He encourages believers to measure their lives against God's standards rather than their own, ensuring they walk in His ways. Ultimately, Wesley calls for obedience to God's voice, which leads us away from sin and towards righteousness.
Text
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." Isaiah 30:21 Just as when we get married we surrender a certain lifestyle in favour of another, so too when we are born again we are invited to surrender our old lifestyle in favour of a new and better one, the one described in the Sermon on the Mount. The question is, do you want to live this way? Perhaps your answer is: "Yes, but how or where do I start?"
That is certainly a spiritually poor way to begin this journey. Draw comfort from the idea that we don't have to learn this lifestyle, so much as admit our need and desire for it and then listen for our Father's guiding voice. Commenting on the above verse, Wesley says: "Thou shalt hear the voice of God's word and Spirit behind thee - a metaphor borrowed from shepherds, who used to follow their sheep, and recall them when they go out of the way." God will follow you and guide you as you seek to walk in His way.
A little boy came running to his mother, shouting, "Mother, I am nine feet tall." His mother responded, "Don't talk such nonsense." "But," he said, "I really am nine feet tall. I measured myself." "Well, how did you measure yourself?" asked his mother. "I took off my shoe and measured myself with that. It is the same size as my foot, and I really am nine feet." When we move from our standard to God's standard (from our measure to God's measure) regarding how we should live, and then seek to walk in it, this wonderful promise of Isaiah 30:21 can be fulfilled in our lives.
In this way God, by His Spirit, makes us what Jesus teaches us to be. O do thou always warn my soul of evil near; When to the right or left I turn, The voice still let me hear: "Come back! This is the way! Come back and walk herein!" O may I hearken and obey, and shun the paths of sin! (296)
Sermon Outline
- I. Introduction
- A. The voice of God's word and Spirit
- B. A metaphor from shepherds
- II. Surrendering our old lifestyle
- A. Born again and invited to surrender
- B. The Sermon on the Mount as a guide
- III. The question of desire
- A. Do you want to live this way?
- B. A spiritually poor way to begin
- IV. Listening for God's guiding voice
- A. Admit our need and desire
- B. Listen for God's voice
- V. God's guidance and promise
- A. Fulfilling Isaiah 30:21
- B. Becoming what Jesus teaches us to be
Key Quotes
“Thou shalt hear the voice of God's word and Spirit behind thee - a metaphor borrowed from shepherds, who used to follow their sheep, and recall them when they go out of the way.” — John Wesley
“O do thou always warn my soul of evil near;” — John Wesley
“When to the right or left I turn, The voice still let me hear: 'Come back! This is the way! Come back and walk herein!'” — John Wesley
Application Points
- We must be willing to surrender our old lifestyle and seek to live according to God's standard.
- We can fulfill the promise of Isaiah 30:21 by listening for God's guiding voice and following His way.
- The Holy Spirit makes us what Jesus teaches us to be, and guides us as we seek to live according to God's standard.