Matt Hagee - One Day at a Time
My goal for you, as your pastor, is for you to live the 3:20 life. Now there's a lot of people that like to tag lots of numbers onto your life, so before you get worried about what is the 3:20 life, I want to show you where it comes from in scripture. It's Ephesians 3:20. There is where we find these words: "Now to him who is able to do", read this with me, "Exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us". This is the 3:20 life. What I pray God does in your life is exceedingly and abundantly above all that you could ask or think, based upon the work that you are willing to do in faith for him. When you come to me and say, "God is blessing my business," I want to hear about exceeding and abundant blessings in your business. "God is blessing my family".
I want to hear about exceeding and abundant blessings in your family. "God is blessing my health". I want to hear about exceeding and abundant blessings in your physical body. No matter where it is that God's working in your life, and you see God doing great things, I want it to be an exceeding and abundant thing in your life beyond anything you could imagine, based upon your willingness to do the work that God has called you to do. But many people do not live in this type of lifestyle. Why? Because they have forgotten the kind of God that we serve.
Notice the first phrase of the verse, "To him". Who is "Him"? We established that he has three things that describe who he is. One, he is omnipotent. That means he has all power. There isn't anything that our God cannot do. Two, he is omniscient, meaning he has all knowledge. There isn't anything that God does not know. And that should cause you to pause and think about things you think you've hidden from others. Three, he is omnipresent, meaning he is everywhere all of the time and in all things.
There isn't any place that you have gone that God wasn't standing there with you. And when you forget that we serve an all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present God, you begin to work in your strength instead of relying on his strength. You begin to consider that your plans are impossible, and the things that you want to do cannot be accomplished. But whenever you remember the kind of God that we serve, you remember the most important part of this verse. "To him who is", what, "Able". That's what you need to remember. Our God is able. Give the Lord a handclap of praise.
So how do you live this 3:20 lifestyle that we're talking about? One, you live one day at a time. When you read the Word of God, it's very clear that you cannot take or boast about tomorrow. James 4, it says, "You do not know what will happen tomorrow: for what is your life but a vapor"? If you made it to 120 like Moses (poof) that's all your life is. Jesus said, Matthew 6:34, "Do not worry about tomorrow: for tomorrow will worry about its own things". Now one of the problems that we have when we read these verses is that some people think that this is God's indictment against planning. And they think planning is evil. Planning is not evil. Planning is purposeful. But what these verses are saying is don't take all of your time making a plan without leaving room for God in it. Go ahead and plan, but submit your plans to God for approval.
Some people read, "Take no thought for tomorrow," and they take away all of the personal responsibility for the direction that their life is going. And in Christian circles, we love this phrase, "God's will". How many of you've ever heard somebody explain everything wrong in their life with "God's will"? "Well, I didn't get that job. It must not have been God's will". Well, did you fill out the app? "No. I just thought the Holy Spirit would bring it to me". You see, you have to do your part before God can do his part. Ephesians 3:20, it's through the power that works in us. Now when you've done your part, when you have been the person that God called you to be, don't worry about tomorrow. The ever-present God is already in your tomorrow, making plans for you when you arrive.
"Take no thought for tomorrow" doesn't release you from your responsibility to make a plan. It relieves you from your worries, because you have an omnipresent, omniscient, all-powerful God who will make a way where there seems to be no way. As a human being, you're confined by space and resource. You make the best plan you can make, and you take everything you've got and put it in God's hands, and I promise you: God will not fail you, because that's the kind of God that we serve.
So what's the balance? James 4 says that we should say it this way: "If the Lord wills". Say that with me. "If the Lord wills". He's saying, go ahead and make your plan, but then put God's will in your plan. Believe it or not, there's a 200-year vision for this ministry if the Lord wills. If he wants to come back before lunch, as much as I hate to travel on an empty stomach, I'll gladly go to heaven. But if the Lord wills, we're going to keep doing what God has called us to do until the trumpet sounds, even if that's 200 years in the future.
James is saying, planning is natural, but submit your plan to the supernatural God, because that's when you're going to see his divine interruptions show you the exceeding and abundant life that you can live. The Proverbs tells us that man's heart plans, but the Lord directs his steps. God is your top priority. He's not your last option. Most people, rather than leave room for God in their plan, they use God as a spare tire. When their first option pops, they put God in the equation to get the rest of the way they want to go. That's not the kind of God that we serve. So the question that you have to ask yourself if you are not living in that exceedingly and abundantly, above all that you could ask life, the 3:20 life, is, "Are your plans approved"?
You see, in the world that we live, if you want to build something, go ahead and make a plan. But you have to submit the plan for approval. For example, when we began the renovation project of vision 20/20, we began the process of planning. We sat down and strategically thought about what needed to be done. But then, before we began building, we had to take the plans to qualified engineers to sign off that the plans met the standards for the kind of building we wanted to build, so that you could sit here today with confidence that the roof is not going to fall in on your head while we're here. So when people are living their life saying they have faith in God, but they don't have confidence: saying they have faith in God, but they don't have peace: saying they have faith in God, but they don't have joy, most of the time it's because they are building their life without approved plans. And God, who designed your life and gave you the spec sheet for how to build it, in his word, has said when you build your life upon my standard, your life will be unshakable.
Most of the time, people are confident in their plan. But James 4 says that that's boasting. James 4:16, it says, "You boast in your arrogance and boasting is evil". Boasting is not confidence. Boasting is arrogance. And the Bible says it's evil. James also said, "Humble yourself and the Lord will lift you up". That means, when you make a plan, you humbly submit that plan before God and say, "God, if this is your will, you make a way. You open the door. You show me your path and I will confidently walk in the path that you show me, because you are the God who never fails".
When you put your plan before the Lord, you have confidence in your provider, because he is more than enough to supply your need. When you put your plan before the Lord, you have confidence in a deliverer, because he said, I'll go before you and I'll prepare a table for you in the presence of your enemies. When you put your plan before the Lord, you have confidence in your Savior, because whom the son sets free is free indeed. When you put your plan before the Lord, you have confidence in your healer, because he has conquered every sickness and disease. That's the mighty God that we serve! And he is great and greatly to be praised!
But in spite of this, there are still people who are trying to build their life with unapproved plans. They're trying build a business and haven't submitted the business plan to God Almighty. And so they look at the world's economy, and they listen to everything that all the experts are saying, and they begin to worry, and they begin to make decisions based in fear. And they suddenly see things happening in their life that they don't like. Why? Because you haven't submitted your plans for approval. Stop working and make God your business partner. And remember that it is he who gives you the power to get wealth. Make your plan, submit your plan, and then live one day at a time. Your supernatural life follows the same pattern as your natural life. And when it comes to your natural life, if you're going to have the strength to do what you need to do in your natural life, how many of you know that you need regular nutrition? How many of you like to eat on a daily basis?
And the kind of nutrition you receive determines the kind of strength your body has. And the kind of strength your body has determines the amount of work that you can do. And if you get in a bad state where you have not received the right kind of nutrition and you do not have the right kind of strength, then you go to the doctor, and he uses this term, "Malnourished". He's saying that what you've put in your body is not sufficient to give you the natural strength you need to do the work that you have to do in this life. And when you look at the world that we're living in, what you see, in many cases, are many of God's kids spiritually malnourished. Why? Because they've forgotten where daily strength comes from. They've forgotten where to go for that supernatural source that enables them to do what God created them to do.
Jesus spoke of that source in Matthew 6:11, when he said this: "Give us this day" say it with me, "Our daily bread". Seven simple words, yet three powerful truths. One, God is the giver, "Give us". The bread that we're speaking of comes from heaven above, not from man below. Two, "Daily bread," it's a daily dose. It's not a 30-minute dose on Sunday to get you through the other six days of the week. It is a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday dose. Let me ask you this: if I told you that all the food that you could eat for the next six days was going to be consumed at lunch today, how many of you would do your best to get all you could? I promise you, I'd impress you. Three, "Our daily bread". Our bread, it's not individualized for your particular taste.
Consider the first truth, God is the giver. Sometimes people want to exalt the words of men above the words of God. But here's what the Bible says in Romans 3: it says, "Let God be true and every man a liar". That means that if you hear what a natural man says, and it does not line up with the supernatural standard of God's word, that man is lying, because his word is true and he is faithful, and his word will not return void. That man has no one to back his promise. But the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. It's daily bread, daily bread, not just a Sunday service for the rest of the week, not just once a month for the other 30 days, not just Christmas and Easter to cover the other 12 months of the year. It's daily bread! Some people act like showing up to church is doing God a favor. You need to realize this is his house, and it is our privilege to be in his presence. And it is our opportunity to be in the atmosphere of God's grace and mercy where blessings flow.
Why is it so important to remember this is daily bread? Because every bit of this bread you get will bless you. Every bit of this bread you get will bring life to your body. It'll bring health and strength to you. It'll help you live that exceedingly abundant life that Ephesians 3:20 promises. This daily bread will quench the dry and thirsting places in your soul. This daily bread will satisfy the hunger and longing of your heart. This daily bread will heal the shattered places of your dreams. This daily bread will give you strength when you're weary. It'll fill you with courage to face the giants that stand in your way. It'll bring you joy that is unspeakable that the world didn't give. It'll give you peace that surpasses all understanding. Child of God, it's daily bread! It'll renew your mind and change you forever. It'll make you love what you once hated and hate what you once loved, because all things are new to those who are in Christ Jesus! It's daily bread and it's our bread. Not individualized, but it's ours.
Kendal and I are blessed with four healthy children. When we ask them, "Are you hungry"? We only want to hear one of two answers, "Yes" or "No". Because when they say, "What is there to eat"? They are letting us know that they have particular tastes, and unless those tastes are met, they may or may not engage in food. So we say, "Are you hungry"? We want to hear "Yes" or "No". God is the same way. It's our bread. If you eat it, it's up to you. He doesn't care if you're gluten free or pro-keto or anti-paleo or vegan plus. You don't get to come to him with your long list of supernatural allergies that he's got to take out of the Word of God before it fits your taste buds. This is why Paul could talk to the New Testament church and tell them, "By now, you should be eating meat, but instead we're still serving the milk".
When Kendal and I were raising our children, and they were young, and they began to transition from milk to solid foods, the doctor told us, "Go slow and experiment. Take a little bit of this and give it to them. And then wait about an hour and see what happens". And so we did. We'd take this vegetable or we'd take that fruit or we'd take this apple sauce, whatever it happened to be, and we'd give them just a little taste of it. And then about 90 minutes later, if the kid was smiling, we'd give him more. But sometimes we'd feed them something, and in about 90 minutes, the baby's fussy and the baby's not happy, and you can't be content. And you pick them up and you take them here and you take them there. And what did you call that? You would say, "The baby is gassy". Because what they had eaten didn't agree with their stomach and it made them have an unpleasant attitude.
So when you see God's kids get together, and rather than rejoice in the joy of their salvation or remember that this is the day that the Lord has made and they should rejoice and be made glad in it or enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise, when you see God's kids get together and all they can do is complain about everything that they're going through and complain about the world that's around them and complain about the tomorrow that they're going to face, when all they're doing is nagging and complaining and moaning, do you know what's wrong with God's kids? They're gassy. They have an upset spiritual stomach, because rather than eat daily bread, they're chewing on the bread of darkness. They're spending 30 minutes a week listening to the Word of God in church, and then they're spending 150 hours a week checking out what the headlines say on their latest app. The two don't mix. But here's what you need to know.
What you chew is up to you. God says, here's daily bread. And the world says, here's deadly bread. Are you going to chew on the hype? Are you going to feast on the promises of God? You hear people say the economy's crashing, and you chew on it, and you chew on it, and you chew on it, and you can't sleep at night, and you have no peace about tomorrow. Or you open up the Word of God and it says, "Give and it shall be given unto you pressed down, shaken together, and running over". It says, "He'll rebuke the devourer for your sake". It says that your leaf will not wither and your fruit will come in due season. And you'll be like a tree planted by rivers of living water. And whatsoever you do, it will prosper. Which one of those two do you want? The daily bread or the deadly bread? In your relationships, you hear somebody come up to you and say, "Do you know what they said about you"?
Understand this: if the individual who came with the report from "They" is telling you what they said, then that individual was a part of "They" when they said it. But you hear what they said about you, what they said about what they think of you, and how you live, and what you do, and how you do it. And it starts to chew on you until you start to chew on it. And then as you ingest the poison of other's opinions, it begins to affect every area of your life. You don't trust anybody anymore. You're tormented by everything you hear. You worry about what other people think. You're filled with fear. You have nothing but doubt about your ability. You have despair about tomorrow. Why? Because you're eating the bread of darkness rather than the daily bread of life.
What does God's word say? God's word simply says this: "Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world". God's word says, "The Lord is my light and he is my salvation: what can man do to me"? God's word says, "I know in whom I have believed, and I believe that he is able". Church, my daily bread says he's able to deliver me, he's mighty to save, he's able to defend me, he's able to guide me, he's able to do exceedingly and abundantly above all that I could ask, think or imagine, because he is a great God and he is great and greatly to be praised! "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good and his mercy endureth forever". Give the Lord a handclap of praise!
We have a choice to make. We've got to decide what to do with our time. Because what we do with our time on earth will determine what we receive in eternity. You make a plan. Submit that plan to the Lord. Then you be strong and you work but one day at a time. Our verse this morning tells us exactly what we should do. It says, "This is the day". Say that with me. "This is the day". There is no other. This is the day that the Lord, the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent father has made. The all-powerful God gave it to you. The all-knowing God is in this moment with you. The ever-present God is right beside you. And when you understand the power of that moment in time, you'll do what this verse says to do, "I will rejoice. I will rejoice".
I want you to stand right where you are. And I don't want you to think about whatever you were doing yesterday, and I don't want you concerned with what you have to do tomorrow. I want you in this moment right here and right now, just to lift your hands before the throne of God and start to rejoice. Rejoice in the joy of your salvation. Rejoice that the Lord is good and his mercy endureth forever. If you're sick, you can rejoice, because the God that we serve is a healer who has conquered every sickness and disease. If you're in need, you can rejoice, because our God is El Shaddai, the all-sufficient God. He is a provider. He can take not enough and he can make it more than enough.
If you give him your fragments, he'll give you back a fortune, because that's the kind of God that we serve. If you're lost and searching for direction in this place today, you can rejoice, because he is the God who guides and provides. He is the gentle shepherd who is looking for his sheep. If you're lonely, you can rejoice, because he's the friend that's closer than a brother. If you're weak, you can rejoice, because he's the God who will give you strength. If you're surrounded, you can rejoice, because he is a shield and a banner in battle. If you're broken, you can rejoice, because he's the God who will mend the fragmented pieces of your life.
If you're bound, you can rejoice, because he's the God who will break chains and make a way where there seems to be no way. If you're heavy burdened, you can rejoice, because he'll lift that burden. He'll destroy that yoke. If you've been redeemed, you can rejoice, because he is a redeemer that is faithful and true. He's still on the throne! He's still moving mountains! He's still making a way! He's still touching the sick! He's still healing the lame! He's still opening the deaf ear! He's still opening the blinded eye! He's still making the dead live again! His name is still great! He's still God! And he's still greatly to be praised! Rejoice in the Lord, and again, I say, rejoice! Now give the Lord a handclap and a shout of victory in this place today!