Aron Ralston, 27, was pinned for five days in a canyon in Canyonlands National Park in eastern Utah. He cut off his own arm to free himself after he became trapped under a fallen 1,000-pound boulder. After severing his arm, Ralston found a way to set up his climbing ropes and hooks, and rappel to the canyon's floor.
Bethany Hamilton, A 13-year-old surf champion who lost her arm in a shark attack has climbed back onto her board just 10 weeks after the terrible incident.
Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry
How do we stay the course, to not give up, how do we maintain thru times that are really tough, how do we learn to endure when all hell has broken out against us, how do we overcome?
That's what were going to look at today through an overwhelming task put in front of Nehemiah. Nehemiah had a dream, a dream of rebuilding the walls around his home, Jerusalem. The walls and the city were destroyed by the Babylonians years before – and now Nehemiah had a dream, a vision of rebuilding the city – His major task ahead of him was to 1st rebuild the walls that surround the city.
Guess what, it was no picnic, it was no walk in the park – he faced insurmountable odds but he stayed the course, he persevered and overcame.
Nehemiah had to travel 1000 miles to go back to his ancestral home to begin this process. And when he got there he found a people who were discouraged, depressed, and defeated. (Have you ever been surounded in a seeminly hopeless situation for so long that you felt discouraged, depressed, or defeated?)
He began the task anyway of rebuilding the walls.
You too may have just started the overwhelming task, an amazing dream, a vision that God has placed in your heart. Or more like Nehemiah rebuilding something in your life that the world and the enemy have completely destroyed. Maybe a marriage, a business, a relationship of some value, maybe a dream that began and crumbled a whole lot faster than you ever thought. Whatever the case may be God wants to tell us all, He is right by our side and simply do not give up! He wants you to Persevere, to keep on keeping on... b/c God is going to give you the power to overcome.
What is it in your life that the enemy has completely destroyed and you have to rebuild?
When you dream a BIG dream, when you take on an overwhelming task of rebuilding, be ready b/c you will face all kinds of harassment, a # of different obstacles – WHY? B/c the enemy as well as others do not want to see you living out the dream God has placed in you.
Nehemiah and his group started off pretty good, but like so many of us, his group began to hit a lull about midway thru. Nehemiah had to give some inspiring instructions on how to deal, how to persevere and overcome.
We see 3 problems Nehemiah and his group faced and were gonna talk about those 3 problems and 2 solutions for each problem.
How do we stay the course, how do we maintain? God's Word encourages us to persevere and overcome.
The 1st problem is when we face ridicule/criticism
If you dare to dream BIG – if you want to rebuild, you have to have some tough skin don't you? Why? B/c you will receive some ridicule.
"Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews" vs.1
Right from the beginning Sanballat begins chiming in, he mocked from one end of the spectrum to the other. Look at how many times he slams them in vs.2 - He questioned their ability “What are those feeble Jews doing?” He questioned their character “Will they restore their wall?” He ridiculed their religion, “Will they offer sacrifices?” He challenged their commitment to finish what they started, “Will they finish in a day?” He questioned the feasibility of the project, “Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble—burned as they are?" all this ridicule in 1 vs.
Have you ever had that happen to you, Bam like out of nowhere someone just tears into a tirade of making fun of you or your interests?
If that wasn't enough in vs.3 Sanballat has a little sidekick who slams their confidence to be able to do the job, “Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, "What they are building—if even a fox climbed up on it, he would break down their wall of stones!" have you ever noticed critics run w/ critics. (you are who you hang out with)
Whether you like Leno or Letterman or Conan, regardless – When Jay Leno took over the job as the host of the Tonight Show he faced all kinds of criticism, who said he would never be able to do this job, you wont even come close to Johnny Carson. You would think that all this criticism would have rattled Leno a bit, but it appeared he didn't pay a whole lot of attention to it. In fact he kept a stack of criticisms on his desk at all times for inspiration. One critic said, Too many soft answers – another one read, He's being too nice. These unkind words didn't seem to bother Leno at all, you know why, b/c these words were written in 1962 and were about Johnny Carson.
He persevered in spite of the criticism.
SOLUTIONS:
WE WILL PRAY
The critics never seem to factor in God – they think you are an idiot, a moron for trying to build that dream or vision, they say YOU can never do it – Aahhh quite true, but I've got God on my side.
Nehemiah wasted zero time, when this opposition came against him he took it straight to the One who gives peace. vs.4-5
“Hear us, O our God, for we are despised. Turn their insults back on their own heads. Give them over as plunder in a land of captivity. Do not cover up their guilt or blot out their sins from your sight, for they have thrown insults in the face of the builders.”
When we pray God helps us to process all those feelings (import. To pray, talk to God, He responds - series: “Can You here me now?”)
When we take it God, He helps us to be able to sort thru it. Prayer doesn't always change the situation, but prayer will change us doesn't it, and even in that God is answering.
We need to pray
The 2nd solution to criticism WE WILL PERSIST
Whenever your dream or vision or rebuilding project is mocked, we begin to 2nd guess ourselves. We think, “Well maybe I cant do this, maybe I dont have what it takes, maybe this isnt the right task for me.” We begin to 2nd guess the call of God, “Maybe God didn't really want me to do this, maybe I'm just wasting my time.” and we begin to 2nd guess ourselves – the temptation is to quit – but not with Nehemiah. Notice what he said, v.6
“So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart.”
Notice the prayer, but also notice the perspiration. They prayed and the worked w/ all their heart.
Are you out of job? Pray about it but also put a few applications in along the way – ask God for direction and go get after it.
By the way it's not hard for God to hit a moving target – in fact it's probably easier for Him to steer a person on the move than one that's immobile. Many of you know how much I believe in 'doing our part' – God is faithful He wants to direct your life and He will – if you partner w/ Him. We need to be persistent.
2nd problem is when we face threats
No matter how hard he tried Nehemiah wasn't able to fix everything.
Sometimes in your life when you begin a dream or start a rebuild – how many of you have found out it gets worse before it gets better.
Have you ever noticed in the beginning of a dream or in a rebuilding project the problems seem to intensify. It happens that way. v.7-8
“But when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites and the men of Ashdod heard that the repairs to Jerusalem's walls had gone ahead and that the gaps were being closed, they were very angry. They all plotted together to come and fight against Jerusalem and stir up trouble against it.”
Sanballat and Tobiah strengthened the opposition by adding the Arabs and the Ammonites. Sanballat now gathers more forces and since the physchological warfare didn't work on Nehemiah and the group he's now threatening military action against them.
Listen while you're dreaming or rebuilding and the enemy will try one thing and when that doesn't work he intensifies. He comes after you with another threat. He just wants you to give up. That's what he was trying to do here w/ Nehemiah – to give up on building the walls.
But notice when the battle intensified, Nehemiah's prayers intensified.
Before Nehemiah was praying by himself, now look at v. 9
“But we prayed to our God”
SOLUTIONS:
WE WILL PRAY TOGETHER
At first Nehemiah took on the opposition himself, but once it became a corporate threat, it was time for corporate prayer.
Circle the word 'we' – now we're gonna pray.
In your marriage, if opposition arises, pray together – in your family, if opposition arises, pray together as a family unit – if opposition arises against the church, we come together to pray.
(We have already had a couple of designated 'nights of prayer' where we, this church, has come together and spent a few hours in prayer)
There's power in prayer, that power multiplies when the # of people multiply in prayer together.
WE WILL PROTECT
the rest of v. 9 says, “...and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.” If you start building, you will soon start battling.
The enemy wants to discourage you, to scare you off, to quit, give up – and before long you'll be battling.
Here's a tough ?, What are some of the walls you've allowed to be torn down? Maybe the walls around you're marriage, such as allowing questionable thoughts or actions to enter in – Maybe the walls around the integrity of your Christianity, such as putting yourself in compromising positions, allowing thoughts and practices that would wound the heart of God and make you appear just as one who would not consider themselves a Christ-follower, saying, if he can do that, how's that different than my life. The integrity of your witness, your stance for God is weakened – PUT BACK those walls of protection, b/c the dream, the rebuild will never happen as long as those walls of protection are not up.
3rd problem is WHEN WE FACE DESPAIR
THREE THINGS THAT HAPPEN WHEN DESPAIR HITS:
Stamina is failing - “Meanwhile, the people in Judah said, "The strength of the laborers is giving out” vs. 10a
circle giving out – they have worked and worked and worked, now their strength has given out – they had been constantly day and night working all this wall – now their facing the threat of a military attack and their energy is gone.
Have you noticed half way thru a project you hit a wall – face some major discouragement – it seems harder to build the 2nd half than the 1st. B/c discouragement hits
Vision is blurring - “...and there is so much rubble…” vs.10b
Some many times we take our eyes off the dream, the vision and begin to focus on all the rubble that is laying around us.
We begin to see the daunting task ahead of us, the real mess that needs to be straightened out, and it appears to be endless. We take our eyes of the cause, the purpose we began with b/c of the rubble around
Hope is dwindling - “...that we cannot rebuild the wall." vs. 10c
They began to lose sight and said we can never do it.
When you lose vision, you begin to lose hope, and then you begin to lose confidence.
Have you ever been in the middle of something and had a great desire to run away? I have – why? B/c were overwhelmed. Overwhelmed by how big of a project, how much needs to be done and the tension is too great.
SOLUTIONS:
WE MUST REMIND
When we face a situation that creates fear in our hearts, what we have to do is to remind ourselves of where God has brought us from.
That's exactly what Nehemiah and his group did – v.14
“After I looked things over, I stood up and said to the nobles, the officials and the rest of the people, "Don't be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome” vs. 14a
circle remember the lord.
When you're in the middle of it, take a step back and remember.
Remember the # of obstacles you overcame to get where you are. Take a step back a see just how far you've really come. WOW!
Then remember that God has so much more – don't stop, move forward. When you stop to remember, you find the energy to keep going. That's what happened to Nehemiah – they had overcome so much junk – WOW! GOD is Awesome!
WE WILL REVISE
Sometimes when we're in the middle of the dream, or rebuild and we are feeling the lonely emotion of despair, sometimes we need to revise a little bit. You know what's hard about that, we have to put our pride aside, what and how we think and thought it should be done like, and say, OK God, what is it we need to revise?
What is it in the process of this rebuilding do we need to revise?
Where do You want us to rethink this?
Very seldom will you run across a successful business person, or a star athlete, or an inventor who at some point didn't have to revise and rethink their plans or goal.
“When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it, we all returned to the wall, each to his own work. From that day on..." vs. 15-16a
Nehemiah had to make some changes, but held true to the dream, to the task at hand. In your outline -
VISIONS ARE REFINED – they don't change
PLANS ARE REVISED - they rarely stay the same.
That's good to know. Be stubborn about the vision. Be flexible w/ you're plan. Strategies and timelines are always up for grabs, and besides, in the process of revising your plans, God may chose to refine your vision. To bring some more clarity.
I am excited about where we are today in the dream that God has placed in us, but He has so much more – with God anything is possible – He is faithful, we must do our part, we team w/ Him, but it is only thru God that dreams become reality, even beyond what we had ever imagined.
Max Lucado is a great author, He is the first author to win the Gold Medallion Christian Book of the Year three times—1999 for Just Like Jesus, 1997 for In the Grip of Grace and 1995 for When God Whispers Your Name – Word publishers considers a book to be successful when a 1st time author sells over 50,000 copies and established sells over 100,000 – every max book has sold over 300,000 copies and counting.
He started as a missionary in Brazil and his 1st book he wrote was called, On the Anvil. A wonderful book about how our thoughts are being shaped into the image of God. It was rejected 15 times before it ever got published. 15 times, aren't you glad that Max didn't call it quits, that he didn't give up after that 15th rejection. “Ahh forget about it, I guess it wasn't meant to be.” Thank God he persevered, b/c we have all benefitted from his incredible creations.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Sunday, July 24, 2005
Living Beyond Myself - Dare to Dream BIG
Nothing starts happening until somebody starts dreaming. Every accomplishment started off first as an idea in somebody’s mind.
It started off as a dream. It started off as a vision, a goal.
So I want to challenge you to dream great dreams for God.
The Bible says, "God is able to do far more than anything we would ever dare to ask or even dream of, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes." Ephesians 3:20
That’s an amazing verse. In it God tells us, "Think up the biggest thing you think I can do in your life, in your ministry, in your church, and I can top that; I can beat it.”
God's Word inspires us to – Dare to dream BIG
ABRAM'S DREAM
"After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
"Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. " But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness." Genesis 15:1-6
God spoke to Abram in a vision. Abram asks, “God what are you going to give me?” Basically saying, “I'm going to die, just my wife and I with no children, what is this?”
Check this out – God doesn't rebuke him. He didn't rebuke him for his negative attitude and seemingly selfish manner.
2 observations to note here:
Don't be afraid to ask of God – to tell Him how and what you are really feeling. (James 4:2 – have not, ask not – david psalms)
God wants to expand your dream. (rem. Eph. 3:20)
Let's take a closer look at this 2nd observation by honing in on v.5
“He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
God moved Abram from a baby dream to a nation dream.
Abram is in his tent telling God how he really feels, He say, “All I want is a baby – can you just give Sarai and I a baby. We are childless, and our servant is the heir, can I just get a baby?”
God says, “Whoa, let me expand that dream a bit there Abram.” We see in v.5 God takes Abram from this little baby dream to this HUGE nation dream.
HOW DO I EXPAND MY DREAM?
Look out -
from where you are. “He took him outside...”
God had to take Abram outside of his tent, his comfort zone. Abram's thinking, “it's good in here my tent, it's nice and cozy – can I just get a baby?”
God says, “Come on out”.
You see you may be confined to a place (a specific place) or you may be confined to particular circumstances, you may be confined mentally, emotionally attached – we're in our comfort zone,
it's good in here, nice and cozy.
Abram's tent was false security.
What tent do you need to get your head out of? To be able 'Look Out'
( Cathleen and I looking out of our tent in Cali. And moving to Tex.)
When you look out, once you look out, you open up to God's dream.
And its so much bigger, brighter, better.
He moves us from a baby dream to a nation dream.
Look up -
to heaven, to God. “Look up at the heavens...” (infant)
God had to change Abram's direction. All Abram could think was I can't pull this off – I'm old, my wife is old, we have no children.
When we look down, when we look to ourselves were helpless. We have to look up. Our help comes from the Lord – Psalm 121:2
"My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth."
It's Christ in us right, Colossians 1:27 - "...which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
It's about being connected to Christ. Hey it's good to believe,(to believe in yourself, self-confidence can be a good thing, “I can do it” it's the little engine that could) but we need to connect to Christ, that's where the power source is. We connect to Christ for the power to pull it off.
So we look up
To look up represents confidence in God. It eases the pressure.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:13
That builds confidence in us.
B/c what happens, outside of that confidence, we think, “I know God can do it, I know He can pull it off, I have no doubt He can, but not through me – I'm just a little peon, not through me”
You know what, God chose you, He chose us!
He wants to work in and through us more than we realize.
( I remember thinking, why Texas, what can I possibly do in the saturated Bible Belt? God reminded me that He chose me, He had everything under control)
Look beyond -
anything you've ever seen – imagine beyond your limitations.
“...count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
Have you ever seen the vast array of the stars in the heavens out away from the lights? Away from the city lights of Houston, out in the woods, out in the plains, or the desert? - You cant count those – you're just awe-struck by how many and how beautiful – Abram wasn't in Houston, he was in the desert.
God wants to remove every mental limitation – He has so much more than a baby dream, He has a nation dream. (Abram is out counting stars, 1,2,3... 144, 822; 144,823; #?1# aaRGGhhh, 1,2,3...)
At that point Abram got it! He began to see God's dream (expanded version) – “God's gonna give me a nation dream.” (look beyond – remove mental limitations, the world can bog you down, criticism, despair,
I know, next week we deal with that)
You may have already come a long way. I thank God I've come this far.
But God says, “I brought you this far to give you more.”
Wherever you are, whatever tent you're in – God's gotta bigger tent.
We just need to be obedient to Him.
I've moved out of my tent and into a bigger tent, (Cali to Texas) but He's bothered that's it's a bit too small – I'm moving to a bigger tent.
(sat. night service 2002 – Heb. 6:14-15: "I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU." And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.” Moved to Tex. A friend told me to study Abram. Life. - about a year ago someone in their study time handed me a couple of scriptures – same scrip.)
Our thinking can be sooo limited. We must look beyond – God is soo big and soo huge – anything is possible.
What is your dream?
So we need to ask ourselves this question,
"What would I attempt for God if I knew I couldn’t fail?”
Let that expand your horizons. Let it expand your dreams. Let it expand your vision into God’s unlimited vision for your mission, your ministry,
in your life, in what He has uniquely created you to do.
Dare to dream BIG!
The Bible says, "God is able to do far more than anything we would ever dare to ask or even dream of, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes." Ephesians 3:20
It started off as a dream. It started off as a vision, a goal.
So I want to challenge you to dream great dreams for God.
The Bible says, "God is able to do far more than anything we would ever dare to ask or even dream of, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes." Ephesians 3:20
That’s an amazing verse. In it God tells us, "Think up the biggest thing you think I can do in your life, in your ministry, in your church, and I can top that; I can beat it.”
God's Word inspires us to – Dare to dream BIG
ABRAM'S DREAM
"After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision:
"Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward. " But Abram said, "O Sovereign LORD, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?" And Abram said, "You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir."
Then the word of the LORD came to him: "This man will not be your heir, but a son coming from your own body will be your heir." He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness." Genesis 15:1-6
God spoke to Abram in a vision. Abram asks, “God what are you going to give me?” Basically saying, “I'm going to die, just my wife and I with no children, what is this?”
Check this out – God doesn't rebuke him. He didn't rebuke him for his negative attitude and seemingly selfish manner.
2 observations to note here:
Don't be afraid to ask of God – to tell Him how and what you are really feeling. (James 4:2 – have not, ask not – david psalms)
God wants to expand your dream. (rem. Eph. 3:20)
Let's take a closer look at this 2nd observation by honing in on v.5
“He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
God moved Abram from a baby dream to a nation dream.
Abram is in his tent telling God how he really feels, He say, “All I want is a baby – can you just give Sarai and I a baby. We are childless, and our servant is the heir, can I just get a baby?”
God says, “Whoa, let me expand that dream a bit there Abram.” We see in v.5 God takes Abram from this little baby dream to this HUGE nation dream.
HOW DO I EXPAND MY DREAM?
Look out -
from where you are. “He took him outside...”
God had to take Abram outside of his tent, his comfort zone. Abram's thinking, “it's good in here my tent, it's nice and cozy – can I just get a baby?”
God says, “Come on out”.
You see you may be confined to a place (a specific place) or you may be confined to particular circumstances, you may be confined mentally, emotionally attached – we're in our comfort zone,
it's good in here, nice and cozy.
Abram's tent was false security.
What tent do you need to get your head out of? To be able 'Look Out'
( Cathleen and I looking out of our tent in Cali. And moving to Tex.)
When you look out, once you look out, you open up to God's dream.
And its so much bigger, brighter, better.
He moves us from a baby dream to a nation dream.
Look up -
to heaven, to God. “Look up at the heavens...” (infant)
God had to change Abram's direction. All Abram could think was I can't pull this off – I'm old, my wife is old, we have no children.
When we look down, when we look to ourselves were helpless. We have to look up. Our help comes from the Lord – Psalm 121:2
"My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth."
It's Christ in us right, Colossians 1:27 - "...which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."
It's about being connected to Christ. Hey it's good to believe,(to believe in yourself, self-confidence can be a good thing, “I can do it” it's the little engine that could) but we need to connect to Christ, that's where the power source is. We connect to Christ for the power to pull it off.
So we look up
To look up represents confidence in God. It eases the pressure.
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Philippians 4:13
That builds confidence in us.
B/c what happens, outside of that confidence, we think, “I know God can do it, I know He can pull it off, I have no doubt He can, but not through me – I'm just a little peon, not through me”
You know what, God chose you, He chose us!
He wants to work in and through us more than we realize.
( I remember thinking, why Texas, what can I possibly do in the saturated Bible Belt? God reminded me that He chose me, He had everything under control)
Look beyond -
anything you've ever seen – imagine beyond your limitations.
“...count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
Have you ever seen the vast array of the stars in the heavens out away from the lights? Away from the city lights of Houston, out in the woods, out in the plains, or the desert? - You cant count those – you're just awe-struck by how many and how beautiful – Abram wasn't in Houston, he was in the desert.
God wants to remove every mental limitation – He has so much more than a baby dream, He has a nation dream. (Abram is out counting stars, 1,2,3... 144, 822; 144,823; #?1# aaRGGhhh, 1,2,3...)
At that point Abram got it! He began to see God's dream (expanded version) – “God's gonna give me a nation dream.” (look beyond – remove mental limitations, the world can bog you down, criticism, despair,
I know, next week we deal with that)
You may have already come a long way. I thank God I've come this far.
But God says, “I brought you this far to give you more.”
Wherever you are, whatever tent you're in – God's gotta bigger tent.
We just need to be obedient to Him.
I've moved out of my tent and into a bigger tent, (Cali to Texas) but He's bothered that's it's a bit too small – I'm moving to a bigger tent.
(sat. night service 2002 – Heb. 6:14-15: "I WILL SURELY BLESS YOU AND I WILL SURELY MULTIPLY YOU." And so, having patiently waited, he obtained the promise.” Moved to Tex. A friend told me to study Abram. Life. - about a year ago someone in their study time handed me a couple of scriptures – same scrip.)
Our thinking can be sooo limited. We must look beyond – God is soo big and soo huge – anything is possible.
What is your dream?
So we need to ask ourselves this question,
"What would I attempt for God if I knew I couldn’t fail?”
Let that expand your horizons. Let it expand your dreams. Let it expand your vision into God’s unlimited vision for your mission, your ministry,
in your life, in what He has uniquely created you to do.
Dare to dream BIG!
The Bible says, "God is able to do far more than anything we would ever dare to ask or even dream of, infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts or hopes." Ephesians 3:20
Sunday, July 17, 2005
The State of the Church Address
"Go to the people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you." Matthew 28:19-20
WHEN THE CHURCH STARTED...
1st service August 29th, 2004 - (Phase 1 - house church with core group)
WHERE WE ARE TODAY...
- at the 'YMCA' - thank you Lord - we had been turned down by 12 other places prior to 'Y' - our 1st service in the 'Y' - March 13th, 2005
(Phase 2 - now meeting on location, in community beginning to slowly grow beyond core group)
- pioneering often a slow go, people slowly jumping onboard - please pray that we can impact the community and that leaders will join in with us.
- people needed to move to Phase 3 - final phase.
Phase 3 occurs once the church grows to approx. 40-50 people. Our current attendance is approx. 20. At phase 3 we are officially recognized by the Foursquare - at that time we will officially charter, create our own EIN#
and recieve Foursquare funding.
People needed to move to Phase 3 also will enhance the ministry of FOCUS*
a nursery, enhance children's ministry, ect... not just for our church but for our community. We need to tell our friends and family.
- financially
Our income today through tithes and offerings basically pays the rent for the 'Y'. Sometimes it's enough, sometimes it's not. We need to pray and ask God to bless financially - to be able to make necessary purchases for the church, to be able to put money into savings, to have the finances available to advertise. We need to pray, and honor God as an act of worship with our tithes and offerings.
"Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops." Proverbs 3:9
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this" Malachi 3:10
WHERE ARE WE GOING...
We have a big vision!
A vision of seeing the unchurched and overchurched reconciled to God.
"Helping those who are tired of religion,
discover a relationship"
A church that 'gets it' when it comes to the emerging culture.
We have to create an atmosphere, an enviornment for the Holy Spirit to work.
I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 1 Corinthians 9:22
A Life Development Church
We will grow together in our Sunday gatherings, small groups, and 'Selah'
(a night of worship and prayer) - We will raise up committed christians into leaders for the kingdom of God. We will not only grow together in our walk with Christ, but in our walk together in life. In our marriages, parenting, single life, on the job life, ect...
"And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more." 2 Corinthians 3:18b
A Sending Church
We are focused on your mission - we are not looking for individuals to fill the holes and gaps at FOCUS* - A Foursquare Church:
We want to help you discover what it is that God uniquely designed you to do, and we want to create opportunities for you to excel in that!
"Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body" Romans 12:5
We place a high value on our children
We believe that children are not just the church of
tomorrow, but of today!
A Spiritual Hospital - A Church of Restoration
"To help bring healing to hurting humanity"
People get hurt by other people. It goes deep, it scars.
People also get by the church. Then they blame it God and decide to have nothing to do with Him or the church.
We are to build relationships with them and show them the love of Christ.
"He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us." 2 Corinthians 1:4
I could continue on and on...
I am passionate about the cause of the King and the Kingdom.
We are a church that is passionate about the cause of the King and the kingdom.
Some say, "That's a big vision for such a small church"
Sure it is, we serve a really BIG GOD!!!!
I believe if your vision is a size that you can handle then it's way too small!
We could say, "But there's no way I can pull this off, the dream is too big, I can't do it" That's true, but God can!
This is His idea, the church is His idea, and if He has placed a dream and vision in you then it's His idea, and guess what He WILL do it!
What God originates, He orchestrates.
"Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won't be faithful in large ones."
Luke 16:10
WHEN THE CHURCH STARTED...
1st service August 29th, 2004 - (Phase 1 - house church with core group)
WHERE WE ARE TODAY...
- at the 'YMCA' - thank you Lord - we had been turned down by 12 other places prior to 'Y' - our 1st service in the 'Y' - March 13th, 2005
(Phase 2 - now meeting on location, in community beginning to slowly grow beyond core group)
- pioneering often a slow go, people slowly jumping onboard - please pray that we can impact the community and that leaders will join in with us.
- people needed to move to Phase 3 - final phase.
Phase 3 occurs once the church grows to approx. 40-50 people. Our current attendance is approx. 20. At phase 3 we are officially recognized by the Foursquare - at that time we will officially charter, create our own EIN#
and recieve Foursquare funding.
People needed to move to Phase 3 also will enhance the ministry of FOCUS*
a nursery, enhance children's ministry, ect... not just for our church but for our community. We need to tell our friends and family.
- financially
Our income today through tithes and offerings basically pays the rent for the 'Y'. Sometimes it's enough, sometimes it's not. We need to pray and ask God to bless financially - to be able to make necessary purchases for the church, to be able to put money into savings, to have the finances available to advertise. We need to pray, and honor God as an act of worship with our tithes and offerings.
"Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops." Proverbs 3:9
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this" Malachi 3:10
WHERE ARE WE GOING...
We have a big vision!
A vision of seeing the unchurched and overchurched reconciled to God.
"Helping those who are tired of religion,
discover a relationship"
A church that 'gets it' when it comes to the emerging culture.
We have to create an atmosphere, an enviornment for the Holy Spirit to work.
I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 1 Corinthians 9:22
A Life Development Church
We will grow together in our Sunday gatherings, small groups, and 'Selah'
(a night of worship and prayer) - We will raise up committed christians into leaders for the kingdom of God. We will not only grow together in our walk with Christ, but in our walk together in life. In our marriages, parenting, single life, on the job life, ect...
"And as the Spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like him and reflect his glory even more." 2 Corinthians 3:18b
A Sending Church
We are focused on your mission - we are not looking for individuals to fill the holes and gaps at FOCUS* - A Foursquare Church:
We want to help you discover what it is that God uniquely designed you to do, and we want to create opportunities for you to excel in that!
"Each of us finds our meaning and function as a part of his body" Romans 12:5
We place a high value on our children
We believe that children are not just the church of
tomorrow, but of today!
A Spiritual Hospital - A Church of Restoration
"To help bring healing to hurting humanity"
People get hurt by other people. It goes deep, it scars.
People also get by the church. Then they blame it God and decide to have nothing to do with Him or the church.
We are to build relationships with them and show them the love of Christ.
"He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us." 2 Corinthians 1:4
I could continue on and on...
I am passionate about the cause of the King and the Kingdom.
We are a church that is passionate about the cause of the King and the kingdom.
Some say, "That's a big vision for such a small church"
Sure it is, we serve a really BIG GOD!!!!
I believe if your vision is a size that you can handle then it's way too small!
We could say, "But there's no way I can pull this off, the dream is too big, I can't do it" That's true, but God can!
This is His idea, the church is His idea, and if He has placed a dream and vision in you then it's His idea, and guess what He WILL do it!
What God originates, He orchestrates.
"Unless you are faithful in small matters, you won't be faithful in large ones."
Luke 16:10
Sunday, July 03, 2005
Star Wars - The Heart of Anakin
If you wanted to pinpoint what the entire Star Wars Saga was all about – you could say it was the rise and fall and eventual restoration of Anakin Sywalker. We see in Ep. 1 Anakin as a little boy with amazing upside & potential.
In Ep. 2 as he grows and matures we see him developing into a master Jedi.
In Ep.3 Anakin has honed his skills still w/ great upside and potential – but he is lured, he is tempted by the power of the darkside and he takes the bait and falls into the hands of the Evil Emperor, now becoming Darth Vader.
In Ep 4 & 5 we see him as the dominating villain, Darth Vader.
Then in Ep. 6 his son Luke Skywalker senses some good in Vader as we see the restoration of Anakin Skywalker when he destroys evil.
Hey life is full of failure, it's something that is common to all of us.
Failure runs through the veins of human beings on earth - we all have choices
& we can make the right and sometimes wrong choice, and we fail – let's take a poll – has anyone in here ever failed at anything in your life? If you didn't raise your hand look at the person next to you b/c they need your help.
but the really great news is that God takes failures & restores them.
And God can do that in your life no matter what has happened.
As we wrap up this series SW saga, I don't want to talk about the normal everyday failures and how to deal w/ that (we've kind of done that over the last 2 weeks).
I want to dig a little deeper than that, I want to turn the rocks over in your life as it were. I want you to think to that old familiar failure, you know the one I'm talking about it. That one that the last time you did it you said, “God, if you'll only forgive me this one last time, I'll never do it again.” Then we do it again, and again, and again....
All of us have those, some of us have a list of those. Maybe it's sexual,
dealing w/ lust, maybe it's drinking, possibly drugs, maybe it's greed,
maybe it's a form of controlling others, or manipulating others. I don't know what your brand of failure is. I do know it's a struggle & listen it's of great concern.
Last week we discussed how to avoid temptation, by building an offense that's your best defense. The bottom line is we are all human, we mess up,
so today I'd like to show you God's restoration process, to understand that no matter how often you fall, remembering to do your best not to, not matter how bad it is, no matter how deep we've gotten,
nothing you can do is outside of God's grace and willingness to forgive, NOTHING!
If you look throughout the Bible, David, Solomon, Peter, Paul, you'll see many individuals who messed up. But you'll also notice that God is in the restoration business. Humans who fail, and own up to it, He restores them to a right relationship w/ Him.
How do we find faith after failing? Is God willing to forgive, no matter how extreme? And if He is willing to do that, how does He do it & what's my part in the process. That's what were going to look at today – How do I come back to God after I've blown it – even a # of times?
The Heart of King David
King David was an amazing man. He was a shepherd before he became King. He had a sensitive heart, a heart to protect those weaker than him. He wrote a # of the Psalms that we read in the book of Psalms. He's said to be a man after God's own heart. David was the royal proto-type, the precursor to the coming 'Messiah' – the King of all humanity Jesus Christ – it was from the line of David that Christ came. David was a man of God to model after. So is a man after God's own heart free from failure? NO
He messed up a few times in his life – pretty big I might add.
Open to 2 Samuel 11 - tell story
David's sin:
"...and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her."
v.3-4
"In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die." So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died."
v.14-17
God doesn't turn His face in our failure – He turns His face when we don't deal with our failure.
David's self-reproach:
What's the diff. then of David's failures and of others – David sought God's forgiveness in true repentance, he owned up to his mistakes, He came to God contrite & broken –
David wrote Ps. 51 after his failures we read in 2 Samuel 11 -
"Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my shameful deeds--they haunt me day and night... But you desire honesty from the heart... Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;wash me, and I will be whiter than snow... Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me... Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness... The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise." Psalm 51
When David failed God he was truly sorry for what he had done. He was repentant, that's what God was looking for. Folks God is looking for men and women, not that we are perfect, but that we admit it when we blow it and are truly repentant.
God's Restoration Process
God's part...
When we fail were going to look at what God does, and what role we play.
The 1st thing we need to see is that 1. God's forgiveness isn't dependent on your sin. Or we could say the degree of your sin. He doesn't say Joe your sin is much nastier than Eric's – or well your not an axe murderer, you just cheated on your taxes - He doesn't compare sin – He doesn't grade on a curve(we do that). Sin is sin in God's eyes – and yes there are different degrees of consequences but sin is sin.
(white lie/black lie) Don't think you could ever commit a sin that is outside of God's willingness to forgive – He will forgive.
2. God's forgiveness is conditional.
I know some of you right now are freakin' out. What are you talikin' about Joe - I thought God's love was unconditional, that His grace and forgiveness was unconditional?
Look at 1 John 1:9 – it tells us God's forgiveness is conditional.
"But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong."
We have to confess, then He is faithful & just to forgive and cleanse every wrong. God cannot forgive a sin that we do not confess – and He will not force our hand. C.S. Lewis once said:
'Forgiveness needs to be accepted as well as offered if it is to be complete: and a person who admits no guilt can accept no forgiveness.'
You see it has nothing to so w/ the severity of our sin, but a broken, repentant heart that confess'
Our part...
The 1st part is we need to 1. Acknowledge our sin!
You cannot confess something that you do not believe to be sin.
"You've already put in your time in that God-ignorant way of life, partying night after night, a drunken and profligate life. Now it's time to be done with it for good. Of course, your old friends don't understand why you don't join in with the old gang anymore. But you don't have to give an account to them. They're the ones who will be called on the carpet--and before God himself."
1 Peter 4:3-5
This has to do w/ humility – recognizing that there's a higher authority. Were truly repentant.
2. Own our sin!
You can't blame somebody else – the blame game – I woke up on the wrong side of bed – I was born on the wrong side of the tracks - Lousy parents – I wasn't potty trained at the right age – I have bad hygiene -
The only reason we sin or mess up is b/c we chose to – James 1:13-14
"Don't let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, "God is trying to trip me up." God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one's way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust."
That means we have choices, we can chose to sin or not to sin. If we don't own our sin & try to blame something or someone else that's not a contrite heart and were stuck.
3. Confess our sin.
The word confess in the Greek is 'homologeo' and means 'to agree with another'. Confession is agreeing w/ God and His standards that what I did was wrong. Psalm 32:5
"Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD " and you forgave the guilt of my sin."
"I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin." Psalm 38:18
and then James 5:16 says,
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
If there is sin in your life, if you have an area of weakness that you can't talk about – it's out of control. We must confess to God, sometimes others in order to be forgiven and healed.
4. Believe in faith that you have been forgiven.
People say, you know I just don't feel forgiven.” That doesn't matter – it's not about you, it's about God and His character, and His willingness to forgive. If you ask, then acknowledge and own it – once you confess it then God is faithful to forgive – it doesn't matter how you feel, it's a done deal.
That's where our faith comes in.
We have a choice, we have a part to play in the restoration process.
God is faithful – He will do His part – the ? Is, how will we respond?
In Ep. 2 as he grows and matures we see him developing into a master Jedi.
In Ep.3 Anakin has honed his skills still w/ great upside and potential – but he is lured, he is tempted by the power of the darkside and he takes the bait and falls into the hands of the Evil Emperor, now becoming Darth Vader.
In Ep 4 & 5 we see him as the dominating villain, Darth Vader.
Then in Ep. 6 his son Luke Skywalker senses some good in Vader as we see the restoration of Anakin Skywalker when he destroys evil.
Hey life is full of failure, it's something that is common to all of us.
Failure runs through the veins of human beings on earth - we all have choices
& we can make the right and sometimes wrong choice, and we fail – let's take a poll – has anyone in here ever failed at anything in your life? If you didn't raise your hand look at the person next to you b/c they need your help.
but the really great news is that God takes failures & restores them.
And God can do that in your life no matter what has happened.
As we wrap up this series SW saga, I don't want to talk about the normal everyday failures and how to deal w/ that (we've kind of done that over the last 2 weeks).
I want to dig a little deeper than that, I want to turn the rocks over in your life as it were. I want you to think to that old familiar failure, you know the one I'm talking about it. That one that the last time you did it you said, “God, if you'll only forgive me this one last time, I'll never do it again.” Then we do it again, and again, and again....
All of us have those, some of us have a list of those. Maybe it's sexual,
dealing w/ lust, maybe it's drinking, possibly drugs, maybe it's greed,
maybe it's a form of controlling others, or manipulating others. I don't know what your brand of failure is. I do know it's a struggle & listen it's of great concern.
Last week we discussed how to avoid temptation, by building an offense that's your best defense. The bottom line is we are all human, we mess up,
so today I'd like to show you God's restoration process, to understand that no matter how often you fall, remembering to do your best not to, not matter how bad it is, no matter how deep we've gotten,
nothing you can do is outside of God's grace and willingness to forgive, NOTHING!
If you look throughout the Bible, David, Solomon, Peter, Paul, you'll see many individuals who messed up. But you'll also notice that God is in the restoration business. Humans who fail, and own up to it, He restores them to a right relationship w/ Him.
How do we find faith after failing? Is God willing to forgive, no matter how extreme? And if He is willing to do that, how does He do it & what's my part in the process. That's what were going to look at today – How do I come back to God after I've blown it – even a # of times?
The Heart of King David
King David was an amazing man. He was a shepherd before he became King. He had a sensitive heart, a heart to protect those weaker than him. He wrote a # of the Psalms that we read in the book of Psalms. He's said to be a man after God's own heart. David was the royal proto-type, the precursor to the coming 'Messiah' – the King of all humanity Jesus Christ – it was from the line of David that Christ came. David was a man of God to model after. So is a man after God's own heart free from failure? NO
He messed up a few times in his life – pretty big I might add.
Open to 2 Samuel 11 - tell story
David's sin:
"...and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her."
v.3-4
"In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. In it he wrote, "Put Uriah in the front line where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die." So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David's army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died."
v.14-17
God doesn't turn His face in our failure – He turns His face when we don't deal with our failure.
David's self-reproach:
What's the diff. then of David's failures and of others – David sought God's forgiveness in true repentance, he owned up to his mistakes, He came to God contrite & broken –
David wrote Ps. 51 after his failures we read in 2 Samuel 11 -
"Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins. Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my shameful deeds--they haunt me day and night... But you desire honesty from the heart... Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;wash me, and I will be whiter than snow... Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me... Forgive me for shedding blood, O God who saves; then I will joyfully sing of your forgiveness... The sacrifice you want is a broken spirit. A broken and repentant heart, O God, you will not despise." Psalm 51
When David failed God he was truly sorry for what he had done. He was repentant, that's what God was looking for. Folks God is looking for men and women, not that we are perfect, but that we admit it when we blow it and are truly repentant.
God's Restoration Process
God's part...
When we fail were going to look at what God does, and what role we play.
The 1st thing we need to see is that 1. God's forgiveness isn't dependent on your sin. Or we could say the degree of your sin. He doesn't say Joe your sin is much nastier than Eric's – or well your not an axe murderer, you just cheated on your taxes - He doesn't compare sin – He doesn't grade on a curve(we do that). Sin is sin in God's eyes – and yes there are different degrees of consequences but sin is sin.
(white lie/black lie) Don't think you could ever commit a sin that is outside of God's willingness to forgive – He will forgive.
2. God's forgiveness is conditional.
I know some of you right now are freakin' out. What are you talikin' about Joe - I thought God's love was unconditional, that His grace and forgiveness was unconditional?
Look at 1 John 1:9 – it tells us God's forgiveness is conditional.
"But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong."
We have to confess, then He is faithful & just to forgive and cleanse every wrong. God cannot forgive a sin that we do not confess – and He will not force our hand. C.S. Lewis once said:
'Forgiveness needs to be accepted as well as offered if it is to be complete: and a person who admits no guilt can accept no forgiveness.'
You see it has nothing to so w/ the severity of our sin, but a broken, repentant heart that confess'
Our part...
The 1st part is we need to 1. Acknowledge our sin!
You cannot confess something that you do not believe to be sin.
"You've already put in your time in that God-ignorant way of life, partying night after night, a drunken and profligate life. Now it's time to be done with it for good. Of course, your old friends don't understand why you don't join in with the old gang anymore. But you don't have to give an account to them. They're the ones who will be called on the carpet--and before God himself."
1 Peter 4:3-5
This has to do w/ humility – recognizing that there's a higher authority. Were truly repentant.
2. Own our sin!
You can't blame somebody else – the blame game – I woke up on the wrong side of bed – I was born on the wrong side of the tracks - Lousy parents – I wasn't potty trained at the right age – I have bad hygiene -
The only reason we sin or mess up is b/c we chose to – James 1:13-14
"Don't let anyone under pressure to give in to evil say, "God is trying to trip me up." God is impervious to evil, and puts evil in no one's way. The temptation to give in to evil comes from us and only us. We have no one to blame but the leering, seducing flare-up of our own lust."
That means we have choices, we can chose to sin or not to sin. If we don't own our sin & try to blame something or someone else that's not a contrite heart and were stuck.
3. Confess our sin.
The word confess in the Greek is 'homologeo' and means 'to agree with another'. Confession is agreeing w/ God and His standards that what I did was wrong. Psalm 32:5
"Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD " and you forgave the guilt of my sin."
"I confess my iniquity; I am troubled by my sin." Psalm 38:18
and then James 5:16 says,
"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.”
If there is sin in your life, if you have an area of weakness that you can't talk about – it's out of control. We must confess to God, sometimes others in order to be forgiven and healed.
4. Believe in faith that you have been forgiven.
People say, you know I just don't feel forgiven.” That doesn't matter – it's not about you, it's about God and His character, and His willingness to forgive. If you ask, then acknowledge and own it – once you confess it then God is faithful to forgive – it doesn't matter how you feel, it's a done deal.
That's where our faith comes in.
We have a choice, we have a part to play in the restoration process.
God is faithful – He will do His part – the ? Is, how will we respond?
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