Well here we are, the beginning of another year. And each new year is full of hope and enthusiasm
For some 2014 was a spectacular year and so we want 2015 to be a continuation of goodness
For others 2014 was ho-hum so they're wanting 2015 to be better and still others look back at 2014 and are very happy its over, it hasn't been great…. So with the new year 2015 there is great hope and anticipation that it will be, not even spectacular per se, although that would be nice but just that the new year would be better than the previous.
So they're looking for something that will change for them, some sort of momentum to shift life...
Have you noticed that life is shaped by defining moments?
In fact, some would say that you can track 5 or 6 moments in your life that will define all the moments within a lifetime.
and so however many moments you live in your life you’ll be able to look at specific, significant, seismic moments that were defining moments or if you look at it from another angle Divine moments.
Ever notice that sometimes you're waiting for that defining moment to come and it seems like it just wont come while others appear to be having these defining moments again and again and it seems like its unfair - ever notice that some people seem to have multiple defining moments in their lives?
What I want to look at today is about the moments that define us and I want to change your mind about defining moments. Because instead of waiting for defining moments I want you to realize that you have been created and crafted to enter into moments and DEFINE them.
That the moments that actually define you are not the moments that come to you but the moments you come into. And that defining moments aren't moments we should wait for but they are moments that waiting for us.
...and how we engage and enter a moment will determine what we’ll find and pull out of that moment.
Have you ever had defining moments that shaped everything for you? Maybe it was a moment that was your worse moment, maybe you've been defined by a bad moment - have you ever had a moment that was a wrong decision, a bad decision & your whole life was turned upside down because of that decision, that choice? And you've been defined by that moment ever since.
(athletes make bad decisions, defined forever by those, Ron Artest with Pacers goes into stands, Lions D Tackle stomping on head of opposing team defined as dirty player)
The moments in your life, the choices you make, the direction you choose, the jobs you take, the jobs you don't take, the career path you choose, the career path you do not choose, the city you live in, the place you live, do you know how many choices you've said "no" to for the choices you've said "yes" to that have marked your life and defined who you are and the life you're living. Even the people you choose define who you are.
Have you ever choose the wrong people? Spending time with the wrong people has led you to some not so great moments in your life, or maybe you were the wrong person and it defined anothers life poorly. Or maybe you've chose the right people to be around and your life has greatly benefited from that choice. You've chosen to be aligned with the right people which has led to making the right choices in your life, which has helped create a bright future. The people you choose will define who you are.
You see we choose the way we breath every second of our existence.
As we travel through time we create a future by the choices we make. So we need to realize the future of our lives is largely dependent on the choices we’ve made yesterday.
So the choices you make today will form and inform your tomorrow.
So I want to talk to you about the moments that define us.
The scriptures are very clear that moments are waiting for us, that God has already made choices to open up a future we could never imagine... and those moments are waiting for us to choose them.
There was a moment in the life of Jesus that caught my attention regarding defining moments.
If you think about the story of Jesus it kinda skips large areas of His life.
We have the birth of Jesus which was rather monumental since virgin births are rare.
Then ofcourse the whole spectacle of bethlehem, wise men, shepherds in the field you know the story… then its silence for 12yrs and the next time we hear about Jesus his parents have lost Him. :)
Which btw is a huge crisis, if you could imagine being entrusted with the Son of God and you have temporarily misplaced Him. But you know they do find Him in the temple as He's teaching the teachers in the temple who are asking Him questions and astounded by his answers.
So his parents grab Him and you don't hear about Him again for another 20yrs…
Then Jesus shows up at the age of 30 - and theres multiple things that happen from age 30-33 of ministry to death and resurrection - but at 30 He's introduced to the broader audience and He’s introduced as the messiah, the christ, the savior of the world in what I would call a somewhat understated moment in Matt ch 3 in vs 13 we see Jesus enter the scene it says,
“Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John”
Now you may not expect this to be the opening act of Jesus onto the scene... that Jesus would “go to” John, John the Baptizer. And John tries to deter Him for the same reasons we would try to deter him because it doesn't make any sense that Jesus would need to be baptized or atleast to us anyway that John would baptize Him instead John says "oh no wait I need to be baptized by you, that you would come to me."
So John saw it exactly the way we would see it. It doesn't make sense but then Jesus says,
“Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.”
Thats a huge statement - Jesus says I need to be baptized to fulfill all righteousness - I have no idea what that means… it just sounds epic - its huge, Jesus fulfills all righteousness in this moment and whatever that means its huge, I know its important, its cosmic - and so John consents
“And as soon as Jesus was baptized he went up out of the water and at that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
You see this is one of those defining moments and Jesus stepped into it
These are the kinda moments we all long for, the moments we hope for, the moments that change everything for us, the heavens opening up declaring something for us....
And what I want us to see is that this moment didnt arbitrarily come to Jesus, that he stepped into that moment and He defined that moment by saying this is what I must do.
And I’m wondering if this is the pattern God is hoping we can embrace for our lives.
That we stop living arbitrary lives like leaves blowing in the wind hoping that somehow good things will come our way. That something significant, something seismic, something divine would come our way. But instead that we are designed by God to enter into the moments of life with the power to define them.
And one of things that Jesus calls us to, is to define ourselves as belonging to Him, a redefining of our identity as those who belong to the Savior of the world.
So I want to open our eyes today to the moments that are waiting for us to enter in and define them.
I could take us all over scripture to discover these defining moments that numerous people engaged and entered into for us to see ourselves - I mean all the way to the beginning with Adam and Eve and there was a serpent, you probably know the story. And for us to see that God from the beginning has created this framework for us, humans with the power to choose.
So in the garden God had given the opportunity not just to step into defining moments but to define their moments. And we confuse this sometimes thinking there were only 2 trees and there was only 1 good choice and 1 bad choice but actually the garden was full of endless good choices and only one choice that would cost them their lives.
So He said you choose, you decide, but remember you're created in my image and this is the best life for you. And you probably know the story Adam and Eve eat of the one tree they're not supposed to and they lose their identity in God because they made a defining moment decision. To define themselves outside of the image of God.
We could just continue the story from Adam & Eve to their 2 sons Cain and Abel and their defining moments that led them on their paths for the rest of their lives…. But I’m not gonna dive into to that one today.
Or we could look at the multiple moments Jacob faced, including a defining moment he stepped into by wrestling with God… But I’m not gonna dive into to that one today either.
I want you to know today the choices you've made in the past they have real momentum they have real life and even when you're trying to redefine yourself, the momentum of those choices they can chase you down, catch you at your worst moments, they can haunt you and taunt you, belittle you they can leave you will the feelings of guilt and shame... but our God is a God of grace and lets you know He will protect your future
We have choices to make, defining moments waiting for us to define them
And we can be like Rehab who takes a moment and redefines herself completely.
Lets go to Joshua ch 2 - Caleb and Joshua are spearheading a reconnaissance mission through Jericho because they know God is going to give them the Promised Land. And this is more than a battle of tribes, this is an intention of Gods fulfillment. And what I love about this passage is that Rehab gives us an outsiders perspective. She actually says to Joshua in vs 9 “we know whats going on, we know that this is not a battle between tribes but that God is moving in human history and our hearts are melted with fear and we’ve lost our courage b/c we know were waring against God.”
And btw Rehab is known as Rehab the Prostitute, isnt that wonderful?
Wouldn't you love being known throughout your life by the worst thing you've ever done?
You know John the Liar or there's Susan the Manipulator, there's Cole the car thief.
Wouldn't it be horrible to be defined by your worst choices.... Rehab the Prostitute.
And as it turns out Joshua and Caleb make their way through the city and Rehab finds them out and she tells them I want to be on God’s side, will you accept me?
And you would think that the last person God would accept would be this prostitute of the people who are against the intention and will of God
And the great thing about God is He’ll take any one of us when we’re ready to step into His presence and follow Him. He doesn't care what color, what language, what tribe, what boundary, he doesn’t care our background, rather nobility or peasant if we say, “God I want You” He lets us step into a new definition of ourselves.
And in this moment Rehab reminds us we’re all one choice away from a new life and future….
She says, vs 12
12 “Now then, please swear to me by the Lord that you will show kindness to my family, because I have shown kindness to you. Give me a sure sign 13 that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all who belong to them—and that you will save us from death.”
14 “Our lives for your lives!” the men assured her. “If you don’t tell what we are doing, we will treat you kindly and faithfully when the Lord gives us the land.”
15 So she let them down by a rope through the window, for the house she lived in was part of the city wall. 16 She said to them, “Go to the hills so the pursuers will not find you. Hide yourselves there three days until they return, and then go on your way.”
17 Now the men had said to her, “This oath you made us swear will not be binding on us18 unless, when we enter the land, you have tied this scarlet cord in the window through which you let us down, and unless you have brought your father and mother, your brothers and all your family into your house. 19 If any of them go outside your house into the street, their blood will be on their own heads; we will not be responsible. As for those who are in the house with you, their blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on them.20 But if you tell what we are doing, we will be released from the oath you made us swear.”
21 “Agreed,” she replied. “Let it be as you say.”
So she sent them away, and they departed. And she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
And I love how this prostitute, who had probably been rejected by everyone she ever loved.
Probably felt that no one cared for her, wept for her, remembered her - I imagine that little space by the city wall was an empty space filled with loneliness, a vacuum of love for every man who pretended he loved her, she simply sold her body because she had no sense of value any longer.
Can you just imagine Rehab the Prostitute becoming Rehab the Protector
Where she would go to her family, father and mother, brothers and sisters and say come under my roof, for my roof, in my house there is life and safety..... its beautiful
I love that God took the very room where she sold herself to be the place to become a shelter for those she loved.
All of us are always one moment away from new life, one decision away from a new future.
We all enter into moments that can become defining moments if we stop waiting passively by hoping God will do something when God has already done something and He’s waiting for us to step into that reality.
Sometimes I think we are waiting for God to choose us when God has already chosen us and He is simply waiting for us to choose Him.
So I hope you see today what God’s Word is shouting out to us all…. As we enter into 2015 that we will not wait around for those defining moments to come to us but that we’ll realize God has already chosen us and is waiting for us to step into those moments and define them…. For His glory.
That we’ll be wide eyed…. Purposely looking for them. And that we’ll look back later in life at this year and say, 2015, thats when I stepped into defining moments
Practical applications
- Beg for the Holy Spirits leading
"these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God." 1 Corinthians 2:10
I use the word beg on purpose because when we are desperate we are much more aware of our surroundings, the environment, the atmosphere hence open for the Spirits leading.
So ask everyday for the Holy Spirit to help you be aware of and engage defining moments.
2. 15 in 2015
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33
Make a commitment in 2015 to daily spend 15 minutes with God.
Trust me on this one folks.
It will only benefit you. You know what most of us do, we say we just don't have the time - maybe not aloud but to ourselves or just by our actions - the truth is we cant afford not to. We need God everyday. So make the commitment. Stop for 15 min, Get your bible open, get something write on and hang out with God reading His Word, talking to Him in prayer, listening to what he is speaking to you. Hey pull a Nike and Just Do It. You will not regret it - I promise you.
Btw doing #2 will set up #1 - it will put you in a place to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you that will open you up engage and define moments.
So let's DEFINE Moments in 2015!
watch video presentation of message: Defining Moments message video
