Sunday Night - Sky94 Service (Pastor Jason) [Listen Here]
When each new year comes around, most people try to get started on the right track. They make New Year's resolutions: to be healthier, to spend more time reading their Bible, to lose weight, etc. However, this usually doesn't work, just statistically speaking. The problem is not the person's intentions. Your heart may be on the right track; you want to improve. But Pastor Jason pointed out that a train can be on the right track without going anywhere. What that train needs is momentum. Pastor Jason pointed out something rather poetic about this train metaphor. The mechanism that starts a train is all set off due to a spark from the inside. And with that little spark, the train becomes a force so powerful no one can stop it.
This sermon focus on the book of Exodus. Let's begin by looking at Exodus 5:20-23, which says:
As they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them. The foremen said to them, "May God see what you've done and judge you—you've made us stink before Pharaoh and his servants! You've put a weapon in his hand that's going to kill us!"
Moses went back to God and said, "My Master, why are you treating this people so badly? And why did you ever send me? From the moment I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, things have only gotten worse for this people. And rescue? Does this look like rescue to you?" (The Message)Moses had just made his first plea to Pharaoh for the freedom of the Israelites. However, Pharaoh responded by making the work of the Israelites more difficult. So, Moses turns to God in frustration. He even says to God, "Does this look like rescue to you?" At this point, Pastor Jason points out that it is okay to be honest with God. If you're mad, frustrated, overwhelmed, whatever you are feeling, tell Him.
However, what does God tell Moses to do, to tell the people? Move forward.
Move forward. That is God's response to a lot of our situations - though most of us don't like that answer. When we're struggling, when life becomes overwhelming, our inclination is to tell God, "I'm going to stay right here until you do something about my problems, God." God's response? "Move forward." "But God, I can't. Fix it, God." "Move forward."
Many times, it doesn't make sense. We don't understand how moving forward will help anything. But honestly, since when has God ever made sense. He rarely does what people expect Him to do. That's part of what makes Him so wonderful.
Moving ahead in the story a little to right after the Israelites are freed, Exodus 14:5-16 says:
When the king of Egypt was told that the people were gone, he and his servants changed their minds. They said, "What have we done, letting Israel, our slave labor, go free?" So he had his chariots harnessed up and got his army together. He took six hundred of his best chariots, with the rest of the Egyptian chariots and their drivers coming along.
God made Pharaoh king of Egypt stubborn, determined to chase the Israelites as they walked out on him without even looking back. The Egyptians gave chase and caught up with them where they had made camp by the sea—all Pharaoh's horse-drawn chariots and their riders, all his foot soldiers there at Pi Hahiroth opposite Baal Zephon.
As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw them— Egyptians! Coming at them!
They were totally afraid. They cried out in terror to God. They told Moses, "Weren't the cemeteries large enough in Egypt so that you had to take us out here in the wilderness to die? What have you done to us, taking us out of Egypt? Back in Egypt didn't we tell you this would happen? Didn't we tell you, 'Leave us alone here in Egypt—we're better off as slaves in Egypt than as corpses in the wilderness.'"
Moses spoke to the people: "Don't be afraid. Stand firm and watch God do his work of salvation for you today. Take a good look at the Egyptians today for you're never going to see them again.
God will fight the battle for you.
And you? You keep your mouths shut!"
God said to Moses: "Why cry out to me? Speak to the Israelites. Order them to get moving. Hold your staff high and stretch your hand out over the sea: Split the sea! The Israelites will walk through the sea on dry ground. (The Message)
At this point, the Israelites are leaving Egypt and they come to the Red Sea. At the same time, Egyptian soldiers are heading their way to bring them back to slavery. With a huge expanse of sea in front of them, and the Egyptians behind them, the people begin to regret leaving at all - more than that, they're fairly certain they will die.
Moses, though he keeps a calm and assured front to the Israelites is crying out to God for help. It may appear to the people that he has everything together, but his heart is crying out in panic.
What is God's response to Moses? Move forward. With a giant sea in front of him, that's probably not what Moses wanted to hear. However, as many of you may know, through Moses, God parted the Red Sea and the Israelite people walked between the pillars of water to safety.
If there are things in your life that you're wanting to overcome, sometimes all God will tell you is to move forward. He is always with you, and will see you through your struggles, but sometimes you just have to move forward. Pastor Jason pointed out that when the Israelite people left Egypt, they thought they were finally free from slavery. They came to the Red Sea and suddenly there was a new obstacle to overcome. If that was not enough, the past they thought they'd escaped came back to haunt them - the Egyptian soldiers were right on their tail.
It's like those times, you try to change your life, you finally get beyond your past, and now you're on to facing a new challenge, when suddenly something from your past comes back. You find someone who knew you in the past and all they can see is who you used to be. No matter how you try to tell them you're different now, all they can see is your past. Just like the Israelites, you're now fighting on two fronts. However, God will tell you, "Move forward."
As the book of Exodus continues, the Israelites continue to face struggle. The ironic thing is that time and time again, they decide it would have been better if they had stayed in Egypt. Egypt. Where they were slaves. Where they were beaten and forced into hard labor. And they want to go back. With each struggle they face, God continues to deliver them, but each time, they are certain they will die and wish to go back to being slaves. The point to be made here is that in the heat of the moment, Pastor Jason notes, you are not always rational. There are times of panic, when you want to go back to the past, because that was comfortable, but when God says, "Move forward," you need to make that decision to move forward. - which sounds a lot like what was discussed in Legacy Part 2 with Ruth and Orpah.
Why choose to move forward? Well, Pastor Jason utilized a quote from "The Dark Knight" to make this point. Right after Batman nearly kills the Joker, but instead saves his life, the Joker says, "This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object." However, this is a paradox. If there is an immovable object, there can be no unstoppable force - if the object can't be moved, the force will have to stop. But think about the reverse. If there is an unstoppable force, there is no such thing as an immovable object. Sometimes, the obstacles in our life seem like they're immovable objects. We see no way to overcome them. But remember, our God is an unstoppable force. There is no such thing as an immovable object.
Looking back at that train metaphor, the train starts with a spark from the inside. Inside you is all you need to overcome any challenge - not because of who you are, but because of God's power inside of you. Romans 8:11 says:
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. (NLT)The power that raised Christ from the dead lives in you. That is an unstoppable force. Death, which has not been overcome by any man, was no match for the power of the Holy Spirit. Because of this, you can always move forward. Never stop.
Tuesday Night - NexGen Service (Pastor Ellis)
The title of this sermon is called "The Breaking Point" and is about how worshipers leave a legacy. However, it's also about moving forward. There are times in you life when little things trip you up. The way Pastor Ellis illustrated this point was through those times when Satan tricks you into doing something, and then makes you feel bad about it. It's those times, when you know you've messed up - and Satan continues to drive that point home in your head - that make you want to recoil from God.
Pastor Ellis noted that right after Adam and Eve sinned, they were ashamed and hid. Do you have those times where you know you've done something wrong and you're so upset or disgusted with yourself that all you want to do is hide from it. You don't want to come to God; you're ashamed. It's those little things, like little pegs that hold you in place, that keep you from God. He wants you to come to Him. No matter what you've done, He wants you to be dependent on Him.
How can you do that? Worship. Pastor Ellis defined worship rather poignantly. He called it declaring dependency on God. Worshipers leave legacies when they declare to God that they are dependent on Him and on Him alone and they live as one dependent on the Lord. Pastor Ellis gave an acronym to better understand how worshipers leave legacy. That acronym is LEGACY.
Lead
Endure
Give Up
Appropriate Your Attitude
Care About Others
Yield
Lead
A bit tautologically, Pastor Ellis declared, "Leaders lead." Similarly, worshipers lead. There is a lot of noise in this world. A worshiper's voice has to be heard over all of that, so that people will hear the name of God above all the meaningless chatter of the world.
Endure
God will ask you to endure - to move forward - through difficulties, and in doing so you will become a person better equipped for God's work. This is because enduring brings forth patience and strength, Pastor Ellis claimed.
Give Up
If you are to be a worshiper of God, you have to give up something to make time for Him. The world may see it as pointless - why would you give up a Sunday to go to church or forgo a party or hobby to read your Bible or serve God? But when you give up things for God - in worship to Him - he makes you a world-changer. Again, more than slightly tautologically, Pastor Ellis pointed out that to be a disciple, you have to be disciplined. While this seems like an obvious statement, too many people take up the attitude of "I can be a disciple any time I want to." Discipleship takes work, training, and time. You have to put in work when no one else does. That will set you apart from those who believe God's word but do not act on it - something the book of James focuses on heavily.
Appropriate Your Attitude
Basically, as Pastor Ellis put it, suck it up. Know when and when not to get angry. There are times for righteous anger; however, it about knowing when to speak and when to remain silent. Pastor Ellis used an example from "Remember the Titans." At one point, the coach tells the team something along the lines of, "Any two-year-old can throw a tantrum. Football is about harnessing that anger to accomplish something." Learn to harness your emotions, your passions, to use them for God's purpose - and so they will not control you.
Care About People
People can be intimidating. Pastor Ellis acknowledged this. However, take comfort in the fact that it is not your job to fix anyone. It's not even your job to help them overcome anything, because we are not the answer. God, Jesus Christ, is the answer. It is our job to present God to people. It is His job to fix them. However, someone is much more receptive to listen to someone who cares about them than someone who doesn't.
Yield
Yielding is allowing someone else's movement before your own. This doesn't mean you don't get to move. It means allowing someone to move before you. Worshipers are called to yield to God's movement - to His plan. He knows your dreams, but for everything there is a time.
This next story is coming a little out of sequence from the original sermon, and I normally try to avoid telling other people's stories on this blog, but I feel this story illustrates a powerful point. It turns an abstract concept into something very concrete. Pastor Ellis describes how at his work, he does not have the key to get into the main room in which he works. Instead, he has the key to get into his boss's office to get the key that leads to the main room. Though he does not have the key to get to what he needs, he has the key that will get him the key he needs.
Similarly, we don't always have, in our possession, what we need to accomplish the bigger goal. We may be lacking the strength, the knowledge, the power, whatever it is - we do not have that second key so we can't go straight into the work of God. However, we all have the key that will grant us access to the tools - the second key - that we need to reach that bigger goal. What is that first key? Worship. It may take time. We can't get to that main room as fast as we'd like, but we will get there - and when we do get there, when we begin to do God's work in this world, amazing things happen. The point is you can't do it by your own power. Worship declares your dependency on God, and when you are ready to humble your heart and give Him full control, you can finally access the tools you need to do His greater work.
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