Legacy Part 4 (Sunday, January 23, 2011)

Legacy Part 4 (Sky94 Service)  [Listen Here]
As you can see, I'm a little behind on sermons. This is the Sky94 sermon from three weeks ago.

Pastor Jason began this sermon with Genesis 3:6-9, which says:

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” (NIV)

Where are you? That is the question that this sermon is centered around. In your relationship with God, where are you?

In the last Legacy sermon, Pastor Jason talked about moving forward and how even in the midst of new trials and new miracles, the past still comes back to haunt you. Sometimes, it feels like you are never done running. In Exodus 15:22-24, it says,

Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea and they went into the Desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they could not drink its water because it was bitter. (That is why the place is called Marah.) So the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What are we to drink?”(NIV)

The Israelites had just escaped slavery in Egypt. They had experienced the miracles of God and had walked right through the Red Sea. Now they entered the desert and could find no water. After three days of thirst, they come across water, but they couldn't even drink it. Have you ever built up hope in something (When "this" happens, things will get better...), but when you finally get it, you realize it didn't fix everything. Pastor Jason noted that the first thing that happens to the Israelites after they'd come out of this awesome miracle (the parting of the Red Sea) is that they struggled with bitterness.

A lot of times, bitterness leads to isolation. You let it build up inside of you and you just want to shut out the world [I know I can relate to that]. However, you can't overcome bitterness by yourself - and realizing this is really the first step to overcoming it. In fact, the enemy is counting on the bitterness to draw you into isolation. If you can overcome bitterness, you view life in a completely different light. However, this is easier said than done. That is why Pastor Jason recommends surrounding yourself with people who will hold you accountable and make sure you don't draw back into bitterness.

Exodus 17 describes the first battle faced by the Israelites after leaving Egypt. When the Amalekites attacked the Israelites, they attacked from the rear and tried to pick off the stragglers who were isolated from the rest. That right there, Pastor Jason claims, describes a crucial strategy of the enemy. In order to defeat an enemy, you have to study the enemy's strategies - and the Bible is laying it out in plain view. If you allow bitterness to draw you into isolation, you leave yourself open to the attacks of the enemy.

What does Moses do when the Amalekites attack their stragglers? He has Joshua gather an army and defend those who had fallen behind. Joshua and Moses were the only ones among the Israelites that the Bible says had a personal relationship with God. Pastor Jason asserts that what the church needs most is more "Joshua"s. A Joshua is someone who has a personal relationship with God and is willing to go back and defend the stragglers from the enemy. A Joshua is willing to reach out to those who have fallen behind and pull them out of bitterness and bring them back to the group.

Before I end this summary, I'd like to pose a few things Pastor Jason mentioned that should be considered.

When was the last time you spent time with God?
What does it mean to have a relationship with God? What does that look like for you and your life?
Relationships are a daily (not weekly) commitment. The gospel of Luke says to take up your cross daily.
Acts 11:26 says, "The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." The disciples were called Christians - not the believers, the disciples. The root of the word "disciple" is "discipline."