January/27/ 2019
Pack Your Bags
Part 3
Move into your calling
1 Corinthians 1:26-30 “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God
Common misconceptions in the church today:
1. Calling is just for the pastors or full-time church leaders.
Ephesians 2:10 “We are God’s workmanship…”
Ephesians 4:11-12 “So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up’
2. I have to have it all together before I can step into Gods call.
Ezekiel 47:3-5 NLT “Measuring as he went, he took me along the stream for 1,750 feet and then led me across. The water was up to my ankles. 4 He measured off another 1,750 feet and led me across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist. 5 Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to walk across. It was deep enough to swim in, but too deep to walk through.
Three responses to God’s calling:
1. Jump a ship: Jonah
Jonah 1:1-3 “The word of the Lord came to Jonah son of Amittai: “Go to the great city of Nineveh and preach against it, because its wickedness has come up before me.” But Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Tarshish. He went down to Joppa, where he found a ship bound for that port. After paying the fare, he went aboard and sailed for Tarshish to flee from the Lord.”
2. Pass the buck: Moses
Exodus 3:10-11 “ So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.” 11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”
3. Drop your nets: Disciples
Matthew 4:18-20 " As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
You don’t have to understand fully to obey immediately.
January/27/ 2019
Pack Your Bags
Part 2:
Move out of your past
Matthew 11:12 NLT “And from the time John the Baptist began preaching until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing”
2 Corinthians 3:18 NASB “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.”
What baggage are you carrying?
1. Unfulfilled expectations.
Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”
2. Untreated pain.
Jeremiah 6:14 “They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ʻPeace, peace,ʼ they say, when there is no peace.”
3. Unresolved conflict.
Ephesians 4:26-27 “In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.”
4. Unrepented sin.
Psalm 32:3-4 “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Selah”
How do you move past your baggage and into the new things God has for you?
Exodus 14:10-12 “As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the Lord. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
verse 11-12 “Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!”
verse 15-16 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 16 Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.”
Three things if you are going to move out of your past…
1. Shut your mouth
verse 15 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me?”
Philippians 2:14-15 ICB “Do everything without complaining or arguing. 15 Then you will be innocent and without any wrong. You will be God’s children without fault.”
2. Move your feet
verse 15 “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.”
Luke 17:14 “When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed.”
3. Stretch out your hand
verse 15c “Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground”
January/09/ 2019
Pack Your Bags
Part 1
Get Moving
Genesis 12:1 “The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” 4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him”
What will it take to make a move in 2019?
1. Be HONEST about where you are
Genesis 11:31 “Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (Haran’s son), and Sarai his daughter-in-law (his son Abram’s wife) and set out with them from Ur of the Chaldeans for the land of Canaan. But when they got as far as Haran, they settled down there.”
2. Be OPEN to where God wants you to go
Genesis 12:1-3 MSG “God told Abram: “Leave your country, your family, and your father’s home for a land that I will show you. 2-3 I’ll make you a great nation and bless you. I’ll make you famous; you’ll be a blessing. I’ll bless those who bless you; those who curse you I’ll curse. All the families of the Earth will be blessed through you.”
3. Be INTENTIONAL about taking the next step
verse 4 “So Abram went, as the Lord had told him”
a. Engage with God’s word
b. commit to worship consistently in God’s house
c. connect in a Lifegroup
d. serve in a ministry
4. Be STEADY and don’t quit
Genesis 12:8-9 “ He moved on from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent between Bethel to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there and prayed to God. 9 Abram kept moving, steadily making his way south, to the Negev.”
a. Abram kept moving even though he faced some problems
verse 10 “Then a famine came to the land. Abram went down to Egypt to live; it was a hard famine.”
b. Abram kept moving even though he made some mistakes
verse 11-13 “As he drew near to Egypt, he said to his wife, Sarai, “Look. We both know that you’re a beautiful woman. When the Egyptians see you they’re going to say, ‘Aha! That’s his wife!’ and kill me. But they’ll let you live. Do me a favor: tell them you’re my sister. Because of you, they’ll welcome me and let me live.”
c. Abram kept moving even though some people didn’t come with him
Genesis 13:5-9 “ Lot, who was traveling with Abram, was also rich in sheep and cattle and tents. But the land couldn’t support both of them; they had too many possessions. They couldn’t both live there—quarrels broke out between Abram’s shepherds and Lot’s shepherds. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living on the land at the time. 8-9 Abram said to Lot, “Let’s not have fighting between us, between your shepherds and my shepherds. After all, we’re family. Look around. Isn’t there plenty of land out there? Let’s separate. If you go left, I’ll go right; if you go right, I’ll go left.”
