Week 3 "From Me To God” Series

Seismic Shifts

Session 3 “From Me to God”

RBW (inspired from “seismic shifts” book)

Introduction:

+ Seismic Promo Video Clip

Congregational Reading:

+Isaiah 6:1-3 (NIV)

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.”

John 3:30 (NIV)

30 He must become greater; I must become less.

+Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Recap:

+Our first shift, “from doing to being” helps us to focus the priority of our lives on this inward journey… It starts with who God has made us to be. Then, it reaches outward into what we can do to represent God in this world we’re in. But, we’ll never be successful at showing God to the world, unless we’ve started with this work of becoming apart from the world’s expectations.

+Our second shift, “from somberness to celebration” reminds us that this life of becoming is not a drag, it’s not to be lived in drudgery, but our becoming through all this life’s situations is exciting because we can’t wait to see who God is making us to be. Prayer warriors, encouragers, mentors, ministers of faith, we give thanks, we dance, we sing, we celebrate this journey that we’ve begun with God.

This week our author reminds us that for the first two small shifts to have their ultimate, lasting, impacting affect on our lives, we must shift our focus + “from ourselves to God.” None of this shifting does much good for us spiritually if we’re still just focused on us.

You can pick up the phone and talk all you want, but unless you dial a number you’re just talking to yourself.

Illustration: The other day I was in line in a store and a +lady walked in behind me just talking away… she was alone… she wasn’t talking to me… and no one else was around her. I thought+Thorazine drip.

Then I saw the wireless Bluetooth in her ear. She had a goofy grin like I’m not crazy and she motioned to the ear piece. 10 years ago, government dollars and prescribed pharmaceuticals would be helping this girl have a better life. For us to experience real change, lasting change, big change… God must be an integral part of the process or we’re just standing alone, talking to ourselves, waiting for medication.

+The type of spiritual life that will have a greater impact on our daily lives must have an effect on our moment by moment relationship with God if we’re going to become deeper people, if we’re truly looking for transformation in life, if we’re truly allowing God to fashion us into His disciples. If we truly want change.

Before we look at the “how to’s” of our shift right here this morning, I want to point out some interesting observations that have recently been made concerning a global perspective shift.

+There is a world-wide shift going on that is making people bigger and God smaller. It’s all around us.

In the Middle East ... In Iraq Sunnis and Shiites who share the same religion, Islam, have made God so small that neither sect recognized the other as brothers and sisters in faith. In Afghanistan, the Taliban have made God small enough to justify a harsh religious dictatorship. In India, the Kashmir rebel’s world has become small enough to cause bombs to be planted on trains a couple of months ago in Mumbai. In the Congo, In Somalia, in Chechnya, and in other places to numerous to list, God has been miniaturized and people are dying violent deaths ever day.

North Korea has nuclear weapons, a million member army, a missile program and the people of Japan are rightfully anxious because of all that. Japan is the only nation in history to have experienced nuclear war firsthand. How much smaller does the world have to make God before Japan becomes the first, not the last? In the last month our government has exposed two terrorist plots; one targeting New York, the other Chicago. The people arrested in those two plots have made God small enough to justify blowing up tunnels and buildings.