4 Symptoms Of A Derailed Destiny

4 SYMPTOMS OF A DERAILED DESTINY

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. A pastor was on his way to his church, running late, and was traveling well over the speed limit. He ended up being pulled over by a state trooper.

2. The officer was not impressed by his explanation or his collar and asked, “Do you want me to give you a little sermon about your driving, Pastor?”

3. “Oh, skip the sermon,” said the embarrassed pastor, “and just take up the collection.”

B. TEXT

“God made us new people so that we would spend our lives doing the good things He had already planned for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10, ERV.

C. SHORT-CIRCUITING YOUR FUTURE

1. You should never sum up your life with an instant snap shot of the moment. Your life is a like a book, with many pages and chapters. With hope and God, the next page or chapter may be the best time of your life.

2. Destiny is in OUR hands as much as it is in the hands of God. We can have a Disastrous Destiny if we choose to live our lives without God and His priorities.

3. Or we can have a Delightful Destiny which is the consequence of choosing to live to please God and fulfill His plan for our lives. Destiny is not our final destination – not all about getting to Heaven – DESTINY IS ABOUT WHAT WE DO ON THE WAY.

4. This message is entitled, “Four Symptoms of a Derailed Destiny.”

I. THE SYMPTOMS OF A DERAILED DESTINY

A. 1ST SYMPTOM: YOU’RE SPIRITUALLY STAGNANT

You’re spiritually stagnant if your Christian walk hasn’t changed much. You haven’t grown lately. You don’t sense the moving of the Spirit, or your prayers don’t seem to reach heaven.

2. STAY OUT OF THE STAGNANT WATER

a. Palmer Chinchen, in his book, True Religion, talks about traveling to Zimbabwe with his brothers to raft the Zambezi River, starting at the base of the Victoria Falls. The falls are the largest in the world, more than a mile wide and three hundred feet high, and the water from the falls rushes down the gorge below, creating the world's largest rapids.

b. In the United States, the highest-class rapid you are allowed to raft is a Class 5. The Zambezi's whitewater rapids can top 7 and 8...

c. Chinchen says as he and his brothers sat on the edge of an eight-person raft below those towering falls, their guide told them, WHEN the raft flips..." There was no "IF the raft flips" or "On the off chance we get flipped."

d. The guide said, "WHEN the raft flips stay in the rough water. You will be tempted to swim toward the stagnant water at the edge of the banks. Don't do it. Because it is in the stagnant water that the crocs wait for you. They are large and hungry. So WHEN the raft flips, stay in the rough water." (Palmer Chinchen, PhD, True Religion, David C. Cook, 2010, pp. 55-57)

3. That's a good lesson for the church. Stagnancy will kill the church, so we must resist stagnancy. Christ, our Guide, needs us to stay in the rough waters, where it's just a little bit uncertain and unsafe, pouring our lives into people. [In C. Philip Green, In the Fire!]

B. 2ND SYMPTOM: YOUR COMFORT ZONE IS TOO SMALL

1. Are you living a life that’s less than the life God created you to live? You haven’t released or enjoyed the gifts, skills, talents, and abilities God has put in you? Can you sense there’s more than you’re experiencing right now? As long as you stay in your comfort zone, you’ll never know the reason God saved you!

2. ILLUS. “Two Reasons Why People Change.”

a. Some people only change when they are forced to do so. They're like the guy who was always in trouble with the law. He went to confession and told the priest, "I'm changing my ways, father."

b. The priest said, "Have you finally seen the light?" He answered, "No father; I’ve felt the heat!"

c. There are 2 reasons why people change--they either feel the heat or see the light. Feeling the heat forces us to change. Seeing the light inspires us to change. [Kent Crockett]

3. The term “comfort zone” refers to the situations where we feel comfortable, safe, and NOT challenged. It’s natural to like one’s comfort zone, but most of us would admit that we shouldn’t remain there indefinitely. People don’t become mature avoiding all adversity.

4. Consequences for Refusing to Change? Until 1967, the Swiss were the leading watchmakers in the world. In 1967 digital technology was patented. The Swiss rejected it in favor of the traditional gears & springs. Seiko, a Japanese company, picked up the digital patent and became the leading watchmaker almost overnight. 75% of Swiss watchmakers went out of business because they refused to embrace something new. [ACTS Daily Encounter]