God’s Got This—when A Pastor Is Leaving

God’s Got This—When A Pastor Is Leaving

Rev. Toby Gillespie-Mobley

Joshua 1:1-9 1 1 Corinthians 3:1-9

It has been said, that the only person who likes change is a baby with a dirty diaper. Change means that a transition is taking place. We are witnessing the end of one thing and the beginning of another. We have all experienced one chapter in our life ending and another beginning. Sometimes we know what to expect, other times we are unsure of what the future will bring.

One of the promises we have from God, is that God will always be with us. God is always outside of our transitions looking at them take place. Therefore no matter what the transition, we still have access to the same God as we did before the transition took place. In other words, “God’s Got It.” When we have God, we have all that we need. Everything else is just an accessory in our lives.

We serve an incredible God with big plans for all of humanity. It’s God’s will that every person born gets the chance to hear about Jesus Christ and the tremendous love that he has for them. It’s God’s will for everyone to know the joy of being saved from their sins so that they need not fear punishment when they stand in the presence of the Lord after they die.

It’s God’s will that we would love God, so that they can spend eternity with God. It’s God’s will that when we die, everyone would hear the words well done, my good and faithful servant and that no one will ever hear those dreaded words, “Depart from me, for I do know you, into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

God has blessed Bay Presbyterian Church with a heart and a mind to share in God’s will. That’s why you are offering people a chance to find hope, to find community and to find purpose at this great church. You know that the need to reach people for Christ is far from over, because many today are not even aware that they need a Savior.

It would be great if God’s will always came to pass, but that’s not how life works. God gave each of us the gift of the freedom of choice. We are free to accept what God has to offer or to reject it. We like to use the term forever when it comes to our love for each other in relationships. But the truth is, the only forever relationship we are going to have is our relationship to God.

Some will reject the opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ. Some will not be interested in the love God has for us because other things look better at the moment.

Some believe that our sins do not matter, and that there is no heaven, and there is no hell. Some believe we are good enough on our own to answer for our sins and we can be our own Savior.

But the amazing thing about God, is that regardless of what we believe, God still pursues us with his love like a flying arrow speeding through the air heading toward the bullseye on a target. God sees value in the soul of each and every human being. That is why Jesus chose to build his church. He wants to fill it with people from all walks of life from every part of the planet.

We the people of God, have been given the honor and privilege of letting others know about the love of God. That’s why we come for worship, that’s why we feed the poor, that’s why we love each other, and that’s why we try to let our light shine.

God’s big picture is the saving of humankind. God desires that everybody who wants to be with God can be with God. For God has promised the creation of a new heavens and a new earth in which we can spend eternity with God.

God’s vision includes those who have come before us and the generations that are still waiting to be born. Each of us is called to serve God in our own generation and in our own setting.

It is so important to recognize that Jesus said, “you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you that you should go forth and bear fruit.” It’s amazing how sometimes God literally calls us on the phone. And yet neither we who are receiving the call, nor the person who is making the call knows that God is on the line.

So often the relationship which begins with a pastor and a congregation begins with a phone call. There is just a simple inquiry as to whether or not a person would consider a church or a church would consider a person.