Roadblocks
PPT 1 (Series Theme) Very encouraging messages the next 4 Sundays, you want to be here.
This week roadblocks, then detours - Joseph, Elisha, Moses, David, everyone has had detours to deal with. Then a message on, "then the fight started." - A message about how the stress of the race can stress you out, and how to successfully deal with it, especially in marriage and interpersonal relationships. Then we will have a message about the 12th man - the help from the crowd that can put you over the top. We will look at some of the heroes of the faith, and draw inspiration and encouragement from their lives.
PPT 2 (Picture of a blocked road) Today road blocks: How others can slow you down, and how when we help them, we are also helping ourselves
PPT 3 (Scripture)
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
You will notice the plural is used 5x’s in this passage of scripture. Often the scriptures talk about our individual race, but it is clear that God is trying to communicate to us in this passage that we race as a team.
Let us run, we are going to talk about the us of running this amazing race.
"Be careful how you treat people on the way up, they are the same ones you will meet on the way down." (Bro. Jenkins) In other words if you are mean to people as you advance in your company, or whatever, if you ever get demoted those people you were mean to may wind up as your supervisor, so be careful how you treat them. Life in many ways is like a relay, and you can win your individual lap, but your team can still lose the race.
In the book of James the church is rebuked because they were giving preferential seating to the wealthy, and I have thought that never applied to us or our church, but then the Lord just expanded my understanding of that portion of scripture. It was speaking of a literal action, but it also speaks to a broader principle, not simply of giving preference to some, but deals with the much larger question of how we deal with the people we see as of no importance to our lives. How we deal with the people we see as a drain or a negative. God will judge us in part, on how we deal with them. The truth is, there was probably a time in your life that you were a drain on others. Think about it.
I want to use an example from the TV show amazing race to help with our understanding of the need for the team concept in the church and life.
In the TV show amazing race, a roadblock is where the participants come to a situation where only one of them can complete a task, but the whole team cannot move forward until that task is completed.
So it is in our Christian walk, sometimes we have to wait on others to advance so the whole team can advance. This is most evident in the marriage relationship, if one is saved and the other isn’t, it will complicate your spiritual journey.
As pastor I can’t be happy with a small percentage of our church being zealous for the Lord, sometimes to go forward or get to the next level we need a move of God that is across a broad spectrum of our church.
Sometimes God’s plans are on hold while we catch up as a group to where we need to be.
PPT 4 (Scripture and image of hornet)
Ex 23:27 "I will send my terror ahead of you and throw into confusion every nation you encounter. I will make all your enemies turn their backs and run.
Ex 23:28 I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way.
Ex 23:29 But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you.
Ex 23:30 Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.
Until you become increased in v. 30 has to do with numerical increase, but it is also true that sometimes we need to be increased in other areas before we can get our inheritance.
Increase Personally:
Increase our biblical knowledge base
Work on our anger issues
Stop being ruled by fear
Our Experience in God must grow
(Tribulation worketh experience, and experience hope...)
Increase as a group:
Increase in leaders
Increase in musicians
Increase in helpers
I believe that for the most part the help we need is in the house. What do I mean by that? I mean that God’s preference is to raise up people in our body, not to pull in strangers. I believe we are blessed with a lot of gifted people in this body, and I am excited about what the future holds for us.
But I also know there are some people here, who at the moment don’t look like much, nor do they think much of themselves. We need to be careful how we think and treat them. Today’s zeroes can be tomorrow’s heroes.
So while we are waiting for them to develop we can cheer or jeer.
We can bless them or blast them.
We can encourage them or nag them.
We can build them up or put them down.
We can talk to God for them, or talk to others about them.
In Hebrews 12 the writer says we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses and the idea is that they are both examples and our cheering squad.
In three weeks we will preach on them as examples, but for today I want you to see them as standing on the sidelines and cheering us on.
In the TV show amazing race when they come to the roadblock, one person is given a task, and all the other can do is watch from the sidelines. Some teammates agitate by demanding it get done, others try to encourage with their words. (Hurry up we are falling behind, we are going to be in last place if you don’t get it together, etc..)One person’s words increase the pressure and frustration, while the others soothe and help. (Keep up the good work, you’ll get it, I believe in you.) The cloud of witnesses that surround us in Heb. 12, belong to the second group and so should we.
Here is a video I want you to see. It is one of the most inspiring videos I have ever seen, it probably resonates with me because it is a dad helping his son. It is the video of Derek Redmond and his run in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Many of you have already seen this, but watch it and be inspired again.
PPT 5 (Video of Derek Redmond and his father)
Youtube Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZlXWp6vFdE
What I love about that video is that his dad couldn’t sit on the sidelines when his son was hurt. He had to get out of the stands and help. (Relate to our heavenly father.)
The dad understood the nature and depth of the injury, his son needed help. So God understand us.
Secondly his dad didn’t want to see his son quit.
1Ki 19:3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there,
1Ki 19:4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors."
Moses and Jonah, both wished to die. David wanted wings to fly away. It is common to the experience of man to have such feelings in our life’s journey. As Christians we know we shouldn’t commit suicide, but like Elijah we pray that we might die. We want to quit and throw in the towel. God never accepts resignation letters, He doesn’t want to drag you across the finish line, but let you finish a victor and not a victim., an overcomer and not overcome.
I think it important to point out that one of the reasons Elijah reached this low spot was because he had become blind to what God had done and would do through him. He states I haven’t done any better than any of my ancestors. In other words, my life is having no impact at all. Depression and discouragement grow in a culture of a sense of uselessness. How completely wrong Elijah was. Emotions can blind us to the good God has accomplished and will accomplish through us. God doesn’t get blinded by human emotions, He wants you to cross the finish line. He doesn’t accept requests to die, but He will put your arm around His strong shoulder.
Thirdly his dad, let him finish the race on his own legs. God doesn’t want to carry you across the finish line, it is not that He is saying we don’t need His help, but because He doesn’t want your life to end in defeat.
Finally, Derek Redmond got the largest ovation of anyone. Not because he finished first, but because he finished despite the adversity of a torn hamstring. The largest ovations are not for those with giftings that made the journey easiest, but for those who against great difficulty and trouble fought their way to and through the finish line. God has a very discriminating eye and can see how hard it is for one and how easy it was for another, and will reward accordingly.
When we love the zeroes in our lives as much as that dad loved his son, we will see them become God’s heroes. When we are willing to put their arm around our shoulder and help them forward, they can become the champions God intended them to be. Let’s look at this scripture:
PPT 6,7 scripture
1Co 12:21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."
1Co 12:22 On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary;
1Co 12:23 and those [members] of the body, which we deem less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our unseemly [members come to] have more abundant seemliness,
1Co 12:24 whereas our seemly [members] have no need [of it.] But God has [so] composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that [member] which lacked,
1Co 12:25 that there should be no division in the body, but [that] the members should have the same care for one another.
1Co 12:26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if [one] member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
PPT 8 (Pineal Gland)
The pineal gland is the smallest gland in the human body, it is located in the brain, near the base, situated between the left and right hemisphere, it is about the size of a grain of rice. It produces melatonin and helps regulate the sleep/wake cycle. If it becomes damaged it creates a cascading effect on all the rest of the bodies hormones. Such a little unseen, part and yet it plays so important a role. There are a lot of people like that, and we need every one of them!
Let "Us," run... You see we are all on the same team. If one member suffers it effects us all. We need everyone doing their job, becoming who they can. When you shoot at others in the body of Christ with words or actions, you are shooting yourself.
I promised we would learn a song in sign language today. The song is entitled, I need you to survive. Linda Cook and Darlene are coming to lead us in sign language. I want you to try and pick it up, and commit the words and signs to memory.
PPT 9 (Lyrics)
I Need You To Survive lyrics
I need you, you need me.
We’re all a part of God’s body.
Stand with me, agree with me.
We’re all a part of God’s body.
It is his will, that every need be supplied.
You are important to me, I need you to survive.
You are important to me, I need you to survive.
(repeat 3X)
I pray for you, You pray for me.
I love you, I need you to survive.
I won’t harm you with words from my mouth.
I love you, I need you to survive.
(repeat 8 X)
It is his will, that every need be supplied.
You are important to me, I need you to survive.
In the song it says, "It is his will, that every need be supplied," that is not talking about finances, but every need that the body has to function properly.
It is critical that we learn we need each other, and it is very critical that we make a commitment not to hurt each other with the words of our mouth - I need you to survive - you are important to me!
We can talk to God for them, or we can talk to each other about them.
Close: Are you in a place in life where you would like to resign from it all? Has it been so bad that you have considered or actually prayed to die? God sees you where you are, and will let you put your arm around Him if you want. The burdened will find rest. Let’s pray...
