Yesterday marked two anniversaries. Debbie and I have been married for 34 years. And I have been your pastor for 5 years. About one half of you were attending when Chris was pastor. The first month I became senior pastor, we had a role of 32 people with $3457 in the bank. Most of those were Pastor Chris’ family. By August that number had dropped to 18. In 2011 we were at our peak with 22 adults in attendance and $5726 in the bank. Now after 5 years we average 12 adults in attendance with $5680 in the bank.
This week I found one of my first sermons. It was about vision casting. It was casting the vision of whitestone ministry. We learned about Nehemiah’s plan to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem that had been destroyed. I talked about being aware of what needed to be repaired for whitestone to grow. I talked about having the right attitude for growth. I talked about putting the vision into action by being faithful with your giving and service.
I quoted Haggai 2:3 “Does anyone remember this house—this Temple—in its former splendor? How, in comparison, does it look to you now? It must seem like nothing at all!” and declared the end to Cornerstone and the beginning of whitestone ministry.
I quoted Ezra 3:11-13 “With praise and thanks, they sang this song to the Lord: ‘He is so good! His faithful love for Israel endures forever!’ Then all the people gave a great shout, praising the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s Temple had been laid.
But many of the older priests, Levites, and other leaders who had seen the first Temple wept aloud when they saw the new Temple’s foundation. The others, however, were shouting for joy. The joyful shouting and weeping mingled together in a loud noise that could be heard far in the distance.” and talked about mixed emotions.
I quoted Haggai 2:9 “The future glory of this Temple will be greater than its past glory, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. And in this place I will bring peace. I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!” and talked about a greater vision for whitestone ministries.
I quoted Zechariah 4:10 “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.” and talked about the Lord’s excitement over what was beginning.
I quoted Exodus 31:6 “I have given special skill to all the gifted craftsmen so they can make all the things I have commanded you to make.” and talked about how God would give people the heart needed to be children’s ministers, youth ministers, and outreach ministers. I talked about how God would place on people’s hearts the desire to give of their finances and their time.
But as I began to prepare this sermon I realized that I was still kicking the rubble around me. I realized the walls have not been rebuilt and the vision never came about. So I questioned myself. How did I fail? Was this God’s vision or just mine? Why didn’t we become what I felt sure God wanted us to be?
Have you ever walked in this discouragement? Your goals are not being reached. Your life feels at times in shambles. I felt I owed God an apology for not accomplishing his will for my ministry. I felt dejected that I had let God down by not being where He wanted me to be. Have you ever been there? Or are you there now?
This morning I want to share with you what the Holy Spirit shared with me. He desires for us to know that we are exactly where He wants us to be but not where He wants us to stay.
The first thing we need to do is to accept where we are at.
Let’s talk about Joseph, the shepherd boy. He was sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. He was falsely accused of a crime he did not commit. He spent 13 years in prison. He could have given up in frustration. He could have complained to God. He could have got angry and walked away.
Instead he chose not to dwell on the circumstances but rather on the faithfulness of God. Joseph became a favorite of the warden but he stayed in prison. Joseph became in charge of all the other prisoners but he stayed in prison. Joseph took over running the prison but he stayed in prison.
We are where we are at for a reason. We may be struggling because of our own decisions or because of an attack by the enemy. But there is a purpose for it. And there is a purpose for everything that comes into our lives. Like Joseph, we must find peace in our circumstances. And we do that by finding peace in God.
Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.” As we have discovered in the past we are being told to become feeble and allow God to take charge. That means complete surrender to him. When we become feeble we become powerless to solve any situation. It is in that surrender that God begins moving.
Hebrews 4:3 “For only we who believe can enter his rest. As for the others, God said, ‘In my anger I took an oath: “They will never enter my place of rest,”’ even though this rest has been ready since he made the world.”
When we become followers of Jesus we have gained entrance into the rest that comes with the promise that all will be well. We will be able to sleep at night knowing that a God who never sleeps is in control. And that we are exactly where He wants us to be.
But being feeble and at rest does mean giving up or standing still. The second point is keep pressing forward.
There was a time when I would set out 60 chairs every Sunday morning. I was casting vision for what God was going to do. Most Sunday mornings I felt I was preaching to an empty room. So we are now sitting up 22 chairs making it a lot easier to tear down. As I was pondering things this week I wondered why God never sent those 60. How about you? Have you ever wondered why God never answered your prayer even though you were prepared for them to be answered? Let me tell you about three Hebrew teens who faced such a challenge.
King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue ninety feet tall and nine feet wide. A command went out, “People of all races and nations and languages, listen to the king’s command! When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and other musical instruments, bow to the ground to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue. Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
So at the sound of the musical instruments, all the people, whatever their race or nation or language, bowed to the ground and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.
But there were three teens —Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego— who refused to worship the gold statue that had been set up.”
Nebuchadnezzar flew into a rage and ordered that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego be brought before him. When they were brought in, Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you refuse to serve my gods or to worship the gold statue I have set up? I will give you one more chance to bow down and worship the statue I have made when you hear the sound of the musical instruments. But if you refuse, you will be thrown immediately into the blazing furnace. And then what god will be able to rescue you from my power?”
We find their reply in Daniel 3:17-18 “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.”
Their circumstances were a fiery furnace or bowing before an idol. Their prayer was deliverance from the furnace. Their rest in the Lord gave them peace about whatever the outcome would be. And in that peace God’s power broke through and their prayer was answered. No matter the circumstance pray and keep pressing forward. No matter the obstacles pray and keep pressing forward. These three teenagers pressed forward even if it meant death. They pressed forward because they trusted God and knew they were exactly where God intended them to be.
The third point is endure and be patient.
Colossians 1:11 “We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy,”
Notice Paul’s prayer. It would be for them to be strengthened. He didn’t pray that all their problems would go away. He didn’t pray for them to have their desires met. He prayed that they would have all the patience and ability to endure their problems and needs.
A fly was buzzing along one morning when he saw a lawn
mower someone had left out in their front yard. He flew over and sat on the handle, watching the children going down the sidewalk on their way to school.
One little boy tripped on a crack and fell, spilling his lunch on the sidewalk. He picked himself up, put his lunch back in the bag and went on. But he missed a piece of bologna. The fly had not eaten that morning and he sure was hungry. So he flew down and started eating the bologna. In fact he ate so much that he could not fly, so he waddled across the sidewalk, across the lawn, up the wheel of the lawn mower, up the handle, and sat there resting and watching the children.
There was still some bologna laying there on the sidewalk. He was really stuffed, but that baloney sure did look good.
Finally temptation got the best of him and he jumped off the handle of the lawn mower to fly over to the baloney. But alas he was too full to fly and he went splat! killing him instantly.
The moral of the story: Don’t fly off the handle when you are full of baloney.
We have a tendency to fly off the handle when our patience grows thin. We struggle to endure any circumstance that is not relieved within out time frame. But it is God’s desire to strengthen us.
There are some things that I have learned from going to the gym. You can’t go just one time and expect for your muscles to grow. You must stretch and tear your muscles for more muscle mass to be built. It takes patience and endurance to achieve those goals.
Paul knew that a great time of trouble was coming into people’s lives so he prayed for their strength to see then through. He wanted them to realize the power that was at work inside of them. The power of the Holy Spirit. We have within us the power to endure any situation and the patience to wait upon deliverance from any situation.
When the children of Israel found themselves trapped between the Red Sea and Pharos’s army, they panicked. But Moses told them, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the Lord rescue you today. The Lord himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”
We have that same promise when we rest in the Lord, when we are still and know that He is in control. But God will back away if you will not give him control of your situation. Instead of praying for deliverance, pray rather for strength and allow him to deliver at the right time.
The fourth point is embrace the opportunity.
A young man had been promoted to an important position in his company. He’d never dreamed he’d be in such a position, much less at such a young age. So he went to see the venerable old timer in the company, and said, "Sir, I was wondering if you could give me some advice on staying successful."
The old timer came back with just two words: "Right decisions!"
The young man had hoped for a bit more than this, so he said, "Thank you, that’s really helpful, and I appreciate it, but could you be a little more specific? How do I make right decisions?"
The old man responded: "Experience."
The young man said, "Well, that’s just the point of my being here. I don’t have the kind of experience I need. How do I get it?" The old man replied: "Wrong decisions!"
James 1:2-4 gives some give advice opportunities for growth. “Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” This verse reveals the formula for complete trust in God.
It begins with troubles. We will never experience the power of God’s deliverance without troubles. It is within the realm of fear, discouragement, heartache, and disappointment that opportunity is born. It is when our faith is stretched and torn that endurance is built.
As our ability to endure those troubles grow, we will see God’s redemptive power at work. Either He will deliver us from our troubles or give us the peace to live with the outcome of our troubles. Reality is not every prayer will be answered the way we desire but, by becoming perfect and complete in our endurance, we will have great joy with God’s answer to our prayer.
Psalm 55:22 “Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.”
Whatever is troubling you today, give it to God. Chances are you can’t do anything about it anyway. Trust him to take care of it in his fashion on his timetable.
As I enter my sixth year as your pastor, I do not know what the next year holds. But I do know that this body of believers called whitestone is exactly where God wants it to be. We are not lacking anything or disappointing to God
I also know that He wants us to keep pressing forward. We should not become lackadaisical. There are an average of 700 people in Denver per church who do not attend anywhere. We need to continue pressing to reach our 700.
We will endure whatever comes this year and be patient. I often forget who this church really belongs to. This church is the possession of Jesus and He will do what He wants with it. I will walk with him in patience as I discover his plans.
And I will be embrace the opportunity to face difficulties if He chooses that path for me. I am willing to make whatever sacrifice I am called to make. I have been blessed the last three years with the generosity offered by this body to pay me a housing allowance. Due to people leaving our body, others deciding not to give, and an overall casual approach to giving, I may soon loose that privilege. If so, I will endure but I will still pastor. I believe in this ministry and what God called it to be.
So I want you to make this declaration with me this morning.
The Bible states “The tongue can bring death or life.” So we are going to read this together out loud. Ready?
I am exactly right now where I am supposed to be in life.
I will keep pressing through to be where I want to be in life.
I will do so with endurance and patience.
I will embrace all opportunities presented to me to see God’s power at work.
