Being A Why Not Church.
Psalm 37:1-6, 34
This notice appeared in the window of a coat store in Nottingham, England: We have been established for over 100 years, and have been pleasing and displeasing customers ever sense We have made money and lost money, suffered the effects of government control, and bad payers. We have been cursed and discussed, messed about, lied to, held up, robbed, and swindled. The only reason we stay in business is to see what happens next.
The store owner knew that life was full of difficulties. But he was determined to survive, even if only to hope for the best, and see what happens next.
What happens next? Spiritually speaking, the next great event will be the bride of Jesus Christ going home!
Psalm 37:1-6, 34 “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, Neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb. Trust in the LORD, and do good; So shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; Trust also in him; And he shall bring it to pass. And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, And thy judgment as the noonday.”
34 “Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: When the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.”
In these verses we are told to: Fret not, Don’t be envious, Trust in the Lord, Delight, commit, He shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, Wait on the Lord, God shall exalt thee to inherit the land.
A huge mountain occurred during our young married life. I put a cell phone in my name for someone else to use. (They used it and I paid the bill) This was when the cell phone were called a bag-phones. (Before flip phone, Even before the BlackBerry).
Roaming charges were astronomical. The first bill (my first bill), was over $1400 the person paid it, but the next month his bill was over $2,700. He was no where to be found. He skipped out on my large bill, and of course I was left holding the bag, (so to speak). We were new in the ministry, and I felt angry and used.
One night, I was wakened at 4:44AM, I went into the living room and sat down on my recliner. I griped my channel changer, and suddenly God shook my hand and told me to read Psalm 37. I read Psalm 37, three times and I was set free!
We paid that bill in record time.
Faithfulness is not just holding down the fort, but faithfulness is advancing the kingdom in new ways.
Psalm 37, commands the reader to stop fretting. Psalm 37:3-5AMP Trust [rely on and have confidence] in the Lord and do good;?Dwell in the land and feed [securely] on His faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, And He will give you the desires and petitions of your heart. 5 Commit your way to the Lord; Trust in Him also and He will do it.
Trust God. Believe God. Have faith. Rest in His faithfulness! As far as God is concerned, positionally, you have been made complete.
In the words of the martyred missionary, Jim Elliott, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”
Q&A, Can you be a forgiven sinner, but not a redeemed saint?
Romans 6:8NIV Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we also live with him.
You cannot do for yourself what Jesus Christ has already done for you. I want to give you 5 reasons CECC is a why not church:
Being A Why Not Church refuses to assume. “If great things are happening it's because great people are doing and being.” PH
“In case you weren’t aware we have some great leadership in CECC! They’re obedient servants of the Lord.” PH
Zig Ziglar records a story that illustrates how a wrong perspective can prohibit freedom. Harry Houdini, the famed, escape artist, issued a challenge, wherever he went. He could be locked in any jail cell in the country, he claimed, and set himself free in short order. Always, he kept his promise, but one time something went wrong. Houdini entered the jail in his street clothes; the heavy metal doors shut behind him. He took from his belt a concealed piece of metal, strong and flexible. He set to work immediately, but something seemed unusual about the lock. For 30 minutes he worked and got nowhere. An hour past, and still he had not open the door. By now he was bathed in sweat and panting and exasperation, but he still could not pick the lock. Finally, after laboring for two hours, Harry Houdini collapsed in frustration and fell against the door He could not unlock. But when he fell against the door, it swung open! It had never been locked at all! But in his mind, it was locked, and that was all it took to keep him from opening the door and walking out of the jail cell.
The Lord spoke this simple word to me. Many Christians are trying to open a door that Jesus Christ has already unlocked. Again, don’t just assume.
2. Being A Why Not Church, means we believe. We trust. We wait. We worship. And again, We believe.
Galatians 5:1AMP It was for this freedom that Christ set us free [completely liberating us]; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery [which you once removed].
Jesus paid for your yoke of slavery to be removed! Condemnation.
Hear me, the Bridegroom seeks you. According to Jewish tradition, the bridegroom could be found in his village with his relatives and friends. When it was time, a wedding procession made its way through the camp, where the bridegroom got on a camel, and continued, while others followed him on foot.
The Bridegroom would ride by camel sometimes for hours, and finally arrive at his destination, another tent village, where a small crowd was waiting.
The bridegroom dismounted the camel, was welcomed by the group, and then lead into one of the tents.
This tradition goes back to the Hebrew weddings of ancient times.
In order for there to be a marriage, the bridegroom had to first make a journey from his house, to the house of the bride. It didn't matter where she lived, across the camp or across the desert; wherever she was, he had to journey to her.
And there's a mystery in it. The bridegroom is a shadow of God. And we are each born to be the bride. -The bride of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Therefore again, in order for there to be a marriage, the joining of the two, the bridegroom must always journey from his house, to the house of the bride.
So according to the mystery, over 2000 years ago, the bridegroom… God… Undertook the journey of the bridegroom. Jesus sought you out!
3. Being A Why Not Church, means you’ll be sought out!
Psalm 18:30-33AMP As for God, His way is blameless. The word of the Lord is tested [it is perfect, it is faultless]; He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him. 31 For who is God, but the Lord? Or who is a rock, except our God, 32 The God who encircles me with strength?And makes my way blameless? 33 He makes my feet like hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly and tread safely on paths of testing and trouble];?He sets me [securely] upon my high places.
4. Being A Why Not Church, means we go upward with everything.
The bighorn sheep in Colorado Rocky Mountain National Park will often allow visitors to approach them from below and take closer photos. But don’t try to get above them, or the entire herd will run away. The big horns escape route from predators is always upward. On level ground, a bobcat or cougar can easily overtake the wild sheep, but scrambling up a boulder-strewn slope, the bighorns will get away every time.
As believers, our escape route is always upward toward the Lord, never downward into sin or self-pity.
Back to the Bridegroom, He (God) traveled not across a city or desert, but across time and space… From heaven, the house of the Bride groom, to earth, the house of the Bride.
For His Bride, He (God), makes everything that is temporal, eternal. God turns our earthly into the heavenly’s. He makes the flesh, spirit. He turns doubt, into faith!
Q&A: Does the bride ever journey to the bride groom? Never, and in the same way, you can never reach God or heaven on your own.
Again, the Bridegroom always goes after the bride, no exception.
Again, It is God who journeys to you. He comes to your tent, to your life, no matter where you are, no matter what your life is like, no matter how far away you are from Him. He still comes to your house, to wherever you are.
No matter where you find yourself, He will be the one to come to you… He will knock…On the door of your heart.
Matthew 25:1-10NKJV Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. 2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, 4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Verse 12, we’re told to expect, and be ready!
5. Being A Why Not Church, means you’re a keeper of oil. You’re wise. You’re vigilant. You’re anointed!
When Apple Computer fell on difficult times, Apples young chairman, Steve Jobs, traveled from Silicon Valley, to New York City. His purpose was to convince Pepsi Co’s John Sculley to move west and revitalize the struggling company. As the two men overlook the Manhattan skyline from Scully's penthouse office, the Pepsi executive started to decline Jobs offer. Financially, Scully said, “You'd have to give me $1 million salary, $1 million bonus, and million dollar severance. Stunned, Steve Jobs agreed, but only if Scully would move to California. But Scully would only commit to being a consultant from New York. At that time Steve issued him a challenge, “Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared and water, or do you want to change the world?”
In his autobiography, Odyssey, Scully admits “Steve Jobs challenge knock the wind out of me. He said that he had become so caught up in his comfort zone that an opportunity to change the world nearly passed him by. Instead, he reevaluated his life and went to Apple.
Again, A why not church is, anointed. We only march to His drum beat. The Lord said, “Bring out the oil!”
My desire for you is, for you to encounter the Bridegroom. However, instead of trying to reach Him, let Him reach you, just where you are, just as you are.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10NKJV But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 10 But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.
Benediction. Crane Eater Community Church you are a why not church!
Don’t assume.
Believe.
You’re sought out.
Go upward.
Bring the oil!
