How do we get there from here?
Pastor Glenn Newton 2-13-05
Text: 1 Chr. 16:7-23 (Read)
“How do we get there from Here? Have you ever asked that question? Maybe when your on a trip and your husband, the navigator won’t stop and ask for directions? Maybe you’ve said that when you’ve been at Silver Dollar City, you can see the ride you want to get on, but you can’t seem to get there? That’s frustrating isn’t it?
“How do we get there from Here?” Maybe you have thought that as you have looked at our goals for the next five years…. How are we going to get there? Is it possible?
Two weeks ago today we signed a two year lease on this property, and I believe with all my heart that we will be able walk out of this building and into our new building when this lease expires…. Can you see God working in our church in such a way that we could do this? Amen? Many times it’s hard to see with our human eyes what God could do…. That’s why we are a people of Faith… and our faith isn’t in our own abilities or our own resources…. But instead, who is our Faith In?
As we read this morning about King David and how he was giving thanks to God… you need to know why He was giving thanks…. And this morning from this story I want to share a couple of directions that we can take from this story that will help us, directions that worked back then, and directions that will help us today get there from here… are you ready?
1. 1st set of directions…… The Spirit of God must be involved in all we do.
Do you know what this Ark of the covenant of the Lord was? It was this big container, and the Israelites have been carrying it around from place to place, giving it it’s own tent…. What was so special about this “Ark” of the Covenant?
This Ark contained many of the Artifacts of the history of the people of Israel, God’s people… is that what was so special… the fact that the ten commandments, that’s Moses staff, and other important items of history were stored in there? It wasn’t just a moving museum was it?
The Very Spirit of God, God’s very presence was in this Ark of the covenant… it was holy, it was to be moved with reverence….. We read in chapter 14 and 15 of 1 Chronicles and we see that David tried to move the Ark of the Covenant with people who weren’t qualified to move it…. They were moving it and one of the movers reached out to steady the Ark when one of the oxen stumbled….. And God struck the man dead…. You didn’t touch the Ark of the Covenant in any way except that which was prescribed by God. This Ark was Holy…. Why? Because God is Holy…. And His Spirit resided in that Ark… and King David knew if we was to be successful as the King of Israel… He needed the Ark of the Covenant close by him and his people.
How does this apply to us today?
Do you think we will be successful in anything we try to accomplish as a church if we don’t have the Holy Spirit involved and leading us?
The truth is we must be a spirit led, spirit filled people if we are to be the church that God wants us to be… we can not accomplish anything for God without the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives… and in the life of our church.
I found it interesting how David used music as he was moving the Ark of the Covenant from place to place…. He always had people singing and playing instruments, praising God, giving glory and honor through their music and singing… and even dancing. We know King David was a dancer….. He loved to dance before the Lord…. And God was pleased with Him…..
If we are going to recognize the Holy Spirit as the first step in getting from where we are to where we know God wants us to go…. We need to make it a priority to Worship…. The Word tells us that the Spirit of God is present in the praise of His people…. How have we done this morning?
How did you arrive this morning for Worship? Did you come to church today with a great desire to give yourself in worship to God? In our singing, did you truly sing to God, did you let Him hear from your heart this morning? Did you worship Him during our offering… our giving is an act of worship…….Did you pour yourself out during our prayer time…. Letting God speak to you as well as telling God your needs?
How is your worship? Is it heartfelt…. Or this morning has it become just a ritual you go through week to week?
Will you promise the Lord that when you come into His House, this sanctuary…. That you will come with a heart of Worship… a heart that seeks Him…. Can we do that as a church? And this promise isn’t just for Sunday mornings at 10:30am….. This attitude of worship needs to be everyday, all day. All that we do we can do as Worship to our King. The Holy Spirit wants to be involved in every area, every relationship, every part of our life….. Will you allow the Holy Spirit to draw that close to you this morning? If we are going to accomplish God’s Will in our church…. We must be a spirit filled, a spirit led people of God.
2. The 2nd set of directions……. We need to be passionate about telling others about Jesus Christ.
1CH 16:8 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done. 1CH 16:9 Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
One of the first thing that King David tells his people is to “make known among the nations what “the Lord” has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.
Being passionate about telling others is what Christians do…. It’s what God wants from us. It’s not just for those who have the gift of evangelism. It’s not just for Pastors…. This is the work of all His people, it’s your call to share the wonderful story of God with others.
Missionary mom wanted her children to know the importance of sharing their faith with lost people. One day, ten-year old Ryan was driving imaginary race cars with his friends. Several minutes later he came bounding into the house and yelled, "Mom, you’ve got to come quick. Isabelle wants to accept Jesus into her heart."
Skeptical of the child’s sudden interest in spiritual things, Susie asked, "Ryan, I thought you were playing race cars?"
"We were, Mom, but our cars wrecked. The accident was real bad so I asked Isabelle if she would go to heaven if she died. She said she didn’t know. I told her how she could know and she wants to ask Jesus into her heart." (sermon central)
The Great Commission is clear about our responsibility as Christians.. Listen…Matt. 28:18, “Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
In the next few weeks, we will be providing for you training on how to be a better personal evangelist, where you can have confidence in sharing the greatest story that’s ever been told….. Don’t you think as Christians we should train ourselves to be effective as possible telling others the good news? I think it just makes sense.
The church only grows one way… by winning new converts through personal evangelism. We must grow to be able to reach our goals, to build a new building, to minister in new and exciting ways….. It will all happen as we are faithful in reaching out, one person at a time.. Sharing Christ.
I want you to ask yourself this question…. “Who have I shared my testimony with in the last month? How about the last 6 months? How long has it been since I told somebody about How Christ came into my life and changed me from what I was to a new person?
I’m guessing that it has been too long for most of us here. If our church is going to grow at the pace we need too….. We all need to get involved, we all need to step out of our comfort zone and step out on faith and be obedient to the Great Commission…. “go and make disciples of all nations…” Will you be a Great Commission Christian?
If we will follow these two simple set of directions…… God will bless us, and we will grow… and we will see God do what only He can do…. And what a great adventure will unfold right in front of us…. Are you ready? Don’t get discouraged…. Just get close to God through the Holy Spirit, through worship, through prayer…. And then share what God has done for you… and share the greatest story ever told…… If we will follow these instructions….. God will do His part… and New Hope will truly live up to it’s name.
