wecandoallthings

As we're almost done with this series, let me put the last three weeks in perspective and try to tie them together for you. Last week Justin taught us about wave-runners...uh, I mean contentment. And contentment could be the general heading for these last 3 weeks. A true statement is that we have contentment when we have adequate resources. (PP below)

#1. Last week JD taught us that adequate resources are spiritual; spiritual dependence on God; not dependence on materialism or anything else apart from God. So, our resources are the provision of God.

It's kind of like me and my two oldest sons----We were driving in the car last week and we were trying to brainstorm a name for Christian's email account. Taylor said something like, "I've got an idea for a name, but I know Dad won't go for it."

In much the same way, in today's verse, we have to factor in God's standards and His nature, because He is involved. And here is the MSY paraphrase of this verse: "I can do all things that line up with God's will for me and there I will find His Strength."(PP)

In the conversation with my sons, how did they know what is and what is not going to fly with me? Why didn't Taylor have to ask me? Well it's simple. They have been around me enough; we have had so many shared experiences that they pretty much know what lines up with my will.

In the simplest form, it works very much the same way with God. By knowing Him; by being familiar with His nature we will come to know His will. Pop quiz time! What practical means do we have available to know God? What's the biggest and most powerful resource we have to help us know God's nature?

The Bible. The Bible is many things: It's the account of the Nation of Israel; the account of the Life of Christ; it has poetry; songs; history etc. And laced through it all is the nature of God. As we read it, we see how He functions. We see what He has to say and how He feels about: marriage, finances, worship, our jobs, kids, salvation, sin, communicating with each other, litigation, divorce, happiness, on and on.

This is one of my handiest books, "Where to Find it in the Bible A to Z."(PP) It has 3,700 topics and every reference for them in the Bible. As we pick up the Bible and start reading it; every time we read, we learn a little more about the nature of God. We learn a little more about what God will "go for" and what He won't "go for". So, no difficult tough concept here. Pick up an easy to understand version and start reading. Pick up the Bible on Tape. Let's put down Biblical illiteracy by picking it up. Let's start learning more about who our God is and what His will for our life is. Let's know what He will and won't "go for" in our lives. Why? Because if we want access to the strength of God, we have to be in line with His will; if we read His Word we come to know His will.

Do you need help reading the Bible? We'll bring back our "Bible for Dummies" class and Next Step 2 classes this fall. Or talk to me or another staff person or elder; we would love to help you get started or help you get out of the rut you're in.

How else can we know God better and then know His will? Maybe one of the most intimate ways to connect with God is through worship (PP). For the sake of clarity and time, let's use the phrase "seeking God's presence."(PP) Boil down all of the various types of worship and I believe this is what you get, "seeking God's presence."

Every month we get together as a church family and share in corporate worship; in other words, together we sing songs to God and we take communion. Together we go "seeking God's presence" to thank Him for the things He has done for us. We as mortal normal folks come here to try to connect with our super-natural God. Does that sound ludicrous? I know lots of very normal people who would attest that that is indeed what happens. And when we get past seeking His presence, when we're in His presence; when we're in God's presence, we know it---somehow our perspective is changed; maybe a small voice that we don't audibly hear let's us know something new about ourselves; maybe someone in our life is shown to us in a new light, from a Higher perspective. Often when we connect with God through worship, we see His will more clearly, we are allowed to know Him more.

And let me reiterate on what Mark Malin touched on at the Gathering last week. News flash; we all don't naturally seek God the same way. Say it again, we all don't naturally seek God the same way. What we do at the Gathering and sometimes on Sunday mornings through singing worship songs to God, is ONE way to worship. There are many pathways to connecting with God. No matter where you are on your spiritual journey today you need to hear this, because I think this subject is one we all could improve on and better understand.

There's no doubt about the significance and importance of corporate worship. The bible is full of accounts of people coming together in worship. It says in 2 Chronicles, "The whole assembly bowed in worship while the singers sang and the trumpeters played."(29:28) But even with the importance of worshiping together in song, that is only one kind of worship. As many of us look forward to our monthly Gathering service, we need to understand that corporate worship is a part of our walk with God. It is one avenue of many that we have to worship Him. There are many worship paths to God and only some of them involve what we do together. A lot of paths to worship happen when we're by ourselves seeking Him.

I am confident that I could quickly pick a small platoon of guys out of the audience right now, who do not like standing and singing worship songs to GodAnd right this minute they're seeking God's presence praying that I won't. Here's my point; God wired-up all of us uniquely. Some naturally will easily find God's presence in corporate worship. Others will easily find Him in the solitude of a totally quiet room, contemplating about a passage in a book they're reading. Some will sit down on a large smooth boulder next to a creek that trickles over fallen limbs and stair-stepped waterfalls and in what they see, hear and smell, will easily find God in the nature He created. Some people here love to help people that are less fortunate than themselves, and through helping at the mission, or with Nesting Doves or in a nursing home, they will feel God's presence and grace through giving a piece of their life and tangibly showing God's love to someone who really needs it.

Let me round up this section with this statement: God calls us all to come together as a church family to worshipthat is an integral part of our faith. But, we are all wired with a predominant path to seeking God's presence. We need to know what that path is and then we need to nurture it. We don't have the time today to look at the different worship paths to God, but I want to highly recommend this book, "Sacred Pathways"(PP-text for take orders) It takes a look at 9 different worship "personalities" if you will.

What's great is that this book describes each pathway, for example people who easily find God in natureit describes what that looks like, it gives Biblical examples and then it has a quiz at the end of each pathway that will indicate whether that's your primary pathway to worship or not. If you think worship is just singing songs or if your worship has become stale, or if you don't know exactly what else worship could look like, then pick up this book. I know when the staff ran across this teaching last year, it was incredibly eye-opening to all of us; The teaching of this book can help everyone here better understand how God wired us to most naturally connect with Him. And when we connect with Him, we will know Him better and then we will better know His will in our lives.

The second half of the verse tells us if we are in God's will, Christ will give us strength. But how does that happen? How do we tap into the power of heaven hear on earth? How long of an extension cord do we need?

The first one is from the Old Testament book of Exodus. The setting is that of the great Pyramids and the Sphynx. Moses had been confronting Pharoah and was preparing to lead his people (the Israelites) out of Egypt. If you've seen the movies, "The 10 Commandments" or "The Prince of Egypt" that is exactly the setting.

Pharoah had seen the Nile turned to blood, plagues of frogs, gnats, flies, hail, locusts, darkness, and he saw all of the livestock killed. Finally Pharoah saw the plague that killed the first-born sons, including his own. Pharoah had finally had more than he could stand and he tells Moses that he can take the Israelites and get out of town.

Well shortly after that, Pharoah realizes that all of the slaves; all of Egypt's labor has hit the highway. If he really lets them go, things are going to be mighty tough in Egypt. The literal backbone of their economy was walking down the road.

So after Pharoah answered the "clue phone", he sends out the marines to track down the Israelites and bring them back. This is not going to be too tough of an assignment; He's sending out a highly trained, well equipped army with horses and chariots to catch and round up slaves: men, women and children all on foot and unarmed; not to mention not well nourished and not well equipped.

So it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what's going to happen. To make things worse, Moses and his people are coming up to the banks of the Red Sea as the Egyptian army is catching up to them. This is going to make Little Big Horn look like a paper cut.

I love this verse in Exodus (14:11) The people say to Moses, "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?" Folks, this may be the earliest recorded account of sarcasm; "Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us here to die in the desert, Moses; Mr. Smart Guy, huh?"

Moses, says basically, "God's strength is going to kick-in for us here shortlyGod told us to just keep walking toward the uncross-able Red Sea up there and I'm sure that He'll show up in time somewhere between here and there."

But in essence, God is saying, "Keep walking, keep trusting and I will honor your faith by a display of my power." God is saying, "I'm not going to lay it all out for you---you get going in the direction I lead and I will give you 'power along the way'." God is promising "power between here and there."

I never though about it this way before, but God was kind of acting like we do with a contractor that's working on our house. "No, I won't give you all the money up front; here's a little bit to start, and there will be some along the way and I've got the rest of the money to make sure you get finished." We don't give the contractor most of the money until he gets moving. With the Israelites God was waiting for them to get moving before he unleashed His power.

We all know the ending; as they get to the waters edge, Moses raises his staff, the Red Sea parts, they walk across on dry land. After they're safely across, the Egyptian army follows them and God indeed pays the final installment by wiping out the army by releasing the waters onto them.

There's another account in the New Testament book of John ch. 2. Jesus, his mother and the disciples are at a wedding feast as invited guests. The host runs out of wine. In that day, that was a terrible social embarrassment---it's not as if the local Coca-Cola distributer set them up with a portable soda machine; or there was a Krogers down the block---There weren't a lot of choices in those days other than wine and water. Socially, this was going to be utterly humiliating.

Jesus instructed some servants to fill 6 large containers with water; regular old H2o. After the containers are full, Jesus then tells the servants to pour some from the containers and then take it to the head wine taster. Can you imagine what you might say if you were one of the servants? "Excuse me, Jesus, but that distinguished man over there is a wine taster not a water testerhello?!"

Well, the servants were obedient and less sarcastic than you or I. They put one foot in front of the other and I'm sure they were hoping or praying that something would happen between here and there. As it tuned out as they took the water to the wine taster, sure enough, the Evian was turned into Dom Parignon!

The quote from the wine taster is priceless, showing that morals have been a deal since the beginning. After tasting the water that Jesus turned into wine, he says, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best 'til now."(PP?)

(New tone) Now I don't know about you, but this is not how I prefer it: I want to know way before the wine taster takes a swig that it is indeed Merlot. I don't like the idea of heading straight towards what my eyes tell me is an uncross-able sea---I want to know what the plan is. I don't particularly like surprises. I want all the info up front! But God says it doesn't work that way. He says, "I'll give you power along the way; I'll give you power between here and there."

One last story. In Luke, Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem when He comes across ten men who had leprosy. In those days if you had leprosy, you were outcast, sent away from everyone else. The person in the town who determined if you had leprosy was the priest. The priest acted pretty much like the health department does today.

So these 10 lepers called out to Jesus to have pity on themor to throw a little bit of His power on them. Jesus says, "No sweat. Now go all the way back into the city and show yourselves to the health department."

Can you imagine what conversations broke out among the 10 guys? Don't you suppose some said, "What is He crazy?Why would we go all the way back into the city just to get turned down again by the health dept.?! Hello!We have leprosy---this is just stupid!

But can you imagine one of them saying,"Yeh, but what if? Suppose He's waiting to see if we have the faith to head back into town? Suppose something does happen between here and there? Ya know what? I'm going to head back into town and see if anything does happen on the way."

So now we have both parts of this verse down. We know we have to be in God's will in our request and we know that we have to get moving, that His power will show up somewhere between here and there.

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." What I love about this verse is that it applies to everything from the most mundane and ordinary to the really big soul jarring punches that life sometimes dishes out.

Let me give you an example. At this point it's hard for me to imagine, because worship is critically important to me; but it hasn't always been that way. Earlier I mentioned that there were probably people here that don't really like or "get" corporate worship. A few years back, that was true of me. Back when we used to have our Gatherings on Wed. night, honestly; I dreaded it; specifically because I did not enjoy singing, for the simple fact that I can't sing Happy Birthday without driving a nearby dog to fetch his own earplugs. I am not kidding. God apparently said, "Morgan, you can have all the rhythm you want, but I'm going to give your share of melody to someone who can actually use it!" If I'm not playing drums during a Gathering, the first thing I do when it starts is ask the person sitting directly in front of me for forgiveness. They say, "For what?" I say, "Oh, you'll find out." Later they usually respond with something like, "Honey, I ain't got that much grace!"

Seriously, this was driving me nuts after a while. I saw other people really worshipping. I could tell they enjoyed it. I could tell that the experience was real for them. It seemed they were really connecting with God. I could see how important it was. That's what I wanted, but I felt that I couldn't get there.

But finally I started praying about it. And I decided, "You know what? I'm just going to start singing and I'll see what happens. And I started singing and I felt self-conscious. But I kept singing and I kept praying. It wasn't overnite by any means; but one day I was singingtrying to worship; and it's as if I could hear God say, "Hey McFly. What I want is your heartthe place your words come fromI don't need another Angelic singing voice." Something that only I am aware of happenedI had heard that phrase before, but this time I really understood it. It struck a chord with the deepest part of me; the place where worship happens. And at that point I began to really understand worship.

I have talked to people around here who struggle to really feel like they know God. Here's a comment, "I believe in God. I believe in Jesus Christ, that He is the son of God and died for my sins. But I don't feel like I know God on the soul level of my life." My natural reply is, "What are you doing to get to know Him?" After some tap dancing the answer is, "Really, not that much."

Well let's apply this situation of "not feeling in touch with God" to our verse: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." . First of all, have we met the criteria of the 1st half of the verse? Is this in God's will? Duh, no brainer; of course. Secondly, do you suppose that if we got serious about trying to seek God's presence, if we carved out time for it, if we started taking in His word, if we started dialoguing with believers that are solid in their faith; Do you think something miraculous could happen between here and there. Do you think as we took steps toward Him, we might find power along the way? Oh, babyI say take that to the bank.

Let's look at the flipside real quick. What are the odds that if we keep kickin' back, not really doing anything, but hoping that God will be more real to us what are the odds that our relationship with God will be much different this time next year? (pause)

I know there are people here today that have been coming here for a while now and you wish you had deeper relationships within our church family. Let's go back to your secret life for a minute; The dialogue in your head goes something like this, "If people really liked me they would have already called me, or they would talk to me more than they do." I believe the powerful voice of insecurity speaks up and tries to kill the kind of community that ought to characterize God's church.

If we get serious about instigating a conversation, setting a lunch date and praying about this issue; Do you think somewhere between here and there a much needed relationship could grow into something both parties really need? Do you think God will provide power along the way to quell the voices of insecurity? Friends, "We can develop life-changing iron sharpens iron friendships through Christ who gives us strength."

Shortly after my daughter Meghan was born the company I was working for offered me a sweet promotion. They told me up front that they wanted me to open a new business in South Bend and after that, they were serious about putting me in an area supervisor position; The kind of position I thought that I always wanted; healthy salary, great benefits and a company car. I remember realizing that for some strange reason that offer didn't sound particularly appealing to mewhich was very strange. I liked the guy I worked for. I liked South Bend; Sandra was from there. The job was what I thought I wanted up to that point.

But somehow, God piped up and started messing up all my plans. This little voice was trying to tell me that this church was more important than this job offer. "Oh come on! How ridiculous is this?! You mean to tell me that after I start going to church God's going to try to pull this kind of crazy stuff on me? Come on!!

Well after a while it became clear that I wasn't interested in this promotion. Shortly thereafter it also became clear that I should get out of that career field altogether. I was sending a lot of prayers up during that time.

The crazy thing was, I ended up leaving my position altogether to make $200 a week working in a music store. I didn't know how God's plan was going tpo play out at that time. But along the way, after I made the decision to leave that job, God gave me the strength to make decisions that I believed were His will for us. God gave us power along the way to make it financially after taking a big reduction in salary.

Several years later, I was asked to come on staff here. It wasn't 'til then that I saw the plan. And that's an important lesson for me and maybe for you; because sometimes the distance between here and there is years, like it was for me; sometimes the distance between where we are and where God wants us is years. I transitioned a couple jobs after taking the one at the music store. Sometimes I questioned if I initially made the right decision. But we kept putting one foot in front of the other and finally God dropped me right here.

When I came on staff here I was blown away with how God had orchestrated our lives. In hindsight I saw how working in a music store was the first step in a journey that led here. The first week or so I was here, early in the morning I would weep when I was alone; Because I couldn't believe where God met me and where He had taken me to. An awful lot happened between here and there and his strength enabled me to do it all. And it still does. I found the calling for my life through Christ who gives me strength.

Friends I learned that God isn't always standing at the end of a road holding up a huge sign that says, "Hey, Morganover herelook!" But more often, He says, "It's that direction." And that's all He says. Then after we start walking down a path that's not exactly clear where it leads; He comes along side. And He gives us power and direction along the way.

And His power is available for the tougher side of life as well. I've only been in ministry for about 2 years. And in that 2 year time period, I have seen people that are sitting here today; maybe next to you or behind you; I have seen marriage end in divorce. I've seen kids try to deal with divorce. I've seen people fight financial chaos. I've have seen close friends lose their parents. I have seen people struggle to make it as an unexpected single parent. I see my male friends deal with being dad every other weekend. I've seen my friend Bob and others reel from unexpected job loss. I've seen people struggle with chemical, physical and moral addictions. I've seen couples struggle through infidelity. I've seen friends battle dark emotional problems and dangerous character flaws. I've seen people my age take on cancer.

In the midst of all of those things and more; I have seen friends take one step at a time and find the comfort and power of the One who gives His power along the way, no matter how tough or difficult it seems. A little while back, I prayed with a woman fighting a disease that takes many; and during that time she spoke of how real God is to her and how much she knows it's all going to be alright. In those moments I wonder if I could muster the courage she does; and then it hits me; that she is finding power along the way. She takes steps fighting this disease and as she does God shows up in a more real way to her than He ever has.

Friends I want this to be crystal clear. If we want to break the cycle of something negative in our life, or an unexpected tragedy, we have to get moving. It's not enough to sit and pray the most earnest tear-filled prayers and then stay in our comfy chair; we have to get moving.

What is it that you're sick of? What stares you in the face every morning demanding your attention? What symptoms are you tired of dealing withwhat's the root of them? What is it that when you sit here every week, you hear God reminding you of? What continually lurks in the shadow of your past that you need to really deal with? Who in your life, do you need help reconciling with or honestly communicating with? What is it about your walk that's got you stagnant? When are you going to take some steps toward finding out if Christ and salvation is for real or not? Friends, how's your marriage?

I would like to ask you to do something if you would. If the strength of God has even once; even one time, gotten you through anything, from stage fright to life & death struggles, would you please stand up?

Now let's all look around---really look around. Take this picture and freeze it in your mind. Because this picture of us standing up is a symbol that God's power is available to everyone of us; as flawed as we are. And I don't know about you, but I need reminded. (please sit)

Too often I forget that I really can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. Before you leave, fill in this blank: "I can do______________through Christ who gives me strength."(PP) Write it down. Stick it on your PC, on your car dash, on your fridge. For all we have to deal with we must take this verse off the page and put it in our lives. Take this verse and put it in your life. We must.