Under a Tree – 2

                                                                     Under a Tree – 2

Subject – Finding the Courage to Move from Where You Are

By Rick Welborne

1 Kings 19:1-8 (NLT2)
¹  When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal.
²  So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.”
³  Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.
⁴  Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”
⁵  Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!”
⁶  He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.
⁷  Then the angel of the LORD came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.”
⁸  So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. 

--Last week we started this series…Under a Tree…and it seemed to connect with many of you as well as with myself. We all can relate to Elijah at some point. 

-- Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life.”

--We talked about how ninety percent of our lives can be going so well but that ten percent that we cannot control is chewing us up. Your percentage might be different. 80-20, 70-30, or whatever it is.

--Have we preached a gospel that has misled people into believing that if they can only have enough faith they can get everything to a place of utopia in their lives? You can have everything you say. 

--Many have not disappeared yet…how do I know that? I know that because our churches are filled with people (like me) who are stuck in this 90/10 syndrome.  

--Just the fact that I am including myself in this struggle make some nervous because we have learned to fake a place of walking with God pretending the fight does not exist. It exists. 

--Let me throw in here right now that I am walking this out and trying biblically and spiritually to figure this out. Last week I mentioned Joseph and my struggle with his life and pain.

--Joseph was thrown in a pit by his brothers (10%), sold into slavery (10%), and ended up in Potiphar’s house in charge of everything but his wife. He experienced God’s wonderful blessings (90%).

Genesis 39:3-5 (NKJV)
³  And his master saw that the LORD was with him and that the LORD made all he did to prosper in his hand.
⁴  So Joseph found favor in his sight, and served him. Then he made him overseer of his house, and all that he had he put under his authority.
⁵  So it was, from the time that he had made him overseer of his house and all that he had, that the LORD blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field.

--Obviously God’s blessings were on Joseph and everything was good. Really? Wasn’t he betrayed by his brothers and separated from his father (10%). Potiphar’s wife is on her way (10%). Prison was waiting.

--Please tell us what are you saying, Pastor Rick. I am telling you that you are blessed but I am also telling you that you are only one attack away from a major test or temptation in your life. 

--It may be a doctor saying you have a brain tumor, Leukemia, lung cancer. It may be a spouse who says I am done. It may be a son or daughter who is addicted to drugs. You fill in the blanks. Life changes quickly. 

--Somewhere along the way I believe we have bought into a myth in the church that we have to be at 100% all the time and if we are not, something is wrong with our faith. Just confess the bad away!

Bart Star (Green Bay Packers) – I wasn’t mentally tough before I met Coach Lombardi. I hadn’t reached the point where I refused second best. To win, you have to have a certain amount of mental toughness. Coach Lombardi gave me that. He taught me you must have a flaming desire to win. It’s got to dominate all your waking hours. It can’t ever wane. It’s got to glow in you all the time. 

--It’s got to glow in you all the time. It can’t ever wane. Really? I am not sure that is even impossible whether it is with football, with our lives, or in our walk with Christ. 

--We all end up under a broom tree or we end up going fishing. Or, at least, we sit in service after service wishing we were fishing or wishing God would just take us home with Him.

--So many factors can knock the glow off of you. It could be other people (team-mates, spouses, church family) or it could be the simple progression of life. I can’t physically do what I used to do.

--Years ago I heard of a family who were going to leave our church. Their reason…Pastor Rick doesn’t have the same passion that he did before…the fire is gone. I called and set up a time to meet. 

--I confronted the man about what was said and he confirmed that it was true. I decided to do something bold and courageous…I decided to be as transparent with him as I could. 

--I told him that this has been one of the toughest seasons of my life. I told him of people saying about me what I wouldn’t say about an enemy. I told him of people leaving and saying hurtful things.

--I told him of health issues, family issues, prodigal issues, people issues that were heart wrenching, and I told him that this is not a time of revival but a time of survival. I am treading water, trying not to go under.

--I told him that in the middle of this, God has given me great and precious promises…He has promised me if I can hang in here that I will see growth spiritually, physically, and spiritually like never before.

--He had bought into the myth that Bart Star was talking about…It’s got to glow in you all the time. The truth is, I was not glowing and it is impossible for me to glow all the time. Impossible for you too.

--As I shared with this man he began to weep and he apologized. He said not only will I not leave the church but I will be here to hold up your arms and to see the miracles God promised you. He is still here.

--Under a Tree is a message to let us know that if we are so low that we have to reach up to rub an earthworm’s belly and going through the valley of the shadow of death…We can’t stay under the tree.

1. I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.

 Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) ¹³  I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.

--This has probably been one of the most abused verses in the Bible. When we process the Word of God through a gospel of prosperity…the ‘all things’ in this verse becomes whatever we want.

--If you read Paul in context, he was talking about an enduring faith that would carry him through whatever life would throw at him. Paul endured so much opposition and pain.

--We think…I can build my big new home, I can buy my expensive new car, I can have the nice things in this life and I can do it through Christ Who strengthens me. This would be Paul’s 10% or more I am sure:

2 Corinthians 11:23-28 (NIV)
²³  Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again.
²⁴  Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
²⁵  Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea,
²⁶  I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers.
²⁷  I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
²⁸  Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

--Paul was saying, yes life has been hard and yes it doesn’t seem fair sometimes but I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me. I can do all these things and still love Jesus.

--I heard a faith preacher or at least one who was on the list of great prosperity preachers say this…If Paul would have had faith like I do, he (Paul) wouldn’t have had to go through all the mess he did. 

--Let me say it differently…It was Paul’s faith that made him declare…I can do all things (go thru all the mess) through Christ Who gives me strength. Our faith is enduring faith sometimes.

2. I have learned to be content.

Philippians 4:11-12 (NKJV)
¹¹  Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:
¹²  I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

--It was obvious Paul was not talking about Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, or Pennsylvania…he was talking about a different state. Whatever situation he was in or whatever was happening to him at the time.

--We believe we can have it all and we believe we should have it all now. Anything less and we are frustrated. If anyone on the planet should be thankful, it is us. We are not content.

--As believers we think that if I am truly right with God and truly asking for all these things. To be fulfilled we have to be abounding in everything, we have no need. 

--Paul says words like abased, hungry, and suffering need, yet content. We think we can have it all here but that is not what the Scriptures teach us. It’s a myth. 

Romans 8:18 (KJV) ¹⁸  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

3. I cant’s stay under the tree anymore.

--I can’t stay in a place (emotionally and spiritually) where I expect life to always be wonderfully perfect. I can’t stay in a place where my spouse, my church, my friends, the government have to meet all my needs. 

--I can’t stay here anymore when there is a God to be worshipped who is worthy of all my love and all of my devotion whether life is good or bad, happy or sad, He is still worthy. 

--I can’t stay here anymore in a place of hiding from Jezebel, a place of guilt from denying Christ, a place of being sold into bondage and rejected by family…I can’t stay under this tree anymore. 

--There is an answer to your lack, to your pain, to your sickness, to your frustration, to your loneliness, to your hunger, to your need…to your 10% and His Name is Jesus…run to Him!

Acts 4:12 (NKJV) ¹²  Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Wonderfully Complex – 4

                                                                 Wonderfully Complex – 4

Subject – The Freedom in Being Yourself

By Rick Welborne

Psalm 139:13-18 (NLT) 

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 

15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 

16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 

18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! 

Last week:

1. As you consider God’s destiny, you sometimes feel like a captive.

2. As you consider God’s destiny...you recognize He not only wanted to save you, but give you a new life.

3. As we consider God’s destiny we focus on what and where. God focuses on what we are becoming.

–Today, again I want to challenge you to be who God created you to be.

1. Because you are God’s child your heredity and destiny are from Him.

 –All of you astute students, like myself, will remember from Biology class that you have 46 chromosomes. 23 from your father and 23 from your mother. Biology class…light bulbs.

–It is that unique combination of chromosomes that determines the color of your eyes to the number of hairs on your head...in some cases both of them.

–So what am I saying...your identity is part heredity. When you have been in the same church as long as I have you see how much children look and act like their parents...scary!

–My pretty wife and daughter are perfect examples. Everyone else in my family...blond hair blue eyes...dad brown hair green eyes...Stephanie’s eyes began to change...she said oh no! Thanks!

–Here is some wonderful news for you today spiritually...the image of God is both your heredity and your destiny.

–The mathematical probability that you would get the exact 23 chromosomes you got from your mother is 1 in 10 million. But the same is true about the 23 chromosomes you received from your father.

–So if you multiply these two together the probability would be 1 in 100 trillion. But you have to factor in that your parent’s chromosome history had the same probability, and their parents, and their parents’ parents.

So what is my point...there is just no way to calculate how unique you are...that’s exciting…you are one of a kind. 

Psalm 139:13-14 (NLT) 

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 

2. Why is it that we all start out as “one of a kind original” but too many of us end up as carbon copies of someone else.

–Instead of celebrating our uniqueness, and the uniqueness of others, we are too often threatened by it. I felt like the Lord wanted me to share this at this point.

–After 45 years of ministry...when you allow yourself to hate and get bitter toward people you and you choose not to forgive them...you begin to take on the traits in them you hate so much. You become them. 

James 3:13-18 (NLT) 

13 If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. 

14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. 

15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 

16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind. 

17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. 

18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. 

–I had a sibling who hated all the evil traits in my dad and instead of being an original...that sibling became just like him...even after dad was saved and transformed...this person still was bitter and hateful. 

–This sibling became bitter and hateful and is to this day...I chose to forgive my dad even before he was changed by God and it freed me to be who God called me to be. Freed me to win him to Christ.

1 Peter 4:8-9 (NKJV) 

8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." 

9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 

–I continue to love, forgive, and pray for my family longing for the day of their salvation and our reconciliation …In the mean time I am free from any bondage to them because of God’s call on me.

Batterson: We forfeit our uniqueness because we want to fit in. Instead of daring to be different, we sacrifice our soul print on the altar of conformity.

3. If we will have God’s uniqueness for us, and if we will be who we are, we must be willing to take Saul’s armor off.

–What? There comes a point in every person’s life when they realize that imitating someone else is detrimental ...we must take ourselves for who we are for better or for worse. David did when he prepared to fight Goliath. 

1 Samuel 17:38-40 (NKJV) 

38 So Saul clothed David with his armor, and he put a bronze helmet on his head; he also clothed him with a coat of mail. 

39 David fastened his sword to his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested them. And David said to Saul, "I cannot walk with these, for I have not tested them." So David took them off. 

40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine. 

–Arming for war was a major ritual in David’s day...armor was an extension of the warrior’s character...David could have gone into battle like a king...tempting!

 –Thankfully David said I cannot go into battle with this armor...I have not tested them and they definitely do not fit...Saul was head and shoulders taller.

–What would have happened to David if he had gone out to meet Goliath on Goliath’s terms? Fully armored and fully armed.

–I believe David would have lost because he was not used to being a swordsman. He probably had never touched or trained with a sword at all at this point in his life. 

–Listen...David was a shepherd...for better or for worse...That was who he was and what God had destined him to be up to that point in his life.

–The sword to David was more of a threat to him than it was to Goliath...but because he was a shepherd he was deadly with a slingshot.

–David was at a cross road in his life...like so many of us...He had to make a choice...This choice would determine his destiny. Be myself or try to be someone else.

–He could go into battle as Saul, with Saul’s armor, wield Saul’s sword, hold Saul’s shield or he could go into battle as himself...a shepherd with a slingshot.

–David decided not to go into the battle as Saul for a very good reason...He was not Saul...He decided to be David...to be who he was.

–We are all faced with the same decision...there comes a point in all of our lives where we need the courage to take off Saul’s armor or whoever’s armor you have put on.

–It is the rarest form of courage...it is the courage to be yourself. That is what I will give account to God for...being who God called me to be.

Romans 14:12 (NKJV) 

12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. 

–Each of us will have to answer this question when our lives are over...Did you do what you were supposed to do? Were you who God meant you to be?

–Why do composers write music, why do athletes compete, why do politicians run for office, why do entrepreneurs start businesses, why do teachers teach?

–There are a lot of answers to these questions but the right answer is they do it to give expression to something deep in their souls...that something is God’s soul print in them. 

–We find fulfillment in doing what we were originally designed and destined to do by God. The business you start, your teaching, your music is an expression and a reflection of your soul print. 

–Our failure to give expression to our soul prints (to be who we are supposed to be) will result in our greatest regrets.  

--What God has destined you to be you must be who you are or you will be miserable. It is the only way to be true to yourself, and more important, true to God.

 Soren Kierkegaard: The deepest form of despair is to be another than oneself.

Batterson: At the end of the day, God isn’t going to ask, “Why weren’t you more like Billy Graham or Mother Teresa?” He won’t even ask, “Why weren’t you more like David?” God is going to ask, “Why weren’t you more like you?”

You Be the Change You Want to See - 4

                                                     You Be the Change You Want to See - 4

Subject:  Leading The Change in Your Family, Church, or Business

By Rick Welborne

Exodus 18:13-24 (NLT2)
¹³  The next day, Moses took his seat to hear the people’s disputes against each other. They waited before him from morning till evening.
¹⁴  When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?”
¹⁵  Moses replied, “Because the people come to me to get a ruling from God.
¹⁶  When a dispute arises, they come to me, and I am the one who settles the case between the quarreling parties. I inform the people of God’s decrees and give them his instructions.”
¹⁷  “This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed.
¹⁸  “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.
¹⁹  Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him.
²⁰  Teach them God’s decrees, and give them his instructions. Show them how to conduct their lives.
²¹  But select from all the people some capable, honest men who fear God and hate bribes. Appoint them as leaders over groups of one thousand, one hundred, fifty, and ten.
²²  They should always be available to solve the people’s common disputes, but have them bring the major cases to you. Let the leaders decide the smaller matters themselves. They will help you carry the load, making the task easier for you.
²³  If you follow this advice, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure the pressures, and all these people will go home in peace.”
²⁴  Moses listened to his father-in-law’s advice and followed his suggestions. 

--We all must realize that leadership matters. It should matter to you because it matters to those you are leading.

General Patton – We heard sheep, we drive cattle, we lead people. Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.

--There is a big difference in being a leader and being the person in charge. Some leaders try to herd or drive people. Moses really did not know what to do. Was he God’s man? Yes. He was doing his best.

--Though people fill the position of a leader, are they truly filling the position of leader? Real leaders have the ability to inspire people to follow a cause.

--They don’t have to threaten or manipulate those they lead; they use their leadership skills for the good of the organization. Leadership can be learned. Jethro was teaching and Moses was learning.

--There are two kinds of leadership style…position and influence. Every organization has a positional leader. In business it can be a CEO…church it can be a pastor…at home it can be a husband or a wife. Wife!

--There are many influential leaders who have never been recognized as positional leaders but they are still leading. They are leading because people are following.

1. Qualities of good leaders.

T.J. Addington – Positional authority is based on one’s position and responsibility in the workplace. Personal authority is the standing I have with others because of my behavior, values, treatment of others and morality. 

--What is interesting, it is possible for people to have positional authority without personal authority. The lack of trust they have from those below them causes they authority to be weak. 

--Just because you are above someone in the organization does not mean you have their respect or that you are followed wholeheartedly. You may be able to force them to comply but their heart is not in it.

--It is true; people do not care how much you know until they know how much you care. They want you to be real and to care about their hopes and dreams. Six qualities of real leaders.

A. You must be teachable. Be willing to listen and to learn.

B. You must be perceptive. Be concerned about others.

C. You must invest emotionally in the team. Show appreciation and care about what they think.

D. You must set the right example. Model the way.

E. You must be honest. Be real, honest, and transparent.

F. You must be sincere. Be who God created you to be. Be genuine. 

--You can still be a strong leader but love the people you work with and strive for unity with your team. Value others and what they think and you will be a great leader.

2. Good leaders have to make decisions.

--Decision making is one of the most important things that leaders do. They need to know when quick decisions are needed. This was the scariest part of leadership for me. 

--The more important the decision, the more prayer and thought that has to go into your decision. Decision making can wear you out emotionally. You may have to ask a few questions before you make your decision.

--Most importantly, does the Bible answer the question? Do I have enough info to make a decision? Have I heard both sides? What is it that I do not know? 

--Does the decision put the organization or anyone at risk? Are there other alternatives? Have I honestly prayed about the situation? Is there unity among the leadership?

--How will people inside and outside the organization react to the decision? Do I have the conviction to stick with my decision if things go south? 

James Dobson – When you don’t know what to do, stall for time. 

Danger – We are quick to attribute to God a decision of something we want so badly. We, also, are quick to blame God when it doesn’t go well. God told me to do this. God told me not to do this. 

--Knowing God’s Word and having common sense will go a long way in making decisions. Hopefully, as we get older, we are improving our decision making ability.

Psalm 119:9-12 (NIV)
⁹ How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
¹⁰  I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.
¹¹  I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
¹²  Praise be to you, O LORD; teach me your decrees. 

--Simple steps in making good and informed decisions:

A. Approach decision making with humility. No one likes a know it all.

B. Choose a plan and go with your heart. Trust God is leading you.

C. Communicate the decision well and the plan of action. More information is better than less.

D. Execute the decision with confidence and with excellence. How it is presented is so important. 

3. Great leaders inspire other leaders.

--For any organization to be successful the main leader has to raise up other leaders. This was what Jethro was trying to tell Moses. For Israel to be great, you need help.

--It cannot be just positional leaders with a title, it must be leaders with influence to advance the organization. Leaders must empower leaders to be successful. Stop micro managing those God has given you.

Bill Gates – As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.  

1 Timothy 4:11-14 (NKJV)
¹¹  These things command and teach.
¹²  Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.
¹³  Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.
¹⁴  Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. 

--Just like Jesus saw the potential in the disciples, the leader must be able to identify those God wants to use. People have scratched their heads at some of my choices. Those people have blessed us. A few…oh well!

--Inc. Magazine offers five things leaders can do to empower others. 

A. Communicate your vision. Life Church is a mission’s church. I only want people with that vision. The vision has to be communicated over and over again.

George Bernard Shaw – The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.

B. Offer encouragement and support. People want to know what they are doing matters. 

C. Challenge people to go beyond their perceived limits. We all can improve. We can all do better.

D. Set reachable, measureable goals. People want to know how well they are doing with their goals. 

E. Get out of the way. Let people use their gifts for the glory of God.

--We have to learn to delegate and then, get out of the way. I tell those who work for me if I have to watch over you to do your ministry, I have the wrong person.

Under a Tree – 1

                                                                         Under a Tree – 1

Subject – Finding the Courage to Move from Where You Are

By Rick Welborne

1 Kings 19:1-8 (NLT2)
¹  When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal.
²  So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.”
³  Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.
⁴  Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”
⁵  Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!”
⁶  He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.
⁷  Then the angel of the LORD came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.”
⁸  So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. 

--Today we are starting a new series that I feel is going to resonate with many. Sometimes we find ourselves in a place much like Elijah. He had been greatly and miraculously used by God. Now it’s dark. 

--Someone was sharing with me their frustration with life. This person had been very successful, plenty of finances, surrounded by family and friends, and had a miraculous encounter with Jesus…healed. 

--I told this person…ninety percent of your life absolutely could not be better. The problem is that 10% that you cannot get where you want it to be. You pray, you fast, you beg God but it’s sucking the life out of you.

--This is not something you have dealt with for a few days, a few months, this is your thorn in the flesh. How did you know? I knew because I have had the 10% syndrome also making me feel the same way. 

--Why is human nature that way, 90% of our lives can be wonderful but we can’t seem to enjoy it because the 10% keeps us pre-occupied with hurt and frustration and emptiness. Where am I going?

--Why has this journey with Jesus turned into a wearisome journey? For those who deny it, I will give you the benefit of the doubt that your life is always all together. 

--I think Simon Peter was in the middle of one of those dark road experiences when he said, “I am going fishing.” My guess is Peter was on the edge of physical, spiritual, and psychological burnout.

--Too much was happening too fast in his life and he was struggling to process it all. Judas betrayed Jesus, he denied Him, the trial, the crucifixion, and rumors of Jesus’ resurrection was taking its toll.

--The inner world of Peter could only absorb so much and we could argue he should have been informed and ready, the truth is, he wasn’t. Neither are we ready all the time when things mount up.

--He became numb and retreated to the only thing he knew he could do with certainty…go fishing. Maybe going back to what he was familiar with would restore what he had lost. What’s your default?

--When things do not go well for us we all have a default mechanism that we run to…hopefully it is God, but many times, that is not the case. Porn, drugs, relationships, alcohol…maybe you go fishing or play tennis.

--Peter’s struggle, Elijah’s struggle with all this weariness did not go on forever. Jesus showed up for Peter and the angel of the Lord (the pre-incarnate Christ) shows up with loving kindness for Elijah.

--The similarities are amazing…they show up with food, water, and hope. Jesus is doing the same thing for you and me today, He is showing up with food (the Word), water (Holy Spirit), and with hope of a future.

Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT2) ¹¹  For I know the plans I have for you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. 

--Jesus shows up to encourage…He dealt with the pain in Peter’s life of guilt and shame, He comes to restore us. To heal us. The mission of Jesus is to get us to the place where we say…I can’t stay under this tree. 

--We think we can arrive at this place of contentment by doing more, if we are busier and going at a break-neck speed, we can arrive at our destination faster. Sadly, it doesn’t work that way.

--We find that every mile we travel we grow more and more frustrated and tired. I must admit that there is no fatigue like thinking I have to get myself to a destination in a hurry. End up under a broom tree.

1 Kings 19:3-4 (NLT2)                                                                                                                                   ³  Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there.
⁴  Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” 

--We have all seen people crash and burn. Others seem to just disappear and we wonder where in the world did they go? Under a bridge.

--If we are fortunate enough to have not crashed (that anyone knows about) or have not disappeared we keep pressing forward knowing we can’t go back but we are becoming wearier. Exhaustion.

--We have all had well-meaning Christian friends who have given us the plan, the formula, the teaching, the conference, the evangelist, or whatever that guaranteed would bring us out of our valley. It didn’t.

--What I quickly discovered was that there are no shortcuts, no gimmicks, no easy ways to cultivate an intimacy with God and attain the resulting passion that should carry one through life’s journey.

--Listen to Elijah’s words (the guy who just called fire down from heaven and killed 850 false prophets), I have had enough, Lord. Take my life. I am no better than my ancestors who have already died. 

--How many of you are glad that God has not answered all of our prayers. We can try the methods and the gimmicks there are no shortcuts or no easy ways to cultivate a close loving relationship with God.

--What I do know about being in this valley of the shadow of death is this…I can’t stay under this tree. I need someone who can bring me out and renew the passion that will carry me through.

--We feel one more criticism from our spouse, one more negative thing from a church member, one more straw on the camel’s back and something is going to break. We hear about a wonderful breakthrough:

Gordon MacDonald – It dawned on me that I and scores of others were paying a terrible price for this search for some magical breakthrough. We were trying harder, working longer, breathing heavier, and getting wearier. And it was an unpleasant journey when it should not have been. We would have never admitted it, but we were tired of God, of faith, and faith’s people. Now, how could a call to abundant living turn into such dullness of spirit. That we should tire of Him was not God’s fault. Rather this weariness calls into question the system of spirituality many of us have been taught. 

--The Bible is filled with story after story about great breakthroughs that people have experienced, but if you think like I do, you ask what happened during those times that are not recorded in the Word? Joseph.

--When he was a teenager he was given great promises. Best estimates say that it was about a 22-year process to get him to the prize. I have asked the question how did he handle the meanness of his brothers, Potiphar’s wife? 

--Yes, we have glimpse of his heart and endurance but we do not see it all. Just like with each other, we get small windows into each other’s lives but we do not know what the whole story is.

1. Between the promise and the prize there is a process.

--You see; it is during the process where the battle is won or lost. We can all come and worship God on Sundays or Wednesdays, but it is a long lonely time from one service to the next.

--Until we become transparent about the alone times and the struggles we have, it will be hard for us to find healing and wholeness in our lives. We all have been hurt or we have hurts we are dealing with now.

Luke 4:18 (NCV)
¹⁸  “The Lord has put his Spirit in me, because he appointed me to tell the Good News to the poor. He has sent me to tell the captives they are free and to tell the blind that they can see again. God sent me to free those who have been treated unfairly… 

--There it is…God sent Me to free those who have been treated unfairly. During the quiet times we try to process why people and even why God is treating us unfairly. It hurts. Marriage, family, church, work.

--We have to be willing to get past our stage face and be honest with ourselves, honest with others, and honest with God. Between the promise and the prize there is a process and it hurts. 

2. It is much easier to tell others how to get out of their pit than to get out of ours. 

Psalm 40:1-3 (NKJV)
¹  I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.
²  He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
³  He has put a new song in my mouth-- Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the LORD. 

--We just want to hear he is out of the pit but he is in a time of waiting (process), a time in a horrible pit, and a time of being stuck…miry clay. We must realize we can’t stay under this tree. 

--The purpose of this series and these verses, God wants to bring you out of your pit, to set your feet upon the Rock (Jesus), and to put a new song in your heart. 

--Many need a song…I need a song. You cannot understand what I am talking about today, please pray for those of us who need their spiritual passion to be renewed by what God does in us. Take notes. 

3. I can’t stay here.

--So why am I preaching this series? I believe there is a real group of American Christians who are growing more and more weary as they continue on this journey.

MacDonald – We have tried the gimmicks, the programs, the promises of a thousand and one gurus of the faith. Here and there one view or another seems to catch on. But for many, the journey is a bore-some task, but we can’t turn back, but we’re almost too tired to go on. 

1 Kings 19:4 (NLT2) ⁴  Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” 

--Elijah had had it and many of you, many of us, have had it too. I see it in your faces. Elijah was physically, spiritually, and emotionally worn out…burn out. God had a word for him and for us!

Get up and eat! Declare…I Can’t Stay Under This Tree Anymore!

Wonderfully Complex - 3

                                                             Wonderfully Complex - 3

Subject: Seeing We Have Two Destinies

By Rick Welborne

Psalm 139:13-18 (NLT) 

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 

14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 

15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 

16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 

17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! 

18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! 

Second Week:

1. We must recognize those defining moments which reveal our destinies.

2. We must understand what our soul print is.

3. We must believe that we were conceived by God before we were conceived by our parents.

–Michelangelo’s masterpiece “David” is enshrined at the Galleria dell’Accademia in Florence, Italy. Thousands wait every day to look at this beautiful work.

–Many fail to notice all the unfinished sculptures that line the corridor on the way to see “David”. Like petrified prisoners whose forms are identifiable...a hand here, a torso there, a leg, or maybe an unfinished head.

–These statues were intended to adorn the tomb of Pope Julius II but were never finished. It is almost as these sculptures are trying to break free and become what they were intended to be. Michelangelo calls them captives.

–Today I want to talk to you about our two destinies:

1. As you consider God’s destiny, you sometimes feel like a captive.

 

–You do not seem to be able to break free from the habits that hold you back or hold you down. Prescription drugs, sexual addictions, and alcohol are so rampant even in church. Addictions to relationships.

–Maybe a dream God conceived in your spirit years ago has not taken shape. You know who you want to be, what you want to do, and where you want to go, but you can’t seem to get there. 

–I have no idea where you are stuck or how long you have been there but I do know that God wants to finish the work that He started in you.

Philippians 1:6 (NLT2) ⁶ And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. 

–In Jesus very first sermon Jesus stated with certainty what His mission would be...To set the captives free.

Luke 4:18 (NKJV) 18 "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; 

–We tend to look at this promise of the captives being set free as the judge giving us a Get Out of Jail Free card but it is so much more than that. We should look at this as God releasing us to our dual destiny.

Key - Jesus did not die just to get us off the hook. He also died to resurrect the person we were destined to be before sin distorted the image of God in us.

2. As you consider God’s destiny...you recognize He not only wanted to save you, but give you a new life.

–Jesus does not just free us spiritually...He also sets us free emotionally, relationally, and intellectually. We are held captive by so many things and in so many ways.

–We are captive by our imperfections and our insecurities. We are held captive by our guilt and fear. We are held captive by unrealistic expectations and lies and mistakes.

–When Tricia and I met, dated, and eventually married I was an insecure mess...I was saved but I was all messed up emotionally...jealous, angry, and insecure.

–I brought so much into the relationship that was damaging...so much dysfunction from home, bad relationships, and a basic distrust of anyone. Of everyone.

–I was saved but I needed a new life...I needed to be set free...When we bring this kind of baggage into a relationship, we push the person further and further away. We feel we cannot stop!

–Driving between Lakeland and Bartow listening to James Dobson...Emotions: Can You Trust Them...Holy Spirit changed my life that day. Made a U-turn and went to my pastor for prayer and agreement.

--That was definitely one of those defining moments that we talked about last week. So glad I did not miss the work God wanted to do in me that day.

Batterson - He doesn’t just set us free from who we were. He sets us free to become who we were meant to be.  Salvation is not the end goal. Salvation is a new beginning. 

--We are saved...we are being saved...we will be saved.

1 Peter 1:3‑9 (NLT) 

3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 

4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 

5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. 

6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. 

7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 

8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 

9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. 

–When we give our lives to Christ, God goes to work in us and with us. He begins to use our circumstances, no matter how bad those circumstances may be, to chisel us into His image.

Romans 8:28‑32 (NIV) 

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 

29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 

30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 

31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 

32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all‑‑how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 

3. As we consider God’s destiny we focus on what and where. God focuses on what we are becoming.

–What and where are secondary issues as far as God is concerned...His primary concern is who you are becoming...being is better than doing. Widow in our church. I can’t do much!

–Please keep in mind that it has nothing to do with your circumstances...It has to do with the character of Christ being formed within you. 

Key – What happens in you is more important that what happens to you. Our destination or goal should be, we look, act, feel, talk, dream, and love like Jesus. 

Philippians 2:3-5 (NLT2)
³  Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
⁴  Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
⁵  You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 

Batterson: The end goal is not a revelation of who you are. The end goal is a revelation of Who God is. After all, you will not find yourself until you find God. The only way to discover who you are is to discover Who God is, because you are made in His image.

–You see...you have two destinies...Our first destiny is just like everyone else’s (it is universal) and that is to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

–To follow Christ is to become like Him and that is our chief objective...to be like Jesus! To be like Him in every way.

Philippians 3:8‑14 (NKJV) 

8 Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 

9 and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 

10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 

11 if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 

12 Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 

13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 

14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

–I want to know Him...I want to be like Him...I want to know the power of His resurrection...I want to experience the fellowship of His suffering...I want to be conformed to His death...I want to die to my life and live what He has destined for me.

–My other destiny is unique to anyone else’s destiny...to be unlike anyone else. 

Batterson: Those two destinies may seem to be at odds with each other, but they are anything but. To become like Christ is to become unlike anyone else. He sets us free from whom we’re not, so we can become who He destined us to be.