This Week

Well, I did not preach this week at Creekside Community. Pastor Angelo was up and continued our series “Free.” Just a side note, he broke my old record time by preaching for 57+ minutes. Kudos for not losing the crowd. I didn’t even know the time had gone.

All that to say, there is nothing quite like the daily, Christian life to keep you alert and interested in what’s next. Whether we are in professional ministry, or simple followers of Jesus, it’s the day by day, moment by moment, trust in him that makes life exciting and worth living. I was reminded of this by Pastor Angelo this week.

He said that we must learn to follow Christ in three ways, that we would have joyful strength and God’s power by these.

1. Declare – “Sin is not my master.” Wow, that’s all there is to it? I can do that…. Well, it’s not that easy but it IS the only way to start the process of trusting Jesus more fully. I need to declare what the Bible says is true, “Sin will no longer be a master over you.” “You were bought with a price, the precious blood of Christ.” “So consider yourself to be dead to sin and alive to God.”

2. Decide – “Sin will NOT rule over me.” The only way for sin to have control over your life in Christ is if you give Sin the keys. You decide moment by moment who your master or Master will be. This is really hard sometimes, isn’t it?

3. Devote – “Devote yourself to God.” Or as the Bible says,”Humble yourself before the mighty hand of God, and at the right time, he will lift you up.” “The same power that raised Christ from the dead is in you, giving you the ability to live an honorable life.”

Yep, those are three easy things to day. They’re even profound. They’re truthful. It’s just hard to execute day in and day out. So I guess that’s why we need the Holy Spirit within us. That must be why we have to “give up” and let God have control of things. I’m so grateful for the simple Truth of the Bible, and for a God who doesn’t leave us on our own, but rather GIVES us the power we need to accomplish his will.

Peace

Recovery Road Pt 4 – Declaration of Dependance

Listen or watch here: Audio/Video So, here we are, days away from a national election and hopefully on the Recovery Road. I do not have any delusion that our elected officials or those running this year have heard anything I’ve said these last three weeks. But, in the end, we learned that this process, this journey down this road begins with WE not THEY, it begins withME not YOU. And if we are going to grow as disciples of Jesus, if we are going to look at our politics and life through the filter of our faith in God and His Word, rather than looking at our faith through the filter of our politics, each of us must walk this road personally and with great personal resolve. This journey starts by admitting we are powerless over our issues, our addictions, our sins – like spending and re-election is for politicians – and that our life has become unmanageable. 

In order to do this, two weeks ago we talked about doing a personal, searching, moral inventory and letting God get the plank out of our eye before we try to blame everyone else for our personal or national problems. We can’t recover or become more like Jesus Christ until we are willing to tell ourselves the truth. We have to acknowledge where we are before we can get to where we want to be.

That led us to last week, when my challenge to politicians was to work towards moral authority rather than re-election. The issue is that many politicians have no moral authority due to the way they conduct themselves; whether it’s not paying their taxes, hiding some secret, using the system for their own benefit or only working for re-election. They, like we, have to take ownership of our junk. But then the hard part – we have to admit to God, ourselves, and one other person, the exact nature of our wrongs; that way the secrets lose their power over us, our decisions and our lives. These last two weeks may seem daunting. But how much better to take some time to deal with these things up front before they surface in ways we do not want? 

Today we make this observation – Recovery begins with a declaration of dependence. Specifically, recovery begins with a declaration of dependence on God. This great nation of ours was founded on moral principles, some would say, biblical principles. But there has been a growing discomfort among national and local leaders to publicly acknowledge God, our dependence on God, or gratitude for God’s blessings. A fairly recent example of this came about 14 months ago as we approached the 10^th anniversary of 9/11. Do you remember the controversy? The issue was will there be prayer at the memorial service? If so, who will do the prayer; who SHOULD do the prayer? In the end it was decided that no one would because it would be too offensive to someone. To President Obama’s credit he decided that for his part he would read a Psalm from the Bible. I believe he used it later at the National Cathedral, where there was also a serious debate about having prayer or not.

This is amazing considering that just 10 years earlier, there were more prayers being lifted up from ground zero than ever said at any other place in our history. There was no outcry to “stop offending” anyone because people knew we all needed a power greater than ourselves; we all needed God. People of many races, many nations and many religions gathered spontaneously to pray, to seek the face and grace and mercy of God as each understood Him. But a mere 10 years after that tragic event, 10 years after Americans flocked to places of worship in record numbers, in only 10 years our leaders became more concerned about offending the 8% of people in America who say they don’t believe in any god at all, than offending God, Himself. It’s a radical departure from history. It’s a radical departure from our founders and leaders of the past. It’s an incredible departure from our country’s motto, stamped on every piece of monetary tender in the US – “in God we trust.” I know mandatory prayer in schools was not necessarily right. But we open the congress every session with prayer, yet High School cheerleaders are ordered by a Texas judge to NOT use scripture verses on the banners they, themselves, made. 

All of this is a stark contrast to our story today from the Old Testament. 2 Chronicles 6 is the record of some actions taken by the wisest king of all time – King Solomon. Solomon was so wise that other kings and queens from all over the world would come to ask him hard questions and get his wise, wise answers. Solomon had it all: wisdom, wealth, a standing army that was second to none, peace with all other nations, and a good standing with his God. He didn’t have to caveat or kowtow to anyone, ever, anywhere, no matter what. It was Solomon that God picked to build the Temple in Jerusalem; a place so incredible and elaborate that it was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world. His life was “all together,” so to speak, and yet there was still a sense of dependence and humility. Follow along in this passage of scripture:

2 Chronicles Cronicas 歷代志下 6:12-13

¹² Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in front of the entire community of Israel, and he lifted his hands in prayer. ¹² Entonces Salomón se puso delante del altar del SEÑOR en presencia de toda la asamblea de Israel y extendió las manos.¹² 所 罗 门 当 着 以 色 列 会 众 ， 站 在 耶 和 华 的 坛 前 ， 举 起 手 来 ，

¹³ Now Solomon had made a bronze platform 7 1⁄2 feet long, 7 1⁄2 feet wide, and 4 1⁄2 feet high and had placed it at the center of the Temple’s outer courtyard. He stood on the platform, and then he knelt in front of the entire community of Israel and lifted his hands toward heaven.¹³ Porque Salomón había hecho un estrado de bronce de cinco codos de largo, cinco codos de ancho y tres codos de alto, y lo había puesto en medio del atrio; se puso sobre él, se hincó de rodillas en presencia de toda la asamblea de Israel y extendiendo las manos al cielo,¹³ 〈 所 罗 门 曾 造 一 个 铜 ? ， 长 五 肘 ， 宽 五 肘 ， 高 三 肘 ， 放 在 院 中 〉 就 站 在 ? 上 ， 当 着 以 色 列 的 会 众 跪 下 ， 向 天 举 手 ，

How incredibly powerful was that? The greatest leader in all the known world, bowing down and acknowledging, “I need a power greater than myself. I need God.” Solomon didn’t have to do this. There was nothing in the Law of God that said he had to bow in public. King’s never, ever bowed to anyone and especially not in public. But he did it…he did it as an example to the nation that they could have everything going perfectly fine, but they still… needed… God…each and every day. What would change in Washington and in Austin if each and every leader started the day on their knees before God, confessing that they are powerless and need wisdom? They could even use the 12 Steps. Step 1 was “We admitted we were powerless of our addiction (fill in ‘issues, habits, sins, hurts, re-election) that our lives had become unmanageable.  “Step 2 – We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.Step 3 – We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood him.” That’s a start! It’s a huge start! That’s also the place where you and I have to begin as well – dependence. 

Solomon then prays an incredible prayer asking God to inhabit the Temple with his presence, to hear the people’s prayers of need AND their prayers of repentance. Then he did something, prayed something, that not many Kings or Christians would pray – vs 32

2 Chronicles Cronicas 歷代志下 6:32-3³² “In the future, foreigners who do not belong to your people Israel will hear of you. They will come from distant lands when they hear of your great name and your strong hand and your powerful arm. And when they pray toward this Temple,  ³² También en cuanto al extranjero que no es de tu pueblo Israel, cuando venga de una tierra lejana a causa de tu gran nombre y de tu mano poderosa y de tu brazo extendido, cuando ellos vengan a orar a esta casa, ³² 论 到 不 属 你 民 以 色 列 的 外 邦 人 ， 为 你 的 大 名 和 大 能 的 手 ， 并 伸 出 来 的 膀 臂 ， 从 远 方 而 来 ， 向 这 殿 祷 告 ，

³³ then hear from heaven where you live, and grant what they ask of you. In this way, all the people of the earth will come to know and fear you, just as your own people Israel do. They, too, will know that this Temple I have built honors your name.³³ escucha tú desde los cielos, desde el lugar de tu morada, y haz conforme a todo lo que el extranjero te pida, para que todos los pueblos de la tierra conozcan tu nombre, para que te teman, como te teme tu pueblo Israel, y para que sepan que tu nombre es invocado sobre esta casa que he edificado. ³³ 求 你 从 天 上 你 的 居 所 垂 听 ， 照 着 外 邦 人 所 祈 求 的 而 行 ， 使 天 下 万 民 都 认 识 你 的 名 ， 敬 畏 你 ， 像 你 的 民 以 色 列 一 样 ， 又 使 他 们 知 道 我 建 造 的 这 殿 是 称 为 你 名 下 的 。

Solomon wasn’t so selfish that he thought only the people of Israel should be blessed by God, he wanted everyone who would follow the one, true God to be blessed. He was praying for the people of the lands he ruled, but he was also praying for you and me. He knew that foreign peoples were also important to God; that they were to be treated with dignity and respect as they followed the laws and worshiped Almighty God. Solomon continued to pray as ask God’s favor, even when it required that people take a long, hard look at their sinfulness, followed by repentance. He asked God to be merciful and attentive to their confessions. Then, the Bible says, the whole Temple was filled with the presence of God. Fire came from heaven and lit the altar, and Solomon and the people worshiped and offered sacrifices to the Lord. Jump down a few verses into chapter 7 verse 11 – 2 Chronicles Cronicas 歷代志下 7:11-14¹¹ When Solomon had finished the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and had succeeded in carrying out all he had in mind to do in the temple of the Lord and in his own palace, ¹¹ Así acabó Salomón la casa del SEÑOR y el palacio del rey, y llevó a cabo todo lo que se había propuesto hacer en la casa del SEÑOR y en su palacio. ¹¹ 所 罗 门 造 成 了 耶 和 华 殿 和 王 宫 ； 在 耶 和 华 殿 和 王 宫 凡 他 心 中 所 要 做 的 ， 都 顺 顺 利 利 地 做 成 了 。

¹² the Lord appeared to him at night and said: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.¹² Y el SEÑOR se apareció a Salomón de noche y le dijo: He oído tu oración, y he escogido para mí este lugar como casa de sacrificio. ¹² 夜 间 耶 和 华 向 所 罗 门 显 现 ， 对 他 说 ： 我 已 听 了 你 的 祷 告 ， 也 选 择 这 地 方 作 为 祭 祀 我 的 殿 宇 。

¹³ “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, ¹³ Si cierro los cielos para que no haya lluvia, o si mando la langosta a devorar la tierra, o si envío la pestilencia entre mi pueblo, ¹³ 我 若 使 天 闭 塞 不 下 雨 ， 或 使 蝗 虫 吃 这 地 的 出 产 ， 或 使 瘟 疫 流 行 在 我 民 中 ，

By this he meant, if you as a leader or you as a nation sin and don’t repent the consequences from ages past still apply. You will be disciplined on a national level. I will not bless you, in fact, I will exile you. And that’s exactly what we saw the last two weeks in our studies. ¹⁴ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.  ¹⁴ y se humilla mi pueblo sobre el cual es invocado mi nombre, y oran, buscan mi rostro y se vuelven de sus malos caminos, entonces yo oiré desde los cielos, perdonaré su pecado y sanaré su tierra. ¹⁴ 这 称 为 我 名 下 的 子 民 ， 若 是 自 卑 、 祷 告 ， 寻 求 我 的 面 ， 转 离 他 们 的 恶 行 ， 我 必 从 天 上 垂 听 ， 赦 免 他 们 的 罪 ， 医 治 他 们 的 地 。

Preachers love these verses. American preachers love to apply this to the United States. But here, this is a promise of God to Israel – not to us, not to America – but specifically to Israel. However, I think we CAN see that this illustrates the correlation between national humility – a public declaration of dependence, and GOD’S willingness to act on behalf of a nation. God’s desire is to make His name known throughout the world. God really does love everybody and, as Paul says in the New Testament, hopes that NONE will perish spiritually in their sin. Solomon even says in verse 32-33, when foreigners ask you for good things, please give it to them so your Holy name will be known. Most nations don’t ask God to bless foreign nations. We can’t even say a kind word to the other little league team. 

In the history of our country we have not normally hesitated to declare this kind of humility and dependence on God. One of the most interesting examples to me happened in the middle of the Civil War. Though we can’t imagine was the sheer agony and the terror of living in the South or living in the North, not knowing how the war was going to go. And in the middle of the Civil War, a Senator from Iowa, his name was James Harlan, came to Abraham Lincoln and said, I have written a resolution that I am going to present to the Senate. He presented it to the Senate, and the Senate voted to adopt this resolution, and it was a resolution calling for a national day of prayer and fasting in the North.

Now, the interesting thing about the resolution was that this was at a time where men and boys were dying every day. They were coming home from the North and the South to hospitals – they’d never walk again, never work again – living the true hell of the Civil War. In the middle of all this horrific mess the group of senators came to the President and said, Would you sign, would you personally put your signature on this resolution and call for a national day of prayer and fasting in our nation? And the President signed it and declared it, and here’s what the resolution said. 

Now, as I read this to you, just imagine such a thing today. It’s almost unimaginable that it would ever happen today; but ask yourself this question: Why not? Have we become too sophisticated? Have we gotten too smart? Are we not desperate enough? Do we not believe enough? But here’s the resolution that Abraham Lincoln signed during the Civil War:

Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation.(that just meant fasting.) 

 And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions . . . 

They wanted a day where the entire nation, at least in the North, stopped doing what they were doing and got on their knees and declared their dependence on God for their nation. But, wait a minute, this doesn’t make any sense. You’re in the North and you think you’re right. If you live in the South, you think you’re right. Don’t you mean to declare the transgressions of the other side? And yet, the Senate of the United States of America realized that in the North, even though they believed they were in the right when it came to the war, that in order to garner God’s blessing and favor they must acknowledge their national sin and confess it to Almighty God. We can’t even fathom this happening today:

And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon  that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures . . . 

You can’t talk about the Holy Scriptures in the Senate. You can’t talk about a resolution that the President and all the senators are going to sign that recognizes the Holy Scriptures. What were they thinking? But I’d ask, “What are we thinking? Why do we think of this as so, so strange?

. . . the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord. 

That last line is a quote from Psalm 33. Isn’t it amazing? It’s unthinkable, isn’t it? It’s unimaginable, it’s awkward, it’s like, I don’t know; maybe that’s too far. But that’s where we were when our nation was split in half and neither side thought they may ever, ever, ever recover in unity or recover financially. I’m just thinking, maybe this is just me, but if this was good enough for Abe Lincoln, why do we resist it so much today? Why do we worry about offending the 8% but not offending God? I dare to say this: recovery begins with a declaration of dependence on Almighty God . . . that recovery begins when we decide it’s okay to offend a minority of people in order not to offend Almighty God. That recovery begins when we can agree with President George Washington, with President Abe Lincoln, when they took their words from King David in Psalm 33, Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord. 

Perhaps recovery begins when we change our national rhetoric and we quit saying things like, “We’re the United States of America and we can solve this problem.” “We’re the United States of America, and we can recover with our own wisdom.” And maybe we begin to say things like this: “We’re the United States of America; in God we trust, and by his grace, with his help we can and will recover.” Maybe that’s what our heavenly Father is waiting for, because there was a time in this nation when that was not awkward or unusual. It was the norm, even though in those times there were men and women who were offended and didn’t believe. Now I’m certainly not suggesting we force people into religion or some sort of theocracy. I would simply say, “9/11 forced us all to consider something greater than ourselves; is it so farfetched to acknowledge that power is God and not some terrorists? Is that too farfetched to believe there is a plan greater than our own? Is it too much to weigh our politics through the filter of our faith rather than the other way around?” James the brother of Jesus writes this – 

James Santiago 雅 各 書 4:6

God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Pero El da mayor gracia. Por eso dice: DIOS RESISTE A LOS SOBERBIOS PERO DA GRACIA A LOS HUMILDES. 但 他 赐 更 多 的 恩 典 ， 所 以 经 上 说 ： 神 阻 挡 骄 傲 的 人 ， 赐 恩 给 谦 卑 的 人 。

Are we so proud and so arrogant as a nation that God is resisting us? How about as individuals? After all recovery begins with We not They, it starts with Me not You. Are we too proud to do a fearless, moral inventory? Are we too big to confess our sins to God, to ourselves and to another brother or sister who loves us? Are we so self-deceived that we don’t see that we are powerless over our junk and that we need God, the only trustworthy power greater than ourselves, to help us? So my prayer for today for me and you is that we have the courage to step up our declaration of dependence and gratitude to God. And that our leaders, especially those who claim to be disciples of Jesus, would dare to declare the same, boldly and consistently, with humility. And my prayer for our nation is that the dependence we all carry in our hearts would once again become part of our national conversation. Because at the end of the day, recovery begins with a public declaration of dependence.

Let’s pray the Disciple’s Prayer together:

Our Father who is in heaven

Hallowed be your name

Your Kingdom come,

YOUR will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

And forgive us our sins 

As we forgive those who sin against us.

And lead us not into temptation

But deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the Kingdom and the power

And the Glory forever – amen.

 

“Dream Big pt. 2 – Elevate” – sermon transcript

Part 2 of the series “Dream Big” by Pastor Tim Douglas, adapted from Andy Stanley

What would someone who is you do, if they were absolutely confident that God was with them? This is the question we began asking several weeks ago. We talked about a revolutionary principle which says that when we start looking at circumstances and situations as if God is with us we will begin seeing God in all our circumstances. With that in mind I asked us all to apply this principle and begin to write down what we experienced this week. I hope you did that. You can write some of those things down on your connection card even today so we can share them together.

This should become the lens through which we view every situation of life. What if we asked this question in the face of every opportunity, every need; through prosperity, through our temptations to manipulate and control? This question can bring balance and integrity to all your decisions. It can dig out and trench out all your insecurities. Looking for and seeing God in our circumstances can repackage and reformulate your tendencies to react and over react and can help us all with our issues of control, allowing us to focus completely on God.

So what WOULD someone, who is you, do if you were completely confident that God was with you? I hope you had a revelation this week. If not, keep looking for God in your circumstances and get ready to take a walk of faith. That’s what we are seeing in the story of Joseph. We know very little about the religious upbringing of Joseph and his brothers. We do know that God called his grandfather Abraham out from his homeland to become a great nation. Abraham had Isaac, Isaac had Jacob, and Jacob had 12 sons, the 11th of which was Joseph. But we read very little about the religious upbringing of Joseph and his brothers. We do know this, however; Joseph was given some significant dreams as a teenager, dreams that his father knew were of God. And Joseph refused to give in to the immoral advances of his masters’ wife because it would be a “sin against my God.”

Despite the challenges of being thrown into a well for dead, sold into slavery by his brothers, being taken to a foreign land as a slave, being accused falsely of rape, being thrown in a prison unjustly and being forgotten by the only ones who could get him out of prison, Joseph chose to trust God, to see God in his circumstances, and patiently wait for God’s plan to work out – as we will see today. What’s so important about today is this – Joseph followed God when things were bad, but he also followed God when things begin to get real good for him. Now it’s hard to see God when things are bad. We all know this. It’s so easy to get down and depressed when things are bad. But it’s REALLY REALLY hard to FOLLOW God in the good times. Because in the good times we kind of don’t need God! Or at least that’s what we reason in our heads. How do you maintain the attitude that “I’m going to stay the course and follow God even in the good times?” Well Joseph is going to show us how to not only keep following God in the good times, but to lean even HARDER on God in these times of prosperity.

Gen 41

1 Two full years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing on the bank of the Nile River. 2 In his dream he saw seven fat, healthy cows come up out of the river and begin grazing in the marsh grass. 3 Then he saw seven more cows come up behind them from the Nile, but these were scrawny and thin. These cows stood beside the fat cows on the riverbank. 4 Then the scrawny, thin cows ate the seven healthy, fat cows! At this point in the dream, Pharaoh woke up.

5 But he fell asleep again and had a second dream. This time he saw seven heads of grain, plump and beautiful, growing on a single stalk. 6 Then seven more heads of grain appeared, but these were shriveled and withered by the east wind. 7 And these thin heads swallowed up the seven plump, well-formed heads! Then Pharaoh woke up again and realized it was a dream.

8 The next morning Pharaoh was very disturbed by the dreams. So he called for all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. When Pharaoh told them his dreams, not one of them could tell him what they meant.

Here you have it. The Pharaoh, the ruler and de facto god of Egypt, is disturbed by a bad dream. So he does what every Pharaoh before him did – he called all the wisest people in the country to help him with his problem. Magicians, soothsayers, mediums (and larges)… Magi, politicians, news reporters, but no one can. They are all dumbfounded by these dreams. Then, out of the blue, the cup-bearer, who Joseph helped two full years before has an epiphany, okay, actually more of a “duh” moment. “Maybe this guy that helped me can help the Pharaoh.” So he tells Pharaoh about Joseph and Joseph is sent for out of the dungeon.

14 Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was quickly brought from the prison. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh.

First of all, the quickly of the Pharaoh was not so quickly for Joseph. Joseph had been waiting for two years for “quickly.” He had been stuck in the dungeon for two more years after he helped out the cup-bearer. And even though he had position of authority in the prison that doesn’t mean his accommodations were palatial. He wanted out! So they came and got Joseph from prison, cleaned him up, which tells us that prison was not the Hilton Inn, and then presented him to Pharaoh.

This is the chance Joseph has been waiting for all these years. He gets an audience with the most powerful person in the known world. Pharaoh has the power of life and death in his hands, and now this Pharaoh needs the little Hebrew boys help, the slaves help. They bring him into the palace. They place him in front of this god-like ruler. Then comes the million dollar question, the opportunity to be the hero, to be THE man.

15 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream last night, and no one here can tell me what it means. But I have heard that when you hear about a dream you can interpret it.”

The whole room lights up with anticipation. Expectancy is at an all-time high. All the other servants secretly root for this underdog of the dungeon world. And as Joseph opens his mouth to answer everyone gasps with anticipation. He could be THE ONE!

16 “It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.”

Then they all gasp in disbelief. “Did you just hear that? He didn’t really just say that? He CAN’T do it? And what’s this about God, Pharaoh is god? This guy is not only stupid, he’s dead.” And they all stood in silence waiting for the Pharaoh to indicate separation of Joseph’s head from his body. But that is NOT what happens. Pharaoh is not phased in the least and simply goes on to tell the story of the cows and the grain. The others in the room can’t believe it. They stare in disbelief as their ruler begins to listen to Joseph, as if Joseph really mattered!

25 Joseph responded, “Both of Pharaoh’s dreams mean the same thing. God is telling Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do. 26 The seven healthy cows and the seven healthy heads of grain both represent seven years of prosperity. 27 The seven thin, scrawny cows that came up later and the seven thin heads of grain, withered by the east wind, represent seven years of famine.

28 “This will happen just as I have described it, for God has revealed to Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do. 29 The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity throughout the land of Egypt. 30 But afterward there will be seven years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten in Egypt. Famine will destroy the land. 31 This famine will be so severe that even the memory of the good years will be erased. 32 As for having two similar dreams, it means that these events have been decreed by God, and he will soon make them happen.

Here’s the interpretation of your dreams. There is no doubt about it for God has prescribed it firmly with two dreams. And not you, little god, and not one of the other many gods you all worship, but MY GOD, the Hebrew God, the God of my father’s Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who, by the way, hasn’t done much for me lately! So, if you want to survive and keep it all together after these next seven years, you’d better listen to me and the wisdom of my God!

Once again the room is silent. It’s that calm you often experience before the tornado sirens go off. It’s the silence that comes in the eye of a hurricane. Anticipation. Dread. But not for long. You see, Joseph followed the interpretation of the dreams the same way anyone would who was completely confident that God was with them – he offered advice. Naysayers whispered to one another, “He’ll be dead before he hits the doorway. Can you believe the audacity of that guy? He’s really had some guts.”

Joseph lays out an economic plan complete with supervisors and a description of the person who should run the whole operation. The plan includes how much and when the food should be gathered, where the food should be stored and a warning that failure to do this would result in, well, failure for the whole country. And once again the masses are left wondering how in the world this guy is still alive, who he thinks he is and if, maybe, he was talking about recommending them for one of the jobs.

I’m not sure if this would have been my way of dealing with the Pharaoh. It’s incredible that this young man had the confidence and where with all to stand up for truth, wisdom and God’s directive. Why did he do it? This is what anyone, whose life is on the line, whose livelihood is at stake, whose reputation is at risk, does – when they are fully convinced that God is with them. Joseph didn’t fall for the line that his life was in Pharaoh’s hands. He knew that God was more powerful than pharaoh, knew more than pharaoh and could see into his future. He had BIG God with him while he was interpreting dreams for “little, wanna be” god.

Have you ever been in the situation where you think that he or she controls your destiny, your job, your sobriety, your sanity? Have you ever thought that those bad choices in the past or even in the present have robbed you of the love of God or the love of others; made you unworthy as a person or spouse? I have. Have you ever cowered to someone that, in the end, controls nothing of your life or your destiny but it seems almost impossible to get out from under their influence or control of you? Most of us have been there on some level or another. We need to take a cue from Joseph and finally, purposely, definitively place our life and circumstances in the hands of the God who promises to be with us. In fact, God promised through Jesus to “never leave us or forsake us.”

“Really,” you might say. “Tell that to Joseph when he was in the well or bound for Egypt or sleeping in a musty dungeon. Better yet, tell it to the ones who have been beaten down and trampled by injustice, manipulated and controlled by those in power over them, abused or neglected by their family. Tell it to them.” Well that’s why we’re here, today. God never left Joseph, and Joseph knew it. And when we hold firmly to that truth we will begin to see God at work in our circumstances. We will begin to see God helping us with our children, our marriage, our boss or job, our failures. We can begin to do what anyone who is you would do, when they were completely confident that God was with them – because God IS with you, with us.

Back in the story, after Joseph gives all this unsolicited advice, Pharaoh does the unthinkable –

37 Joseph’s suggestions were well received by Pharaoh and his officials. 38 So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?” 39 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. 40 You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”

41 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the entire land of Egypt.” 42 Then Pharaoh removed his signet ring from his hand and placed it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in fine linen clothing and hung a gold chain around his neck. 43 Then he had Joseph ride in the chariot reserved for his second-in-command. And wherever Joseph went, the command was shouted, “Kneel down!” So Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all Egypt. 44 And Pharaoh said to him, “I am Pharaoh, but no one will lift a hand or foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval.”

I might have been tempted to bow out and say, “Sorry, oh great Pharaoh. I don’t think I can help because I really don’t want to get this wrong.” But Joseph had the confidence that God was with him. In essence Pharaoh is saying, “I realize I’ve only known you for say, 30 minutes, but you are the right man for this job. God is with you! And all my advisors agree with me! (He looks around as the advisors stop rolling their eyes and say, “Yes, Pharaoh, good choice. Way to go!”)

So now, you’re in charge. Take the wisdom that your God gave you and do what you have said should be done. And that’s exactly what Joseph did. For the next fourteen years Joseph did what anyone who had been thrown into a well, sold into slavery, accused of rape, thrown into prison, gussied up for the Pharaoh and made second in command of the most powerful nation in the world would do, if they had complete confidence that God was with them. He took the opportunity and did all he could do with the help of God.

Do you know why Pharaoh did this? Pharaoh noticed in him what Potiphar has noticed early on, and what the prison warden noticed, and what the cup-bearer and baker knew first hand – this man’s GOD WAS WITH HIM! And Joseph had the confidence he needed to make wise decisions and make reasonable decisions because he stood on God’s plan.

This is very important:  Do you know what Joseph did for the next 14 years? He did exactly what anyone who was put in charge of a whole nation and economy would do if they were confident that God was with them – he followed the plan and trusted God.

His newfound prosperity didn’t change his reliance on God. He still followed God like when he was in the well, like when he was in prison, like when he was forgotten. Those days and years of desperation didn’t rip his faith from him. But his new wealth and power and position didn’t change him either! He didn’t become arrogant and self sufficient like we might tend to do. He didn’t cling to his rugged individualism and personal power to gather the grain and prepare for the famine. He didn’t let pride and the kudos of the Pharaoh fill his life with a “look at me” perspective. He just kept following God with the confidence that God was with him.

Don’t you want that kind of confidence? Can anyone really ruin what God is up to? Can anyone really stop God’s plan from working in your life – other than you? Does anyone really, really have control over you? Really! We can all learn to respond in godly confidence, just like Joseph did: not with arrogance, not with false humility, not with condescension or dramatic guise, but with humble faith in God!

You might be thinking at this point – could something like this really happen? Did this really happen? Yes, it did. And it will happen again and again, when men and women take their unique opportunities, their unique gifts and talents, their life experiences good and bad, and live totally confident that God is with them – YES! One million times, yes! You have no idea what God might do through you if you lived life focused on Him rather than focused on your problems.

What if, what would happen if those of us in this room or listening on the web, what if we decided to live this way even for a week? What if we decided to lay aside our fears of failure and disappointment? Our thoughts of weakness or insecurity? Our thoughts of being better than or lesser than the people next door? The right to judge and discriminate against others or let them judge or discriminate against us? What if we put away our goals and dreams of climbing whatever ladder society is tempting us with to make us feel adequate, or superior, or successful and asked this question instead?

“What is it that the God who is with me wants to do with: my job, my house, my plans, my dreams, my family, my life? Better yet – what does this God who is with me, this God of all grace and love and power and mercy, have planned for me?” And then we all responded – “That’s what I want to do!” “I’m just going to be God’s woman or God’s man no matter what…my…circumstances.” Can you imagine? I want to imagine that. I want to see that for you, for me, for this church, and for our community.

One of the best things I have ever heard, and a thought that has helped drive our vision at Creekside is this – if you can accomplish your visions, goals, plans or dreams, then they are too small. If you can do IT, whatever IT is, without God, then you’re thinking way too small! God wants to accomplish God-sized visions, God-sized plans, God-sized dreams through us. When we accomplish things that only God can do, then God gets the credit and the glory. Life is too short, to short change God’s plans for you and for me.

We’ve only got one shot of about 70-80 years to live on this earth, only a short lifetime to live out the hopes and dreams and visions that God has for each and every one of us. Only one shot at impacting our world with the love of God. Only one shot to share the story of God’s forgiveness and grace and mercy with the community around us. And if we are truly confident that God is with us…if I am really confident that the all-powerful, all-knowing, ever present, God of love and grace and mercy is with me…then I want to live that God-sized life. I want to dream that God-sized dream. I want to see the world through a God-sized vision! Don’t you?

And if I, if you, are truly confident that God is with us, then we can live out that life, live out those hopes and dreams on a God-sized scale – because God is in control and God will see it through. That puts God in the rightful place in our life, our job, our family, our plans. So here’s the final question for this week:

Given all that you have – your training, your talent, your job, your resources, your family and your circles of influence – what would someone who is you do if they were totally confident that God was with them? I challenge you, I dare you to ask God for those answers each day, this week!

Let’s pray: God I admit, we admit, that we have a hard time giving up control of our life, our family, our jobs and our dreams. Our dreams and visions are boxed up into things we can do and see. Release us from the tyranny of small thinking and small dreaming. Help us to place simple faith in you each morning this week. Let your Holy Spirit work in us and through us to accomplish YOUR plans. Help us see clearly and give us the willingness to follow you no matter what.
In Jesus Name, Amen

“Faith, Hope & Luck” pt. 3 – ‘Beating the Odds’

We  have been studying the difference between faith and hope. The first week we talked about a kind of faith that is very popular in every culture and life setting. It’s called circumstantial faith. Circumstantial faith is trying to find God in the circumstances and events in our life by what we can see and experience and then adjusting our beliefs based on those circumstances. Circumstances often make us look to formulas or rituals, lucky combinations of saying or doing things, to make our situations change and justify our behavior or views of life and God.

Circumstantial faith is fragile, though. Because when life throws us a curve ball and doesn’t seem fair, we think that God’s not fair either. When life gets hard and the pleasures of life or the pressures of life force us to make decisions, God may seem far away or non-existent. So we change our belief to reflect our decision rather than adjusting our behavior to our beliefs about God. “Maybe God doesn’t exist.” “Maybe God isn’t doesn’t really want to be involved in my daily decisions.”

Then we also talked about the foundation of our faith This foundation of our beliefs and behaviors, the power for how we deal with crisis and tough decisions, has to be based on something more solid than circumstances. There has to be something or someone that’s unshakably powerful and trustworthy, not a circumstance or event, but a person. So we were challenged to look to the person of Jesus Christ and to examine his life, death, resurrection and promises to see, if perhaps, we might trust him to be the rock-solid, never changing foundation of our faith.

We discovered that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, that he performed miracles for the whole world to see that none had ever done. See heard from eye witnesses of how he lived, walked on earth and gave an example of love. We also heard about his death on a cross, the form of execution of that day, and his miraculous resurrection. Jesus said this would happen so that he could pay for the sins of the world. When God raised him from the dead, hundreds and hundreds of people saw him. They ate with him. They walked with him. They saw him be taken up to heaven. And, as followers of this Jesus Christ, our faith to make it through each day and through every event, pleasure or pain, is based on his promises and his power.

Last week we asked the question, “What is faith?” And we defined faith this way from the Bible. Faith is the CONFIDENCE that God is who God says he is and that God will do everything he PROMISED to do. We discovered that the bridge between what we HOPE for and what we have FAITH in is the PROMISES of God. Now we can pray and ask God for anything we want. And sometimes God answers in the affirmative and other times it seems God says, “no” or that God’s not listening at all.

I think God loves to hear us talk to him and ask for things – things we need and things we want. But the only thing God guarantees a positive answer to, the only “asks” we can absolutely count on every time, are the promises of God. So we can bring our hopes and dreams to the promises of God from the Bible, and we can count on a “yes” answer every, single time. We can be confident that God will do everything he has promised to do. So, if faith really is the CONFIDENCE that God is who he says he is and will do everything he has PROMISED to do then what has God promised to do? That is what we are going to look at today.

If you have your Bibles turn to the book of Hebrews. We’ve been in this book a lot during this series. It is a book about faith and those considered faithful. We heard about some of them last week. And in our summer series: “The Characters of the Bible,” you will hear about even more people of faith as well as some who lacked it completely. So Hebrews chapter 4 is where we are reading from, and while you are finding that let’s first talk about a few things that God has NOT promised. There seems to be a lot of confusion and contradictory teaching about the promises of God. But the Bible seems real clear about what God has and has not promised.

1. God has not promised to keep bad things from happening to you, but sometimes he does.

a. His followers struggled and had to go through enormous difficulties, but they still held onto faith in Jesus.

b. John 16:33 – Jesus promised “In this world you will have trouble.”

-        Jesus was beaten and crucified

-        Paul was stoned, shipwrecked, bitten by a snake, imprisoned, beaten and beheaded.

-        Almost every disciple was killed for their faith

2. God has not promised to make us wealthy, though God does allow some of us to be. Comparatively most of us are. But there is no evidence that any of the disciples benefitted with personal wealth for their faith – in fact, monetary gain for their faith would have made everyone, including us, suspect of their motives.

3. God has not promised to heal every sickness or disease in you encounter, but sometimes he does heal. Neither Jesus nor the disciples healed every sick person they met.

a. At times Jesus healed large groups of people, but not always.

b. At the pool of Bethesda, there were tons of sick people but Jesus chose only one – John 5

1. c. Book of Mark – over and over people had to beg Jesus for healing, and he did not always do it.

4. God has not promised to reverse the consequences of bad behavior, sin or unwise decisions we have made. It seems at times he does, but he never promises that.

In Hebrews chapter 4, though, we see exactly what God has promised every time, in every situation for every person in the world. Hebrews 4:14-16 –

¹⁴ So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. ¹⁵ This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same temptations like we do, yet he did not sin. ¹⁶ So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

We have talked about the High Priest role of Jesus already. But here is what we need to remember. Jesus does not only have sympathy for our situations. He doesn’t just feel sorry for us about our struggles, temptations and circumstances. Jesus is the High Priest who restored our relationship to God through his death and resurrection. He is the Priest who gave up his comfortable and perfect place in heaven to be born on the earth, to grow up like a normal kid and to go through every temptation to sin and to doubt God as we do. He doesn’t just sympathize with us, he empathizes with us.

And every time we feel hurt or pain he says, “I know, I’ve been there, I’m here for you.” And every time we feel disappointed by expectations we can’t meet or other won’t seem to meet for us he says, “I know, I’ve been there, I’m here for you.” And every time we want to give up, cash out, throw it all away and escape, so we think, Jesus, the High Priest, the Savior, the empathizer can say without any lack of understanding at all, “I know, I’ve been there, I’m here for you.”

1. He spent a night in agony dreading the events of the next day

2. He experienced the rejection by his closest friends

3. He was rejected even by his family

4. He experienced everything in his life crumbling around him

5. He experience temptation at the hand of Satan, himself.

Jesus knows. And he fully comprehends and takes it upon himself when we are suffering. He knows what we need to deal with every situation, and his perspective has never been clouded by sin and self-centeredness. And in his understanding of our sorry and pain, and in his complete understanding of our disappointment and fear, he then offers this promise:

¹⁶ So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

Since he is that kind of Savior, since he is the perfect mediator, priest between us and God, since he isn’t tainted by sin and self-centeredness, we can come with confidence, boldness and openness before God’s throne. We don’t have to cower, we don’t have to dramatize or formalize…we just have to come with HOPE in the PROMISES of God…they give us FAITH to make it through. At God’s throne we will receive – here are the promises, for anyone, anywhere at anytime, who will come to God – these are the promises:

Mercy & grace where we need it most!

What is mercy? It’s a picture of Jesus, who listens with undivided interest when you pour your heart out to him.

-        It’s Jesus who paused and wept at Lazarus’ grave, who identified with everyone’s pain and sorrow, even though he knew in just a moment, he would raise Lazarus from the dead – he wants us to know he understands

-        Mercy is a Savior who is not so consumed with his eternal perspective that he cannot feel your pain – he does

-        It’s the picture of parent who takes a child’s issues seriously, not because of the issue at hand but because of the child…that’s what God promises us

-        It’s Jesus who died for everyone else’s sin, to save all who would believe, so we would NOT get the punishment we deserve for abandoning and disobeying God.

Mercy is more than pity…mercy also implies action. He will not allow the heartbreaks of life to be more than we can bear. He will give us relief. He WILL intervene, sometimes in tangible, physical ways, sometimes emotionally or even intangibly. Sometimes there is peace and sometimes there is hope. He knows what we need, when we need it. And God’s interest is not that life be easy, but that we would grow closer to him. When we need mercy, remember, Hebrews 13:5 which says “I will never leave you or forsake you.” That’s a promise. Think about Psalm 68:5. “I will be a father to the fatherless.” And there’s Philippians 4:19 where he promises to meet the needs of the faithful. This is mercy.

And it doesn’t stop there. He also gives grace. Grace is receiving the strength to endure; the ability to carry on.

-        Your husband may never come back

-        Your wife may never change

-        Your salary may never be what you think it should be

-        Your house may not sell soon or ever

-        Your parents may never lighten up

-        You may never be completely healed or relieved

But – you will have the strength to endure your circumstances.

God never promises to deliver us FROM our circumstances, though sometimes he does. God does promise to deliver us THROUGH our circumstances. And as long as we look at life and pain and pleasures from this perspective, that God is with me even if I’m not delivered, even if life’s still hard, even if I don’t make enough money, even if my spouse never changes, we will not be able to stay disappointed.        You need hope to make it another day? God has PROMISED mercy and grace. And when you hold onto that promise, you have chosen to live by FAITH in the only trustworthy and secure foundation to build your life on – the promises and the person of Jesus Christ.  Keep asking God to change your circumstances, but trust him for the grace to endure in the meantime. You might say, “That’s not good enough! I want action. I want intervention!” Me, too.

So did Jesus. As he cried out to God the night before Judas betrayed him in the garden, ‘Father I don’t want to go through this. If there is any other way, please use it. But I know you have a plan and a perfect will, and I will trust you to get me through it”

God did not deliver Jesus from the cross, but THROUGH it. Once again, Jesus knows and understands.

The day of intervention is coming, but for now, we need to hold onto the promises of God – hold on to grace and mercy. Someday all of the sin, sorrow and death of the world will be gone. Until then, we must hold to the promises of God – we must hold to grace and mercy. And every once in a while, God’s going to do a great miracle and just blow our minds. But in between and after, we must hold on to grace and mercy. Hold onto the power, the faithfulness and the promises of God through Jesus Christ.

Someday the intervention will come. Someday the age of grace and mercy will end. During this period of history, everyone has the opportunity to grab onto the greatest act of mercy and grace – forgiveness of sin. Don’t let too much time pass before you choose to receive it. In his mercy God sent his son to die for our sin, in his grace he allows us to be forgiven – if we will believe this and receive it in faith.

Let’s pray:

Thank you, Jesus, for your mercy and grace. Thank you for seeing us through the difficulties of life and being patient and open with us. Some days I don’t know if I will make it to the next, but thank you for giving me hope. Thank you for promising to go through it with me. Thank you for holding me up when my knees just want to buckle under the pressures of life. Holy Spirit of God, would you come today and fill us with understanding and faith? Thank you for hearing our prayers. Amen

What Do You Have to Offer?

When the Hebrew people first started following God out of Egypt they really did not know a lot about him or his expectations. They had lived for hundreds of years under pagan leadership with many gods including the Pharaoh. Most of you know the whole story of how they wandered through the desert whining and complaining almost the whole time. “Where is God? I want to go back to Egypt. Give us something to worship we can see!!!” Yes, whining. When they are called the “children” of Israel it was no exaggeration. Anyone who has taken an extended car ride with multiple children understands what Moses was putting up with. These biblical descriptions were accurate!

At one point during their journey God called their leader, Moses, up to a mountain top to write down some instructions. These were the 10 commandments as well as all the laws and rules governing the worship of the one, true God. While Moses was on the mountain the first time, he was gone for an extended period of time. So, bored and a little scared, the people brought gold jewelry to Aaron the priest and he made a “god” from the gold – the infamous golden calf. They figured worship was owed to this God that brought them out of Egypt. And in the context of the pagan worship they grew up around, it probably made sense to create one to look at. But this was not the case. When Moses came down the mountain and saw the debaucherous “worship” going on he threw the commandments on the ground and demanded repentance from everyone. The unrepentant were killed. Now that’s a tough crowd.

The whole question of what real worship of this God looked like plagued the children of Israel for a long time. . It really all started with Cain and Abel bringing two different offerings to God way back in Genesis. Cain’s offering was not accepted but Abel’s was. Neither offering was the wrong stuff, but something was different between the two. Even when the Books of the Law were complete and the Hebrews had the whole counsel of God’s commands (613 of them), they still had problems following them.

Rules for the worship of God are still discussed today around the world. Everyone wants to do the right thing and say the right words. There are even ridiculously vicious arguments about the beautiful worship of God. The paradox of trying to love God and dislike our fellow humans exists throughout religions of every kind. So it begs the question -

What do I, a mere mortal, have to offer to this great and awesome Deity? Actually, you have quite a lot. I want to play off the Levitical laws regarding offerings to help us better understand God’s desires regarding worship.

Lev 2:1-10 2 “When you present grain as an offering to the LORD, the offering must consist of choice flour. You are to pour olive oil on it, sprinkle it with frankincense, 2 and bring it to Aaron’s sons, the priests. The priest will scoop out a handful of the flour moistened with oil, together with all the frankincense, and burn this representative portion on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. 4 “If your offering is a grain offering baked in an oven, it must be made of choice flour, but without any yeast. It may be presented in the form of thin cakes mixed with olive oil or wafers spread with olive oil. 5 If your grain offering is cooked on a griddle, it must be made of choice flour mixed with olive oil but without any yeast. 6 Break it in pieces and pour olive oil on it; it is a grain offering. 7 If your grain offering is prepared in a pan, it must be made of choice flour and olive oil. 8 “No matter how a grain offering for the LORD has been prepared, bring it to the priest, who will present it at the altar. 9 The priest will take a representative portion of the grain offering and burn it on the altar. It is a special gift, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. NLT

Don’t you just love Leviticus? It is so rich and full of expression and meaning, or you may wonder why we are there right now. The fact is we all have something to offer God. What you offer him will not be the same as what I offer. We offer praise to the Lord for his character. We offer thanks to the Lord for his mighty deeds and blessings. We offer surrender to the Lord for each segment of our life. We offer our time, talents and giftedness to be used for his glory. You and I have a lot to offer. So what’s the difference? The difference is condition of Abel’s offering rather than Cain’s. The difference is the words in the passage of Leviticus.

The difference is the quality of what we are offering. This is not a quality of comparison with other people, but the quality of what is available to each person. You see not everyone had the best lambs or flour or wine. Not everyone could cull a sacrifice from a stable of champion, purebred animals. But everyone did, and does, have a best of that they can offer. Everyone has the ability to give their best. Whether it is time in prayer, singing, teaching, dancing, acting, loving, caring, sharing, administrating – whatever our giftedness is, we should bring our best. It is the choice offering that is special to the Lord.

It is the choice sacrifice that smells so sweet to God. Next time you have a chance to be used by God ask yourself this simple question, “Did I give a choice offering to God today?” Only you and God will know the answer. The fact that you are even willing to ask the question will automatically put your best efforts to the forefront. Go ahead – give him the choice offerings from your life today.