What Now? (Reset for a Better Life) pt.1
All Scripture reference taken from the New Living Translation
We are starting a two-part sermon series titled, “What Now?”
And today we will be talking about a reset for a better life.
During Easter time… Many people invited Jesus into their lives for the first time… Some recommitted their lives to Jesus… And some came to church for the first time since the pandemic hit…
All these things create a moment for us to reflect on the past, focus on the present, and look toward a better future…
What a better time than now for a reset! What exactly does that mean?
For some it could mean a fresh start due to changed circumstances… Or it could mean a fresh start due to changed opportunities… Maybe for some of us it means our priorities have now been shuffled around a bit.
For some of you a reset in life could not be on the horizon if it wasn’t for someone who invested in your life.
When a reset happens in life… As they often do… It’s good to use the past as a guide to help with the direction we are going.
What I mean by this is that we never want to look to the past as a way we’ve always done things… The past is often the reason for the reset… The reason a change needs to take place…
The past is always good to use as a guide to evaluate the present, and where we see ourselves going in the future.
Often, it’s the things from the past that slowly drain us of our energy when trying to move forward in a positive direction…
So, the question then becomes; What should we bring with us and what should we leave behind?
Hebrews 12:1: “… Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
When a reset is happening it’s good to evaluate what it is that is keeping us from moving in the direction we feel God calling us to…
Be honest and ask yourself, what are the habits, patterns, attitudes, or behaviors that need to be addressed?
We can’t take certain things with us through the door of a reset.
Ephesians 4:21-24: “21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comesfrom him,22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lustand deception.23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.24 Put on your new nature,created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”
This is the result of a changed life by the power of God’s Holy Spirit, which causes us to do some self-reflection, and gives us the drive to start over… Resetting our lives!
Often, people with destructive patterns and habits find themselves comfortable in these endless cycles… And find it hard letting go of these habits that slow us down and trip us up…
Sometimes it’s generational… We don’t know how to let go of it because it has become a part of who we are…
We identify with the habit, the pattern, the behavior as being part of our life.
I think a lot of times we get into this kind of destructive routine because if we throw away our old sinful nature… Our former way of life…
It creates this pressure we put on ourselves to succeed or do better… And success is too much to handle, so instead we stay where we are with the patterns of our old self…
This is a self-defeating way of life, and it is based on a lie that I’ll never amount to anything therefore it’s best to stay where I am…
We become comfortable in our pain.
This passage here is the key to a reset… VERSES 22-24: 22 throw off your old sinful nature and yourformer way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception.23 Instead, let the Spirit renew yourthoughts and attitudes.24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.”
This is talking about those who put their trust in Jesus and how we are to now allow the Holy Spirit to renew our thoughts and minds…
And sometimes we have to fight for the renewal of our thoughts… But it’s worth the battle!
I find that often as believers we need to come back to this passage because life has a way of clouding our judgment at times…
Maybe something happened, maybe we’re drifting off course spiritually… Or maybe we’re just not paying attention and those old habits have crept back into our lives, and we need this passage as a reminder…
Therefore, it’s time for a reset…
I often meditate on a passage I heard taught on at a Vineyard National Conference several years ago and it has become a life verse for me as far as evaluating my personal life as well as leading the church…
Jeremiah 6:16-17: “16 This is what the LORD says:“Stop at the crossroads and look around.Askfor the old, godly way, and walk in it.Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’17 I posted watchmen over you who said,‘Listen for thesound of the alarm.’But you replied,‘No! We won’t pay attention!’”
Reread verse 16. Where are we heading in life? Invite God’s presence for help, and when we travel the path laid out for us, we will find rest for our souls…
This is self-evaluating with the help of God’s Holy Spirit… Looking back to see what the path I’ve been on looks like and how do I direct or re-direct where I’m heading while at the same time staying the course God has set for my life?
This is Jeremiah speaking God’s words to the Israelites and look at what God says their reaction is…
Reread verse 16b and 17.
How many of us refuse to listen to God’s voice, or pay attention to His leading… ? Or the advice of our peers and or spiritual leaders in the church?
This isn’t anything new… People have refused to listen to and follow God’s leading since the beginning of time…
Could it have to do with trust? Do we trust the renewing process of God’s Holy Spirit?
Are we willing to put in the time and effort to allow God’s Holy Spirit to bring about a reset in our lives?
Another passage I use for self-evaluating and making sure I’m not always focused on the “Way things have always been done” and willing to make a\ change or move into the a venture of a reset can be found in the book of Isaiah…
God is speaking through Isaiah about the great things He wants to do for the Israelites…
But He first lists a great accomplishment He did for them and then says this…
Isaiah 43:18-19: “18But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.19 For Iam about to do something new.See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?I will make apathway through the wilderness.I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
Forget about all the great things I once did, God says, for I am about to do even greater things through you… And in the end you will be refreshed!!
Think about all the good things God has done for you, and then He says, “What I’m about to do is nothing compared to that!”
Do you trust God and His word?
If we’re constantly looking back at how things have always been we will never look ahead at what awaits us…
Do you trust God to clear a path through the wilderness of your life?
Do you trust God to create rivers in the dry wasteland of your life?
I recently heard someone say they no longer pray, “God, bless what I’m doing.”
They now pray, “God, help me to do what You are blessing.”
You see, the kingdom of God is happening all around us and we should be looking where we can be a part of something God is doing…
God, whatever you have for me to do in the days ahead, I’m all in, help me to see what You are up to so I can join You!
For this to truly happen… If we truly want a reset and to be a part of what God is doing…
Hebrews 12:1: “We must get rid of what is slowing us down and run the race that God has set before us…“
I believe this is our next step as individuals and as a church!
Proverbs 4:23: “Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”
Proverbs 4:25-27: “25Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. 26Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path. 27Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet fromfollowing evil.”
Determination, drive, and staying close to Jesus is the key to a successful reset!
It doesn’t happen all at once either… Think about some of the stuff we deal with… Some of it has been there for years… It’s not going away overnight!
There isn’t a switch that makes everything go away… It takes time… And God often moves at the pace that is right for us…
We want the fast-food pace, but God moves at His pace… Slow and steady…
This often brings tension, but if we guard our hearts, fix our eyes on Jesus, and don’t get sidetracked… That tension turns into trust… Trusting that our Creator knows best!
But it starts with a commitment… It’s a choice… Do I want to stay where I’m at in life? Or do I want a reset?
Am I willing to lay aside the things that are slowing me down and keeping me from being the best version of who God created me to be?
I believe at this particular time, the heavens are open for those seeking a reset in life!
In Closing…
God wants us to be our best… And He wants to give us His best…
Because when we have an experience with the kingdom of God… We want others to experience the kingdom as well.
What Now? (Winds of Change) pt.2
All Scripture reference taken from the New Living Translation
Today is the second of a two-part series titled, “What Now?”
Last week we talked about doing a reset for a better life… There are moments in our lives when it’s time to reset things, start over, or just shuffle our priorities around a bit…
We talked about self-evaluating through God’s Word, and how to use that reflection to move in a positive direction to better ourselves…
Because today, we will be talking about dealing with “Winds of Change.”
Anytime we go through the door of a reset… Trying to better our lives… We are going to face challenges, setbacks, and even struggles that appear to want to keep us where we are at…
God does not want us struggling, or to become complacent in life… When change comes, we need to be willing to face it… And as challenging as it seems we know…
Romans 8:28: “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those wholove God and are called according to His purpose for them.”
The reference for wind in today’s message is because winds can be a powerful force…
Winds can knock us off balance… Blow us over… Cause us to fall… Blow away valuable things… Winds can be the cause for damage… Loss… Erosion… Wearing things down… Winds can wear us out…
How many have struggled driving on the highway with high winds… Winds are powerful!
Doing a reset in life doesn’t mean our past, or current problems we’re facing are going to disappear… Now they may seem bigger, more challenging…
Or, because of the reset we are now facing an entirely new set of obstacles in life!
So how do we face them… How do we stand strong in the winds of change?
Proverbs 10:25: “When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away, but the godly have a lasting foundation.”
As followers of Jesus, we have a foundation of life that lasts forever and will keep us standing when the storms of life hit.
It is true that we have a solid and lasting foundation to stand on with our trust in Jesus… But that only goes so far until we get connected to a good spiritual family!
Remember, winds/storms are uncontrollable and often come out of nowhere…
During the story of Creation in the book of Genesis, when God made the man (Adam), He said in Genesis 2:18, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”
Human beings were created for relationship… We need each other… And we need to belong to a spiritual family… A church family we can count on when the winds of change blow us off balance…
Jesus established the church, His church, on who He is, and Peter was the first to recognize it…
Matthew 16:13-20: “13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is [a 14 “Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the other prophets.” 15 Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah,[b] the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus replied, “You are blessed, Simon son of John [c] because my Father in heaven has revealed this to you. You did not learn this from any human being. 18 Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’)[d] and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell[e] will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid[f] on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit[g] on earth will be permitted in heaven.” 20 Then he sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.”
Jesus is the Rock… He is immovable and He cannot be conquered… And it is upon this confession from Peter’s mouth that Jesus will build His church…
As more and more people confess that Jesus is the Messiah, that Jesus is the Son of God, the church will continue to grow!
This is the first mention of the church… Now let’s look at how the church works…
Ephesians 4:11-16: “11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”
This passage has a lot of stuff in it, so we’re just going to look at some of it as best as we can in the allotted time that we have…
Jesus gives spiritual gifts to us for the serving of others in which the purpose is to build up and edify people so they too can live out their God given calling in life…
“Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do His work and build up the church, the body of Christ.”
This is the Gospel of restoration right here… The goal is to build each other up so that we are all unified in our faith… There’s unity in community!So we can all go through life together and unified as followers of Jesus… Fully restored in Christ!
And the result of this is verse 14: “Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t betossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try totrick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.”
… The reason we come to church is so that we can be together and learn about the Kingdom of God… From the word of God…
This is the same reason we should join a life group… Life groups will take us deeper into relationships with each other, and help us stay more rooted in the truth…
So that we do not fall victim to every teaching out there that will keep us from standing on the lasting foundation of God’s eternal Word!
Here’s what Jesus had to say about those who listen to His words…
Matthew 7:24-25: “Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock.”
This “house” represents us… Each person who trusts the words of Jesus…
This is called getting hit from every direction… The rains come down on you attacking the roof of your life… The floods come up from the ground, attacking the foundation of your life… And the winds blow, attacking the walls of your life!
What do we do when the storms of life hit, and it seems like everything is out of control?
The first thing we do is contact our spiritual family, our church family, our life group family, and we request prayer… Spiritual backup… People to stand with us in the storm!
And then, we put into practice the very words of Jesus, “Anyone who listens to My teaching and follows it is wise…”
Not only do must we be intentional on reading, understanding, and putting the Words of this book into practice… We also cannot lose sight of how much Jesus cares for us…
When getting blown about by the winds of change, the storms of life… We must focus on the power of God… The love that His son Jesus has for us, and the fact that He cares for us more than we can imagine…
Mark 6:45-51: “45 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home. 46 After telling everyone goodbye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. 47 Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land. 48 He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning[a] Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost. 50 They were all terrified when they saw him. But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage! I am here![b]” 51 Then he climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were totally amazed…”
There can several reasons the disciples are scared that we can all relate to… First of all, some of these guys were no stranger to the sea… They were fishermen!
So why were they so troubled and having a hard time? I think they lost sight of things… They were still perplexed of how Jesus fed the 5,000 prior to this…
Jesus disappears and sends them across the lake, and now it’s the middle of the night… They’re being blown about by the winds and the waves, and they can’t see…
Some of them who aren’t fishermen are out of their comfort zone… Probably adding to the panic… And Jesus is not with them… The one they trust the most!
How many of us can relate to a scenario like this? It’s the middle of the night and your worried about your finances… Your marriage… Your children… Your job… Your future… And you can’t see anything past the topic of worry!
Doesn’t everything seem worse in the middle of the night?
And when our minds go crazy at that time of night we feel all alone, and we definitely do not feel like Jesus is with us in that moment…
But look at this, and only in the Gospel of Mark does it say this…
Reread verse 48
Jesus saw they were in serious trouble… Rowing hard and struggling against the wind and the waves… It’s 3am… And what does it say Jesus did?
HE CAME TOWARD THEM!
I don’t know who needs to hear this today… But Jesus sees your struggle!
When we forget that Jesus is paying attention… When we think it’s just us against the world we get scared right? Our anxiety goes through the roof, and we do not see a way out…
When Job was in the midst of distress defending his life to God, he asks this question about God: Job 31:4: “Doesn’t He see everything I do and every step I take?”
And the answer is yes… God pays attention to every little detail of our life!!
In John 14 Jesus is explaining to the disciples that He has to leave… They don’t understand what He’s talking about, but He says this: John 14:18: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
Listen, some of us need to stop trying to row our way through the uncontrollable winds and waves of life and allow Jesus to come to us like He did that night with the disciples…
Remind ourselves of this story and create some dialogue with Jesus and ask Him about John 14:18, “Jesus where are you? I need you.”
When Jesus saw the disciples were in trouble how did He come to them?
Walking on the very problem they were dealing with and calming the very winds that were blowing them around!
And then He got in the boat with them, and the winds stopped… And the disciples were totally amazed!
Eventually, they reached their destination on the other side of the lake… With Jesus in the boat with them!
Too many of us are struggling trying to row through life’s storms and it’s getting tiring… We’re tired and we’re frustrated…
Maybe we’re even wondering where Jesus is… Well, He’s not on the shore yelling out instructions for you to listen to… And He’s not in heaven watching you struggle…
He’s trying to get into the boat with you, but you’re too focused on the storm and you don’t see Jesus!
I’ll end it with this…
Too many of us are wondering why Jesus is not helping us in our situation… But the fact of the matter is… We are not allowing Him to get into the boat with us!
Opposition, trials, storms… Winds of change… Can be dealt with in a way that makes us stronger and builds our testimony of how Jesus helped us during our storm.
Think of a kite… A kite cannot fly if there are no winds… The Gospel of restoration can be messy… Our lives can get messy… Life and the winds it brings can blow us around in a way we never wanted it too… And therefore it gets messy…
But if we invite Jesus into the boat with us… He can help us use those winds of change to grow and become stronger people…
In the same way that a kite uses the wind to go higher…
The story as told by John says this John 6:20-21: “Jesus called out to them, “Don’t be afraid. I amhere!” Then they were eager to let Him in the boat, and immediately they arrived at their destination!”
Jesus pays attention to every detail of our lives, and He will meet us in our hour of need…
If we trust Him and let Him in our boat, there’s no way it’s going to sink
God’s Song
Wishing to encourage her young son’s progress on the piano, a mother took her boy to a Paderewski concert. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her. Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a door marked “NO ADMITTANCE.” When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that the child was missing. Suddenly, the curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy was sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy’s ear, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.”Then, leaning over, Paderewski reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon, his right arm reached around to the other side of the child and he added a running obligato. Together, the old master and the young novice transformed a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was so mesmerized that they couldn’t recall what else the great master played – only the classic “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” That’s the way it is with God. What we can accomplish on our own is hardly noteworthy. We try our best, but the results aren’t exactly graceful flowing music. However, with the hand of the Master, our life’s work truly can be beautiful. Next time you set out to accomplish great feats, listen carefully. You can hear the voice of the Master, whispering in your ear, “Don’t quit. Keep playing.” Feel His loving arms around you. Know that His strong hands are there helping you turn your feeble attempts into true masterpieces. God doesn’t call the equipped; He equips the called, and He’ll always be there to love and guide you on to great things.