Sermon - Time To Die

Time to Die. It’s a morbid title. “Time to Die”. What’s that all about? It’s about getting out of the way to let someone more knowledgeable or more skillful handle the situation. It’s the husband who talks too much and realizes he needs to stop because his wife is kicking him under the table because he’s talking his foot into his mouth. It’s the child who finally realizes he should listen to what his father told him after being scolded about playing with active bee hives. It’s the Christian who reads her Bible and discovers she’s been doing it all wrong and needs to do what God has been telling her to do all along. ISA 55:8 "FOR MY THOUGHTS ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS, NEITHER ARE YOUR WAYS MY WAYS," DECLARES THE LORD. 9 "AS THE HEAVENS ARE HIGHER THAN THE EARTH, SO ARE MY WAYS HIGHER THAN YOUR WAYS AND MY THOUGHTS THAN YOUR THOUGHTS. It’s a lifelong realization. However it started in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve tended the garden, they were completely naked and it didn’t matter because they were centered on who God was and what He wanted. They were God centered. When the serpent deceived Eve and Adam sinned, there was a new realization. They were naked! Why? What’s the big deal? What had changed was a huge nature shift. Before they their nature had been God Centered, their world revolved around God, their purpose and meaning was defined by Him. After sin entered the world man was no longer God Centered at his nature, but rather Self Centered. When you get saved, your spirit becomes God centered, meaning the essence of your being. However, your soul or personality needs to be realigned everyday to be God centered. It’s this part of your body that Paul talks about when He says: GALATIANS 2:20 I HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST AND I NO LONGER LIVE, BUT CHRIST LIVES IN ME. THIS LIFE I LIVE IN THE BODY, I LIVE BY FAITH IN THE SON OF GOD, WHO LOVED ME AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR ME. LUKE 9:24

FOR WHOEVER WANTS TO SAVE HIS LIFE WILL LOSE IT, BUT WHOEVER LOSES HIS LIFE FOR ME WILL SAVE IT. Family, it’s time to die. Time to die to our understanding LU 15:11-32 – “The Prodigal Son” There are three characters, the son of wild living, the son of self and the father. We are more likely to believe that there are one because that one we attribute the name to is obviously astray. He’s quick to move to a place that gratifies his desires. He’s in it for the quick fix and the instant rush. Wild living, no standards. Most people think there’s only one prodigal son, but there are two. The son of wild living is openly disobedient, and that’s what we all look for in “prodigal” sons. It’s easy to pinpoint them and it makes sons of self feel comfortable because it makes us feel good about themselves. In those moments, sons of self feel like the Pharisee in LUKE 18:10-13. Sons of self are quick to point the finger. They’re quick to judge regardless of their own history of needing forgiveness. There the ones that go to the pastor or others and say, “Look at that!” “Someone needs to do something about her!” Or they’re quiet, and hold their judgments to themselves, yet never show the outward love that their victims desperately need. When we need to die to our understanding, we fall into those two categories. You either believe that the world exists to please you or you’re too prideful to reach out to it. Sometimes we’re both. The third character in the story is the father. The father represents right understanding. Most people want to be the father. The father ran, dishonored himself, humbled himself to love on the son of wild living. He didn’t condemn. His heart was to help and receive him home. To the son of self, the father saw the frustration, the contempt the pride of his son, overlooked it and still invited him to rejoice over his brother. Again, he didn’t condemn. He extended His love. The heart of the father was that He wanted to help. “How can I help?”, you can almost hear Him saying.

We need to take our judgments and our desires and kill them before God and let Him be our guide and our understanding. Time to die to our preferences. MARK 9:38 "TEACHER," SAID JOHN, "WE SAW A MAN DRIVING OUT DEMONS IN YOUR NAME AND WE TOLD HIM TO STOP, BECAUSE HE WAS NOT ONE OF US." 39 "DO NOT STOP HIM," JESUS SAID. "NO-ONE WHO DOES A MIRACLE IN MY NAME CAN IN THE NEXT MOMENT SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT ME, 40 FOR WHOEVER IS NOT AGAINST US IS FOR US. Hosea married a whore. Ezekiel laid down for a year and a half. Jesus put spit in a man’s face. ISA 55:8 "FOR MY THOUGHTS ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS, NEITHER ARE YOUR WAYS MY WAYS," DECLARES THE LORD. 9 "AS THE HEAVENS ARE HIGHER THAN THE EARTH, SO ARE MY WAYS HIGHER THAN YOUR WAYS AND MY THOUGHTS THAN YOUR THOUGHTS. Smith Wigglesworth "Every sermon that Christ preached was prefaced by a model miracle. We are going to follow His example. The first person in this large audience that stands up, whatever his or her sickness, I'll pray for that one and God will deliver him or her." And the first person to stand, even if they were the most deformed cripple, would be healed! On another typical occasion, a man came forward for prayer for stomach pain, and, commanding the pain to be gone, Wigglesworth punched the man in the stomach so hard that he was sent half-way across the room (completely healed)! This kind of thing happened more than once. Wigglesworth believed in COMMANDING the sick to be healed in Jesus' name. His was an aggressive, holy faith. He was a "violent" man, taking ground from the devil by force. And yet he was also a man of great compassion, as well as of great authority. The devil certainly felt it when Smith Wigglesworth hit town! A number of people were also raised literally from the dead under Smith's ministry. Here is his own account of one occasion: "My friend said, 'She is dead.' He was scared. I have never seen a man so frightened in my life. 'What shall I do?' he asked. You may think that what I did was absurd, but I reached over into the bed and pulled her out. I carried her across the room, stood her against the wall and held her up, as she was absolutely dead. I looked into her face and said, 'In the name of Jesus I rebuke this death.' From the crown of her head to the soles of her feet her whole body began to tremble. 'In the name of Jesus, I command you to walk,' I said. I repeated, 'In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, walk!' and she walked." (Pg 59) If Jesus appeared and acted as He did when He first came, would we accept Him?

If Lei starts overcharging for musubis and Jesus comes in and tips over her table and starts yelling at everyone, would He rock anyone’s boat here? People need to die to their preferences and live a life of faith that God is capable of much more than we expect or are comfortable with. MARK 9:38 "TEACHER," SAID JOHN, "WE SAW A MAN DRIVING OUT DEMONS IN YOUR NAME AND WE TOLD HIM TO STOP, BECAUSE HE WAS NOT ONE OF US." 39 "DO NOT STOP HIM," JESUS SAID. "NO-ONE WHO DOES A MIRACLE IN MY NAME CAN IN THE NEXT MOMENT SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT ME, 40 FOR WHOEVER IS NOT AGAINST US IS FOR US. Time to die to your perspective 1CO 13:1 ¶ IF I SPEAK IN THE TONGUES OF MEN AND OF ANGELS, BUT HAVE NOT LOVE, I AM ONLY A RESOUNDING GONG OR A CLANGING CYMBAL. 2 IF I HAVE THE GIFT OF PROPHECY AND CAN FATHOM ALL MYSTERIES AND ALL KNOWLEDGE, AND IF I HAVE A FAITH THAT CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS, BUT HAVE NOT LOVE, I AM NOTHING. 3 IF I GIVE ALL I POSSESS TO THE POOR AND SURRENDER MY BODY TO THE FLAMES, BUT HAVE NOT LOVE, I GAIN NOTHING. God made that love so you can only get it from one source and you can only use it for one thing. You cannot get it from anywhere except a relationship with God, and you can’t use it for anything except loving everyone regardless of who they are and what they’ve done. What Paul is bringing with this idea is that if we don’t embrace this love, wrap our lives around it and let it affect us, change us and determine who we are then we will be nothing. Embracing this love, wrapping our lives around it and letting it change us takes time. It takes investment. So basically, this point is about what your perspective is on life and what are you willing to do to get as much out of it as possible. You can either jump in to God and see how far God can take you, or you can be a resounding gong. Just a short burst of noise and then gone… that will represent your life. God has huge elaborate plans of your success, your prosperity. It’s His vision for your life. 1CO 2:9-10 HOWEVER, AS IT IS WRITTEN: "NO EYE HAS SEEN, NO EAR HAS HEARD, NO MIND HAS CONCEIVED WHAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM" BUT GOD HAS REVEALED IT TO US BY HIS SPIRIT. THE SPIRIT SEARCHES ALL THINGS, EVEN THE DEEP THINGS OF GOD.

They are completely reachable when we follow Him and trust in Him. God was dealing with me this week. He showed me how far He’s taken me in such a short amount of time. It’s not to my glory, because I made some really stupid mistakes in the past 10 years. But in the midst of my mistakes, God had me invest my life in the right places, and because of that, God was able to take me to a place I couldn’t believe was possible. Recently, I’ve stepped down my game. I was getting to a place where I was tempted to think: “I’ve made it. God, it’s been a great journey, we’ve come a long way, there probably isn’t much more to accomplish.” Most of you might be thinking, “What is my pastor thinking?!” The fact is this, sin makes you stupid. Forget drugs, sin kills brain cells. You don’t think right when you’re in sin. So God began to deal with me and said, “Damien, if I can take you where I took you at 27. Where do you think I can take you at 37 or 47 if you invest your life in the right place?” The fact is that we have dual lives. Auntie Laura version A and Auntie Laura version B, Lei version A and Lei version B. Version A is God’s best for you 10 years down the line. Financially stable, your ministry has grown more than you can possibly imagine. Your family is blessed and walking with the Lord the way He desires. Dream where only God can take you, and He will. Version B is you with nothing changed after 10 years. You’re still struggling with the same things, still trying to get by. If someone asked if you accomplished anything in the past 10 years, you would have little or nothing to show for it. The difference between version A and version B is what you do today; what you invest your life in today, what you serve and trust in today. Today you may not feel a change, but your commitment today will build on the commitment tomorrow and continue until you are version A. I’ve never met anyone who after wholeheartedly committed to living for God didn’t experience radical unspeakable blessings in their life over time.

We need to get out of the way, church.

God is totally and completely limited by our letting the self-centered areas of our life live. No one sees the miraculous in our life when we’re living for self. No one has ever seen help in addiction, relief from terrible circumstances or His peace overcoming our grief when we’re living for self. What areas in your life need to die? Does God have complete freedom to do what He wants to in you and around you, or does He need your seal of approval? Let’s die to self.

TITHES AND OFFERING MESSAGE

Time to die to our wisdom. MT 16:21 ¶ FROM THAT TIME ON JESUS BEGAN TO EXPLAIN TO HIS DISCIPLES THAT HE MUST GO TO JERUSALEM AND SUFFER MANY THINGS AT THE HANDS OF THE ELDERS, CHIEF PRIESTS AND TEACHERS OF THE LAW, AND THAT HE MUST BE KILLED AND ON THE THIRD DAY BE RAISED TO LIFE. 22 PETER TOOK HIM ASIDE AND BEGAN TO REBUKE HIM. "NEVER, LORD!" HE SAID. "THIS SHALL NEVER HAPPEN TO YOU!" 23 JESUS TURNED AND SAID TO PETER, "GET BEHIND ME, SATAN! YOU ARE A STUMBLING-BLOCK TO ME; YOU DO NOT HAVE IN MIND THE THINGS OF GOD, BUT THE THINGS OF MEN." 24 ¶ THEN JESUS SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES, "IF ANYONE WOULD COME AFTER ME, HE MUST DENY HIMSELF AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS AND FOLLOW ME. Peter based his reality on what he knew and saw with his eyes. That’s what people say with their money. If bills aren’t paid, then the tithe can go on the back burner because we can’t live on 90%. Notice God isn’t in a statement like that. The truth is that you can live on God. You not being faithful with your money only insures that you will never get out of your problem.