Overflow - Week 1

OVERFLOW

Week 1

November 13, 2022

Greet

Welcome

First Time

PRAY

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GOD’S PLANS ARE NOT DEPENDENT ON MEN.

If you’re worried today about what God can do depending on what who is in power remember: GOD’S PLANS ARE NOT DEPENDENT ON MEN.

SCRIPTURE MUST THE LENS OF OUR LIFE.

The Bible illuminates who God is. The stories of his faithfulness, power, the miracles of Christ are not recorded to excite wonder, they exist to reveal who God is.

In doing so we’ll endeavor to be bold and courageous to do what he has called us to do.

RENEW YOUR MIND DAILY

The world has one way of living, but God has a different way for you to live.

Since you have lived the way the world has lived for so long, your mind needs to be renewed, rewired, and retrained. AND THIS IS A DAILY PRACTICE.

SO, we’re going to have to build up new pathways in our brains through reading God’s word, praying and spending time in his presence, and then building new God-honoring habits. As we do so, our minds will be renewed. And I believe in an anxious chaotic world we will experience and be people of peace.

Our peace comes from him. Our assurance comes from him. There’s nothing that our God can’t do.

As we come into the busiest time of all of our year, we have to remember the importance of daily renewing our minds.

I walk around stores hearing the Christmas music already playing and hearing the song It’s the most wonderful of the year, and for so many of us, it’s the most stressful time of the year.

You’re going to overextend yourself physically

You might be spending more money than you want to

You might have to go to family get-togethers and sit across the dinner table from “that cousin or that uncle” you know the one who blows up the whole dinner by arguing about stuff none of you can control, or really even fully understand.

So many of us … our schedules are getting busier and busier, and we’re going faster and faster every single week until the end of the year.

Overwhelmed—Anxious all have do—Enough hours day. Squeeze more—Fastest line—Busy multitask restroom—Buz.

For some the holidays we’re not just rushed—Occasionally/Often disappointed in life? Something’s missing?

I’m just too busy.

Busy—No time what love—Who love.

What if I told you: The greatest enemy to the life you want may be the life that you’re living.

The pace you’re going, the things that you’re giving your time and attention to. The things that are pulling at you, and people, and add the holidays to it, and you feel like you’re going to burst, and you wonder how am I going to do it all and keep my salvation, my sanity, my relationships intact?

I’ve got one word for you:

Here’s how you can change the cycle

REST.

In the middle of chaos, you’re going to rest.

As we jump in today, we’re going to look at a few different pieces of scripture, but we’re going to start in Hebrews 4.

And this notion of rest is what the writer of Hebrews is stressing to his readers in Chapter 4

Hebrews 4

Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.  

The writer begins chapter four with the word Therefore: The idea is carried on without pause from Hebrews 3, that unbelief kept the generation that escaped Egypt from entering Canaan. The promise remains of entering His rest, and we can enter into that rest by faith. Unbelief will make us fall short of the rest God has for us. But there’s still the opportunity for salvation.

If you remember, we talked about how God waited out an entire generation of Israelites following their exodus from Egypt because their hearts were not toward him. They were disobedient, and they did not root themselves in God. Moses took too long up on the mountain talking to God at one point, that the people asked Aaron to take all of their jewelry to make a golden calf statue.

THEY MADE IT.

WITH THEIR OWN JEWELRY.

There was no power in it. But they were afraid, and were looking for something to anchor themselves to, and because they weren’t anchoring themselves to God, they make these kinds of decisions.

The truth is, your soul is looking for something to anchor to as well. And if you don’t intentionally anchor yourself to God, you will go about this life anchoring yourself to anything else you can find that will pacify what you feel.

YOUR LIFE WILL DRIFT WITHOUT AN ANCHOR.

I think it’s magnified in the holiday season, but it’s true at all times.

Here’s the deal:

Your heart is broken from a relationship – instead of anchoring to God and allowing him to heal you, you become a serial dater.

You’re insecure about what you bring to the table so rather than anchoring yourself to God and allowing him to affirm your value, you find your value or lack thereof in your career or material success.

Maybe you don’t want to deal with shame or hurt from the past, and rather than anchoring yourself to God, and allowing him to heal your shame, you anchor yourself to a substance or an unhealthy habit…

But the effectiveness of that thing begins to wane, and you find yourself drifting… constantly running, working, and looking for a place to anchor your soul…

Where we place our trust matters, not just for eternity, but for everyday.

The rest that we’re talking about is not just eternal rest, but everyday rest.

3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,

“As I swore in my wrath,

‘They shall not enter my rest,’”

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said,

“They shall not enter my rest.”

6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts.”

8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his.

Wow.

I think some of us need to take these words that were quoted from David, that David wrote over 3000 years ago…

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts.”

DON’T WAIT TO REST.

What you’re doing will be more effective, and more inspired on the other side of resting.

If you hear the voice of God. Take it seriously, be obedient, what he has for you is so much better than what you have for you. The quicker we get that into our bones, the better off we’ll be.

But in order to hear his voice, so often we need to come to a place of rest, so that we can slow down and hear it.

This rest we’re talking about is in a person – in Jesus Christ, more than in doctrines and ideas. It’s spending time with Jesus. It’s not just the absence of work or duties, but the priority of communion with God.

I think about my children in this passage. If you meet a troubled, crying child and try to comfort them and give them rest using ideas and logic, it won’t do much good. But when their parent comes, the child is relieved, they feel safety, and are able to continue on.

The same is true for us.

There are so many ideas… so many methods… so many processes of rest, but the reality is true rest for your soul is found in one person. JESUS. That rest is eternal, and present.

Jesus the Great High Priest

14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 

16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Let us draw near to the one who sympathizes with us…

Empathy says… I can see your situation is hard, and I feel bad for you.

Sympathize - soom-path-eh'-o – It doesn’t mean that he feels bad for us, it means to suffer along with us. HE IS WITH US.

IN THE BUSY. CHAOTIC. PAINFUL. HARD. HE IS WITH YOU.

NOT BECAUSE YOU CAN DO SO MUCH, BUT BECAUSE OF HOW HE SEES YOU AND VALUES YOU.

What a remarkable gift. A God who suffers with us. Who feels our pain. Knows our concerns. And chooses to stay with us.

I think about our own responses, and for so many of us, when something is stressful or hard look for the fastest way out.

Jesus says, “I’m with you until the end.”

Jesus says, “I’ve endured what you’re feeling. I lived on earth, too. I know the pain that exists. I did it without failing. Let me help you.”

Your salvation can’t be earned.

Your value on earth isn’t dictated by your performance.

Stop trying to make your own way.

Quit forcing your way.

REST IN ME

WALK IN THE PATH THAT I HAVE CLEARED FOR YOU.

So the writer continues on and said,

“16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

Other translations say Let us boldly come before the throne of grace!!

Boldly!

Boldly does not mean proudly, arrogantly, or with presumption.

· Boldly means we may come constantly.

· Boldly means we may come without reservation.

· Boldly means we can come freely, without fancy words.

· Boldly means we can come with confidence.

· Boldly means we should come with persistence.

We can come AS WE ARE.

Boldly we can come to God and rest in his presence. We don’t have to earn our way there, but we’ve been given access to him, freely.

Let’s jump over to Luke 10.

And Jesus is trying to help 2 women understand this point during his time of ministry on earth. Their names are Mary and Martha… and they are Lazarus’ sisters. Lazarus is Jesus’ friend whom Jesus later raises from the dead 4 days after he died.

But in this story in Luke, Jesus is stressing the importance of being over doing.

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Luke 10:38-42

38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 

Okay… in the room… some of us will be Mary, sitting at Jesus’ feet, and some of us will be Martha, doing all the work.

I’m not going to ask you to raise hands for fear of judgmental glances, but Martha is stunned.

Jesus is over at their house. There is much to do to make it all perfect. There is much to do to prepare. To get ready. To make everything perfect.

And Mary is just sitting there.

And Martha cannot believe it. So rather than pulling Mary aside, she outs her in front of Jesus and asks him to tell her to get her behind to work.

This is how right Martha thinks she is. She’s asking Jesus to make Mary work. She believes she is so right.

And what happens next has to stun her…

41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Jesus is saying… settle down… come sit and listen to me. Mary’s doing the thing that will feed her soul.

Mary is drawing near to the one who be her strength.

In our culture there are so many Martha’s running around…

Anxious and troubled about many things. Trying to control every outcome.

And I’m afraid, that in our fast-paced culture, we’ve lost value for the response of Mary.

“I know there’s dishes in the sink, I know there’s mail on the table, I know the kids have destroyed the living room, but I’m going to pause, renew my mind, and rest in God’s presence.”

I’m afraid that we’ve lost our value for this response, because it’s something I needed a reminder from the Lord on this week.

This week I was overwhelmed… I mean… busssssyyyy. Working late into the night on stuff for the church, late into the night on some of my masters’ assignments. I dropped balls this week. I got stuff done later than I promised, and if I’m honest a few years ago it would’ve killed me.

I’m someone who makes it a priority to be punctual, to try to deliver what I promise on time. Clearly, I don’t always hit the mark, but for years my ability to do this well or not do this well really shaped how I viewed my identity.

I divulged last week that I was a recovering control freak… In some ways, I’m also a recovering work-aholic.

Now, here’s the deal… working hard is not a bad thing.

In fact, I believe working hard is biblical. I believe it is a gift from God.

Colossians 3:23-24, ESV

23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

IF you’ve got a heartbeat, God has a plan and purpose for your life today, so lets get after it! I really believe that. Whatever you do, do it well, with zeal, gusto, effort. If you’re a teacher, be the best teacher you can be, if you’re a mechanic, be the best mechanic, if you’re a secretary, be the best secretary, whatever you do, strive to do your best with what God has gifted you and given you the ability to do!

BUT… what you do does not determine who you are. Only God determines that.

That second part of verse 23 is MASSIVE.

23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,

GOD DETERMINES YOUR VALUE. YOUR LIFE IS FOR HIM.

He calls you his son’s and his daughters. And your performance does not persuade him to love you more or love you less.

And while I believe wholeheartedly in working hard, there is a time to work, and a time to rest.

God modeled this for us when he created the UNIVERSE. 6 days he worked, and on the 7th he rested. Do you think that he rested because he was tired, or do you think he rested to give us an example?

He loved humanity enough to say, this is the path to health and sustainability… So as the CREATOR, I’m going to slow down for you.

Here’s what he modeled WORK HARD and REST. Don’t do one without the other.

And so this week, while it was so busy, there were 1000 things that needed done, and about 473 things that still need to be done, I made it a priority to insert some rest. But not of my genius.

On Wednesday… I was working, and was on my way to get an errand done, and as I was, I just had this urge to go take a walk.

And I can remember being like… no way. I’ve got entirely too much to do to give 45 minutes to a walk right now. But it was almost like my heart and mind wouldn’t let me do anything else. That was the Holy Spirit.

And remember what we read earlier from David’s words:

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts.”

When God speaks… respond in obedience.

So, after I finished what I was doing, I drove out to Hermen Woodlands, and began to walk.

Now if I’m honest, my mind was racing with all of the stuff I still had to get done. And I was not sure what I was preaching on still for Sunday, and I remember just seeing this bench along the trail, so I decided to sit down.

And I started to pray, and I remember as I was praying about everything that needed to be done, the story of Mary and Martha came to my mind. And I sensed this phrase come across my mind, and I believe it was from the Lord that just said, “You’re too busy not to sit.”

You’re too busy not to sit.

So counterintuitive to our cultural norm. so counterintuitive to the way I’ve operated for so many years.

But in that moment, I realized how true it is, and how much I needed that reminder. And I have a sneaking suspicion that you do too.

You’re too busy not to sit at the feet of Jesus.

If you’re a mom, a dad, a husband, a wife, a sister, a brother, a friend, a co-worker, a human being, your life is too busy, and your calling is too important, to not sit for a while and listen for God’s voice.

It’s too important for you to not sit and rest in God’s presence.

Especially in the moments where you feel overwhelmed.

My walk lasted 45 minutes… and honestly, it was the most productive, helpful, and energizing 45 minutes I had to that point this week. Why? Because I released control, and spent time resting. And the Lord strengthened me.

Honestly, it set the tone for the days that followed. Instead of working from a scarcity mentality, I worked from a place of peace, remembering that the work I am doing, is the work of God, but that work doesn’t define me. What God says about me is who I am.

And guess what… in a busy, chaotic world, we can lose sight of who we are if we’re not anchored to God. And when we’re not anchored, we’ll begin to drift.

So make it a priority to spend time resting in God’s presence.

We make time for what we care about. We make time for what matters most.

The solution to your rest problem is not more time.

The solution is more of what matters most.

MAKE TIME FOR WHAT MATTERS MOST.

And as I say that, so many of you are probably responding in your minds with, well I have to find the time. “Tyler you don’t understand how busy my schedule is, how many things I have going on.”

You’re right, I don’t know your specific schedule. What I do know is that the average American… AVERAGE. NOT YOUR 13 YEAR OLD NEICE… SPENDS 894 hours on social media – 37 days of your life a year scrolling!!!!!! “I don’t have time to pray… I don’t have time to study scripture” You literally spend 894 hours a year comparing your life to someone elses!!!

NOT SOCIAL MEDIA? Maybe it’s TV: Netflix, the news, sports, whatever…

The average person watches about 141 hours of TV per month or 1,692 hours per year.

The average guy will play 10,000 hours of video games by the time they’re 21. They say it takes 10,000 hours to become a master of your trade, well we’ve probably got some COD masters in this room.

But what is all of that time spent, social media, television, video games, whatever adding to your soul?

What if the greatest enemy to the life you want is the life you’re living?

Some of you are like “What should I do about it?”

Well, I’m not going to give you a lot to do. I’m going to give you encouragement to rest… to rest in God’s presence.

We make time for what we care about. We make time for what matters most.

So, I truly believe your best life is on the other side of resting in God. Don’t hesitate, anchor yourself to God by spending time resting in his presence.

Praying, reading scripture, inviting him to speak to you. And when you hear his voice, respond! Don’t harden your hearts to it.

Let me leave you with this: I love the way the MSG translation puts this from Jesus.

Matthew 11:28-30, MSG

28-30 “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

For so many of us, we need to remember God is on your side, he is not against you, and he wants to offer you rest.

Make time for what matters most. Don’t delay: REST.

Let’s pray together.

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