Serving in the Midst of Surviving
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· 35 viewsServing and growing in dry wilderness seasons
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Introduction
Introduction
We all go through hard and difficult times in our walk with God.
Times when God feels distant
The Heavens feel like brass
We feel dry, empty, tired, unconnected, distant, and many other variations of similar ways
Some people call this a dry season, or a spiritual winter, or a wilderness period. Some refer to it as the Dark Night of the Soul.
Whatever we call it, it is a difficult and trying experience.
Other times, we may just be going through an exceptionally busy and difficult time in life.
We find ourselves being so busy that matters of faith seem to take a backseat and we begin to stagnate spiritually.
Speaking on these types of seasons Sara Hagerty wrote that “A tree doesn’t survive the winter without healthy roots. Neither do we.”
I remember one time walking through my neighborhood after a tornado and seeing this great big tree that had been uprooted and fallen over onto the house it had been growing next to. It was such a big tree that I was surprised it had been uprooted. especially since so many much smaller trees seemed untouched by the storm. then I noticed that this great big tree had very small roots for such a big tree.
The fact is, no matter how big strong and healthy a tree looks from the ground up, if it doesn’t have strong healthy roots that dig deep into good soil, it is actually weak and easy to topple.
We are like trees in this regard.
In any area of life, if we aren’t planted on a firm foundation with deep and healthy roots, we won’t survive the storms that come into our lives.
This is especially true in our relationships, especially those relationships that are the most important.
This is why so many marriages fall apart when things get hard and why so many walk away from their faith when life throws them curve balls.
But it isn’t just the storms of life that are such a danger to our relationships, often the stagnation of a busy humdrum life that leaves us feeling disconnected can be just as fatal to our relationships.
we get disconnected and begin to drift apart emotionally. The connection feels like it isn’t there anymore. and in a modern culture that doesn’t value commitment and overemphasizes emotions people choose to walk away instead of persevering.
When this happens in natural relationships it is a terrible thing, but how much worse when it is in our relationship with God.
This is what I felt God put on my heart for this morning. How do we serve in the midst of surviving.
When life has us on the ropes and we are struggling to simply make it through life and take care of the basic essentials. How do we find a way to stay connected to God so we don’t stagnate spiritually and allow our roots to wither and weaken and become less firmly planted in the good soil that is our foundation.
We say we want revival and we are always looking forward to that next spiritual mountaintop experience, but what do we do if and when Revival tarries.
when we are looking for that next mountaintop experience, but we are lost in the deep shadows of the valley.
It is for times like these that we have been given spiritual disciplines.
Practical things that we can do to strengthen our walk with God even when we don’t feel the excitement and emotional goosebumps.
Revival, whether individual or corporate, comes as a sovereign move of God. We can’t force it or make it happen on our own. It is by grace and grace alone.
But we can and must do some work to properly position ourselves for it, if we want it to come.
Its like one of my favorite Bible verses. “Work out your salvation,,,, purpose.”
We are totally reliant on God and His grace, but we must also cooperate with that grace and put our hand to the plow.
When you study the history of revivals, you find certain patterns of what the churches that experienced revival did to position themselves for revival.
First among these are intense prayer for revival and seeking God’s face.
There is also A burden for personal and corporate repentance and personal holiness.
a desire to see their community touched and changed by the power of the gospel.
Before revival comes there is an intense hunger and yearning for God that works itself out through various actions on the part of those seeking revival. These actions prepare the way for revival and position the recipients to receive it.
In the same way, we as individuals can practice spiritual disciplines to prepare us for a move of God in our lives.
They strengthen us spiritually and grow our roots deeper into Christ the foundation of our faith.
we exercise these disciplines even when we don’t feel like it, that is why they are disciplines.
When the well has run dry, that is the best time to dig the well deeper.
Just like a marriage we have to be faithful and pursue our loved one even when we don’t feel like it, or our emotions just aren’t there.
Love isn't just an emotion. True love runs deeper than that.
Psalm 63:1-11
Psalm 63:1-11
When God gave me this message, I prayed and said well that's good and all, but you have got to give me some scripture if this is going to be my sermon. It isn’t a sermon without scripture, its just a useful self-help message.
so he gave me Psalm 63.
Psalm 63:title–11 (ESV)
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. 1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. 3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; 7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. 9 But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; 10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals. 11 But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
David wrote this Psalm when he was in the wilderness.
I believe that it can give us insight into how we can also thrive while in our own wilderness
1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
I think the first and most valuable thing we can all learn from David is his passion and love for God.
In all of our Christian life the most important thing is our love for God.
Theology is great but it pales next to our love for Him and our experience of being loved by Him.
Ministry and good works are great but they are nothing next to simply loving and being loved by Him.
Our love for Him, and more importantly His love for us, is the entire foundation of our salvation and walk with God.
Everything we do needs to be born out of that place of longing for Him.
Sometimes, though, we may not feel that passion and zeal,
But just like in our marriages and other relationships we do not rely simply on those emotions. Our love is deeper than that.
If we are seeking God and we don’t feel that passion and zeal, start there. Pray that God will awaken your heart and your emotions to love Him more deeply.
That should be the deepest prayer of our hearts. God help me to love you more.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory.
stay faithful in church attendance
Just like you can’t quit going home to your spouse and family because you feel dry and tired, you can’t quit coming to the house of God.
When you forsake the assembly of the brethren you set yourself up for failure and for a painful fall.
In fact it is during these trying times that we need the body of Christ more than ever, which is why the devil will try extra hard to drive you away.
We are a body and we need each other to function properly
we need to lift one another up and encourage each other.
If you see a brother or sister struggling it is your responsibility and privilege to lift them up and help them carry the burden.
David says “beholding your power and glory”
we come to church and behold his glory
we also need to stay faithful in the exercise of our spiritual gifts
If you want to be filled, the best thing you can do is continue to pour out into others.
Whether you have a gift like prophecy or teaching, or whether it is serving and compassion. use your gift faithfully.
Go to the House of God. Sit under the anointing. use your gifts and minister faithfully.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you.
Focus and meditate on His love for you
The Bible says we love because He first loved us.
His love is the catalyst for our love
As we come to know and to experience His love for us in new and deeper ways, it draws us deeper and in love with Him and makes us more like Him.
Being rooted in His love is the key to getting through wilderness periods.
One practical thing we can do is to pray the scripture, Ephesians 3 has a great prayer for this very situation.
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
We need to know the love of God for us, but to know it with more than just our heads, We need to experience His love in a deep and profound way.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.
Praise and worship Him
One way we come to experience God’s love and stir our own love for Him is to spend time in worship.
When we worship God we draw into a unique place of intimacy with Him.
We are drawn closer together and He is magnified in our hearts and we come to love Him even more and are reminded of our love for Him and the reasons why we love Him.
We may not initially feel like worshipping, but if we can push through and encounter the presence of God all reluctance will melt away.
Worship is far more powerful than we tend to know and understand. It doesn’t just bring our hearts into proper alignment, it is a type of warfare and can bring spiritual breakthrough.
There is a reason that the worshippers would lead the soldiers into battle in Israel.
listen to worship as you drive, when you are getting ready in the morning, whenever you can find time.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, 6 when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
Meditate on Him day and night
Fill your mind with thoughts of Jesus
Make time to have a “quiet time” each day.
Make time for the word of God, If you can’t find time to read then listen to the Bible as someone else reads it,
Make use of technology
listen to the Bible, listen to sermons, podcasts, Christian audiobooks , etc.
Most spiritual warfare takes place in the mind. Most spiritual growth is linked to the renewing of your mind. We can’t overemphasize the importance of winning the battle of your mind and filling it with godly material to renew and transform your mind.
7 for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
Remember the times He has been faithful and taken care of you
As you meditate, meditate on the many ways that God has been good and faithful to you.
Throughout the Bible God had the Israelites build memorials to help them remember His mighty works on their behalf. And for centuries whenever Israel would be facing a new hardship or be struggling with their faithfulness, God would direct them back to the Exodus and His previous deliverance of them as a people.
8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.
Persistently and tenaciously cling to Him
Don’t give up, Don’t let your love grow cold. Cling to Him
9 But those who seek to destroy my life shall go down into the depths of the earth; 10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword; they shall be a portion for jackals.
In these verses David is confident of deliverance from his enemies
The NT reveals to us that the greatest enemy Christ has delivered us from is the enemy of sin and death.
He has delivered us from the power of darkness
Confession is another powerful discipline for living the Christian life. Especially during a wilderness season.
Sin entangles us and separates us from God. Confession and repentance cleanses us and restores our right standing with Him.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God; all who swear by him shall exult, for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
The King shall rejoice in God.
Celebration is an oft neglected spiritual discipline.
Throughout the OT God ordained times of celebration for His people.
There were a great many festivals and feasts to celebrate the goodness of God and the Israelites covenant relationship with Him
Our heart and our emotions were all made to glorify Him.
We are meant to exult in Him and to find our joy in Him.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Ultimately we rely completely on the grace of God for every spiritual blessing, but that does not exempt us from the responsibility of co-laboring with Him
If we expect to grow in faith, to make it through wilderness seasons, to experience revival individually or corporately we must do our part to feed our spirits and to position ourselves to receive His grace.