My Story Will Unexpected Moments and Opportunities

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October 29th 2023

Series:This is My Story – Missions Month 2023

Sermon Title:My Story Will Unexpected Moments and Opportunities

Key Passages: 2 Kings 4:1-7 Sermon Blurb: Missions Month 2023 is all about stories. Each week, we will learn from a bible story, a missionary story, and consider our own unique story. The hope of this series is that people will identify their faith story and share it with others!

Green in sermons means illustration, something we are looking for a response from, or a picture that goes on the screens.

Yellow means what is yellow will be on the screens and in the handout.

Sermon:

Hello Family Church!

Welcome to the FINAL week of Missions Month 2023!!!!!!!!!

Family Moment –

Dan / Steve we like to try and start our messages with something personal from our family life recently to help people get to know us.

Family Church, I pray you have been inspired by the stories of our missionaries and ministry partners that have been shared each week of October…

I also pray that you are now more motivated to share your story with others!

PAUSE

At Family Church, we LOVE Missions…and are involved with a variety of awesome ministries, both locally and all over the world.

You can learn more about our missionaries AND how you could be a part of a mission trip in 2024!

Details are online at www.familychurch.app/missions

PAUSE

This year, Missions Month has been all about STORIES.

About the reality that everyone has a story.

You, me, and everyone have a story!

And the incredible part about it, is no two stories are the exact same!

Your story is unique, personal, and powerful.

We are hoping that as you have seen these stories in the Bible…

And the stories of our missionaries…

That you have started to realize that God gives everyone a DIFFERENT story….

And that is great!

And our hope is that throughout this month, you have learned how to tell your story in ways that guide people toward Jesus!

PAUSE

Every week we have learned the stories of our missionaries and ministry-partners.

And then connected both of those to our own story as well.

PAUSE

Even those of you here today that think….

I do not have a story.

I have NOT done anything cool or big in life.

God has not shown up in some amazing way in my life.

Again, you and I have a story……

BUT…

The question is NOT if we have a story….

The only question is will we share out story….

PAUSE

So, let’s dive into this final Missions Month message.

PAUSE

Have you ever wanted to know the future?

Have you ever wanted to know things BEFORE they happen?

Wouldn’t it be beneficial to know things beforehand?

Wouldn’t life be less stressful or worrisome if we knew things beforehand?

And let’s be honest….

Wouldn’t it be a lot of fun to mess with people by telling them something is going to happen and EVERY time it does! LAUGH!

I can’t lie…

I would love to mess with my wife in the middle of our next argument be like, “I know what you’re going to say ____”

…and totally throw her off and win the argument! LAUGH!!!!

PAUSE

Unfortunately, we can’t predict the future.

We don’t know what will happen next, or how things will transpire for our own lives or others.

In fact, just the opposite is true!

What’s even more difficult than not KNOWING the future is that we can’t CONTROL the future!

We are quite limited when it comes to understanding and forecasting life.

PAUSE

And this can be especially difficult because life is FULL of surprises!

Unexpected things WILL happen.

…things outside of our control.

…things beyond our ability to understand.

…things that will be really hard to cope with.

…consequences to other people’s choices.

…disappointments from our own choices.

…redirections in life.

…tragedies will occur.

…and there are some good surprises along the way as well,

…like babies!

…an unexpected inheritance.

…an unlikely friendship.

…an unexpected job offer.

…a big year-end bonus or raise.

And so on…

PAUSE

The truth is our stories are FULL of twists and turns…

Our lives are filled with things that we have little to no control over.

That is just a fact of life.

What we DO have, however, is the ability to choose our response.

So, write this down,

I cannot predict or control life, but I can choose how I respond to life’s twists and turns.

Repeat

You and I will have unexpected moments in life…

And we can CHOOSE to respond to those moments.

And how we respond really matters.

Let me give you an easy example of this that I use with people all the time….

Let me ask you all a question and answer me….

Who is the ONLY person who can CHOOSE to pick up an offense?

Who is the ONLY person who can CHOOSE to pick up an offense?

ME!!!

YOU!!!

We all have a choice when someone says or does something bad to us…

We can CHOOSE to be offended and hurt…

OR we can CHOOSE to let it go and let God deal with it.

It is a CHOICE…

And how you choose to respond WILL impact your life!

PAUSE

Generally speaking… there are two approaches to how a person will live their life on earth.

Write this down:

People either live in the here and now OR live in then and there.

Repeat

Let me explain…..

This is about perspective.

This is about a person’s worldview.

This is about how a person perceives the purpose of life.

And ultimately, this is about how someone either believes or does not believe in life after death.

This is not exclusive to Christians…plenty of religions believe in an afterlife.

And some people don’t believe in anything after life on earth… which means they are fully living for and in the here and now.

PAUSE

“Here and now” means focusing on the things that are happening RIGHT NOW in life!

“There and then” means focusing on the things that MIGHT happen one day…

BUT the better way to think about life is this…write this down….

I am called to live IN the here and now AND live INTO the then and there.

Repeat

When unexpected things happen, we need to assess the situation with both earthly and eternal filters.

We have to consider both realities of life.

This is very much a perspective of balance.

Balancing our earthly life with our heavenly focus and ultimate destination.

PAUSE

That’s really the WHY behind our missionaries and ministry partners…

WHY they do what they do…

WHY they went ALL IN for a mission and purpose that is far greater than “making the world a better place.”

They realize what happens here matters ETERNALLY!

PAUSE

One of our missionaries who has gone ALL IN for a cause that is greater than here and now serves in the Amazon.

Jason and Krystina have devoted their entire lives to pouring into tribal people along the Amazon River.

They are 3rdgeneration missionaries who decided to build God’s eternal Kingdom through giving their earthly lives for the cause of Jesus Christ.

PAUSE

Jason and Krystina have had incredible fruit…

…translating and recording the Bible into indigenous languages

…developing effective Bible studies for tribal people

…and now, providing fresh water for hundreds of families!

And along the journey, God has presented opportunities that were unexpected.

To some, it would have felt like a setback, but through the eyes of faith, Jason and Krystina saw the variables as an open door… a new, more effective way to reach more people for Jesus.

PAUSE

Let’s hear about the unexpected moment turned to opportunity.

SCHURINGS VIDEO

PAUSE

The Schuring’s ministry was hit with an unexpected twist…

An uncontrollable situation…

BUT they saw it through God’s lens and leveraged the obstacle as an opportunity!

SO……. How about you?

Have you ever had unexpected moments in your life?

How did you respond to it?

Did it discourage you or dissuade you from something?

Did it reveal another opportunity or open a new door?

Did you seek God at that moment?

PAUSE

And maybe you are in that moment right now.

…a door seems to be shutting in your life,

…a relationship just ended,

…you had an unexpected redirection in life.

How will you respond to unexpected moments?

Will you fight or throw a fit about it OR will you trust and adjust?

Will you rely on earthly wisdom or lean into God’s perspective?

Will you get discouraged or let God leverage your obstacle for an opportunity?

And that question is in your notes for you to go and ponder…

How do I respond to unexpected moments in my life? ___________________________________________

And notice there is a blank line… that’s for you to write down your answer…now or later…..

Be honest.

How do you typically respond when changes occur, or interruptions happen, or uncontrollable circumstances hit your life?

What is your typical response or the way you responded before, write that down.

The old saying, “What do you do when life gives you lemons…”

PAUSE

But let’s probe a little deeper…

I want to nuance this a little and make it even more personal to your own story.

Look at your notes with me, write this down,

Will I trust and follow God no matter what happens?

REPEAT

Here again, be honest.

Will you trust and follow God when unexpected moments come?

Will you trust and follow God when it doesn’t make sense?

Will you trust and follow God when you don’t feel like it or others are telling you something else?

Will you trust and follow God when it would be easier to give up?

Will you trust and follow God when what God is asking you to give up something you love or change directions from something you’ve been pursuing?

And let me just say….

Each of these scenarios are real-life circumstances that I’d imagine many of you have walked through already in life.

PAUSE

Grab your Bible and flip to 2 Kings:4

Let’s look at an example in the Bible about how to correctly respond to life’s unexpected moments.

Let’s look at a woman who had to trust God…

A woman who had to follow orders that didn’t make much sense…

A woman who saw God come through for her!

2 Kings 4:1-7 The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

2 Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”

3 Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few.

4 Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

5 She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring.

6 When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

This woman and her kids had an “unexpected moment” in their life…

Her husband, their father, died.

There is NOTHING worse than an unexpected death…

And even worse, her husband had some debts that he left behind.

Perhaps he had intended to pay these debts off, but that’s the thing about death, it doesn’t care about your plans and comes suddenly.

PAUSE

So, this poor widow is navigating an unexpected and unfortunate moment in life….

It says she had very little…

It also is CLEAR that what she did have, was not enough.

What she had was lacking, incomplete, and didn’t offer a viable solution to her dilemma.

PAUSE

So, she’s facing a very difficult decision.

She has to pay off her deceased husband’s debt or she will likely lose everything she has….

It seems the only viable option is to sell her kids as servants.

Which was customary in that time… but still not ideal.

This was a last-ditch effort, a final option after you’ve exhausted all other options.

So, she’s trapped.

She has no control.

She has no resources.

She has no options.

PAUSE

But God knew all along what was going on.

And we don’t know if this woman had called out to God or not…

But God was reaching out to her…

And God arranged a divine appointment.

God created a circumstance within the circumstance.

God put Elisha in proximity to this woman in order for the opportunity to present itself.

PAUSE

And make sure you catch that for your life as well.

God may allow circumstances in your life that seem unfair or unexpected, but GOD will ALSO provide opportunities alongside the moments.

He doesn’t just let you suffer through, but He is actively engaged.

So, she notices the opportunity and captures the moment to call upon the man of God.

And why not?

After all, she has exhausted every other option and she is desperately trying to keep her kids from servitude.

So, perhaps in her faith, or maybe it is in her desperation, but she approaches Elisha.

She works her final connection; she calls in a favor.

PAUSE

Now, I can’t say for sure, but here’s what I think

I think in she sought human solutions first.

We can see that with Elisha, she is seeking the human solution…

She is working her network…

She is trying to find a practical solution to her situation.

The same thing any of us would do!

We tend to look to people first…

Or we try to fix it ourselves!!

I confess I’ve done that before.

I have faced unexpected moments or uncontrollable circumstances and tried to make sense of it myself.

I’ve leaned into human wisdom…

I’ve tried to work my network…

I have even tried to force things…

But life has taught me to go to God FIRST.

And let me be clear….

It is NOT wrong or even sinful to talk with people or seek human counsel…

In fact, God often asks people to seek out other people to accomplish things…

God uses people to do His great work

BUT make sure you aren’t looking at yourself or others FIRST.

People are only a resource; God is the Source.

We have to seek God first in all things.

PAUSE

And this is what Elisha helps her do!

This man of God turns the focus back to God by creating an opportunity for God to do what only God can do.

Elisha sets the stage for this woman to demonstrate whether she will trust and follow God or not.

And God often does this in our lives as well.

He allows circumstances in our lives to reveal if we will trust and follow Him or not.

PAUSE

Look at verse 3 in your Bible….

Notice in verse 3 that Elisha sees the situation for what it really is…

He acknowledges she does NOT have enough jars to remedy the situation!

Just like you and me…

Sometimes we won’t have the wisdom, ability, connections, or strength to correct our problems.

Don’t be afraid to acknowledge the situation for what it really is.

You don’t have to make light of difficult situations.

Call it what it is.

PAUSE

Elisha discerns the moment and says, “Here’s what you need to do… go to all your neighbors and ask to borrow the jars they have!”

Now, I don’t know about you… but that sounds like an odd response to the woman’s situation.

I’d imagine this woman was thinking, “What? Why? That doesn’t fix my problem… why would I do that?”

It is a little strange right?

I mean, why not just perform a miracle… or at least give a more sensible idea Elisha!!!

PAUSE

BUT…….. God had a purpose.

God was testing her faith and teaching us how essential faith is!

Because faith isn’t predicated on what we see or understand… faith is built upon trusting God even when it doesn’t make sense.

God is preparing to reveal Himself as the solution and provider…

He is going to show her that He is the SOURCE and all she needs.

And we need to notice, that she doesn’t resist or argue but does what he said.

NO matter how CRAZY it seems!

PAUSE

Look at verse 5 in your Bible….

Mom and the boys grab the jars, bring them to their home, close the door… and start emptying their small vessel of oil into the first jar.

And as they pour, they notice something remarkable happening… something that only GOD could do.

They realize that the little amount of oil they had, began multiplying…

That it literally filled up the larger vessel, and then another, and then another…

…until ALL the borrowed vessels were filled to the top!

PAUSE

The same family who had nothing now has abundance.

This same woman who was facing foreclosure…

This woman who was about to sell her kids off as servants in order to pay off debt,

who had made a desperate plan,

who had done everything in her power to solve the problem,

she turns to God, obeys the word of the Lord, and God shows up in a marvelous way!

PAUSE

And look at verse 7 again,

7 She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

Do you see what happened here?

Not only did God meet her immediate needs, but also secures her future!

The same jars she borrowed from her neighbors; she is now going to sell the oil back to them to keep them out of future debt!

PAUSE

What a powerful story, but also a powerful promise!!!!!

God did that for her, and He can do it for you!

When unexpected moments come, and they will, how you respond will determine how God can respond.

God responds to faith.

God responds to trust.

God responds to dependence.

God responds to loving obedience.

In fact, that is the one thing I want you to take away from this message… if you don’t get anything else, get this.

God responds to our loving obedience.

Write that down

God responds to my loving obedience.

Repeat

You don’t have to know it all… in fact, you won’t know it all!

You don’t have to overwork to make it happen.

You don’t have to rely on your own ability or strength.

You don’t have to depend on worldly insights or strategies always.

You don’t have to stress or strain in any way.

All you have to do is seek God and respond to His directions.

Obey what He says.

Do what He commands.

Follow through with His plan or strategy, even when it makes no sense to you.

PAUSE

God tells us in

1 Samuel 15:22, “….to obey is better than sacrifice…”

Jesus echoes this same attitude when we are facing life’s unexpected moments.

John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

So, don’t fear the unexpected moments, don’t stress about the twists and turns, don’t lose sleep regarding the ups and downs, and don’t give up when discomfort and even tragedy come your way

Because God has a way of turning even obstacles into opportunities.

Turning messes into masterpieces.

Using everything that comes your way to move you forward into His good plan!

So, while we live in the here and now, let’s keep our focus on the then and there… keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.

Keep our hearts in tune with heaven.

Keep our purpose aligned with God’s.

Let’s trust Him and obey what He says.

LIFE APPLICATION: My story will have unexpected moments. How could I allow God to turn these moments into opportunities to shape my story and impact the lives of others as well? I Will: ________________________________