4_7_2024 - “Convinced - Part 1”

(Opening Prayer)

(Back From Sabbatical)

We are so glad to be back from our 8-week Sabbatical that began February 7th and concluded on April 2nd!

It was a great time away, but we have missed you more than I can say!

(What is a Sabbatical?)

A Sabbatical is common in the pastoring world.

An extended Sabbath is the idea. The focus is on intentionally taking time to be poured into by the Lord and to rest.

We spent extra amounts of time practicing the spiritual disciplines of study, reflection, biblical meditation, worship, prayer, journaling, etc.

We slept a lot.

We spent time together as a family.

It is also normal for pastors to spend time in counseling.

My wife and I spent two weeks known as an “Intensive” with the AGAPE Hope team.

An “intensive” is two-weeks, Monday-Thursday, with two 75 minute sessions back to back (2-5pm) a day.

That is 1,200 minutes in two weeks or 20 hours.

It was intense and so good for us.

(Why Take a Sabbatical?)

A study was conducted a few years concerning the most intense professions in America.

Pastoring was number three on the list behind Law Enforcement and Trauma Doctors.

My wife and I have begun our 19 year in ministry and had never taken a Sabbatical.

Our leadership cares about us and offered us the opportunity to take a Sabbatical and we said ‘yes.”

I am grateful for our leadership, their heart for us, and their heart for you.

I am eternally grateful for the lessons that I learned during these past 8 weeks.

(What Now?)

I know for many of you the word “Sabbatical” is a dirty word because you have seen pastors come back from Sabbatical and resign.

I understand the apprehension that you feel.

In fact, when we pastored in Chinook (the church before Central) we had come in on the heels of a pastor who had gone on Sabbatical and then resigned.

When we came to Central Assembly we came in on the heels of a pastor who had gone on Sabbatical and then resigned, so it is not an unwarranted expectation.

I would say to you, that we should always be wanting to do what God wants and if that is the case we should rejoice that they heard from the Lord and said, “yes.”

However, I want you to know that we are not going anywhere!

In fact, the Lord has clearly spoken to us that we should not make any plans to leave Central Assembly.

Our love and heart for you has only grown.

I dream of a day when I can say I was at Central longer than Pastor Alan!

(Sermon Introduction)

As we were preparing to return I felt the Lord direct me to pause our Mark series for a few weeks to share with you some of what the Lord has done and shared with me during my time away.

Today and next week, I want to share what the Lord has done in my life through this two month Sabbatical and look at the Scriptures together.

I have entitled these next two weeks “Convinced - Part 1” and “Convinced - Part 2.”

Welcome to “Convinced - Part 1.”

(1. Intentional Self-Care Is Not Optional)

1 Corinthians 10:12–13 (NLT)

12 If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall.

13 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.

Only intentionality can prevent burnout.

Smokey the Bear: “Only you can prevent forest fires.” Only you can prevent burnout in you.

You cannot trust yourself to identify burnout before it happens if you are unaware of where you are at every moment.

Self-awareness is mandatory if burnout is to be avoided.

“Burnout drift” is always happening faster than the unintentional observer can observe.

Self-care is not a season but a lifestyle.

Preventative care is about preserving my heart not my hands.

In other words, our Father cares more about you than what you do and we should too.

(2. Ministry Is Not Life, Life Is Ministry)

Colossians 3:17 (NLT)

17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:23–24 (NLT)

23 Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

24 Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the Master you are serving is Christ.

Ministry is not who I am, Jesus is my Life and He ministers to all that I call life.

Ministry is not who I am but what I do.

Life is what I am called to live.

Ministry is how I live my life not how I make a living.

A good friend of mine told me recently, “When I enter heaven I will throw the title, ‘pastor”’in the wastebasket of heaven as Jesus is the only ‘Pastor’ in heaven.”

I am called to be a follower of Jesus and pastoring is only one way that I am doing that at the moment.

It is not the only way I am being used.

(3. We Care Too Much & Not Enough)

Colossians 3:2 (NLT)

2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.

Hebrews 12:1–2 (NLT)

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, 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.

2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.

Eugene H. Peterson’s Commentary on Hebrews 12:1-2

Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on?

It means we’d better get on with it.

Strip down, start running—and never quit!

No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins.

Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in.

Study how he did it.

Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever.

And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.

When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through.

That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

We often care too much about the things that God does not care about and far too little about what He does.

(4. Life Is Meant To Be Savored)

Mark 1:35–41 (NLT)

35 Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.

36 Later Simon and the others went out to find him.

37 When they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

38 But Jesus replied, “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.”

39 So he traveled throughout the region of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and casting out demons.

40 A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said.

41 Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!”

Life moves fast, walk slowly.

Rod Loy story from September 2019.

Don’t hurry past where you are but take a minute to smell what God is cooking.

God is a crockpot God in a microwave world.

Don’t savor what God is cooking alone.

(5. Control Belongs To God Alone)

Proverbs 16:9 (NLT)

9 We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.

Proverbs 19:21 (NLT)

21 You can make many plans, but the Lord’s purpose will prevail.

Colossians 1:17 (NLT)

17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.

Power and Control are kryptonite in the hands of anyone but God.

Whenever there are weak men (humble men) there are always strong men (proud men) waiting to seize control.

Hold the weight of responsibility with trembling hands and never tightly lest it become your taskmaster and you find yourself a slave.

(6. Walking In the Spirit)

John 15:4–5 (NLT)

4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.

Galatians 5:16–17 (NLT)

16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves.

17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.

Galatians 5:22–26 (NLT)

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.

25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

26 Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another.

The Spirit is our life, He is the source of our life, He is the sustainer of our life, and He is the key to living like a life that reflects Jesus.

(Pastor Stephanie on Keys)

(7. Only Personal Faith Matters)

John 6:29 (NLT)

29 Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

John 1:12 (NLT)

12 But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

Personal faith can NEVER take the back seat.

You cannot substitute or shortchange personal spiritual growth.

Everything flows from what we have from the Lord or our lack of what we have.

Like a bank we must be good for the money we are taking out.

Do I have enough in the bank to withdraw?

Is it legit currency or counterfeit?

(Closing Tension)

“I am convinced” that the Spirit wants to speak to you.

Is there a part of my testimony, areas that I addressed, or something the Lord has put His finger on in your life that you need to take a moment and adjust?

How have you neglected to take care of yourself as God has intended?

How have you missed living your life as ministry to others?

How have you cared too much about the wrong things or not enough about the right things?

How could you savor the life that God has given you and walk slower in this fast paced life?

Where have you taken control that you need to give back to the Lord?

How have you walked in the flesh instead of the Spirit?

Where is your personal faith right now with the Lord?

How is He speaking and how are you going to respond to Him, today?

(Connection Card)

(Response)

(Invite Altar Team)

(Closing Challenge)

If you want to know more about repentance, water baptism, or the baptism in the Holy Spirit, please connect with us.

(Closing Blessing)

Numbers 6:24–26 (CSB)

24 “May the Lord bless you and protect you;

25 may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you;

26 may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.” ’