Discovery
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Our mission - is to Glorify God, Equip the Saints, and to Share the Gospel. As a mission, this is the lens that we view all of the activity of our church - especially considering our time gathering together on Sunday mornings - because it is the center of our activity.
Primarily - we Glorify God. That is the center of our worship.
To make His name great in our lives. To give him the honor that He deserves.
The next goal in our mission is to equip the saints.
This comes from the scriptures that tells us that the offices of the church exist to equip the saints for the ministry of the Gospel.
That is a pretty broad scope, and ends up meaning that as a church - we exist to help each other become more like Jesus, in everything that we say, think, and do.
We started this equipment series last week, looking at discipleship. If you missed that, I encourage you to go online and find that on the facebook page or on our website.
This morning we are looking at part of our walk with Jesus that we are calling discovery.
For the sake of our conversation, discovery is the process where you begin to understand aspects of yourself and God from a formal perspective - for the purpose of determining what God has planned for your life, as much as we are able to understand it. This would include understanding who God is, and understanding the nature that he has gifted us with. Our strengths and our weaknesses. Our abilities, and our failures.
The desire for discovery comes out of - as we were talking about last week - the instructions and the desire to be useful. According to scripture, we have a holy calling - a God given purpose for our lives, and we want to know what it is so that we can walk it out!
9 He has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.
The first thing that we should know about discovery, is that it doesn’t happen outside of discipleship.
Last week we took a deep look at discipleship - our walk with Jesus.
We Follow, we listen, and we change.
We want to be so close to Jesus, that if he were walking with us in a physical form, we would be tripping over his feet and covered in the dust that he is kicking up as he walks. And in that - we discover - and we change.
There are two ways our discovery is going to happen.
The first way - is when we are walking along, like Moses - and God speaks to us. He wasn’t seeking. It was unintentional discovery. God was calling him to big things. It was ordered, according to the creator of the universe, but very “all of a sudden” for the human standing before God. Moses was caught unawares. And in that moment, God gave him big things to deal with and to do. I call those the “wait, wut?” moments.
The big.... huh?
Whatchu say there boss?
When there is a moment that we are called into something - that God may have been preparing us for throughout our whole lives. Being called to Pastor was like that for me. It was just me. But I knew God was calling us here.
And he didn’t tell anyone else!
That was one thing in my life, really, that it would have been okay to be the last one to know.
I had to explain it to my wife.
I had to share it with Pastor Dan.
I had to share it with the supervisor at that time.
And God then confirmed those things in them - I hope!
We are five years into this now, as of the end of this month. I think it’s going okay.
But I was thinking the other day - what happens if and when God calls us to something else? Who am I then? I love this. I love loving people, protecting people, guiding people. I love teaching and praying with people. I love all of it. I love the relationships we have. It has been such a blessing.
That is one way of discovery. When God stops you where you are, to give you the something you need to do next. The calling on your life.
The other way - is when we ARE being intentional.
This happens when we are at a pause. Something has changed, we are either relieved of something, or desperate for something, and from those positions - we seek the Father.
This can happen when we feel like we have lost our purpose - where our drive is gone. Things didn’t work out the way we thought they should and so now we are here. In whatever here is.
This can happen when our children move out - or our parents pass away - or we finish school - or we leave our job; A season comes to a close.
David, who was king of Israel for a while, wrote most of the book of psalms, near the center of your bible, and in it - he wrote his own experiences, his own struggles, he wrote about His walk with God. The good things and the sad. In chapter 139, he describes his journey of discovery for us to read, and apply to our lives. This is a picture of what discovery will look like in our walk with God:
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, you have searched me and known me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away.
3 You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, Lord.
5 You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me.
6 This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.
7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9 If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits,
10 even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night”—
12 even the darkness is not dark to you. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to you.
13 For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well.
15 My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.
17 God, how precious your thoughts are to me; how vast their sum is!
18 If I counted them, they would outnumber the grains of sand; when I wake up, I am still with you.
19 God, if only you would kill the wicked— you bloodthirsty men, stay away from me—
20 who invoke you deceitfully. Your enemies swear by you falsely.
21 Lord, don’t I hate those who hate you, and detest those who rebel against you?
22 I hate them with extreme hatred; I consider them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.
When we stop; for whatever reason, begin to work towards discovery - David gives us this example.
There are times where our discovery path is going to look very much like that.
Charles Spurgeon
If God calls you to be a minister, do not stoop to be a king
The call that God has for your life, is better than what you can come up with for yourself.
1. God knows us.
2. We don’t really know ourselves.
3. God is involved in the intricacies of our lives.
4. Discovery is necessary.
God
Others.
God knows us.
Who you say you are and who God says you are are not the same all the time.
The person you are - and the person God has called you to be, aren't always the same either.
As we grow in our faith there are things that God will show us about us that are contrary to his purpose and plan for us.
God is going to point out and help us understand our shortcomings and our gifts.
-Robert mentioned David and Goliath. David as king was the same way. A life of preparation. For the next thing.
We don’t really know ourselves.
God is involved in our lives.
The things you are going through - he knows about, he understands, in some circumstances - he orchistrated. He makes all things work together for our good. What does that look like?
Discovery is necessary.
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time,
I know you get tired of your pastor saying - read your bible, but it is the thing.
12 For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
10 Just as each one has received a gift, use it to serve others, as good stewards of the varied grace of God.
11 If anyone speaks, let it be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, let it be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.
Our walk is our own. But not on our own.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
As we go through that process, some of it is going to make us uncomfortable. Embrace that.
Walk in that.
God knows us, and we don’t really know ourselves.
Discovery is necessary.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread,
24 and when he had given thanks, broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 So, then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sin against the body and blood of the Lord.
28 Let a person examine himself; in this way let him eat the bread and drink from the cup.
29 For whoever eats and drinks without recognizing the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.
30 This is why many are sick and ill among you, and many have fallen asleep.
31 If we were properly judging ourselves, we would not be judged,
32 but when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined, so that we may not be condemned with the world.