God Making Us Alive Again

“Streams in the Desert”

God Is Making Us Alive Again

EXPLAIN SERIES:

If you are new with us, we have been in a series the last 13 weeks called “Streams In The Desert - God Making Us Alive Again”.

We did a retreat back in January.

The purpose of this retreat was to have roughly 20 people get together to listen to God’s voice.

We wanted to do a series based on what God was speaking to the members of this congregation. Not what Shawn & I thought we should do……..but what God was telling you we should do.

While we were together something incredibly impactful happened.

In the middle of our worship time we paused to spent a few minutes listening to the Lord. Listening to words from His mouth to our hears. We asked people to be vulnerable and share what the Spirit said to them. (This can be very intimidating, but was part of the exercise).

One individual bravely spoke up in front of the group and said, “I don’t belong here. I see the people in this room and I question why I was invited. I don’t feel like I belong here.”

Three other people immediately expressed the same feelings. Feeling that they do not belong. Comments like:

“Who am I?

What do I have to offer?”

In those vulnerable and humble comments I could see what the Holy Spirit was doing.

The Holy Spirit was revealing strongholds that He wanted removed.

In that moment it was obvious this was the start of work that The Holy Spirit wanted to do amongst this congregation.

WE HAVE PREACHED ABOUT:

God is Already There: In our hurting and pain we see that God is with us. He sees us, He wants us, and He loves us. When all others may want to send you away God says come closer.

You Belong Before You Believe: You have great value to the Father. Before you chose to believe in His grace and redemption, He chose you. You already belonged.

Faith Beyond The Social Club: When God’s people follow His ancient ways, they become agents of light. Those agents of light are seen by a dark world. The Christian life isn’t about managing what we do and don’t do; it is about “Sacrificial love”. It is about having hearts that are hungry to, “Love God & Love People”.

Responding to the God of Second Chances: Jesus is calling us to deeper understanding and faith, usually through hard things and failures, which requires regular and constant adjustments of our commitment to Him along the journey of faith. Rather than running away we lean into Him in the hard, because He loves to give second chances.

Losing Weight: Shawn wore an 80lb backpack filled with the weight of strongholds. The Holy Spirit revealed to Shawn and I four very heavy strongholds that He wants this congregation to release before we move into the next season for this church.

Fear:

Unforgiveness

Control

Time

As I was taking these blocks out of Shawn’s backpack, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “Preach on these words”. I realized in that moment that these four words were the central points to the next 4 weeks in the series, unbeknownst to us these 4 words fit perfectly into the next 4 weeks that we already had planned out. What are the odds that we had 4 sermons remaining, Spirit gave us exactly 4 words. Do not discount the details. Our God loves details! And our God reveals the details in His timing. His perfect timing.

From Fear to Confidence in Christ (Part 1 & 2): We looked at the story of Gideon. The main point was, “God doesn’t take our fear away. The journey God is bringing us on is always a journey through fear BUT……… He walks with us through the fear.”

Restoration Is God’s Specialty - Unforgiveness: Forgiveness is hard. However, it is what the gospel is all about. This is what dying with Christ is about! God changing our hearts to be willing to forgive another person. Forgiveness extended to another does two things. 1) It allows us to live the different life Jesus asks you to live. 2) It can be the direction shift the person who wronged you needs in their life to point them to Jesus!

Faith That Reaches the Next Generation - Control: Give up control. Kody challenged us to lead a life of faith that is worth following by the next generation. To do that we have to give up control and allow Father to do His will in our lives.

Rooted Deep for the Storms - Time: It takes time to grow roots. They grow slowly. Intentionally grow roots in Christ and in the community of the church, daily in the “tik tock” moments.

This gets us caught up for today, the day of action.

STANDING FOR THE READING OF THE WORD

16 This is what the Lord says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, 17 who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: 18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. 20 The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, 21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

Isaiah 43:16-21

23(b) …..I have not burdened you with grain offerings nor wearied you with demands for incense.

Isaiah 43:23(b)

25 “I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.

Isaiah 43:25

44 “But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen. 2 This is what the Lord says— he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun, whom I have chosen. 3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

Isaiah 44:1-3

7 Who then is like me? Let him proclaim it. Let him declare and lay out before me what has happened since I established my ancient people, and what is yet to come— yes, let them foretell what will come. 8 Do not tremble, do not be afraid. Did I not proclaim this and foretell it long ago? You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

Isaiah 44:7-8

Pastor: This is the Word of The Lord!

Congregation Response: Thanks be to God!

Before you are seated, fistbump your neighbor and say, “Do you see it?”

OUR GOD:

Our God draws out the enemy.

Our God snuffs out the enemy like a wick of a candle.

Our God does new things.

Our God makes ways in the wilderness.

Our God makes streams in the wasteland.

Our God formed all mankind for himself to proclaim His praises.

Our God does not burden us with demands.

Our God blots out the transgressions of our sins.

Our God remembers our sins no more.

Our God has chosen us.

Our God made us.

Our God helps us.

Our God deals with our fear.

Our God pours out His blessings of water on our thirsty dry ground.

Our God pours out His Spirit on our children.

Our God pours out His blessing on our children.

Who is like Him?

Our God foretells the future and is the only one who can.

Our God is the rock.

This is our God!

In this series we have fasted and sought the Lord.

We have received various challenges to come alive again!

In this series we have seen that our God is able.

In this series we have been challenged to trust Him and His ways!

We can see that our God is doing a new thing.

We can perceive it.

We can see it.

I can see The Holy Spirit working amongst us to bring this congregation to a deeper place of trust and service to the Lord.

He truly is cultivating hearts in us that deeply desire “To Love God & Love People”

OUR GOD REDEEMS - HE BRINGS STREAMS TO THE DESERT:

If you recall we had the four blocks up here on this platform. Each block had one of the four words written on it. (fear, unforgiveness, control, time).

When I started preaching on Fear, the first word of the four, I was envisioning taking each of the blocks and destroying them when we were done preaching on each word.

I wanted to go through these strongholds off a cliff. I wanted to destroy them. There was almost an angry eagerness to do it.

However, the Lord had a different plan. The Spirit said to me, “I redeem things.”

I realized in that moment that I don’t get to do my will. The Lord’s will needs to be done. The Lord wants to redeem these strongholds and use them.

20 The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, 21 the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

Isaiah 43:16-21

(Uncover the Fear block)

FEAR - FAITH

You set down cards of fear up here on the stage.

Things you needed God to deal with.

I was planning on burning them. I wanted to burn them!!

However, Spirit nudged me to take your fears to The Secret Place and place them on my Ebenezer for you.

The biblical meaning of Ebenezer comes from 1 Samuel 7:12.

After God gave Israel victory over the Philistines, the prophet Samuel set up a stone and named it Ebenezer, saying:

“Thus far the Lord has helped us.”

1 Samuel 7:12

The word itself Ebenezer (Hebrew: Eben ha-ezer) means:

Eben = stone

Ezer = help

So literally: “Stone of help” or “Rock of help.”

Look back at today’s scripture. The last verse we read says:

Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other Rock; I know not one.”

Isaiah 44:8(b)

Church, God is our Ebenezer.

God is our rock of help.

God intervenes on our behalf.

God is faithful.

A person from the neighborhood has released their back up plan of suicide and given the church the item they had planned to kill themselves with.

Neighborhood prayer group. Neighbors who don’t go to church here have joined the group. We prayed for an event that will impact at-risk youth. The Lord brought it.

Know that God is looking upon you and a day is coming, if it has not already come, in which you will lift up a testimony that God helped you walk through your fear and has left you with confidence.

(Uncover the Unforgiveness block)

UNFORGIVENESS - FORGIVE

I am hearing testimonies of hard conversations coming from small groups.

Small group plug!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Conversations in which forgiveness is being extended to those who have wounded and wronged.

Conversations in which people don’t have a need to forgive another person. However, they realize they need to be the one to repent for a wrong they committed. To help another person drop their unforgiveness and start to heal.

Conversations in which people are admitting they are having a really hard time extending forgiveness. That admission is growth!!!! In that admission you can see growth and progress. You can see the cracks of light starting to shine in the darkness!

I have had people come up to me and tell me they were angry with me because of the forgiveness message. Not angry at me, angry to be asked to forgive. They dealt with the spiritual battle of the enemy who was not wanting them to release the burden, the root, the bitterness, the malice. The Spirit spoke to them and they planted a flag in the ground proclaiming “I will forgive”.

People within our community are being delivered from sexual addictions and living lives of accountable recovery and discipleship as they heal from their past.

A member of our congregation who had lost her leg to a drunk driver while riding her motorcycle, had the Lord bless her with a new harley 15 years after the accident. Someone came to RR and gave her the bike.

Church it is hard to forgive but you are doing it.

Choose to follow the example of our Savior and be His light to the world church!!!

(Uncover the Control block)

CONTROL - SURRENDER

We are hearing people share that they are hearing the Spirit calling them to surrender control and they are working through this.

One person shared that some unfortunate events have that are going to cost a fair amount to repair. They surrendered control to the Lord to take care of the situation. Immediately joy and peace came. Normally they would be discouraged but they found encouragement in God guiding the process or repair in real and tangible ways.

Members of our church are having their family members being restored into their custody. These family members have since placed their faith in Jesus and got baptized.

Another person took the step to surrender by engaging with the Lord and going to The Secret Place. For years, in their own strength, they tried to get family to come to church. The following week after going to The Secret Place and surrendering their will their entire family came to church the following week.

Members of our church are hearing the Lord call them into a life of ministry and they are starting the process.

(Uncover the Time block)

TIME - KAIROS

After the message, and it has been one week, Shawn has been contacted by multiple people who are being moved to respond.

Some have responded by joining a small group. To give up personal time to get into deeper community.

Others expressed how much the understanding of “passing time” means to them now. They have a better understanding of how valuable it is to the Lord during the ordinary normal days that occur between storms and miracles.

Redemption Recovery is releasing life to those who have been left to the fringes of society and interest for this type of program is growing within other churches and other towns.

Another member texted a picture of their sunflower in their garden at home. It planted itself, and grew by itself, but when the wind blew it fell down. It was alone with no support. This person declared they were not going to be alone like this sunflower.

God Is Making Us Alive Again

Do You See It?

WHAT IS NEXT:

Church …………… The Lord is moving.

We want the Father’s eyes and favor on this church body!

The Lord’s eyes and favor are on those that love to follow after His heart. In order for that to occur we have to:

Lay down these strongholds

Trust in His plan

Choose to be faithful servants

Engage with His heart.

The Father’s heart is for us to care about what He cares about:

To help remove the yoke of the oppressed.

The widow.

The orphan.

To help the poor wanderer find shelter.

To cloth the naked.

To not turn away from our flesh and blood.

Father asks us to “spend ourselves” meeting the needs of the oppressed.

CLOSING:

(Have worship team come up)

I was driving through Quincy on Tuesday of this week when something caught my eye. A single flower! While driving on Whitetrail Road A Single Flower caught my attention. Who would have thought that driving at 65mph a single flower could catch your eye. However, Spirit nudged me. Spirit said, “Go back and take a picture”. So I turned around, drove back to it, pulled over, got out of the truck, walked a ways into a field, and took a picture of this single flower.

(Show Slide - Have Jeff not show the slide until I tell him to show it).

As I stood in the field I asked Spirit, “Why am I taking a picture of this?” The following thoughts came to mind.

I noticed the field I am standing in is roughly 80 acres of canola.

This sunflower is from the prior year crop.

This sunflower is “volunteer”. A volunteer is a plant that sprouts from seeds left in the soil from an earlier growing season.

This volunteer is a remnant, a survivor, and represents unexpected life in barren places.

My thoughts go to our church. Our church is made up of a faithful remnant who was praying for life. Who was praying for revival. Who was praying for children. Who was praying for the Lord’s hand to move.

God Is Making Us Alive Again

Do You See It?

As I continued to stand in the field, looking around, I noticed 11 other sunflowers. The field had a total of 12 volunteer sunflowers. (12 disciples)

The Spirit brings a verse to my heart:

“35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Matthew 9:35–38

Church, the Lord brought us this series for a reason.

He asked us to fast and spend time seeking Him.

He gave us specific strongholds, yokes, He is wanting to take off of us.

I have challenged you to seek the Lord and do what He tells you to do.

I believe once you take the steps He is asking you to do, He is going to grow you in places you do not expect.

To be a volunteer!

Like a single sunflower in a canola field.

A stream is coming to your desert.

A stream is coming to our desert.

He is the God that brings new life into places life is not expected. He is the Way Maker.

Pray about this new growth in your life!

You are ripe to enter the field to help with the harvest…….Be a volunteer to Jesus.