Made for More (2)

I - Flying a kite with Foster

Intro: Being a parent has this way of revealing your character weaknesses. And I have never been more aware of my shortcomings as a father and as a human being as I was the first time I tried to fly a kite with Foster.

I’m trying to fly it, Foster is not cooperating.

Streamers

I found myself getting so mad. And he is just having fun messing me up :) Of course the more I tell him to stop the more he wants to do it.

I want to get it up there! He wants to play with the streamers.

“Foster, wait no. Foster” sterner and sterner.

Finally the wind dies down completely and we bring the kite back inside.

As we are walking in, and Im still frustrated, I have one of those moments when you realize what you did wrong.

I missed his laughter and his smiles and his joy in that moment because I was so focused on playing with his toy!

Its amazing how easy it was for me to trade in something so great, right in front of me for something so small...

W - We trade In

W -

TRANSITION: I do this in other areas of my life too, and I don’t think I’m the only one.

We settle for another episode of whatever rather than doing the dishes.

We settle for a new toy now rather than paying down our credit card debt.

We trade in the stress of more credit-card-debt for that new whateve

We trade a restored relationship to not have a hard

Settle for self medication instead of getting real help with our issues

Settle for broken relationships rather than face the challenge of working things out.

Settle for ignoring problems rather than dealing with them

For the momentary comfort of infidelity rather than the pain of working on a marriage.

Even when it comes to faith.

We settle fro drifting from God rather than making time for him.

Settle for an easy answer rather than wrestling with tough questions.

For what someone told us the bible said rather than digging in ourselves.

We settle for trying to prove God is there instead of living like its true.

We settle for hiding our problems instead of being honest about our failures.

We settle for an emergency help faith but put it away when things are going good.

I think for many of us the trouble is less that the wrong thing, the lesser thing, that SIN is so enticing. That it seems so attractive that it is objectively worthwhile or better than anything else.

Its just SO MUCH EASIER.

We dont fall into sin as much as we slide into it for the sake of ease.

When the best remedy seems distant or hard we take something else instead.

We so often trade in the MORE(life) we are promised for so much less.

G

TRANSITION: I think this is why I like the story of Jacob and Esau so much. The part that we are going to read today reminds me that I am far from the FIRST PERSON to trade in MORE for LESS because its easier or more convenient.

Tell the story of Jacob and Esau.

Abraham’s Promise and First born inheriting.

Twin brothers, but different as the sun and the moon.

Read it.

Esau trades in his EXTREMELY VALUABLE birthright for basically nothing

He traded it in for nothing

Esau’s story IS of all of scripture.

He had an unbelievebly good promise.

He traded it in for nothing

Examples

Someone has an unbelievable promise

They trade it in for a pittance.

Humans cant seem to be able to accept it. They keep trading that offer in for less.

RINSE REPEAT

Not because the bible is unoriginal but because it seems to be incredibly interested in this habit we have.

Adam and Eve

God creates a beautiful world and puts humans in charge of working alongside him and on his behalf in it.

Humans refuse the offer: take from the tree of Good and Evil. They take from God the autority to define what good and evil is. Destruction ensues

Cain and Able

God tells Cain that sin (evil) is crouching at his door but he must rule over it. He gives him a chance to not kill his brother.

Cain refuses the offer: it shatters his family, his life, and begets more and more violence in the world

Abraham and Sarah

God promises them a family that will save the world.

They refuse the offer: and try and use sahai’s slave to make one instead

Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers wrestle with it

Isreal’s kings fall into it. Leading to the downfal of God’s nation

OVER AND OVER AGAIN

Jacob and Esau

MOses and GOd

Hebrews and God

Isreal and GOd

Saul and God

David and God

SOlomon and God

Kings and God

FAILURE

FAILURE

FAILURE

But for some reason God keeps running the same play OVER AND OVER AGAIN. And we keep falling short, we keep screwing up, we keep failing.

ANd the main question of the OT becomes: Are we trapped in a repeating, self defeating cycle forever? Will humans ever amount to more? WIll God’s promise to Abraham to save the world EVER come about?

you leave the Old Testament with that question. Will this cycle ever be broken.

There are whispers in the OT saying that one day it will, but little else.

And we leave the Old Testament with that question. Will this cycle ever be broken.

The Story of Jesus and God

Jesus comes along in the NT. He is both HUMAN and GOD. In one person we find both sides of the deal.

God’s promise to save the world through Abraham’s Family. Jesus comes from Abraham’s family.

Jesus’ life is marked by temptation to do his own thing. BUT he lives up to our end of the deal AND he takes on his body the consequences for humanities failure then and forever on the cross. AND he gives us his spirit making it POSSIBLE for us to finally Choose More.

In that moment the cycle is broken. That failure, that sin that has held people captive since the beginning is taken care of. Defeated, eliminated. This is the story of the GOSPEL.

We can finally have the MORE that we are Made for. We can come back to him and be transformed. That we are not TRAPPED in that cycle any longer.

God has made you for so much more than this.

Y

TRANSITION: So for those of us who sometimes do fall into that same trap this is GOOD NEWS

I think we do the same thing all the time. I think this is good news for us.

We are made for SO MUCH MORE than what we settle for.

One of the biggest tragedies of our practice of Faith sometimes is how much we hedge our bets.

how much less than whats offered we are willing to get by with. We pair down this amazing Gospel and this amazing God to

Believe in God, go to church, stay out of trouble, and God will bless you?

Have you ever wondered if we are not all missing something?

There is so much more to it than that, but

We are all too willing to settle for less than what is really out there because we don’t think we deserve more.

When WE ARE MADE FOR MORE.

The GOSPEL at every turn offers human being MORE than we could ask for or imagine.

Lets get rid of the false humility and hopelessness that says, “I am who I am.” “Things will never get better”

“I’m just...”

an angry person

a sick person

a hopeless person

a cruel person

a selfish person

a lonely person

a hurt person

This fall, my challenge for all of us is this...

Pray Bold Prayers, don’t settle, WONDER what God can do in your life, your family, and your workplace in this year. Wonder how he can surpass your wildest dreams in how he leads and provides.

Draw near to him, pray, listen, be faithful, and see what God has for you. See how God will give you more than you can ask for or imagine.

Not prosperity Gospel. Not health and wealth forever.

It is... that God is at work in you, he is at work in your family, he is at work in your workplace, and he is at work in your neighborhood.

HE HAS SO MUCH MORE for each of us than we often settle for.

Lets COUNT on the promises of God instead of despising them for the quick fix.

W - Wonder how he can surpass your wildest dreams in how he leads and provides.

TRANSITION:

Imagine the transformation in our lives that could take place if we really believed that...

God chose us.

He died for us.

He wants to transform us.

and

That he will do more in and through you that n you can ask or imagine.

My friends we are MADE FOR MORE.

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Paul prayed this prayer for his Church in Ephesus nearly 2,000 years ago and today I pray it for you and for us.

Lets pray together.

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