Untitled Sermon (6)

INTRODUCTION

I grew up in a broken home. My parents got divorced when I was only 3 years old. Regardless of this, I was surrounded by a big family and the first years of my life were filled with so much love.

· Then one day everything changed.

· When I was six years old, my mother sat my brother and I down and told us that we were going to Disneyland! We were so excited! For us Californians that doesn’t seem like such a big deal except for the fact that I lived in a country named Venezuela at the time.

· And so my father, mother, brother and I packed our bags, got on a plane, and flew 9 hours into a country I didn’t know.

· I remember getting off the plane and expecting to see this……

o Mickey and Minnie Pic

· But instead I saw this……

o Excalibur Pic

· For those of you that don’t know this is the Excalibur hotel in Las Vegas.

· And as a 6-year old, I couldn’t tell the difference….

until we visited the hotel.

· And instead of seeing this:

· the place was full of slot machines!

o Picture of slot machines

· And I turned to my mom and I said, “Pero mama, donde esta Mickey Mouse?”

TENSION

What was supposed to be a trip to Disneyland turned into my brother, my mother, and I permanently staying in Las Vegas. My father had to fly back to Venezuela but reassured my brother and I that he would be back.

· I didn’t understand why he had to leave. After he left, I would ask my mom over and over when he was coming back.

· I remember missing him terribly. And thinking that it was somehow my fault that he left.

· And after some months passed, I wrestled with the thought that he didn’t love me anymore.

· And Years passed…… And he got remarried.

· I remember hearing about my new baby brothers and sisters……

· Looking at pictures of his new family and being so jealous and angry.

· I was overcome by so much sadness at the thought that I had been replaced.

· I didn’t know how to handle the pain at such a young age and little by little it began to eat me up inside.

· (Pause)

Everyone in this room has something in common……

we all have experienced some form of pain.

When was the last time that you slowed down, stopped to breathe, and reflected on the condition of your heart?

· I think the reason we don’t do this is because we are afraid of what we will find. And the routines that we fill our everyday lives with are an attempt to not have to deal with the pain that is present deep within our hearts.

· For some, this pain is self-inflicted. Caused by an out of control addiction such as:

o drugs, pornography, alcohol, overeating or lack of self-worth.

· For others, this pain was caused by someone else:

o Someone that you didn’t know or someone that you handed your heart to and thought that you could trust.

· For me the pain created a hunger for identity, belonging, and love.

· But none of the temporary highs that this world offered me seemed to bring me satisfaction.

· It took me hitting rock bottom to begin to ask the question, “What’s my purpose?”

TRUTH

In my searching to answer this question, I encountered many different beliefs and religions. They taught that there was more to life than what we can see and feel physically.

· They provided instructions on how I could attain godhood, nirvana, and peace. But none seemed to provide an answer that satisfied me because they were man’s attempt to get to God.

· Until I came across a man named Jesus my freshman year of High School.

· His story was completely different from anything that I had ever heard.

· Why?

· Because He made this outrageous claim that He was God!!!

says this about Jesus:

NLT

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

· God Himself, the creator of the universe, came to us……….to be with us.

· He left His eternal throne room and entered time by becoming one of us!

Why?

· Because He wanted to restore us to our original purpose: which is to have a loving relationship with Him.

Why?

Because he LOVES YOU and wants to be WITH YOU.

Now and for eternity.

· And Jesus said He was Emmanuel!

· But I think we sometimes miss what this really means.

Look at what it says in

NLT “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. 7 If you had really known me, you would know who my Father is. From now on, you do know him and have seen him!” Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and yet you still don’t know who I am? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father! So why are you asking me to show him to you?

· You and I are Philip! We walk through life saying “where is God.”

o Where is He in my pain, This difficult situation?

o Where is He in this chaos, this mess, we call life.

· And Jesus replies……. “I have been with you the whole time.”

· Jesus/Emmanuel understands our pain because He himself experienced pain. And He knows how to comfort us and guide us through it.

Listen to what it says in

NLT When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

God never promises us that life will be all mountaintop experiences. But He does promise that He will be with us in our deepest valleys.

APPLICATION

At the age of 18, I experienced an eternal love so divine that my insecurities and loneliness were stripped away and I surrendered my life to Christ.

· I found my identity as a child of God, and I learned the most important thing of all:

o That I have an “Abba” Father, a dad that:

ü Is always with me,

ü will never fail me,

ü and never abandon me.