Seasons of Change
Unsettled • Sermon • Submitted
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· 26 viewsWhat does it look like for us to move into a new season? What kind of faith is needed for us to move into a season that is full of uncertainty? We move forward trusting in the God who has spoken in the past. We move forward knowing God has a plan and is working it out for your benefit.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Announcements - (BOTH CAMPUSES)
Midweek ministries are starting back up this Wednesday so make sure you get out to the booth and signup.
Mens Prayer Breakfast September 12th. North Campus.
The Fearful Day of the Lord is coming
The Fearful Day of the Lord is coming
God is going to confront the sins of the people
1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, when all the arrogant and all evildoers will be stubble. The day that is coming shall set them ablaze, says the Lord of hosts, so that it will leave them neither root nor branch. 2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. 3 And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the Lord of hosts.
The people had come back from exile to the Promise that God had given them, any time the seasons go back to normal, there is a breathe of fresh air.
We are all waiting for the day when kids can just go back to school.
We are waiting for the day when we don’t have to wear a mask in Wal-mart (Can I get an amen!)
When you are in a season of change you can’t wait until you get back to normal, in fact you WILL NEVER TAKE NORMAL FOR GRANTED AGAIN!!!
Israel came out of a difficult season where they were literally in captivity but now they had been home for a while and Malachi is written to show the people who bad they have become.
- They had taken the promises of God for granted.
The Day of the Lord (Elmer Martins)
The Day of the Lord (Elmer Martins)
When you see the day of the Lord you know God means business.
I did alot of research last night watching clips and I think I can say this with certainty. When you see Silvester Stallone without a shirt on, with those huge pecks and those washboard abs. and he has a bow and arrow pulled out with that terrifying smolder on his face. You know something’s about to go down. It’s not another day at the beach, its judgment day.
It doesn’t matter if it’s first blood, last blood or somewhere in between, it’s reckoning day. There is something about him that is awe inspiring, yet terrifying if you are on the wrong side.
You don’t want to be against this guy, you want him on your team. Guys I’ve seen it myself, he can take on ent
Elmer Martins
Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology Theological Significance
The purpose of discussions about the day of the Lord, past or future, is to illumine the present.
11 Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness,
The Day of the Lord should make us ask the question, “How am I living?” “What kind of person will I be?”
It is meant to cause you to stop and ask the question, “who am I becoming?” “Is my life honoring God?”
“Am I living a life wholly unto God or am I just doing things my way?”
“Am I honoring God in how I love my wife?”
“Am I honoring God in how I am raising my kids?”
“Am I honoring God in how I speak at work?”
The ultimate question, “Am i calling the shots or is God calling the shots.”
4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the statutes and rules that I commanded him at Horeb for all Israel.
Malachi wants the people to be directed by God’s word and the scriptures and commands that were passed down to them from God himself.
Are you searching the scriptures for how you should raise your kids?
Are you searching the scriptures for how you should treat your wife or husband?”
If you don’t execute this it shows the reality of your heart. It shows who is in control.
You need to fear the day of the Lord.
The fear of God starts when the fear of man ends.
Malachi 2:5 - “He feared me. He stood in awe of my name”
Malachi 3:5 - I will be a swift witness against the sorcerer…the adulterers....those who swear falsely....those who oppress… and do not fear me”
Malachi 4:2 - But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
Leverage your fear
Leverage your fear
Leverage - “to use something to maximum advantage”
You you are the most afraid, God is in the most control.
Fear drives us deeper. Fear drives us farther.
The Old Testament ends on a note of fear.
And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.”
Christians don’t run from fear, we leverage fear.
Christians don’t hide from fear we face fear.
Misplaced Fear Creates walls
Misplaced Fear Creates walls
If you never face the fear that surrounds you then you will have built walls around the parts of your life you don’t want anyone to see.
These walls keeps people out but they also keep you in.
You will never break free from the bondage of your fear in you never learn to face it.
Fear reminds us that this world isn’t just about us.
Freshman Football - I got a good dose of Michael Abuseria, The dude was Silvester Stallone of our class. Ripped good looking. Built like a tank. He came off a sweep and i was playing cornerback and I dropped down below him and hit his thighs. I tackled him, but I also realized I wasn’t the center of the universe. I realized I wasn’t the biggest baddest thing on God’s green earth. It instilled the fear of Mike Abuseria in me. That fear opened my eyes to a world I wasn’t God, I wasn’t the biggest baddest thing since sliced bread.
Luckily I realized that as a freshman.
In the midst of fear we find Freedom
In the midst of fear we find Freedom
2 But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall.
God is not afraid of talking about fear. God uses fearful language in order to get us to see something deep and profound.
Gospel Call.
The place of greatest fear is the place of greatest salvation.
On the cross Jesus experienced the greatest fear a human being could ever experience.
He faced the separation from a holy God. He cried out because of the incredible pain, but he cried deeply because he was full of fear.
51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
Matthew is describing a terrifying scene. We think of it as, man this is cool, man it would be great to see dead people come back to life, it would be great to experience the temple curtain tearing in two and rocks cracking in two.
The walking dead is playing out in front of their eyes.
Imagine being at Sunset memorial Gardens. You’d be like “honey get the kids” and you’d run to the car and get out of there.
The Centurion - In the midst of all this fear and terror, confusion and chaos, the camera pans to a new character. It’s not a disciple, it’s a pagan, it’s a gentile whom the Jews despised. He looks at the situation and proclaims,
When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Watch this,
The gospel writer is trying to show the rock of Golgotha as the place of judgment, it’s the place were darkness covers and the earth quakes; it’s where the rocks split open the the temple curtain tears. It was a terrifying sight; it was the reckoning day; it was a day that is meant to strike fear in the heart of each person who looks upon it.
This is the kind of day that you went home and trembled; you didn’t get the basket and wagon; hit up a park and go for a picnic.
The cross is meant to terrify us, the resurrection is meant to inspire us.
The cross is meant to destroy us, the resurrection is meant to redeem us.
When you are afraid, who do you want next to you?
You want people you trust. You want people who you know are going to catch you when you fall.
Trust is a reflection of love.
Love is a reflection of a deeper relationship.
You know what the cross is? It where the turning happens; it where the Holy Father God turns his back on his only child. the child whom he loves. The Father turns his back, the son dies and the Father raises him again to new life.
Do you remember Malachi 4:6, the last verse of the Old Testament? Do you remember how it ends?
“And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of children to the Father”
Ethan and the Jump
Ethan and the Jump
The Day of the Lord is coming, but there are two arms that are reaching out for you.
Will you make the Jump
Will you make the Jump
The only way you can truly experience freedom is if you first face the fear.
What is it you fear?