Where Are We Going Week 2

WHERE ARE WE GOING? (week 2) Good morning to LEC and to LEC Online. This is Valentine's Day in the USA and so a very Happy Valentine's Day to my beautiful wife and to all of you-I'm glad you joined us today and I pray God will do great things for you. Next week, we have a treat, Pastor Maurice Coffee of UNITED COMMUNITY CHURCH in Concord as a guest speaker. Pastor Coffee has spoken here before but I felt this would be good for our church. So we look forward to that. Today, we continue our series Where Are We Going and I'm drawing your attention to Joshua 1, verses 1 through 11... (Joshua 1:1-11) After the death of Moses the LORD's servant, the LORD spoke to Joshua son of Nun, Moses' assistant. He said, 2 "Moses my servant is dead. Therefore, the time has come for you to lead these people, the Israelites, across the Jordan River into the land I am giving them. 3 I promise you what I promised Moses: 'Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you- 4 from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.' 5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. 8 Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. 9 This is my command-be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua then commanded the officers of Israel, 11 "Go through the camp and tell the people to get their provisions ready. In three days you will cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land the LORD your God is giving you." Introduction: Last week we began to look at the journey of the Children of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land and we made the point that to go where God is taking us, we must GET SIN OUT OF OUR LIVES and rededicate ourselves to God and His way. I really believe that was a WORD for each of us and from the responses this week, I believe God is helping you and I to respond accordingly. We continue our look at this journey but this week through the lens of our church and this community of faith. This passage finds the Children of Israel within range of the Promised Land but Moses is dead and a new leader has been chosen. It will be his responsibility to lead the people the rest of the way (I'll come back to that in a minute!) We are a church with almost 60 years of history and in some ways we mirror some pieces of this story. For one: They had been surrounded by miracles... * Manna fell every day to feed them * Water came out of a rock (how much water would you need for 2m people?) * God's Presence was visible to guide them (pillar of fire/cloud) * Clothes and shoes never wore out * God defeated all of their enemies * They were given a tabernacle for the worship of God o Prayers o Offerings o Dedicated leaders o God's anointing upon them When we started, we had only our faith and hope in God's call to a vision to bring the message of Jesus to this community of hurting people. As a church, we came here by God's direction and while we've moved around in at least ___ separate locations, we are still God's church and we are not finished-there is still a mission/cause...but what does the future look like? We have big challenges that must be responded to: 1. We have lost sons and daughters who need to come home 2. Not one family or individual from Antioch Road attends this church 3. This community is afflicted with addiction and it is not only the addict who needs Jesus but there are families, children who need a church "engaged" to love and support 4. We are losing too many of our younger generation 17 months ago I accepted the call of God and an assignment to lead LEC as pastor-I'm not the only pastor you've ever had (you've had 16) but NOW I am the pastor and I feel the weight, the responsibility (I'm accountable) to guide this church to the purpose for which God has called it... Just so you know, Shelley and I don't take this lightly-we live with this church every day 24/7, we try to respond to each and every need we know about, make an effort to be available. It's our heart and our passion to build a great church here with you. So this passage is personal... You Must Take This People To The Land That I Have Promised Them The passage provokes to action in the following manner: We Must Have Courage To Lead and Be Led (v. 6-9) Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous....This is my command-be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." * To move 2,000,000 people through the wilderness and possess the land took extraordinary leadership and more than one leader * We must build a culture of leadership at LEC o Meaning that you have to learn how to lead and you must find the passion of your soul for ministry-you cannot sit on the sidelines, time is short, Jesus is coming, your family is lost-this is the time to lead. * When we wait on others, we slow the momentum of LEC * When we give into our insecurity and think others are more capable, we slow the momentum of LEC * When we fail to step up and lead when when we have gifts to sing, teach, mentor, disciple, greet, we slow the momentum of LEC. * You say, I've already done that-you're still here. * You say, let others have their turn-you're the one Jesus was talking about who hid his talent * You say, I want to be in worship and not back with kids-you're putting yourself before the work of God at LEC. * Not everyone made it to the promised Land- o Because of fear o Because of rebellion o Because of disobedience o Because they lacked vision * It's time to leave your Egypt experiences behind you o You were a slave but you're not a slave anymore o You were another man's property but you now belong to God There Is A Brand New World Ahead Of Us (v.4) from the Negev wilderness in the south to the Lebanon mountains in the north, from the Euphrates River in the east to the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including all the land of the Hittites.' * Church won't/can't be like it once was o LEC Online * Our online church is a progressive outreach for the Gospel beyond our 4 walls. * In the past, we valued our live-stream but it was not in the front of our minds-it was important to some of our people but not most-now we want it to be important to all of our people! * 100% In Person-100% Online Church! o GREAT BIG OFFERING o Propels our church to the nations o We must make strategic kingdom connections o Judd & Elizabeth Maalipard pastor in Roy, Utah (Ogden) in a strong Mormon community, o Ryan & Keisha Lennon, Chiang Rai, Thailand o Jonathan & Daniela Augustine, Central Europe o Aboud School for Arab children, Mount of Olives * Church must be as it is-now * There's a fresh wind blowing-can you feel it? At Some Point We Have To Believe God's Promises (v.3)...I promise you what I promised Moses: 'Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you- (v.7...you will be successful in everything you do (v.8)...will you prosper and succeed in all you do. (v.9)...For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." * We should expect to be successful this year. * We should plan to exceed our expectations. * We should act like God is for us. o I'm tired of the devil distracting us with the words of politicians who seem to threaten the churches- o I'm tired of the defeatists who tell us the days of miracles and revivals have passed o I'm tired of naysayers who doubt God's power in these days * God still saves lost people * God still heals sick bodies * God still performs miracles, signs and wonders * I'm telling somebody... o Our sons and daughters are coming home o Our marriage is going to be healed o There's a better job coming o There's a fresh wind blowing in your house o There's a miracle within the reach of your faith Conclusion: Our destiny will be realized, we will live in the land God has promised! By the time Joshua had finished his assignment-here was the report... Not a single one of all the good promises the Lord had given to the family of Israel was left unfulfilled; everything he had spoken came true. (Joshua 21:45)