Defining Moment

Intro

We all have defining moments.

We all have those moments that we can look back on and say, “That was huge for me.”

Sometimes these defining moments aren’t happy times, rather, times of immense challenge.

This is the way we think about our lives. We’re either looking back at impactful moments in the past, experiencing moments in the present, or anticipating future moments.

Me- My Defining Moments

The positives:

My first defining moment was the day I was born? (That was a big day for me.)

The day my family moved to a new city. (9)

The day I realized my love for music. (11)

The day I met my wife. (I was 12 years old)

The day we got married. (9 years later, 21)

The day Laura and I found out we’d be parents. (3 years after our wedding, 24)

The day I preached my first sermon at Keystone. (2 year after that, 26)

The negatives:

I was 8 when my grandma died. After we got home from youth camp, my parents sat down my sister’s and I, then they broke the sad news. I was able to hold myself together during the graveside service, but afterwards in the van, I cried so hard. I’ll never forget that.

I was 9 when I experienced trauma inside my own home that would effect me for the rest of my life.

I was 11, when a guy at church mocked my stutter to my face. It hurt so badly because he was the guy that led worship at our church. A guy I looked up to.

I was 15 when we had a funeral service for a man my parents called my uncle. We all knew he was a Christian. I’ll never forget he was buried in a black shirt with white letters that read, “I’m Ready.”

I was 17, when it hit me that my family was falling apart due to infidelity and alcohol abuse . I was in denial about it all. It hit me all at once one while talking with my sister. I cried on her shoulder on our deck.

You- What about you?

Positives:

Maybe it’s when you got you started high school, or got your drivers license.

Maybe it’s the day you graduated from college (debt free I hope), got married, or had kids.

Maybe it’s the day you retired, or made a bunch of money in the stock market, or got a promotion at work.

It’s the positive moments that gives you energy to keep going when things get tough.

Negatives:

Maybe it’s the moment you failed a class. or experienced the end of a relationship.

Maybe it’s the time you lost a job and had no idea how you were going to provide for your family.

Maybe it’s the time someone was so mean to you, still to this day you can’t get the words out of your head.

Maybe it’s the day you had to say goodbye to a loved one.

Whatever the moment may be, It’s the negative ones that zap you of all your energy and make you feel burdened and heavy.

Two questions

What do you do when life is going good?

What do you do when life goes bad?

God- Moses’ Defining Moments

Hidden for 3 months by his parents from King’s edict

Chose to live with the nation of Israel

Left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the King

Kept the Passover

Led the nation of Israel through the Red Sea

How Was He Able To Do This?

The Bible tells us, it was by faith.

What is Faith?

Hebrews 11:1

Assurance of things hoped for

Conviction of things not seen

Spurgeon on Faith

Knowledge

Belief

Trust - resolve, conviction, perseverance

How did God give Moses knowledge?

When did Moses believe?

How do we know that Moses trusted God?

What did it take for God to convince Moses’ He was trustworthy?

Burning Bush

Audible Voice

Staff to Snake Miracle

Healed his hand of leprosy

Moses brought up his stuttering.

Moses brought God his doubt, his excuses, and what did God do? He was patient and kept giving. He showed him compassionate love.

God here is not silent, he wants Moses to discover Him.

The Cross

The most defining moment in all human history is the cross of Christ. It's our defining moment where Living faith is found.

Jesus knew that there was no resurrection without the cross. It's the same for us. There is no resurrection without the cross.

How can a man be resurrected if he didn't first die?

No other experience will give you the purpose you crave.

You: Have you put your faith in Christ?

We - Defining moments set the tone for how we live, they also reveal where our trust is placed.

“[In 2020]… Data from the week ending 21 March indicated that alcohol sales for off-premise locations (e.g., liquor stores) had increased by 54% and online alcohol sales had increased by 262% compared to sales data from the same week in 2019.

“Another reason [besides boredom] for increased porn consuming could be that some people are using sex as a surviving mechanism for coping with their loneliness, depressive symptoms, and even fear of death [34–36]. In a study, Baltazar et al. [15] reported that people are endorsing porn use to cope with negative affect. Again, in a study, pornography consumption is an important tool for mood management and stress relief [16]. It should be noted that problematic pornography consumption is also considered to cope with negative emotions [18]. As described by Lehmiller [34], the key idea behind Terror management theory is that “when we are reminded of our own mortality, we subconsciously alter our attitudes and behaviors to help us cope with the ‘terrifying’ prospect of our eventual death.” A research demonstrated that when we are faced with the prospect of our own mortality, this prompts sexual desire and behavior as a coping mechanism”

Time and time again, we turn to the same things, even though they’ve failed us before! Because we want temporary relief. Temporary pleasure.

After the big positive moments we feel such emotional highs it makes us see the rest our lives as positive! The day I got married, was one of the happiest days of my life. We left the ceremony and drove to chick fil a and got drinks haha, we were so happy! To everyone else it was just a normal meal at cfa, but for my bride and I it was a drink we’d never forget. A special after wedding soda from cfa!

In a similar way, after the big negative moments we feel such emotional lows, we do the opposite. We feel like we’re in the middle of the ocean, without a life preserver. You feel hopeless.

It’s important that our hope is placed in something that is secure.

What is it you’re not trusting in God for?

Matthew 11:28-30