UCanMakeADifference-Abigail

UCanMakeADifference Good morning and welcome to Lake Erie Church in Perry, Ohio. I'm Bill Isaacs and with my wife Shelley, we are privileged to serve this great church as Pastor. If you are joining us online, we welcome you from wherever you may be watching and let me encourage you to engage with those who are watching along with you...and you may find you are also engaging with persons sitting in this session!!! No joke-I was looking back a few weeks and noticing the comments and saw a person engaged with the dialogue in the comment section who was sitting in the service here-nothing wrong with that-in fact, the comments were encouraging and gracious...so just know you can never tell who might be watching online with you. Introduction: We are starting a new series today that will focus on a single but significant question all of us can connect to- Can I Make A Difference? Ours is a complex world with the so many issues, sorrow, pain, the suffering, the chaos and it's easy to feel very helpless in the midst of it all. We read or witness on TV about the... * Abuse of child and spouses * Victims of sex trafficking * Addiction * Divorce * Broken homes * Cancer * Covid It's an endless list... Where does it end? No matter how much I cry or mourn for those in this world, there are moments when I just stop and ask myself- What Difference Can My Life Make? I just finished reading a book describing the massive number of people fleeing repressive governments and flocking to camps run by the UN and other agencies and sheer volume of people overwhelming the workers. Once while on a mission trip to Honduras, we bought beans and rice and drove into an impoverish slum and started trying to pass out the food and the hungry over-ran us until I feared we might be hurt by the crush of people. That's the way life is on Planet Earth in 2021. Yet, God has placed you and me in this world at this time and as believers He is calling us to be His representatives. Here are the exact words of Jesus that undergird this call... (Matthew 5:13-16 TPT) Your lives are like salt among the people. But if you, like salt, become bland, how can your 'saltiness' be restored? Flavorless salt is good for nothing and will be thrown out and trampled on by others. Your lives light up the world. For how can you hide a city that stands on a hilltop? And who would light a lamp and then hide it in an obscure place? Instead, it's placed where everyone in the house can benefit from its light. So don't hide your light! Let it shine brightly before others, so that your commendable works will shine as light upon them, and then they will give their praise to your Father in heaven. God expects you and I to make a difference in the world! Our lives matter and there is purpose in us that is more than most of can admit or understand and yet I think we over-think this so often...we become OVERWHELMED in this world and fail to appreciate how God uses our lives in the simplest of ways... So as we start with this question, let me offer you an answer to the question--What Does This Mean To Me? * This Series Is A Call To Action-you will miss the point, if you just listen to all of this and never act on what God is saying to you-the design of what God has put into our hearts is to engage you to find your place in God's plan to bring people to Jesus. * This Series Should Make You Uncomfortable At Times-I pray you see yourself in the lives of people who were once like you, without the spiritual confidence to step into the water, to make the difficult decision to talk to someone about their sin and the grace of God available to them. In subsequent weeks, Pastor Dustin and Tracy Vest are going to be part of this message series and they will bring their own unique perspective to the challenge of spiritual engagement. We will follow the path of men and women in Scripture who faced similar questions... 1. Who Am I that God can use me? 2. Am I too old to do much more? 3. Why would God want me and my story to be His representative? 4. Is there someone in my life or circle God is asking me to reach with the message of Jesus Christ? Let's Pray (Abigail--1 Samuel 25) Introduction: Every person has a story, a story unique that holds the key to knowing who you are. Until we know your story, we don't really know you. We may see you and recognize who you are, we may know your name and even share experiences and memories, but we don't know one another until our individual stories are shared and known. Sometimes we are reluctant to share our story because we may think it's not exciting, not notable or that people will not care to know us in that way-and there are some people who won't. However, your story is valuable...the good parts and for the most part, even the bad parts. Not all our stories are fairy tales...some are dark and foreboding, filled with pain, sorrow and suffering. In fact, it's common for some of us to intentionally leave out some of the chapters of our story when we tell it because we are ashamed-that's completely understandable. Today we look at woman summoned to lead in very volatile and crucial time for her family and those in her household. Her name is Abigail and with God's help, she God's instrument to avert a catastrophic event. The Bible is full of stories about people but our problem is we mistakenly assume the people in the Bible are different from us-but they aren't! This woman's story could be the story of any woman listening to me, who manages her house, raises kids, lives in a married relationship. Why did God put all these stories of people in the Bible? Let me show you... (Romans 15:4) For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. So God put the story of Abigail in the Bible so we would find encouragement and hope for our own lives and that we would recognize how much confidence God has in us! I love the verse we've talked about often (you may want to mark this in your Bible)...it speaks to all of us. (Romans 11:29, ESV)- God never changes his mind about the people he calls. He never decides to take back the blessings he has given them. So I'm reminding each of today God never has changed his mind about what he has always believed concerning you. The story of Abigail is the story of a woman, married to an idiot-his name was Nabal. He was a rich herdsman whose vast flocks (3000 sheep and 1000 goats) would graze in the fields where David and his men lived. As a professional courtesy, David and his men would provide protection to the workers and treated them with respect and kindness. In return, David expected when the time came for the sheep to be sheared, there would be consideration. When David's messengers reach Nabal he mocks David, accuses him of being a freeloader and refuses to compensate him. David's anger provoked him to bring 400 of his fighting men (1 Samuel 25:12-14) So David's young men returned and told him what Nabal had said. "Get your swords!" was David's reply as he strapped on his own. Then 400 men started off with David, and 200 remained behind to guard their equipment. They are going to teach Nabal a lesson. One of the servants in Nabal's house finds Abigail fills her in...(apparently she was considered the reasonable one-and this was not likely the first time she had to clean up a mess for her husband) (1 Samuel 25:18-19) Abigail wasted no time. She quickly gathered 200 loaves of bread, two wineskins full of wine, five sheep that had been slaughtered, nearly a bushel of roasted grain, 100 clusters of raisins, and 200 fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys and said to her servants, "Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly." But she didn't tell her husband Nabal what she was doing. This is discernment at work! "the ability to judge well" (v.3) Abigail was a sensible and beautiful woman... Abigail stepped into the moment to do what she could-(fast thinking, quick reaction)--she approaches David and his men and does several important things... She deescalates the situation... (1 Samuel 25:23-25) When Abigail saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed low before him. She fell at his feet and said, "I accept all blame in this matter, my lord. Please listen to what I have to say. I know Nabal is a wicked and ill-tempered man; please don't pay any attention to him. He is a fool, just as his name suggests. But I never even saw the young men you sent. She put the moment in context for her household and David (1 Samuel 25:29-31) Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the Lord your God, secure in his treasure pouch! But the lives of your enemies will disappear like stones shot from a sling! When the Lord has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, don't let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won't have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. And when the Lord has done these great things for you, please remember me, your servant!" She forces David to think about the weight of this moment and his decisions. * The decisions we make today are the story we (or someone) will one day tell... o Some day when this moment is over this will be a story you will tell your kids, your grandkids or someone else-which story do you want to tell? o Which story do you want to tell with your life? * David murdered a man because he was offended by an idiot man and lost his temper * David came to his senses because a godly woman helped him to see his destiny was at stake * We should thank God if there is an Abigail (male/female) in our life. o God gives us good people to help us make solid decisions o It's dangerous for you to assume that you know enough, been through enough that you can handle everything that comes at you. What Do We Learn From Abigail? * Ordinary people are powerful tools in the hands of a Mighty God o I don't sing o I don't teach or speak in front of people o I don't have anything to offer * God put something in you that makes THE difference for someone * Your children * Your husband * Your co-workers * Your neighbors STOP BEING AFRAID! Maybe you're like David-your temper/passion gets you into trouble more often than you like-- David's passion almost got him into trouble (it was a personal blindspot)-how quickly his temper got him into trouble (sanctification)- Do you need to bring all that you are to the cross and letting the blood of Jesus cleanse you- What makes you great makes you vulnerable Conclusion: Before we pray, I want you to realize 2 most powerful things Abigail told David that God is telling you right now... 1. God's Got You-(v.29) Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the Lord your God, secure in his treasure pouch! 2. God's Plans Are Bigger Than This Moment-(v.30) When the Lord has done all he promised and has made you leader of Israel, don't let this be a blemish on your record. Then your conscience won't have to bear the staggering burden of needless bloodshed and vengeance. All of us have stuff that prevents us-keeps us afraid, lacking confidence, stuff we think disqualifies us from doing great things for God-it's because we don't value the mercy and grace of God as we should-we are forgiven and God is ready for us to step into the moment and allow Him to work. * Ask God for faith to believe in yourself * Ask God to open doors for you to make a difference God I'm a sinner I'm sorry for my sins I believe Jesus died for my sins I believe you will forgive me of my sins I choose Jesus