It's All Part of the Process (2)

Intro:

2 Peter 1:19–21 NKJV

19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

Today, I want to share a message God has laid on my heart entitled, [It’s Part of the Process].

This is my 643rd message I will preach at our church in my time as pastor. Initially, I planned to preach from the book of Isaiah. I had a thought I’d been mulling over for a few weeks.

When I sat down to write it, nothing would come. I couldn’t get an outline, I did not have any illustrations, and I couldn’t make sense of what I thought I wanted to say.

Finally, I prayed, “Lord, I do not have a message.” I sat and waited on God for a little bit. I grabbed a few pieces of paper and began to write. I wrote on the top of the page, (What do I feel the Lord is saying to me?)

The page sat empty for a while, until I found myself writing, “We want everything NOW, but it is often a process…”

A few pages later, and I still didn’t have a message. But I discovered what God wanted me to share this morning.

I have never preached a message like this. I will not ready anymore scripture, but everything I have to say comes from scripture. I do not have any illustrations or any points.

Instead, I want to talk about the process.

Creation was a process. Everything we see around us came into existence within six days, all from the mouth and the commands of God.

The climax of creation occurred when God made man in His own image, according to His own likeness. Knowing it was not good for man to be alone, God gave Adam a wife, and named her Eve.

Adam and Eve are unique in history. They are the only two who saw God face to face and lived. God gave them everything they needed wrapped within a Paradise called Eden.

They had full access to everything they could ever want, with one stipulation—do not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Doing so would derail everything.

They made an evil choice, it wasn’t a mistake or an accident, but a choice.

They listened to the lies of Satan and ate the fruit. Right then, everything changed. God came looking for them in the afternoon, but they hid themselves.

In God’s grace, He spared their lives for a time, but forced them from the Garden. For holiness cannot endure unholiness. Perfection cannot coexist with imperfection. God cannot tolerate sin. Therefore, God separated Himself from creation.

As they were expelled from the Garden, God began the process of redemption—one where the Seed of the woman will bruise the head of the seed of the serpent.

God had a plan to restore what sin destroyed, but it would be a long, drawn-out process.

Adam and Eve had children. Eventually, their descendants continued in sin to the point God regretted ever creating the world. It was at this time, God took the next step in the process, He revealed Himself to one man, Noah.

Righteous Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God warned Noah of an impending flood that would destroy the world. Included in that process though was to save Noah and his family.

After forty days and nights of a torrential downpour, the rains stopped and eventually the flood waters receded. Noah and his family began to repopulate the world and true to form, they began to sin again.

Noah’s descendants decided to build a tower that reach heaven. In their pride and arrogance, they never once consulted with God. Though He did come down to see their small tower.

He separated them, confused their language, and people groups went their separate ways. It was all part of the process.

God then turned his attention to one man, Abram. He made a covenant with him, promising to bless his family and through his family, bless the world. And assuring them His would give his family a Promised Land.

The only problem, Abram and his wife Sarai were unable to have children.

They grew impatient with the process, took matters into their own hands and almost derailed the process as Abraham had a child with his wife’s servant.

Eventually, God gifted Abraham and Sarah with a child in their old age. They named him Isaac and when he was old enough God instructed him to sacrifice his son on the top of Mount Moriah.

At first, that seems very gruesome, but it was part of the process

In obedience, Abraham did what God asked, and right before he took his sons life, an angel came and spoke to the father and son. They came down from the mountain and the process continued.

Abraham had Isaac, Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. Jacob was a deceitful person and stole his brother’s inheritance. As he ran for his life, God showed Jacob that he was included in the process

He had two encounters with God, one where a ladder came from heaven. God promised Jacob that He would be with him. Later in life, He also wrestled with God, who changed Jacob’s name to Israel.

Israel had twelve sons. Through a series of events, they ended up in Egypt, all being led by one of the youngest Joseph. They did not understand the process. But God blessed them in Egypt.

After the death of Jacob, the brothers, who had wronged Joseph, came an begged for mercy. Joseph understood a little about God’s process and declared, “what you meant for evil, God meant for good.”

That entire generation died and eventually the Israelites grew larger and larger until a new leader Egypt came, who did not know about Joseph. He enslaved the Israelites for over four hundred years.

After four centuries, it seemed the process of saving the world was over. But God had a plan and he even used the evil Pharoah who ordered the death of all male babies under the age of two.

But a wise Hebrew woman named Jochebed took her baby son, placed him in a wicker basket and sent him up the river. Pharaoh’s daughter found him, named him Moses, and he was raised as one of Pharoah’s sons.

Eventually, Moses realized he didn’t fit, he killed an Egyptian in defense of the Israelites and ran away to the wilderness. Content with his life, nearing the age of eighty, God spoke to him.

He told him to go back to Egypt and set His people free. Moses resisted, but God revealed His name, I am, and His promise of giving His people a land of promise.

But even that was a process. It took ten plagues before Pharoah insisted the Israelites leave, with all the money, jewelry, gold, and resources they needed

With joy they left Egypt, only to come to the Red Sea. The Israelites became impatient with the process and begged to return to Egypt.

But God spoke through Moses—Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. The waters parted and they began their journey to the Promised Land. But they continually grew impatient with the process

When they got hungry, they wanted to return to Egypt.

When they got thirty, they wanted to return to Egypt.

When they got tired, they wanted to return to Egypt.

Eventually, God grew weary with that generation and determined they would all have to die in the wilderness before the Israelites could enter the Promised Land.

It was around this time God altered his method of revealing Himself. Up until now, He spoke to certain people, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, or Moses. Now, he would reveal Himself to Moses, who would write it down, creating what became known as the Law.

If people wanted to know the Lord, they could look to the law. Eventually Moses died, and encouraged them, IN THIS PROCESS, follow God’s instructions.

Joshua took over and had a process of conquering the Promised Land. After a northern and southern conquest, Israel rested from war and enjoyed the Promised Land.

Eventually, everyone from Joshua’s generation died and there arose a new generation who knew not the Lord nor the works He did for Israel. They grew impatient with the process and turned to the sins of the world.

As a result of their sin, God sent judgment, they cried out for help, He sent a judge, and for a while they would live a righteous life. Only to repeat the cycle again and again.

After nearly 400 years under the leadership of the judges, the Israelites continued to grow impatient with the process, now they wanted their own King.

By this point, the final judge of Israel was born, Samuel. But he served a dual role, he was the final judge and the first prophet. Now God would reveal Himself in a new way.

He would speak to prophets, who would speak to kings and countries. God told Samuel, they have not rejected you, they rejected me, give them a king.

Their first king was definitely impatient with the process. King Saul did what he wanted, when he wanted, how he wanted. So God moved from him and anointed a shepherd boy named David.

David led Israel through its greatest season ever. He died, his son Solomon took over. He began right, but grew impatient and ignored God’s law. He started a pattern for many kings in Israel.

They just couldn’t stay patient with the process. Eventually the kingdom split in two, with Israel to the north and Judah to the south. Israel ignored the prophets and fell into captivity.

Judah followed suit and also were taken captive by the Babylonians. For seventy years they endured misery under the tyranny of foreign empires. But it was all part of the process.

God had already revealed to His prophet Jeremiah that captivity would only last for seventy years. True to His word, after seven decades many returned to Jerusalem, saddened by the destruction of their city, they began to rebuild the temple and the walls around the city.

But they grew impatient with the process and God used Haggai to remind them, the glory of the second temple will be greater than the glory of Solomon’s temple.

The prophets rallied them to restore Jerusalem and get ready for a coming revelation of God that would change history. One of the last messages we hear from any Old Testament prophet is Malachi who promised, “the Sun of righteousness will arise with healing in His wings.”

Then, silence. God did not speak through any new prophets for a century. One hundred years turned to two hundred, then three hundred, and finally four hundred years until God resumed the process.

A peculiar man named John began baptizing people in the wilderness. He had a strange diet of locust and wild honey and he wore odd clothing made of camel’s hair.

He preached a simple message, I AM THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING, PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD. I baptize with water, but one mightier than I will come who will baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

He knew all about this coming one. He also knew God was about to change His process of revelation:

He revealed Himself to a select few

Then to Israel through the Law

Then through the prophets

Now, he was ready to reveal Himself to the whole world.

Some in Israel at this point looked for a coming Savior. Mary was one of them who conceived by the Holy Spirit and gave birth to her son, Jesus.

When He began to preach, His message was simple, Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. People were attracted to His promise of a Kingdom.

Eventually a group of rag tag disciples followed Him, but they always wanted to rush the process. They bickered over who would have the most power in the coming Kingdom, who will sit on His left or His right.

Jesus kept up the process, healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out devils, opening blinded eyes, and preaching the Kingdom of God.

Behind the scenes, Satan saw what happened. He knew that Jesus was the promised Seed of the woman who would bruise his head. He determined the only way to stop the process is to kill Jesus.

Satan found willing participants in his anti-Christ plan. Through one of Jesus’s own disciples and opposing religious leaders who seethed in jealous rage, they had Jesus murdered.

Eventually, they succeeded. Jesus endured the physical pain, but also the feeling of abandonment as the Father turned His face from Him and Jesus and Jesus cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me.

He breathed his final breath and died. The one who was a part of the process of creation, breathing life in to Adam, now had life taken from him.

Satan and his minions rejoiced, but they did not know the entire process. While His body lay lifeless, He spent three days getting back the keys to death, hell, and the grave.

In the meantime, the disciples thought the process was over. They hid in seclusion and fear of the future. Until Sunday morning when Mary Magdalene and the other Mary found the disciples to tell them the tomb is empty.

No wonder John outran Peter to find the empty tomb. Eventually, Jesus came to His disciples to let them know the rest of the process.

In the past, He revealed Himself to a select few

Then to Israel through the Law

Then through the prophets

Then through His Son Jesus

Now He was going to reveal Himself through the Holy Spirit

He told His disciples, I will change the world, and I will do it through you! But they STILL wanted the rush the process. They wondered about the restoration of the Kingdom of Israel. Finally, Jesus

He explained, I will give you the same power I have when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. Then He ascended to heaven. Receiving the power of the Spirit was a ten day process of waiting and praying.

Finally, the Spirit came to the Upper Room and 120 people began to speak in tongues. They now possessed supernatural power to do their part in the process God established.

They preached. Healed the sick. Raised the dead. Took authority over demons. And built the church of Jesus Christ, turning the then known world upside down!

The last we know of the New Testament church is found in Acts 28 and Revelation 1. Paul is in prison awaiting his death and John was sentenced to the Island of Patmos where He had a revelation of Jesus and His future process for humanity.

But the church did grow, for 300 years, they faced opposition, martyrdom, and attacks from government.

But they church kept going. Eventually corruption took hold, but God always had a remnant. The church survived the dark ages, the reformation, and the modern era.

It endured hardships, attacks, and threats.

It stayed steady in good times and bad times.

But it never lost its place in God’s process.

When life would get desperate, God’s people would pray, and He would send a wave of revival that would shake a local congregation, a community, a nation, and even much of the world.

And today, God still has a process. He is preparing His bride, His church for a process that will change the world forever!

Very soon, He will descend in the clouds, the dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are live will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air.

As we enjoy seven years in heaven, receiving our rewards at the judgment seat of Christ and feasting at the marriage supper of the lamb, the world will endure seven years of tribulation.

Judgment will come to the earth unlike anything seen in history—but it is all part of the process.

Then, when the time is right, just the Lord will sit on a white horse, and we will sit on our white horse and we will return we will lift our voice in heaven and cry, ALLELUIA FOR THE LORD GOD OMNIPOTENT REIGNS!

Then we will return to this earth with Jesus. He will fight the battle of the Armageddon. He will lock Satan away and we will enjoy 1000 years of peace on earth, ruling and reigning with Christ.

Then, after the Millennial Reign, Satan will be let out for a season, only to face his eternal judgment as he and those who rejected Christ will live in eternal separation from God.

Then, the Holy City, whose builder and maker is God, the New Jerusalem will come down as a bride adorned for Her husband.

We will enter that city, a place of no night, no gates, and no temple. We will live eternally with the ONE who took away our sins and provided us a place with Him.

Jesus issued the promise:

Revelation 22:20-21, He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

GOD HAS A PROCESS. It is a process of revelation and salvation.

Throughout scripture, people have grown impatient with the process. But I am here to say this morning, God has not forgotten His will or His plan.

To think, all of the people in history that God used only knew one part of the story. Abraham did not comprehend what Moses would face. Moses didn’t know anything about David. David never knew Jesus.

But each of these played their part in the divine process. They did what God called them to do when He called them to fulfill His will.

I came this morning prompted by the Holy Spirit just to take some time and talk about the process.

Now, we look at our lives, 2021, we just thought 2020 was rough. We do not know what next year holds. We do not know what we will face and endure. What we will celebrate or enjoy

But I can say this much, it is all part of the process.

2 Peter 1:19-21

The Holy Spirit is writing our story, let’s stick with the process