It’s time to break the patterns that are preventing you from getting close to God
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Tension
Tension
As Christians we are supposed to feel loved By God, close to GOD, always counting butterflies and rainbows - What happens when we aren’t. What happens | Lonely and Desperate | Going through a valley | or you might be “Close to God” “Far from God” - It’s just a season.
It’s just a season...
The problem - When we are lonely, when we are desperate, we look for comfort and we put our love in things that do not love us back. Today, let’s talk about it.
Message Series | Treasured Posession | Last Week | We spoke on the isrealites, about to receive new covenant | base of Mount sinai | and God said “If you Obey my Voice and keep my covenant, you will be my treasured posession” Possession = Segullah = Owned, we are his.
He then gave torah = Life Giving INstructions
What I want to do today, is look at what might be stopping us, living a life, close to God, and deal with some things that we might be attached to, that is dragging us away from God.
Title: It’s time to break the patterns that are preventing you from getting close to God
My Hope: You will see God wants to give you life giving instruction so that you can be close to him, and you can let go of what is not of him
**Pray**
Bounce around a bit today | Hear what the prophet MALACHI said about posession | Talk about isrealites in the wilderness and then speak about how someones patterns, tore them from God.
Context | There is some grumblings, God’s people have turned away, turned back, turned away, God is wanting them to turn back|
God then asks them to test Him with the tithe - Aint gonna go there, and then it says this;
Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed his name. “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.
Link between Spiritual Vitality and a healthy AWE of God - Understanding who He is. In Fact First great commandment Jesus said “Love the Lord your God with all your Heart | Soul | Mind.
Then God speaks of His Judgement, and this is good news - the wicked, the evil, will be taken care of by God | We can just focus on Serving Him | God calls us HIS - He wants us to be HIS.
What happened in Egypt? God Delivered them, out | God desires to delivers you | Look at everytime in the Old testament | takes slaves and what, tries to free them, and he wants to free you to | He wants to deliver you and place you from where you are | to where he sees you to be | He loves you too much to leave you, and too much to leave you the same
That’s why he Refines His treasured posession | Maybe the reason why we haven’t let the refining happen is because we are attached to things that don’t love us back, that makes us repeat the same PATTERNS.
Deliverance starts with a decision | It starts with your decision to Repent | If you’re going one way and you want change, that’s the first step | Most people want to be forced | Deliverance is God’s desire, but our decision.
God wants to pull you out | Give you more faith, break addiciton, put you in community , but we have free will | that’s why Salvation is a choice | Isrealites yelled out, then God delivered them |
God’s plan is always deliverance, but our patterns delay deliverance.
God’s whole reason for pulling isrealites out of Egypt is to bring them to the promise land | WHOLE PURPOSE | Out of Slavery into Promise |
God’s plan was 11 day journey, and yet, unbelief in God prevented them from reaching the promise land | God said speak to the rock | Moses calls isreal rebels, and strikes the rock | a single act of disobedience | Where has disobedience set you back?
An in the wilderness, the isrealites Grumbled - Man, I see myself in this right | Out of Bondage, in wilderness, saying, “We should go back to egypt” - Patterns weren’t picked up in the wilderness | picked up in bondage, but God wanted them to break them, to be REFINED, before entering the promise, and he wants that from us today.
This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Deliverance isn’t just walking out of something | It’s walking into something | isrealites - not good enough they walked out | They had to walk in | God wants you to STEP into something | to COMMIT | to find COMMUNITY | “Not enough to stop being greedy, you have to get into being generous” “not enough to say hi to people on Sunday, God wants you connected to community”
Isrealites, in the middle of the wilderness | lingering | They are in the middle thing |
Bible Study - Hot on top | Cold in the middle
Literally the meaning of lukewalm| I know it’s uncomfortable | but I want to see people transform, so we’re going to go there | Grace Saves, Truth Sets free | I feel people are going to be set free today
“ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot!
God is saying that he wants you to be HOT for the Lord | All in | Full worshippers of Him | He wants ALL OF YOU | All of your commitment | all of your heart | All of your life.
Until we listen and apply God’s principles | We will not change the pattern, because we are attached to something, we love something that doesn’t love us back.
Let’s talk about it - His Principles
Let’s talk about it - His Principles
But, God’s Principles, comes with Parameters | Everything God does, comes with Parameters | What if he gives us paramters for…our protection.
Kids Parametres = Protection | Imagine if we treat our kids, the way we treat God sometimes
Gives us the parametre of “funky monkey” for a reason | to protect you | they say “You never forget your first time” - there is a reason | Now that special thing instead of being enjoyed with your love, is being compared “Well, wasn’t as good as johnny, jeff etc”
It’s wrecking marriages, ruining friendships, hurting people and it’s not God’s design because we can’t accept God’s limits.
God’s Parametres are for our protection.
Stuff, in this world, that we get attached to that are outside of his parametres always end up in problems.
If you stay in the parameters, and follow his principles, you will break the patterns, so you can find your purpose.
Pressure Cooker
Sometimes its not easy
“Before you were formed, you where chosen for a purpose” - Everything in this world is going to stop you from getting there.
Let’s turn to Samson
Truth - Samsons Story
Truth - Samsons Story
Samsons Mum | Barren | God promised her a Son | But God wanted Him | He was a Nazirite | had certain Parameters
Could not touch a dead body
Could not shave off His Head
not drink wine or touch grapes
These are weird rules right - No reason - it was purely for the opportunity to honour God.
Maybe you’ve been called into something? and you don’t understand it
You don’t have to understand to obey.
Obedience is not about outcomes. It’s about Honour - You don’t have to understand but you have to honour that God is in your life.
In this Google generation we think that we are obligated to know God’s next move.
There where two people that tried to know everything, what happened?
Your best version of you is with parameters.
Let’s look at Samson - He stuffed up | he had so many desires | Disboyed, got into some awful patterns | Had Lust |
After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver.” So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you.”
Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
Doesn’t say Delilah loved Samson does it | Delilah is not descreet is she? She says…oh Sammy…tell me how I can CUFF YOU”
How can I confine you, compress you, contain you
More specific; Confine your gifts | Contain your calling | Compress your character |
Samson, is soo in love, with someone, that doesn’t love him back.
Can I just encourage you…everything Samson had been through, he never dealt with it (after this), so his future is about to be painted by his past paint.
Samson fell in something because he was feeling Desperate, and Lonely.
“Cast- away - Wilson, could not love him back, why, because he was desperate”
Attached to what? Control? Cycles? deceptions? lies? what is it? let’s deal with it.
Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.
Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound.”
Samson does not CUT OFF THE CONNECTION | Jesus gives us parameters - if you lust in your heart, but we think we are stronger | “I don’t need accountability” “I can do it on my own” “Im good with money”
Let’s read
And he said to her, “If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
Arrogance. Samson knows he is anointed, so he walks in arrogance.
Arrogance will take away your power, because you think you’re stronger than you are, and playing with stuff that you’re playing with.
My golden rule:
Don’t let critisism go to your heart ,don’t let compliments go to your head and remember where you came from.
So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.
Then Delilah said to Samson, “Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
Imagine being Samsons friend “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”
Now imagine being your friend. (haha)
Samson is comfrotable, so he is playing with it. What are you entertaining that is threatning you?
A clue
So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web.
And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.”
And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death.
He was in love with something that did not love him back | Consistent toxic connections lead to the cutting of your calling.
“Connection to fear” “Connection to poverty” “Connection to wealth” - Get people out of your mind, its the patterns - Patterns mess up the principles which moves you from the parameters of God.
And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up again, for he has told me all his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands.
He was handed over, His eyes where gauged out, He could not see, His calling has been squashed, because he was ATTACHED to something that did not love him back.
The word said that the Lord let him, we know the Lord will not leave us - but if you feel far from God - he is not the one that moved.
Inspo and Close
Inspo and Close
What do we do? We need to; DETACH - We need to stay in the Parametres of God, and follow His principles, to break the patterns of this world, so we can find HIS purpose for our LIVES.
You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.
Turn to His word | Spend time with Him | Make a decision to have HIM in your life COMPLETLEY
Don’t be enslaved anymore to comparison, to pride, to confusion, to worry, to doubt - you can be free, because you have been paid for, you can get to the promise land.
Push into refining | Know it’s for a higher purpose | Embrace the pressure cooker
This might be a longer process for some, but you have a community here - You have love here - We will be Raw, and we will be REAL.
Jesus didn’t come for the perfect, he came for the sinners.
Everyone that made a decision for Jesus Changed
**Gospel Message**
**Altar Call**
**Pray**