Everyone Has a Story
This is My Story • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 4 viewsMissions Month 2023 is all about stories. Each week, we will learn from a bible story, a missionary story, and consider our own unique story. The hope of this series is that people will identify their faith story and share it with others!
Notes
Transcript
Handout
NEED Anchor Graphic
October 1st 2023
Series:This is My Story – Missions Month 2023
Sermon Title: Everyone Has a Story
Key Passages: Hebrews 11: 1-40
Sermon Blurb: Missions Month 2023 is all about stories. Each week, we will learn from a bible story, a missionary story, and consider our own unique story. The hope of this series is that people will identify their faith story and share it with others!
Sermon:
Welcome to Family Church!!!
And welcome to Missions Month 2023!!!!!!!!!
Or as our Missions Pastor, Bob, calls it, welcome to…
sing“The most wonderful time of the year” LOL
That’s right, it’s that time of year again
That time when we intentionally focus on what God is doing in the area of local and global missions at Family Church.
PAUSE
If you’re new or newer to Family Church, we are thrilled that you are with us……and want to let you know that we LOVE missions at Family Church.
And you will find out over the course of this month just how much Family Church is doing when it comes to missions!
Every year we spend an entire month dedicated to celebrating what God has done and looking at the opportunities for missions that are in front of us as well!
And this year, we will do just that…
We will highlight the missionaries we support.
We will talk about our missions partners, both locally and all over the world!
And we will let you know all the amazing things we have planned for 2024!
PAUSE
I know there are a LOT of churches that do missions emphasis, and they bring in missionaries to speak and everyone dreads it.
That is NOT what we do here!
I promise you....
If you are newer to Family Church you are going to LOVE this month!
PAUSE
And let me say this right out the gate…
If you have never been on a mission’s trip OR it been a while since you were on one...
I want to encourage you to jump into one of our upcoming opportunities!
In fact, when you came in, you were handed THIS brochure...can you all wave that at me....
That brochure lists all the trips we will be taking in 2024 and how you can get more info if you want it.
I want to encourage you to begin praying about what trip God might want you to take this year.
…if you’re single, take some time to pray and ask God..
…If you’re married, pray together with your spouse...
…if you’re a parent, pray with your kids about a family-friendly trip...
I would encourage you ALL to pray and see if this is the year God wants you to step outside your normal box and go on a mission trip!
Don’t just brush it off!
Don’t assume you can’t raise the funds!
Really consider a trip in 2024.
I promise, you will be a blessing and also be blessed if you do so!
LONG PAUSE
So, here’s how Missions Month is going to work this year.
This year is going to be all about STORIES.
Because EVERYONE has a story.
You have a story.
I have a story.
Everyone…..has a story!
And the neat part about it is that no two stories are the exact same!
That’s right!!!!
Your story is unique, personal, AND powerful.
And over the course of this month we are going to help you learn how to tell your story in a way that change people’s lives for Jesus!
PAUSE
Each week, there will be three aspects of our messages.
Part One, we will learn the stories of our missionaries and partners.
Because we want everyone to feel connected to our mission-partners, even if you’ve never had the opportunity to meet them or be with them.
Second, we will look at stories from the Bible.
We will let God’s Word strengthen and challenge us.
And third, we will connect things into our own story.
We will help you look at how God has shaped your story and become more confident in your ability to share your story as well.
PAUSE
So…. Let’s jump in today!
Let’s hear from our friend and partner, Sampson, as he shares his story…
SAMPSON VIDEO
PAUSE
Isn’t that awesome!
Sampson’s story is wonderfully unique and so powerful!
I’m so glad he is doing what God has called him to do and that countless lives are being impacted because of it!
Sampson’s story is so incredible because he simply said “yes”.
YES, to God.
YES, to what God wanted.
YES, to the inner voice of God’s Spirit to be led in different seasons and moments of life…
Which ultimately led him to coming on staff with Helping Kenya Kids.
PAUSE
Praise God for the awesome work that is happening in Kenya with Helping Kenya Kids!!!!!
Now I know we don’t talk about Helping Kenya Kids a lot....but I want to share with you the reality of what God is doing through all of us and this ministry of ours in Kenya...
Did you know that Helping Kenya Kids operates 12 centers around Kenya!
That DAILY we feed and educate 3,000+ kids!
That we have 40+ number of teachers we support!
That during the drought we were feeding 300+ families!
That we are running 2 medical clinics now!
That we have 12+ number of churches we are supporting!
And all that since God gave us this ministry just a few years ago!!!!!
PAUSE
I wonder if we lived, like Samson, with that same response to God’s leading in our story?
What would our life look like if.... our answer to God was always “yes.”
What do you think your life would look like if you said “yes” to whatever God wants to do in life.
Can you imagine the stories that would fill the pages of your life’s story?
PAUSE
When Sampson considers his life, he recognizes that God has placed a call on him.
And Sampson wants to go where God calls…
Wherever that leads.
Whatever that means.
People like Sampson understand something about their life’s story…
Write this down
Every story has an author.
*repeat
Every story has someone or something directing or influencing it.
So, what about you and me?
Who, or what, is directing your story?
Who, or what, is the primary influence on your life and the direction it is going?
Have you ever thought about who, or what is REALLY, directing what you do in life?
PAUSE
Is it you...
Or are you really directed daily by your finances...
Is your day really determined by your spouse, parents, boss or teacher?
Is your day really determined by a need?
Is your life determined by your health?
Is your future directed by you..... or something you strive for...
PAUSE
To a Christian, the answer should be we are directed by Jesus.
That Jesus is the director, calling the shots.
In Hebrews 12:2 it says this.......…
Hebrews 12:2 fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.
The Bible acknowledges there are many things that can draw our attention away from Jesus…
So, we need to be mindful of who, or what, we are allowing to influence or control us.
And ONE way we can avoid being influenced by wrong things is making sure we focus on Jesus!
And by learning from other great men and women of the faith, who have gone before us and allowed Jesus to direct their lives.
PAUSE
So let’s look at an example of someone who did this well in the Bible....
Turn with me in your Bibles to
Hebrews 11
This passage is awesome because it reminds us of some of the greatest men, and women, that ever lived.
I want us to see their faith-story and how God directed them.
PAUSE
Every great story has dynamic elements.
A plot and theme,
…an antagonist and protagonist
…tensions and suspense
…twists and turns
…high moments and low moments
…and ultimately, stories will have a climax that will determine the outcome.
These are what we could call faith-defining moments.
When these defining moments come, we need to capture them, remember them, and share them!
PAUSE
Hebrews 11, is full of people who walked by faith…
People who trusted God even when things didn’t seem good.
Their lives tell an amazing story.
And the commonality in each of these stories, is faith in God.
That’s why WE need to notice faith-defining moments in our lives as well.
And not only notice ones from the past, but ALSO recognize the faith-defining moments in front of us right now!
Let’s read this together…
Hebrews 11: 1-40 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
Stop there...
Faith is defined for us right here.
Write this down:
Faith is the confidence that God is the Author of my story.
*repeat
If God is the Author of your story…
And God wants to see FAITH....
What does that mean????
Well....Let’s keep reading…
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.
Let’s pause here…
So, there’s a pattern growing in each of these stories
There is one trait that every person possessed.
Do you see it?
What word has been used over and over so far?
FAITH.
And what is faith again?
Faith is confidence that God is the Author of our story!
And watch this, verse 6…
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
That’s a huge statement!
Faith that pleases God HINGES on fully trusting Him through every chapter of life!!
That kind of faith God recognizes and responds to.
Church.....
God is NOT out to get you, or harm you, or put you in positions that you cannot handle with Him.
Yet, there are times in life when even the most faithful Christians struggle to see God in their story.
That is why FAITH is so necessary.
Because feelings, circumstances, emotions, and even our own intellect shifts and changes…
BUT GOD never changes!
He can be trusted 100% of the time through 100% of life.
Faith confidently trusts in God as the Perfect Author of our life.
Let’s keep reading…
7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.
9 By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise.
10 For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.
12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.
13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.
14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.
15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return.
16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Let’s pause here.
Did you notice in verse 13 what it said?
They did NOT receive what they trusted God for.
These people trusted God…
Placed their faith in God…
And they did NOT receive what they were promised!!!!
At least not while on earth.
PAUSE
This is an essential lesson for followers of Jesus.
Sometimes, God allows us to experience blessings and fulfilled promises while on earth.
And that is great when it happens!
Not every promise is guaranteed to us while on earth.
PAUSE
We don’t have enough time to unpack this fully,
…but let me say this…
…these people of faith believed God was directing them to a better place.
Look back at verse 16…
16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.
Sometimes, God doesn’t give us what we ask for.
And it’s because He has something even BETTER than what we think we want!
That’s right!
God is that good!
Sometimes God has a BETTER plan and BIGGER perspective then we do!
PAUSE
So, we need to ask ourselves… “when I don’t receive the answer, I want…
Do I trust that God has a better plan?”
Do I believe God has a BETTER idea....
Do I believe God has a BETTER outcome than I can see in the moment?
PAUSE
It’s important that we look at our life-story through a spiritual, eternal lens, not an earthly, temporal one.
So, I want you to write this down:
Faith moves me to release control to the Author of my story.
*repeat
Faith moves me to trust God more than what my five senses are indicating in the moment.
Sometimes we don’t see it
Sometimes it gets harder or more difficult
Sometimes it seems like it’s never going to happen
But God is not finished.
He has not completed your story.
PAUSE
Let’s keep reading…verse 17....
17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son,
18 even though God had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.”
19 Abraham reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible.
28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.
31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets,
33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions,
34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.
36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—
38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
And then it ends with a reminder of something previously stated…
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
PAUSE
So, that’s the end of this chapter… the end of what some call “The Hall of Faith.”
All these amazing people believed in God until the very last breath!
They trusted the Author and Perfector of their life… of their story.
And you may ask, “how did they have such great faith”?
OR…
Maybe you’re thinking that God let them down.
But look again at verse 40…
40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
You see, they all knew something.
They believed that life on earth was NOT the full picture.
It was NOT the full story!
So, write this down:
There may be chapters in my story that the Author has yet to reveal.
Repeat
God didn’t fail to keep His promise.
God didn’t let them down.
They got everything AND MORE!
God provided a better and more lasting reward than they ever imagined!
PAUSE
Yes, your story might have some delays too.
Your story may not turn out the way you think.
Your story may cause you to wrestle with faith-issues.
But if God is the Author, He will come through… and He will do more than we could ever imagine.
LONG PAUSE
I don’t know everyone’s story.
I don’t know what chapter your life is in right now.
I don’t know what promises you might be holding on to
I don’t know where your faith is at today.
But I DO know this…
God can be trusted.
God can be trusted.
And so, the question is, “will I allow God to be the Author”?
Will I give God full access, full control, of my life and allow Him to write a great story in my life?
A story that will even go on long after I’m gone from earth.
God never fails or let’s anyone down.
He is the Creator and Sustainer of life… and He can absolutely be trusted as the Author of your life as well.
PAUSE
Let me give your
Life Application: God wants to be the Author of my life’s story. Is there any area of my life where I have not allowed God to direct me? If so, submit that area to God and let Him have full control today. I will _______________________.
Prayer
Offering