Imagine the End
Divine Rhythm • Sermon • Submitted
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· 8 viewsWhether it was a puzzle we were putting together or furniture we bought from target, we usually look at the box and see the finished product before we start. How many of us start a project with the end in mind? It’s what we should do but sometimes we just jump right into the directions. The problem is that if we don’t pick our heads up from the work we are doing, we often will lose sight of the end. We’ll focus on all the ‘right’ steps but forget ‘why’ we are doing what we are doing. Sometimes we’ll quit altogether. When Moses stood in front of Israel that day he told them about what was ahead for them. He told them their future would include struggle and success. It would include resources and houses that they didn’t earn or build. In the end, the 120 year old leader would implore an entire nation not to build an army or save up their money. He told them…Don’t forget God. This is the first building block for God’s divine rhythm
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Introduction: Church Appropriate Dance Moves
Introduction: Church Appropriate Dance Moves
Dancing can make you either come alive or make you feel so uncomfortable
Why They Need to Know it
Dancing can make you either come alive or make you feel so uncomfortable
Some people get the rhythm…they can feel the beat…if you want to test this out just play the electric slide at a wedding and watch what happens
Rhythm is defined as strong, repeated patterns of movement or sound
We have these when we walk or talk (moving to Hawaii…)
We have them in our faith
Divine Rhythm is the movement of God’s presence in the ebbs and flows of my life
Divine Rhythm is the movement of God’s presence in the ebbs and flows of my life
WK1: Imagine
WK2: Fight for the Heart
WK3: Rest is Required
WK4: Family Groove
Why do we feel like we lose our Rhythm so easily?
A new job....Someone says something…We get discouraged....
Moses gives us some insight...
Deuteronomy 6:4-
“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.
Deuteronom
Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
Deuteronomy
Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.
“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.
1. Divine Rhythm means that I start with the END in mind
1. Divine Rhythm means that I start with the END in mind
Explain
Explain
These are the very last words of Moses to the entire nation before they step into the promise land.
Since the time of Moses till today the Hebrew community will recite this at least twice every single day.
Our God is ONE: The direction of the Hebrew language...
It speaks to the unity and consistency of God and who He is
It also speaks to the authority and reality of who He is
God is the ONE and ONLY Yahweh
Moses is saying that everything hinges on ONE essential truth: God IS God
In the end the ONLY thing that matters is that this ONE truth is passed on
Illustration: Reinforcement…Visualization…Habit...
Illustration: Reinforcement…Visualization…Habit...
How many of us start a project with the end in mind?
As a gymnast I would rehearse things over and over
Studies of our Reticular Activating System (that which regulates wakefulness and suggest that when we visualize our goals and are conscious about them, our full energy and personal talents are activated in order to develop them effectively.
Studies of our Reticular Activating System (that which regulates wakefulness and suggest that when we visualize our goals and are conscious about them, our full energy and personal talents are activated in order to develop them effectively.
Studies of our Reticular Activating System (that which regulates wakefulness and suggest that when we visualize our goals and are conscious about them, our full energy and personal talents are activated in order to develop them effectively.
Moses knew something about the nature of people…we are prone to forget
“The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.
“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today.
Scripture
“The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt.
Deuteronomy 6:10
2. The greatest challenge to divine rhythm won’t be a loss of faith but a loss of focus
2. The greatest challenge to divine rhythm won’t be a loss of faith but a loss of focus
Explain
Explain
Moses knew that their entire world was about to change
They would no longer be wanderers but owners
They would have land…cities…houses…wells…power…money
God’s blessing would be incredible
Blessings poorly prioritized become idols
Israel’s problem wouldn’t be atheism but shifting priorities
Here on the verge of a brand new movement, Moses tells the nation:
Not to build their military or save their money
He tells them NOT TO FORGET....
What God has done & to pass on the MOST important things to the next generation
Story: When Blessings become burdens
Story: When Blessings become burdens
If I can just get my job situation taken care of then I’ll get my faith in order...
If I can just finish that project on the house then we’ll go on a date
If she would just wait till I got that promotion then we can go camping as a family
If my kids can just get into that private school then we’ll be set
Blessings left un-prioritized develop their own pull..Their own gravity
I start thinking that the MOST important thing for my kids is that they attend the right school and college
The MOST important thing is that they have the right career
The MOST important thing is that they marry the right person
The MOST important thing is that they live in the right neighborhood
These are things are important, they just aren’t the MOST important
Divine Rhythm is about focusing on what matters most…in the end
Now What? How do I get my rhythm back?
Now What? How do I get my rhythm back?
Now What? How do I get my rhythm back?
Now What? How do I get my rhythm back?
Take one step
(Act, then Reflect)…kill ALL or Nothing thinking
Pray…Do a 15 minute Devotion…Write down what you want to see in 1,5 or 10 years
We haven’t talked…so talk…say 10 words and see where it goes
Story: I almost forgot how to pray with Tarah
Baptism (today at 3pm)
GDGS (this Friday at 6pm)
Why they need to do it
Why they need to do it
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
Divine Rhythm is the movement of God’s presence in the ebbs and flows of my life
We keep that Rhythm when we keep the end in mind
We keep that Rhythm when we stay focused on the MOST important things
Over the next few weeks …let’s NOT FORGET what God has done…Let’s REMEMBER how good He is.