Take a Breath 09/27/2020

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Sermon: Take a Breath

Backyard football - getting the wind knocked out of me. Needed to take a breath. There are times in life when we need to take a breath.

I want to preach Take a breath to you today. But not your own breath…you need to take a breath from God. Allow God to breathe on you and in you. Because He is the only one who can give you the strength and power to overcome life’s challenges. We need God to breathe on us today!

Faith’s Call

One of my favorite character stories in the Bible is of Abraham. His story like many of the other characters of the bible’s stories encompass what it is to live by faith.

Hebrews 11:8–12 NKJV

8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. 11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. 12 Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

We look at the end of the story and see the outcome. We get to see the buttoned up finished story line of Abraham and Sara sometimes thinking my life is not going like that.

Living in the moments are very different than reading the history of what happened.

Because living in it is living in the “not-yet-completed” story. There are some undetermined things in our experience of the journey.

The call of faith is not to have the story of our life complete. Faith is not having it all neat and tidy absent of the struggle. Faith is not a name it and claim it, grab hold of all the blessings from God with none of the uncertainty of life.

I am speaking to people who today, everyone of us, are facing challenges, struggle, or uncertainty in some form in our life.

The hope of faith is that, ultimately, we know the outcome. There is a heaven and we hope for it. There is an eternity spent with Jesus and we hope for it. The promise of our Lord and Savior for no sorrow, no pain, joy everlasting, on streets of Gold in a city fashioned for us.

But right now, the journey for each of us is filled with mountains to climb, hills to descend, valleys to walk thru, obstacles to cross. It’s never a straight easy walk.

Outside of the New Birth of repenting, being baptized in Jesus name, and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. Common experience for each of us.

The rest of our lives are filled with unique experiences of struggle, disappointments, loneliness, heartache, unresolved conflict, and unanswered questions.

Faith has never been about reconciling the story of our lives to be easy. If having life easier is what your faith is established on, then your faith will fail you.

Abraham like each of us started walking with the Lord holding to a promise.

Genesis 12:1–5 NKJV

1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” 4 So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. 5 Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.

It took some faith to leave the security and safety of what He had always known.

Following the voice of God into the unknown, into uncertainty. Faith’s call is not to play it safe…it is to put yourself out there where God controls the outcome.

Leaving your country, leaving family, leaving security for a promise God offers headed for land you’ve not seen, with descendants that have not yet been born.

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Substance - realization, Evidence - confidence.

Faith’s call is...

to surrender to Jesus Christ.

Submit to His sovereignty.

Trust Him.

To know that regardless of what is allowed to happen to my life. He can give me a life that is better than I could imagine and construct for myself.

Knowing that His way is better than my way. “Though He slay me...”

Trusting that even the negative horrible things will bring Glory to God and somehow God will use them to become a blessing in my life.

Faith has never been safe. Faith has always been putting control into the will and hands of a sovereign Lord, letting Him do as He pleases.

Faith’s Challenge

Abram and Sarai had packed up the camels… left behind family, friends, safety of the known for a promise of the unknown.

When life’s inconveniences set in… famine in the land. They turn to Egypt.

Fear - lies to Pharoah. Wrestled control away from God.

God never said go to Egypt. God could have supplied food in a famine. But fear.

Never gave God an opportunity… Robbed God of using his discomfort for a miracle moment.

Miracles of provision missionary story.

All the boldness of faith that caused him to leave the safe place vanished when life got real and Abram takes back control. We take action on what appears to be the best move…Even in Abram’s absence of real faith, a gracious God chooses to bless him.

After all of that God again reaffirms His promises to Abram.

After 10 years Genesis 16 opens with a real problem for Abram.

Genesis 16:1 NKJV

1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.

No children. The problem they left home with persisted. It’s been 10 years and nothing has changed yet.

Genesis 16:2 NKJV

2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.

It’s the Lord’s fault. Why don’t you go to my maid. Maybe this is what God meant to happen… I can help God… He’s moving too slow for me.

It seems logical. Maybe God will use my actions to get us to the promise. I will help get His will done.

That’s flesh. You cannot produce spiritual results with wisdom from the flesh. You will not see spiritual promises born from carnal decisions.

Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.

The Voice

Abram heard from God and left on faith.

Abram heard fear and left his faith.

Abram heard from God and went into covenant.

Abram heeded Sarai and almost destroyed his family.

The voice you hear matters!

There are voices at work right now that will disrupt what God has willed for your life.

Voice of fear. Voice of someone that seems to be speaking from wisdom but its only worldly wisdom.

Voice of your own flesh, I’ll help God…not moving fast enough. What He said hasn’t happened yet. We can be our own Sarai’s sometime. Scheming to make something happen.

Voice we need to hear is the Lord’s!

When it changed for Abram

Genesis 17:5 NKJV

5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.

Simple letter, H.

In Hebrew behind every letter is an idea. The letter is “hey” and it represents God breathing or His Spirit moving.

God breathed into Abram’s life. Something of God attached itself to Abram’s life.

In the New Testament the baptism of the Holy Spirit. God breathing into His people.

Hear the voice of God.

Need the Spirit working in our life.

Baptism of the Holy Spirit speaking in tongues.

You need God to breathe into your life and situation. We need God to breathe into this church...

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