Win The Day (2)
Win The Day • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 7 viewsThe Christian Life is not about "looking perfect"... or "acting perfect"... It is about transforming our lives through the ONE who is perfect... Christ gave us the power to "Flip the Script," but that means that we have to take action... We must step out in Faith and "Kiss the Wave"!
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Last week, we said that we have to Flip The Script....
That we have to tell ourselves a different story by allowing God to write them…
To “Win The Day,” We have to begin to discover our “God-Authored” identity.
That is what the Church is here for. Our purpose is to help others find their “God-Authored” identity,
It begins with John 3:16…
God expects us to take the first step… to step out in faith… to…
Kiss The Wave
Kiss The Wave
… before He reveals the next step.
Scripture is packed full of men and women who discovered that truth… amen?
— Peter (got out of the boat)
— Esther (went to the king)
— David (faced a giant)
— Moses (led the Israelites out of Egypt)
— and… Let’s not forget about Abram!
All of these accounts tell us the story of people who took a step of faith, and God showed up in a BIG way!
Today, I want to tell you about another man… A man whose story, most of us probably don’t know…
You see… Both of the Jewish rabbinical texts, Talmud and Midrash, tell us the legend of a man named Nahshon.
Nahshon was Elisheva’s brother — in other words, Aaron’s brother-in-law…
Little is said about him in the Bible…
Nahshon only gets one begat in the Bible. Look at…
3 On the east, toward the sunrise, the divisions of the camp of Judah are to encamp under their standard. The leader of the people of Judah is Nahshon son of Amminadab.
9 All the men assigned to the camp of Judah, according to their divisions, number 186,400. They will set out first.
Nahshon was the leader of the tribe of Judah… He is the great-great-great-grandfather of King David.
BUT… in the Biblical narrative… He disappears almost as soon as he is mentioned!
However… in Jewish tradition, Nahshon is credited with saving the nation of Israel by one act of courage.
After their EXODUS out of Egypt, the Israelites are trapped between a rock and a hard place—the Egyptian Army and the Red Sea.
No one knows what to do. There is no way out. That’s when God issues an insane command:
Exodus 14:15 (NLT)
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving!
(NIV) — “Tell the Israelites to move on.”
(NRSV) — “go forward.”
“Tell the people of Israel to GO FORWARD.”
To go the direction they have been going…
The problem was — there is NO WAY forward!
According to Rabbinic tradition… this is when the leader of the tribe of Judah steps up!
Nahshon wades into the water like a toddler that can’t wait to get into the pool! (That’s how I picture it anyway!)
It’s an EPIC MOMENT!
With the Egyptian army bearing down on them from behind… Nahshon wades into the Red Sea until he is neck-deep, right up to his nostrils.
That is when… and where… and how… the Red Sea splits in parts.
God makes a sidewalk through the sea, but it was Nahshon who made the miracle possible.
How?
By wading into the water!
By taking a leap of faith!
Don’t believe me?? Look what the psalmist says about Nahshon:
1 When Israel came out of Egypt, Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
2 Judah became God’s sanctuary, Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled, the Jordan turned back;
4 the mountains leaped like rams, the hills like lambs.
Last week we said:
If you want to walk on water, you have to get out of the boat.
Well…
If you want God to make a sidewalk through the sea, you have to get in the water.
But that’s the problem isn’t it?!?
Most of us spend our lives waiting for God to split the Red Sea, but we are afraid to get wet!!!
Is that you?!?!
Are you sitting on the sidelines… Praying for God to act… to do something!!!
Maybe, just maybe, God is waiting for you to get your feet wet.
Maybe, just maybe, God is waiting for you to wade into the water.
If you want God to do the super, you have to do the natural.
You have to take a risk.
You have to make a defining decision.
You have to take a leap of faith!
When Jesus told Ananias to go to Paul — that murderer of Christians — He asked him to step out in faith!
When Peter wanted to walk on water, Jesus invited him to get out of the boat… and he did!
Jesus does the same for us!
All it takes for God to make a sidewalk through the sea is for you to choose to kiss the wave.
The first step is always the hardest step.
Why? (The Law of Inertia)
The Law of inertia states that an object at rest will stay at rest unless it is acted on by another force....
You have to overcome the law of inertia by exercising initiative.
You have to overcome fear by exercising faith.
You have to take the FIRST STEP before God reveals the second step.
That’s what Nahshon did!
You have to wade into the water, sometimes, right up to your nostrils!
If you have a Bible, meet me in Exodus 14.
Let me set the scene.
The Israelites have left Egypt… the plagues have happened… Pharoah’s son is dead… he has relented and let them leave, BUT… His heart hardened…
The Israelites have traveled all the way to the red sea… and the Egyptian army has followed them!
Now, they are trapped between the Egyptian Army and the Red Sea!
It seems like a no win situation—death by sword or death by drowning.
Put yourself in their sandals for a second.
Imagine the sound of horses and chariots… The entire Egyptian army is coming at you full throttle… This is fight or flight if I’ve ever seen one, amen?
Scripture tells us… the people panicked.
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
Moses gives three simple thoughts here:
1. Face Your Fear
2. Take Your Stand
3. Hold Your Peace
Life has a way of beating us up, amen?
What we do in those moments matters!
Charles Spurgeon once said, “I’ve learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the rock of ages.”
2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
Jobe said, “Though He slay me, still I will worship Him.” (Job 13:15)
Jesus said, Jn16:33
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
The Storms of Life — the waves that threaten to knock us down and overwhelm us — ONLY SERVE TO DRIVE US TO JESUS! (Pastor Tony)
If we are going to “Kiss the Wave,” then we MUST
Face our Fear
If you’ve got the Egyptian Army coming at you full speed, it is fight or flight. Amen?
When the whole world seems to be coming against you, that is cause for anxiety, Amen?
BUT… Moses says, “Fear not.”
Most of us would respond: “That’s easy for you to say!!!”
Let me tell you… Courage is not the absence of fear.
Courage is how you handle fear in moments like these.
According to psychologists, we’re only born with two fears: 1. fear of falling, 2. The fear of loud noises.
You know what that means?
Every other fear is learned!
Anxiety and Fear are “learned responses”…
(Allessa, spicy food story)
What that means is: Fear can be unlearned.
Faith is a process of unlearning fear!
18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
In other words… If you fear God, which is the beginning of wisdom, you don’t have to fear anything else.
The fear of God is the cure of every fear.
Let me push that a little bit.
Pick a fear, any fear.
consider this example… What is the cure for the fear of failure?
It’s not success.
The cure for the fear of failure is failure… in small doses…
That’s how you build up an immunity to it.
What fear are you dealing with?
—fear of failure… fear of rejection… fear of intimacy… fear of the future… fear of certain social situations…
You have to identify your fear, and then… don’t avoid it.
Expose yourself to it…
You wade into the water, like Nahshon.
Nine times out of ten, failure is poorly managed success, and success is well-managed failure.
One of the greatest things that can happen to us is for the thing we fear to actually happen… because it will set you free!
You see… Once you’ve faced your fear — It no longer has control over you!
Let me add one more thing to the mix.
We are a community of faith.
We eat faith for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (Or, at least we should!)
Why?
So, We can dream big, pray hard, and think long.
We need to pursue God-sized goals.
Why?
That’s how we elevate and activate each other’s faith… and that creates a barrier against fear!
But here’s the truth… All of us want a miracle, but… None of us wants to be in a situation that necessitates a miracle.
You can’t have one without the other.
Here’s the good news: when you experience a setback, you do not take a step back, because God is already preparing your comeback!
4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.
God is going to put His glory on display, one way or the other.
So we need to...
Stand Our Ground
13 Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.
The NLT says, “Stand still.” As in…
10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
The NIV says, “Stand firm.”
The amplified says, “Take your stand.”
The Good News Translation says, “Stand your ground.”
Whichever way you slice it… What is the hardest thing to do if the Egyptian army is coming at you, full speed?
Be Still!!!
There is a scene in Ford vs. Ferrari where Carroll Shelby says, “There’s a point at 7000 RPM where everything fades. The machine becomes weightless. It just disappears. All that’s left is a body moving through space and time. 7000 RPM, that’s where you meet it. That’s where you feel it. It creeps up on you, and it asks you a question. The only question that really matters: Who are you?”
I am pretty sure that Moses’s head was spinning at 7,000 RPM.
Where do we go?
What do we do?
Do you remember the burning bush?
Moses asks God the question, “Who am I?”
Do you remember that?
I love the way God answers …
God says, “I will be with you.”
He doesn’t answer the question Moses asked!!!
He simply says, “I’ll be with you.”
You see… That’s all we need to know.
At 7,000 RPMs, Moses remembers and says, “Stand still.”
It is in moments like these that we discover who we are and who God is.
At the Battle of the Bulge, General Anthony McAuliffe said to American troops who were completely surrounded by the enemy : “Men, we have the greatest opportunity ever afforded an army—we can attack in any direction!”
That is flipping the script!
That is kissing the wave!
In crisis situations, We need to go back to ground zero.
… back to the foot of the cross.
… make a beeline for the empty tomb.
… go back to the promises we can stand on
Philippians 1:6 (NIV)
6 being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
When fear rears its ugly head… We need to go back to daily spiritual disciplines.
Why?
The only ceiling to our intimacy with God and impact on the world is daily spiritual disciplines!
We need to stay grounded in God’s word.
We need to press in and pray through.
That’s how you stand your ground!
If you stay humble and stay hungry, there is nothing God cannot do in you or through you.
On November 31,1517, Martin Luther posted ninety-five theses on the doors of the Castle Church.
When he was told to recant at the Diet of Worms, Luther said: “My conscience is taken captive by God’s word. I cannot and will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand, I can do no other.”
We need that kind of courage!
Especially in our world today!
How do you kiss the wave?
You ground yourself in the Word of God.
You anchor yourself to the promises of God.
4 And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So the Israelites did this.
Fredrick Nietzsche said, “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.”
God is our why!!!
God will fight for us!!!
With that promise, we can …
Hold Our Peace
There is an ancient tradition, practiced in orthodox churches, called “pass the peace.”
It actually traces back to the Sermon on the Mount.
If you’re offering a gift and realize you are at odds with someone, go and be reconciled.
That’s how you counteract the racial and social tension and political polarization of our world today.
You interrupt the pattern.
You love your enemies.
You pray for those who persecute you.
You bless those who curse you.
When we “pass the peace”, heaven invades earth!
But …
We can’t pass the peace if we don’t learn how to hold our peace.
A lot of people in our world today have lost their peace.
At least one-third of Americans struggle with anxiety or depression.
How do we get it back?
How do you hold your peace when it seems like the world is spinning off its axis?
We stay calm and carry on.
We Hold our Peace.
Remember last week?
We are a people who have been given authority…
We are a people who rebuke the wind and the waves.
We say to the storm, peace be still!
We don’t take offense… We play offense.
We don’t react… We pro-act.
How?
Through Grace!
We are grace givers and peace makers. And when we act as such, we shift the atmosphere.
“I know pastor, but how do we do that?”
How do we hold our peace and give grace?
We do it by owning your past.
If you don’t own the past, the past willown you.
You cannot change the past… but you can learn from it.
Then you can bury it!
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
We need to recognize our past… accept it… and let go of it!!!
It’s time to kiss the wave, and forgive ourselves!!!
Some of us need to “kiss the wave” of forgiveness that knocks us right back to Jesus!
Kissing the wave means action.
It means taking a step of faith!!!
Look at Exo 14:15
15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on.
(I love this!!!!)
I’m not sure what step of faith you need to take!
Maybe it’s letting go… burying the past....
Maybe it’s stepping out and accepting Him…
Maybe it’s a faith struggle…
I don’t know…
But… I do know this: God is telling you — is telling us — “stop waiting… stop praying… and take that step!”
Now… That doesn’t mean that we stop praying literally…
It means that we stop letting our prayers be an excuse for inaction!!!
It means that we stop praying about it, and start doing it!
The first step is always the hardest step.
But… If you want God to make a sidewalk through the sea, you have to wade into the water and kiss the wave.
There are two kinds of people in the world—plotters and plodders.
Plotters are those who see the far-off future.
They have vision beyond their resources.
They set God-sized goals.
They dream the unthinkable and attempt the impossible.
I admire plotter, but I’ll tell you who I admire even more—plodders.
These are the people who get up every morning, and Win The Day.
They stay humble and stay hungry.
They stay in their lane, and they stay the course.
They are the ones who aren’t afraid to step out in faith every single day!!!
Remember Nahshon?
He’s the patron saint of plodders.
What if he stopped after stepping into the water?
What if he had thought: Well, that didn’t work.
What if he had quit when he was waist-deep?
Nothing’s happening.
What if he had stopped when the water reached his chin?
What if he decided, That was a waste of time and energy. I got no return.
Too often, We quit too soon.
Too often, We give up too easily.
Too often, We stop before God even gets going!
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, (amen?) the author and finisher of our faith.
For the joy set before us, let u endure the cross.
Christ kissed the wave for you and for me!
Will we “kiss the wave” for Him?
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is charity!
Let’s pray together.