DRIFT

DRIFT

Sunday am, October 1, 2017

Restoration Fellowship

CONNECT Have you ever had an infection?  I have had several bouts with cellulitis that required long antibiotic regimens… The temptation was to stop before the treatments early. After all, I was feeling OK. It was a pain to go in everyday for the antibiotic IVs. If I had done this, I would not have gotten well.

TENSION We have all done this. The half empty antibiotic bottles in your medicine cabinet are mute witnesses to this tendency in all of us.

As a Pastor for many years, I have had people come to me for help. We would start a process and their lives would improve; their marriages got better; consequences were avoided.  In the vast majority of cases, people never finished the process. When they entered the promised land, they quit doing what they were doing that brought them in.

There is an old country saying, “Dance with what brung ya!” This means, when you get where you want to go, keep doing the things that got you there.

As a football coach, I made a critical mistake in this area some years ago. We had a great defense we had used all year. When we got to regionals, a coach from a very successful program suggested a defense he had used against our next opponent. I scrapped the defense we had used all year and had taken us into the playoffs for a defense we could only practice three days. The result? We got killed!

SOLUTION When you enter a time of fulfillment, you must keep doing what got you there.

INSTRUCTION

TEXT Hebrews 2:1 NLT So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.

PRAYER

Last week we saw Israel come to the border of the land God had promised them only to not go in. They were stopped by the gate of fear that blocked their way. This led to years of wondering in the wilderness just out of reach of the promise.

After forty years a new generation stands at the same gate of fear. What will they do?

Now brothers and sisters, that question is before us today. Fifteen years ago this week, a small group of dreamers launched a new church. We didn’t know what we were doing; we did everything wrong. But God blessed in spite of us. We didn’t want to perpetuate mediocrity, but be an influence on the city. We didn’t want ‘church as usual’, but longed for a bold move of God, a new touch of the Lord, a fresh anointing with the oil of the Spirit!

We have been on this journey together, but our generation has not gotten us there. We have prepared the way and set the table, but it is a new generation that will take it in! 

Moses saw the promised land, but Joshua took Israel in.

Deuteronomy 31:1-3 NLT When Moses had finished giving these instructions to all the people of Israel, he said, “I am now 120 years old, and I am no longer able to lead you. The Lord has told me, ‘You will not cross the Jordan River.’ But the Lord your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy the nations living there, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua will lead you across the river, just as the Lord promised.”

Martin Luther King spoke on April 3, 1968, at the Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters) in Memphis, Tennessee. On the following day, King was assassinated.  In the final sentences, Dr. King speaks about dying…

Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live - a long life; longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So, I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. Dr. King led the way, but others led them in.

John Kennedy stood at his inauguration in January of 1961as the youngest President in the history of our country at that time and spoke these words…

We dare not forget today that we are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage--and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world. Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge--and more. 

And as if we needed any more sterling examples, recall one of the greatest movies of this year, “War for the Planet of the Apes”!  Caesar, the chimpanzee who led the apes to freedom, dies on the mountaintop at the edge of the new Homeland. He sees his family and his nation enjoy the fruits of his labor, and he dies in peace on the shoulder of his most trusted friend!

What am I saying? We all want to get to the dream that is Restoration Fellowship. Some of our older generation will get there; some will not. Whether we get there is up to a new generation. We are not alone in this. Across the nation, longtime pastors are turning their ministries over to a new generation of leaders that really understand the paradigm we live in. They understand the culture; they can relate to the young of our nation; and they have a unique anointing! It is exciting to see. What will this generation do?

What did this new generation of Israel do?  They went in!  GOd led them in and gave them victory.  God also gave them some very specific warnings about what lay ahead of them.

1.     Don’t quit fighting!

Deuteronomy 7:22 NLT The Lord your God will drive those nations out ahead of you little by little. You will not clear them away all at once, otherwise the wild animals would multiply too quickly for you.

Judges 3:1-2 NLT These are the nations that the Lord left in the land to test those Israelites who had not experienced the wars of Canaan. He did this to teach warfare to generations of Israelites who had no experience in battle.

New levels, new devils! The wind is stronger the higher you go! Chuck Yeager became the first man to break the sound barrier in 1947 piloting the Bell X-1. He had to deal with turbulence and loss of control until he punched through Mach 1.  We will face stronger battles the farther we go in God toward our possessions.

2.     Don’t forget God!

Deuteronomy 8:10-11 NLT When you have eaten your fill, be sure to praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. “But that is the time to be careful! Beware that in your plenty you do not forget the Lord your God and disobey his commands, regulations, and decrees that I am giving you today.

3.     Don’t get proud!

Deuteronomy 8:14 NLT Do not become proud at that time and forget the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. Don't think you did it by yourself!

How did they do? Before they went in, Moses told them…

Deuteronomy 12:8 NLT Today all of you are doing as you please.

Joshua and Judges record the story of the conquest. They conquered all the land God promised, but not all the people were driven out because God allowed them to stay to teach Israel how to fight. However, their hearts were still not right. The last verse in Judges says this…

Judges 21:25 NLT In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes.

The people did exactly what God said they would do. They forgot God, became like the nations around them, and worshipped their gods!

Deuteronomy 31:16 NLT The Lord said to Moses, “You are about to die and join your ancestors. After you are gone, these people will begin to worship foreign gods, the gods of the land where they are going. They will abandon me and break my covenant that I have made with them.”

Deuteronomy 31:20 NLT For I will bring them into the land I swore to give their ancestors—a land flowing with milk and honey. There they will become prosperous, eat all the food they want, and become fat. But they will begin to worship other gods; they will despise me and break my covenant.

INSPIRATION

God gave them the land even though He knew what they would do!  That is love!  God blesses your life because He loves you; not because you deserve it!

Deuteronomy 9:6 NLT You must recognize that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land because you are good, for you are not—you are a stubborn people.

ACTION STEPS

When we come into the land of promise, there is a natural inclination to return to our old way of life. This is spiritual drift.

Wind boarding in Miami… We must stay intentional…

We must finish the process. We must reverse the downward spiral one step at a time.

The spiral begins with an external trigger. Sow the trigger, reap a thought. Sow the thought, reap a temptation. Sow the temptation, reap a sin. Sow a sin, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a stronghold. Sow a stronghold, reap a demon.

We stay the course by reversing the process. Get rid of the demons. Tear down the strongholds. Identify habits. Deal with the inner desire that feeds temptation. Take your mind captive. Guard the external triggers.

INVITATION

Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NLT Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live! You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Joshua 24:15 NLT ...Choose today whom you will serve… But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.