SP130316/ReEnvision: Reflecting on the Past

Harvest messages are brought to you by harvest partners receive free email daily devotions or to become a harvest partner, please visit us online@harvest.org Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter 14 Matthew chapter 14 what would happen here all talking what that you give for the music. When am I chopped liver. No, it wasn't human.

Your Bible what is happening. How many of you brought your Bible. Thank you.

Oh, a lot of iPad and iPhone cylindrical interesting pastor Jeff who does the midweek Bible study to bring his Bible.

He was the one who said he came for the music. By the way, want to share a few thoughts with you, pray for this is all you know how to do.

Obviously I'm never going to make it as a worship leader so I'm in the thick of it, but I was thinking a little bit reflecting back, looking at all these old videos and photos and putting that photo together and in thinking more about the past, more intentionally than I have in a long time. I was trying to identify maybe some of the principles that have sort of guided us to where we are today and one more that sort of bubbles up for me will of course number one, it's Jesus. Let's just get that on the table.

If Jesus Christ he has done this. He has done this. He is doing this and we trust in the can you the guy that but the other were the king to come up after that was the word faith. We taken a lot of steps of faith over the years and you know faith is something that moves faith is belief plus action faith is a living, a restless thing.

It simply cannot be operative unit in operative. I should say you gotta use your faith. In fact, faith is not unlike a muscle the way you build a muscle up is to use you effectively break it down and build it up if you do not use your muscles they will atrophy and in the same way if you don't use your faith. It can turn to apathy and so faith must be used for it to continue to be active in your life and we taken a lot of bold steps of faith. What werecome from it comes from the word of God that comes from studying and believing the word of God were told over and I keep is that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God is Romans 1017, so as we hear the word of God. Our faith will grow and that is why every week and really every service we offer theology without apology. You know, we look forward to opening the word of God and hearing what it has to say and really my hope and prayer is up for meeting again in 40 years. I don't think I'll be at that meeting that these principles would still be in play, because I think that sometimes we are inflexible we are to be flexible and more flexible. What we should be inflexible as it makes sense. Okay, where should we be flexible.

We should be flexible in musical style. For instance, are using a lot of stylistic changes in just service tonight from something as basic as me leaving a song up it a cappella to acoustic guitars and as you see the end of the worship how it's changed over the years and that's a good thing and sometimes people don't want to change so we like this style and we can only do this style and and they sort of get stuck in a rut in their living in the past. I think it's important to be flexible. There within their areas.

We need must be inflexible where were that will in the study of the Bible we don't ever say what we don't do that anymore. We used to do that no doubt that so we must be inflexible. We have always followed the principles of acts chapter 2 verses 42 to 47 that we've identified in an acronym that is simply well WELL it stands for worship of evangelism learning and loving the church. The change the world. The church of the first century they were worshiping church. It says in acts two that they worship the Lord with gladness of heart, number two, they were an evangelistic church, we read that the Lord added to the church daily those that were being say number of L. Number one, they were learning church. They continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and they were a loving church because that chapter goes on to talk about how they cured 14 another. So that's what we wanted really be inflexible, meaning going to continue to study the work is another area. What we need to be inflexible. In other words, we will keep doing this. No matter what that is preaching the gospel preaching the gospel because this is really needed to know a lot of churches are not there not inviting people to Christ not giving people an opportunity to come to believe in Jesus.

So not only do we believe that's important rut. Your harvest, but we have encouraged churches around the world to do this as well. I could tell you stories of what we've gone to do a crusade overseas in a place like Australia or New Zealand or another state and help folks from our church will pay their own way to go over and help out and serve in and share the gospel in the streets and pastors of Senate were where you get these people what these people that would come so far and go on our streets and tell others about Jesus because the same people would say what I want to work in our community and they find it does work in their community because the gospel never goes out of style. Gobble always honor his word. So we need to take this faith and we need to use this faith in it. We don't use this faith, then we will find that it will get weaker and really when you get down to it faith to make the difference between something happening and not happening.

Let me say that again faith can make the difference between something happening and not happening but God is the one that does the work, but he works through people and he is looking for people to take steps of faith, let's go back to that story were the Israelites were crossing the Jordan River. He said get your feet wet snow. Could God have sovereignly part of the water just like you did the Red Sea so they can walk through of court when he said no you get that arc upon your shoulders. The ark of the covenant and you walk through those waters, you get your feet wet. He wanted them to put their faith into action and throughout the years we've had to take bold steps of faith. We started at All Saints church way back in the early 70s I was 20 years 21 years old and I'd only been a Christian for four years. You know how fast I went through my sermons that I had. I didn't have that many and does so from that point on, to the present day. It was like on the job preparation and studying to give these messages out and and as a single Bible study group I was looking for someone to take it over, but I will get a 21-year-old to calculate costs of this block of people, many of them very old like during the 30 I'm not qualified. I tried to find others to take it over for me.

Nobody word and I realize that God was calling me to be the pastor of this block and we outgrew the church and we started looking around for a property we found this church that is part of our Sunday school structure now up on the hill and and so we made the move and I was told when we left the church that the things in a fall apart if you leave and you're going to fail and it's never going to work but we took a bold step of faith. We left with 300 people. We arrived with 500 people. I don't know where we picked up the extra 200.

They showed up and then as our church grew in we were having multiple services like double Sunday night services and we move down do Riverside municipal Auditorium that we used to call Riverside municipal microwave oven because there was no air conditioning. Then we went to Ring cross Square and started holding our Sunday night services and we realized we needed a building so we bought this piece of land that were sitting on right now and we erected this building and it cost $1 million to build this building that $1 million is a lot of money, but that then it was really a lot of money. It was like $50 million or more, perhaps that was just no way we were told this will never work is not going to happen. We took a bold step of faith in the Lord honored it and then take her to see you know we were told, while crusades are over with Billy Graham as the last guy that will ever be able to do those in people. I want to go to crusades anymore.

They don't want that kind of thing will the last time I checked the primary way that God reaches people is the preaching of the gospel that doesn't go out of style.

So why would we back off on that so we took a step of faith in the Lord blessed as we started there at the Pacific amphitheater and in the next year. We went to Angel Stadium at which is change its name multiple times.

Angel Stadium Anaheim Stadium and and so forth. Edison Field and now it's Angel Stadium again, but Tom, you know, we went there and then we will settle this only working Californians would work anywhere else that we did one in Oregon is available only working California and Oregon. It would it would never work in the South and we did it in in Georgia and we went to North Carolina well defined, but it never worked in the East Coast.

They would never go for this only went to New York and went to Madison Square Garden and Philadelphia well defined. It's an American think it would never work outside of the United States.

So we went to New Zealand and we went to Australia well okay maybe American Australia, New Zealand, you know the gospel is the gospel, and it always for all who the pastor John Collins of the craziest idea never heard Phyllis do a thing called harvest America news all the media out there and let's go to thousands of churches on one day it was so insane.

I loved it. So we started planning it.

We presented it.

The people see you just get together in your church get the library all that will work. The people come to church Sobotka live video if you know what we know it will as were using it in our church.

One of the only church doing it. Many others are using all know, people won't fail, that won't work and I pastor say you're crazy to even try this well we did it. It was one of the largest evangelistic events in American but you gotta take steps of faith or nothing will happen quick little look at this very familiar story. The story of Peter walking on the water.

One of my favorites. Matthew 14 and other out of the Sea of Galilee and a storm comes the freaking out. They think they're going to drown Jesus shows up walking on the water.

Verse 28 says and Peter answered and said, Lord of the two tell me to come to you on the water. Jesus said, I would Peter come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind was boisterous, he was afraid and beginning to sink he cried out, Lord save me and immediately Jesus stretched out as an and caught him and said oh you of little faith, why did you doubt your peers often uses an example of what not to do and what not to say but I have to point out that I had has to be off to them in this amazing display of faith you want to talk about getting your feet wet. Peter was willing to get his whole body wax to walk on the water to Jesus. This was real active put everything on the line. Muscular go for broke faith and I love it. I mean it just seems like this was the most irrational thing one could possibly do.

But faith is the refusal to panic faith has no backdoor there was no safety net. Peter was not wearing those little water wings. You know the little toddlers inflated just in case it didn't work out so flow I mean he was even a walk in the water. He was going to sink. But this was not presumptuous. Peter said Lord of it to tell me to come and Jesus said, and he went and he walked on the water. How was he able to do it. He looked to Jesus not tell you what. When you look at Jesus. Amazing things can happen when you focus on Jesus and do it for his glory. God can do miraculous things are yours ago.

Jonathan, our youngest son, we are over in Hawaii and he wanted to try scuba diving. I'm a certified scuba dive right dive rarely, but I so will you let's go get you a lesson so he took a lesson and learn how to use the regulator in the masculine, you know, the way felt on the whole deal.

So so the day came for his dive and and I went out with them and that the instructor was going to go out with Jonathan. I said now you know how to do this at all.

Yes, I'm a certified diver and don't worry about me said okay fine, and so we we got in this little boat. We went out and it was a really really choppy day. I mean the boat was pitching back and forth in, and it was really not a good day to go diving that I didn't want to show Jonathan my panic because I'm a certified scuba diver so I was trying to hack to. So I was cool but I really wasn't called the scary and so Jonathan's out there any dances mask on and is regular and you know you fall backwards into the water then you breathe in and we fell in and Jonathan starts to panic. He's panicking in the water. I'm looking at him.

I'm kind of panicking a little bit in this instructor was so great. He said Jonathan look at me, look at me and then he said, remember your training Jonathan's looking Adam, I'm looking out of three you have a regulator you can breathe underwater. It's okay.

So you start to breathe and you get underneath the water surface and it is okay and that's the same thing was happening to Peter here's Peter you know he's doing well. He's looking at Jesus and the moment he takes his eyes off of Jesus. He begins to think it was a lapse of faith. It says when he looked down at verse 30 and saw the waves churning beneath the screen. He lost his nerve and started to sink and we will have lapses of faith. Have you ever had a lapse of faith will I have. I don't mean that I've ever doubted my salvation or doubt of the Bible. But there are times when I go to situations and I wonder how many get through the course. One of those was when the Lord called our son Christopher to heaven I know is in heaven. I know that all CM in heaven one day, but then there is day-to-day living. And sometimes I think you know he's gone and I'll never see him again and you know what I do when that happens, I preach the gospel to myself I need to hear the gospel as well as preach the gospel. Sometimes I'm on my Col. actually preach about Greg Laurie you listen to me, you idiot. Jesus Christ died on the cross that he rose again from the dead, and he said I'm the resurrection and the life he neither believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, you'll see your son again I'll say that to myself and I believe it.

I encourage all of you to believe your belief in.your doubts, you know, believe what you believe because it is true and Peter lost side of things awarded.

He knew he called out to Jesus, Lord, save me time saving me know how that was the right thing to do another Hawaii story thing that a lot of Hawaii stories. I was over there with my friend Ricky Ryan is a pastor and we took Christopher our oldest son out surfing. He was very young. And this is a Qualcomm little spot not big circle were paddling out in all of a sudden the waves came in.

I mean there were huge and once again I'm afraid Ricky's this season Waterman, looking over to Ricky and and as is. Once in the ways of pricing right in front of us. Christopher yelled out dad dad what we do. I said okay son were okay just just pray and he said Lord Jesus. That's what we all need to do the Lord Jesus save us and Jesus grabbed Peter and pulled him up and said oh you of little faith, why did you doubt and then they caught up on the water and walked back to the boats you know Peter could've failed. Listen to this I would rather try and failed, and never try at all. Try let's just see what the Lord is done so, let me say a word to year. We have many volunteers here tonight.

How many of you are serving the Lord your harvest and some volunteer capacity.

Raise up your hand thank you so much God bless all of you. How many of you are not volunteering or serving in any way raise your hand. Why, maybe you can join us. Let me just say to you that have failed you the trying something for God, and you failed, I have something to say to you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you for trying.

Maybe it was a feeble attempt to share the gospel with someone who didn't go so well then you started that home Bible study and no one came. Maybe it was someone I was sick and you pray for them and instead of getting better. They got worse friend who asked me to pray for months.

He was nauseated. Greg pray for me. I did many got really sick and was throwing up, and afterwards he said Greg deliver pray for me. Sorry, but to all of you who have tried and failed. Thank you for that because you try and you learn from your mistakes. You know you make next time I'll do it this way next time I'm in the change that so failure can actually be a great teacher off in the doorway. Six. Two successes entered the hallway of failure it's been set up at first you don't succeed, what I have a new version if at first you don't succeed, Roulac you're just like the rest of us, God will honor so we want to thank all of you for all that you've done and let's continue to take bold steps of faith for Jesus Christ because I believe Christ is coming back soon, but I believe the days are short, some in my breathing yeah you said that 40 years ago.

So I don't deny it or 40 years, closer so we'll talk about some of the things were looking on the future how to live that way tomorrow night, but now let's have some more great worship.

So this team is going to come back out again and Alito said of chorus of great rates on so this is not the greatest worship band ever