Date: September 11th, 11
Speaker: Stacey Ellertson
Title: What God Created Us For
Theme: From Here to There: Experiencing God Like Never Before
Scripture: Genesis 1:1, Ephesians 3: 14 - 21
Introduction:
Generally speaking anniversaries are a time of celebration. When it comes to anniversaries we think fondly of that first date, wedding day, newborn, and graduation.
Not all anniversaries though are celebratory and today is an anniversary of an event we all wish had never happened; 9/11. We begin this morning remembering the tragedy of that fateful day. Lives were lost. Lives were saved and most heroically many faced a new beginning ; a courageous beginning each day to live, love and look forward to a brighter tomorrow from the darkness of their yesterday.
A NEW BEGINNING 9/11
Words cannot explain,
All the hearts that were broken,
True feelings of such pain,
Crying words that were spoken,
Families torn apart,
With so many lives lost,
Trying to make a new start,
Because of an enemies holocaust,
Brave men and women,
Who sacrificed their life,
Heaven will reward them,
With a bright new shining light,
For us, this will be a new beginning,
Stronger people we have become,
Through fear and tragedy we're winning,
Because we have united as one,
God Bless America,
And all the people who stand tall,
For we are the ones' who make this great nation,
And we will never fall.
Just how important are beginnings? Here are a few pearls of wisdom to absorb:
“So many fail because they don’t get started – they don’t go. They don’t overcome inertia. They don’t begin” W. Clement Stone.
“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.”
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.” Roman Philosopher Seneca
"You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.
~Joe Sabah~
"From small beginnings come great things."
~Proverb~
"Take the first step in faith. You don't have to
see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
~Martin Luther King Jr.
“What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make an
end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”
~T.S. Eliot~
“The secret to a rich life is to have more beginnings than endings.”
~David Weinbaum~
These are all great quotes that ought to inspire us to take that first step, to begin again, and have more beginnings than endings. There is however an ever greater more famous inspirational passage straight from the bible, “In the beginning God created...” (Genesis 1:1).
There are two aspects to this passage that mark its significance. The first emphasises the presence of God in the beginning and expresses the foundation of all life. “In the beginning God...” It is from this foundation that we are reminded that:
Beginnings move us from the darkness into the light!
Beginnings bring order from chaos!
Beginnings are three dimensional for they move upon, over and within!
Beginnings are born from the deepest part of who we are!
Beginnings are scary. Beginnings are threatening. Beginnings seem insurmountable. No matter how intimidating it is to begin we can rest assured that God is there.
Video: Soul Surfer Clip
If you have not seen this movie yet, it is called Soul Surfer and I highly recommend it. It’s a true story about a young teenage surfer named Bethany Hamilton who is attacked by a shark and loses her left arm. It is an inspiring story of triumph over tragedy and faith over fear. It is a story about beginning to grow again.
There are too many who remain stuck in the darkness of their misery. They focus every day on the end of their marriage, end of their job, the end of a life or the end of hope. For those who are courageous enough to begin again, they are able to discover more than they ever realized possible.
I see it every day when I work with a client and I have learned that they are the bravest people I know. It is with courage they begin and it is from this beginning that God creates.
The second aspect of this passage highlights the creative aspect of God’s presence in the beginning. “In the beginning God created...”
Science and God have an issue with each other. Science would propose that the beginning of all life comes from nothing. Some big bang. That intelligent life begins from nothing. So I thought we would test this theory right here and now.
Puzzle Illustration.
We can learn several things from this illustration that is validated by Genesis 1:1:
-nothing comes into existence by accident.
-life does not come from lifelessness.
-all creative beginnings happen with purposeful intent.
-to begin is to be consistently in pattern with the image of God and creative nature of Christ.
-without a beginning there is no creation and there is no growth.
-it is because of our faith in a creative God that our lives have meaning, purpose and day by day limitless opportunities to begin again, to create ... again.
-from every beginning we continue to create a coherent wholeness of purpose, not just today but for eternity.
-purpose does not come from completion. It comes from beginning anew and creating again and again.
-not all beginnings are obvious but God’s creative nature becomes clear with every growing step we take to give birth to more beginnings.
-if we are to experience the fullness of our faith we must learn to grow spiritually and that takes the courage to begin the journey.
The question is why? Why begin? The answer can be found in What God created us for. It is so profound that Paul spent an entire chapter writing about it to the Church in Ephesus with a special emphasis on spiritual empowerment. He declared, “When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth” (Ephesians 3:14-15).
He further expands his prayer
1. God created us for Empowerment.
Paul has news for us. A powerful awakening. He says, “I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will give you mighty inner strength through His Holy Spirit” (Ephesians 3:16).
One of the most wonderful aspects of being created in God’s image is the unlimited potential He placed within us from the beginning. God did not create us to be weak. He created us to be strong, to be empowered. Empowered by His Holy Spirit.
My friends we are not meant to be stuck, stagnant and stifled. We are meant to be inspired, enlightened and empowered with spiritual wisdom and power. It is not a power that comes from our own ability, intelligence, practice or professional progress. It comes from every opportunity we take advantage of to allow the Holy Spirit to strengthen us from within. We may live in a world with limited resources but with God his resources are limitless.
Allow me a moment to share some personal thoughts and talk a little bit about my own journey. All my life has been about earning acceptance. It began when I was very small. I never felt strong. I always felt weak. No matter how hard I tried, how much I cared or how hard I worked there was always that gap in my life I could never fill. When you grow up and your friends betray you that is bad enough, but when your own body betrays you and you can’t do anything about that is about as weak as one can get.
I lived in fear most of my life. I worried all the time what other thought of me. I lived in a darkness that seemed inescapable but then God shine his light into my life.
Then I began a journey that turned my life around. I decided (as scared as I was) to attend bible college. It was there that I began to allow God’s Holy Spirit to strengthen me. From that beginning God began to create a new heart and renew a right spirit within me. I began to discover my calling, my purpose and my power.
It had nothing to do with past attempts to be accepted but to allow myself to know I was already accepted by the very one who created me. God compels me to remind others of their full potential now and I meet heroes every day. What makes them heroes is their willingness to begin their own spiritual journey and discover God’s redemptive power in their lives.
These people are empowered to grow and change in ways few can understand. In fact I can relate better to those who are unhealthy and don’t have it all together than to those who think they do. I understand the depth of their pain, the solitude of their loneliness and sense of powerlessness. Too many of us are working hard to make a pay check but few of us are willing to take advantage of a spiritual check up.
Why can we be so tired all the time? Why are there so many victims and not enough victors? Why are we just getting by and unable to fully enjoy the beauty of God that wants to fill us with? What is missing?
The answer is passion; a spiritual passion to begin every day with a desire to grow. To be challenged and allow God’s Holy Spirit to stretch us and fill us with a mighty inner strength. In a word we are missing RENEWAL, spiritual renewal. A growing desire to be more than we are and everything God desires us to be.
When we fail to take advantage of God’s sustaining grace we faint and grow tired. If we don’t receive power and life from the Holy Spirit within us then we just run out of gas!
It doesn’t have to be that way! The Apostle Paul is calling on us to let God renew our strength and give us an overcoming victorious life. We were created with unlimited potential, empowered by the Holy Spirit of He who created us.
2. God created us for Love.
“And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as your trust Him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvellous love” (Ephesians 3:17-18).
Our spiritual growth does not begin with the mind. It begins with the heart. If we are to truly comprehend the fullness of God’s love we must root ourselves in the love of Christ that dwells within our hearts. That is why the distinctive difference between Christianity and all other faith systems is the “personal” relationship we have with God through Jesus Christ.
Can you remember the last time you moved into a new place? There is an exciting anticipation of beginning something new. We can spend a lot of time preparing it for us to dwell in; new carpet, curtains, paint or furnishing just to start. We know this is where we will spend most of our time and we want that place to be a place where we honoured to call home.
Our heart is Christ’s home. The moment we commit our lives to Him, we open up our hearts and spend the rest of our lives preparing it for him. To do so, we must rely on God’s resources, submit to His spirit, and trust in His truth.
Christ’s willingness to give his life for us is a message we must all take to heart. He believed in our unlimited potential to grow spiritually and be more than our limited minds and bodies can allow.
The deeper we explore our faith, the deeper our love for God will be. For this to happen we must be willing to begin the journey and that journey is never over while we walk this earth.
We believe those roots are modelled in our longing to explore Christ, grow in Christ, become close to Christ and be Christ Centered and East Side feels called to provide the right conditions for our spiritual growth. Only God can water and strengthen those roots. Only you can take advantage of the opportunities.
3. God created us for Life.
“May you experience the love of Christ though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God” (Ephesians 3:19).
When was the last time you experienced a “God Moment?” That moment, when you knew beyond a shadow of doubt that God had reached into your life and personally touched your heart. Spiritual growth occurs most when we put ourselves into situations where God can speak into our life.
Soul Surfer Clip
In the book “The Making of A Leader” Dr. Robert Clinton says God meets us in four different places:
- Personal Encounters: “appointments” where God introduces us to other people who have a significant impact on our life.
- Faith challenges: where we face a decision that requires a step of faith and trust that cultivates a distinct dependence on God.
- Negative circumstances: unpleasant, sometimes painful moments of conflict or crisis that God uses to create significant change.
- Isolation: times of pause from day-to-day routines where we are able to listen to God in a quiet way.
Conclusion:
East Side cannot create God moments but we can help to facilitate opportunities for God to do so. Whether you are exploring Christ, growing in Christ, Close to Christ or Christ-centered we will have the spiritual growth opportunities for you to take advantage of.
Three years ago you told the leadership one of the major areas that needed development was your spiritual growth. Over the next three Sundays we will continue to promote our new Spiritual Development Strategy.
We would now like to just take a moment to show how you can keep up to date on upcoming opportunities with East Side’s Website.
Show East Side Website
- Emphasis on registration: online, phone or at the welcome desk.
Ladies and gentleman your spiritual growth can happen any moment.
It will move you from the darkness into the light!
Bring order to chaos!
Move upon, over and within you!
Come from the deepest part of who you are!
“Now glory be to God! By his mighty power at work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitately more than we would ever dare to ask or hope. May He be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20-21).
If Bethany Hamilton can surf the wave of the deep with one arm, we can certainly surf the depth of God’s purpose for us.
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