Faith: Vehicle of Destiny--Pastor Clay Baggett

During worship tonight, the Holy Spirit was moving!!! Maybe it was just me, but it was awesome! The last song we did was called Awakening and it went right along with my conversation with God yesterday on my way back from Evansville (see previous post). Then the sermon just further confirmed it all. Here are my sermon notes:

Imagine your faith as a vehicle. What would that vehicle be?

   Gremlin: Small, out-dated, cheap, no longer in production

   Ambulance: Only accessed in dire emergencies

   Bus: Mass-transit, only strong in large groups

   Mazaradi: Fast, beautiful, but not at all practical, and very expensive.

   Monster Truck: Loves to crush stuff and make noises but never really accomplishes anything good.

   Concept Car: Beautiful, unique, one of a kind, but was never meant to leave the showroom.

   Bicycle: Easy to take care of, relatively inexpensive, not dependant on the oil in the middle east, low emissions, heart healthy, requires a little work on your part to get where you're going.

Let's look at Paul. What did his vehicle look like? What is it that made Paul so extraordinary?

Acts 14:8-20

1-This man had FAITH! (v 8)

     a-The lame man's circumstances said he could not.

     b-Paul perceived his level of faith because like spirits attract like spirits.

     c-Paul observed him intently before judging his level of faith.

2-Being an ORDINARY person is important because God use them to do EXTRAORDINARY things! (v 14)

     a-Paul had issues.

     b-Paul had flaws.

     c-In the midst of success don't lose your ordinariness.

You bring the ORDINARY; God adds the EXTRA!

3-ORDINARY people doing EXTRAORDINARY things can expect EXTRAORDINARY attacks!

     a-Deal with ordinary (obvious) attacks first. Satan will use 20-year-old offenses to deflate your faith if he can.

     b-We need to be willing to work outside the world's system.

     c-Because the only place the enemy can attack us is thru that system.

     d-If you're being spanked by the enemy then realize that it's because of the potential potency of the anointing on your life.

     e-God's agenda for you is waiting on you to recognize who you are!

4-ORDINARY people doing EXTRAORDINARY things can expect EXTRAORDINARY deliverance!

     a-The people had left Paul for dead, but God had a different plan.

     b-I wonder if Paul felt like he was in God's perfect will when he waked to the next city 100 miles away after being stoned.

After church was over, I went to talk to Pastor Clay and Jonathon to tell them about my time with God yesterday and how they both reiterated what God was saying to me. They were talking and I was waiting when Pastor Darin smeared anointing oil on my forehead. He said "I had some left on my hand, so I figured I'd give it to you." I said, "Nothing wrong with that! I'll take all the anointing I can get!" The whole night was amazing!!!

In Your Presence

I got a run going to Evansville, IN. (We have a contract with CSX to transport their crews, so these runs are not that unusual.) While I was on the way up there, I could only pray silently, but I told God that when I dropped these guys off I wanted to pray for real. I wanted to spend some serious time with Him.

I haven't updated my GPS in awhile so the new stretch of Pennyrile Parkway from Hopkinsville to I-24 doesn't exist according to it. It shows my little yellow cab driving in the middle of no where. Sometimes it shows a dotted line to the nearest road to show me that if I can get there, the GPS will be able to direct me the rest of the way. I was praying when I saw that little dotted line on the screen. I said, “Lord, that is how I feel sometimes; like I'm floating in the middle of no where. I feel so alone and uncomfortable, but at the same time, I know I am where I belong. Others keep telling me I need to get over onto the road that everyone can see, but I know that isn't where You want me to be. I know that if I continue on the way I'm headed (even though it is uncharted territory) I will end up on the right road.” As I was approaching I-24 the solid red line was coming into view. Then the dotted line told me what I already knew... this path WILL get me there!

Then I started reflecting on something that Morgann, Mark, Abby and I were talking about after Life Groups on Sunday night. We were talking about what it means to DWELL in God's presence. Psalm 140:13 says, “Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name; The upright shall dwell in Your presence.” Is it just something we experience every Sunday and Wednesday at church? Is it something we experience every day, but only during our time of “devotions”? Or is it something we can experience all day, every day, every moment of our lives? Dwell means “to live or stay as a permanent resident; reside” (dictionary.com). So, I began to pray and tell God that I want to dwell in His presence. I want to LIVE there all the time!

How do I do that? I quickly realized that I am to focus on Him always. Hebrews 12:2 says “Keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

There was a time that I would imagine that Jesus was sitting in the front seat of the cab riding with me, because technically speaking HE IS! I was so embarrassed by some of the things that my customers would say and do that I stopped inviting Jesus to come. In a way I thought (not a conscious thought, but somewhere in the back of my mind) I was protecting Him from the sin I'm exposed to everyday. God spoke to me today and made me realize just how arrogant that was. Little ole ME thought I could protect Jesus from the sin in this world. While I think the sin I see daily is horrid, Jesus has not only SEEN worse, He BECAME worse!!! He became all sin so that He could conquer it.

I was listening to Devin Williams Pour It Out. Actually, I wasn't really listening to it as much as it was playing in the background while I was praying. As I was praying I would realize that the song playing in the background totally agreed with my prayer, so I would stop praying and sing the song to God, stopping along the way to elaborate on the lyrics. It was so awesome!!! By the time I got back to Nashville, I was so on fire!!!

Change the World--Pastor Grant-Ross

TODAY is the day to start over! Put the mistakes of yesterday behind you. Your future begins today. Unfortunately, there are no redos in life. The decisions that you make right here will decide what your tomorrow looks like. You can't change the past, but you can change the path you're on now.

II Cor 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

Are you living a life of faith or a life of fear?

Judges 6:11-16

We, as humans tend to lean to the negative. If God is with me, why? Why? Why?

"If your ship doesn't come on, go out and meet it." -- Jonathan Winters

God sees past the excuses and looks at your heart! God sees what He created you to do, not the obstacles you see as in your way.

There are some things that you have to change to get your fresh start...

1-Your Mind

     a-Don't deny your problems, face them!

     b-Take responsibility for your own mind.

     c-The battle is the Lord's.

     d-Be careful what you see, hear, think, etc. It just may become what you do.

Psalm 1

2-Your Heart

     a-Let yourself be set free.

     b-Leave guilt behind.

     c-When God forgives he forgives extravagantly!

     d-How would it feel to live free?

     e-How would it feel to live with a heart not bound by guilt and shame?

3-Your World

     a-Live a life that matters.

     b-Life is short... Make your time meaningful.

     c-Move beyond good intentions.

     d-Get over yourself! It's not about you!

Quit looking at what's wrong and start focusing on what is right. Get excited about this fresh start that you have right now.

II Tim 1:6 "Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you..." 

You have to rekindle the flame...not God. He hasn't moved...you have!

Rom 12:11 "Never lag in zeal..."

Fruit

"So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves. The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses. When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit's leading in every part of our lives. Let us not become conceited, or provoke one another, or be jealous of one another." Gal 5:16-26 http://bible.us/Gal5.16.NLT

I fell flat on my face in the sin area. I opened up my Bible app on my phone and this is the passage that I read. As I analyze my life, I realize that I don't see as many things on the fruit of the Spirit list as I would like to. I also realize that the only way to achieve that is to spend more time with the Holy Spirit.

My prayer closet is calling me... Gotta go!

Promises

This wasn't based on a sermon I heard or a tape I listened to, but I wanted to share it because it was awesome!

 I was driving down the Interstate when I saw a beautiful rainbow this morning. I immediately said, "Oh, Lord. That is beautiful. Thank You so much!"

He immediately spoke to my spirit loudly and clearly. "I keep my promises, Trai. Remember them. Stand on them. Stop wavering and questioning what you don't understand and just trust Me."

We went on to discuss the specific promises that He has given me that I have doubted lately. I needed that encouragement a lot more than I realized.

Thank You so much, Lord, for reminding me that You are who You say You are and that You'll do what You say You'll do. Thank You for loving me enough to be involved in my daily life and for giving me promises and things to look forward to that directly pertain to my daily life. I love You so much! You are AMAZING!!!

Get in the Game ... Pastor Clay Baggett

Extraordinary happens when ordinary people do whatever it takes!
You are a product of your decisions... not your conditions.

You are called to love others as you love yourself. No ifs, ands, or buts about it!

 Matt 22:36-39 "36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'t38 This is the first and greatest commandment.39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

You have to take ownership of your Christianity. You have to get in the game. Christianity is not a spectator sport! It's easy to judge the mistakes of others when you're a spectator, but until you get in there yourself, you're in no position to speak.

Mt. 28:19 "19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,"

GO! Not watch.

I Cor 12:12 "12 For as the body is one, and has many members, and all the members of the body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ."

We each have our own assignments. There is a seed of greatness in each of us. You were created for offense, not defense!

So, how do we play? How do we get involved?

1-Players know who they are.
Mt 16:17-19 "17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven.18 And I tell you that you are Peter,t and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hadest will not overcome it.19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will bet bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will bet loosed in heaven."

You have to know who you are in Christ. You hold the keys.

2-Players focus on what they can control.
Matt 6:21 "21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
 
You can control:
a-your attitude
b-your mouth (gossip, lies, exaggerations, etc.)
c-your actions

Bloom where you're planted! Stop waiting for _____ to happen and make the most of where you are now!

3-Players take the field.
Matt 24:12-14 "2 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold,13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
 
Players charge onto the field with passion, energy and a desire to win. Sometimes they get dirty, bruised, and bloody, but they still give it their all! If we would approach life like that Satan would be scared! He would say "uh-oh. I know who you are" and he'd run!

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

4-Players carry the ball.
They step out from behind their titles, job duties, position and act on behalf of the vision (winning the game).

They are willing to try other ideas if it will help win the game.

It is your responsibility to run with the ball if it lands in your hands. (According to Matt 24:12, it IS in your hands!)

5-Players choose to play hard and they play hurt. 
You can't give up! How about you? Are you willing to play hard? Even if you're hurt? Church people inevitably will hurt you. Are you going to let that get in your way? There are lives out there who need the hope that you have found.

6-Players know that change begins from the inside out.
Personal change always precedes great moves of God.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." Mahatma Ghandhi

Most of us like this intellectually, but we don't like it enough to change our lifestyles.

It's time to get out of the bleachers and get in the game!