MORE TO THIS LIFE: My story 7-23-23

MORE TO THIS LIFE: My story 7-23-23

INTRODUCTION

God is doing a new thing!

There has got to be more to this life!

The ontological question - What am I?  The inevitable question about God

The existential question - Who am I?  How should we exist?

Whose are we?

Why are we here?

What is your choice?

What is the point?

Before I enter the 2nd and 3rd phases of this sermon series I need to tell you a story.

I.  HOW I GOT HERE  

You cannot choose your calling. Your calling chooses you. You have been blessed with special skills that are yours alone. Use them, whatever they may be, and forget about wearing another’s hat. A talented chariot driver can win gold and renown with his skills. Let him pick figs and he would starve.

Og Mandino  “The Greatest Salesman in the World”

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

‭‭ 2 Peter‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

‬ A.  My background

1.  My family

a.  My name  

b.  Detroit

c.  Moving a lot

2.  My Christian upbringing

a.  Service

b.  Commitment

3.  My influences

a.  Nursing homes

b.  Special Olympics

c.  Churches

d.  Kentucky Christian College (University)

e.  Seminary

B.  My calling

1.  Youth ministry

2.  Servants of the Son

3.  Warrior - a KCU camp team

C.  My preparation

1.  Associate ministry in Ohio

2.  Preaching ministry in Alabama

3.  Pastoral ministry in Tennessee

D.  My ministry here

1.  Associate ministry

2.  Pastoral ministry

II.  HOW WE GOT HERE

“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. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”

‭‭ Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭28‬-‭31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A.  A church split a long time ago

B.  A people without a church home

C.  A new people gathered to change the world

The actions of a few are often a clarion call to courage. It requires radical sacrifice and radical commitment to accomplish these things. All that it takes is for one man to refuse to surrender!

Anyone who is familiar with Winston Churchill understands that he was such a man who refused to give in to surrender. His first statement as Prime Minister to the House of Commons on May 13, 1940 was this: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat."

Three weeks later after the capture of Dunkirk, Churchill rallied his nation with these words:

"We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender."

Five months later, reporting on the war situation to the House of Commons, Churchill said,

"Death and sorrow will be the companions of our journey; hardship our garment; constancy and valor our only shield. We must be united, we must be undaunted, we must be inflexible."

In a unique speech to the London County Council, July 14, 1941, he referred to a "comradeship of suffering, or endurance" and told Hitler and his Nazi forces: "We will have no truce or parley with you, or the grisly gang who work your wicked will. You do your worst-—and we will do our best." And later, "We shall never turn from our purpose, however somber the road, however grievous the cost."

He stirred the boys of Harrow School that same year on October 29:

"Do not let us speak of darker days; let us speak rather of sterner days. These are not dark days: these are great days-—the greatest days our country has ever lived; and we must thank God that we have been allowed, each of us according to our stations, to play a part in making these days memorable in the history of our race."

He pressed, motivated, and drove his countrymen to a victory over the German armies that bombed and harassed them in World War II. One man can make a difference!

From a sermon by Philip Harrelson, "What the King Desires" on 1/30/2009.

Are we prepared to respond to the clarion call to courage.

III.  WHERE WE GO FROM HERE

“I somehow sensed that destiny was waiting … a hunger had been birthed in my heart that just wouldn’t go away. The gnawing vacuum of emptiness in the midst of my accomplishments just got worse. I was in a frustrating funk, a divine depression of destiny…I just sensed that something awaited us from God.”

Tommy Tenney in “The God Chasers: My Soul Follows Hard after Thee”. Destiny Image  Publishers, 1998. Chapter 1.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

‭‭ Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭5‬-‭6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

A.  What does God want us to do?

B.  How to accomplish His plan for us?

Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.

William Jennings Bryan

C.  Let’s consider 3 important factors

1.  Identity  

2.  Integrity

3.  Intentionality

CONCLUSION

How I got here.  How we got here.  Where we go from here.

For Paula and I, our world has been turned upside down, but we know that the One who makes the world go round is with us still.  He is with us all.

INVITATION

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.