Unstuck Part 5—Getting Unstuck in Our Career/Job/Business

If you’re just doing your job just to get a paycheck rather than it being your purpose indicates you’re stuck in your job.  Many famous people started off this way.  Vincent Van Gogh started off as a schoolmaster, then an apprentice priest, then an art dealer, then an artist.  Harry Truman was a banker, bookkeeper, failed business owner (hardware store), then president.  Walt Disney was rejected by the army and a newspaper, then fired by an ad agency for having a lack of creativity.  Harrison Ford spent 15 years as a carpenter, cabinetmaker and stagehand before being an actor.  Polls say 60% of Americans feel stuck in their career.

Ecclesiastes 2:24 says God designed us to work and to find satisfaction in our work (even in the garden Adam was told to tend the garden).  Have you ever felt like all you are doing in the garden of your life is pull weeds?  We should still be able to find a way to find fulfillment in our work because God always gives us the ability to fulfill His promises.  Quitting your job won’t necessarily get you unstuck, and neither will your dream job.

Ways to get unstuck in your job/career:

1) Choose to make God your boss.  Your company is NOT your source. Colossians 3:23 says that in all we do we work as it is unto the Lord.  You will need to change your mentality from working for money to working for God.  When we change this, now God is obligated to reward us, rather than you looking for your employer to reward or recognize you.  We can depend on God to fulfill His promise, but if we limit ourselves by our ability to satisfy them or their ability to reward us, we miss out.  If we’re working for God, you should be a blessing to your company.  You should be working to make them as successful as possible.  Instead of doing the minimum we’re required to do, we should instead bring excellence to everything we do despite whether it’s noticed and appreciated or not.  God notices regardless.

2) Separate who you are from what you do.  Sometimes in my life, what I was doing directly reflected my purpose, and other times it didn’t.  Either way, it’s important to God.  If you define yourself based on what you do, what happens if you lose your job?  The Bible says we’re to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Christ.  This doesn’t necessarily mean suffering.  The cross was Jesus’ purpose.  We need to take up our cross, deny ourselves and follow Him.  How do you know your purpose?  It’s whatever is before you right now.  Do that.  If you have other desires for the future, don’t worry about that.  Do what’s in front of you now.  When you move, you can be steered.  “Wait on the Lord and He will renew your strength.”  Wait doesn’t mean to sit around (how would you need strength to do that?), but it means to serve (wait like a waiter).  Then as we serve where we are, God can steer us toward our purpose.

3) Choose to be faithful in the small things.  The parable of the talents in Matthew 25 is a good example of this.  The manager gave according to what he knew they could handle, and rewarded those who did something with what he gave them.    As we are faithful with what we have now, then God makes us ruler over more. 

4)  Choose to persevere even when you feel stuck.  Quitting is the easy choice as a way out in most cases.  Choose to be happy where you are first.  In 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, Paul accounts how he learned to do this in his life and that it made him stronger.  If we persevere through bad circumstances and believe God, then we will be ready for what God has for us when we get there. 

To listen to the entire sermon go to http://ahwatukeechurch.com/ and click on online media.  To learn more about Living Word Ahwatukee, visit http://ahwatukeechurch.com/.

Unstuck Part 4—Dr. Maureen Anderson, Prayer

Dr. Maureen was here this morning to share with us as part of the unstuck series.  She shared about intercession.  Intercession is covenant-minded and having our mind seeing things how God sees them.  We want to get out of our old ruts of thinking and form new habits in our minds in line with the Word.  There was a scientific study on 50 people who go from job to job, relationship to relationship, etc.  They had a brain scan, and they all came back abnormal.  They then told them to spend 2 months saying nothing negative.  At the end of that period, their brain scans came back normal.  This echoes Philippians 4:8.  We have to renew our minds to obtain all that God has for us.  The Bible says Jesus is in covenant interceding for us according to the Word.  We can have all the Word promises, and prayer is a key to this.  Jesus regularly went away and prayed on His own before or after His day. 

Romans 8:26 says the Holy Spirit “helps” (this means clothes, possesses, takes over) us.  The Spirit was hovering before creation occurred.  Without the Holy Spirit we can not produce.  He is our partner and helps us pray as we should (not praying our problems but instead praying and seeing the Word).  We have all the promises by grace and receive them by faith.  All we have to do is agree with the Word.  God will turn even our mistakes into something good if we give it to Him. 

If we ever get to a place where you speak to the mountain and it doesn’t move, your faith is being tested.  Remember James 1:1-2 promises completeness and maturity if we joyfully persevere in the Spirit through a test of faith.  Remember the test of faith is from the enemy, not God, based on doubt and unbelief in our hearts.  It might take a day or a week, or many years, but if we believe and persevere, God’s Word WILL come to pass.  We inherit the promises by faith and patience, fighting the good fight of faith.  In 2 Thessalonians 3:5, it says we should take on the love of God and the perseverance of Jesus.  The goal is to survive every attack and hold your position (persevere = push ahead) until you outlast and outlive the resistance.  Look at Hebrews 10:36-39. 

To listen to the entire sermon go to http://ahwatukeechurch.com/ and click on online media.  To learn more about Living Word Ahwatukee, visit http://ahwatukeechurch.com/.

Unstuck Part 3

Today is an extension of last week.  We focused on Hebrews 10:32 through the end of Chapter 11.  If we’re going through attacks or tough times, we need to be reminded of the times when we have seen God’s power.  We need to have childlike faith that would believe despite what we see around us that God will come through.  Faith is substance and evidence of what we don’t see.  Remember there is often a period of time between conception and birth in the spiritual realm just as in pregnancy.  We have to stick to it until we see God’s word come to pass. 

We are designed to operate like God does, by speaking what we believe (maybe over and over for a long time until we believe).  We have all we need to make anything we need in the Spirit.  We discussed Noah’s faith as discussed in Chapter 11 and Genesis 6.  Noah was 500 years old when God came to him, and it had never rained before (ever).  He believed despite this and built the ark, but the flood didn’t happen for another 100 years!   [bonus: Adam lived to be 930 years old.  Noah’s dad could have known Adam for 56 years.  Noah’s son lived long enough to have known Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.]  Hebrews 11:32 encourages us that there are people who have gone through far worse than us because of their faith, and that we can do even greater things than they did.  Remember that God doesn’t give a command without the provision to fulfill it.  We want to always employ God to go beyond our abilities.  Our church recently had Jesse Duplantis speak God’s blessing of supernatural increase in finances, joy, and discernment/wisdom over our church.  This is for all the members of the church.

Things to do to move forward:

1) Be connected and stay connected.

2) Invite someone else to church.

3) Never minimize the importance of giving to the church (we reap what we sow).  This is between you and God, and is not about the amount but about our heart.  Don’t give emotionally or out of presumption above what you believe.  Develop the faith and give accordingly.

To listen to the entire sermon go to http://ahwatukeechurch.com/ and click on online media.  To learn more about Living Word Ahwatukee, visit http://ahwatukeechurch.com/.

Unstuck Part 2—Unstuck in Our Finances

Since “The love of money is the root of all evil” (money itself is NOT the root of all evil), and because our society has become very debt-minded, I think is a very important topic.  Our national debt is 15,000,000,000 (15 trillion), and there is  1.7 trillion dollars in consumer debt in our country.  The average household has $7394 in unsecured debt (credit cards, not including student loans).  The key for today is DEBT IS BAD.

Romans 13:8 commands us not to owe anyone anything.  God never commands us to do things that are impossible (it may be impossible in ourselves but with God’s help NOTHING is impossible), so clearly this is something God wants us to do.  It may take a while to get there, but we bring glory to God by being able to do all He wants us to do without giving an excuse “I can’t afford it.”  What we do with our money is part of what we are responsible for in the kingdom.  We want to be ABLE to hear God’s voice to do something and be able to just do it.

Here are some synonyms for debt=owe, obligated, in deficit, in default, insolvent, in over one’s head, in arrears, paupered, destitute, needing, lacking, distressed, penniless, in difficulty, a deadbeat, empty, having seen better days, bad off, hard off, beaten down, reduced to ruin, embarrassed, broke, busted.  Next to the kingdom of heaven, money and finance is the next most often mentioned by Jesus, and the Bible has 2000 scriptures that reference money and finance.

6 danger signs that we’ve got problems in the area of debt:

1) You live on credit instead of paying cash and depend on credit to maintain your lifestyle.  Proverbs 22:7 says the rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is enslaved to the lender.  We should only be enslaved to Jesus, whose yoke is easy and burden is light.  A bonus, if you’re ever considering loaning money to friends or family, don’t do it.  The relationship immediately changes.  If you want to help them, give to them.  Proverbs 3:27-28 says not to withhold payment on debts. 

2) Delaying payment or always paying minimum payments.

3) You’re unable to tithe, or save, or invest.  We are still robbing from God if we use it to pay a bill.  We are called to leave an inheritance to our children’s children (that means we have to leave enough for 2 generations, and train our kids well enough to handle it well and leave more to the next generation).  Proverbs 21:20 says that wise people have “choice” things and a foolish person devours all they have.  A wise man plans for the future, eats well (not a lot but healthy), and has resource.

4) You’re unable to pay your taxes.  You don’t need to pay more than you need to (the laws are there, but you don’t cheat or lie), but Jesus says to render to Caesar what is Caesar’s.

5)  Habitual extravagant spending.  Dave Ramsey calls this “Buying stuff you don’t need with money you don’t have to impress people you don’t like.”

6) You’re always looking for a get rich quick idea.  This includes playing the lottery.

Steps to Becoming Debt Free

1) Commit to be debt free from this point forward.  Commit to not bring on any more debt.  If you’re forced to, do it smart.  (For example, the average millionaire buys a 3-4 year old car and pays cash for it.)

2)  Make a list of all you own and all you owe (if you’re making payments on it, you don’t own it).  Proverbs 24:3-4 is a good reference.

3) Have a sale.  This is the stuff that is sitting and not getting used.  Then use the money to pay down debt.  If our money is moving, it can do something.

4)  Start paying God (tithe) and yourself (invest in your future) first.  Live on 80% (invest 10%, tithe 10% and live on what’s left)…or better yet give an offering of an additional 10% and only live on 70%.  That employs God to multiply what you plant in the earth and allows us to tap God’s wisdom, beyond just the protection of the tithe.  With the 80/20 plan, if you’re making $60,000 starting at 40 years, by age 60, you’ll tithe  $120,000 and have investments worth over $250,000 (with modest gains). Remember, that the goal is to start doing something (you might start at 1% now instead of 10%).

5) Set up a repayment plan (realistic).

6) Share it with your creditors (really).  They may tell you all they will accept only full payment.  Take what you were going to pay them and put it in a separate account, and then when you have it pay them.

7)  Employ God, and believe God to do it in less than that time.  As we change our heart and actions, God will work on our behalf.  Proverbs 16:7 says that if we do what we know to do and trust God, He will bring us favor and bring us to peace.

8)  Make a commitment that we will NOT add any more debt.

9)  Stick to it and trust God.

To listen to the entire sermon go to http://ahwatukeechurch.com/ and click on online media.  To learn more about Living Word Ahwatukee, visit http://ahwatukeechurch.com/.

Getting Unstuck, Moving Beyond Mediocrity Part 1--Getting Unstuck in Your Faith

This series will be about moving from where we are to having the good things God has for us in our lives.  This sermon will lay the groundwork for the rest of the series.  We can’t get to where God wants us to be without laying a firm foundation of faith.  We started in Matthew 9:20 and following, with the story of the woman with an issue of blood being healed.  Jesus noticed her faith simply in her touching Him and told her that her faith healed her.  She began by recognizing, knowing and believing who Jesus was, AND believing that He could heal her.  Her faith resulted in the action of touching Jesus in order to be healed, despite it being forbidden for an unclean person to touch a Rabbi.  She was risking her life in order to receive healing.  Taking action before seeing physical evidence of truth is true faith. 

Matthew 9:27 and on shows the same process again with the two blind men.  They called Him Son of David, showing their faith in His fulfillment of the prophecy of the Messiah.  They came to Jesus.  He asked if they believed He could do it.  “According to your faith, it will be done to you,” was His answer.  Taking action on faith always involves a risk.  Sometimes it’s a physical risk, sometimes an emotional risk, and sometimes some other type of risk.  It’s when we get to the place where we have done all we can and put it in God’s hands to take care of it that we get to a place of faith.  Mark 10:46 and on tells the story of Bartimaeus.  He proclaimed who Jesus was and was rebuked.  He continued on with perseverance despite the rebukes and again received healing. 

Remember that faith has to be our own and not based on someone else’s faith (that would simply be presumption.  Faith is a constant process.  We are never done.  We have to constantly renew our minds because none of us has perfect faith. We will fail tests of our faith sometimes (or lots of times), but we can keep moving forward daily. Romans 1,  Colossians 1, and 1 Thessalonians 1:8 report great faith being “reported all over the world.”  Are we willing to have faith that would result in things that would be that famous?  Faith is simple:  we just believe.  Faith is also hard because sometimes it’s hard to believe. 

1 Corinthians 2:4 says our faith can’t rest on our knowledge of the Word but rests on God’s power operating THROUGH the Word.  It’s not just the words on the page but the power behind the words on the page that we are trusting.  Ephesians 1:18 (one of my favorites and something we pray over the church weekly) is Paul’s prayer for the church.  This says our faith activates God’s power, which is the same power that raised Christ from the dead and gave Him the authority He has.  Paul prays that we would know in our heart the power of God’s word.  Hebrews 11 is a chapter I challenge you to read this week.  Faith has substance and is evidence of the unseen.  It is the thing we must have to please God.  When things get rough, we close off or connect with people who are having trouble, instead of pushing in and connecting.  That’s human nature.  Instead we need to look at the people like those in Hebrews 11 who succeeded by faith.  That will encourage us to press on, take action and see God’s victory.  Read John 21 this week.  The disciples felt stuck.  See how Jesus reconnects with them when they went back to what was familiar.

To listen to the entire sermon go to http://ahwatukeechurch.com/ and click on online media.  To learn more about Living Word Ahwatukee, visit http://ahwatukeechurch.com/.

Why Church - Part 7

Finally, we're caught up!

This week we looked at the Table of Shewbread in the Tabernacle.

You know, when we want to get to know someone better we like to dine together. We go to lunch or have have people over for dinner. God is the same. He desires to dine with His people. When we dine together we strengthen relationships with one another and with God.

When we come into God's house we are actually coming to eat together. It is not so much about what the Pastor has to say. It is about what God has to say. I cannot tell you how many times someone in the congregation comes up to me after service to tell me they enjoyed my message on love. The funny thing is that my message was not about love.

When you come to God's house to eat He makes sure you get what you need to eat.

So we have this Table of Shewbread. Let's look at the table itself. It was made of acacia wood and the top and trim were covered in pure gold. The legs had pure gold rings on them that gold covered acacia wood poles were put through to carry the table (remember the tabernacle had to move with the people as they traveled to the Promised Land). The cups and plates were made of pure gold as well.

The bread itself was made of the finest of flours. The bread had to have no unevenness, lumps or coarseness. it was very nourishing bread as well -- unlike the enriched white emptiness we call bread today.

There were 12 loaves set on the table. Each of them was exactly the same. These represented the 12 tribes of Israel. The Israelite people were made up of 12 tribes. These tribes descended from the 12 sons on Jacob -- of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob fame. One of the sons -- Levi -- was not the head of a tribe, but the head of the priestly order. Another of the sons -- Joseph -- had two sons who each made up on of the tribes.

As Gods people set up camp at the Tabernacle during the journey, they were to encamp in a particular form. there were three tribes encamped on each side of the Tabernacle. The tribes on the west side numbered about 108,000 men, those on the north about 151,000, those on the south about 157,000 and those on the east about 186,000. If you were to view their camp from up in the sky, what you would see is the shape of a cross going from east to west (see Part 5 for more significance to this).

They also encamped facing the Tabernacle -- in constant reminder of the fellowship with God of the Tabernacle.

In the church age of today we reflect upon this as we take communion. 1 Corinthians 10:6 tells us that when we partake in communion we are participating in what Christ did -- in fulfilling all the requirement to go into the Holy of Holies.

In 1 Corinthians 11 we see Paul's description of the Lord's Supper. We are admonished not to take communion in an unworthy manner. This does not imply you must be without sin -- for then none would be worthy. Paul was addressing a situation that was happening in Corinth at Agape Feasts which had turned into huge parties where they also took communion. They were not honoring or considering what the communion represented.

When we take communion and reflect upon what it truly represents we take it in a worthy manner. This Sunday we received communion together to remember the importance not only of the communion itself, but the importance of receiving it together.

Why Church - Part 6

This week we begin looking at the significance and meaning of the Bronze Laver in the Tabernacle.

So, what is a laver? It is a basin where, after sacrificing at the altar, you would wash and cleanse your hands and feet for preparation to enter the Holy Place.

The water represents the Word of God in its purpose to cleanse us. In Ephesians 5 Paul talks about husbands and wives, but is using the picture of Christ and His bride (us, the church). He says that we are being washed by the water of the Word -- to cleanse us and make us perfect before the eyes of God.

The Word of God, according to Hebrews 4:12, is supposed to judge us and reveal the intents of our heart. You see, the bronze that was used to make the laver was not just any bronze. In Exodus 38:8 we find that it was polished bronze that the women used for mirrors.

The Word of God, like Hebrews 4:12 told us, acts as a mirror in our lives. It is a truth mirror. It reveals the truth about us. We see the junk in our lives that needs to be dealt with. We see our weaknesses and our sin. But we also see the truth of who we really are -- how God sees us. He does not see us as weak. He sees us as more than a conqueror.

The Word will continually divide those things, teaching us and showing us truth. It continually cleanses us.

Allow the Word to cleanse you -- and to do it continually. We all find that when we remove dirt it often only reveals more dirt. But, that's OK, let's keep at it. Keep washing!