Intro:
"One
day, maybe years from now, you're going to tell a story about this season in
life. Maybe you'll tell a story you are
proud of, maybe you won't because sometimes, you have to keep going when you'd
rather give up. Sometimes, you have to
stay when you'd rather leave. My
story -- I decided to stay." Today,
we're in the third week of a four-week series of messages called, "My
Story".
If you missed last week, let me catch you up:
We began this series with some simple truths which we will
review once again today. This series is
part of a BIG PLAN: We began this
year with a teaching series entitled Instructions
for Life. To Know God, Serve God, Seek God, Consider God and then act upon
our instruction. Then a series entitled AWAKEN – which lead us into a life of
worship. As we approached Resurrection Sunday we prepared for a 10 week series
through the first 10 chapters of the Book of Acts and the story of the Early
Church called AD The Bible Continues. God lead me to speak to us about telling our story. If God has changed us;
transformed us – then we have a story worth telling. The first message was making the decision to
START. Last week was making the decision
to STOP. Today is making the decision to STAY – next week is the decision to
GO!
Let us
fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith… Hebrews 12:2
The
decisions we make TODAY determine the stories that we TELL
tomorrow.
Example: Ruth
But Ruth replied, “Don’t make me leave you, for I want to
go wherever you go and to live wherever you live; your people shall be my
people, and your God shall be my God; I want to die where you die and be buried
there. May the Lord do terrible things to me if I allow anything but death to
separate us.” And when Naomi saw that
Ruth had made up her mind and could not be persuaded otherwise, she stopped
urging her. Ruth
1:16-18 (LB)
"I've heard your story. I've been told all about what
you've done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, how you
left your father and mother and your homeland to come and live with a people
that you did not know before. You stayed
with your mother-in-law."
"May the Lord repay you for what you have done.” Ruth
2:11-12a (Paraphrased)
…Boaz, was the father of Obed. Obed was the father of Jesse, and Jesse was
the father of David. Ruth
4:21b-22 (NCV)
1. You will never REGRET making
the right decision
Such a
large crowd of witnesses is all around us! So we must get rid of everything
that slows us down, especially the sin that just won’t let go. And we must be
determined to run the race that is ahead of us. 2 We must keep our eyes on
Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete. He endured the shame of being
nailed to a cross, because he knew that later on he would be glad he did. Now he is seated at
the right side of God’s throne! 3 So keep your mind on Jesus, who put up with many
insults from sinners. Then you won’t get
discouraged and give up. Hebrews 12:1-3 (CEV)
Illustration: An
inspiring runner has proven yet again that success and failure are not measured
by how you fall, but by how you pick yourself up. In 2008, Heather Dorniden,
then a celebrated runner for the University of Minnesota, was leading the
pack during the final heat of the 600-meter race at the Big Ten Indoor Track
Championships. There was about 200 meters of the race to go when Dorniden
tripped, landing hard on her face. But instead of throwing in the towel, the
young woman jumped back onto her feet and began sprinting around the track,
rapidly gaining speed.
Successful
people don’t make a few big decisions…Hundreds small…
What
does GOD want YOU to want?
Where
does God want YOU to STAY
?
2. Sometimes, the greatest act of FAITH
is faithfulness.
We
must not become tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal
life at the right time if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9 (NCV)
Illustration: At
the first ESPY Awards on March 4th, 1993 in New York City - 10
years after leading his NC State basketball team on a miraculous run to the
national title, Jim Valvano addressed the audience and delivered like never
before:
Closing: I
can't help but think about Jesus when he knew in the garden of Gethsemane what
he was going to face on the cross. And
in a very sincere moment before God, he said basically, God, may you remove
this cup from me. He was talking about
the suffering that he would endure. If
there's any other way, God, let's do it that way. And then Jesus said the great
words to stay the course, "nevertheless,
not my will but your will be done."
Invitation: For
every single one of you today that you realize you're doing life without God,
Jesus stayed the course for you. For
every single one of you who realize, man, I've messed up, and I need
forgiveness, and I need healing and I need a savior, Jesus stayed the course
for you. For every single one of you who
realize I need the presence and the peace of God, Jesus stayed the course for
you. And he became sin for us on the
cross, died and rose again so you could be forgiven, so you could be healed, so
you could experience the goodness and the love of God on this earth, and
forever in heaven.
There are those of you who you who recognize today: I need
his love, I need his grace. I'm doing
life without an ongoing daily relationship with him and I want him in my
life. I need salvation, I need forgiveness
of my sins. I need his peace, I needed
his presence. Today, I turn from my
sins, I turn toward him. He stayed the
course for me; I give my life to him.
Everyone
prayer with me:
"Heavenly Father, forgive me for my sins.
Jesus, make me new. I believe you
died for me and you rose again so I could live for you. Fill me with your Holy Spirit so I could live
the story you want me to tell. Be the author and the finisher of my faith. My life is not my own; I give it to you. Thank you for new life. In Jesus name, I pray. AMEN!”
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