Jesus.Others.You. God wants to give you JOY in the midst of hard times by the power of the Holy Spirit and lead you to experience breakthrough in your life. A message from Isaiah 54.
HOW TO START AGAIN
And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord. — Genesis 13:3-4
My father often told me, “First things first.” Sometimes we worry about things that are outside of our control, or we rush into a project without establishing an effective plan, or we never begin because we are overwhelmed. In our walk with God, we can often wonder where to begin, especially if we have been distracted or stuck. Let me help you start again. Let me encourage you: 2024 can be a reset for you.
I want to show you how you, like Abraham, you can get unstuck and move into God’s plan for your life. It is not too late; you can get back on track with your relationship with God.
In most office jobs I have worked in I became the default tech guy. Let me be clear, I have no IT expertise. Maybe it is because my generation is the ones that grew up in the technological explosion, being the first ones to learn computers, the internet, and smart phones. Whatever the reason, I often find myself helping people with whatever techy-glitch they faced. I often told my co-workers, “I really only have two tools in my belt: reset or baseball bat.” Almost every time, resetting a device will solve the problem. And I have found we often need a reset in life. A good night sleep resets our system. A healing conversation resets a friendship. Getting back to church helps us reset our spiritual walk. Setting a new goal resets growth. So, how do we reset our relationship with God?
The Good news: In the Kingdom, there is abounding grace and rich, new mercies every day. You can start over because God is the God of second chances- and third, and fourth…and tenth, etc. He is an expert at divine resets. We always begin in the mercy of God by responding to God in worship. When you want or need to begin again in life, start with worship. It is a response to His mercy; it is the way to receive His grace and realign with the good purpose He has for you. If there has been compromise or failure, worship grounds you in God’s redeeming love. If you have been distracted or defeated, worship will reorient you to the most important, highest calling of loving God. If you are in pain or needing hope, worship postures your heart to receive God’s healing presence.
Let’s look at Abraham’s example:
Abraham’s relationship with God began with an encounter with God. God called, God chose, God revealed Himself to Abraham. In this encounter, Abraham received a promise and a purpose from God. The amazing thing about Abraham, is that He believe God, left everything, and followed the Lord into this promise and purpose.
“Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house, to a land that I will show you. I will make you a great nation; I will bless you and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him. — Genesis 12:1-4
The first thing Abraham did, when God showed him the Promised Land, was worship. For him it looked like building an altar and calling on God. Though we may not build physical altars anymore, we still offer God sacrifices through our praise and we still call on the name of the Lord. Abraham’s response to God’s word – His promise and purpose–was worship. This is how Abraham began. This is how we begin. Worship is the expression of faith; it is the posture of obedience. Worship is always how we begin.
Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. And he moved from there to the mountain east of Bethel, and he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; there he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord. – Genesis 12:7-8
But then, a famine came upon the land. Abraham was in a desperate situation so he went to Egypt with his family because the economy of that nation was not as affected by the famine.
Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. — Genesis 12:10
However, it seems disillusionment set in. Abraham may have wondered, “Why would God call me to a place in famine? Why did He promise blessing where there is lack?” He became afraid, thinking people would harm him, rather than trusting God to fulfill His word. How often do we start well only to become discouraged and disappointed with God? How often do we question God in the process and become sidetracked? And in that place where our faith is being tested, we are often tempted to compromise.
God protected his wife Sarah, despite Abraham’s lack of covering towards her. God led Abraham out of Egypt and back into the Promised Land, despite Abraham’s lack of faith. God blessed Abraham abundantly, despite his compromise. God’s plan and promise cannot be stopped! He is the God of abundant mercy and the invitation is always to start again. When God showed him mercy, Abraham returned to the first place he had settled. He rebuilt the altar and called on the Lord again.
And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord. — Genesis 13:3-4
Do you see it? He went to the place of the “beginning” where he had been “at first”. He started over. He began again. He pushed “reset”. And how did he begin again? With worship. He worshipped the God who is rich in mercy, the God of forgiveness, whose calling is irrevocable. He worshipped the God of covenant who is faithful even when we are not. He worshipped the God of promise who cannot lie. Just like Abraham, God loves you. He has made promises to you and has a purpose for your life. Like Abraham, God’s mercy is new every morning. Like Abraham, you are invited to start again.
Worship is the reset we need. It is the first thing. It is how we begin and begin again. Have you become distracted with life’s anxieties, found yourself stuck in compromise, or grown weary because of delay? You can get back on track; you can begin again. God is waiting for you to drawn near to Him. Here is how you can build a spiritual altar and call on the name of the Lord.
Listen to David’s words from Psalm 18:1-3:
I will love You, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
Like David, build an altar with your words or a song. Call on the Lord by opening your mouth and directing your heart towards God with words or songs of love and trust. Then ask Him for what you need. Make worship a part of your daily time with God. Cultivate this kind of loving adoration in your heart towards God every day. As you do, your heart will open to God’s grace and your spirit will grow stronger in faith. Those distractions will part, and clarity and focus will come. That shame will melt away, and confidence will increase. God’s healing will flow to your heart. You will posture yourself to hear the Lord.
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Key to Abraham
As we continue in our series out of Genesis, the book of beginnings, we journey with Abraham to see see how God transformed him and how God can restart our faith and transform us too.
I love how real and how raw Abraham was. I love how God worked through his imperfections. And despite Abraham’s flaws, there was something that set him apart; something that moved the heart of God, attracted favor, and released the miraculous.
What was it!? What is the key to Abraham’s life? As you listen to this message may you see how you can imitate Abraham and position yourself for deeper friendship with God and supernatural intervention from Him in your life.
Enjoy!
Costly Worship
There is no worship without sacrifice. Think about it! It is all over the Bible. God is honored when we worship Him in a costly manner. Even David knew this and said, “I will not give to God that which costs me nothing!”
In these messages we continue to learn that we are called to minister to God and discover what blesses God. Let God draw you deeper.
Enjoy!
Ministering to the Lord
We are not only called to minister for the Lord but to the Lord. Our primary calling is to know and love God. In fact, we find our identity and purpose when we put Him first and honor Him.
In these messages, the Lord is teaching us what blesses Him. We often think of our own needs and wants; but do we really consider what God wants? Let God draw you deeper.
Enjoy!
Breaking The Yoke of Debt Part 6
In this series of messages, God has been preparing our heart to receive His promised blessings. The breakthrough God is working in us is for our financial life as well as every other area of our lives. In order to prepare us, God has been breaking “yokes” in our hearts: greed, lust, complacency, and unbelief.
In this message, God is calling us to SING OUR WAY TO VICTORY! I believe the Lord is calling us to rise up and sing, rejoice, shout in faith before we see the breakthrough. The victory always begins on the inside. Faith sees and sings before the answer comes, before the breakthrough happens.
Enjoy and sing your way to victory!
Return To Where You Began
Have you received a promise and rejoiced? and then after the promise came hardship and delay? Did you struggled in faith? Well, you are not alone. And just like Abraham, the father of our faith, you can return to where you began.
Abraham was called by God to leave his family, his comfort zone, and his financial safety net. He left everything because he heard God and trusted in His promises (Check out Genesis 12 and Hebrews 11 for more of the story).
When Abraham arrived in the land of Canaan he heard God say, “To your descendants I will give this land.” So he built an altar as an act of worship to God. This altar was a symbol of his faith—of his joy, his gratitude, his confidence, his resolve to follow God.
This altar was a symbol of his faith—of his joy, his gratitude, his confidence, his resolve to follow God.
But then Abraham was confronted with an economic crisis, a drought and famine. After the promise came hardships and delay. Abraham struggled in his faith. His character was tested. Abraham went down to Egypt where it was safe. He lied, putting his wife in danger, to save his own skin. Hint: don’t follow that example.
But after his failure came restoration. Genesis 13 describes Abraham’s return: he came out of Egypt and returned “to the place where his tent had been at the BEGINNING, between Bethel and Ai, to the place of the altar which he had made there at FIRST. And there Abram called on the name of the Lord (Genesis 13:3-4).”
“…to the place of the altar which he had made there at FIRST.” -Genesis 13:4
Did you see that!? He returned to where he BEGAN. He returned to the place he had FIRST built an altar. He went back to the place God had spoken, to the place he believed God, to the place of joy, of confidence, of resolve, of thankfulness. He returned to faith.
Do you need to return to faith? Do you need to remember what God has promised you? Do you need to remember joy, confidence and thankfulness? Do you need to return, rebuild an altar of faith, worship and call on God’s name? Well, you can. Just like Abraham you can return to where you began. God’s mercy is new today. He is waiting for you to turn to Him, and cry out for His help.
And here is a good place to begin: like Abraham, be “strengthened in faith, giving glory to God (Romans 4:20).” Worship. Boast about God. Praise Him. Find His promises in the bible and shout, “Thank you!”
Psalm 23
Psalm 23 was not written on a green hillside on a peaceful day; it was written in a dark cave on a frightening day.
1The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.2He makes me to lie down in green pastures;He leads me beside the still waters.3He restores my soul;He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,I will fear no evil;For You are with me;Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;You anoint my head with oil;My cup runs over.6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life;And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
Often, because of the wonderfully comforting words David sings to God in Psalm 23, we imagine he wrote it on a green hillside, on a sunny, peaceful day while watching sheep feast on grass. Descriptions like “green pastures” and “still waters” and statements like “restore my soul” cause us to see this picture David is painting with his song and release inside of us the same comfort he was experiencing while he sang.
We image these words were penned during his boyhood years as a shepherd of his father’s sheep, as he spent many days and nights alone, contemplating and singing. We believe the song flowed from a heart full of youthful innocence and optimism.
But by doing this we miss the power of Psalm 23. By looking closely at Psalm 23 we observe that David was not on a green hill side but inside a dark cave. He was not a youth but a fugitive. He was not inexperienced at the crises of life. He had been betrayed, lied about, and attacked. He had lost everything. He was afraid for his life. Psalm 23 is a manifesto of patient faith sung during a dark time in David’s life. It is an anthem of hope. When we place this bright Psalm in its dark context it shines even brighter–the words more comforting, the example more compelling.
David describes himself as walking through the valley of the shadow of death–a clear allusion to the physical desert he was hiding in, the threat to his life, and the emotional weight bearing on his soul. He says that he is the presence of his enemies. He did not have enemies before King Saul tried to kill him. When he says, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life” he is using a play on words. “Follow” is best translated “pursue”. It is a word used of hunting someone or something to destroy it. It is a word used to describe persecution. This declaration, like the rest of the Psalm, is a faith-filled defiance of his circumstances. David is experiencing lack, but he declares that God is his shepherd and lacks nothing. David is emotionally raw, but he declares God makes him lie down, gives him rest and restores his soul. He doesn’t know what to do or where to go, but he declares God will guide him. His life is being threatened, but he declares God is with him and comforts him. His enemies–an angry, jealous, crazy King Saul and his army–are pursing David in the desert, but he declares that God delights in him. Can you imagine someone hating you, lying about you, attacking you and trying to end your life? David was innocent; he had done nothing to warrant this attack. In the midst of rejection and loss, he declares God loves him and enjoys him. Though a crazy man is trying to kill him, David declares God’s promise and plan for his life will win. He is implying, “This man might be chasing me, but God is chasing me too. And God, not this man, will catch me. His goodness and mercy, his love, his blessings, his promises, his plan, his commitment to me will catch me, consume me, and characterize my life!”
Psalm 23 is powerful because David is declaring the exact opposite of what he is experiencing. Without denying his precarious state, he boasts about his God, defying his circumstances with the declaration of God’s promises for his life. He is not a green hillside, but a dark cave.
- He declares he has no lack because he was hungry and alone.
- He declares God is with him because he is scared for his life.
- He declares God’s delightful fellowship because he is being rejected and attacked by his King and father-in-law.
- He declares the goodness and mercy of God pursues him because he is being pursued by a man who wants to end his life, terminate his calling, and rob his blessings.
He is assuring himself that God is with him and for him; that, even if others reject him, God delights in him; that, in the end, God’s good promises will win out in his life. Whether financially or relationally, physically or spiritually, emotionally or practically, David is placing his trust and hope firmly in the Faithful One’s hands.
We have, in many of David’s Psalms (and especially Psalm 23), a perfect example of how faith responds to trials, delays, setbacks, disappointments, and life threatening situations. This is what it means in 1 Samuel 30 that David “strengthened himself in the Lord” in response to tragedy. This is costly worship. Faith boasts about God. Faith does not deny circumstances but it sure does defy them. Circumstances have a way of preaching to us, of boasting that they will defeat us. David knew how to overcome. He models for us that we need to preach to our hearts and to our circumstances by boasting about our God. We need to declare that our God is bigger than our circumstances. This is how to be people of faith, of worship, who overcome and see the fulfillment of God’s promises and plan in our lives.
So boast about your God. Declare what God will do for you.
I do not lack; because I have God, I have everything I need. If I have nothing, but I have God, I lack no good thing. God is my comfort, peace, and rest. I will not fear. Though I am emotionally raw, God restores me. He is the strength of my soul, the strength of my emotions, my confidence, my rock and refuge. God is with me; I am not alone. He will guide me. God delights in me. Even if others reject me, God loves me and enjoys me. God will bless me. His plan for my life will win. His goodness and mercy, his blessing and promises, his love and faithfulness will characterize my life. And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever!
Refreshing Worship part 2
Part 1: Refresh the heart of God with your praise
Part 2: when God is refreshed, he refreshes you.
When God is refreshed, he refreshes us. When we praise him, he sits down; when he sits down, his brings his kingdom (Psalm 22:3)– his kingdom full of joy, peace, righteousness, freedom, wisdom, and power. He has everything you need! God created us so we could enjoy him and he could enjoy us. Bring him joy through worship and you will encounter the presence of the Lord full of his enjoyment of you.
Acts 3:19
Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
Psalm 23:5
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
Give God a sacrifice of praise; pour out all your heart in worship. You will find your heart flooded with peace and joy. God is an extravagant giver and we were created to be filled with his joy and pleasure.
Psalm 16:9-11
Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope.10For You will not leave my soul in Sheol,Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.11You will show me the path of life;In Your presence is fullness of joy;At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
When God appeared to Abraham (recorded in Genesis 18), Abraham first honored God, hosting his presence, seeking to refresh God’s heart. Only THEN was the power of God released, only THEN was Abraham’s prayer answered.
Genesis 18:9-10
THEN they said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?”So he said, “Here, in the tent.”10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”
Abraham and Sarah had a promise from God; they waited 25 years to conceive a child together. When God appeared to Abraham and his presence was honored, Abraham’s desire became reality. The power to fulfill God’s promise was received when God’s presence was received.
Refresh the heart of God with praise and he will refresh your heart with the blessings and promises of his kingdom.
Refreshing Worship part 1
Refresh the heart of God with your praise.
Abraham, a man of faith who understood what pleases God, did not expect God to serve him but postured himself to serve the Lord. When God appeared to Abraham (recorded in Genesis 18) he bowed down and asked for God to stay for dinner. His desire: that God would be refreshed. That is the heart of a person who worships God in spirit and truth.
Genesis 18:4-5
[Abraham said] Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. 5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts.
Words of praise from your own mouth is like giving God fruit to eat. Just as a fresh, juicy piece of watermelon on a hot, summer day refreshes you, so God’s heart is refreshed by our praise.
Hebrews 13:15-16
Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. 16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
The priests of Israel were commanded to offer animals as sacrifices to God; these holy BBQs were pleasing to God. But David tells us it’s not meat God is after, but rather our heart.
Our songs of praise, from a sincere and humble heart of faith, is like a sweet smell to God. Just like the smell of BBQ or fresh apple pie makes your mouth water and draws you like a magnet to the source of the smell, so God is drawn to our sincere praise.
Leviticus 1:9
And the priest shall burn ALL on the altar as a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.
Psalm 51:16-17
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;You do not delight in burnt offering.17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,A broken and a contrite HEART—These, O God, You will not despise.
1 peter 2:5
…you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
When you praise God, you invite him to be with you; you prepare a place for him to sit like Abraham did in Genesis 18. Just as we are honored when someone invites us to dinner and prepares something special for us, so God is honored when we praise him. He feels comfortable, welcome, and at rest to sit down and spend quality time with us.
Psalm 22:3
But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.
Do you want to please the Lord? Do you want to refresh his heart? Then offer him a sacrifice of praise. Brag on God, boast about him, thank him for who he is and what he has done for you.
You praise will refresh his heart and attract him to you.
Pastor David Turner 