Author: Mojo Ministries

Introduction:  As you are turning to The Book of Nehemiah, let me say that this is one of my favorite Books in all the Bible.  After the walls of Jerusalem “laid in waste” for a hundred years, and the “Gates thereof were burned with fire,” Nehemiah shows us how one man can make a difference in the work of God.  I want you to understand some things about Nehemiah:

• Nehemiah was one of the exiled Jews;
• He was not a prophet;
• He was not a priest;
• He was not an Engineer;
• He was not a Mason.
• He was simply the King’s Cupbearer.

But, Nehemiah was a man of conviction and determination and he was able to accomplish in 52 days what the children of Israel were not able to accomplish in 100 years.  Nehemiah, after hearing how the walls laid in waste, mourned in his heart and prayed to God that He would forgive him and his family for their sins.  He then went to the King and asked him to allow him to go to Jerusalem and rebuild the walls.

In chapter 2, verses 17 and 18, Nehemiah takes his petition before the people and says:

^“17 Then said I unto them, Ye see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lieth waste, and the gates thereof are burned with fire: come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.¹⁸ Then I told them of the hand of my God which was good upon me; as also the king’s words that he had spoken unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. So they strengthened their hands for this good work.”

In Chapter Three, God gives us a recorded record of those that were a part of this great work of rebuilding the walls.  You see folks, I believe everything you do for God – God takes notice of!  Then we come to Chapter four, and stand with me as we read Nehemiah 4:1-6.  Let’s Pray and I will share the message People With a Mind to Work!

The people of God, realizing that Nehemiah meant business Got behind him and he was able to get them to do what they hadn’t done for nearly 100 years.  He was determined to build the walls of Jerusalem – but understand me – his determination to rebuild the walls didn’t come without opposition.  And you can rest assured church, whenever we determine in our hearts to do something for God – you can rest assured it will not come without opposition either!

And listen folks – it will not take long for that opposition to come either.  In Nehemiah chapter 2:19, the Bible says, “But when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it, they laughed us to scorn, and despised us, and said, What is this thing that ye do? will ye rebel against the king?”

Chapter 4:1, says, “ But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.”

As soon as they HEARD it they began to mock the people of God.  When they heard what Nehemiah was going to do, they got made – but when it actually looked like he was going to accomplish the work – they got VERY ANGRY.

Satan doesn’t wait around for a great work to be accomplished before he begins his attack – he starts at the beginning in order to do maximum damage.

Do you know that one of Satan’s greatest tools is? Scorn – contempt and ridicule.  That is because these don’t require proof for an attack.  To mock the work of God doesn’t require FACTS.

The sad thing is though, evil is never content alone – it always has to seek others to take with it!  In Verse 2, Sanballat spread his brand of wickedness to as many as he could, as many as would hear him.  He started gathering up his supporters behind the scenes.

Nehemiah faced opposition from Outside the Camp, but he also faced opposition inside the camp.

What I want you to realize today is that I believe Rally Point Biker Church is doing a Great Work for God – am I’m telling you now, it has not come without opposition from outside and inside.

I even think we are going to do an even greater work.  But we need to understand right up front, the greater our success, the greater opposition we are going to face.

• The more you do for God – the more opposition you’re going to face;
• The greater the work you do – the more harassed you’ll be by the enemies of God’s work.

As a church, we are going to face our fair share of Sanballat’s that will say:

• You’re not educated enough;
• You’re not strong enough;
• You’re not experienced enough;
• You’re not rich enough;
• No one is behind you.

But understand with me this morning Rally Point Biker Church – Sometimes our greatest difficulties can become our greatest Blessing!

And the way we get to those blessings is by doing what the people of God did – we have to develop a MIND TO WORK! That term “mind to work” actually means in the Hebrew “Heart to work.”  Nehemiah and the people of God “Had a heart for the work.”

Folks, having a “mind to work” will UNITE us as a church – not DIVIDE us! And because they had a “Mind to Work,” I want you to notice:

1. THEY BUILT THE WALL (V6). “So built we the wall”

Too often what we find in the churches of today is that when opposition comes, Many say “So, we quit.”  But not a person that has a “mind to work!”  Their athem is “So, built we the wall.”

• In spite of the opposition outside;
• In spite of the opposition inside;
• In spite of the anger of others;
• In spite of the ridicule from others;
• In spite of the mockings.

The people of God kept their hand to the plow and just kept working.  They did not let anything deter them from the work of God.  The best way to defeat the enemy is to continue in the work.

1. THEY BUILT THE WALL BY PRAYER (V.4-6, 9).

Over and over again we find that Nehemiah was a praying man – He prayed about everything.  But in Chapter 4, Nehemiah’s prayer is not a prayer we typically hear someone pray.  I know the New Testament says that we are to “pray those that despitefully use you,” and we are to “love those that hate us.”  However, sometimes folks, we have a pray a prayer like Nehemiah.  Notice what Nehemiah prayed in these verses:

• Turn their reproach upon their head;
• Give them for a prey in the land of captivity;
• Cover not their iniquity;
• Let not their sin be blotted out from before Thee;
• For they have provoked thee to anger before the builders.

1. THEY BUILT THE WALL TOGETHER (V6). “So built WE the wall”

Have you ever heard the term “strength in numbers?”  That simply means that you and I can do more together than we can do alone.  Brother Dennis and I were talking a few days ago and I heard him say “There ain’t no “I” in team.”  And that is a fact.  The building of God’s work is not about a single person here – it is about the Lord.  And you and I will accomplish more together than we will ever accomplish alone.  The people “Joined TOGETHER the wall.”  CHURCH – if we don’t do the work God has given us individually, there will be gaps in the wall.

1. THEY BUILT THE WALL WITH A WILLINGNESS TO DO WHATEVER THEY HAD TO (V9, 16-18).

You see, they knew that the enemy of the work of God was “Very Angry,” Yet in verse 9 Nehemaih says something at the beginning of the verse that everyone of us should say when adversity comes – NEVERTHELESS. 

Nehemiah prayed “Unto our God,”  Then he “Set a watch.”  The people of God then set about doing the work of God.  They had a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other.  Half the people would work and the other half would stand guard. 

Folks, there are some times in your Christian life that you are going to half to fight.  It is not going to all be a “flowery bed of ease.” 

You are going to be tried;

You are going to be tested;

Folks, we need to put on the WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD and be prepared to do battle for the LORD.  We need to “earnestly contend for the faith.”

• THEY BUILT THE WALL BY TRUSTING GOD (V.20)

In verse 14, Nehemiah reminds the people, “Be not afraid of them – REMEMBER the Lord.”  In Verse 20, he says, “Our God shall fight for us.”

Fear is a potent weapon of the enemy – but folks, I remind you today “If God before us – WHO CAN BE AGAINST US!  Church, we are on the winning side!

CONCLUSION:  I am afraid that we have created a mentality of welfare in our society today.  We have taught people that they don’t need to do anything – just simply rely on the government.  And so, we are now a nation in debt – because we have taught to NOT have “a mind to work.” 

Unfortunately, to often that mentality trickles over into the church.  We expect the preacher or staff to do everything.  But I want you to understand this morning, if Rally Point Biker Church is going to do a great work for God, it will be because we as a people had a “MIND OT WORK.”

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I believe that you and I, as a child of God, our to “Meet people where they are and help them get to where God wants them to be,”  Now, if we truly believe that we are to meet people where they are and help them to get to where God wants them to be, then we have to assume God has a place that he wants each of us to be. This morning I want to speak on this simple thought “Getting to the Place God Wants You to be.”  Reading from Ezekiel Chapter 20 and verse 6, God’s Word says,

“In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:”

The words “into a land that I had espied for them,” literally means “a land that was selected by God Himself. A Land that God Himself caught sight of.”  I believe God is taking us somewhere, and if He is taking us somewhere, He’s going to help us get there AMEN. 

As I think about the children of Israel and what they must have felt when God led them out of bondage from Egypt and led them to the Promised-land, and I couldn’t help this evening but to think that:

• We can rejoice over what God has done to get us where we are today;
• And we can look forward to the place that He is taking us.

And I think what we are really talking here is the Sovereignty of God, the leadership of God.  So let me share a few things from this verse that I believe are a challenge to us all in our walk of faith.

And the first thing I want us all to understand is:

GOD HAS A PLACE PICKED OUT FOR YOU.

Long before any of us ever got here, God already picked out a place for you, a place where He wants you to be.  God knows where He’s taking you and He knows where He’s taking me.

Now, some of you might be in that place right now.  When the children of Israel got to Canaan – they stayed there:

• that was the place God picked for them;
• that was the place God wanted them to be.

For every one of us, God has looked through His telescope of Time and Space and has picked a place where He wanted you to be – a place where He knows He could best use you. 

For some of you, praise God, Rally Point Biker Church is the place God picked for you – and God knew how to rightly fit HIS body together.

What I really want you to understand is that everything that has happened – all the Good things, all the Bad things have happened for ONE REASON – and that is to get you to the place that God has picked for you.

And let me tell you some things about the place God has picked for you:

1. It is a Successful Place – it is a place of Victory!  You might be saying, “Well I’m not experiencing a lot of victory in my life right now.”  Well guess what?  God’s not finished with you yet, and He is taking you to a place where you will experience some victory.
2. It is a Supplied Place – “A land flowing with Milk and Honey.” “God made sure it had everything they would need before they even got there.  And that’s what God has done in our lives.  He is taking us to a place that is already supplied with everything we need – we just need to be faithful to follow Him to that place.
3. It is a Splendid Place – it is a great place to be.  It is the “glory of all lands.  The most beautiful of all lands.”

God has picked a Place for You.  Some of you may be in that place right now.  Some of you may still be trying to find your way to that place.  But God wants to get you to the place where He can best use you.

Friends, the only way you will ever find real purpose and joy in your Christians life is by getting to the Place God has Picked for You.

GOD KNOWS HOW TO GET YOU TO THAT PLACE

When Kim and I got on our bikes to come here this evening, We pulled out of Drayton, turned left on Pine St, rode down to the Ingles, made a right on Country Club Road, then a left on Union Street, we then got on Cedar Springs (Rt. 56), came all the way down to Miller Town Road, then left onto Dutch Creek Road until we reached 830 Dutch Creek Road.  WE KNEW EXACTLY WHERE WE WERE GOING AND HOW TO GET THERE!

Now, you think about Abraham.  God tells Abraham “Abraham, I want you to move – but guess what? I’m not gonna tell you where you’re going.  Just get up, pack up and get going.  When you get there – I will let you know!”

Now, where did God take Abraham?  I’ll tell you where took him:

• He took him to a Successful Place
• He took him to a Supplied Place
• He took him to a Splendid Place.

Let me ask you something:

• How many of you knew 5 year ago that we would be in this place today?
• How many of you knew 1 year ago, or even 6 months ago that you’d be in this place?

I don’t think any of us did, but we were all being faithful to follow wherever God was leading.

For some of us, God knew the route He needed to take to get us to the Place where He wanted us to be – to the Place He picked out for us.

Sometimes, that route is not always the most direct route.  The children of Israel wandered in the Wilderness for 40 years before God could get them to the Place where He wanted them to be.

What I want you to realize is that what you and I cannot see – God can see!  God knows how to get us to the place where He wants us to be and he uses several things to get us there:

1. He Uses People.

God used Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Bondage.  And when Moses said he didn’t have the ability, God gave him Arron and Hur to help.

Over and over again, God uses people in the Bible to get people to the Place that He wants them to be.  Sometimes those people are good people, but sometimes those people are bad.  Think about when the early church was formed.  God used the Christ rejecting religious leaders and the Roman Empire to get them to the place He wanted them to be.

• He Uses Problems.

Think about their Bondage in Egypt; think about their Red Sea – with mountains on both sides and nowhere else to go; think about the 40 years wandering in the Wilderness.

Folks, going through the wilderness was not the easy thing to do, but God said, “If you’ll just trust Me, I’m taking you somewhere!”

Now I already know what most of us are thinking:  “I don’t want any problems.”  I know – But God’s taking us somewhere!

Had the Children of Israel not been in Bondage in Egypt, they’d have never had a Promised Land!

• Some of you had to go through your Red Sea to get to the place where God wanted you.
• Some of you had to Wander in the Wilderness to get to the Place where God wanted you.

Not only did God use People to get them where He wanted them to be;

Not only did God use Problems to get them where He wanted them to be, BUT, all along the way:

• He Protected Them on the Journey.

Think about all the obstacles the Children of Israel faced as they were making their Exodus from Bondage.

• They faced the Red Sea – where mountains were on both sides and Pharoah’s Army pursuing from Behind;
• They got to Marah, a place of bitter waters;
• While in the Wilderness, they faced many enemies;

But God  never failed them:

• He parted their Red Sea;
• He gave them a tree in Marah to make the bitter waters sweet!
• While in the Wilderness, He guided them as a Pillar of Fire by night and a Cloud by Day!
• When they had no food, God provided Manna from Heaven;
• When they had no water, God gave water out of a Rock!

The truth is folks, I don’t always understanding why we are in the place we get in  sometimes and I don’t always understand what God is doing – but what I do know is that God is taking us someplace and He knows what it’s going to take to get us to that place, and He has proven over and over again that He we protect us along the way!

YOU CAN MISS THE PLACE GOD PICKED FOR YOU

And friends, that’s what I would call a pitiful site. 

After God had shown Himself MIGHTILY to the Children of Israel by delivering them out of Bondage in Egypt, verse 11 says, “Then I gave them My statutes and explained My ordinances to them—the person who does them will live by them. 12 I also gave them My Sabbaths to serve as a sign between Me and them, so they will know that I am Yahweh who sets them apart as holy.”  Verse 13 goes on to say, “But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness.” 

Just a few verses down from our text verse, there is another verse that ALMOST reads the same – with one exception.  Verse 15 says:

“Yet also I lifted up my hand unto them in the wilderness, that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands;”(Ezekiel 20:15).

Joshua 5:6 says, “For the children of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war, which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord: unto whom the Lord sware that he would not shew them the land, which the Lord sware unto their fathers that he would give us, a land that floweth with milk and honey.”

Some of the children of Israel never reached Canaan.  They never reached the Promised Land.  And the sad truth is, there are some children of God today that are never going to reach the place that God has picked for them.

The Children of Israel missed Canaan by:

1. Lacking Faith

Numbers 20:12 says, “And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.”

By a Lack of Faith, they did not believe that God could get them to the place that He had promised them.

Friends, if we are going to get to the place that God has picked for us, we are gonna have to have faith to believe that God CAN get us there.

They missed it because they Lacked Faith: They missed Canaan because they:

• Lost Focus

Israel sends the 12 spies over into Canaan, 10 come back with a negative report saying “it is a land full of Giants and we are mere grasshoppers in their sight.”

2 of the spies come back and say, “They are bread for us . . .”

Numbers 13:33, “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”

What happened here?  Well, they lost their focus.  Rather than focusing on God, they focused on the Giants.

And that’s what happens in our Christian lives – we start focusing on our problems rather than focusing on the Problem Solver!

And when we lose our focus, we risk missing the blessings of life that God has for us.

They Lacked Faith, They Lost Focus, but

• They Left the Father

They went their own way and missed out on the land that God had picked for them.

God has a place picked out for us.  It is a great place, it is a place that has everything we need.  It is a place that represents victory in our Christian lives.

God is leading you and I on this journey of our life to get us to the place He wants us to be.  Along that route, we run into people we don’t like, people that mean to do us harm and we tell God, “God, why did you bring that person in my life?”  Well, God brought that person in your life to get you where He wants you to be.  God then sends some problems into your life that you don’t understand, but I want you to understand that those problems came so God could get you to where He wants you to be.  And once you get there, you realize that God was using people and problems all along the way to get you to that place, but while you were traveling there – God always provided for you and protected you along that journey.

But Sadly, too many people have missed the place God picked for them. 

1. By Lacking Faith – Not believing that God has the ability to take you there.
2. By Losing Focus – getting your eyes off of God and getting them on the Giants.
3. By Leaving the Father – they’ve decided they know the way better than God does, so before they know it, they have gotten further and further from the place that God has hand-picked for you.

Conclusion:  Several years ago, we became involved in Biker Churches.  I was a traditional pastor, so Biker churches were a shocked to my system.  But for whatever reason, God had me in that place.  Looking back now, and seeing the place that I am at, I can clearly see what God was doing along the way.  And maybe the things that got Kim and I to Rally Point are the things that got you to where you are.  God has picked a place for you, a place where He knew He could best use you.  The way we got here may not be the way we would have envisioned; the people and problems we faced along the way might not have been what we were anticipating – but they’re what God used to get us here.  Rather than be bitter about the past, be grateful that those were the things God used to get you where He wanted you to be – the Place God Has Picked for

Many believe that Ezra wrote the actual account of this man Nehemiah. Nehemiah worked on building the physical realm of Jerusalem while Ezra worked the spiritual realm. You might could say that Nehemiah worked on “rebuilding the ruins of the City” while Ezra worked on “rebuilding the ruins of the people.” They both worked together to rebuild the city and the people of God. So, many believe Ezra was the scribe who penned these words in the book of Nehemiah.

Both the books of Ezra and Nehemiah are written at a time when God’s people had been exiled. The city of God had been destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Many of the best and brightest had been carried into captivity, possibly in an effort to “Babylonize” the people of God. But there were remnants that remained in Jerusalem. And over the years, several groups had returned to the city.

Now, some 70-100 years later, paraphrasing what is taking place, Nehemiah is meeting with some friends who have come from Jerusalem, and he is asking how things are going there. And here is what he discovers:

• The remnant that are in the city are in great affliction, they were in hard times;
• The walls of this once great city of God laid in waste and the gates thereof are burned with fire;
• But far worse, this once great nation had now become a reproach to God;

Nehemiah heard these words, and before he prayed, notice what he does. Verse 4 says, “When I heard these words, that I sat down and wept and mourned certain days . . .” Can I just stop right here and say it’s OK to cry and to mourn. John 11:35 tells us that when Jesus came to the tomb of His friend “He wept.” Now our problem is not that we cry and mourn at times, the problem is when we STAY that way.

So, Nehemiah “wept and mourned certain days,” How many days, I don’t know, but then look at what he did, “He fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” Notice when Nehemiah had a broken heart, his first choice was to go to God in prayer. It wasn’t an afterthought, it wasn’t something he was going to do when he got around to it, it wasn’t a last-ditch effort. No, the first thing he did was to fall on his knees and call out to the God of heaven. Nehemiah decided he was going to “Look toward the hills from whence cometh our help” amen! It wasn’t the last thing – it was the first thing.

So Nehemiah “. . . wept and mourned certain days, and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” But Nehemiah’s prayer didn’t allow him to change his position among the people. Notice this: Nehemiah’s position was that as the King’s cupbearer. And it was a high, trusted position, Yet, although he had a high position in the King’s house, he didn’t let that negate his position and responsibility as part of the family of God. The moral of this story is folks, Don’t allow your position at work, or your education level get in the way of your position in the family of God! YOUR POSITION SHOULD NEVER CHANGE YOUR POSTURE WITH THE PEOPLE GOD!

In verse 5, Nehemiah is going to begin this prayer, and notice how he begins, He begins by attributing 3 separate titles to God. He begins by saying, “I beseech thee, O Lord God of Heaven (there’s the first one), The great and terrible God (there’s the second one), that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:”

• The Lord God of Heaven – speaks of a Ruler
• The Great and terrible God – is Nehemiah giving Him reverence
• But the God who keepeth covenant and mercy – is a God of relationship.

Nehemiah viewed God the way we ought to view God. He is our supreme ruler, Heaven is His home, Earth is His foot stool. We should honor and revere Him and fear Him, But I’m glad He is my God and I have a personal relationship with Him. David said in the Psalms, “The Lord is MY Sheperd . . .”  I’m glad this morning that I have a personal, one-on-one relationship with the God who created the universe, who hung the moon and the stars.

I believe your prayer life will reveal a lot about how we view God. Talking with God ain’t like talking to your friends. So let me share a few things I see in Nehemiah’s prayer beginning in verse 6:

NOTICE FIRST THE CALL

Verse 6 begins, “Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, . . .”

How many of you agree with me that this is Nehemiah doing the praying? And who is he praying to? The God of Heaven right? Why would Nehemiah pray to the God who is all knowing, all powerful and all present, why would Nehemiah say, “LORD, would you listen to me? I’m talking to You.” So we ask, why even pray this?

I think sometimes we view prayer as an obligation. But what it really is, is an Opportunity. God doesn’t have to listen to us. Nehemiah said, “LORD, I know you are on the throne, and I know that down here, I’m simply the King’s cupbearer, I’m just one of your children. But Lord, if You would, if you have some time, would You listen to what I have to say? Would You please listen to my prayer?”

“Lord, I know You don’t have to listen to me, but Lord would You please hear my prayer?”

Folks, if you and I can get to the place where we pray not out of Obligation, but as an opportunity to get into the presence of God, where we can call out to God and say “LORD, it me again, I need You Lord. Will You hear my prayer?”

The Call of Nehemiah, not notice:

THE CONSISTENCY

Verse 6b “. . . which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants,”

This was not a one and done prayer like we so often prayed. This is something he prayed everyday until he heard something from God. I just think there is something to be said about a consistent prayer life.

You know, I believe God hears us the first time we prayer. But I also realize the Bible says that we are to pray without ceasing. I think God doesn’t answer us sometimes because He want to know if we will be consistent, if we really mean business or not. I know folks that have prayed for loved ones to be saved for years before anything ever happened. But they never gave up and they prayed consistently. Folks, I just believe God loves a consistent prayer life.

God wants our consistent prayer, not our convenient prayer.

The Call, the Consistency. Now Notice:

THE CONFESSION

“. . . and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father’s house have sinned. We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.”

Nehemiah could have pushed the responsibility for the things that went wrong for Israel on to the generation that brought this destruction to the city of God and the people of God . . . but he didn’t. He said, “I and my father’s house have sinned.” Nehemiah said, “God, I’m just as guilty as they are.” “Lord, I have sinned as well, and I don’t deserve Your mercies, I don’t deserve Your grace, but I’m confessing to You now that I have sinned.” Nehemiah confessed that he needed God.

You know something folks, as God’s people, we are not exempt to messing up sometimes, we are not exempt from sinning sometimes. But it is up to us to go before God when we do and confess our sins. John tell us in I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

And let me tell you right now, if you are a child of God and say you don’t sin, or you haven’t sinned, you’re a liar and the truths not in you. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

The Call, The Consistency, The Confession, Now notice:

THE CONFIDENCE

Verses 8-10, “Remember, I beseech thee, the word that thou commandedst thy servant Moses, saying, If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations: But if ye turn unto me, and keep my commandments, and do them; though there were of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set my name there. Now these are thy servants and thy people, whom thou hast redeemed by thy great power, and by thy strong hand.”

So here is Nehemiah talking to the all-knowing God, and Nehemiah says, “God, do you remember that promise you made to Moses?” And what Nehemiah was saying here was not so much that God would remember, but Nehemiah is going over in his mind the faithfulness of God and all that God had done for His people.

Sometimes folks, I get into a place where I’m talking to God and while talking to Him, I start remembering what God has done for me. I start remembering when God first cured my daughter’s cancer. Then I remembered when her cancer came back, and I found myself praying the same prayers again. It’s not that God forgot my prayers as much as it is I’m reminding myself that if He could do it then, then He can still do it now.

Nehemiah was confident that the God who delivered the Children of Israel for Moses, can deliver the children of Israel again!

Folks, you and I can be confident that if God has done it before, He can do it again. I look around our Nation and how far we have gotten from God. And I ask myself, “Lord is there any hope for America anymore? Lord can you bring revival to America again? Can you bring revival to my home and to my church? And I will say just as the prophet Ezekiel, “LORD GOD THOU KNOWEST!”

The Call, The Consistency, The Confession, The Confidence, now Finally:

THE CUPBEARER

Nehemiah finishes the chapter with these words that seem as though we’d have been fine without them, but here they are, “For I was the King’s cupbearer.”

This was a high-ranking position within the Kings Court, a very trusted position. The cupbearer was the one willing to bear the poison to save the King. Because of that, this was the most trusted position in the Persian Empire. Nehemiah was willing to give his life so that the King could be sparred.

Isn’t it ironic that it is the prayer of this Cupbearer that opened the windows of Heaven for God to once again restore the people of God and the City of God?

Now, let me share that second text with you so can get this text in context, as I tell you about another Cupbearer, who bore the bitter cup of my sins and your sins in the Garden of Gethsemane, so that we can have life and have it more abundantly. Matthew 26:39. records for us that Jesus fell on His face and prayer to the God of Heaven:

“Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me: Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”

The weapon of warfare Jesus used that night in the Garden was the weapon of prayer. This was a prayer from a Son to His Father – Jesus said, “Father.” It was a prayer of sorrow – “Let this cup pass from me.” But it was also a prayer of complete surrender – “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.”

Jesus drank this Cup of Sin, Sorrow, and Separation, so that you and I could drink from the Cup of Salvation. The cup that I should have drunk, Jesus drank for me! Thank God today, that you and I can be Saved Through the Prayer of a Cupbearer!

If you have your Bible with you, I’m gonna ask you to turn to I Corinthians 16, and beginning in verse 13: In I Corinthians 15, Paul has just written the best discourse on the Resurrection that you will find anywhere. Chapter 15 is chalk full of doctrinal truth. But in chapter 16, Paul is going to change gears. He kind of gives some summary remarks, and he begins to call some people by name. Notice in verse 13, he says:

^“13 Watch ye (BE ON GUARD – BE ALERT), stand fast in the faith (YOUR FAITH WALK IS NOT GOING TO BE A CAKE WALK), quit you like men, be strong (DON’T GIVE UP EASY). ¹⁴ Let all your things be done with charity (BECAUSE WITHOUT LOVE, IT DON’T MEAN SQUAT). ¹⁵ I beseech you (I BEG YOU, I IMPLORE YOU), brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,) ¹⁶ That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth (CAN I JUST SAY RIGHT HERE, I THANK GOD FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE BECOME CO-LABORERS TO RALLY POINT BIKER CHURCH) ¹⁷ I am glad of the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus: for that which was lacking on your part they have supplied. ¹⁸ For they have refreshed my spirit and yours: therefore acknowledge ye them that are such.”

How wonderful it is to look at some of the pages of the Bible and to see some names that are recorded here for all eternity. How many of you would like to think that you walked so close to God that your name was recorded for all prosperity to see? That is a wonderful thing. Now, grant it, there are some names mentioned in the Bible that I wouldn’t want to be, or even be associated with.

Paul must have thought a whole lot of these folks he is mentioning here. Apparently, from the time Paul began his first missionary journey there, they had gotten saved and have been a consistent, faithful part of that work ever since. These were some of the main leaders, some of the main encouragers of the church in Corinth. And he mentions three of them: The House of Stephanas, The House of Fortunatus, and the House of Achaicus – the First Fruits of Achaia. And here is why Paul mentions them by name: verse 15, “they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints.”

There’s an interesting thing that happens when you read the Bible. Let me explain that statement. For years, I have read my Bible, and in fact, have read this section, but it never occurred to me that the Word of God has the word “addicted” in it. I knew it was there, it just never jumped off the page at me.

When we think about being addicted to something in our society, that’s a bad thing. And the problem is, without God in our lives, there’s a big ole empty hole inside of everyone of us. Some people try to fill that hole with drugs, with alcohol, with pornography, with gambling. But God’s the one who created that big ole hole, and guess what, He’s the only one that can fill it.

But the world is trying to stuff that hole full of everything the world has to offer, only to come up empty. And do you know why? Because none of the things the world has to offer can fill it. The only thing that can fill that big gaping hole in your soul – IS GOD.

The thing about addicts is – they can’t get enough of what it is they are addicted to. Everything an addict does is controlled by their addiction. Every decision they make, every place they go, the people they associate with are all determined by their addiction. The more they get of it, the more they won’t of it. And another thing, addicts like to hang out with other addicts. 

But I want to talk to you this morning about a good addiction. I want to talk to you about being “addicted to the ministry of the saints.” The more I thought about this thing the more it stirred my soul. “Addicted to the ministry of the saints,” the more I get the more I want! I can never get enough. So as I thought about the message and what I would titled it, the best I could come up with was to confess to you this morning:

“HI, MY NAME IS JOE, AND I’M AN ADDICT”

And I’m not a recovered one – it’s getting worse! And the more of it I get, the more of it I want! The more I do for Him, the more I want to do for Him. The more I preach His Word, the more I want to preach His Word. Now that’s a good addiction amen! Don’t miss this, Paul said, “Submit yourselves unto such.” What did Paul mean? I think he meant that if you want to look to people who will be an example for you, these are the people you want to look to – those who are Addicted to Jesus! Because, listen, those people who are addicted to Jesus, they have your best interest at heart. So if you want to find somebody to follow, find somebody who’s “addicted to the ministry of the saints.” Somebody whose actions speak louder than their words.

Paul not only said that they should “submit to them,” but he said of them,“They helped us.” Isn’t it funny, a lot of times in the church, the people who do the most talking are the very ones who do the lest? They want to tell everybody else what to do. That’s not the way it was in the New Testament Church. Paul said, “If you want to find a leader, you look to that person that when something needs to be done, they are right there helping. They have their “hands to the plough.” I’m afraid part of the problem in the church today is there are too many people working in the ministry that are not “Addicted to the ministry.”

Speaking of addictions, I will never understand how somebody that calls themselves a Christian, doesn’t want to go to church. Personally, I like to hang out with a bunch of other addicts myself! That’s why I love our church, we got a few folks who have an addiction problem!

These are the folks Paul wanted you and I to remember. These are the people who made a difference in Paul’s life and in his ministry. There’s a couple of things Paul says about them I really want to point out.

FIRST, WHAT WAS LACKING, THEY SUPPLIED

I have come to this conclusion, if every Christian would try to supply what was lacking in somebody else’s life, nobody would go lacking; no ministry would be lacking. We’d be able to start more churches, build bigger churches, send missionaries to the ends of the earth, we’d be able to reach more souls for Christ. If all of us would get to the place that we’re willing to “supply that which was lacking.”

And I’ll tell you, the problem is we have too much stuff! And we don’t want to get rid of our stuff, and in fact, we feel like we need more stuff. Kim and I just moved, and our garage is full of what? STUFF. I believe the fastest growing business in Spartanburg County is Storage buildings. Why? Because we can’t get enough stuff. We’re addicted to it.

If we can ever learn to give up our “stuff,” I think we’d realize God will give us more than we ever dreamed of. But we must get to the place where we are willing to “supply that which was lacking.”

BUT SECOND, PAUL SAYS “THEY HAVE REFRESHED MY SPIRIT, AND YOURS”

This is going to sound pretty backwoods, but “Isn’t it refreshing to be around refreshing people?” Now, have you ever run into somebody at church that in about 5 seconds they just knock the wind right out of your sails? They’re never happy, they never have anything positive to say, they never have an encouraging word, nobody loves them, nobody cares about them? You walk away from them and hope next week they’ll have something positive to say about what God is doing in their lives, then next week arrives – and it’s the same old story? Am I the only one that’s ever run into that? I’m just being honest folks, there’s just some people that it takes me a lot of energy to be around because they suck the refreshment right out of me.

But then, there’s some people who pour refreshment into your soul. They say things that are encouraging, refreshing and uplifting. You might only be there for a minute, but you feel better when you walk away – you feel refreshed when you walk away. Now I don’t know about you, but that’s the kind of people I want to be around.

I think the daily prayer of every Christian, from the moment that we wake-up, I think our prayer should be “God, let me be a fresh breath of air to somebody today!”

As some of you know, in 2003, at the height of my ministry, my life fell apart. Sin invaded my home and robbed me of the joy of my salvation. For 10 years, I lived outside of the will of God for my life. Those were some dark days in my life. Not all bad days, in fact, I met my wife during those days, my helpmate. But they were not the life God had called me to. So, there was no real joy.

In 2013, when my granddaughter Emma was 6, Bella was 4, they were staying with us, and Emma, forced me to confront my past. She said to me, “Papa, you used to be a preacher?” Folks, that tore my nerves up.” I begged God not to let her ask another question – but that fell on deaf ears, because Emma followed that up with “Papa, will you take me to church.” And of course, Bella had to chime in, “Yea, Papa, will you take us to church?”

Do you know what I realized in that moment? I realized those two little girls became a fresh breath of air for their Granny and Papa. I realized that for the past 10 years, I was in withdrawals – and I wasn’t fairing to well. I realized as an addict, I wasn’t getting what I needed. I needed a hit of joy and peace back in my life! I needed to be back in fellowship with other addicts!

I would venture to say they are some here today that Satan has convinced you nobody cares about you and your life has no meaning. Let me just remind you that He is a liar! You know what you need to do? You need to get around some Addicts that can help fill that void your lacking, some addicts who can be a fresh breath of air to you.

This past week, that little granddaughter of mine, and her bestie, called and wanted to meet Papa for lunch. Now listen, what kind of 18-year-old wants to have lunch with their ole grumpy papa? But they wanted to share what God was doing in their lives. And as I listen to these girls share what God is doing, and how God is working through them to affect other people. I realized these girls had an addiction problem.” And I went home and God began laying this message on my heart, I knelt down in my study and I prayed, “Oh God, give me a church full of addicts in the ministry like these young women who are on fire for the ministry. God give us a church full of Emma’s and Lane’s. God help me as a pastor to be a PUSHER and get other people “addicted” to the ministry.”

Folks, I want to challenge you this morning to stand firm in your faith, serve with unwavering commitment, and surround yourself with those who are ‘addicted to the ministry of the saints‘—those whose passion for Christ compels them to supply and refresh others, demonstrating that true fulfillment doesn’t come from worldly pursuits, but from a life fully surrendered to God’s work

When you think about Elijah, there’s not really a whole lot that we know about him. We know he was a hairy man; we know that he came out of the wilderness; and we know that he was greatly used by God.

In fact, Elijah was used in a very unusual way, and because of that, we attach the reference of a great man of God or a great prophet. At a minimum, I believe Elijah was one of the most unusual prophets that ever lived.

When you look at his life, he was greatly used by God. So, I guess I would ask this fine crowd this morning, “How many of you think that we have a Great God?” How many of you believe that God still does great works today?

It would be very easy for me to preach a message titled “The Secret to How Elijah was Greatly Used of God.” But I’m not going to do that.

How many of you have eaten some of Roman’s cooking? How many of you would agree that Roman is a great cook?  Now I have had some food sometimes that I wanted to know the ingredients. You can go to Roman and ask, “Brother, what are the ingredients you used in that?” and he will probably reply, “O, a little of this and a little of that.”

Or you can ask Roy the recipe for his tri-tips, and he’ll say, “O, a little of this and a little of that.” I think these guys went to school together!

Sometimes in life we come across people that seem to be different, that seem to really be walking with God, they seem to reflect the presence of God in their lives. They just seem to have that special sauce. SO, this morning I want to speak on this thought, “THE SECRET SAUCE ON THE THINGS GOD GREATLY USES!”

To understand where I’m going, I need to give you a little background. In chapter 16 and verse 30 the Bible says, “And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord above all that were before him.”

In other words, the wickedness that was in the land before, Ahab was about to kick it up a notch and take it Evil and Wickedness to a whole new level. How many of you believe that we live in a wicked day today? I don’t think we’ve seen the end of that. It seems to me that men wax worse and worse. We see things happening in our country today that seem to have taken wickedness to a whole new level, things that make me ashamed.

What I’m saying folks is that evil is on the rise. We are tolerating and accepting today as the norm that 30 years ago would have made us blush. Evil is on the rise. And that is the setting that Elijah finds himself.

Verse 31 says, “And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat . . .”

In other words, Ahab made this guy who was totally wicked look like he was just some school kid slinging out a curse word, his sins were just small things compared to Ahab.

“He took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.”

So here is a king of a nation, whose God is the LORD, and he is worshipping and serving Baal. “Baal” means little “l” lord. I’m glad there is only one capital “L” LORD in the Bible.

Look at verse 32, “And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria.”

In other words, Idolatry was being restored in the nation that was supposed to get rid of it. And verse 33 says, “And Ahab made a grove . . .” They were supposed to get rid of the groves. They were supposed to get rid of all these things that would turn the hearts of God’s men to false idols.

And now they are being restored, they are being put back into place. And so God said of “Ahab did more to provoke the LORD GOD of Isreal to anger than all the kings of Isreal that were before him.” He made God mad!!!

What I’m saying is the backdrop to I Kings 17 is that wickedness is on the rise, Idolatry is on the rise. It seems to me, that there are fewer and fewer people sitting on the pews of church nowadays, and more and more people at the ball fields, or the race tracks. It just seems to me that we are not the “One Nation Under God that we once were.

And sadly, we just get into our little spiritual huddles and pray that we hold out until the rapture. Well folks, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to live in a whole until Jesus comes.

Now look at chapter 17 and verse 1, “AND ELIJAH . . .” in the middle of all that wickedness, in the middle of all the idolatry, God decides, “I’m going to go ahead a do a work anyway!”

Wickedness may be on the rise, idol worship may be on the rise, false temples may be built, Baal may be there little “g” God – BUT GOD WASN’T DONE!

And I have great news for Rally Point Biker Church this morning, God is not finished working in our lives in this world we live in right now!

I want to show you 5 things that God uses, and the secret to the usefulness of these things.

FIRST, GOD USES THE UNKNOWN WHO HAS FAITH IN HIS MESSAGE

“And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.”.

When Elijah comes on the scene, we know absolutely nothing about him. All we know is he is hairy, he wears leather clothing and he comes from the hills. He is just an unknown man of God – and that’s all he is.

But we read chapter 17 and 18 and in chapter 19, we see him call down the fire from Heaven, and we see this great man of God, this great prophet of God – but when he steps out in I Kings 17:1, all we know about him is that he is a man who steps out WITH FAITH IN GOD’S MESSAGE.

Our problem today as a society is that everybody wants to be know. We have snapchat and twitter and all these others accounts and we want to be influencers, we want people to know who we are.

It happens in churches as well. We talk about the size of a church, how many degrees the preacher has, how many books they’ve written, which Seminary they graduated from, how many people do they have in their sphere of influence

But that’s not what God did. God saw this man named Elijah, that nobody knows, whose name means “Yahweh is my God.” God says, “That’s the guy I’m going to use!

Elijah didn’t have a ministry; he didn’t have a church; “Hey Elijah, how people’d you run on Sunday?” he wasn’t a social media influencer;  “Elijah, how many followers you got on TikTok?”

Elijah is not known. But here is his secret sauce – HE HAS FAITH IN GOD’S MESSAGE.

Look at what Elijah says in verse 1, “Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word,”

SO, Elijah just appears out of nowhere and he takes this message that God said it wasn’t going to rain in 3 ½ years, he obediently carries this message to King Ahab – no questions asked. Elijah had faith in the message! Let me ask you, do you have faith in the message of God today?

How many of you believe that the Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation? The church of today is trying to replace the message of God with programs, but folks I still believe the death burial and resurrection of Jesus is still the message of the church today!

Elijah had faith in the message. And folks’ I believe that a “nobody, who believes in somebody, change impact everybody!”

SECOND GOD USES THE UNDESIRABLE WHO YIELD TO HIS WORD

Look at verse 4, “And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.”

Let me sak you first, how many of you like to hunt and eat Ravens? How many of you have a picture of a raven hanging in your living room? They are disgusting, unclean animals.

How many have ever watched birds feeding one another?  Now, with that picture in mind, do you want this filthy unclean animal feeding you?

Now look at verse 6, “And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook.”

I could be wrong here, but I’m pretty sure that that Raven didn’t sprinkle on some Gordon Ramsey spices and cook that meat up before he brought it to Elijah. And to think he had to eat that in the morning and the evening, and it my elementary math holds up – that’s twice a day!

Now how undesirable is that? Funny how God can use those who don’t have a voice, those who can’t sing, those who can’t preach, those who are nobodies in the eyes of the world to do incredible things for the work of God.

Well preacher, I’m divorced; I don’t have the right kind of education; I’ve had an addiction; I have PTSD. The devil will tell you there are a hundred things that makes you undesirable, unable to ever be used of God,

BUT GOD TAKES DELIGHT IN USING THE THINGS OTHER PEOPLE LEAVE LYING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD.

Look at the end of verse 4, “and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.” The secret sauce is, those ravens simply obeyed God. Every day they simply did what God commanded them to do.

I think our lives and our churches would be a whole lot better off if we simply obeyed the Word of God, don’t you?

FINALLY, GOD WILL USE THE WEAK WHO SUBMIT TO HIS WORD

Look at verse 9, “Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.”

So, to give you the backdrop here, there is a widow woman, I image she is not an old widow woman, as she has a son still under her care, but a widow non-the-less. She barely has enough food to feed her own son, and here is this prophet of God asking her to make him some bread. And you know what she did?

She yielded to the man of God. She didn’t have to. God gave her the will to choose. But she yielded to God’s man, and because she did, God fill her containers up with enough food to carry her for weeks. But that wasn’t the end of the story.

Get this picture emblazoned in your minds. Here comes this preacher, he says, “Go fetch me a cup of water, in the middle of a draught. Then he says, “Go fix me a cake, and feed me first,” to a woman that doesn’t have enough to feed her and her own son.

What do you think the lame stream media would say about that preacher if that widow would have posted that on social media?

Let me give to you in even better terms. What would happen if that Widow walked into this church and said to y’all, “Preacher Joe came over, told me to make him some cake, when I don’t even have enough cake to feed me and my kids? Do y’all think I should make him the cake?

So here is the wild looking Tishbite that came out of the hills, saying he’s been feed by the birds, now he wants you make him a cake, when you don’t even have enough to feed your own family. Y’all would say, “He’s crazy, you need to get him out of your house.”

But do you know what she did, she not only listened to what God’s man was saying, but she did what he asked.

I’m going to conclude with this thought, verse 12 tells us she had a “handful of mill in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse.” Now there might have been a full barrel at one time, and that cruse might have been filled to the bream – but they are not now.

Sometimes in our Christian lives, we have been full of peace and joy unspeakable. But can I submit that there are times in our lives when we are when we feel like we are just used up and there’s not much left in the tank. We think to ourselves we have nothing left to give.

Some of you may be there right now. Can I just encourage you to trust God, to believe His Word, to know that He is supplying all your needs according to His riches in glory! You may just have a little mill left in your barrel, but YOUR BARREL is not empty! Trust God

As I read this passage, I can’t help but to think of the illustration I shared over a year ago of how a nurse during the Vietnam War had been reprimanded many times, as it seems she had a tendency to drift onto the battlefield and rescue wounded soldiers. On one such occasion, she brought back not only American soldiers that had been wounded, but she also drug in Vietcong soldiers. As her commander was reprimanding her a final time, he said, “Why do you continue disobey direct orders not to go onto the battlefield?” Her response was priceless, she said, “Sir, that’s my job. My job is to go on the battlefield, find the wounded and bring them to the Physicians.” Folks, as a child of God, that’s OUR JOB. We are to go into the highways and the hedges of this world, find the broken, to find the wounded, and bring them to the Great Physician.” Let’s pray and I will share this message OUR PURPOSE: TO BRING THEM TO JESUS.

Most of us are familiar with Simon Peter, and maybe a few of us are familiar with Andrew. Andrew is mentioned 13 times in the New Testament, and in 6 of those references, he is referred to as “Simon Peter’s brother.” In fact, in verse 40 of our text, he is referred to as “Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother.”

So why is it that we know so much about Peter? Will, I submit to you that we know so much about Peter, because he had a brother – Andrew. In fact, had it not been for Andrew, we may never have heard anything about Peter. Andrew was saved first, but he’s really not the one that we know so much about. Andrew was simply saved through the words spoken by John the Baptist in verse 36, “Behold the Lamb of God.”

And as soon as the Living Word of God changed Andrew’s life, he immediately went to work on his brother, to introduce him to the “Lamb of God.” In fact, that would become the theme of Andrew’s life. The three major accounts of Andrew’s life in the Scriptures show him bringing somebody to Jesus. Here he brings his brother, in John chapter 6, he brings a little lad with 2 small fishes and 5 loaves of bread, and in John chapter 12, he brings a group of Gentiles.

So, you may say, Andrew was the tool, the instrument, the vehicle that God used to save Simon Peter’s life, and Peter in turn become the leader of the New Testament Church – and in fact, Peter preached on the day of Pentecost and over 3000 people were saved. But it all began when Andrew challenged his brother to “Come and see.”

One lesson I have learned in my life – there is no telling what God is going to do with or through a person that I, or you, have shared the Word of God with. I would venture to say that none of us have ever heard of a Sunday school teacher by the name Robert Kimball. But Robert Kimball led a young shoe salesman to Christ. That shoe salesman was Dwight L. Moody. D.L. Moody would shape America and England with the power of the Gospel and also began Moody Bible Institute. It is said that over his life and ministry, he probably led more than 1 million people to Christ. The day that Robert Kimball shared the Gospel with Moody, he had no idea what God would do through Moody.

On one of Moody’s trips to England, there was an English preacher by the name of FB Meyer. By his own admission, FB Meyer said that he was skeptical of Moody, as FB Meyer had lost a passion for seeing lived saved by the Gospel. But, He invited Moody to speak in his church and when he did, it transformed his life and ministry.

FB Meyer would travel to Greenville, South Carolina to speak at Furman University. While speaking at Furman, there was a young man in chapel who had decided to give up on the ministry and leave college. But the message FB Meyer shared changed his life forever. That young Man was Dr. R.G. Lee who would go on to preach one of the most well-known sermons ever preached “Pay Day Some Day.” R.G. Lee preached into his 90’s.

God used FB Meyer to ignite a fire in the soul of another preacher, J. Wilbur Chapman. Chapman led a young baseball player to Christ, and carried him around with him so he could share his testimony. That young baseball player was Billy Sunday.

Billy Sunday came to Charlotte, North Carolina and preached a very successful Camp Revival. That revival was so successful, they invited another preacher to join them, that preacher was Mordecai Ham. Mordecai Ham preached one night and gave an invitation, and a young 17 year old boy walked down to the altar and gave his life to Christ. That 17-year-old boy was BILLY GRAHAM.

How did all that happen? Because one little ole Sunday School teacher named Robert Kimball shared the Gospel message with a shoe salesman name DL Moody.

What I’m trying to tell you Rally Point is that when you obey Christ and do what He tells you to do, there is no limit to what God can do!

As we consider this thought, “Bring Them to Jesus,” let me show you three things in the life of Andrew. You know, I don’t think God is as concerned about you reach the whole world as He is about you just reaching ONE MORE.

NOTICE FIRST – ANDREW’S PRIORITY (V.41a)

“He FIRST findeth his own brother Simon . . .”

Having just found Jesus himself in verse 36, he sets out to make sure his brother come to know Jesus as well. That word “FIRST” speaks of an attitude of importance. He had to do this before he did anything else.

That word “findeth” indicates he won’t stop until he finds him. It was a priority to Andrew that he get his brother to Jesus.

What does it take to stop us from telling others about Christ? Andrew wanted to share with Peter what he had experienced in Christ, and he wasn’t going to let anything stop him.

I’ll tell you, I’m glad somebody took the time to tell me about Jesus, aren’t you? “He first findeth his own brother Simon.”

SECOND, NOTICE ANDREW’S PROCLAMATION (V.41b)

“We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.”

Andrew was sure that he was in the presence of the One that had been promised by the prophets. He was sure that he was in the presence of God in the flesh.

I guess my question for us is, “Are we convinced of Jesus?” “Has He changed our lives the way he changed Andrew’s life?” 

I just think that when you come to know the person of Jesus, I think it changes your life and your priorities.

When we invite people to Rally Point Biker Church, we’re not inviting them to see what our church is doing – but we want you to see what God is doing; or to get one of our T-shirts – though we want you to grab a free t-shirt; or to enjoy the coffee and donuts – although we want you to enjoy the refreshments – those are great things, but we’re inviting them to come here and meet a person – that person is JESUS. The message that we proclaim is that He is THE WAY, THE TRUTH and THE LIFE. The message that we proclaim is that we know that person!

FINALLY, NOTICE ANDREW’S PASSION (V.42)

“And he brought him to Jesus.”

The passion in Andrew’s life was getting his brother to Jesus. That word brought means “To lead by laying hold of.” That means that Andrew grabbed Peter and drug him to Jesus. Andrew was passionate about getting Peter to Jesus.

You know what Jesus said in Luke 14:23, “Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”

Andrew “brought him to Jesus.”

Can I close by saying this: If we really believe Jesus is who he says He is, and if He has changed your life, I challenge every one of us to BRING SOMEBODY TO JESUS.” 

As we are looking at the Scriptures, in order to fully grasp the context, we need to look through 3 separate lens:

The Lens of History – Gives us the details, tells us about the conversations, let’s us know what was occurring, and tells us who the people involved are.

The Lens of Literature – This is not just a book of History, but a book of literature, it is literal words written on pages

The Lens of Theology – that is we are going to take, it tells us who God is and What He does, but also tells us how our lives should a line with His Word

The New Testament is actually a “New Covenant,” it is something we sign on for; something God invites us to be a part of, so let’s see what God is inviting us to be apart of in I Corinthians 16, beginning in verse 5:

⁵ Now I will come unto you, when I shall pass through Macedonia: for I do pass through Macedonia.

I think Paul is implying that come hell or high water, he is going to pass through Macedonia – he has clearly heard that “Macedonian call.”

⁶ And it may be that I will abide, yea, and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my journey whithersoever I go.

Paul wants to spend time with the church in Corinth. This is a Church that Paul established, it was people he loved and cared for, but more than that, the journey that he is on is a journey he wants to take them on with him as co-laborers in the ministry. He wants them to have a part of the ministry, a purpose in the ministry.

⁷ For I will not see you now by the way; but I trust to tarry a while with you, if the Lord permit.

I’m not there with you now, but when I come, I’m gonna stay awhile so have the VENISON ready!

⁸ But I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost.

And in verse 9, he’s going to tell them why.

⁹ For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries.

This morning, with the LORD’s help, I’m going to speak a little while on the Opened Doors that God presents to us in this life, the opportunities He gives to you and I. You understand with me that God has a great door planned for everyone of us. Someone once said there are two great things in life, and one day we will have to answer for those two things:

What did you do with Jesus? What did you do with God’s SON?

What did you do with the life, the opportunities that God has given you?

God has saved us and left us here for one PURPOSE: To bring glory and Honor to God the Father, God the Son, and we do that through the power of God the Holy Spirit that now lives within us. Let’s pray and then we’ll look at Opened Doors.

“Father, I think you for the Doors you have presented me in my life. Some of them were just small doors, but I thank you for them. Sometimes I missed the Doors, the opportunities You presented to me, and those are doors I’ll never get back. And every once and a while, LORD you presented me with GREAT DOORS, and I believe Rally Point Bike Church is one of those Great Doors. Thank you, Father, for this opportunity. In Jesus name I pray. AMEN.”

I want to say from the get-go, that the greatest privilege and honor of my life has been to serve the King of King’s and the Lord of Lord’s – it is not a privilege that I deserve, but a privilege He has given me none the less.

I’m also grateful for the Door’s of Opportunity that God has given me in my life. If we can ever get a hold of the fact that God has our lives already planned out, I think it would make walking through Opened Doors a lot easier – don’t you?

And every once in a while, God presents us with GREAT DOORS of opportunity. And it is my responsibility and your responsibility, as a child of God, when we’re sitting around in our “chair of life,” when God cracks a door open and there’s a little ray of light coming through, we are obligated to get out of that “chair of life” and go investigate that Door.

Sometimes you hear people say, “Well that door was closed for me.” What does that mean? Well, it means they got up out of the chair of life and they went and investigated that Door, that Opportunity.

God doesn’t always let you walk through a door. Now Paul states in verse 8 that he is in Ephesus. According to the Book of Acts, Paul intended to stay in Ephesus for about 3 months. But God shut the door on him leaving, and so Paul ended up staying in Ephesus for about 2 years – and the Bible records that about 2000 people were saved and the word spread throughout all of Asia. Understand with me, Asia was a massive territory.

What that tells me is that sometimes, I think that God has shut a door on me, actually means that God might have had a bigger plan for right where I am than I could ever have imagined. I’ve told the story of how Kim and I were voted on to pastor a church that we felt God calling us to, but He shut that door. We were puzzled and didn’t understand. But had we would have walked through that door that God had shut, we would have missed the GREAT DOOR that God opened for us here.

GOD ALONE OPENS GREAT DOORS

Folks, understand with me, you can open your own doors – I could have easily opened the door that God had shut on me at that other church. And many have opened doors that God had shut, and many made their own ways and made a name for themselves.

But I am not interested in making a name for myself. I want to be where God wants me to be, doing what God wants me to do, a whole lot more than I want to be doing something on my own. Because I’ll tell you, I’ve done things my own way before and usually the outcome is disastrous.

A lot of folks like to boast about what they doing in the ministry, and think they ought to be the one leading, they can do a better job, it’s all about them, but I’m gonna tell you, we are what we are only by the Grace of God. And it is God alone who opens Great Doors. And if it is God who’s opening your Door – it is a GREAT DOOR, no matter how big or small that door is – it is a Great Door. If you are in the will of God, it is a great door.

If I can use my wife for just a second, I know I pick on her a lot, but I’m serious about this one. Every Saturday, regardless of what we have going on, goes out and picks flowers to put in here every Sunday. She picks up the fruit that we serve on Sunday. Early on Sunday mornings, very early, she goes to Krispy Kreme to get donuts – whether in the car or on the bike. Then she comes in here and makes the coffee and sets up the refreshment area. Some of you might think that is nothing and insignificant, but I’m telling you, that is the door that God has opened for her and every Sunday, she joyfully walks through that GREAT DOOR that God has given her.

Every Friday, I send my sermon slide to Richard, who then downloads it to the church computer, then sets out to find the right music to lead us in the right spirit to receive the message. Early Sunday mornings, he goes and puts the flags out so that I don’t have to hurt my knees any further. Again, that may seem like an insignificant thing, but that is a GREAT DOOR that God has opened for Richard to minister.

Every Sunday morning, Sharon will come and fill the hand-washing station, and uncover the picnic tables and put out the umbrella’s. That may seem so insignificant to you – but that is a GREAT DOOR God has opened.

Little Caroline, doesn’t know everything there is to know about music, but she is determined to come in here every Sunday and be a part of our praise and worship. She is even broken when she can’t be here. To you, that may seem insignificant, but for Caroline, that is a great door that God has opened for her – and every Sunday, she gladly walks through that door!

Every Sunday morning, about an hour, hour and a half, Dennis Lawson comes in here, and ALWAYS has something encouraging to say to his pastor. To you that may not mean much, but to his pastor – it means everything. And Dennis, I appreciate you being faithful to walk through that door every Sunday morning.

I’ve shared with you how I, when I felt God calling me to walk through a GREAT DOOR, went to my pastor and shared this epiphany with him. He was so glad, because over the course of a year, he had someone to flush toilets, cut grass and clean the church. That I couldn’t see it at the time, God was developing in me a servants heart, willing to walk through any door He has for me.

And because of that, 9 different men have been ordained into the ministry, 8 men have licensed to preach, countless others ordained as deacons and elders and 2 churches have been planted. Not because of me – but because God opened Great Doors.

Folks, if we can’t obey God in the little things, how can we ever expect God to trust us in the big things?

If you and I are going to fulfill our God-ordained Purpose in 2025, we will have to be courageous enough to walk through the Doors God opens for us, no matter how large or small those doors may seem.

Biblical Scholar M.M. Bakhtin said, “The text lives only by coming into contact with another text (with context). Only at the point of this contact between texts does a light flash, illuminating both the posterior and anterior, joining a given text to a dialogue.”

Today I want to join two texts together (with context) and hopefully a light will flash and illuminate the Scriptures and become alive inside of us.

As I’ve been praying, studying and asking God to direct my steps through this series of messages on Finding our Purpose, God kind of illuminated in me some very personal and very painful experiences in my own life. So as best I can, I will not attempt to share a 3-point alliterated message with you this morning, but I’m simply going to share my heart. This is probably going to be one of the toughest messages I think I have ever shared – so bear with me. I’m asking you from the offset to extend a little grace to me this morning, as this is going to be a very difficult and very vulnerable message for me personally.

Job 1:1 says, “There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.”

The truth is, when most of us think about Job, we don’t think of Job as a “perfect and upright man.” Most of us don’t think about Job as a man who “feared God and eschewed evil.”

Most of us, when we think about Job, we think about verse 6, “Now there was a day . . .”

• “There was a day” when Satan went before God and said he was “going to and fro in the earth, and walking up and down in it.”
• “There was a day” When God said “Hast thou considered my servant Job?”
• “There was a day” when Job lost all 10 of Jobs children.
• “There was a day” when Job lost all of his livestock.
• “There was a day” when Job lost his wealth.
• “There was a day” when Job lost his health.
• “There was a day” when Job’s wife said, “Why don’t you just curse God and die.”
• “There was a day” when all of Job’s friends came to him and said that there was some sin in his life that cause God to allow this calamity to come into his life.

When we think about Job, we tend to think about the sufferings of Job. But these bad things that happened to Job were just “a day” in his life – they were not the context of his life.

Let me illustrate this to you: Any football fans here? By a show of hands, how many of you remember Doug Flutie?

• Does anyone know where Doug Flutie is from?
• Does anyone know where he lives now?
• Does anyone know his mother and father’s name?
• Does anyone know his wife’s name?
• Does anyone know his children’s names?
• Does anyone know that in one singular moment, he threw a “hail Mary” pass in a game that was caught in the end zone for a national championship?

Most of us only know Doug Flutie for that one pass, that one day, that one moment in his life – but that “One Moment” is not the context of his life.

So, when we think about Job, in that moment, losing his children, it’s easy to dismiss the fact that he had 10 children – 7 sons and 3 daughters. Now, do you think that happened overnight? I would venture to say that it took years to have 7 sons and 3 daughters. And in fact, at the time he lost them, they were all grown, they all had their own jobs and their own homes. Why do I say that, because verse 4 says, “His sons went and feasted in their houses.”

Job didn’t accumulate his wealth, or his possessions overnight, he worked hard his whole life. So, when God refers to Job as a “perfect and upright man, one who feared God and eschewed evil,” that was not a reputation Job earned in a day – but over the course of his life.

Now here is where I’m going to get personal. While I was pastoring a church in the metropolis of Scranton, South Carolina, at 6 pm, August 16^th, 1997, my little brother Sonny was tragically killed in a single car accident. What I discovered over the course of the next few days was that there were multiple beer cans all over the floor of my brother’s car. The sheriff told me there was no reason to add that in the report as there was no reason to add anymore heartache to the grief we were already experiencing.

But that didn’t change the fact, to the first responders on the scene, my brother was just another drunk driver tragically killed while drinking and driving. To them, his life was defined in that single moment. But to me, his big brother, that was just a moment in his life, and that didn’t even begin to define my brother’s life.

• To me, my brother’s life is defined by the moment, as a 5-year-old, when he took his big brothers hand, and together we walked down the aisle of 4^th Street Baptist Church, and together we knelt and ask Jesus to come into our little hearts.
• To me, his life was being defined by us being baptized together.
• To me, his life was being defined when I travelled all over the world for long periods of time and he would constantly travel for hours at a time to ensure my wife and kids were OK while I was gone.
• When I pastored a church that was in the oldest building in South Carolina, folks would talk about how the floors needed to be redone – but did nothing about it. So, me and brother, alone, carried every pew out that church, and on our hands and knees we sanded and refinished the entire church building.
• To me, his life was being defined just the weekend prior to his death, when our church bus broke down at camp, 3 hours away, when none of the deacons had time to come get us, but my brother did.
• And his life was being defined by the conversation he and I had that day.
• My brother’s life was being defined two days prior his death, on his 33^rd birthday when he came to our house, and we walked over to the church and practiced singing a song together we planned to do that Sunday. Ironically, the title of that song was “The Last Mile of the Way.”

To me, my brother’s life was not defined by that single moment in his life, but by the life that he lived. Was he perfect – no. But that final moment was not his defining moment.

Remember at the beginning of the message I stated I wanted to join two text together to give us context? In Galatians 2:20, Paul, a man who at one point in his life persecuted Christians; a man, who after his conversion, was beaten, shipwrecked, stoned, abandoned, imprisoned, yet when it came time to define his life, Paul says these words, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Paul is saying, “My life is not defined by what I did in the past, but my life is being defined by “The life that I now live . . .”

Satan has convinced some of you that a certain moment in your life prevents you from God’s love and saving grace. Satan has convinced some of you that God has no use for you anymore.

Let me ask you, are you allowing the moment that you are in, maybe you are in a great moment, maybe you are in a sorrowful moment, maybe you’re in a regretful moment – are you allowing that moment to define your life’s purpose?

Last Sunday, we began this series of messages titled 2025: A Year to Find Your Purpose. Last week I spoke on focusing on one area of your life that is keeping you from your God-ordained purpose and then encouraged each of us to ask God to renew in us the right spirit and give us a vision for that purpose.

Today, I ask you to turn with me to the Gospel of John, the 20^th chapter. Let me say that we all know there is only One Gospel, but 4 Gospel messengers. Matthew, Mark and Luke are what are known as Synoptic Gospels, because they are similar in style, and then John is completely different than the other three. John explains to us Jesus as the Son of God, and then proceeds to explain John 1:1 through the remainder of the Book. And he paints for us various portraits of Jesus in our minds and hearts as the Living Word of God.

John finishes the Book with these words, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen” (John 21:25). What John was saying is, “I’ve tried the very best I could to explain John 1:1 to you, but if I had 50 more years, I couldn’t begin to exhaust all there is to say about Jesus.

But in John 20, John tells us why he writes what he writes. In John 20:31, now this isn’t our text verse for the day, but it will get us to where we are going, “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” So, John is saying very plainly that the reason he is writing is simply so that you and I will believe.

Truth is, I don’t believe there is a worse sin than the sin of unbelief. And the easiest way to limit God’s potential in your life to simply to not believe. The title for the message today is this, “Don’t Miss Your God Ordained Purpose.” And listen, the only reason you will miss it is simply because you don’t believe.

John 20:24 says, “But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.” DON’T MISS YOUR GOD-ORDAINED PURPOSE. Because if you miss it, it may not come this way again. But more importantly, don’t miss Him, because if you miss Him, you will miss everything you need.

Let me preface my message this morning by making a plug for why you should go to church. Look at verse 19 of John 20, “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.”

Let me read that again.  Can somebody tell me what the first day of the week is?  SUNDAY.

So, the first day of the week, Jesus shows up. Now listen, I know that God can show up anywhere that He wants to, any time that He wants to. 

• He showed up with me in my truck.
• He showed up with me while riding my motorcycle.
• He has shown up with me in a hospital room.
• He shows up with me in the grocery store.

But it doesn’t happen every day.  It doesn’t happen every time I get in my truck, it doesn’t happen every time I ride my motorcycle, it doesn’t happen every time I visit the hospital or walk through the grocery store.  BUT IT DOESN’T HAPPEN EVERYTIME.

But there is one place I can guarantee you that He shows up EVERY SINGLE TIME – whether we see Him or not.  And that place is “On the first day of the week,” where the Bible says, “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”

They were assembling on the first day of the week – then came Jesus!  Sounds a lot like church to me. 

So, why do we need Church on Sunday?  1. Because we don’t know it all, but more importantly, 2. That’s where He is going to be! And listen, I don’t won’t to miss that.

Do you know who missed it? Thomas missed it. Verse 24 says Thomas was not with them “when Jesus Came.” And folks, I don’t won’t to miss when Jesus comes.

We could give a lot of reasons why Thomas didn’t come. We could say he had family over; we could say the weather was too bad, We could say he was on vacation, But the truth is, we don’t know why he didn’t come, all we know is that Thomas wasn’t there when Jesus came.

Now let me give you the setting for this text. Jesus has risen from the dead. He has shown Himself to some people. We know that according to verse 19 that on the first day of the week at evening – or in modern English – “On Sunday Evening.” His closest followers are locked up in a room somewhere. They aren’t having a Watch Night Service; they aren’t having coffee and donuts; they aren’t watching the Super Bowl – they are running for their lives. Because in their minds, if they killed our leader, they would surely kill us.

So, here they are in a room, and out of nowhere, at their darkest hour – Jesus shows up! But there were only 10. We know that Judas has already betrayed Christ and taken his own life. And according to our text, Thomas wasn’t there.

Though the Scriptures never refer to Thomas as “doubting Thomas,” but we’ll put that in there as a reason he wasn’t there, because we know he surely doubted – just like we all do at times. Maybe he wasn’t there because he said, “You know what, he told us he was going to rise again, but I haven’t seen Him, so I’m just going to stay home – I don’t have anything better to do.”

Truth is, there is no reason to debate WHY he wasn’t there, the fact of the matter is HE WASN’T THERE – HE MISSED IT. And what did Thomas miss?

THE FIRST THING HE MISSED WAS PEACE (v.19)

When he wasn’t there where his friends were assembled, when Jesus came – HE MISSED PEACE. Will preacher, how do you get that? Look what Jesus said in verse 19, “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.”

Folks, there is no greater joy than laying your head down at night knowing that you have peace with God, peace with each other and peace with yourself. I’m telling you, I don’t won’t to miss that.

Listen to me, when you miss coming to church, not because you are sick or have something you simply can’t avoid, but you miss because you are too lazy or unconcerned about your life, then you miss the peace God intended for your life.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to miss the peace God has for my life. Thomas missed his opportunity to have peace.

Not only did Thomas miss Peace,

THOMAS ALSO MISS PROOF (v.20a)

“And when he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side . . .”

Jesus was saying, “Just in case you need proof that I am who I say I am, look at my hands and my side.”

Thomas doubted it, and because he did, he missed the opportunity to see the proof of the Risen Savior.

I said at the beginning that I have felt God’s presence in my car, on my motorcycle, in the grocery store. Some of you have mentioned feeling God’s presence in a deer stand – listen God can show-up anywhere at anytime of His choosing, though He doesn’t always, HE CAN. But the one place He is definitely going to be is at the Church house, and I don’t want to miss the opportunity to see God show up and prove Himself to our folks.

Well how Is God going to prove Himself here? You’re the proof.

• You’re the proof that God is a healer.
• You’re the proof that God is a God of peace.
• You’re the proof God is in the life saving and life changing business.

You are the proof. Man, I don’t want to miss when God proves Himself in somebodies’ life.

Thomas missed the peace; he missed the proof.

THOMAS ALSO MISSED PRAISE (v.20b)

“. . . then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD.”

The word glad in the Greek language means to “rejoice exceedingly.” I just have a feeling that when Jesus showed up in that locked room with His disciples, I just don’t think they said in a monotone voice “Well glory to God, Praise Jesus.”

No friend, the Bible said they rejoiced exceedingly because Jesus said, “Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” And folks, the least that we can do for the God that has shown up in our lives time and time again is to rejoice in Him exceedingly. I have often said, “If God doesn’t do another thing for me in this life, He has already done more than I deserve.” I like what the old Preacher Maze Jackson once said, “I don’t shout every time I go to church – BUT I’M LIABLE TOO!”

Thomas missed the Praise, and he missed the Peace and the Proof.

BUT THOMAS ALSO MISSED HIS PURPOSE (v.21)

“Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.”

Jesus gave the 10 a PURPOSE. Thomas wasn’t there to receive that purpose, but Jesus gave it to the 10 that showed up.

I think we all, as the children of God really want to know the will of God for our lives, to know God’s purpose for our lives. Wouldn’t you agree with that? Yet, it seems to me that we’d much rather being doing anything other than going to the House of God.

I can’t help but to think, “If God can’t trust you in the little things, what makes you think He’s going to trust you in the big things?” If He can’t get us to “Thrust out into the shallows waters,” He’s never going to “launch us into the deep waters.”

Seems to me there are way too many people trying to find the will of God for their lives based off of the feelings, or their pride, or on what somebody else has told them to do rather than relying on the Spirit of God to guide their steps.

“Preacher why is that so important?” Because sometimes, and I’m speaking for me, when I’m riding down the road, and I feel like a total failure, when I feel like the message I delivered the worst message I could possibly deliver and I feel like quitting and giving up, the Holy Spirit of God seems to show up and say “Preach the Word, Be instant in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long-suffering and doctrine.” Joe – “Do all things without murmurings and disputing’s that you may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God without rebuke in the mist of a crooked and perverse nations, among whom you are to shine as lights. Holding forth the word of God, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ. That I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain.”

Folks, what I’m saying is that nothing will carry you through the difficult times of your life quite like knowing God’s purpose for your life. And I don’t want to miss God’s purpose for my life!

Thomas missed his Purpose, he missed the Praise and he missed the Peace and he missed the Proof,

FINALLY, HE MISSED THE POWER (v.22)

“And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:”

Why was that important? It was important because it was the breath of God, the infilling of the Holy Spirit of God, they were going to need to turn their world upside down for the cause of Christ.

And Thomas wasn’t there.

Folks, if we are going to turn our world upside down for the cause of Christ, we are going to need God to breathe on us, we are going to need the Holy Spirit of God living in us. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to miss it!

“O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. ² Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. ³ When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; ⁴ What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? ⁵ For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. ⁶ Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: ⁷ All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; ⁸ The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. ⁹ O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!”

As I think about Psalm 8 and consider the vastness of the glory God has set above the heavens, when I consider the works of His fingers, the moon and the stars that He has ordained, and looking at the splendor of His Creation, it is hard to figure out where to even begin.

Kim and I, when we were in Iraq together, the nights were so dark and the stars so bright, we spent many nights sitting outside gazing at the stars. To figure out where to begin looking was almost impossible. In fact, astronomers say there are over 100 billion stars in the sky. So, there is so much to see it’s hard to know where to start.

Truth is, many times, our lives are just like that. Some of the choices we have to make, and the opportunities that are presented to us, seem just as impossibly varied, and at the same time, just as equally interesting as all the stars in the sky.

So how do we focus in God’s purpose for our lives when there is so much to choose from? If we were astronomers, the tool we would use is the telescope. These telescopes help to focus in on one star, or one planet, or even one galaxy. So, what a telescope does is keep you from looking at everything at once, and helps you to focus on a single object, and when you focus in on that single object, that single object becomes clearer, and it becomes closer to see.

As I began work on this message, one of the things I realized I needed in my own life, was see a little clearer, to get a better picture. I, like all of us, need a vision, a clear purpose for my life. My personal intent this year is to find an area of my life that I need work on, that I need to focus on, and make the purpose and focus of 2025 to be to focus on that area I need work in and ask God to help me transform that area of my life. So my goal this year is to be single-mindedly focus on the area of my life that I feel needs to be transformed, the area of my life that I feel is keeping me from reaching the full potential God has for my life.

Just recently, I watched a Message that Dr. Billy Graham delivered to the graduating class of Liberty University some 10 years ago. Something he said in that message really starting burn within my soul. Billy Graham said this, “I remember nearly 50 years ago, I was visiting Dr. Jerry Falwell, and we were up on Liberty Mountain. There was no Liberty University here at the time. In fact, Dr. Falwell had just begun Thomas Road Baptist Church. And he started that church in a 30×50 tin building with busted out windows. He took me up on top of the mountain and looked down on the present location of Liberty University Campus, and Dr. Falwell began pointing out where every building would be build to start and grow Liberty University.”

Dr. Graham said that when he looked down in that valley, all he saw was the woods and some open fields. But when Dr. Falwell looked down in that valley, He saw the home of Thomas Road Baptist Church and the home of soon coming Liberty University.

I heard that message from Billy Graham and God began to stir my heart and God reminded me of Proverbs 29:18, “That where there is no vision, the people will perish.” I thought about our church in this little tin building in the woods here in Pauline and I began to see a “bigger picture, and bigger potential and a bigger purpose.” And I knelt down and I ask God to search me and try me. I asked God to renew in me a right spirit. I asked God to transform my mind. I asked God not to allow me to hinder our church with a punny vision, but to allow me to think big, to see big, to seek big, and to pray big prayers.

I heard it said that “the secret to concentration is elimination.” That means getting rid of anything that causes you to lose focus on the Big Thing – Your God Given Purpose.

Something I realize as I’m getting older (notice I didn’t say “old,” I said older). But something I realize is that I don’t have time to live my life the way everybody thinks I ought to live my life. So rather than wasting what time I do have trying to focus on everything everyone thinks I ought to be, I’m simply going to focus on God renewing the right spirit within me so that I can live up to the purpose He has for my life.  

As the New Year rolls around, it brings with it fresh excitement, fresh possibilities, new resolutions. My challenge to us, Rally Point Biker Church, and to each person here, let’s make 2025 be the year that we stop letting resolutions pass us by, let’s stop trying to focus on everything, but start focusing on the one thing in your life that will change everything – Your God Given Purpose.

So this morning, rather than preach a big sermon, I’m going to ask each of you to do several things.

First, I going to ask you to ask God to transform your mind and heart to a single focus.

Second, I’m going to ask you to pray that God will give you a vision.

Third, I want you to look at your life and ask this question, “If every member of this church was just like me, what kind of church would my church be?”

And finally, if you are not happy with the answer to that question, I want to ask you to pray that God will renew in you the right spirit.

Folks, let’s not allow 2025 to be yet another year that we allow unfulfilled resolutions to pass us by, but let this be a year of transformation and concentration.