Handling Transitional Space | Ps Shane Willard

hello everybody is so good to be with you today I get to open the scripture for us and um I love to do that anytime you open the Bible you want to ask at least two questions one what happened and two and more importantly what's happening in me right now because of what happened and so I want to talk to you about how to build faith in unsettling times and so we want to talk about some of the ways that we can have faith operate in our heart and in our life when you can't control anything and I want to talk to you right now about what that looks like in terms of waiting in terms of waiting so how we handle liminal transition space has enormous influence on the quality of our next season in the ancient world most of their religious archetypes to help them connect with God was centered around seasonal calendars so you get to a place where it's a t-junction not a why Junction you can't go back you can't go forward and you're wondering what do I do with my next space so I want to look at two stories one from the New Testament one from the old and hopefully we can identify with ourselves our selves with the characters in this story and learn something about how they operated in faith this is Acts chapter 1 verse 3 he presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs appearing to them during 40 days and speaking about the kingdom of God and while staying with him he ordered them not to depart jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the father which he said you heard from me John baptized with water but you'll be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now so a couple of thoughts about this is obviously a reference to Jesus and his instructions to the disciples to not go out gangbusters but to wait there was something else that needed to happen and that required trust and surrender and not control so a couple of thoughts about this waiting is a part of a healthy spiritual life it's not all about planning strategizing and getting what we see although all those things are good things sometimes we are called to be still and wait to organize our life around what's right and what's wrong will destroy our life it's it's the it's the first slight told in the scripture is told by a talking snake we should the idea that hey if you get good and evil right that's the quality of life no no the more profound question is not what is right what is wrong but what is wise what is useful what brings life and not death and sometimes although it's good to plan and strategize and go for it sometimes we're called to be still and wait wait the word wait in the ancient Hebrew language has a great picture to it of wrapping around something like a vine it's sort of like if a vine was going up a building and if you get it early enough you could just pull it off with one finger but once it in wraps itself around that brickwork you have to knock the whole wall to get it down so in that sense waiting isn't passive there is an action around waiting that requires us to in wrap our self around God like a vine that that the God consciousness begins to increase and our self consciousness begins to decrease so here's a story it's quite a long story from the Old Testament but I want to tell it because it encapsulates this very well this is Exodus 19 the people are in a waiting space they're in a holding pattern they can't go forward they can't go back and they're stuck in the middle of the desert and this is what it says so Moses came and called the elders of the people and set there before then these words that the Lord had commanded him and all the people answered together and said all that the Lord has spoken we will do and moses reported the words of the people to the Lord and the Lord said to Moses behold I'm coming to you in a thick cloud that the people may hear when I speak to you and they also believe you forever in other words I'm gonna give you some up to your voice here so that they'll know it's from me so Moses told the words to the people of the people to the Lord the Lord said to Moses go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day for on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people and you shall set limits for all the people all around saying take care not to go up into the mountain or touch the edge of it in other words stay in the waiting whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death like if you if you outrace this idea it's not gonna bring life to you it's gonna bring death and no hand shall touch him and he shall be stoned a shot whether beast or man he shall not live when the trumpet sounds on a long blast they shall come up to the mountain so moses went down from the mountain to the people and consecrated the people and they wash their garments in other words God's got a plan here but you can't outrun it you can't overrun this thing it's not gonna bring life to use can read this don't do that so we have to we have to stay in the timetable God which requires us to wait and he said be ready for the third day and do not go near a woman on the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud and a mountain and a very loud trumpet blast to all the people in the camp trembled then Moses brought the people out from the camp to meet God and they took their stand at the foot of the mountain now Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke because the Lord had descended on it with fire and the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln and the whole mountain trembled greatly and at the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder Moses spoke and God answered him in Thunder and the Lord came down on Mount Sinai to the top of the mountain and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain and Moses went up and the Lord said to Moses go down and warn the people lest they break through to the Lord to look on many of them will perish in other words if they overrun this thing they're not ready for that this this is requiring them to wait also let the priests who come near to the Lord concentrate and create themselves lest the Lord break out against them and Moses said to the Lord well the people cannot come up to Mount Sinai for you yourself told us don't do that set limits around the mountain and consecrate it and the Lord said to him go down and come up bringing Aaron with you but do not let the priests and the people break through and come to just Aaron it's earnest I'm not anybody else's time lest he break out against them so Moses went down and told them so this is such a strange passage but a couple of observations and it there's a couple places we we could go here but what's the most elemental thing is that there's obviously a plan of God that is requiring an unknown period of waiting where the people can't control it but they have to surrender to it and evidently if they overrun God's timing this it brings death and not life so let's let's sort of break this down in some bullet points and where we find ourselves in the story God in Israel are having a dialogue and Moses is the go-between so the people say they'll do whatever God says before they know what he will say so they're in this position of surrender we acknowledge out here in the middle of desert our ability to control anything is none and so the best life is found when you can't control it is to surrender it actually a surrendered life is preferred over a controlling life anytime and so they're learning this in the middle of the desert hey we don't have any say-so here we're gonna surrender to whatever you're obviously the person in charge we're gonna surrender to that before we even know so let's just get that straight before we even know what you're gonna say we're in we're in with your plan because there is no plan B it's not clear in this passage what God's will is God never says do this in this order he just says live within limits don't come near here and my timing will be obvious when there's trumpets the closer they get the more mysterious the encounter is what's weird in this story is that the closer they get to the breakthrough in it the more mysterious is the less certain they become the more doubts the more fear rises in their mind you would think that the closer you get to breaking through the clearer things would become but in this story and I think it's not just true this story is true of my story and your story and Jesus the story and Paul's story is that the closer you get to the climax of the story the more confusing it actually gets now waiting in this situation is not a passive thing it's actually an active thing in one sense just the word itself means to wrap around like a vine like two totally entwined yourself the idea would be a God consciousness the idea would be to ask yourself on a regular basis while you're waiting what would I feel like if I could know you were with me now and entwine yourself around God's compassion God's love God's provision but then there's some very clear verbs in this passage like some really like hey here's how you wait here's what you do because telling people you can't do anything is psychologically disturbing like just telling people hey you've not allowed to do anything it's it begins to mess with people's psychology so God doesn't do that he just says hey you can't go here you have to wait but here's five things five commands in this passage about getting through waiting one is to get ready well what does that mean well it means to stay in a position of surrender to stay in a position of consecration to stay in a position of hey wherever this is going I'm in I'm not sure where it's going but I'm ready to go if I hear that sound I'm ready to move it's it's a the word there is a picture like um like if you if you're anticipating someone you love that you haven't seen in a while coming and you you you use net you stretch your neck forward trying to it with full inches it's that it's hey live with your neck stretched forward in anticipation of what's come and live with a certain sense of expectation and anticipation number two it consecrate yourselves to live within limits the problem with suffering and problem times is that we can often throw it all out we could throw everything out and just lose the plot and so God says while you're waiting live within wisdom limits number three when you hear the trumpet the time has come you can approach the mountain so you say gives them a clear sign is hey wait this is what this will look like it'll be in other words you'll note when you hear you'll you'll know you'll know when you hear it then he says wait again and be ready for the third day so the four commands get ready consecrate yourself to live within limits when you hear the trumpet the time has come wait and be ready by the third day and in the meantime don't go near a woman so that's the fifth that's that's the five commands there right now what does this mean for us what do we do with this kind of thing number one it's part of a normal healthy spiritual journey to have moments in the in between the space is defined by this you can't go you can't go back and you can't go forward if you're in a spot right now where you can't go back and you can't go forward it's it is not entirely a passive waiting there are verbs concentrate obey limits be eager live with your neck outstretched in anticipation there's that there are verbs that are active even though waiting can appear passive number for healthy spiritual life is not always wrapped around certainty rather great faith can be forged in the uncertainty regardless of how uncomfortable it can be that great faith is not the absence of doubt great faith is the presence of profound trust in the middle of the uncertainty that the central cry of the Cross was a cry of uncertainty my God my God why have you forsaken me that's what the children of Israel go through they're out in the middle of the wilderness not sure where God is like way we're out here we're exposed right like the disciples they're exposed in Jerusalem but they're told to wait like the Roman Empire we've been looking for them they're told to wait and so for us waiting is uncomfortable cuz we see it as entirely passive but what if we could change our imagination of what waiting is and see it as an active thing a thing where we take a moment in quiet the white noise of our lives because for some of us our lives have been shut down and we wrap ourselves around God like a vine that we get ready that we live with anticipation of what God's next move is that we stay consecrated and live within limits and not lose the plot in in the middle of the whole thing see Jesus doesn't tend to deliver a faith life with zero uncertainty in it I'm gonna say that again because it's so important Jesus doesn't seem to deliver a faith life that has zero uncertainty in it like the Bible never says and Jesus never says hey come to Jesus and suddenly your life will be flooded with certainty and lots of meaning no no it won't actually when you come to Christ and you realize how we live this life it actually floods your life with more questions and requires more profound trust see Jesus doesn't tend to deliver a faith life with zero and certainty in it I know that I don't know defines the in-between spaces that requires waiting because doubt is not the enemy of faith sight is only going with what you see now here's our temptations in the waiting that can rob us the temptations are to glorify the past which is what they did keep reading in the passage they're like we'd rather go back to Egypt at least the food was spicy you know but they wait you're beaten on a daily don't glorify them the past the good old days were not good they weren't you you don't glorify the past the second thing you could do is to ruin this is you can paralyze the present so you can glorify the past you could paralyze the present the idea that a this will never end will never get through this no not likely not true likely not true there's always there's always a resurrection the crux doesn't get the last word the resurrection does the exaltation does or we could testifies the future so we can glorify the past paralyze the present or catastrophize the future and ruin the experience of what waiting is meant to bring for us to build faith in troubled times now you might be thinking well Shane this is all well and good theoretically but how do I do that how do we how do we wait and get the most out of it actively five thoughts on this one value your present guard it and make it growth like try to change your focus not on what you don't have but what you do what do you still have you still have a family loves you you still have your own health you still you still have you still have that you we live in a great country right there's what what do you have and whatever you have in your present guard it and make it grow make it grow that number to remain faithful with little that in in the middle of this this is not time to catastrophize the future or paralyze the present it's a time if we got to where we are being faithful then we should remain faithful even if what we have is less than what we used to have to remain faithful with little number three stay occupied with daily small duties and Kingdom business to stay occupied if you're in a time of waiting stay occupied with what you're allowed to do like being eager like making sure were consecrated like making sure we're ready like being faithful with with the little number four make no excuses make no excuses this is not the time to lose the plot waiting is not the time where we lose the plot waiting is where we enter that little space with profound trust and we learn the trust of surrender that allows our life to be possible number five hold it fast don't let go it's a value your present remain faithful with little stay occupied with small duties and Kingdom business make no excuses and hold it this is Luke 22 verse 39 and he came and went and as was his custom to the Mount of Olives and the disciples followed him and when he came to the place he said to them pray that you may not enter into temptation and he withdrew from them about a stone's throw and knelt down and prayed saying father if you're willing remove this cup from me nevertheless not my will but your will be done others if there's another way please make it but I trust you and there appeared to him an angel from heaven strengthening him in he being an agony he prayed more earnestly and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground and when he rose from prayer he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow and he said to them why are you sleeping they fell asleep from their depression why are you sleeping rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation a couple of thoughts about this for us one it's okay to ask God to take the struggle of the weight away that's okay Jesus did Paul did other Bible characters did and it's normal to spiritual life to ask God to take the struggle of the weight away but the bigger invitation is a profound surrender to the bigger will of God let's say this way to go back into comfort is not often the way nor is to rush forward too quickly are we right now in the in-between and we're trying to get out of the waiting what we're meant to get out of the waiting and in what sense can we name what we left and we can't go back can we take a second actually call it by name this is what we left in their story Egypt in the New Testament story the the temple system of oppression we left that we can't go back but we're not sure what we can go forward to what do we need to ask God to take from us and then let it go can we name our crux can we name the suffering can we name it realize we're in a period of waiting and get the most out of it because when we get the most out of the waiting that is largely going to determine the quality of our next season I hope Jesus got bigger for you the cross work better the resurrection is central the scriptures get bigger not smaller I hope we can have courage and surrender in an obvious time of waiting may our faith be built not about what we believe but in how we believe what we believe and who do we trust grace and peace everybody

Channel: Bayside Church Melbourne

Views: 1,631

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Keywords: bayside church, rob buckingham, bayside, God, Christianity, ps shane, shane willard, hope in tough times, ps shane willard, handling transitional space

Id: RDtyhC3o-w4

Length: 17min 48sec (1068 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 21 2020