LEAVING A LEGACY - The Moments That Make You

[Music] welcome to City Church if you're new to City Church my name is Justin would like to take a moment welcome all of our locations so Middletown Bridgeport Hartford North Campus that's everybody this is New Haven can we say hello good morning church we love you good morning welcome to City Church streaming live to our different locations right now glad you are here and we are walking through a teaching series in the life of Abraham we're actually wrapping it up today so this is the last part part 6 of a teaching series called the moments that make you have you been encouraged by this series so far I hope so I know I have yeah I have what an encouragement God's Word is to our souls we've been looking at the different moments in our lives and so we started with this idea of leaving home what does it really mean to leave home and then we looked at following your dream and then falling in love and Mike talked to us about deciding what's first and then last week difficult but so important we talked about this idea of suffering how to handle loss how to grieve well right how to grieve well I do encourage you be a part of those grief groups that we're starting at the different locations today we're gonna wrap this series up in Genesis chapter 25 starting in verse 7 starting in verse 7 we'll go down to verse 11 it says this these are the days of the years of Abraham's life 175 years somebody say not bad right not bad not bad 175 years Abraham breathed his last and died in a good old age an old man full of years and was gathered to his people Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him in the Cave of Machpelah and in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the Hittite east of mammer we talked about that cave last week the field that Abraham purchased from the Hittites there Abraham was buried with Sarah his wife verse 11 after the death of Abraham God blessed Isaac his son and Isaac settled at brilla rule ahora la rah-rah if you want to take some notes we want to wrap this series up today with the topic of leaving a legacy leaving a legacy would you pray with me father I pray that today you rewire our hearts we want to hear you we want to understand you and we want to be changed by you and I speak over this sermon time today that this is a time of dramatic supernatural change and so I pray God in ways that we cannot change ourselves would you change us would you awaken us and will we leave this place full of joy in Jesus mighty name Amen amen amen what is your working definition of success we all have one many of us don't take the time to really think about it I think this might be the most important unanswered question of our lives what is your working definition of success psychologists tell us that human beings are hard-wired with a desire to succeed we want to expand we want to advance we want to do something important nobody when they're a little kid dreams about being the third string quarterback right nobody says I want to be the vice president I mean God bless the vice present we just don't think that way we say no I have big dreams I want to be the first I want to be the one we all have a desire to succeed and we want to do something that matters and if you collect all the things that matter in your life and put them in one jar that's like your legacy right that's what a legacy is what you pass on to the next generation and that's a powerful idea and so I want to think about that a little bit today and have you and I together wrestle with the question what legacy are you leaving behind what is your desire to leave behind what do you want to leave behind what type of legacy you may have heard of the study that was done years ago on the life of Jonathan Edwards Jonathan Edwards one of the great American theologians maybe America's greatest preacher and theologian in our history and they took his life researchers looked at his life and they compared it to the life of a man named max Jukes who was a criminal at the time at the same time as lived and they found this that max Jukes of his known descendants 310 of his descendants died as paupers 150 were criminals seven were murderers a hundred were drunk were drunkards more than half the women in his lineage were prostitutes his 540 distant descendants cost the state one and a quarter million dollars okay that's one legacy then they looked at the life of Edwards and they found that of his 1394 known descendants 13 became college presidents 65 college professors three United States senators 30 judges 100 lawyers 60 physicians 75 Army and Navy officers a hundred preachers and missionaries 60 authors of prominence one vice president's 80 public officials 295 college graduates and his descendants cost the state not a single penny that's an incredible legacy right that's the type of legacy that you and I all want to lead now I think about it and it's amazing to me how one life can have implications for three four five generations later it all makes a significant difference but for many of us if we're honest you are not in danger of leaving a max Jukes type of legacy you know that's not the track that you're on but you might if you're not aware of it be in danger of leaving what I could call a Victor Dorman type of legacy I came upon Victor Dorman's obituary this week as I was just reading some things and God bless Victor Dorman but I wanted to read to you today the obituary written about him you may not be familiar with Victor Dorman but you will be in just a moment Victor Dorman who changed the way Americans buy cheese by putting the paper between the slices as chairman of the Dorman cheese company died on March 1st at his home in Delray Florida he was 80 now some people dream of teaching kids how to read other people dream of curing some deadly disease but Victor Dorman he put the paper between the cheese come on somebody he put the paper between the cheese now I'm grateful for the paper right I mean I know you are it's so it's such a pain when there's no paper between the cheese it is convenient to have the paper but between the cheese and he probably made a bunch of money off of that right but I don't know if I want that to be what's written in my obituary I don't know if that's the type of legacy I want to be known for the type of legacy for what I leave behind and even though he probably made a whole bunch of cash putting paper between cheese is that really success is that the essence of success what does it mean to be successful and how do we actually leave a legacy see the life of Abraham if you look at it is really interesting because he does not seem to do the things that we would think an individual would do who would leave a great legacy you know he never writes a best-selling book he never leads a nation he's never a person of prominence in his in his you know sphere of like you know the nation or the region that he lived in he doesn't rule he doesn't start a revolution and yet we are now four thousand years from Abraham's life right it's been four thousand years since Abraham lived and we're still talking about him and if you ask Christians Muslims or Jews the vast majority of the human race would say that Abraham was one of the most significant men who ever lived he is probably in the top two or three most influential humans to ever breathe how did he leave such a legacy we're told in this last little section about his life something interesting in Genesis 25 verse a I love the way the the new American Standard Bible puts it look at it with me it says Abraham breathed his last and died in a ripe old age an old man look at the next phrase an old man and satisfied with life you see that satisfied you might want to jot that thought down satisfied with life Abraham was satisfied with life how did he become so satisfied with life what did he know that you and I don't seem to understand what was his definition of success I wonder what was his definition of success and what was his plan to leave legacy we're gonna answer those questions today and so you came on the right Sunday congratulations you've already won well done you can turn the person next week and say this message is definitely for you it's definitely for you because you got to figure this whole success thing out fast all right so this is for you if you want to understand Abraham's perspective you've got to understand Abraham's process okay and so we've looked at his life over the last five weeks and we've seen a whole lot of process I want to highlight a few things because I believe that it's through the process of his life that God has been changing Abraham's thinking about success and if we can see his process we can understand his thinking and we can discover how he thought about legacy and about success and so in Genesis chapter 12 verse 1 were told this it says now the Lord said to Abram go from your country your people and your father's household to the land I will show you Europe might remember this when we talked about leaving home this is the original call that God gives Haberman if you remember the story he does leave his homeland right and he does leave his people but when it comes to his father's household he struggles a little bit doesn't he and rather than cutting ties with the pagan culture of his family he ends up bringing his dad with him and his nephew with him and rather than breaking off that unhealthy connection he ends up bringing it along and he's unable to get into the promised land tragically until his father passes away he stuck in the land of Haran if you remember that means barrenness and so he's not able to step into the fullness of God's promise until that connection is broken and I was asking myself this week why did Abraham struggle so much to cut the tie and I believe he struggled for the same reasons that you and I struggle so much to cut the tie that there is something in you and there is something in me that thirsts for the approval of others right thirsts for the approval of others something inside you that just wants the people around you to accept you once the people around you to tell you that you're okay that you've done just fine think about the last time you had to have a difficult conversation with someone how'd you do how'd you feel about it think about the last time you got into a conversation and you caught yourself maybe you've never done this I actually did this yesterday you caught yourself subtly exaggerating your own impact or importance for the sake of impressing the person that you're with don't look at me like that I know you do it too I'm just more honest than you right and now you're judgmental so you have two sins and I only have one boom see abraham struggled with that call to obey because he was concerned what other people think you know this is like a spirit of performance like you're always on a stage you know in other words what i mean by that is you always have to perform for someone maybe you're performing for your boss or maybe you're performing for your friends or maybe you're performing for your parents or maybe you're performing for your spouse or maybe you're performing for somebody that doesn't even know you you're always just trying to perform and impress them and and and and and you know win their opinion over this spirit of performance teaches us that fundamentally I am and you can drop this knock down I am what others think that's the essence of performance I am what others think and I know that many of us whether you realize that or not are battling with that you're battling with defining yourself through the opinions of others I am what others think now the encouraging thing about Abraham's life is that he started there and yet God brought him through a process to get him free from that by the way if you have not recognized it yet God is bringing you through a process to get you free from that and he wants to put an exclamation point on the process today in Jesus name so that you can be free from what others think and so God brings Abraham through this process in Genesis 12:2 we see him start to speak a different destiny over Abraham's life he says I'll make you a great nation I'll bless you I'll make your name great you'll be a blessing in other words Abe don't worry I have a plan if your dad rejects you if your mom rejects you if people think you're crazy don't live for their opinions I have a greater purpose for you in Genesis 15 when he does this he says after this the word Lord came to Abram in a vision do not be afraid Abram I'm your shield your very great reward I'm gonna reward you I'm gonna protect you at Genesis 15 5 he took him outside he said look at the sky count the stars if indeed you can count them then he said so shall your offspring be I'm gonna bless you you're gonna have many many children you're gonna be a great nation Genesis 17 for behold my covenant is with you and you shall be a father of a multitude of Nations now if you take the time to read from Genesis 12 to Genesis 25 what you'll find is the life of Abraham is literally packed full of God speaking promises blessings and favor over Abraham's life and you start to read it and you wonder like he just said this last chapter why is he saying it again he just literally took seven verses to describe how he's gonna bless Abraham and now we're one chapter later and he's saying it all over again why does God do that he does that because like you and like me Abraham has a thick head and he's not quick to internalize the truth that God's Word is more important than the opinion of man God's Word is more important than the opinion of men I'm telling you this will set you free you can't build your identity on what others think you must remove dig out that propensity towards performance with the revelation of acceptance acceptance teaches us I am what God says I am what God says I am what God says do you know what God says about you he says that by faith in Christ you are perfect and blameless before him if you remember the Scriptures you remember the story of Jesus when he stands you all should have clapped at that moment by the way but you missed it you'll get the next one he stands it's fine it's fine save it save it for next time idle it up save it he comes before God he's baptized Jesus in the Jordan right you remember this story he's baptized in the Jordan River he comes up out of the Jordan River and there's a voice that speaks from heaven right and God speaks to and says this is my beloved son whom well please everybody can hear it so he speaks over him this destiny here my beloved son and I'm well pleased now the important thing about that there's many nice incredible truths found in that but I think the thing we want to highlight today is that in that moment Jesus of Nazareth was thirty years old of the time had not performed a single miracle in his life okay he had not healed any blind eyes he had not cured any broken bodies he'd never walked on water he had not performed a single miracle in his life he had not died for the sins of the world's and rose from the dead he had not ascended to the right hand of the Father he hadn't done any of that in other words what the father was saying is my acceptance and love for you is not built on your perfect performance I just love you because I love you period and that's who you are now you have to understand that the father loves the son that way and when I receive the son into my heart by faith I get the record of the son and I am now received by the father in the same way the son is received by the father the revelation of acceptance breaks into your soul and you realize the opinions of man no longer define who I am oh it's healing it's healing it's so important and this is what happens to Abraham he begins to realize over time God speaks that so many times over time he starts to realize I am what God says I am now his thirst for approval was not the only mindset that God had to deal with we see in his story that he also needed to redirect his attachment towards things everybody say things things yeah things things see you and I have a tendency to collect things and then feel more valuable because of the things that we've collected in other words I have this identity that is strengthened or empowered and my idea of success is fueled by what I own what I have I can remember a couple years ago now I had to run an errand I was with some family members I had to run an errand and I I jumped in a family member's car to run the errand because my car sales had taken in so I just shot out I went to the gas station then I went to to the air and that I had to run and so I jumped in the car and you know I'm not much of a car person I don't know much about cars I don't know what's like a good car or not you know and so I just jump in this car and it happens to be like a fully loaded lifted red you know Land Rover ok kind of a nice car and so I stopped at the gas station I'm putting some gas in the car and I noticed that everyone is looking at me like everyone in this finally this one guy just walks up to me he's like man that's an incredible car he's like that's it what did you get that car and you know what I did I was just like I've had it for a while and he's like man it's got the did it did it done I was like yeah this guy he's got tires I mean like I just didn't tell him like I don't know like I hesitated what is that what is that inside of us that like that just wants the attention or wants the value assigned to us based on what you own there's something inside of us that teaches or pushes us to believe that success is proven by possessions my value is in what I own possessions I wonder if you took away all your greatest possessions would you feel less valuable would you feel a little bit less valuable this is something that gets tangled up in our hearts in Genesis 13 we see Abraham in a particular situation by this time he's collected a lot of nice things and you know he's grown and grown and his livestock his cattle are now numerous and so are his nephews his nephews name was lot and they were together on the land and their livestock got so great that they could not exist on the land at the same time because there was just too much need for these animals and so it's this moment of tension and Abraham is brought to a place where he's tested by God he's tested are you gonna value your relationship with lot or are you gonna value the possession of things what's gonna be more important to you and Abraham by the way passes the test but look what he does in Genesis 13 he says this Abraham said to lot let's not have any curling between you and me or between your herds and mine for we're relatives close relatives is it not the whole land before you let's part company if you go left I'll go right if you go right I'll go left in other words what he's saying is a lot I'm gonna put your desires in front of my own I'm gonna put your desires in front of my own because I trust that God's favor is on my life and whether I go left or whether I go right it's not so much about where I go it's more about who I go with and I know that when I go with God by serving others he's gonna favor and bless me that was his confidence in the next chapter he's tested again an unrighteous King wants to give Abraham his spoils of war okay and in Genesis 14 we see how Abraham responds to that temptation Abraham replied to the king of Sodom I solemnly swear to the Lord God most high creator of heaven and earth I will not take so much as a single thread or a sandal thong from what belongs to you otherwise you might say I'm the one who made Abram rich in other words what he's saying there is he's saying I don't want to be indebted to an unrighteous King I don't want to have a debt to an unrighteous men I trusting God's ability to provide for me and so I'm not gonna cling to things by making a commitment to someone that I don't trust now this is so important because it's easy for you and I let's just let's have an honest moment because we've been faking it up till now right it's easy for you and I hopefully not in our hearts to look at things and to grab hold of them for a sense of security right and so we say I need this much in the bank I need this much you know with my car I need this kind of house and and it's not bad to have these things but these things become our sense of security they become our sense of control and if I give these things away or if I lose these things I feel like I'm out of control and so what happens is we start living a stingy life where we cling to things where we hold to things anybody that's honest has felt that pressure when you don't have enough to pay the bills when you're not sure how the next thing is going to be covered and yet what we see is God has done a work in Abraham's heart so that he thinks differently about things in proverbs 11 this ideology is clearly spoken it says this the world of the generous gets larger and larger but the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller see Abraham understood the more I cling to things the more I show that I don't really trust the one who is the greatest reward in life and so I got to open up my heart and open up my hands and the more I trust God the more God will trust me I can satisfy my thirst for possessions with the revelation of abundance abundance teaches us God is my greatest treasure you see that God is my greatest treasure and when God is my greatest treasure in my heart I can be free with the things he's given me see what is he doing here he's trying to rewire Abraham's thinking through the course of his life so he thinks differently about success or going somewhere so we see first in this whole truth that God teaches him acceptance I am what God says right and then he teaches him abundance that that God's the greatest treasure in life he's causing him to think differently about the opinions of people and about the possession of things but it's at the end of Abraham's life and that's what we're looking at today that is most revealing he dies at a hundred and seventy five years old after the death of Sarah his wife he remarries and he has six more sons in his old age which is of course a miracle so total Abraham has eight sons and he owns just one plot of land this little cave called Machpelah right now I would imagine that Abraham is here he's 75 years old he looks back at his life it would be tempting at least for me maybe for you to look at your life and go okay God promised me a great nation I have eight kids which is a lot but not a nation right God promised me I would possess the land which is almost comical because I have this one little tiny acre right I've got this one little lip this doesn't feel like I possessed the land God promised me that through me all the nations of the earth would be blessed and yet here I am and I don't feel like I've accomplished that I don't feel like I've produced that see oftentimes we tie our success to our performance we tie our success to our possessions and we tie our success to our productivity the mindset of productivity says that my accomplishments make me important my accomplishments make me important and the truth is in Abraham's time there were other people who had more than he did there were other people who had a greater name than he had the other people who had collected more or less bigger things I don't have you thought about this but whether you're 22 or whether you're 73 wherever you might be in your journey in life let's take a moment and think about legacy is it possible that you could get to the end of your life and realize I haven't really produced that much you know I thought I was gonna do this and that I almost moved out there I almost did this but here I am I'm kind of in the last lap I haven't produced that much what will you do then and this church is where we start to get to the essence of the problem with our ideas about success because when you and I feel like we don't produce that much there's a follow-up question we need to ask you don't feel like you produce that much compared to who write compared to who who are you comparing yourself to you know what a great exercise to do would be put down the five names of the people you most frequently find yourself comparing yourself to who are you comparing yourself to is it your dad is it your mom is it your brother is that your boss is it people at work is it friends you knew in high school who are you comparing yourself to because most of us come on I'm trying to go somewhere today most of us if we're honest if we're honest we are working from an assumed definition of success you maybe haven't taken the time to actually write down your definition of success and so you're working with an assumption about what success is and if you live in this world at this time you have probably collected the opinions of others and then take in the things that you own and then take in a comparison that you've made to others and you kind of mix all those together and you get this sense this ambiguous sense of maybe I'm successful or maybe I'm not maybe I'm a failure maybe I missed success those things kind of coming together like make up a concept of this is what it means to be successful but the real miracle of Abraham can be seen here that he looks back at his life and in the natural flow of things we would say he wasn't that full and yet he's fully satisfied right he's fully satisfied with his life because he thought about things differently he wasn't bound by comparisons I love how the Apostle Paul puts it in 2nd Corinthians 10 look at it with me he says we do not dare we do not dare we do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves when they measure themselves by themselves compare themselves with themselves they are not wise we however take a look at this will not boast beyond proper limits but will confine our boasting to the here's the most important part fear of service God himself has assigned to us a sphere that also includes you did you catch that did you catch that idea I want you to see it today in other words what Paul is saying and it's the same attitude that Abraham had he's saying God has assigned to you a sphere of service God has put you on this earth giving you a unique personality in a unique geography in a unique time with a unique gift set with unique limitations with unique relationships and all those things come together and enable you to find the sphere of service God has assigned to you and you in fact are the only human being on planet earth with that personality geography gifts limitations relationships and accomplishments all mixed together to create for you a specific spear sphere and you're the only one on the planet in all of time and history that could ever fulfill it that's your call in other words this myth of productivity that's built on comparisons needs to be replaced with the revelation of accountability accountability accountability teaches us God holds me responsible for my unique calling that's how Abraham thought God holds me responsible I'm telling you God wants to set you free today balcony in Jesus name God holds me responsible for my unique calling yields me responsible not for your unique calling thank God he owns me responsible not for some other person's unique calling that lived in another time and another age with other gifts he's given you a custom-fit unique calling and that's what you're accountable to that's what you're accountable to now if you've been paying attention what we see is a glimpse into Abraham's perspective and a new definition of success begins to emerge a new definition of success that is accurate it's not comparing myself to someone else it's not based upon the things that I own and it's not fueled by the opinions of others I love the way the Apostle Paul puts it in Acts chapter 20 look at it with me says I consider my life worth nothing to me my only aim is to finish the race complete the task the Lord Jesus has given see it me he's given you one Joey he's given you one he's given you one Brandon he's given you one Hartford every one of us unique specific that's that's what I'm accountable to and it's in this process of leaving home follow my dream building close relationships working through loss all these moments that we've been studying it's through that process that he's trying to teach me something bigger than anything I'll ever do he's trying to teach me a different way to be that's why Paul says in 1st Corinthians 14 let love be your highest goal so let me give you today what I believe was Abraham's definition of success and what I believe needs to become our church's definition of success and what I believe you and I can take a hold of and internalize as our definition of success so that God can set us free to leave a legacy that lasts forever success simple is doing the will of God while growing in the love of God success is doing the will of God by growing well while growing in the love of God that's it that's success what is the will of God for your life do it with all your heart you say how do I discover it you discover it through the various processes of life through leaving home and falling in love and following your dreams and all of these things God reveals to you as your heart is submitted to him he reveals to you your unique paths your sphere of service it might be at the department store you work at it might be at the corporation you run it might be with the three kids you have at home it might be with the spouse that you go home to your sphere of service when you start to see that this sphere of service God has given me it expands as I'm faithful to it and this is the essence of success for me doing the will of God while he teaches me to grow in his love see Abraham pioneered a new way of life stay with me Church a new way of life a new way of life that I believe God has called our church to be defined by where people are actually really internally free from the opinions of others where people are actually genuinely not attached to possessions to define ourselves where people are actually deeply committed to their unique path not comparisons to the person next to them what kind of a church would that be where people really lived that way see Abraham was driven by three great revelation the first was the revelation of acceptance that God has spoken over my life and he loves me the second was this revelation of abundance that I am rich because I have him and the third was this revelation of accountability that it's my goal in life to complete my unique assignment and when he discovered that new definition of success it brought a life that was fully satisfied look at verse 11 look how the story of Abraham's life ends it's my favorite verse in the whole series after the death of Abraham god blessed Isaac his son let's stop right there for a second I love that I love that because that tells me that when you live this way you can pass it on you can pass it on that's what legacy is about right and then it says look at the end of the verse and Isaac settled at a certain place below hello Roy now all series we've been looking at how Abraham's journey is a physical representation of our spiritual journey right and it ends with this little verse and you could just blow right past it and not realize that there's implications to what is in that verse because that name that I cannot say translates in the English to this that Isaac settled remained after his father died Isaac stayed at the well of the life of vision that's where he stayed Isaac remained at a well of a life of vision in other words Abraham initiated a new vision for life a new vision for life that God can be known that God loves me and receives me by grace that God is greater treasure than anything in this world and that God has a unique purpose in my life to bring Redemption to this earth that vision for life that purpose in life became clear to Abraham and he passed that way of thinking on to Isaac Isaac remained in that vision and then Isaac passed that vision for life on the Jacob and then Jacob passed that vision for life onto Joseph and then Joseph passed that vision for life on a Manasseh and then Manasseh passed that vision for life to Moses and then Moses passed that vision for life to a nation and the nation pass it on through its prophets and it passed it on through its kings until the lineage all the way led up to Jesus who took the dreams of Abraham and made them a reality for you and me he took the things that God promised Abraham and he made them permanent for our lives see when Jesus died he died for my eternal acceptance he died so that I could know forever that I truly am accepted and he rose from the dead he rose for my abundance so that I could have eternal life beyond any treasure this world could ever give and when he gave the holy spirit into the heart of all those who would believe he gave us a divine accountability that I could walk in the unique call and discover the unique purpose for my life Jesus purchases everything Abraham dreamed of and he gives it to you and I [Applause] Abraham died satisfied because he understood that the greatest legacy is a life satisfied in God the greatest legacy you can leave is not a million dollars the greatest legacy you can leave is not just family traditions the greatest legacy you can leave is not your name on some building the greatest legacy you can leave is not a bunch of college graduates the greatest legacy you can leave is a life satisfied in God and when you teach that to your kids and when you teach that to your friends and when you model that for your neighbors it has a divinely powerful compounding effect just like Jonathan Edwards life a compounding effect that reaches far beyond your life far beyond what you'd ever expect I was thinking about how I met Jesus just recently tried to trace it back a little bit 27 years ago a preacher came off the mission field he was in Lagos Nigeria came off the mission field and he sensed a call from God that preacher sensed a call from God to start a church in New Haven Connecticut he was actually only here a few times a few years really but in the course of a few years that he was here he made a connection with a man that was from this area started attending his church man in his early 40s who had two sons that man began attending that church turned his life over to Jesus his youngest son he brought with him turned his life over to Jesus see the missionary that had come home from Africa and felt a call from God to start a church in New Haven didn't know that he would meet a man that would lead to the salvation of that man's son that would lead a call from God to that man's son to start a ministry that would lead to the planting of a church in New Haven Connecticut in 2011 that would lead to the planting of another church in Bridgeport and then to another church in Middletown and then to another church in Hartford and then to another Church in North Haven and then to another Church in Springfield and to hundreds and then thousands of people meeting Jesus and to all the impact of your family and the impact of your story and the impact of your journey that goes so far beyond you you know you start to look at legacy and you say wait a minute wait a minute can we measure this thing by dollars and cents wait a minute can we measure this thing by accolades and accomplishments that's not the essence of this when you live a life fully satisfied in God it echoes far beyond what you would expect and it changes the world around you so teach this to your kids church model this to your friends teach them acceptance in Christ by grace teach them abundance of life when you have God and teach them accountability to the unique call on their lives and you'll find that success is doing God's will while you grow in love and you'll leave a legacy you'll leave a legacy far beyond your life would you stand your feet with me this morning all of our locations today's a day for open-heart surgery because god wants to get out his scalpel and he wants to dig out an old definition of success he wants to cut all around it pull that thing right out by its root he wants to get rid of an old definition of success but in order to do that you've got to surrender your addiction to the opinions of others in order to do that you got to open your hand give him your fears about scarcity and trust him that he's the greatest treasure in life so you trust him with all your possessions you've got to ask him to reveal to you your unique call and give him the comparisons that have plagued your mind to your brother to your coworker to your neighbor in order for God to give you that new definition of success you and I have got to be willing to let go of our old definition of success so I wonder what holds you back from the well of the life of vision because that's where God wants to take you today and you know what I've found is I am NOT capable of changing on my own he must change me by the power of his word just like he changed Abraham so I want you to hear this today you're coming in this room condemned you're feeling guilty about something that happened in the past you feel like you're five steps away from God hear this today God accepts you he doesn't accept you on the merits of your life he accepts you on the righteousness of his son believe in the Lord Jesus Christ rely on him fully and even as we sing this morning you will experience a wave of divine acceptance that transcends any performance you could ever have God accepts you receive today a revelation of abundance you will never lack if you have him you will never lack you say well what if I don't have enough of this what if I don't have enough of that if you have enough of God you'll find joy in the midst of every circumstance you'll never lack receive the revelation of abundance today receive the divine call toward accountability where he has given you a unique Lane to run in run it faithfully and ignore the comparisons to others receive that level of accountability from him today we're gonna sing a song I love this song it talks about new wine new wine and it's talking about new things being born in our lives new things coming alive inside of us because I believe that as we sing it God wants to release new things in your life a new vision for success a new hope for the future a new purpose and focus for you I love the part where it says make me a vessel make me an offering make me whatever you want me to be and in my favorite line in the song as it says I came here with nothing but all you've given me Jesus bring new wine out of me would you close your eyes and pray with me today all across our locations Father in Heaven meet us right now you know every story you know every detail you know every specific person there's someone in the room that's discouraged because they have not produced what they expected there's someone in the room with visions of grandeur at age 18 or 19 just looking to be famous or looking to be important in the eyes of the world Oh God I pray for a divine rewiring I pray for an open-heart surgery today I pray that you give us a greater passion for you and you extinguish the false ideas of success that have defined our lives Father I pray in Jesus name for the person controlled by the opinion of their parents controlled by the opinion of their peers I pray for the person that's addicted to things so they can look a certain way father I pray for the person that's always comparing themselves I pray freedom today in Jesus name lord I pray that they would receive the acceptance of the Father even right now by the power of the good news of the gospel of your grace lord I pray that right now they would receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness Holy Spirit pour new wine over your people right now Lord we receive Lord we come to you broken we come to you needy we come to you bankrupt and blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven I pray right now Holy Spirit breathe on your church in Jesus name come on let's sing

Channel: Vox Church

Views: 3,458

Rating: 4.6756759 out of 5

Keywords: city, church, city church, city church sermon, sermon, justin kendrick, Jesus, christian, bible, worship, god, music, pastor, preaching, city worship, new haven, north haven, Bridgeport, Hartford, Middletown, success, legacy, life that matters, moments

Id: ZQRs7QDwULM

Length: 45min 6sec (2706 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 11 2018