Meaning in Moments | Philip Anthony Mitchell

hi and welcome to victory Church podcast if this ministry has been a blessing for you please consider supporting the spread of the gospel by visiting us online in choosing the giving option that works best for you if you have a testimony we'd love to hear it send us the email to share at victory Church ATM or again thank you for tuning in and we hope you enjoy this message your first time visitor if you're watching on podcast we definitely want to welcome you to victory Church and welcome you to what I think is a very important collection of talks our very first series of the new year we're calling it finding meaning finding meaning a very significant topic a very significant subject matter one that I think deserves our attention one that I believe if you lean into will be a blessing to your life I have some core convictions about some of the things I'm going to share with you in this series and I believe if you leanin I believe that if you lean in with your heart if you lean in with your spirit that these teachings are gonna be a blessing to you the first three of them even if you're not a Christian if you're in this room you're not a follower of Jesus the first three you can appreciate them you can still pull some principles from them even if you're not a follower of Jesus the last message absolutely makes no sense apart from following God all four of them are within the context of having a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and I'm gonna be sharing with you a different thought each week in this series with the hopes that as you latch all of these thoughts your life will start to take on more purpose and more meaning search for meaning it is a global issue it is a global phenomenon it is an itch in the heart of almost every human being it is something that we see come up in all cultures all faiths all world religions all ethnicities in all corners of the world whether you live in a civilized nation or whether you people live in under develop mission doesn't matter where people are on any corner of the globe there is a search for meaning and an understanding of what life is all about for people of all places religions of all types tried to answer the question of meaning whether it's Islam or Buddhism or Hinduism or whatever people say even a thin is atheists everybody is searching to try to answer the question of meaning philosophers who have come down through the ages sages who have written and you can go and read some of their writings all making their theories and declarations about what is meaning and what is the purpose of life and how do people find purpose in life a couple months ago I was going to visit someone are actually going to pick up a sister in our church and when I got to the place where I was going to pick up that sister and our church there was another sister in our church who was standing outside of the home they live together and the person I was went there to pick up was standing at the door and just staring at me and I motioned to the other sister that happened to be there when I went to go pick up this person I told her come over to the car and she walked over to my car and she leaned her head in the window she put her hand up on the window and you know I looked in the eyes and I said hey how are you doing and she said you know I'm doing okay I'm doing good I'm fine and we pause for just a second and I stared at her in her eyes very intently and you know I know that the person I've come to pick up was waiting on me and I said to again I said no tell me how you really feel it you know what's really going on on the inside and her head dropped and she said no words to me at all and I begin to speak to her I said you're going through right now a sense that your heart feels very heavy a sense that you're hurting and you know I just want to encourage you and not knowing what to say I begin to feel the Holy Spirit start to move on me she had on her work shirt at the time a uniform shirt nametag and I said to her I said I get a sense that you feel like you're not making any progress at you you feel bad because you see other people getting blessed and you feel like you're not blessed you feel that things that you've been believing God for other people have gotten it before you whether it's marriages or better homes or better car or better career you you feel like you have girlfriends who are prospering better than you are you you feel you feel discouraged you feel empty you feel like things are not really working out the way that you plan you feel confused you feel like you're not really obtaining things that you've heard that you can obtain and as I begin to speak that to her tears begin to just fall from her eyes they just start streaming down her face she said no words to me at the time she never opened her mouth and I could tell from her tears that everything that God was giving me to say to her was speaking directly to where she was at this point in her life in essence you know we have an adage in our culture that says that you know God was reading her mail in that moment I'm always interested and always in awe of how God could pick us out at any time no matter what we go through even when we're not praying he loves his children so much he can send someone when you least expect it to minister right where you are in the place that you are and you know she begins to cry and you know and she was hurt and she was grieved you know I thought very deeply about that because I was studying some things around that time and the four messages in this series are a response to her tears they're our response to what she was going through that day a couple months ago because if I could just be honest I know what that feels like and if some of you honest you know what that feels like you know what it is to be alive but dead on the inside at the same time you know what it is to have dread when you wake up for work on Monday morning you know what it is to get up and go and work and do and come home and lay in your bed at night and just feel empty on the inside and I would like to believe that I'm not the only person in this room that has ever felt that am I the only one that has ever felt that no the truth of the matter is is that many people battle with that feeling all the time there are people watching and listening to this message right now who are battling with that feeling they're people sitting in this room hundreds of you who are probably battling with that same feeling and and part of it is is I think competing themes that have we have been bombarded from from both ends on one side we have culture right and and culture has narratives and so if you pair into social media if you turn on television if you listen to songs if you listen to artists if you read blogs you see that culture has a narrative and culture has a very strong narrative that teaches us that meaning is found in accumulation and in arrival that the more you obtain the more you will feel better about yourself the more you obtain the more you will find meaning the bigger the house the more meaning you will have in your heart the new of the car the more meaning you will have in your heart we hear commercials that says the next best thing and we have Samsung galaxys boo we have iPhones right and people who are smart have iPhones and people who are saved have our friends [Applause] the wise have Apple whom I should tweet that the wise have after but if you listen to the narratives of culture this is what culture teaches us right that that the next best thing will make your heart satisfied that will find meaning and so we're constantly trying to get the bigger home we constantly trying to get the newer car you know we think the next deal would would give us meaning or the person we're pursuing will give us meaning we think that if we increase our standard of living that we will have a greater sense of meaning if we increase our income we will have a greater sense of meaning how many trips do we have to take around the world how many things do we have to see and if we do these things we'll have a greater sense of meaning we hear messages that teaches us look when you arrive at this level of socioeconomic status you will have watch this made it you will have accomplished the American dream and once you have the house and the perfect marriage with the white picket fence and the dog that can slide through it a little square in the wall you would have found meaning that we find meaning in acquisition and in status and in things and then on the other end my brothers and sisters you have the floors or the errors of Christendom because in Christendom in American Christianity there is also a narrative that is subtly poisonous and we drink it in all the time it looks like water but it's really cyanide see because water and cyanide are the same color they're clear but one will kill you and the other will give life to you Jesus said his words are what life but the words of today's preaching is almost like cyanide not in every house but in pulpits all across America we hear a type of preaching that tells us when you get to this place you would have found purpose when you get this title you would have found purpose when you get to this platform you would have found purpose you keep living and then eventually you will find purpose and so they make purpose a lot of times preaching as a place that you arrive to some actualization that we give to right they make God a genie that we have to keep getting things from them and the more we can get from God the more we can scratch our itch for meaning and purpose and if God doesn't answer that prayer then I feel empty on the inside because I've believed you for this and you have not given me this so either I don't have enough faith for it and I feel empty on the inside you're still sick because you don't have faith you don't have the house because you'll have faith you don't have the car because you'll have faith you don't have blank because you have faith and then in the absence of those things we feel like this we don't have more meaning and so our mondays feel like a drag because God didn't come through on Sunday and so there's a flaw in American Christianity that teaches meaning in attaining and in the world teaches meaning with accumulation what damage does that cause to the human heart if meaning is found entertaining then when I can't put my hand on what I desire it causes me to feel empty if meaning is found and building my life out with things that are tangible that I can touch the whatever the career is whatever the salary is whatever the house is whatever if meaning is found in those things then what happens when you don't get them your heart draws what's sick your heart gets despondent your hearts feel discontented or if meaning is found in some kind of arrival if it's found in attaining if it's found in the accumulation and watch then the bar keeps moving right the bar keeps moving right because because if I need more to keep feeling like I have some kind of worth or value then as soon as I get one house I would live in it for two years and feel like this is not good enough I have a car and then drive it for copiers and this is not good and what you don't realize is you're trying to scratch an eternal itch with temporal things and so many of us even believers buy into these lies whether it's from the narratives of culture or even from the toxic preaching inside the church because we love preaching that makes us feel good but so much of what we like is really cyanide and it's suddenly killing us think about how much preaching you listen to that makes you always striving to put your hand on something tangible I want you to think about that think about how much conferences we come from that makes us always focus on trying to put our hands on watch the next best thing you come out the conference amen bigger better bigger better bigger better bigger better betting we get intoxicated with the need for stuff to bring to us a sense of meaning and purpose it makes us do it and then when we don't get it watch it makes us discontented on the inside it makes us feel dread it makes us feel empty you know how this go down you go on IG and then it makes you feel jealous know you you see what other people have you feel like if I don't have that my life has no meaning or purpose so you start to feel jealous you'll go like this for a moment and then put it down and sadness right you start to feel jealous right and then on the inside as you're watching what everybody else is doing and as you're listening to the false narratives of culture the toxic narratives of christendom right your heart starts to grow weary you start to get restless you start to get depressed you start to deal with self-loathing my brothers and sisters in its most extreme form this can cause great depression that leaves the wealthy and could even lead a poor man to commit suicide I heard a story of a man he was a very wealthy man by our worldly standards and he had a great job husband wife you know kids and his wife was upstairs in her bedroom and she was hurt her husband come home from work one day and and she's upstairs and all of a sudden she has a just like that just allow boom and she calls out to her husband and she doesn't hear him respond and so she runs downstairs and when she runs downstairs she walks into the kitchen she puts on the light she sees her husband like this slumped over on the table a note on the table saying goodbye to his wife and children he said he was empty he took his life he was a wealthy man and he took his life he was in search for what for meaning trying to figure out what was the purpose of his life his meaning found in accumulation his meaning found in attaining his meaning found in arriving about the 900 BC there was a man a king named Solomon who was the second king of ancient Israel and Solomon when he came into office he asked God for wisdom and history tells us that God gave Solomon wisdom that no man had ever seen at that point in world history Solomon took that wisdom and he went out to begin to amass for herself everything that he thought would bring in meaning in fact Solomon himself would tell that Solomon did something very very incredible he set out on a journey in life a mission to bring everything into his life he possibly can in a search for meaning and purpose he was a very wealthy man today standards probably the wealthiest men that ever lived rivaled by no men in history with wealth and Salomon set out on this great quest to acquire everything that he could put his hands on in fact Solomon said his own words that he denied his eyes and his hands he devoted his whole life's energy to accumulating and attaining and going after and driving and in his old age he wrote a memoir that's been preserved for us in the Old Testament called Ecclesiastes and I want to read to you two pages from Solomon's memoir beginning in cliches chapter one and verse one Solomon wrote these words and he wrote these words in his old age at the end of his life after he had set out on this quest to find meaning Solomon sat down at the end of his life and he wrote these words in Ecclesiastes chapter 1 beginning in verse 1 he says the words of the teacher son of David King and Jerusalem meaningless meaningless says the teacher utterly meaningless everything it's meaningless what does a man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the Sun some of us know what the word toil means the rat-race of trying to obtain and accumulate and accomplish why because you want to impress people that you don't even like anyway feel that if I only have this I will have better status right if I only get this I will feel better than myself I don't want to pull up in the light and I got a 94 vehicle and a person next to me has a 20-18 so let me do all I can to put myself and deeper debt so I could keep up with his brother I will never see again what does a man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the Sun generations come and generations go but the earth remains forever in other words watch my brothers and sisters life is short and your days are numbered the Sun rises and the Sun sets and hurries back to where it rises the wind blows to the south and turns to the north round and round and goes ever returning on its cause all stream flow into the sea yet the sea is never full to the place of the streams come here they return again as when I look at nature I can't understand but there's something behind that hole in all of it up that is beyond my understanding all things are wearisome that is you labor you're gonna feel tired more than one can say the eye never has enough of seeing so think man if I get that I'll find meaning but as soon as you get it you're gonna want something else right no the air until Philip hearing what has been will be again man if we do this thing man it's going to be so awesome and then you'll die and somebody else who do it over there is nothing new Under the Sun is there anything of which can one say look this is something new it was already here long ago it was right here before our time there is no remembrance of men of old and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow in other words your life is so short that when you're gone a copy is after you gone you may not be remembered so what happens if I'm not famous if I'm not on Wikipedia how am I gonna find meaning if my life is so short and when I die nobody's gonna remember me if I'm not on Wikipedia if they can't look me up on Google I'm trying so hard to be famous because if I be famous then I'll have meaning if I'm known I will have meaning if I'm rich I will have meaning if I keep acquiring I have meaning if I arrived at this place I'll have meaning and then the teacher says I the teacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem I devoted myself to study and to explore by wisdom that is done and is done unto heaven what a heavy burden God has laid on men I like this next word watch verse 14 watch what he says I have seen all the things that are done under the Sun that is Solomon had a life that was not lacking any tangible thing a human being could acquire all of them are what meaningless a chasing after the wind you know what's so interesting about when everyone can feel it but no one can grab it you know what that means wind is that feeling that you get the new car and it feels good for a moment and then that feeling what fades away like the wind you get the new house and it feels good for a moment and then it fades away like the wind now all the things we're running after to try to find meaning and purpose it comes in and makes us feel good for a moment and then it blows out of our life like the wind and then he will continue when he says in chapter 2 verse 1 he says I thought in my heart watch come now I will test with pleasure to find what is good but that also proved to be meaningless laughter I said is foolish and what does pleasure accomplish I tried cheering myself with wine and embracing folly in my mind still guiding me with wisdom I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to under heaven during the few days of their lives I undertook great projects I built houses for myself I planted vineyards I made Gardens I made parks I planted all kinds of fruit trees in them I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees I brought male and female slaves I had other slaves who were born in my house I also had more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me I amassed silver I am mass gold for myself I had the treasures of Kings and prophecies I acquired men I acquired women singers I had a harem that is women prostitutes hoes as well as the delights of the heart of men I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me and all this wisdom stayed with me I denied myself nothing my eyes desired I refused my heart no pleasure my heart took delight in all my work and this was the reward for all my labor then he comes down to the end his life and he says this yet this is so tragic when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve everything was meaningless a chasing after the wind nothing was gained Under the Sun what a tragedy for Solomon what a blessing for you and I here was a man who devoted his entire life's journey his entire life to just accumulating and this is what he did from a young man he said I'm gonna spend the rest of my life accomplishing everything I desire and and surrounded my life with every possible tangible thing in the search for purpose and meaning and he strayed from God in his lifetime at the end of his life after this man had everything I mean this is like the top of the upper echelon of our society right in business this would be like Bill Gates like in hip-hop this would be like jay-z right this would be like an R&B it'll be like Beyonce but just at the top of what we think is the pinnacle of arrival he comes down to the end his like man I spent all my energy accomplishing accumulating attaining and arrived at a place and peaked in the door laid down and realized dang my heart is still what empty and sick and void I did all of that only to realize that it was meaningless meaningless cried the teacher with the hopes that those of us who were wise would come by the pages of his memoir and read what this man have to say with the hopes that we would not set out on the same journey trying to pad our lives with stuff and people and things in the attempt to think if I only get this next thing I will find what meaning and purpose in my life what a tragedy that is for Solomon what a tragedy to live a life given over to vain pursuits only to die empty what a tragedy to live a life of poverty only to die empty because if it requires wealth to have meaning then it cannot be true meaning because everyone will not have wealth and if it can't be felt in poverty then it cannot be true meaning because some people will die in poverty so that means meaning can't be found in anything that is tangible it can't be found in anything you can touch with all of your sweat 'less days of trying to get the next thing meaning can't be found in anything tangible because God would be foolish to wrap up meaning and something that you can touch because if it required status to get it it would be unfair for it was only could be touched and not felt in poverty it would be unfair so a meaning can't be felt as something that is tangible then we must find meaning in things that are what intangible Salomon will go on to make this argument watch and listen I he would go on to make this argument watch it look up here the meaning cannot be found apart from God that you could spend your entire life searching accumulating acquiring and attaining but that ultimate meaning and purpose in this life cannot be found apart from God creation will never have meaning and purpose apart from creator and it does not matter what creation accomplishes in their own strength they will never have a deep sense of meaning apart from create all meaning begins with God meaning is found in God meaning ends with God there is no true meaning and purpose apart from the Lord God Almighty now the Atheist will battle that and another religion may battle that but my bet is let's find out on our deathbed whose heart will be empty and whose heart would be full because Solomon will argue at the end of his memoir that meaning cannot be found apart from God and I'm going to come back to that argument in the end of this series now I want to take the rest of this time to make my own argument now while there's nothing wrong with pursuing and there's nothing wrong with having things there's nothing wrong with having a vision there's nothing wrong with having goals there's nothing wrong with obtaining there's nothing wrong with all those things when they're not done in vain but I believe that there are four things that will bring a deeper sense of meaning and purpose to our life inside the context of our relationship with God listen we get glimpses of these things in and around the life of Jesus these these four things I want to talk to you about are not tangible things that you can touch because Solomon already taught us that ultimate meaning can't be found in anything that is tangible and so in the context of our relationship with God you know I've been praying and studying and thinking that there are four things that ultimately brings the heart a deeper sense of meaning a deeper sense of purpose in this short life that we live we see them again in and around the life of Jesus and when I start to think about these things I think about at least this first one I'm going to talk about how easily overlooked it is how often we take it for granted listen and I'm so serious when I say this if you listen to me carefully my brothers and sisters if you take seriously this first thing I'm going to share with you that brings the human heart a deeper sense of meaning if you lock if you lock in and grab hold of them is gonna be so simple that it's not even gonna make you excited but that when you leave today if you dwell on if you if you drive from your car and ponder it it will bring it will have such a revolutionary impact in your life that I promise you your life will never be the same after this teaching if you latch hold up to this this listen this first thing I want to share with you that brings great a sense of purpose and meaning to the human heart let me use an incident from the life of Jesus to set this up for you Luke who was a physician and a doctor companion of Paul he recorded an incident and when Jesus was in the home with two people that he loved and in that incident is buried a very beautiful principle that brings a deeper sense of meaning to the human heart none of this is found outside the context of God I want to teach you how to find greater meaning and purpose in your life because it can't be found in tangible things because they will want betray you the house will betray you the car will betray you that's the stat all that will be tricked so they have to be tangible things that can keep giving our heart a deeper sense of meaning let me read to you this account that happened in Jesus life and give you this first thing that I think brings deeper sense of meaning to the heart all of these four things I'm going to share with you you can see them in and around the life of Jesus Luke chapter 10 verse 38 this is so darn powerful as Jesus and His disciples were on their way he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him she had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord's feet watch this word listening to what he said this is so powerful I love this I feel excited this changed my life but Martha was distracted this changed my life by all the preparations that watch this word had to be made so they had to be done this is so powerful so she came to the Lord and asked him Lord don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself tell her to help me now Lord exclamation mark that means she's yelling at Jesus now watch this this is so powerful this Jesus turns to her and says to her this is so powerful Martha Martha the Lord answer you are what somebody shout the next word worried and South the next word and about how many watch the transition but this is so powerful but only one thing is needed mary has chosen what is watch better than what being overly busy and preoccupied oh my god watch but only one thing is needed and mary has chosen what is once better that being overly busy and preoccupied and it will not be taken from her my friends listen to me this is so powerful what I'm about to share with you this will change your life so simple and so profound at the same time listen to this so powerful right right so powerful so powerful life my friends is short it is only but a vapor and buried right here in this text is a beautiful principle that infuse in our daily lines we bring a deeper sense of meaning and purpose to you every single day of your life it will snatch dread from your life when I'm about to share with you with Rob bore them out of Monday it will rob Tuesday of dread and regret it will make you wake up tomorrow morning and go to your work with a deeper sense of purpose this thing is so simple but so profound and when God began to show me this a couple of months ago it revolutionized my entire life it changed my heart and changed everything that I do from sunup to sundown right so often we run at a fast pace and we get robbed of fulfillment so I want to make a statement and I want to spend the rest of my time about 10 minutes building a case around the statement here's my statement here it is life begins a life becomes more purposeful when we capitalize on opportunities to find proper meaning in present moments life listen to me because this is not I'm not just gonna preach your sermon I'm trying to help you life becomes more purposeful when we capitalize on opportunities to find proper meaning in present moments your life will explode with a greater sense of purpose on the inside when you slow down to squeeze meaning out of your moments every day God gives you moments but because we're so busy and if they're so preoccupied we oftentimes step over opportunities to squeeze meaning out of very valuable moments busy and not listening right watch two women were in the same room in the same house in the same moment one of them has a distracted eye the other one has an intentional eye one of them is blinded by busyness the other one is focused on the moment this is so powerful one of them is completely veiled to what's happening the other one is just leaning in to what's happening one of them abused a moment the other one seized on the moment right Martha is in the presence of Jesus but it's so busy working for him she misses the opportunity to enjoy him so busy working for God that I don't even connect with God so busy working for Jesus that I don't even have devotion with Jesus so busy serving that I don't even have a prayer life so busy being busy that I don't even have devotion I'm around him but I don't even connect with him so busy driving he's trying to get my attention I won't even shut off the radio to hear his voice instead of being sad at the stoplight I could be leaning into his presence oh my god Martha is totally distracted from the moment the Lord of glory is in her house as watch I guess watch watch and instead of enjoying the moment with her guests she's cleaning the kitchen washing dishes watch and ignoring her guests watch preparing for him in the same house he's in and ignoring him at the same time she has worked with no devotion business without fruitfulness and while there's nothing wrong with Martha working watch but Jesus pointed out her failure of washes word priority in order to squeeze meaning out of a very valuable moment her mind was so preoccupied that she overlooked the joy and the blessing of that moment Mary on the other hand is just in awe of Jesus right she's just right there by his toes all right watch my face this is Mary I know there's stuff in the kitchen to be done I know the floor got to be swept but Jesus is in my house so watch I'm just gonna stop what I plan to give priority to this moment I'm just gonna pause for just a second with my busyness to give priority to this moment why watch I may not get this moment back [Music] and so Mary just enjoys the guest in home right and watch Mary found meaning in that moment Jesus found meaning in that moment how do we know Jesus found me isn't he Jesus don't he have people to heal you know he got places to preach the only got things to do but Jesus himself knowing all that is outside the house and they're calling on me and I got to go raise the dead and all of that he said Martha Martha Martha Martha Martha Martha Martha you call your name Sam I say a name three or four times come on go Lena Lena Lena Lee Phillip Phil come on cool it's a group exercise everybody say your name three times you are worried about many things but you're overstepping this more valuable moment let me help you with me time say your name one more time three times you're so preoccupied your mind with all these things you got to do three months from now but you're missing the value of this moment calling your name three times again come on you're so worried about what you got to do next week but you're missing the opportunity that's right in front of your face in this this moment not next week this moment not next year this moment not tomorrow tomorrow's not promised to you this moment Mary found meaning in the moment Jesus found meaning in moments Jesus is walking through a town called Jericho and he's just in the street and he stops on the tree he looks up and she's a man in a tree now he has to make a decision here is a moment he can keep walking or he could find meaning in this moment so he pauses from his lunch busy schedule because if you read the scriptures he was just what passing through to get where somewhere else but he watched pause what in the moment and said I know I got to be somewhere but here's a moment is that kids come down from that tree and that one moment would change an entire city he's travelling flew psychotic gets in some wells and sits down at a well to get something a drink and a woman is there he has to make a decision I can keep going to my preaching engagement or let me lean into this moment with this stranger can you give me something to drink now he watched he finds meaning in the moment transforms a life it transforms a city why because he found meaning in the moment what if Jesus left that house before Martha was busy before she finished what if Martha finished in the kitchen watch ran back into the living room Mary will see watch and Jesus is God right she would have watch missed that moment my friends I have a question for you how many moments have you missed how many moments that you miss last week how many did you miss yesterday how many of you who ignore me right now we'll miss valuable moments tomorrow moments that can change your entire life it only takes a moment how many moments have you missed watch because you're so busy so preoccupied your mind going a million miles a minute you're so heavy you're so weary you're so tired you're so whatever you want to fill in the blank that you keep you keep drowning yourself or dread that you keep missing moments everybody's outside gathering you in the side miserable you missing that moment that something life-changing can happen how many times because our mental state or our busyness or because of whatever we trying to obtain or whatever it we keep missing moments that can either touch our life or touch the life of someone else and why do we keep missing moments another idea I put it up on the screen for you you know why we keep missing moments I'm gonna tell you what because increased meaning is often wrapped in mundane moments what the old-school people be saying I'm preaching better than y'all responded that's what they say yeah see this this is gonna hit you you need to go home and listen to this a second time increased moments is often wrapped in mundane increased meaning is often wrapped in mundane moments because it seems boring and mundane you'll step right over that moment not even realized there was meaningful purpose in that moment I'm almost finished it's like a couple days you know when God was teaching me this I came home I pulled into my garage I drove into my house and I opened my door and I thought to myself how many times have I come home from a long day of work at my office at 7 o'clock at night I walk in drop my bag say hi to my kids run upstairs go do this go do this check this on the app call Nadine change this let's do this text this person and my kids are downstairs and by the time I finished my business my wife is putting them in a bed and then another day goes by and then another day goes by and then another day goes by and then a month goes by and then six months and then a year goes by and I wonder how many moments I missed with my own children and when God beget to teach me this man the other day when I came home and I and I'm right before I open the door I said to myself you know what when I go in here I'm gonna lean into this moment a moment that seems so mundane I'm gonna lean into this moment I opened my door I dropped my bags I put my phone away and I just enjoyed my kids and my wife I took time to dig into my wife's heart to run around with my kids I wrestled with my son on the floor and picked him up and I body slammed him and then you know I picked him up again and I threw him on the ground I chased him up the stairs and I body slammed him and I picked up a B and a span with her till I was nauseous you know and then I ran behind the dog and and I and I'm not thinking about when I got a text Nadine and I'm not thinking about that I gotta send Brendon something I'm not think about what I got to tell my staff I'm just living in the moment you know this is like and I'm almost done listen listen family this is this is a husband and wife going to a restaurant and putting your phones down and talking instead of surfing this is this is this is coming home from a long day as work and although you're tired know that you need another hour of strength to engage your family this is this is this is seeing someone text you who's hurt and stopping to call them or text them back a word of encouragement watch this is this is this is being on a plane next to a stranger and feeling the Holy Spirit moving to you and having a conversation with a complete stranger on a plane at the Wendy's and the mall this is being the vicinity of people at your job and since then I should say something and lean into that moment to say something to that person right this is driving home from work and instead of listen to the same title songs maybe you shut it off and you connect with God on that drive home you know what this is as simple as something you all of us take for granted this is a simple as stepping outside your house and instead of just jumping in the car or taking out the trash you look up at the sky on the way to take the trash down to the corner and you look at this great expanse and you said wow God you made all of this he can hear you and you look past the clouds and you think man Lord one day you're gonna come from me this is stepping outside your house at night to walk the dog and as you're walking the dog you look up at the stars I'm like mile Jesus you are amazing you're incredible I just love you I don't want anything from you I just want to tell you that I love you I cap although I'm walking my dog I'm capitalizing on this moment to connect with my Savior as simple things is you would run outside and run back in and miss that moment this is taking the time to come to church on Sunday and not just running out of here because you got to get to the restaurant but stopping in the lobby to talk to brothers and sisters exchanged phone numbers encourage one another say hey are you in a V group you should jump in my group hey where you going to watch the game tomorrow this is taking the time to not just come in and run out coming in right now but stop long enough to have a conversation with somebody where you never know can open a door for you because this is the year a favor and favor comes through people maybe it's getting up tomorrow morning and not going to work with dread but saying I'm gonna squeeze the meaning out of my moments tomorrow I'm gonna find meaning in my Monday this last statement I want to give to you and I'm be done if we keep stepping over the now to get to what's next we will rob ourselves of the pleasures of the present if you keep stepping over your moments that are right in front of you because you're just always driving to get to what is out ahead of you you're gonna rob yourselves of the pleasures of the present if I'm so driven to build my church then my kids grow up and they can't remember me spending time with them or birthdays or leaving a meeting early to be at a school for a function if I'm so busy driving and moving above but I can't stop long enough to connect with God and to have impact in people's lives I'm gonna Rob my selves of the pleasures of the PERT when this is over you'll have an opportunity to have moments in the lobby some of you just gonna run out of here and jump in your car and drive home and you're gonna keep missing valuable moments watch that brings meaning and purpose to your life even jay-z learned this lesson you should go watch his interview he did with the New York Times a billionaire he said I've learned I love the evolution of this men even if he's not a Christian yet he said I learned what all that I have I said yeah because you should be praying for the loss they're not our enemy so modern preaching makes jay-z my enemy he's not my enemy I love that man I'm praying for him people say oh you shouldn't spend time with Jesus you know people who wasn't like Jesus like Jesus I wish cardi B would call me and let me do her wedding for hon offset that cardi I'm from Queens you know I'm from Queens cardi I know you from the Bronx I'll do your wedding Mary why are you doing Carly's wedding people who was nothing like Jesus like Jesus we had a Christian that you're too stuffy that's why I don't want to be around us you can spend time with an unbeliever you should influence them don't let them influence you there's nothing wrong with spending time with the unbeliever you should influence them just don't let them influence you jay-z and his interview with the New York Times a billionaire probably one of the most successful rappers in history know what he said in that interview he said he leaned over to the interview he said you know I learned by this stage in my life with all that I have all my wife and I have he said life is not about money or fame he said those things don't matter to me that much he said I realized what matters to me the most is my relationships he says and I have great relationships he said with all of his success the thing that mattered to him the most was his relationships his wife his children he learned that not even filled with the spirit [Music] he learned that not even being filled with the spirit he had watch a Solomon moment and Ecclesiastes moment that he accomplished all that life can often sat down and said with my billions with my May box all of that I look at Beyonce I look at blue or look at my kids I look at Carney I looking tomorrow they're so you know what what's all that gonna mean if these relationships are messed up I look at my wife and my children realized this is what's most valuable to me Lina Malachi Israel Abigail Josiah Milton Kenny connect them with God connecting with people listen life is too short brothers and sisters and some of us are gonna be so busy that you're gonna come down to the end of your life look over realize I have bad relationships I missed great moments moments to connect with God and moments to connect with people moments to make a difference moments to touch moments to bring moments to comfort moments to be comforted I'm gonna lock myself in the house cuz I'm depressed missing opportunities to be in fellowship where God can touch you in fellowship with one person lets you that you don't even know are you locking yourself in the house missing moments how many moments do we miss because we're so preoccupied so busy so whatever you want to get more meaning in your life you want a more have more purpose in life here is the title of sermon you have to find meaning in your moments you have to learn to find me listen if you wake up tomorrow morning said I'm gonna be conscious of my moments and start finding and squeezing meaning out of my moment I'm gonna play with my kids I'm gonna talk to my wife I'm gonna take a walk in the park I'm gonna connect with God in the car I'm gonna make a difference in my job I'm gonna use the moments that God has given me to make a difference or to connect with the Lord then with nothing tangible but no new thing your life begins to explore with a greater sense of purpose you start feeling like today she changed my life and I got a hectic and a busy life and I know what it is to say to my to my staff I'm leaving the office early because I need to get to my daughter's recital why squeezed meaning out of the most she would have a memory and when I had this big recital my father was a busy pastor I saw his face [Music] why because I'm living now not to obtain another I'm trying to Spees meaning out of my moments and the more I do that consciously the more each day matters more than more and more and what you listen because the problem is you trying to make Christianity so spectacular if you're not on a mountaintop get depressed what about Monday what are you gonna do Monday some of us are junkies for spectacular Christianity what about Monday Monday while you're at the sink washing dishes and your babies are running around you can find meaning what about slow down and play with them read a book to them take them to the park what are you gonna do tomorrow morning when you get up a young lady I told you about at the beginning of the sermon the next time I saw her how you doing [Music] because what I shared with you is what I shared with her Letta find meaning when you go to work tomorrow I told it go on your job and be a light Jesus don't just go there and dread when you work oh there be light for God and if you do that then that workplace has meaning want to be a person that lives my life making the most of my moments jesus said to Martha Martha muffin mary has chosen the better thing what was the better thing that jesus said Mary and himself has chosen they found meaning in a simple moment watch Jesus was greatly pleased Mary's decision to do what to find meaning in her moment tomorrow I want you pray a consciousness into your heart get up tomorrow morning you go to work and when you leave today you spend some time in the lobby you slow down and remember that life is short and while you have your vision and you have your goals and you have your plans praise God for all of that what are you doing with the present moment is right how often are we keep stepping over meaning stepping over purpose stepping over moments because we're so busy driving and we robbed us of the opportunity to say Frank Lawrence George man thank you so much for praying for me and just loving on them and squeeze the meaning out of the moment that I'm staring at these three brothers that are loved tomorrow it's not spectacular but it will change your life it will change your marriage it would change parenting it will change how you treat strangers you're trained how you treat the poor what happens in a marriage congratulations to Melissa who's officially [Applause] look at me my brothers and sisters look at me I want to challenge all of you all of you listen to develop a consciousness to start squeezing meaning out of your moments this will make purpose explode in your life not on Sunday not at the conference but from Sunday to Sunday tomorrow morning I want you to take Monday a day that's just Monday because we hate to get up to go to work and I want you on purpose trying to squeeze as much meaning out of money as possible go watch the game with people you love and put the phone down [Music] you want to see purpose in your life it's not found in anything you can touch it's found in the tangible things to give more meaning and purpose to life I can't wait to share the other three with you latch hold of them they will transform your life and squeeze more purpose and meaning find meaning in your moments find meaning in your moments find meaning in your moments and your days would get empty thread frustration [Music] right father God [Music] I thank you for just the wisdom there's been preserved for us in your word Thank You Lord through the tears of a sister in our church that gave birth to this series and in that moment now I slowed down long enough to find meaning in that moment not only to encourage my sister but that a whole series was born out of one moment that I slow down long enough to squeeze more purpose out of I pray you would do the same for everyone under the sound of my voice I pray you it from this day forward give us a present consciousness and we will stop stepping over the moments and the opportunities you give us every day of our lives to connect with you and to make a difference in the lives of the people around us and to enjoy you and to enjoy the lives of the peoples around it because you've taught us that life is short deliver us from trying to find meaning in accumulating and attaining an arrival but help us define meaning in in tangible things that will help our daily lives explode with purpose father I pray for my brothers and sisters that you will give them a consciousness to start finding meaning in the moments of their everyday life we will not come down to the end of our lives and look over our shoulder would regret the times we could have connected times we could have spoken at times we could have embraced at times we could have loved the times we could have said some of the times we could have just connected with you I thank you Lord for this year favor and I thank you for this powerful for teachings you have given me I pray and be life transforming for my brothers and sisters and even for those who don't believe in you I pray would draw them to you I pray a blessing over this congregation over this word in Jesus name Amen [Music] [Applause]

Channel: Victory Church

Views: 1,273

Rating: 5 out of 5

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Id: -bTyrfPwtk0

Length: 59min 31sec (3571 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 08 2018