Shift Happens | Week Three | 8.1.21 | The Pursuit

awesome hey welcome to week three of shift happens here at the pursuit glad to have you in the house of god with us this morning we know there's a lot of places you could be uh but we are privileged that you are here uh with us this morning hey just want to reiterate something you already saw in the announcement videos but but we got an important weekend coming up here on labor day with pastors benny and wendy perez from las vegas of course originally from marysville and the marysville revival up there but now been pastoring in vegas the last number of years in fact they just recently purchased a department store just like this except about five times larger uh for their church dowd in vegas but they're gonna be with us friday saturday sunday free event 6 p.m on on friday and saturday and then just normal times for service on sunday not going to want to miss it and i hope you will join us for that weekend of vision and announcements about some of the things that god has for us in the uh coming months uh i wanted to uh begin this this this morning by sharing with you a little bit uh on backend conversations we've been having ongoing with the county and and the city uh over the last number of months those came to a head here on thursday afternoon and i just wanted to be transparent with you uh this morning on on where we're at you know that we made a decision now well over a year ago to reopen and to stay open regardless because that was our theological conviction if there's ever been a time for the church to be open it's now and i know anytime i start talking about this stuff instantly there's some of you in this room who get a little nervous like i hope russell doesn't go political and this is not political it's theological and we are suffering now in the church from years of pastors who didn't have enough boldness to address political principalities and powers okay and so we're not going to be the type of church that runs from that stuff i'm also not going to be the type of church that pledges my allegiance to that type of stuff because my allegiance my dedication belongs to christ but but this week we were again on the phone with some folks from the health department in fact the director of the health department who called me personally and wanted to talk about this church i'll spare you all the details because it would probably bore you to death because it's not ultimately going to change our outcome but essentially i communicated three things and i want to communicate those three things to this church this morning so that you know where i'm at and what i've said number one i've told the health department that we will not release the private information of people who attend this church number two i've said we will not shut our doors or turn people away number three i've said we will not check the vaccination status of people who attend as always we ask people to be good stewards of their own personal health and take proper precautions when not feeling well because that is what we have always done from day one but maybe i've said this before but it bears repeating in in hear my heart don't get offended by this but just hear my heart my highest priority for you is not your safety it's your development and your safety is important that's why we have things like security and cleaning crews and all sorts of things your safety is important but my highest priority for your life is that you don't go through this spiritual walk as an undeveloped believer if you were to go swimming at the snohomish aquatic center after service today there'd be several lifeguards sitting around the pool you know what their highest priority is your safety and so if people want those types of environments there's a lot of churches on life support that will offer you that but i'm here to communicate that my highest priority is your development as a believer and i just want you to hear from from my heart to yours and the only reason i bring this up is because it's a part of the national dialogue that we're having right now as a people i am not anti-vaccination but here what i am i am anti-a government big enough to micromanage the personal private medical decisions of individuals [Applause] whether you get vaccinated or not is a choice that you ought to make between you and your doctor and it is literally nobody else's business and every time the government grows i hope you notice something every time our government grows the citizen gets smaller personal liberty shrinks this is not a left versus right issue i don't care who you voted for in the last election use some common sense this morning you ought to be concerned over the last year or two how the size and scope of government has grown exponentially and friend a government big enough to give you everything is a government big enough to take it all away and we just ought to be aware of the trajectory that we're on as a nation and this isn't about one party or another man i've got bad news for you today both parties have failed us and so i'm not pledging my allegiance to a political party my allegiance belongs to christ and you ought to vote in accordance with your values and your morals and and and be framed in by what scripture teaches those things are important i'm here to communicate to you today that this is our stance as a church we're not going to turn people away we're not going to be checking vaccine passports at the front doors we're not going to be micromanaging your personal health and your personal decisions that's between you and your doctor and then ultimately between you and the lord and the feedback from the health department was well we hope we don't have to shut you down and i responded to them under no circumstance will you be an authoritative body that shuts down or closes the doors of this church [Applause] just let me give you three things real quickly this morning three things real quickly about what the church exists to do it's not even my sermon but i feel like i just need to say it to help lay some groundwork the church exists to glorify jesus that is our upward responsibility we do that through corporate worship and prayer the church exists to develop believers inward that's through corporate teaching and discipleship and then finally the church exists to reach the loss that is outward regional evangelism and mission but i don't want you to look at these three as of co-equal or co-importance they're all essential ingredients of a new testament church however if we don't first glorify jesus it doesn't matter how well we develop or how many people we reach we are nothing better than a pseudo spiritual country club the church exists to glorify jesus it is out of that place of glorifying jesus that both the inward and the outward happens let me prove it to you jesus says in the book of john if i be lifted up i will draw all people unto myself there's the evangelism piece as we glorify jesus we are transformed into his image and into his likeness it all begins with who we esteem christ to be and so i'm going to magnify the lord in my life and in doing so multiply his benefit in and through this congregation of god's people and and and you might be here today and have 17 different opinions and i know we all do you know what unites us at the end of the day is not our individual tribalistic opinions on every issue and and i tried hard in this environment not to be a talking head commentator i know that you get hit with that monday through saturday and and maybe one of the best ways to protect at least your mental health in this season is to turn off the news and to get into the word of god and in doing so allow your mind to be transformed and be renewed but my job here is not to be a talking head or a political commentator but i think sometimes we have thought wrong about how the church is impacted by public policy like as long as you know we just keep nice and we keep quiet then all then then the reality is is that all the stuff around us won't ever impact us and that's not true we are on a collision course in our country where religious freedom seems to be encroached upon just about every day of the week and so unless the church functions like the pillar of truth and society my fear is that we will end up ceding territory to darkness that god never uh intended this morty i'm going to be in the book of genesis chapter 18. let me tell you what i'm going to preach on and then i'm going to ask you not to be nervous and then wait to hear my message i'm going to preach this morning on sodom and gomorrah out of genesis 18. now just relax for a moment before you screenshot and tell everybody this is a terrible church just give me a minute to explain genesis 18 records a conversation that abraham has with the lord prior to the destruction of sodom and gomorrah i believe that conversation that abraham has with the lord is a prophetic picture for why this church exists in this region and so we're going to go through genesis 18 and i believe you're going to leave here today encouraged with a god-sized vision for the days that are ahead genesis 18 starting in verse 20 the bible says this then the lord said the outcry against sodom and gomorrah is so great and their sin is so grievous that i will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me if not i will know then the men turned away and went toward sodom but abraham remained standing before the lord the men turned away and went towards sodom but watch abraham remained standing before the lord while others turned away abraham remained not distracted by the problem but instead focused on the solution hear me if you were to turn on the news today you would be convinced that the sky is falling the world is ending and your life is in immediate danger and here's the problem anything that you magnify in your life grows and some of you this morning are operating under a self-induced spirit of heaviness because you have allowed inferior voices to dictate your emotional and spiritual health and so many of us suffer from chronic distraction we're distracted by darkness we're distracted by problems we're distracted by outrage we're distracted by drama and some of us even become distracted by good things like scripture records in luke chapter 10 martha was distracted by serving friend in this season you must wage war against anything that shifts your focus from jesus watch what the scripture says hebrews 12 fix your eyes on jesus the author and finisher of the faith exodus 14 stand firm and see the salvation of god galatians 6 do not lose heart in doing good for in due time you will reap if you don't grow weary deuteronomy 31 do not be afraid or terrified because of them for the lord your god goes with you john 16 in this world you will have trouble but be of good cheer for i have overcome the world joshua 1 be strong and courageous do not be terrified do not be discouraged i'm intentionally trying to overdose you on scripture this morning because for some of you this is the only encouragement you get all week and friend for us as believers we ought not to be surprised when the world acts pagan because i'm not going to be offended at unsaved people for acting like unsafe people my focus isn't on what's wrong but instead on who is going to make it right which means that i've made a decision if every other church goes in the direction of the world i'm staying in front of the lord if every other facility shuts down i'm staying in front of the lord if the critics and naysayers knock on my door i'm staying in front of the lord if the newspaper and camera show up i'm staying in front of the lord we don't need celebrity endorsements we need an encounter with a holy god and when you've been encountered by god it gives you boldness to take cities for the kingdom [Applause] now watch how the story continues in verse 23 then abraham approached god and said will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked what if there are 50 righteous people in the city will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of 50 righteous people in it far be it from you to do such a thing to kill the righteous with the wicked treating the righteous and the wicked alike far be it from you will not the judge of all the earth do what is right and the lord said watch how he responds if i find 50 righteous people in the city of sodom i will spare the whole place for their sake abraham understands that he's been invited into conversation with the lord and this is the reality friend of every spirit-filled believer i want you to see prayer as a two-way conversation that you're having with god by which he has invited you to influence decisions that shape entire regions history belongs to prayer warriors because they groove the timeline of humanity through conversation with the lord so many of us think about our futures as pre-gone conclusions it's already done it's already established and there's no business even praying about it or thinking about it because whatever will be just will be but not so when you read scripture god is always inviting men and women of faith into supernatural dialogue so that through conversation with god you can shape the future that you're walking into that's why prayer is so important that's why out of all the things the disciples could have asked jesus for they didn't say teach us to preach they didn't say teach us to do miracles they didn't say teach us to walk on water they said teach us to pray because through holy conversation with god you impact not just the destiny of your life but the destiny of the region that god has placed you in that's why we pray well why is it worth praying it says whatever's going to happen is going to happen we have these kind of twisted western gnostic views of the spiritual world yet all the time all throughout history god is inviting people into holy conversation abraham isn't arguing with god he's contending watch arguing is a disagreement with god's assessment contending is the contribut is the contributing of additional information in the process of determining an outcome watch jacob wrestle with god moses contended with god abraham negotiated with god hannah pleaded with god jabez petitions with god do you see the pattern the infinite god of the universe who literally holds time and space in his hands invites finite humanity to partner with him in the shaping of destinies that's why prayer matters watch what paul says in ephesians 3 according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in christ jesus our lord in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in him watch hebrews 4 and 16 let us then approach god's throne of grace with confidence that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need here's the problem so many of us live chronically below the level of our invitation because we don't actually realize or understand the gravity of the inheritance we carry the last time i was traveling uh internationally we had a long layover in uh in in in in the new york airport and yeah it was several hours several several hours and we just didn't want to sit by the gate the whole time and and so you know how they have these different clubs in in in the airport where if you have the right ticket or if you have the right access or if you pay the right amount of fee you can sit in like an upgraded seating area and they have food and all sorts of things and we had sat by the gate for a couple hours and i finally thought to myself it doesn't matter what it costs i'm not going to sit here for the next 14 hours i've got to find something just a little bit better and so finally kind of after negotiating with myself i walked into one of those uh you know club only member only sections went up to the receptionist at the desk and said hey look i got an international ticket i'm traveling overseas i literally cannot sit here and listen to these announcements for another 14 hours you've got to let me into the club whatever it costs and she looked at my ticket she said sir there's no cost she said admittance to this club was already purchased on your behalf when you bought this ticket watch we don't actually understand what's been purchased on our behalf we live like second class kingdom citizens beggars in fact scripture communicates a different reality i'm the righteousness of god in christ jesus sitted in heavenly places so that i can conduct the business of the father i'm not a servant i'm a friend and i've been invited into this type of supernatural activity but we live below the level of our invitation and when you don't understand your invitation you will always have a little ask when you should be asking for a lot you always have a timid knock when you should have boldness and courage you always seek short term instead of long term because you don't actually believe that you deserve or have access to the things that god says that he'll provide abraham begins with a question connected to a covenantal reality will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked no god will uphold the righteous watch verse 27 abraham spoke up again and now that i have been so bold as to speak to the lord though i am nothing but dust and ashes what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty will you destroy the whole city for a lack of five people the lord responds if i find 45 i will not destroy it watch once again he spoke to him what if there are only 40 and the lord says for the sake of 40 i will not do it then he said may the lord not be angry but just let me ask one more time what if there's only 30 and the lord responds i will not do it if i find 30 and then abraham says now that i have been so bold to speak to the lord what if only 20 can be found there and the lord responds for the sake of 20 i will not destroy it i want you to see something boldness in prayer is a self-replicating spiritual characteristic meaning the reason why god is close to the broken and the contrite the reason he is the father of light in him being no shadow of turning every good and perfect gift comes from the father above the reason why he is the rewarder of those who diligently seek him and our reward is more of him is that it continues to perpetuate the cycle of ever-growing boldness in our life to ask in accordance with his will watch where abraham starts if i can find 50 in this city will you hold off judgment and the lord says yes and instead of abraham saying great sounds good let me go find 50. he says now that you've said yes what about 45 and then 40 and then 30 and then 20. again abraham's not arguing with the lord but he's contending in accordance with the revealed character of who god is god reveals himself to you so that you know how to interact with him by faith he's placed his spirit inside of you that you may have boldness and access before the throne friend listen it wasn't until the righteous left the city that judgment came on sodom and gomorrah which tells me this righteous people provide a canopy of common grace that allows time for those who are under judgment to come into mercy i say this with all sincerity the only reason i'm still in the northwest is because i sincerely believe we are just now starting to see the first fruit of a regional awakening and friend while there is still time give yourself to awakening while there is still time give yourself to the harvest while there is still time serve jesus with everything you have for jesus says in john 9 we must work the works of him who sent us while it is day for night is coming when no one can work why does god place righteous people in wicked cities because for the sake of the righteous he will save the region let me help give you prophetic context for why you're still here because outside of believing that god has something special for this place there's not a whole lot of reasons left some of you have had two feet out the door with a plane ticket purchase to go somewhere warmer where the price of land wasn't 10x more than you could ever make in your lifetime but all of a sudden god by his spirit began knocking on the door of your heart saying but i've got something special in the northwest the only reason that i'm still in this city is because i sincerely believe we are laying the groundwork for god to do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ask think or imagine and watch what happens when the righteous leave the region that's when judgment and destruction come i want to be really clear god is a holy god and part of his holiness is judgment and part of his holiness is mercy and i know sometimes in the way that we think about god it doesn't always make sense in the confines of our finite human mind but god is as holy as he is loving and part of his holiness and part of his strategic plan is to plant righteous people as seeds even in difficult soil like it's here in the northwest for the express purpose of bringing salvation freedom and a chance for mercy to those who are under judgment watch righteousness exalts a nation proverbs 14 when the righteous prosper the city rejoices proverbs 11 the name of the lord is a strong tower the righteous run into it and are safe proverbs 18 and the path of righteousness is life and in its pathway there is no death proverbs 12 righteousness guards him whose way is blameless but sin overthrows the wicked proverbs 13 the righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight but the wicked falls by his own wickedness proverbs 11. the eyes of the lord are towards the righteous and his ears are towards their cry psalms 34 if god held back judgment from sodom for the sake of ten righteous people what could he do in the northwest on behalf of a thousand righteous people see i can't leave until i see everything that he has promised performed in my midst because if the righteous leave the region false name one thing that has ever been improved by righteous people running from it when paul says the church is the pillar of truth and society it's not a joke the people of god are in fact what uphold the epistemological framework of the cities we live in they are the foundation and what is this righteousness that i speak of it's the chief characteristic that is applied to our life on the basis of faith we are made right in the eyes of god when we put faith in the finished work of jesus for scripture says it's impossible to please god without faith it doesn't say it's impossible to please god without memorizing verses and i think hiding the word of god in your heart is important it doesn't say it's impossible to please god without church attendance although i think church attendance is important it says it's impossible to please god without faith because by the way that is how abraham was made righteous not through exterior behavior but instead through interior belief the bible says of abraham that he believed god he placed faith in god and the and the net result of that activity was that god accredited righteousness on his behalf which means that righteousness is is not some sort of metric or measurement that god utilizes based on your exterior behavior or your exterior performance but instead what you believe to be true about the finished work of jesus christ watch what the gospel says in in the book of luke and in chapter 17 it says as it was in the days of noah and as it was in the days of lot so it will be watch when the son of man returns the righteous will be saved and the earth will be judged by fire in verse 32 abraham goes on he says then he said may the lord not be angry but let me speak just once more what if only ten can be found he answered for the sake of ten i will not destroy it when the lord finished speaking with abraham he left and abraham returned home this conversation in genesis 18 reminds me of another story told in chapter 18 of the book of acts where luke records the ministry of the apostle paul and he says this in verse 9 of acts 18 now the lord spoke to paul in the night by a vision and said do not be afraid but speak and do not keep silent for i am with you no one will attack you or hurt you for i have many people in this city do you know that god's got people in this region that we're not even aware of yet he's hidden people as resources in this region and at the right time he brings them to the surface for the advancement of the church god's got more people in this city than you realize it can feel like we're all alone but we're not it can feel like we're outnumbered but we're not it can feel like man it just keeps getting darker and darker around us what can we ever do but friend i'm telling you you are on the right side of eternity and the church advances by force the gates of hell cannot prevail against it because we are in the time of the greatest transfer of kingdom territory that there has ever been for the kingdoms of this world are becoming the kingdoms of our god and of our king and to the increase of his government his rule his reign and his peace there is no end that's what you're a part of friend that's why you're here you know i've kind of been having this ongoing conversation with the lord over the last number of years like um lord if you just if you just say the word arizona i'll obey you i'll just i'll just i'll do it if you say the nation of texas i'll show up i'll just god i'll serve you anywhere but i feel like every time i'm i'm tempted to leave the lord is like no but i've placed you as a righteous seed in the northwest that's providing a canopy for others to come under that what people deserve which is judgment they wouldn't receive in this moment but instead have the opportunity to come to grace and to come to mercy friend that's why we're here not for a lack of better options but because god has spoken friends there are prophets in caves there are dreamers in deserts there are builders in basements people in this city that god has that are getting ready to be positioned as benefactors for the church things are about to shift and when a church begins to move a region begins to shift and those who have been in hiding begin to assemble under the banner of righteousness death of the church has been greatly exaggerated by her critics in fact we've never been more alive we were created for this moment jesus testifying about the last days he says it will be like the days of noah it will be like the days of lot in sodom and gomorrah that god has positioned righteous people as a prophetic witness that number one the time is short number two the invitation is now number 3 all who call upon the name of the lord will be saved that's where we're at that's why we're still here that's the prophetic witness of the church in this hour where god's people who are called for such a time as this righteous seeds in the midst of unrighteous soil fred would you stand as we close i want to pray for you and encourage you and help give language maybe to some of the way that you have felt over this last season almost restless like god why am i still here it seemed like everybody moving to idaho montana texas everywhere but the northwest god why am i still here it feels like this place is growing at its antagonism towards us what god why are we still here we are righteous seeds in unrighteous soil providing a canopy for people to come into grace friend that's our calling in this hour let me pray for you father we love you

Channel: The Pursuit NW

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Id: ma7gM1lOC4c

Length: 29min 45sec (1785 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 02 2021