The Author is Still Writing My Story - Pastor Jack Leaman

it's our it's our privilege to have you all in service with us Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 2 looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame there was an example set and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God very simple we're not gonna die very deep tonight but I do believe that we need to remind ourselves and encourage ourself that God is the author and the finisher of our faith but someone just say that together he's the author and the finisher would you leave your hand in the air for a moment join with me father we are grateful for your help that comes in moments just like these God would you talk with us or if you'd Eclipse us and just show up that would be wonderful Lord if your voice would just be heard God that confidence that comes from you would be brought into somebody's life into somebody's heart tonight that would be absolutely wonderful God let your words speak in Jesus name we pray and everybody said amen amen you may be seated the author and the finisher I had a little bit of a chuckle before service because I don't know if you were here last Sunday evening or nah the last Sunday evening you know sometimes I tend to come up while the singers are still singing and I think you know give me cut me a little slack I think more often than not I'm it about right however there are times when I feel like we're coming to the end of the song and we're nowhere near the end of the song someone has included me in on the script or maybe the script isn't anywhere where I can reach it or anywhere where I can see it and as somewhere along the lines communication gets a little distorted like last Sunday night I was standing here staring at the back wall wondering what those words were that they were singing to the melody that was being played while everybody was watching me getting a little chuckle about that so before service tonight we had the great people at the back text me to say there's more than just the single song after Kathy came up to the office upstairs before service did hey uh I just want to let you know there's a tag on the end of the song because sometimes can I just remind us that then we can get it wrong about maybe sorry I brought you in on my pain there for a moment I can get it wrong can anybody identify with me sometimes we feel like it's all over and really it's kind of just begun and we're left to stand on the sidelines and watch it unfold while we wait for things to finish when we figured they were already done it's moments like that that remind us that it's not our hand and control of the pen that's authoring the story of our lives it's quite natural for all of us in this age of communication to want to pick what message gets communicated we all want to be in control of the story that's told especially when it's about us and obviously we can create a narrative and present a picture sometimes of a false reality if we're not careful it was February the 10th and 2010 nice cold winter day that we had decided that we were going to go skiing we took a trip up to a crab mountain and and I don't know if we have a picture that we have don't back it up a couple K I think or change it up a minute there just one more there there we are we can leave that one just for now that that's uh I don't know who was all there that day I think Rick long and Shane long Shane's up there Shane was skiing along with us that day we went there Shane right there doesn't he look cool can I just tell you Shane is one of those guys that you know if he picks up a ball glove he can he can throw a ball if he picks up a tennis racket he can he can ace down the court if he you know if he gets on a snowboard he can just kind of zip zip zip-zip dip down the hill and so this day we were skiing up crap mountain he said hey have you ever tried snowboarding I said no never tried snowboarding so here take my snowboard we we can give it a try is like oh right well you know remember this is ten years ago I'm smack dab in the middle of midlife crisis and I'm confident that I can do what chain long can do on the hill so I remember pulling that snowboard on and and getting off the lift at the top of the hill and and the beginning was pretty good there was no no fears felt felt pretty good pretty comfortable and we're just kind of rolling down the hill and he said you know when you lean forward you're you're gonna turn to the right if you lean backwards you're gonna catch the edge you're gonna turn to the left he said just it's kind of make your way down the hill so that was kind of working that was kind of working until I caught the edge in reality and before I knew it I'd fallen face-first into the snow with no control my legs dangling somewhere behind me not to be deterred try try and try again we got back up on my feet got the board underneath me and started back down the descent this time I caught the back edge of the board it slammed me so hard into the snow that I wasn't going to forget about that for a good few weeks when it when I hit the ground that hard fear came into my being fear came into my being and from that point on every time that I felt that snowboard catch an edge I panicked and down I went I wasn't anywhere near through the trip down the hill and you can only imagine that by now the spectacle of me slamming myself into the side of the hill was a bit humorous for everybody else along for the ride as a matter of fact the cameras had come out like you see and as I was descending down the hill I knew as a matter of fact this is what I'm talking about the false reality because if you just kind of looked at this picture right now I had looked up and Shane had his camera and he was like I could see the grin behind the camera and I knew that in just a moment I was one more time gonna face plan into the snow but I knew if I could just hold it together for a moment I could make somebody think that I could snowboard and so I did and I thought can you give me a hand for trying the reality is is that probably 0.27 seconds later I was flat on the ground again at that point I was done I was done I changed out of the snowboard boots in the middle of the hill I pulled my I was pulling on my ski boots there's yeah ski boots when the snow patrol came along and they said you can't do that in the middle of the hill so I've already halfway there I say just give me a minute so they're nearly worth the time in that in the middle of the hill and I'm I'm pulling boots off and pulling boots on and I never felt so good to get something like skis back under me I just made my way back down the hill and and I have never again got on the snowboard that right there is the last time I was and the last time I will be on a snowboard a little older a little wiser a little more brittle but I can fall somebody right now if I posted that picture sometime in February of next year and said had a great day on the mountain if I wanted to author my own story and create my own reality to make somebody believe the life that I was living with something like that it wouldn't be true but it looked real it would be the facts but I can fool somebody here's the problem is that sometimes in the middle of our lives we get to thinking that we are editor-in-chief of our own communication and that we are author and finisher of our own selves and that's far from the fact you know part of the problem with reality shows now is that they're far from reality carefully edited eclipsed pictures videos music and plot lines individuals can be created to create to be something that they're not in the drama of it all ups the viewership so really that's what they're after and it's not even a reality show after all it's far from it it used to be that photos could be very easily manipulated we knew that and and so a photo really didn't have a lot of weight it didn't bear a lot of facts it wasn't it was it could be edited it could be adjusted to create a false reality everybody knew that but it used to be that if you had a video it was it was golden in the courtroom it was powerful it was it was presentation that would stir hearts and bring truth to the surface but the problem is that even now in recent years camera apps have become increasingly sophisticated there's something called deep fakes where videos now can become to appear like reality when really it isn't the truth at all they can manipulate images to create somebody doing something that they didn't even do and it's a concern that's that you can read about it in Forbes magazine you can read about it all the digital content online because now this disability is this accessible technology is available for the masses and they're creating these manipulated videos that that create ideas and and proposed thoughts that people really didn't even have they could make us say something we didn't even say make us do something we didn't even do and for the masses it would appear like my word did they really say that did Obama really curse no comment but fabricated images and sounds that appear to be real it's it's it's deep fake because it's getting to the point where we can realize we don't understand the reality of what's happened we are fooled by our senses and if there ever was a time when truth needs to stand and be prevalent and prominent and preached it's this day in this age because against the backdrop of fake and against the backdrop of just hypothesis and ideas the Word of God is going to stand alone it's gonna stand powerful it's gonna stand with authority and it's not gonna be anything else like it I wonder if there's any lovers of the word of God the truth of God's word that word is a lamp to our feet it's a light to our path you know it's bad when we have people that create a world and put us in it a false world a false reality but but the challenge is that sometimes we do that to ourselves and we do it to each other we create our own hypothesis of someone else's life our assumptions and our biases can force our opinion on our friends and on our foes or potential foes we all can get a little bit of the woe is me you know balance isn't easy but the Bible doesn't slow down a bit when it tells us that we need to be balanced the same Bible that says thou shalt not covet tells us that God hates a proud look in other words you can be without and have as much of a problem as somebody with and God calls you to walk the balance beam in the middle why because that's the Word of God it's truth the Bible God demands that that we somewhere live in the middle of you know people that say please now don't know don't take my picture I I haven't I'm not ready yet for that pride takes hold but then there's other people and that false humility is just as bad as someone that says look at me look at me look at me but the Bible doesn't doesn't hold back a bit when it says walk the middle of that line come on be humble but be confident in who you are you're child of the king you don't have to hang your head you know what the key is to that it's team your brother higher than you so if you come on if you're doing that then you don't have a problem with who you are as long as you see your neighbor as someone that is greater than you you know what that does it lifts them up to the place that they should be who they could be in Christ the Bible balanced you know one of the most inspired parts of the Bible is the unlost truth of people I'm not gonna be a long time tonight let me help us understand what I'm trying to say sometimes a it's a challenge communicating let me just say I'm pretty sure that if your mom was writing the Bible there be parts of your story she'd leave out if your dad or your grandfather had the pen we wouldn't have critical clues to remind us of how human you really are but the word takes no caution to catalog failure under anything other than people just doing wrong with the same candor and candidness it talks about people's failures like it talks about their successes it's just another verse in the chapter it talks about it why because here's here's a key we're all going to fail sometime we're all going to be akin with something hidden under our tent we're we're all going to struggle with doing right doing good being truthful we're all going to struggle with that at times and God wants us to know you know this word is a continuous story from the beginning to the end he doesn't hold back the truth about people because he knows we're going to be able to identify ourselves in different characters in the word sometimes but God isn't going to give up on us and God's not going to quit on us cos still going to keep on reaching for us because that's the God that he is he doesn't gloss the truth because he knows I still kept reaching I still kept writing the story because the story wasn't finished yet the story wasn't complete it didn't end with Aikens failure it didn't stop with lost feeling it just continued on because God had you in his mind and God had me in his mind and God had eternity in his mind so he just kept on writing this story I wish someone would thank God he didn't stop writing come on he didn't stop writing he didn't stop writing when Noah was building the ark and the flood was coming he didn't stop writing when Noah even failed and got drunk outside come on he didn't stop writing he just keeps on writing yet Noah built the ark and then no his dumb got drunk just right there right there carries on the story we wouldn't have included it we all said hey look that's gonna cause someone to stumble we're not going include that part of the story or is that just my family the word just continues on it continues on it talks about people's falling and it talks about people's failing it starts in Genesis with Adam and Eve Genesis chapter 3 were three chapters in we just barely get through creation and it lays it out Eve took the fruit and did eat it's the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11 it's Abraham lying about his wife in Genesis 12 we we don't have time to go through the whole Bible we don't have time to go through the wrongdoing of everyone in Scripture just suffice it to say that the Bible clearly indicates our failures its lot with his daughters it's Abraham with Hagar its Esau selling his birthright it's Jacob deceiving his father it's Judah and Tamar it's Joseph's brothers selling him into slavery as people in history that God didn't stop the story simply because they failed there's no question David's probably one of the Bible's most important figures it's easy to be inspired by his youthful willingness to fight Goliath his friendship with Jonathan his Psalms that he wrote the songs that he he he rode and just played them with such passion his enduring patience under King Saul he continued on he's such a marvelous character but with the same candor that it writes about all those awesome tributes to David he ate his continues on the word continues on and it talks about David coveting Uriah's wife Bathsheba and he commits adultery with her he effectively steals her from Uriah lies to him and eventually has him murdered David breaks five of the Ten Commandments in his life but God didn't stop the story said oh let's pull out first and second Samuel we got to get rid of that got to get rid of that let me go start tearing out the Psalms stupid David spent this time writing now I gotta tear it all apart no that's not what happened God just carries on why because he's still writing the story he's the author and the finisher of our faith he just keeps on writing he keeps on talking it's Elijah Elijah had so many miraculous experiences you think that he had this unshakable faith he cuz the rain to stop for more than three years he watches as the Ravens sail in with dinner he watches as the Ravens sail in with breakfast the Ravens feed him he just sees this miracle time after time a limitless jar of flour in a jug of oil he watched the widow's son resurrect up off the Betty he beats the prophets of bale in that game on Mount Carmel when he calls down fire from heaven you think he ain't gonna fail Elijah has got too much he's got too much backlog of God's greatness he's not gonna fail but but when the showdown with the bill worshippers angers King Ahab and Jezebel gets it in the mix Elijah can't take it and Elijah that powerful prophet is convinced he's going to die but God doesn't stop writing the story he carries on and Elijah realizes he's not just one but there's 300 more just like him that haven't bowed their knee to bail what's God saying don't stop when you feel like this story he's over Paul's awful history let's move to the New Testament for Paul became the writer of all the New Testament epistles authors letters to churches to help them he was a terror to the early church he was present when Stephen was killed the first martyr and Paul gives his approval and holds the coats for the stoners as Stephen lays dying he watches him pass from there Luke tells us that Saul made it his business to destroy the church he goes door-to-door in Jerusalem looking for Christians to kill but God's not finished the story sometimes God does with us like he did with Paul it's a bright light he knocks us up off of our beasts gets our attention he got a he got a shake us up a little bit but why because he's not finished with our story and Paul goes on to write and the story's catalogued and told right there of his failures his failings but God uses Paul and still uses Paul today why because he's the author and the finisher of our faith coming back to the music it's Peter the loudest personality in the room Jesus even tells him Peter you're gonna deny me and he denies Christ but the very night Christ is arrested someone confronts Peter in the courtyard of the Sanhedrin accuses him of being a follower of Jesus and he denies three times and the third time he curses his accusers and then he realized what he's done he breaks down and weeps bitterly but Peter it's not over God's not finished writing your story [Music] Peter is the first of the 12 apostles that Jesus appears to he restores Peter the Sea of Galilee John 21 and we know Peter preaches Acts to the birth of the church and he reaches to the whosoever will why because God wasn't finished but if we had been writing the story if we've been taking the pictures if we had been cataloging the daily events we would have said it's over but I just came to remind someone tonight that God's not finished writing the story he's not finished writing your story he's not finished writing our story he's the author and the finisher of our faith don't quit don't stop III I feel the Holy Ghost just bubbling up in somebody's spirit that's perfectly in order right now I wish you just let it flow because somebody needs to know that God's not finished with them yet come on there are 300 prophets who still haven't bowed their knee Joseph the pit isn't the end there's Egypt's courtroom waiting so don't quit in Daniels Den Daniel don't stop now why because Darius is gonna come and the Lions mouths are going to be shut God's still on the throne he's still writing your story Daniel it's not over yet Paul's Thorne is the power behind Paul's pen to cheer the early and the endtime Church on to victory why because God's not finished writing our story yet John's Island isn't the end it's a revelation of the end that will encourage us on this journey to heaven because God's not finished writing our story yet I'm so thankful that God's not done with me it was Joel hempel that wrote the song he's still working on me to make me what I ought to be took him but to make the moon and the star of the Sun and the earth and Jupiter and Mars how loving a patient he must be he's still working on me he's still writing he's not finished [Music] [Applause] we look at history and we think history this is culmination of stories histories not just history history is his H is his story God's sorry of humanity put different kings on different Thrones but there's still just one king of kings and he's still writing the story he's still for his church he still loves us with an everlasting love he's still reaching he's still promising he's still delivering God's still working on me [Music] standing together tonight I don't know I don't know if someone in the room you've thought my story's finished this isn't the way you wanted it to end can I remind you God isn't finished with you yet God's not finished with you yet I'll declare Galatians 6 and 9 with Paul let us not be weary in well-doing for in due season we shall reap if we faint not all remind us of Philippians 4 verse 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me 1st Corinthians 9:24 know ye not that they which run in a race run all but one receiveth the prize so run that you may obtain and every man that striveth for the mastery you're gonna fall you're gonna fail but keep striving keep pressing keep pushing every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown but we we're not doing it for any of a corruptible crown we're doing it for an incorruptible crown we're doing it because eternity is at stake we're doing it because this matters more than we ever could have imagined we're doing it not not just because of something we can gain here thank God for the church thank God that we're together here tonight but that's not why we do it we do it because there's this incorruptible eternal hope that's waiting for us we're not going to stop so keep on running CCC keep on running hear of the word of God tonight keep on running if you're trippin you stumble get back up and keep on running why because God's still writing your story I feel the Holy Ghost rising in the room I wish someone would just let God bring you the strength that you need tonight [Music] [Applause] come on just just why don't we just lift both hands if you've got the gift of the Holy Ghost we may as well let it flow for a moment [Music] come on come on church we're still praying for the miraculous we're still praying for the impossible we're still praying for the prodigal come on we're still worshipping [Music] be of good courage don't be afraid neither be thou dismayed for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest he's still writing your story the words they're prepared for you it's in advance it's already been given and when you walk into that season when you walk into that time in your life you're gonna look back and say that's why God gave me that word that's why God spoke to me that way right there right then I didn't understand it at the time but the word was true the time was just preparing me it was just prepping us for what God was going to do it was a few years ago at General Conference I didn't know this Minister I got I sorry let me back up I undertook to him I was being introduced to him I can give you his name I have confidence in his ministry brother George guy pray for brother guy from what I understand he's struggling with kovin 19 right now but he walked up to me and he he was being introduced to me but the Arnold McLaughlin said I want you to meet Jack Lehman he walked up to me he didn't say hello he didn't say how you doing didn't say pleasure to meet you he broke all protocol he just looked at me and said Isaiah 41 verse 10 he said fear thou not for I am with thee be not dismayed for I am thy God I will strengthen thee yea I will help you yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness behold all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded they shall be as nothing and they that strive with these Shall Perish thou shalt seek them and shall not find them even them that contended with me they that warn against thee shall be as nothing and as a thing of not for I the LORD thy God will hold that right hand sing unto thee fear not I will help thee [Music] and it's kind of looked at him I didn't know whether to say it's a pleasure to meet you too I didn't know what to say because right then at that time I really didn't feel like I had anybody against me but it wasn't very long before I realize that word was for a season that was coming but let me tell you what happened when we walked into that season it was a word that God had already prepared he had already written it all out he had already prepared the way before me and when we got into that little bit of a difficult time I leaned back on the word I said God thank you for writing this story thank you you're shivering you're silly control [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] it's easy I'm not preaching about events can I just tell you that this morning with a disappointing turn in the story but I only get along with God and remind myself he's writing this story I'm not writing the story and I trust him I trust the author and I trust the finisher I might faint I trust him with my life I trust him with my family I trust him with his church I trust him with our future I trust him because he's not finished yet we're still seeing his promise is being fulfilled [Music] lift in our hands someone just let the Holy Ghost help you like it helped me today [Music] come on just lift your voice we can't come to the altar so we may as well let the altar come to us come on we may as well build the altar right where we are no it did Abraham did we may as well build the altar right there at our pew we may as well come on we might as well build it we might as well put it together and we may as well put our own ideas on it and sacrifice it to God and say God I'm putting you back in control God I'm giving you the pen back of my life I make a mess when I try and write the story God here you go author finish from my faith write this story come on he's still working on you he's still working he's still moving we see miracles happen already this weekend he's still working he's the author and the finisher of our faith we can raise this screen why don't we just it's the most awkward thing we it's the most awkward thing not to invite everyone to the front Simoes awkward thing not to fellowship in the foyer but God's not restricted because of our norms [Music] I've already invited you a number of times to raise your hand I'm not a I'm not asking you for that but I wonder if you just pray together with me we'll be beginning to sing this song I'll sing it through a few times but I do feel like God's helping someone today and you know what it may not be that you need the message today but it may be that the message is gonna come to you in just a week two weeks maybe a month down the road you're gonna be reminded of a simple little Sunday night message and a building when the AC didn't feel like it was working at all he's the author and he's the finisher of our faith you don't have to worry don't you the troubles a [Music] friend in Jesus

Channel: Capital Community Church

Views: 1,558

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: capital, community, church, fredericton, nb, new, brunswick, canada, upc, upci, united, pentecostal, international, apostolic, christian, preaching, sermons, sermon, raymond, woodward, jack, leaman, matthew, bible, study, biblical teaching, the, author, is, still, writing, my, story, the author is still writing my story

Id: BSrn5sHS0lw

Length: 36min 47sec (2207 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 05 2020