Are you plugged in?

[00:00:00] Good morning. I want to greet each one of you in Jesus' name this morning. I guess first of all, I've been coming to church here for a long time, but I still feel like I need a little bit of an introduction. I guess I wrote a little bit of a letter to the church. I just want to say that I, we, me and my wife, we love you all. [00:00:39] We, I guess maybe our biggest fear is that we will in some way let you down or disappoint you or fail you. I'll go ahead and read what I wrote down. I want to say that we appreciate all the love and support we've been feeling and the prayers that have been offered on our behalf. We both feel like our love for the people at Calvary Chapel has really grown in the past couple of years and we are excited that God, through the voice of the church, has chosen us to be part of the ministry team here at Calvary Chapel. [00:01:13] We want to be open to hearing what you as a congregation have to say and want to assure you that we will endeavor to do our part in helping the work of the Lord to go forward here. We have been told several times to enjoy the outpouring of support we have felt. We have felt, and I want to make sure you understand this is not coming from Tom or Harold or anyone else here at the church, but other ministers, other people, to enjoy the outpouring of support we have felt because being ordained to the ministry can be like a honeymoon. [00:01:47] I haven't been in the ministry for 20 years. I don't know how it will be after I've been in the ministry for that long. We have really appreciated the, it seems like every time someone talks to us, we're praying for you, we're behind you, we support you. That means a lot. Being ordained to the ministry can be like a honeymoon. And although I have heard the ministry mentioned from time to time over the years about their appreciation for the people here, [00:02:21] I would just encourage you that if it has been a while since you've given one of them a heartfelt thank you What I was just talking about Encourage them We're praying for you A note of appreciation It is probably one of the most meaningful things you could do for them I'm speaking from experience It means a lot to hear that coming from you We're behind you, we support you And I guess I would just encourage you I know for me that wasn't a habit. That wasn't something I made a habit of doing. [00:02:55] But I would just encourage you, and I can already see there is a lot going on behind the scenes. Tom or Harold come here on Sunday morning and preach a message and that's about all we see. There is a lot going on. And I guess I would just encourage you, be not weary in well-doing, But to really make sure that, not just the new guy, but that they all can, and like I said, this was not anything they said or any impression I got from them, but it was just, it meant a lot to me and I just would encourage you to make sure that they are feeling the same thing. [00:03:34] Okay. Okay. I, um, if I can get to my notes here. I'd like to, uh, this morning, I would like to encourage each one of you to sit back and think Take stock of where you're at with the Lord, but also, what am I doing as part of the congregation? [00:04:16] It's been a while since Gary Troyer was here, but that did a lot of good to me, to actually see what my gifts are, how can I apply the gifts, and what is a good way to plug in at the church. For some this will be just a pep talk, an encouragement. For some a challenge to do better. For some a solution to why I just don't feel a part of the church. [00:04:52] There is a special kind of joy and satisfaction that comes from knowing you are in the Lord's will You are doing your part. You're contributing to his work. Knowing that you're plugged in, I guess. I didn't say anything to Levi. Levi is someone we know. He's messing his fingers. We all know that. [00:05:23] Levi, if you watch him work, gets by without his fingers like nothing. He does a very good job. But I would suppose that if suddenly Levi had those fingers, he would be amazed how much easier it is to get things done with that hand. And I guess the illustration I would like to use is, you may feel like I have a certain gift, whatever it is, and there's already two other guys in church that are doing that, Whatever it is, I'm not really needed. You're wanted. And the more we all help, the easier it is for everyone else. [00:06:04] Is your testimony, I just feel dead. I don't, I guess I want to talk to everyone, but especially if you feel like I could just leave the church and no one would even know it. You know, that kind of thing. If you don't feel like you're plugged in or don't feel like you're a vital part, I would like to think of us as cordless tools. By that I mean like a cordless screw gun, a sawzall, that kind of thing. Something that takes batteries. [00:06:39] We were all different kinds of tools, but we all have a battery. Our battery charger is our time of devotions, our time we spend at church, our time of charging with God as our power source. And I kind of, I was thinking maybe I'd do something on the overhead, but I guess I would like to think of God as being the power plant [00:07:12] and us being a tool with a battery, and we need to get the power from the power plant and into the battery that we have. And I'm going to do the thing you're not supposed to do this morning. I have a whole bunch of verses instead of a passage. So I printed them out, and you don't need to turn to them, I guess, but we're just going to go down through here. God is the power plant. Psalm 62, 11 [00:07:42] God has spoken once, twice have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God. Acts 17, 24-25 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands. Neither is worship with men's hands, as though he needeth anything. Seeing he giveth to all life and breath and all things Romans 11.36 For of him and through him and to him are all things To whom be glory forever [00:08:13] We see God is our power source God gives everything that has life It comes from God But we can do nothing without God God is our power source I would like to see the power lines that come to our house as being the Spirit of God. The Spirit is the method that God uses to get the power from Him to us. Romans 8.26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, [00:08:47] but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 1 Corinthians 2.9-10 But as it is written, I hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them, sometimes we read that verse and say that means that we can't know anything about God, or we maybe know something, but eye has not seen, ear has not heard, you know, there's just so much more than we know, which probably isn't entirely wrong. [00:09:19] But the next verse says, But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. John 14, 26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatever I have said unto you. John 16, 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. For he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, [00:09:52] and He will show you things to come. Okay, we've got the Spirit coming into our lives and revealing things to us. And I'm not saying that God doesn't speak directly to us. But usually God speaks through His Word. We don't seek a new revelation. We can pray and ask God for wisdom in something, but often when we are asking God to show us something, if we were reading the Word and knew what the Word said, We would already have our answer. We can go by what the Bible says, but at the same time, the Bible, we can read the Bible, and it can be just like any other book, if the Spirit isn't working through that book. [00:10:38] We can read it and say, wow, that's just boring, it's just nothing. I don't see how anybody can read more than one passage a day. Okay, I would like to see, we've got the power lines coming in, and the Spirit goes to the, we'll see the Bible later as being the outlet that we plug our charger into. I guess I would see the charger as being, I already said that I believe, about the church, the devotions, our time of learning from God. [00:11:13] But we'll see the power line coming to the outlet, which we would see as the Bible. But between the, in the middle of the spirit coming into the Bible is a switch. We have to activate the switch and we'll see that as being prayer. Prayer. Prayer is what you can read and read and read, and the Spirit is there and it's available, but until we pray and flip the switch, it may not come alive until we pray. [00:11:51] I think prayer is a real important part of it. James 1, 5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him. Matthew 7, 7 And I never really thought about these verses in this way, but I think it applies very well. Matthew 7, 7 Ask, and it shall be given you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened unto you. A lot of times we think of that as simply material things or things we want to get accomplished on earth, but I think that can also mean the things of God. When we read the Bible, if we are asking, it will be given to us. [00:12:32] And then John 16.24, Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name. Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. Are we not? Is that true of any of us? Have we not been asking in God's name? Are we trying to read the Bible and trying to have our devotions and coming to church? And we're doing it all because that's what we do. And not praying that God will reveal Himself to us and show us what He has in His Word for us. [00:13:04] Okay, now we see the Word as being the outlet. This is what our charger plugs into. Psalms 119.9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. Psalms 119, 103-105 How sweet are thy words unto my taste, yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through thy precepts I get understanding, therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. [00:13:39] Proverbs 6, 23 For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life. Then I would like to see us as having a battery and what do we do with that power that's in the battery. 1 Corinthians 10.31 Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. That is our entire thrust in life. [00:14:09] And there's a lot of verses that tell us, you know, seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Jesus went about doing good. We learned that song in Sunday school. Okay. You say, I pray, I read the Bible, I do everything you say, and yet I'm not getting my batteries charged. Something that came to me, an illustration maybe, would be when the wire is wired into the switch, [00:14:49] when the wire is wired into a reset, when the battery is plugged, the charger is plugged in, when the battery is plugged into the charger, every one of those connections has to be a clean connection. If there is corrosion, if there is dirt, if there is anything coming between a clean connection there, the current will not be able to flow through into the battery to charge the battery. [00:15:23] And of course, corrosion would be sin. Psalm 66, 18. It's pretty simple. If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me. It doesn't get much plainer than that. And this is something that is amazing. How many things as I was studying and coming down through, I'd think, boy, Terry said something about that this week. But sin in our life. And the first thing I, well, then the next one is Isaiah 59 too. But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you that He will not hear. [00:16:01] Probably, and I know Terry talked about this this week, but probably the most, the easiest sin to have in your life is bitterness, unforgiveness. That is one that you can so easily hide, you can, I mean if you're, there's some sins, if you're doing them, it's pretty easy for some people to tell you're doing them. Unforgiveness and bitterness And Terry brought it out [00:16:32] It's so clearly taught that you will not get to heaven Your sins will not be forgiven if you have bitterness If you have unforgiveness in your life, in your heart And I think it is, well I know It is very important to do inventory, to think about, is there someone I just cannot forgive, or that I just have a real struggle forgiving? [00:17:08] Probably the easiest way, or maybe I should say the most effective way, to change your feelings about a person, and like Terry said, forgiveness is a choice. You don't just simply forgive and forget like we like to think. You're going to remember it. Someone brings it up, you're going to be able to say, oh yeah, I remember that. But that doesn't mean I have to hold it against them. But the way, a very effective way, to change your feelings about a person is to sincerely pray for them every day. [00:17:45] Every time this thought comes to you, pray for that person. Make them an important person on your prayer list, and it's pretty hard to stay angry at someone while you're praying for them to have victory in their life, to be blessed, whatever your prayer for them would be. Now, I want to look a little bit, okay, now we've got our corrosion cleaned out, we've got our batteries charged, what do we do with them? [00:18:20] So, and here we're coming back again to what I said at the first about doing good things, but also I think the most, and I think it's very important to live your life through the week in a way that people know you are a Christian. But I also think probably the easiest outlet or the most, I don't know if I should say efficient outlet of your gifts, of your talents, of your abilities is through the church. When there's something going on, am I there? [00:18:55] I'll put in a plug. I feel kind of like a hypocrite because I'm not one that's always been, well, I shouldn't even say not always been. I have not been good at making sure I was at church on Wednesday night. If there was anything at all going on, I could do that if I was tired, lazy. Any number of excuses, but I can say sincerely that there is a real blessing on being at church on Wednesday night, plugging in, and that's another, I was trying to think of an illustration, and I couldn't quite make it work, because, or of maybe the church, maybe at home, we have our own devotions, we have our charger, we plug in at home. [00:19:45] and then we come to church and it's like a power strip where everybody plugs into the same source and another illustration I thought of, maybe we could see church as being on some of the battery chargers you'll see they have, and I looked at mine at home, it's an automatic setting, it just does automatically But it's got tune-up mode. Your batteries can charge, but every tenth charge or so you're supposed to push the button that does the tune-up. [00:20:19] And that will make your batteries last longer to make them more efficient. I'm not sure exactly how it works, but maybe that's how church is. You know, we can go on our own, we can have our devotions and we can do whatever, but being at church is a real tune-up. It just gives us a lift and that's another thing. You find out things that are, you know, why didn't I know about this? Well, if you'd have been here at church, you might have heard about it. And I can speak from experience. Things happen and I didn't even know that was happening. Well, it was announced Sunday night and I wasn't here. [00:20:51] I just think the more you attend church, the more faithfully you attend church, the more you will appreciate being at church and being with God's people. Who knows who, let's see, over the age of 35, who knows who Tony Dungy is? Okay, there's a few people. Tony Dungy, I suppose most people under the age of 35 know who he is. [00:21:22] Tony Dungy is a, he was on Focus on the Family for I think three days. He is the coach, actually he just retired, of the Indianapolis Colts. And when he, when, excuse me, this was on the radio, on ESPN. It was nothing to do with a religious show or anything like that. But it struck me when he said, he retired and he said, he decided it was time for him to spend more time with his family and whatever, but he said the reason he enjoyed being the coach of the Indianapolis Colts was the reason he enjoyed it and the reason that they were successful as a team was because when he came to work, [00:22:14] He could tell that every player was giving 100%. He said he never felt like there was two or three guys that were dragging, that weren't doing their, you know, giving their all for him. He felt as a coach, everyone was doing everything they could for that team to be successful. And he said it didn't matter if they were playing, you know, everybody wants to play the game. But they, in practice, I don't know how much you guys know about NFL, I guess I don't know a lot about it [00:22:46] But they play for an hour, well, three hours, whatever, on Sunday afternoon But they spend a tremendous amount of time through the week studying It's about like being in school, really, because they're learning plays And there's, you know, there's 11 guys that all have to know exactly, you know, take three steps, go left one step, and then, you know, they have all these plans and all these plays. And every time that play, the ball is snapped and the players take off, every man has his job. [00:23:24] And if one man takes the wrong route, misses a step, does whatever, that play probably is not going to work. Everyone has to do their part And his, I hesitate to use testimony But his testimony, his appraisal of them Was that every man gave 100% to the cause To winning the game And I guess if they can do all that [00:23:59] Spend all that time studying, do all that To win a football game, how hard are we trying to win the race that we're in? Another part of teamwork is sacrifice. Peyton Manning is the quarterback for the Colts. I remember being at Jayco and hearing it on the radio. We think of sports players, and usually we're right when we think of it. [00:24:33] They make millions of dollars. They're about me. I'm the best. I'm the baddest boy out here. And it's all about me. Peyton, and it's kind of a weak illustration because it's Monopoly money anyways, just about. But he was making, and I don't know the dollars, But in his contract, after so many years and whatever he had accomplished, he was owed, it was, I don't know, like a $7 or $9 million pay raise for the coming year. [00:25:08] Most guys would have said, good, now I've got that much more money. He actually went in and renegotiated his contract because there is a salary cap. And what that means is the team salary can only be so much. So if the best receiver out there is coming up for free agency next year, you can only spend up to your ceiling. So if you have all your money tied up somewhere else, you're not going to be able to afford him. He went in and renegotiated his contract so that he didn't get the raise [00:25:42] so that more money would be available so that they would have more freedom to make the best team possible. I guess that was an example of sacrifice. He wasn't worried about just him. He wanted a championship. He wanted to win the game and accomplish what they were trying to do. Are you giving 100% to winning the race, growing in the Lord, and influencing the people around you for the Lord? Are you able to say I am sacrificing when it's time to do whatever church has a work day church does whatever I'm ready to put my things aside like Terry would say lay down my life and come help and I another challenge Terry really left with me talking to him after church and whatever [00:26:41] It is, he said, we can't just tell people do this. They have to see us doing it and enjoying it. And I can say, again, being here all the time makes a lot of difference. Participating, I guess, is what I should say. Not just for the services, but the responsibility list. When that comes around, it says one to four, you know, or however many it says you can sign up for. [00:27:13] Do you pick the easiest one and write that down because hopefully nobody will make me do it anyways? Or do you do what you can? You know, try to be a team player, I guess. Like I said, I would like to. And I don't want to be all down on everything. I do appreciate the way everyone is signing up, doing what they are. I guess I would just like, well, like I said to start with, this probably hits you where you're at. If it encourages you, it's because you're doing a good job. [00:27:44] If it sounds like I'm saying you're not doing a good job, maybe you're not. I don't know. I'm not speaking to any individual person. I just want you to sit back and think about where, and I've said this before, But if everyone in church tried exactly as hard as you, how far would we, you know, how, what kind of church would we have? And just like always, I need to talk to myself as much as anyone. [00:28:18] Another illustration. If a part of the body, has anyone ever had their leg fall asleep, their arm fall asleep? The other morning I woke up, I set my alarm for about the middle of the night, about the time some of you guys get up I suppose, to put wood in the stove. Well when I woke up, my arm, I had somehow been laying on it or something, but it just was nothing there. [00:28:48] It just was the weirdest feeling. I guess my illustration would be, if a part of the body remains inactive long enough, or loses blood, or in this illustration would be the battery charge, it goes to sleep. It becomes useless. If enough parts of the body are inactive, you've been out working all day, you come in, sit down in the recliner and read the newspaper, All of your body parts are inactive, basically. You fall asleep. And if enough parts of the body are inactive, or I should say the more parts of the body that are inactive, the sleepier the church might be. [00:29:32] A battery, I guess I would like to leave you with this challenge. You can take a battery and you can fully charge that battery. And I can say this from experience too. I've got, I had a cordless set of batteries, cordless screw gun, saws, all that kind of thing. And I got a newer one, a lot more powerful one. The other one sits in my garage. I can fully charge those batteries and set it on the shelf and a month later I'm just doing something in the house. I don't need to go out to my truck to get my goods set. I just pull that one out. The batteries are dead. [00:30:18] I guess my illustration is, when your battery gets charged, it's going to go dead either way. I mean, I shouldn't say dead. It's going to get run down. Whether you're using that energy to be productive or whether you're using that energy on yourself, Self, you might as well use the energy you're getting to be productive, to be whatever. [00:30:50] And there again, all these tools, I guess one thing I thought about was that we're all flashlights. We all should be shining where we're at. But all these tools have a different function. We don't need to look at someone else and say, he's doing that, so I can't do that, and I guess I'm just not needed here. There's a lot of illustrations you can think of. A mechanic will pull open the drawer and he might have a dozen screwdrivers. They're all a little bit different shape, a little bit different size, and yet each one is important to him. [00:31:23] Depending on what he's doing, each one has its place. And not everyone's a screwdriver. There's open-end wrenches, there's pliers, there's all kinds of things. Everyone's important. Everyone has its place. I guess I would just challenge you to think about it. What are you draining your batteries with? Are you putting your effort into serving the Lord, the power that God has given you? [00:31:57] Or are you sitting on the shelf and letting your batteries run dead like that? Thank you. I would just covet your prayers, keep praying for us as a family, and I would just encourage you to keep on keeping on. I do feel like we work together well as a congregation. I would just encourage you in that. [00:32:29] Let's stand for prayer. Lord, I thank you for this day. I thank you, Lord, that we can be together like this and worship in your house. I pray, Lord, that you would help us all to be effective, willing tools for you, that you would help us to just be able to see anything in our lives that would be preventing us from having a clear connection to you. I pray, Lord, that you would just go with us this week, [00:33:01] Help us to be effective where we're at, to shine for you. Be with each one here this morning and bless them. Thank you, Lord. We ask you to be with us and keep us. In Jesus' name, Amen.