PART II: Why We Act Like This 

Posted on April 19, 2024 by growintheword

 

Synopsis of Sermon 04.14.24

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Luke 19: 37-40 KJV
37 And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; 38 Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. 39 And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. 40 And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

  1. INTRODUCTION
  2. First, we must explain to you that today’s sermon is an Apology Sermon. It is not so much apologizing for something that was done wrong, but rather explain why we as believers, do some of the things that we do.
  3. There is something different about children of God. It is not by accident that you see demonstrative acts of praise. When you see people praise God the way they do, you think something may be wrong with you.
  4. When you experience the goodness of God, it initiates acts of praise. The way people act is often under scrutiny by They don’t know all that God has done in your life. When you know what you know, it just shows up!
  5. Our praise is not an emotional residue. It is reflective based on what God has done in our lives. We praise God in a way that makes others think we have lost our mind! There is a reason we act like we act.
  6. Today’s lesson takes place in Jericho. There were many things occurring there. There was a lot of wheeling and dealing going on, especially among Tax Collectors.
  7. The citizens were under Roman rule. When Tax Collectors showed up to collect taxes, they would often take more than they were supposed to. They kept a little something for themselves. In essence, they were actually robbing people.
  8. As a result, the people hated the Tax Collectors. Jesus actually engages Zacchaeus, the Chief Tax Collector, when culture says that He shouldn’t. Culture says that we as believers, were not supposed to keep company with sinners.
  9. As a result with Jesus’ meeting with Zacchaeus, he later repents, and Jesus let him know that there was a place for him at the table and in the Kingdom of God.
  10. When Jesus first came to town, the crowd was shouting Hosanna! Hosanna means, “Lord save, we pray”. When Jesus comes into town the Pharisees are upset. They were angry because the people said He was King and that he claimed to be the son of God. Also, on top of all of this, they had to put up with this extra noise, with them all shouting!
  11. The Pharisees asked Jesus to tell his disciples to shut up. Jesus tells the Pharisees that if they would shut up, the very rocks would cry out.
  12. There is a reason we praise God.

 

  1. WE REMEMBER WHAT HE HAS DONE
  • When you mature, you see God working in everything, both good and bad. God doesn’t always give us just the things that make us feel good.
  • You have to give God glory both when He says “no” and when he says “yes”.
  • Why are we praising God?

 

  1. He Made Ways
  2. There were blockages and barriers in their way, but the crowd says that they have seen God make ways out of no way. They were witnesses to his many miracles.
    1. When you have seen God make ways out of no way, its hard to keep you praise to yourself.

 

  1. Give Him Glory For What He Is Going To Do
  2. It’s one thing to praise Him for what he’s done but praising Him on what He is going to do next, is a whole other thing. We don’t have to wait until he does a thing, to give Him praise!

C.   Phases of Praise:

  1. There are 3 phases of Praise.
    1. Process Praise – I learn to praise God in the thing, not after I come out!
    2. Post Praise – You come out of a thing and have the sense to know who brought you through it!
    3. Prophetic Praise – On faith, you praise God on what you know that He can do. You know the battle is already won!

III.               THE RESPONSE OF HIS DISCIPLES

  • The Pharisees said tell the disciples to be quiet.

A.    Disciples Know Who He Is

  1. Being a Disciple is different than being a Member.
  2. 5 characteristics of a disciple
  3. They are Followers of Jesus no matter what– Matthew 15:24 KJV says 24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
  4. They Love God and others– Matthew 22:37 KJV says 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
  5. They Bear fruit – John 15:5 NKJV 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.
  6. They Obey Jesus’ teaching. –John 14:21 NKJV says 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and [a]manifest Myself to him.”
  7. They are Disciples that make disciples– Matthew 28:19-20 NKJV 19 Go [a]therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [b]Amen.
  8. People identify you, because you act like you know who God is! When things don’t work out the way you plan for them to, you will still say he is Jehovah Jireh, my provider!

B.    We’ve Seen Too Much To Be Silent

  1. When you come into relationship with God:
  2. Teaching– I start getting information.
  3. Testimony – God will not let you be privy to what he teaches you, without testing you on it.
  4. Truth– This is where revelation happens. Now I understand why God had me go through what I went through. God was trying to show me the truth about me and the people around me, and it showed me who He was!
  5. I’ve seen some things – You can’t see what you see and be silent about it!

IV.               THERE IS A REMNANT THAT’S DEFIANT

  • There is always a remnant of people that are silent or noisy on purpose.

A.    Our Noise Is A Nuisance To Some

  1. Praise can be disruptive. Some people think you praise God too much.
  2. Noise is the language of the If noise is the language, then it has to be directed. It’s not like nouns and verbs. It is a conglomeration of expression. You can’t quantify it. When you say how good God has been, you can’t find the words to articulate it.
  3. Liberated is to be separated from something. David said I waited patiently on the Lord… he put a new song in my mouth. God gave him a sound that didn’t make sense to other people.

B.    Religion Tries To Censor Your Praise

  1. The disciples represent relationship. The Pharisees represent religion.
  2. Pharisees had a certain way of responding to God. By this new way didn’t make sense to them.
  3. The silk-stocking church. The silk-stocking church was a dignified church. They were the type that didn’t want the stranger on the street to come in. They didn’t want you to make too much noise during the worship experience.
    1. When people became more educated, they thought you had to act a certain way, hence “act like you got some sense”. They felt like the services should be dignified and not noisy.
    2. Generation X disrupted the silk-stocking church. We got degrees and came in praising God. We made God a promise in the financial aid line that if he would see us through, we would praise Him wherever we would go!

V.               THE ROCKS WILL IF YOU DON’T

A.    Everything He Created Gives Him Praise

  1. Look at the birds. It doesn’t matter what happens, the birds still sing. Yet, we as Gods’ finest creation just sits back all reserved as if God hasn’t done anything for us.
  2. We are a Royal priesthood, a chosen generation. You were created to give God glory, no matter how bad your situation is! Let every that has breath praise the Lord!

B.    Don’t Let A Rock Cry Out For You 

  1. We refuse to let someone mute our praise!
  2. We have 5 reasons to praise Him:
  3. The Lords been good to us!
  4. The Lords been good to us!
  5. The Lords been good to us!
  6. The Lords been good to us!
  7. The Lords been good to us!
  8. We have a church full of people that were delivered from Breast Cancer, had Kidney Transplants, sustained after a loss of employment, and many other things. They bear witness of God’s goodness and his ability to make a way out of no way. There is no way to hold back this type of Praise! God has been too good to us and this would be why we act like we act!

 

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Part I: They Are Hating. But I’m Here 

Posted on April 12, 2024 by growintheword

Synopsis of Sermon 04.07.24

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

John 12: 9-11 NKJV
9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus’ sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, 11 because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.

    I.          INTRODUCTION

  1. You will discover that everyone is not excited about what you are doing in your life. It can be disheartening for some people.
  2. Some people have seen you bounce back from attacks, and we have learned that where there are celebrators, there are also haters. Some people don’t want to see you survive. They feel in some way that your presence minimizes who they are. This is a true form of a hater.
  3. There is a biblical backdrop for haters. One of the first haters is found in 1 Samuel 18:6-9 NIV where it says, 6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. 7 As they danced, they sang: “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands.” 8 Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” 9 And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David. – Here we discover Saul was a hater towards David. He was angry about the song proclaiming his 1000 vs David’s 10,000. Some people don’t mind you being blessed as long as they control the blessing.
  4. Understand, haters will do what they do. The question is what are you going to do? Realize that it is not about you. You can’t own the emotional intelligence of others. You have to come to a place where no matter the plots, nothing is going to prevent God’s purposes from coming to past in your life.
    1. Keep on living, keep on loving, keep on doing what God has called you do. Do like Celie did in the movie “Color Purple” and say, “I may be all of this and all of that, but thank God I’m here”.
  5. John’s gospel is not part of the synoptic gospels. John approaches his gospel by focusing on the Divinity of Jesus. He starts out by saying, “In the beginning was the word and the word was with God, and the word was God. John links the name of God. God’s name was not Jehovah Jireh. This was just an expressive name of who God is. God reveals his name as “I am”. He reminds us that He is who He says He was.
  6. When you read John’s gospel you see where Jesus turned the water into wine, along with other miracles. One of Jesus’ most memorable miracles was when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead.
    1. They summoned Jesus saying Lazarus was sick, but Jesus delayed his arrival purposefully. When Jesus finally arrived, Lazarus had died. Mary and Martha were angry about this, explaining to Jesus that if He had been there, their brother Lazarus wouldn’t have died.
    1. Jesus asked them to show Him where they laid Lazarus. Mary and Martha tried to assure Jesus that it was too late.
    1. Jesus calls Lazarus’ name and he comes out of the tomb with his burial clothes still on!
  7. John’s gospel shows the religious leaders have a problem with Jesus. When they are against Jesus, they were trying to kill him.
  8. The religious leaders didn’t just come for Jesus, they came for Lazarus also. They knew they could kill Jesus, but they also knew that if they left Lazarus alive, the Jews were going to believe that Jesus was who He said He was. In other words, Lazarus was evidence. Many attacks you receive is because you are evidence of what God can do!

   II.               IT IS NO SECRET YOU’VE BEEN RESURRECTED

  • Everyone knew Lazarus was raised from the dead. Recognize that you are evidence!

A.    There was a season they buried you and thought it was over.

  1. How did Lazarus end up in the tomb?
    1. Through Sickness – Regardless of his sickness, he was a friend of Jesus. Jesus calls us friend, regardless of our sickness.
    1. God’s sovereignty – God will allow things to get worse on purpose, so when he moves, nothing will get the glory but Him.  
    1. Grace that’s saved – When the devil said it was over, God said not so.

B.    God made sure your comeback was public.

  1. The funeral crowd will always be bigger than your crowd was when you were alive. The ones that buried you will be surprised. Jesus will turn the Pall Barriers in Armor Barriers.
  2. If you bury me in public, you have to be present at my resurrection publicly.

III.               SOME PEOPLE WILL SHOW UP TO SEE IF IT’S REAL

  • Religious Leaders came to see Jesus, but they also came to see Lazarus.

A.    You’ve got celebrators as well as spectators.

  1. Sometimes you just got to celebrate the people that are authentically there for you.
  2. Spectators are the ones that will not comment or clap. They’re just hanging around spectating.

B.    Your haters want to verify your miracle because it doesn’t make sense.

  1. Miracles are beyond logic. It doesn’t make sense. It’s when you look at something and realize that God has already performed miracles in your life the whole time.
  2. Your life doesn’t make sense, because it is beyond human comprehension. Many don’t know that they are sitting next to a miracle right now!

IV.               THE ENEMY IS SCARED OF WHAT YOU REPRESENT

  • Lazarus’ presence is intimidating. The enemy is afraid, because just you showing up destroys what they said about you and God.

A.    You represent the power of God.

  1. We represent the power of God. Every time someone sees you, they can’t deny the power of God.

B.    You represent what’s possible.

  1. They wanted to stop Lazarus, to keep people from believing in Jesus. It is possible to have a breakdown and still end up with a breakthrough. God uses you to show us that anything is possible.

  V.               KEEP SHOWING UP REGARDLESS

  • Lazarus is not bothered by the presence of the chief priest. There comes a moment where you show up and just don’t care what people say!
  • When you look at people and see them being emotional about what they are going through, talk to them about some of the stuff you’ve had to endure. They tried to get Lazarus to be quiet about his miracle. They did not want him to be a witness for Jesus’ miracles.

A.     When you show up, show up with Jesus.

  1. You might think I’m by myself, but I’m not by myself.
  2. I’ve got:
    1. His presence – God is always with me.
    1. His protection – I’m surrounded by his protection.
    1. His promise – God won’t bring you back from dead, just to let haters kill you again.

B.    After all I’ve been through, I’m still here.

  1. I give God glory that I was buried, and now I’m back. My breath is a privilege. They’re hating, but I’m still here!
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Part IV: Even Me 

Posted on March 29, 2024 by growintheword

 

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Synopsis of Sermon 03/24/24

Luke 23:39-43 NKJV
39 Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” 
40 But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42 Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” 
43And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

I.          INTRODUCTION

  • When you think about the death of God, it is beyond explanation. It gives us the best revelation on how love should be given. God was willing to break the rules to bring us into relationship with Him. He looked at our hearts and defined us by our hearts instead of by our
  • Jesus would bless the young, heal the sick, bless those that were without, and many other things. We are in awe with how God would love someone like us.
  • If you have a desire to be in relationship with God, He is willing and able to give it to you.
  • In the scripture today, we have a guy on the cross who cries out, asking that God would remember him when He entered His Kingdom. Even me, we have a chance at redemption and the Promise of God, no matter what we have done in our past.
  • This is Palm Sunday commemorating Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. This sparks the beginning of Holy Week. Luke gives us perspective on the crucifixion. He emphasizes Jesus’ forgiveness during the crucifixion.
  • Pilot questions Jesus and finds no fault in him. Herod questions him too, hoping Jesus would perform a miracle, like the people had been talking about. Since He didn’t, Herod sent them back to Pilot. Pilot ends up eventually handing Jesus over to the crowd to be crucified.
  • Jesus is crucified beside two criminals. Nothing happens by accident. Some people say there was good thief and a bad thief meaning the bad thief was the one that had no remorse. Luke calls them both Robbers.
  • One of the Robbers pleaded with the Lord to be remembered when he entered His kingdom. The other one asked to Lord to get them down from the cross, if He was truly who He said He was.

II.          PROBLEM OF A SELFISH PETITION 

  • The thief that mocks Jesus, misses his chance at His conversation is based on self-centeredness. He asks Jesus to do something about getting them off the cross.

A.  Pride Blinds You of God’s Plan

  1. Pride can lead to arrogance, self-centeredness, and boastfulness. Pride goes before destruction. Pride is what got Lucifer kicked out of Heaven.
  2. This guy on the cross could not let go of his pride, even while on the cross waiting to be crucified.
  3. There are a lot of people that have missed opportunities, because they let pride get in the way.
  4. Issues with the thief and his pride:
    1. He is unrepentant. He wasn’t even remorseful for what he had done.
    2. He is uninformed. He doesn’t understand the purpose of Jesus and he really doesn’t know who He is.
    3. He is ungrateful. How can you be that close to Jesus and don’t even thank him for who he is. You’ve got to be grateful!

B.  God Does Not Respond When We Don’t Take Responsibility

  1. Jesus never responds to the prideful thief. The Bible says, in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. The Word (Jesus) doesn’t respond to him, because he doesn’t use the word in his request.
    1. When you talk to God, respond with his word. Call His word back to himself. His word does not come back to Him void.
      1. Example: “Father, you said you would provide all my needs” or “You said, no weapon formed against me shall prosper” or “You said, They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength” or “You said, you will make a table for me in the presence of my enemy”. When you call God’s word back to him, that’s when miracles happen!
    2. God might not be talking to you, because you’re not talking to him right!

III.          POWER OF SPIRITUAL PERSPECTIVE

  • You have to understand the first thief didn’t fear God. The second thief asked the first thief if he knew who Jesus was?

A.  Before You Ask, Acknowledge Who He Is

  1. It is insulting when people ask you for something, without acknowledging you first.
  2. The 2nd thief is showing us something. He acknowledged that they deserved the punishment they were receiving. If you want God to do something, you have to acknowledge that you are guilty.
    1. Because I recognize I’m guilty, I recognize that God is great! Acknowledge who God is. Acknowledge his glory! Whether he does what we want or not, he is still great.
  3. When we pray, we need his grace. God is our Master, our savior, our healer, our way out of no way, and our deliverer. When I acknowledge who he is, I realize what he is able to do

B.  He Is in It with You

  1. Nothing happens by accident. Everything that happens is on purpose!
  2. Guess who is in the middle? It is Jesus. Just like the two thieves on the cross, no matter what we go through, Jesus is in the middle of it with us. He walks with me and talks with me and tells me that I am his own!

 

IV.          PERSONAL AND SINCERE PRAYER

  • The 2nd thief realizes who Jesus is. He demonstrates humility. He owns to Jesus, about what he has done.
  • The 2nd thief recognizes that he deserves what he is getting (being crucified). If you don’t own it, you can’t be delivered from it.
  • Because the second thief realizes who Jesus’ really is, he asks Jesus to remember him, when He went into his kingdom.
  • You have to declare that you want more!

A.  The Prayer of Faith Declares I Have a Future

  1. Every king has a Kingdom. Jesus turns a situation that looks like a period, into a comma. If I am being crucified with Jesus, it is a comma, not a period, meaning that there is more to come.
  2. When we say remember me when you come into the kingdom, then we realize that there is something greater on the other side. Know that you will always outlive what is trying to outlive you.

B.  Doesn’t Matter Who Forgets Me, As Long as He Remembers Me

  1. We are through whining over who left us. Our savior remembers us!

V.          PRAISE THE SAVIOR’S PROMISE

  • When you get a promise from God, you have to give him glory. When God makes a promise, you can take it to the bank.

A.  Relationship Is Greater Than the Rules of Religion 

  1. The second thief asks Jesus to remember him. This man now has a relationship with Jesus. He hasn’t been baptized and he haan’t gone to any bible studies or anything. However, he has a relationship with Jesus Christ.
    1. Don’t allow your rules to prevent people from being in relationship with God.
    2. If you remember back in the old days, they would ask if they could get a motion to accept you into the church as a member. Then that motion had to be seconded and then a vote would be done. When you are born, you were born regardless. Nobody had to make a motion or vote whether you could be born or not. When you are in a relationship with God, you have it whether there is a motion or not.

B.  God Will Give You A “Today” Testimony

  1. Everything that happens in life is by divine providence. The thieves on both sides of Jesus shows that God is in the middle, standing with us in everything we go through.
  2. One thief represents pride and the other represents acknowledgement.

C. This day will be different.

  1. God has you here this day on purpose. God wouldn’t give you this word if things weren’t going to be different. God is changing things to bring his will into your life.
  2. You got something this day to give God glory for!

D. He will disrupt how you were defined.

  1. The Bible identifies the two individuals as thieves. The culture associates them as thieves, because of what they have done in the past. Some people look at what you have done in the past and as a result, they treat you in a certain way. People have a different perception of you, because of your name or what you have been called.
    1. Jesus says you are not what they’ve called you. You are what Jesus called you. This is why Jesus said to the thief, “This day you will be with me in paradise”.
  2. Be intentional about speaking to people that other people have shun. That same Jesus that loves you, loves them too!

 

E.  He determines my destiny.

  1. They are in a punitive situation. Religion has put Jesus on the cross. High priest had crucified him in the name of religion.
    1. People love to see you fall. People will email you a crucifixion.
    2. Actually, crucifixion was a rare thing in Rome, but the Religious leaders wanted Jesus to be killed.
  2. Jesus granted entry to paradise, to a man that everyone thought was going to hell.
  3. The thief died. Jesus then says, “it is finished” and the bible says afterwards, He gave up the ghost. This means Jesus gave his life up, they didn’t take it. Jesus could have stopped the crucifixion at any time if he wanted to, but he chose to finish His assignment.
  4. When the thief died, he was no longer present with people. He was in the company of the Lord. When you die from people, know that you will present to the Lord!

 

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Part III: Don’t Let the Bull Block Your Blessings 

Posted on March 22, 2024 by growintheword

 

Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III

Synopsis of 3.17.24 Sermon

Exodus 32:1-14 NKJV
Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 
2 And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. 4 And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. 
Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!” 
5 So when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow is a feast to the LORD.” 6 Then they rose early on the next day, offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 
7 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’ ” 9 And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! 10 Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them. And I will make of you a great nation.” 
11 Then Moses pleaded with the LORD his God, and said: “LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? 12 Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. 13 Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’ ” 14 So the LORD relented from the harm which He said He would do to His people.

 

I.          INTRODUCTION 

  1. One of the most important things to a believer is the power of relationship. A relationship with God is a give and take relationship. By that we mean, God pours in and we pour out and likewise, we pour in and God pours out. The relationship is reciprocal.
    1. For example, as a result of the Children of Israel following God, he called them His chosen people. God delivered them from bondage and brought them out of Egypt.
  2. It is important to know that God claims us. There are many however that do not claim Him. For example, many people wonder if we really go to church, because of how we act outside of the church.
    1. The relationship we portray in the church ought to be the same in public. We can’t act like we are not in relationship with God, when we get around other people.
  3. God is referred to as the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob. The older people of this time often said this to show the consistency of God throughout the generations.
  4. There are things that can get between us and the blessings of God. The Children of Israel allowed a golden calf to make them loose focus from God.
  5. A calf may be cute when it starts out, but at the end of the day, it is still a bull. This is the moment you have to renew your commitment to God and not let the bull hinder you from what God called you to do.
  6. The children of Israel came out of Israel. They were liberated from Egyptian bondage. They began to rejoice and give God glory after they were freed.
  7. They saw God get them through the Red Sea. They sang the song of Moses when they got on the other side.
  8. Moses goes up the mountain to get instructions from God. They wanted laws to govern them in the ways of God (later we find out that these lawns would be called. the 10 Commandments). While Moses was up there, it took too long for some of the people. They thought Moses wasn’t coming back, so they wanted a new God. They got impatient.
  9. Aaron told them to give him their gold and he melted it and created a bull or a golden calf. The idol worship of bulls was common in Egypt. Now the Children of Israel’s focus is on the bull, instead of on God.
  10. God was angered by this. As a result, God told Moses that he was going to destroy them. Moses asked God to spare them and give them another chance.
  11. When you come out of Egypt, there will be a lot of things that try to get your attention. This is the last day the bull is going to block your blessing!

 

II.          REALITY OF IMPATIENT PEOPLE

  • Some people get anxious when God doesn’t move when they think He ought to move. We insert our own agenda in the process when we should be waiting on God.

A.  God Does Not Move on Our Time Frame 

  1. God is not in time. He is in eternity. God doesn’t operate in our time.
  2. God will step out of eternity and work things out in the future for you. God can step in and out of time.
  3. You’re not waiting on God; He is waiting on you.
  4. Things to know about God’s time:
  5. Don’t whine and worry. Know that God has everything under control.
  6. He’s working while you’re waiting. God is at work concerning your situation.
  7. The wait will be worth it. God may move similar to cooking something in a crockpot. Anything cooked slow is always better than something that was just microwaved. There is a little something different about the crockpot compared to the microwave.

B.  Getting Ahead of God Always Leads to Poor Decisions 

  1. When we get ahead of God, we are led by our emotions. This gets us into trouble. You have to wait with patience.
    1. Example: Instead of waiting on God, we hook up with last chance Johnny or Last chance Sally and then we wonder why things don’t turn out good.
    2. If you think about it, all the headache and heartache in our lives was usually because we didn’t wait on God.

III.          RESORTING TO IDOLATRY IS A PROBLEM 

  • They took the gold and repurposed it. They had gold. When they left Egypt, they brought the gold. God won’t let you leave empty-handed.
  • They took the gold that God intended for them to use for the kingdom and repurposed it for bull. It was supposed to be a blessing for them, but they sacrificed it for the bull.

A.   Idols Attempt to Fill a Gap Only God Can Fill 

  1. God says thou shalt not have any gods before me. As God was giving this out to Moses, Aaron and the Children of Israel were yet making an idol. Don’t let anything take priority over God himself!
  2. When you have an idol, you are saying God is no longer enough. When you don’t know what you have in God, you will use some bull to fill it. This might be a job, a relationship, money, socializing, and etc…
  3. Whatever you need, God’s got it!

B.  When Our Priorities Shift We Start Playing

  1. While they were down there with the bull, they were playing. Moses is up on the mountain praying and they were at the foot of the mountain playing. Imagine, the Leader was up on the mountain getting instructions for their future, and they were down at the foot of the mountain having a party!
  2. When you start playing too much, it indicates you have shifted from your commitment from God. You have gotten caught up in the bull. What we need now are people who are serious about the things of God.
    1. The Bible says, “When I was a child, I thought as a child, but when I grew up, I put away childish things!”

IV.          RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION IS PROVOKED

A.  Ingratitude Angers God 

  1. You can get over someone saying something crazy to you, but when someone looks at you as you haven’t done anything for them, this angers you. This is called
  2. When you think about all that God has given us, and we decide to give more allegiance to a bull than Him, how do you think this makes God feel?
  3. When you have shifted your allegiance:
    1. Your priorities will be out of wack. Your priorities will be where your possessions
    2. You passion has shifted – How is that you can come out of what God brought you out of and then you be tired when it comes to the things of God? When it comes to worldly things, we can stay up all night, but when it comes to the things of God, we get tired.

 

B.  Wickedness Provokes God’s Wrath

  1. Wickedness provoked God to the point where he wanted to destroy the Children of Israel. God is merciful, but there are things He doesn’t tolerate.
  2. Iniquity is the bending towards something. It is likely something that you shouldn’t do, but you desire it anyway.
  3. Iniquity will create trespass. My iniquity has grown so strong, it builds curiosity, and together they make you want to trespass.
  4. Miss the Mark. This is trespassing causing you to miss the mark. This is sin! When you have iniquity, trespassing, and sin, and you begin to like and be comfortable with sin. This causes you to fall into
  5. Wickedness– This is when you justify what’s in God’s law in order to make provisions for your sin. When you are in wickedness, this brings God’s wrath against you!
  6. Thank God for Mosses! He was negotiating on the behalf of the Children of Israel.
  7. God is angered by some of the things we are doing. God will deliver us out of something, just for us to go right back and get caught up in it again. God will provide us with something we need, and we will go right back and lose it again.

V.          REJOICE FOR WHAT INTERCESSION PREVENTED 

  • Thank God for the intercessions. Intercessions matter. Moses is standing in the gap of God’s people.
  • Intercession is an advocate that speaks on behalf of those that have been oppressed. They stand in the gap and act as a conduit for grace and mercy.
  • Sometimes our grandparents acted as intercessors for us, when we were in the streets.

A.  God Hears the Plea of His Leaders

  1. Moses was their leader. God spoke to Moses, for the Bible says, “and the Lord said to Moses…”
  2. The Lord speaks to your leader to get the Word you need to you. Moses spoke to the people on behalf of God.
  3. Moses pleaded with God, so that He wouldn’t kill the Children of Israel for what they had done. God was angered so much, He told Moses that he would start over and make Moses name great!
  4. Moses still prayed for the people, despite what they had done. There is no telling how many things you were delivered from, because of your leader and their prayers on your behalf. God changed his mind and spared them, because of the intercessions of Moses. Remember, somebody prayed for you!

B.  It Could Have Gone Another Way

  1. If you need something to thank God for, know that it could have gone another way!
  2. They were at Mount Sinai. If they messed up this mountain moment, they would mess up their post mountain blessings.
  3. This is your defining moment. Either you’re going for the blessing or you’re going for the bull.
  4. 4 ways to unlock blessings:
    1. Release the bull – Let it go! It is holding up your blessing.
    2. Return to how it all began – Get back to what first got you out. Get back to where no one had to beg you to come to church. Go back to your first love!
    3. Restore the benefits – No good thing will God withhold from them that walk upright.
    4. Rejoice in the blessing – Know that God will always be there.
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