WHAT VACATION TAUGHT ME. BY CRAIG EIDSON
Genesis 1:1-2:3
1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.
6 And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water." 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. And it was so. 8 God called the expanse "sky." And there was evening, and there was morning--the second day.
9 And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. 10 God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good. 11 Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. 12 The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening, and there was morning--the third day.
14 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 16 God made two great lights--the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, 18 to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening, and there was morning--the fourth day.
20 And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky." 21 So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." 23 And there was evening, and there was morning--the fifth day.
24 And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. 25 God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. 26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." 29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground--everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so. 31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day.
Genesis 2
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done (NIV)
This past week my family and I went on vacation, first going to Brenam Texas to marry off Josh and Kari, then back to Dallas and flying out from their to Ft. Walton Beach Florida. THANK GOD MY MOTHER-IN-LAW RETIRED FROM AMERICAN AIRLINES.
I want thank all of you for helping me out while we were away. I especially want to thank Paul and Laura for opening the church for us. Randy and Dovey for closing things up and directing worship, Sam and Lisa for emailing the needed prayer request and needs, and Chester for running the service. Thank you all.
Well while we were on vacation I learned a lot about myself. Much of it I didn’t like. I realized that vacation is hard work. And that vacation can even add stress to your life. Let’s face it. If your going to be gone a week that means you have to get two weeks worth of work done before you leave and you will not get it all done. So, you leave already a little wiped out. Not only that be there is always the unexpected glitches, that carry you to the verge of a breakdown. The week before we left we had two car breakdowns, but that’s just sometimes the way life can be.
The word vacation is not in the Bible, but I do find many occasions where God rested and also where He wanted his people to rest. First he wanted us to learn to worship and rest on the Sabbath. Everyone needs a Sabbath day in their week, a day where they do not work and toil in labor, but spend time recharging their batteries and enjoying time off. Even God had one day a week to take time away from His work.
Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matt 11:28-30)
Matt 11:29-30 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (NIV)
So it is fair to say that God wants his people to take time out to rest. Not all the time, but when you need it.
And so while I was on vacation this week I got some rest and got to relax a little bit and ate a whole lot. But I also knew I needed a message for today, so from time to time found myself praying about what God would have me share with you this morning.
Here is what I got, and if your listening closely you can hear what God was telling me most of the week.
The first thing that God told me about trips and vacations is this…
TAKE A MAP:
Before we left to go to Brenam Texas I went to mapquest to get a map and I even printed one and then did the one thing that will drive you crazy or a town near their. I forgot it at home. Luckily we stopped at my in-laws and borrowed theirs.
Direction is one of the things that we most lack in our lives and yet we want it so bad. Good directions get you to the right places at the right time. Bad directions take you to places you wish you never would be and you are always going to be late.
Spiritually speaking, directions come from God and they come from his word. They come from His people, pastors, mentors, moms, dads and grandparents. All of these give us directions.
But even if you have a good map occasionally you get road signs that you don’t know what to do with. We were in some small town in south Texas and suddenly we were lost. We knew we took the right turns and really the only turns you could take, but their was no road sign to confirm to us that we were still on the right highway, so we turned around, looking clearer directions. Asking people “where do we go?”
After a little bit we discovered that if we would have just went down the highway a little more, we could have seen the sign telling us we were going the right way.
Folks this is what I am trying to tell you. You are following God, you are reading His map, His word. Along the way, you encounter road signs and you will have to learn to deceiver whether those roads signs of distraction and detour that the enemy puts their, or if they are road signs of caution that God has put in your way. You will encounter things that won’t make since. Not long ago Michelle visited her mother in Dallas and she got lost, she got confused, it was raining. The Highway sign said she was going north, but she was going the wrong way to get back home. So all the signs you see cannot always be trusted. They have to measure up to the map.
Some road signs will define Gods vision for your life.
Have you ever been in that place that you have followed the map to the “T” but all of the sudden you get the since that you are lost, because you haven’t seen a reference sign in a while. When it seems like that, you have to keep trusting in what you read and deciphered on the road map.
You might get the since that you need to quit traveling with God, but don’t. You might get the sign that says, “Dead End” but often times its is only the enemy trying to get us to quit.
You might get a road sign that says, “Bump in the Road” keep traveling and trusting the map. You might get a sign that says, “Construction Ahead” don’t get scared because God is going to construct something new in your life.
You might get a sign that says, “Detour” because sometimes God has a change of plan for your life.
You might get a sign that says “Promise Land 50 Miles and turns out to be more like 100. My suggestion for us this morning is this…FOLLOW GOD AND HIS WORD, NO MATTER WHAT SIGNS YOU MAY SEE AND YOU WILL NEVER GET LOST.”
Paul gave us this word of encouragement …1 Cor 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
Don’t stop following Christ and don’t forget to take your map and use it.
If we would have just kept traveling a little further we would have seen the sign was just further up the road.
CHECK THE MAINTENCE OF YOUR VEHICLE, PLANE OR DONKEY OR OTHER FORMS OF TRANSPORTATION BEFORE YOU LEAVE.
My dad use to have his private pilots license years ago and before we ever went up there was an extensive maintenance log that had to be kept on that aircraft of all the work that had ever been done on it with dates and locations and a mechanics word as to what was done.
Not only that but before we got in the plane, my dad would do a required pre-flight check of everything on the plane from tip to tip, checking fuel for water in it, wings picot tubes, tires, etc. See, if a plane breaks down in mid flight you don’t just pull over to the curb and flag down help. No you say prayers and prepare for a hard landing.
I am convinced that if we did that with our cars we would rarely breakdown.
There is something that can ruin a trip real fast and that is if you have a breakdown. This week as we traveled we saw a few people on the side of the road in very hot temperatures with their cars that gave up the ghost.
Someone told me once that cars are made in Detroit and the makers of those cars in Detroit never really take into consideration the heat of Oklahoma and other southern states.
Mechanics love the summer months, because that’s when the heat tears up many components of a cars engine, cooling systems and transmissions.
Heat hard mileage kills cars. Heat and hard mileage also kills Christians, because in the heat of battle and situations that are pressing against you many will quit and stop serving God with any vigor. I have seen many Christians pulled over on the shoulder of life’s highway with the sign on the front windshield that says, “Help, call Police” or just sitting on the curb waiting for help.
In the heat breakdowns of the spiritual type occur, so you had better be sure to maintain your heart. Maintain your love and passion for your savior Jesus Christ.
Make sure your spending quality time with Him. Make sure you are taking care of what needs to be taken care of.
Ignoring the odd sounds and gauges on your dashboard doesn’t make the problems go away. I told Heather not long ago, those gauges on your dashboard mean something, and if you don’t pay attention to them, it can cost a lot of money and your transportation.
Fatigue is a dashboard gauge that tells you that you need to take care of your body and you need to keep an eye on it.
Anger is a dashboard gauge telling you that peace needs to make a visit in your life and you need to keep an eye on it.
Slothfulness is a dashboard gauge telling you that you need to engage yourself with the Holy Spirit, the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead and will quicken your mortal body.
Indifference is a dashboard gauge that tells you that you need a check up from the neck up, and don’t ignore it, or it will cost you big time.
When is the last time you looked under the hood? When is the last time your God “Mr Goodwrench a professional in breakdown avoidance looked under your hood and you got a Midas touch from the masters touch.
Have you rotated and balanced your tires lately, if not your could have a blowout!
Have you cleaned or changed any filters, if not your could have a clog.
Have you changed the oil or checked the water level lately, if not you are bound to over heat!
Matt 6:9-13
9 "This, then, is how you should pray:
"’Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one.’ (NIV)
Maintenance in the spiritual since takes place daily. Daniel gives us a great example of how to maintain a fresh spiritual walk with the Lord.
Dan 6:10
10 Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before. (NIV)
Daniel had prayed every day of his life, and when a few lions were thrown his way, he had maintained his heart well enough to deal with a very tough situation.
What in your heart and life is lacking the work and maintenance it needs? God can help you today.
Oh and by the way if you see any of those people broken down on the side of life’s highway why don’t you stop and give them a hand.
ASSESS THE COST OF THE TRIP
Vacationing is a costly endeavor. You always need more money than you have, because of unexpected expenses.
Our trip with God and toward heaven is free in the since that Jesus gave us the ticket, but along the way there are times that it costs to be a Christian.
Many years ago my in-laws said to us we got tickets to Disney world for your whole family, all you need to do is get their.
Christ has eternal life for us, but we have a journey ahead of us. Make the most of this journey.
Luke 14:25-27
25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. (NIV)
So the ticket is free but the cost was Jesus life and now the cost involves us following Him.
The disciples understood their cost was their own lives. For you the cost may be a few friends that want to follow the world. For me it’s giving my life to the cause of reaching others with the good news. So the cost is different for all of us. The cost for you is a Saturday to reach out to this area. The cost for you is giving of your time to pray for a co-worker and attend church. The cost is your boldness in this world of darkness.
The cost is us picking up our cross that is unique to us and then following Christ. And people will ask: “Is it worth the cost.” To go to church, to study this Bible, to pray to a God I cannot see. To put up with the humiliation and degradation of being a real Christian in this secular society. My answer is unequivocally YES!
It’ is worth it because God’s word gives me something to live by and gives me clear direction for living my life and pleasing Him. It’s worth it because when I pray, God always comes through with the right answer for my need. It’s worth it because when I am ridiculed and oppressed it is not me they attack it is Christ in Me. It is worth it because one day I shall see Him face to face. It is worth it because when I can’t find a shred of happiness within myself, I find it in Him. It is worth it because, I have tasted and seen that the Lord is Good!
(CLOSING)
Folks, this morning you are traveling on life’s highway.
Some of you are having to decipher some road signs.
Some are finding out that you haven’t been maintaining you walk with the Lord like you need to.
Some may be finding out that God is asking you for more. More as it relates to involving yourself in this church, more as it relates to you giving yourself and your marriage to Him. More as it relates to having his fullness in your heart.
