Breakthrough 2000
JUNE 27, 1999 AM PASTOR GLENN NEWTON
TEXT: Exodus 6:1-9
In our passage this morning, the message is pretty clear, God makes himself very
clear. Moses is again complaining because no one seems to be listening to him, nothing
seems to be going as it should, not a whole lot is making sense to Moses.
Aren’t you glad that it doesn’t always have to make sense to us?
In this passage Moses has carried out what God has told him to do, he has
delivered the message to Pharaoh to let the Isrealites go, and instead of listening to Moses,
Pharaoh increases their work load.
Now I want you to think with me for a few minutes this morning, because I’m
going to tie all this together at the end, Put yourself in Moses shoes, in fact I kind of think
that this is where we are as a church, I think we have had the burning bush experience, we
know God has great days ahead of us, we believe he has opened up some doors for us to
relocate, and to move to the promised land if you will.
But we are in the same boat as Moses now, Moses has his instructions, he is trying
with all he has to carry out those instructions, he doesn’t feel real confident about what
he’s doing, but he’s doing it anyways.
Church, weve been working hard, weve been believing that something is right
around the corner, but it’s a real long corner, weve been waiting and praying, and praying
and waiting. Weve been carrying on and doing our best, but even then it seems like
Moses, all we come back with is failure, those we invite don’t show up on Neighbor Day,
on Friend Day, none of our Friends show up. We’ve been faithful, but we don’t have a lot
of fruit to show for our labor, and we wonder why. Don’t you wonder why?
To be honest with you I’ve been scratching my head, look all the hair is gone.
Way back in Feb. the 15-18 I attended our Millennial Celebration in KC. One afternoon, I
got by myself, skipped lunch, that was my way of telling God I was serious, and I began to
pray, I began to pour out my heart and tell God just what I thought. He listened, and he
also spoke to me. He impressed upon me to study and then preach on the life of Moses,
and especially the journey from captivity to the promised land. So I have, and you’ve
been hopefully been listening to some of what God has had me learn and share with you.
In the past three months God has taught me something that goes along with what
He’s been trying to teach me through this story of Moses. I believe God wants you hear it
too.
In my life, and even as a pastor, I have been able to get things done, and even excel
at them without 100% effort. In school, I rarely did any homework, I didn’t make strait
A’s, but I made all B’s which was good enough for me. College was the same way, I was
able to do just enough to make it through, mostly C’s and B’s. In sports I worked hard
because I wanted too, not because I would have had to make it. You see I’ve always
been able to get the job done, I’ve been able to pull it out, maybe at the last minute, but
still it got done.
My point this morning is this, God through His Word, but through some painful
times he has allowed me to see that Glenn Newton Just doesn’t have what it takes to pull
this one off. I’ve had to admit it to God, and I admit it to you, I don’t have what it takes
to move this church were God wants us to Go.
What about you this morning? If there’s someone here this morning who has the
knowledge, who has the answers to overcome the obstacles that we are faced with, Please
stand and share with us what we need to know so we can move on. Is there anyone?
I guess were in the same boat?
Five months ago when God directed me to start studying and to begin preaching
about the life of Moses, I know in my heart He knew we would come to today.
As I studied this passage that we are looking at this morning, the lightbulb finally
went on. Listen to Moses, does he kind of sound like us, maybe different questions, but
the same really.
“O Lord, why have you brought trouble upon this people? Is this why you sent
me?”
O Lord, why have you allowed us to buy property to build on, but not allowed us
to sell so we can build?
God, we have prayed, we have invited, we have fasted, we have given, we have
done all we know to do, where is the fruit of our labor?
Church hear me this morning, I can’t produce the breakthrough, you can’t produce
the breakthrough, we can’t produce the breakthrough. No matter how hard we try.
What Moses is learning and what we need to learn, is this, God alone is the one
who can bring deliverance. But know this God will deliver us, He will give us our
breakthrough.
I’m going to stand before you today and tell you will full assurance and
confidence, God has promised me that this year will be our year of breakthrough. The
obstacles that seem to blind us, those obstacles that seem to be giants, and unmovable,
they look like that from our perspective, but friends it’s time we start looking at our
church, at our situation from God’s perspective, He is the deliverer and He will help us to
overcome.
Let me tell you what God is going to do through you because of you willingness to
be used by him.
This year we are going to see more people come and find Jesus as Lord and
become disciples than this church has ever seen before. Because of our prayers for the
Lost on Wed. evenings, God will give us new people as we share our faith, and our
message of New Hope through Jesus Christ. The key is your obedience to share. What a
great responsibility lies on our shoulders, because I know God will give us these people as
long as we are obedient to share. My personal goal is to win one person per month this
year. I’m believing God is going to help me find one person per month that need to hear
and is ready to accept the hope found in Jesus.
You come tonight, and I’m going to share with you one avenue we are going to
use to present the gospel, this is a way everyone can do it. I’m curious, how many here
have ever led someone to Christ?
This year, because of your obedience and because God is going to build his church,
we are going to have a breakout year in our finances, we are going to raise $50,000 which
will be a 37% increase over last year when you subtract the district support we received
last year. I believe in you. I believe that you believe in this church and what God is doing
here. So I have full confidence that your going to be obedient and give your tithe, 10% of
your income, and your going to give to faith promise which demonstrates our willingness
to give to “others” in missions, in Christian education, to our retired elders, and to our
district team. The budgets we pay are not some kind of tax, some kind of burden. Our
budgets are investments into the lives of others, and God blesses those who give cheerfully
to take the Message of Hope around the world. I can’t wait to see how God is going to
perform a miracle in the area of our finances. Is your God big enough to perform that
kind of miracle? If he’s not, then your not serving the God of the Bible.
God convicted me during our missionary meeting with Chuck Sundberg, listening
to how our dollars help save the lost across the world. Our World Evangelism budget will
never go unpaid again as long as I’m the pastor of this church. And I’m as serious as I
can get.
I’m challenging you today, were never going to be a home missions church again,
Thank God for them when we needed them, but it’s time for us to carry our own weight,
were getting off the welfare roles and with God’s provision we will stand on our two feet,
and we will pay our budgets, CAN I HEAR AN AMEN! BOARDMEMBERS,
CHURCH MEMBERS, CHURCH, MAKE THAT COMMITMENT WITH ME NOW,
WERE GOING TO DO IT WITH GOD’S HELP!!! IF YOU WILL BELIEVE WITH
ME WILL YOU SAY AMEN?
I don’t know about you, but I feel like those enslaved Israelites, I’m sick in tired of
the slavemasters beating me down, I’m tired of doing the same thing over and over again
everyday, I’m tired of not pursuing the dream that God has given me because I’ve let the
obstacles of life block my view.
Church it’s time to breakthrough our bondage, God is calling us to a
breakthrough. He’s ready, he has confirmed in me that the time is now for us. And I want
you to notice, this message has nothing to do with a building, it has everything to do with
our attitudes, our ability to see what God see’s, friends, break the bondage of fear that it
will never happen.
It’s time to breakout of our disbelief that it can happen here. It will, and it’s
already started, you just may not know it yet.
When we look at the obstacles instead of God, we are guilty of a lack of faith, I
have confessed my lack of Faith to God and I don’t ever intend to see anything but what
God can do again. I serve the creator God who is all powerful, he is the Great IAm, there
is no other like him, Praise his name forever!!!!!
This morning, let me close with one last thought about how this is going to be our
breakthrough year. By the way, don’t think it’s going to happen at the end of the year, it
starts today with your attitude, and your obedience.
ILL: Passion
Let the Holy Spirit lead.
