If you got a Bible, I hope you do, open it to
the book. I'm gonna be actually in two different
places today. I'm gonna be in Numbers chapter
11, and then I'm also gonna be in John chapter
number six. Numbers chapter 11, and then John
chapter six. You're in for a treat today, because
I have for you two titles. Two titles today.
If you're taking notes, I hope you are. Write
this down. My first title is Get Me Through the
Middle. Get me through the middle, and here's
my, if you don't like that title, no problem.
Here's my second title. My second title is, it's
less flashy, less catchy, and much more boring,
but much more impactful. My second title is this,
The Importance of Missions. Get me through the
middle or the importance of missions. Now, if
you haven't learned by now, I'm loud. I'm a loud
preacher. I'm going to be yelling at you all
day today. I pray you yell back at me. But most
importantly, I pray you yell at each other. So
we're going to practice this today. I want you
to turn to a neighbor. Get all up in their face
with that nasty morning coffee breath and say,
neighbor. No, we didn't all do it. Say, turn
to a neighbor and say, neighbor, I need you to
help me get through the middle. Now turn to your
other neighbor because that neighbor didn't like
you. Turn to the other neighbor and say, other
neighbor, did you know that missions in the U
.S. It's God's heart. Numbers chapter 11 and
John chapter 6. If you got Numbers chapter 11,
say, I got it. If you're still turning there,
say, hold on. Oh, desperate hold on over here.
We will wait for you. Numbers chapter 11. I'm
going to start reading in verse number one. The
word of God says this, and the people. This is
the people of Israel, God's chosen people, the
people that God has designed, destined, orchestrated
to usher in the kingdom of God. And the people
of Israel complained in the hearing of the Lord
about their misfortunes. Everybody say, uh -oh.
And when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled
and the fire of the Lord burned among them and
consumed. Some outlying parts of the camp. Pause.
Did you read what I read? Don't make God mad.
He will burn you and your tent and your goats.
All of them. Verse 2. Then the people cried out
to Moses. Right? Naturally. That is a natural
response. If the chairs are on fire in faith
church and it's God's fault, what are you going
to do? Pastor Cammie, chairs are on fire. God
did it. Tell him to stop it, right? That's what
you would do. Moses, God's being mean. Tell him
to stop it. And so Moses, being the good leader,
prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down, verse
3. So the name of that place was called Tibera
because the fire of the Lord burned among them,
verse 4. Now the rabble. Come on, everybody say
rabble. You might have a version of the Bible
that says the mixed multitude. It might say something
like the others. It's important that we know
in verse 4, the rabble there, they are not, not
Israelites. Remember, we're reading verse 1,
the people of Israel complain. The people of
God, these people are not. Israelite people could
have been Egyptians traveling with the people
of Israel. Might have been nomads. Might have
been people they picked up along the way in the
wilderness. But they are not Israelite people.
Likely Egyptians. The rabble that was among the
people of Israel had a strong craving. Everybody
say mmm. Dreaming about lunch. When is this preacher
going to be done? Dreaming about the double bacon
cheeseburger at lunch and the fries to go with
and the chocolate milkshake. Come on, these friends
had a craving, church. They had a craving and
the people of Israel also wept again and said,
oh, that we had some meat. Any vegetarians in
the room? No vegetarians. This is the house of
God. No vegetarians. I cannot believe. No vegetarians
in the room. Oh, that we had some meat to eat.
We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt that
cost us nothing. The cucumbers and the melons
and the leeks. And the onions and the garlic
and the steak with butter dripping off and the
onions on top and the fries and the bag of Skittles.
Friends, they had a craving. But now our strength
is all dried up and there's nothing but all of
this manna to look at. Now let me just pause
before I go on and read John 6. Pause so we can
understand what's happening in the life of the
people of Israel. They are at a critical stage.
Juncture in their history and in their life.
They have been, what we just read, they have
been emancipated, set free from 400 years of
slavery in the land of Egypt. 400 years, been
crying out to God. God, set your people free.
Hallelujah. Been a week. God, hey, still here.
A year goes by, right? After a week and a month,
we're like, hey, God. Did you forget about your
people here? Two years go by, 50 years go by,
100 years. God's still here. In this moment,
God has answered their prayer. He has emancipated
and set the people of Israel free. This story,
they're no longer slaves. 400 years. Friends,
I don't know what you're going through today,
but has it been 400 years? of slavery in Egypt,
and in this moment, they're free, but they want
to go back. They want to go back to the land
of Egypt because they remember. They remember
the fish and the steak and the butter, and they
remember the leeks. I don't even know what a
leek is, but they had them in Egypt, and they
want to go back to the land of Egypt. They're
free, but now they want to go back. I find it
intriguing because how many times in our life,
when God doesn't work, do we find ourselves right
back in the same place that God delivered us
out of? God sets you free. He delivers you from
addiction. But you remember. You remember the
highs. You remember the adrenaline rush. God
sets you free from a relationship, but you remember
the good times. And you've got some cravings
to want to go back. God delivers you from financial
despair. And then all of a sudden, pre -approved
$60 ,000 capital and credit card, hallelujah,
must be the Lord, right? All of a sudden, you
find yourself back in the same place God delivered
you. This is the people of Israel. To a T today.
Now let me go out. I'm going to read John chapter
6 just so we can make this make some sense for
us today. John 6, I'm going to start reading
in verse number 30. It will also be up on the
screen. The word of God says this. So they said
to him. Just for some context here, the they
is a group of people who come to the hymn. That
would be Jesus. If you read earlier in this same
chapter, John 6, you will read a story about
Jesus who has done a miracle, friends. A miracle.
The Bible says he fed a group of thousands, 5
,000 to be exact, but it's not even exact because
they didn't count the women or the children or
the goats or the rats. We got rats in Chicago.
We count them as well as the population. He didn't
count any of them. So he feeds a group of likely
10 ,000 to 20 ,000 with five loaves of bread,
two fish. Five loaves, two fish. Wouldn't feed
this room for a meal. Five loaves, two fish.
Wouldn't feed my boys on the car ride back to
Chicago today. And yet Jesus feeds the masses
with five loaves, two fish. I make a huge deal
because the question that they're about to ask
Jesus is ridiculous. Then what sign do you do,
Jesus, that we may see and believe you? He's
just fed the crowd with 12 baskets left over.
Who doesn't love leftover meatloaf? The disciples
loved it. 12 leftover after the miracle, the
sign. Then what sign do you do, Jesus? That we
may see and believe you. What work do you perform?
Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness. Now
they're going back to the story we just read
in Numbers. Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness
as it is written. As if Jesus didn't already
know. He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
Translated, Jesus. Talking to Jesus, the crowd.
Jesus, we know Moses was the real deal. You know
why? Because our forefathers told us crazy stories,
wild stories, Jesus, about what happened to our
forefathers in the wilderness. Jesus, you should
have been there. There was water. It came out
of a rock. Moses hit the rock and water came.
Crazy Jesus. We had a pillar of cloud and a pillar
of fire. Wild Jesus. We had Panera bread falling
from the sky every night on the ground. And we
picked it up and had carbohydrates. Jesus. Crazy.
We had a golden calf. Wasn't our best moment,
Jesus, but we had it in there. There was a mountain
shaking and God wrote stuff on a rock. Wild,
Jesus, you should have been there. Then Jesus
said to them, truly, I truly, I say to you, it
was not Moses who gave you that bread from heaven.
But my Father gives you true bread from heaven,
for the bread of God is he who comes down from
heaven and gives life to the world. And they
said to him, Sir, give us this bread always.
Jesus said to them, I am. Jesus says to them,
Do you remember that water that came from the
rock? Jesus says, You remember that manna that
fell every night for a generation in the wilderness
that you picked up and sustained you for a generation?
That was me, Jesus says. The pillar of cloud
and fire, that was me, Jesus says. I am the bread
of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger.
And whoever believes in me shall never thirst
again. Amen? Father, let's pray together today.
Father, I love you. I praise you. God, your word's
alive, living, active, has the power to go places
my words cannot. So, Father, if we do nothing
more than read your word today, we can leave
here changed. Anything I say above and beyond
this, let it be anointed by your Holy Spirit,
I pray. In Jesus' mighty name, everybody said
amen and amen. Get me through the middle or the
importance of missions. Curious, in the room,
do we have any frequent flyers, frequent travelers
by plane? Maybe you travel for work. Anybody
in the room? frequently fly. Okay, has anybody
ever been on an airplane? Anybody ever been?
Okay, there we go. Everybody else, you've seen
an airplane? Everybody we've seen an airplane?
Okay. All right, we got them all. We got them
all. My family, we're in a unique season of time
where we travel frequently for what we do, what
God's called us to do in Chicago. We don't fly
frequently, but here's what I've learned. In
the few times we fly per year, maybe once, twice
a year, what I've learned about the whole process
of flying, the whole TSA. It's orchestrated,
designed to suck the fruit of the Spirit from
your face. That's what I've learned about the
whole process. I mean, we're a family of seven.
So when we fly specifically, like a move of God
must happen in our home to get from our door
to our destination, right? We've got to find
the suitcases because inevitably they're in the
attic or the basement. Sometimes they're in the
alley. We don't know why they're there, but they're
there. We've got to find them. We've got to find
the underwear with no stains in the underwear,
right? Especially if you're going to see the
in -laws. You've got to make sure you impress
the in -laws. You've got to find the socks with
no holes in the socks. You've got to find the
stuffies and the water bottles and the backpack.
You've got to find it all. And then my family
and I, when we travel, specifically by plane,
we are faced with a critical decision. Do we
drive to O 'Hare International Airport? Because
if we drive there, then we've got to pay to park.
It's $14 ,000 a day just to park. At O 'Hare.
And so then we must decide, do we drive or do
we Uber? We can't just Uber. Did you know that?
We have to Uber XXL. Did you know that was a
thing? I didn't either. It's the last time we
had to do it. Uber XXL. You got to get all the
kids inside there. The largest Uber they have.
The car seats. Got to get the backpacks and the
suitcases. Got to get the kids in there and my
wife in there. Got to get them all in there.
And then you get to the airport. You got to get
them all out. All the kids, all the car seats,
the stuffies, the backpacks, the goldfish. Everything
got to come out. All the while they're yelling
at you. You got to go. Got to move. Hurry it
up. You're a terrorist. Keep it going. We're
not terrorists. We just have a lot of kids and
a lot of stuff. Then, friends, you are faced
with the reality you must go in to talk to the
ticket counter person. They don't love you. They
don't even like you, frankly, right? Like, you've
got to get your ticket, and then you have to
go through security. TSA. You've got to get all
the kids through there. You've got to go through
the thing. You've got to turn around. You've
got to bend over. You've got to cough. The whole
thing, just to get through security, to get to
your gate. And then we get to our gate, friends,
and we all do this. Last time we flew, true story.
We all do this. We grab our phones or our boarding
passes and we look at them. Tells an important
story because your boarding pass is going to
tell you, it's going to give you a number and
a letter. That letter is important in how you're
going to spend the next three, four hours of
your life. If you get the letter A, you are blessed
by God. Blessed because you have the window seat.
You can look out, see the clouds. You can hashtag
it, post it on your Insta. It's great, powerful.
You get the letter B, mm -mm, no bueno, nope,
not good. You got the middle C, not good. Favor
of God's not on your life. You get the letter
C, awesome. Holy Spirit has anointed you. You
have the aisle seat where you can get up and
move around freely. So last time I fly, I grab
my phone. We all do this. Lest you think I am
the only heathen in the room. We all do. We grab
our boarding pass and we get onto the plane.
And we start looking in the area that we think
we're going to be. Right? And you start stereotyping
people. You're like that guy. Looks awesome.
Looks like he'd ignore me. Earbuds in, arms crossed.
Perfect guy. You're like, that person looks like
they smell. Don't want to sit next to that person.
So I grab my boarding pass, looking down the
plane, and I look at the area that I think I'm
going to be. I see a large guy. Large guy. Totally
cool. He has the earbuds, the arms crossed. He's
on the aisle seat. Then I see an empty seat,
the middle one. And then I see another seat taken
by a lady. Lady was special because she had something
special with her. Someone special with her. Brand
new. Days, weeks old, baby. Baby. Brand new baby.
They're having a time. I can hear the baby from
the front of the plane looking back there, seeing
the guy, empty seat, and then the lady with the
baby. I'm thinking, dear Lord, baby Jesus, if
there's any grace left in you, let that not be
my seat. Because as I get closer, then you hear
things, you start to smell things, you start
to see things. Baby's projectile vomit coming
out of baby. You get closer, I'm looking, I see
brown dribblies coming down baby's leg. You know
how you're supposed to have the tray table up?
During text, not this lady. Nope, she had tray
table. Down, changing the baby, changing the
baby. I'm thinking, oh God, oh God, please let
this not be my seat. Lo and behold, that's my
seat between large guy and lady with the baby.
I sit down, the plane takes off. We're in the
air. She's still having a time. Mom's having
a time trying to keep baby calm, fed, nourished,
all the thing. She's having a time. I now ding.
I call it the dingy bar. You know the dingy bar?
You got the air, you got the light, and you got
the dingy bar. The dingy bar will ding the flight
attendant. The flight attendant will come your
way. I ding the dingy bar. The flight attendant
comes my way. I say, excuse me. And I try to
like slunk away from the lady because she's doing
the best she can. Best she possibly can. Give
her the benefit of the doubt there. Excuse me.
Are there any other seats anywhere on the plane?
Now I could tell immediately this flight attendant
was not on my side. She says, no, there are no,
loudly, other seats anywhere on the plane. Now
I must slunk back into my seat. Mom was having
a time. Guy's over here just kind of chuckling.
You could see his shoulders just kind of going
at it, right? Like mom's having a time. She turns
to me with what I can only describe as this demonic
voice, force. She looks at me and says, how dare
you? And I'm trying to be calm and respectful.
Like, you're doing the best you can. How dare
you? Can't you tell? I'm doing everything I possibly
can to keep my baby fed and changed and clothed
and nourished. I said, no, I cannot because it
smells and it's gross. Can't you tell? How dare
you? Now, again, lest you think I'm the only
bad guy in the room, in the room, sermonic survey
time, how many of the room you'd say, you know
what, pastor, you should have just sat there
and taken it. You should have just been there.
If the baby vomits on you, so be it. You should
have offered a chance. You should have just sat
there, not said a word. Raise your hand. I don't
see any hands. All right. How many in the room?
You're on my side. Absolutely. Not sitting next
to stinky, poopy, vomit baby. Anybody in the
room? Be honest. Heathens, heathens, heathens,
heathens, heathens, all heathens. I couldn't
believe this lady was mad at me, friends. I couldn't
believe this lady who's having a time, this lady
who was my wife, was mad at me, babe. We're headed
to a ministry trip. I had to write a sermon.
Babe, I've been there. Done that with Geronimo.
He's good. You got this, right? You got this.
Couldn't believe my wife was mad. Me. We're still
in counseling over this. Here's what I've learned,
although this story paints a ridiculously true.
story. It paints a powerful picture in the life
of the people of Israel today. Because if we
could just kind of paint the picture here, if
we could say that the window seat represents
the land of Egypt, then the middle seat represents
what we would call the middle. The journey, the
process, the Bible calls it the wilderness. But
we also know that the aisle seat represents the
land of promise. The Bible says the land of Canaan
is the land of favor, milk, blessing, and honey,
the Bible calls this place. So we got the land
of Egypt, we got the middle, and we got the promised
land. The people of Israel today find themselves
in the middle, frustrated, stuck in the middle.
Because for 400 years, they've been crying out
to God. God, set your people free. And in a moment,
he does. He emancipates them from captivity,
slavery in Egypt. And we all know he could have
zapped them immediately into the land of blessing
and favor and milk and honey. But he doesn't
do that. For 40 more years, it's almost as though
we could say he condemns them. Although he doesn't,
from our perspective, it feels like he condemns
them to the middle, to the frustration of the
wilderness. Friend, you may be here today and
you may be saying, you know what, this kind of
describes my life because God in my life has
done a work. He has saved me. He has emancipated
me. He has removed me from captivity in my Egypt,
in my sin. And I know that God has a land marked
out for me, a season of life and ministry and
blessing. ahead of me, a new season of ministry
ahead of me. But today I find myself stuck, frustrated
in the middle. I find myself drinking that same
water coming out of the rock. I'm like, God.
Dr. Pepper would be good every once in a while,
but it's the same water. It's the same manna
every day. I mean, it's the same thing. It's
the same job. It's the same car. It's the same
bills over. And you find yourself frustrated
and stuck in the middle. And what I've learned
is that God uses the middle, the frustration,
the feeling stuck. of the journey, of the process,
of the wilderness. He uses it to remove remnants
of our past from us, to prepare us for what he
has in the future for us. Maybe today you're
here, still captivated by your Egypt, captivated
by your sin. Today you're going to have an opportunity
to experience that freedom that the people of
Israel experienced. that I have experienced,
that so many in the room have experienced. But
friend, let me tell you this, that the journey
you're about to walk into is not necessarily
the land of blessing and favor and milk and honey
immediately. God may have a new journey marked
out for you, marked with what you would say is
the frustration of the middle, but friend, it
is the best place you could possibly be. In fact,
if I could just even take it a step further,
because friends in the room, if you are saved,
sanctified, filled with the Holy Ghost, you got
the victory kind of a person. If God has done
a work in your life, God has designed, orchestrated
you to be a missionary to this world. You don't
have to be a fully appointed Assemblies of God,
U .S. missionary, world missionary to do what
God's called you to do. He has called each and
every one of us to fulfill the Great Commission.
Therefore, go. and make disciples. The Bible
doesn't say, open the church doors and yell loud,
hey, Lincoln, get in here. No, the Bible says,
go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit.
Here's what I found. When people give their life
to Jesus, God does a work instantaneously in
their heart. They move from death to life in
a moment, in a moment. But oftentimes those same
proclivities, patterns in their life require
a journey, a process to be removed to prepare
them for the future he has for them. Our job
is to fulfill the Great Commission by getting
people out of Egypt and into the middle. Because
we know the middle is going to lead to the promise.
The frustration of the middle is going to lead
to the promised land. Can I share a story with
you? Story of a guy named Big Sean. Big Sean
is one of our friends in Chicago. Large, probably
6 '6 guy. Lives on the street. He lives under
an underpass in Chicago, right off Lakeshore
Drive, under the Wilson underpass. This is a
large man who is mentally not all there. When
you have a conversation with him, you understand
that he is clearly demonically possessed. And
the things he says and the things he does, you
talk with him and you almost get chills because
you understand you're dealing with something
spiritual here. So one night our team from our
church, our ministry was out. We have a big homeless
ministry that we do. And we were out under this
particular underpass. What we typically do is
roll up. We have a bunch of food. We feed them.
We clothe them. We give them whatever they need.
We pray for them. And then you move on. You do
all that stuff and then you move on. Because
it's not a place you want to stay for too long.
So this particular night I've got a caravan of
three people. I'm leading the caravan. We've
got two cars behind us. Myself. My oldest son
was with us that particular night. My kids are
out on the streets, friends. That's why I'm asking
for your prayers for my family. So we're out.
We do our whole thing. We feed them. We pray
for them. And then I get back into my van to
start it up, and my van will not start. I'm leading
the team, the caravan, this particular night.
We fed them. We prayed for everybody. Van won't
start. I send the team on ahead. I stay behind
with myself, my son, and then we had one other
guy. I said, hey, why don't you stick back with
us just for... You know, security. It's not a
place you want to be in Chicago for too long.
Left there. So we're stranded. I call my wife,
babe, find us a tow truck. I got to make sure
we're good. We're safe here in this area. Find
us a tow truck. This is Chicago, friends. Anything
you want, you can get any time of day. You want
a Ben and Jerry's? It's there. You can have it
delivered to your house at 2 a .m. You need a
tow truck any time of day? It's there. For 45
minutes, my wife could not find a tow truck.
This is like 7 o 'clock at night. Unheard of
in the city of Chicago. We're there. She's frantic.
panicking because I got our son with us in an
area you don't want to be there. And so we get
out of our van and then Big Sean is standing
there. For the next 45 minutes, you have to understand,
I have never had a coherent conversation with
Big Sean, ever. For the next 45 minutes, we shared
the gospel with Big Sean. Big Sean, in the most
coherent possible way, asked questions about
the gospel, asked questions about Jesus. At the
very end of that conversation, Big Sean gave
his life to Jesus. We moved. We didn't move.
God moved Big Sean from slavery, addiction, demonic
possession. He moved him from his Egypt into
the middle, into the process where God's going
to start pruning some things out of him to prepare
him for what he has for him in the future. The
crazy thing about this story, we finished with
Big Sean for 45 minutes. Again. He gives his
life to Jesus for 45 minutes. My son's running
up and down the embankment, Lakeshore Drive,
not a place you want to go and hang out. He's
just hanging out doing his thing. We get back
into my van. The van starts right back up. God
had us positioned there as missionaries in the
city of Chicago to move one guy from Egypt ultimately
to his promised land. But we know that it's going
to be frustrated in the middle for a little while
while God removes the things from him. The van
starts right back up. We get back in the van.
Johnny, my oldest at the time, he didn't know
how to phrase it. He said, Dad, I didn't know
God could do magic like that. We talked about
the power of God. Two things needed to happen
that night. Big Sean needed to hear the gospel
in the most coherent way he's ever heard it.
He needed to give his life to Jesus. And my son
needed to see the power of God on display in
a tangible, real way. Moving Big Sean from his
Egypt to the wilderness, ultimately to his promised
land. That's what we're called to do as missionaries.
That's what you're called to do as believers
in the Lord Jesus, to move people from their
Egypt. We know it's going to be frustrating for
a while while God prunes and removes some things
from the past to prepare them for the future.
One last story. This is a little more personal.
When I was... Pastor, what time are we done?
We're good. Okay. You can send me a keyboard
player. It'll make me sound more spiritual. Awesome.
Thank you. Personal story here. I was 12 years
of age, and my entire world shattered, completely
changed, blew up. I grew up going to church,
kind of like what we're doing here today. We
went to church on Sunday morning. The next six
and a half days of the week were met with utter...
Violence, I think, is the best word to describe
my upbringing. My father is a Vietnam vet. I
am grateful for the military. Lest you think
there's any disdain, there's none. I'm grateful.
If you have served, if you serve, thank you.
We honor you. We are so grateful for your service
and sacrifice. Just the reality of my story.
My dad is a Vietnam vet. He was a sniper in the
Vietnam War. I cannot imagine what my dad saw.
I can't imagine what they went through. I can't.
And I never will. He never talked about it, and
still to this day does not. He had a severe anger
problem going into the military, which was only
exacerbated by the war, and then further exacerbated
by a severe alcohol problem. And when I say alcohol
problem, this isn't just get drunk. This is drinks
whiskey, beer, like it's water to this day. He's
74 years of age to this day. It's the exact same
thing. My upbringing was met by violence. Again,
I'll be delicate. I know we have young people
in the room there. Culminated in a moment where
my father attempted to murder my mother with
a machete. My brother calls the police. They
take my dad off to jail. That moment clearly
marks you. And it stays with you. And if I'm
being honest, the reality is that marks me to
this day. I would love to tell you that that
moment set me on a course and a trajectory towards
God. It did not. It set me on a course trajectory
running from God. Really for the next three or
four years, I ran from God with everything I
had and got into all the trouble you can imagine.
Wrong friends, wrong things, trouble with the
law, in places I shouldn't be. You name it, I'm
there. Just wild and rampant for three, really
four years of my life. 16 years of age, right
around 16 going on 17. My mom had invited me.
I was still living at home, but I was doing my
thing. She invited me to go to dinner one night
at a cafe. I grew up in South Dallas. A cafe
called Cotton Patch. Cotton Patch Cafe, if you're
ever in South Dallas. Look it up, go, it's awesome.
Invited me to dinner. Little did I know, my mom
had invited that particular night some family
friends. They happened to be Assemblies of God
world missionaries. They were world missionaries
to Austria. Nick and Ruth Wilson. This moment
changed my life. Because as we're walking into
Cotton Patch, they looked at me and said, David,
you have a call of God on my life. I didn't know
what that meant. I had no clue what that meant.
And they walked me as we're walking. We hadn't
even had dinner yet. Normally you save it for
after dessert. So for the next hour, two hours,
whatever it was, we walked through what we would
call God meant. We walked through what repentance
meant. We walked through what it meant to serve
God and to give your life fully to the Lord.
In that moment at Cotton Patch Cafe, I gave my
life back to Jesus because of a world missionary
who just happened to be home. They serve overseas.
They only come home every so often. They happened
to be home that night, that day. My mom invited
them, and because of that world missionary, it
changed this U .S. missionary for the rest of
my life. But I also tell you that because the
reality is this, that I would love to tell you
that I, today, as a man of God, no longer find
myself in the middle, but the reality is I do.
I find myself in the frustration of the middle
almost daily. Because the moment when I was 12,
when my father attempted to murder my mother,
that stays with you. And it will never leave
me. It will never go away from me. Because the
reality is this. I today, as a man of God, married
to my best friend, my high school sweetheart.
With five amazing kids. You have to forgive my
emotion. My son will tell you I never do this.
I find myself often still frustrated in the middle.
Because my reality is the same proclivities that
my father exampled in front of me. I've dealt
with in my own life. The same substance as my
father abused, I have abused. The same things
that my father has dealt with, I have. The same
anger he's dealt with, I've dealt with. And if
it's not for the frustration of the middle, God
pruning, God removing, God preparing me, I'll
find myself back in the same place that God delivered
me out of. Friend, you may be here today frustrated
in the middle. Can I tell you that John 6, 35
is true. Jesus says, I am the bread of life,
he says. Whoever comes to me will never hunger,
will never thirst again. Friend, the middle is
the best place you can possibly be. Whether you're
stuck in Egypt and need to move to the middle,
whether you're in the middle today and waiting
for your promised land, the middle is the best
place you can be to experience the grace of God,
the favor of God, the direction of God, the sustenance
of God, the mercy of God, unlike any place you'll
find in Egypt or in the promised land. Friend,
you may be stuck here in Egypt today. God wants
to remove you from Egypt. He wants to emancipate
you, set you free, and move you ultimately to
the promised land, but by way of the middle,
by way of the journey, by way of the process,
to remove some things to prepare you ultimately
for what he has for you. I think my title, I
think it's wrong. That's our prayer, is it not?
God, get me through this. And yet I think my
prayer and our title today should be, God, don't
get me through it. God, keep me. in the middle
until you've done all you want to do in me. Remove
all you have to remove from my path, from me,
to prepare me for what you have ultimately in
the promised land. Whether you're stuck in Egypt
today, surrounded by your sin, accompanied by
your addiction, whether you find yourself freed
but frustrated in the middle, maybe you find
yourself today living in your blessing. God wants
to do a work in your life today. He wants to
stir some hearts. He wants to set some people
free. He wants to call people into missions today.
Can we pray together today? Father, I love you
and I praise you. Again, I'm grateful for the
opportunity to gather around your word. Would
you do what only you can do in this moment? Let
me make this synced, but... Maybe you're here
today and you would say, Pastor, here's my reality.
I today find myself still frustrated, stuck in
Egypt. I find myself surrounded by sin. I find
myself in a reality of the decisions I've made.
Just stuck in sin. Today I need to be free. I
need to be emancipated. I need to be set free
from my captivity. Or maybe for you, you've had
that moment. You've made some decisions that
led you on a path. path away from God, and you
need to come back into alignment. And you find
yourself still kind of stuck and frustrated in
Egypt. If there's anybody in the room today,
you can say, I need to give my life to Jesus
for the first time, or I need to come back into
alignment with Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Lord
means He's in charge of all. I hold nothing in
my own control. I give it all to Him. Savior
means I accept Him as the one who died on a cross
in my place for my sin. I need to come back into
alignment with the Word of God. If you're here
in the room, would you just wave a hand? No one's
looking around. Wave a hand at me and say, pray
for me. Move yourself from Egypt. Maybe you're
in the room today and you'd say, Pastor, I find
myself freed, no longer in captivity, but frustrated
today in the middle. I find myself asking God,
why the same water? God, why the same manna?
Why the same wandering every day? You've promised
me a land of blessing, a season of fruitfulness
and ministry ahead. But today I find myself frustrated
in the middle and I need to be reminded that
God is as near to me in the middle as he was
in Egypt and as he is in the promised land. I
need to be reminded and encouraged today by God's
grace in the middle. Anybody here wave a hand
to me? Pray for me today. Praise God. Praise
God. Amen. Maybe you're here today and you say,
Pastor, I feel a call of God on my life. Into
the mission field. Whether that's overseas or
whether that's right here in the United States
of America, I feel that the Lord has positioned
me, called me by name, and stirred my heart today
and birthed inside of me a dream that I didn't
even know was there. But I feel a call of God
on my life to answer that today and to say, I
am committed. Here I am. Send me. frustrated,
stuck in the middle, Lord, I pray you remind
them that they're not stuck. God, you're removing
some things from the past to prepare them for
the future. God, remind them of that daily water
and manna. You are more than enough. You are
the bread. You are the well that never runs dry.
You are the one who crawls, who sustains, the
one who does it all. So God, remind them and
encourage them. Lord, I pray over my brother
who's called. Lord, I pray your anointing and
your manna. your colossal, give them a complete
knowledge of your will, spiritual wisdom and
understanding. And for those who are called and
you're just a little afraid to answer that call
today, give them courage and boldness to know
that when they step out of the bow, that's where
you are. You're in the midst of the wind and
the waves and the storm. You're the one who sustains,
you're the one who calls, you're the one who
provides. And so God, I pray your anointing upon
this church. Thank you for the heart of this
church to not just minister here in this house,
but to minister locally, globally. May your blessing
and your anointing fall upon this house in such
a rich and unique way. Lord, I pray over Pastor
Darren and Kim, your anointing, your fresh vision.
May they never rely on yesterday's anointing
for today's call and today's challenge. We honor
you. We thank you. awed sinners like us. You
are so good and so kind to us. We commit our
lives to you once again. In Jesus' holy name,
amen. Faith Church, God bless you. Thank you.