A Story
by Raymond Sloan
July 26, 2020 · Cornerstone Apostolic Church (Chattanooga, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Matthew 1:1, Matthew 1:16-17, John 3:16, Psalm 147:3-5, Jeremiah 29:10-13, Hebrews 12:1-3

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/raymond-sloan--a-story
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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would you pray with me church lord one more time we come to you with thankful hearts believing you lord trusting your lord honoring you today we call upon your name for there is no other name jesus lord we look to you today we are hungry for your word to change our lives lord and to make us more of what you would want for us i make myself available to you once again jesus god of glory breathe into this room let your word come to life i prayed in jesus name can you just love him for a moment come on just love him i love you lord i trust you lord my soul says yes to you jesus hallelujah hallelujah hallelujah you can be seated if you feel like you need to thank you singers musicians thank you sunday school staff video audio all the people that set up that wipe down doors that watch babies that teach thank you so much for your commitment to the kingdom amen to our guests that are here today we welcome you we're so glad that you've come today so thankful that you're here worshiping the lord with us online we welcome you we're glad that you're here it's a great day to serve the lord amen great day to serve the lord there are times in life when when it's necessary to explain things in a strange fashion for an example like the question of a child they're inquisitive children are and they're awed by the wonder of things and the simplicity of things around them and and and they ask questions that perhaps may seem a bit silly but to them they're trying to figure out what's happened or what is happening around them the infamous why is the sky blue why does water run in a stream downhill and where did it start on and on and on those are just a couple of the questions that i was posed with when i was raising my children still not sure they know the answer but anyway the truth is is that we're always ever learning we just want to know things to understand the simple things of life to comprehend the why the how what is it what is it connected to what does it mean the world of course is full of information and the truth is you can spend a lifetime to learn only to find out you've just learned a very small portion as soon as you figure out one thing there are more things that come along for you to learn anybody notice that the cycle never really ends we watch we see things as they unfold we ask questions about what we've seen and in doing so more questions arise it's god's way many times of allowing us to experience the details that he has set up for us it makes the pleasure of his plan for our lives to sing closer and much more personal it's crazy quite honestly how that god knows every single day what we need to know how that even as a child would ask a question and it might seem trivial or unnecessary god sees them as great accomplishments in planning and in developing the life of that child i know for a fact that that many of the situations of life that i have found myself in when it comes to a time to recall them i'm blown away by the simplicity of how things actually came together i asked questions i didn't get a response and then all of a sudden things began to fall into place for for an example right now take a moment to consider a great and a notable event that you have had in your life no doubt you have had many whatever that event was how many of the details of that event can you recall can you bring to mind now we're all about the big picture of things but the fact is the details like the colors and the shapes and the positions of the items that were actually in the event the smells the weather patterns the people that were involved in the situation that you were in all of those things and many more it is what makes that memory so incredible god built that ability into humanity the ability to see the little things that make up the big things are you with me as we sit in this room right now for an example there are many stories that could be told how you met your spouse for one how your third grade teacher used to make you laugh for an example how the vacation the place that you went was your very favorite and as a kid you remember the details of where you were stories that developed that shaped your life if i could say it this way stories worth remembering the bible for an example tells us a story let me begin it this way matthew chapter number one verse number one simply says this the book of the generation of jesus christ the son of david the son of abraham that's the beginning of the new testament the book of the generation of jesus christ the son of david the son of abraham and then the story continues if you take the time to read past verse 1 you'll find that all of a sudden these lists of lineages and names and begats and connectedness began to unfold in the writing of the gospel writer here and it goes down to matthew 1 verse number 16 says this jacob begat joseph the husband of mary of whom was born jesus who was called christ so all the generations from abraham to david were 14 generations from david until the carrying away of babylon were 14 generations from the carrying away into babylon unto christ are 14 generations as matthew wrote his account in the life of jesus he gives some very specific details that quite honestly might even seem unimportant names connections of people family members and so forth why was it so important that matthew put this in his letter or in his documentation in his gospel we know that from history for an example matthew was a tax collector jesus walked by him called to him said come follow me and the bible says that matthew got up from the table went and followed after jesus jesus knew exactly who he was calling he knows that matthew had the skills and the education and the experience as a numbers guy as somebody who could make a list who could line out things who could make a lineage you could connect the the one in this one and that one and this one and that and the numbers that were attached to it it was all part of matthew's training and development do you think for one moment that jesus simply randomly walked by this guy selected him to write the lineage of his life no jesus knew exactly matthew's capabilities the account that we look at stay with me for a moment in the scriptures is an example in the very beginning of our new testament that we hold so very dear talking about the birth of the christ child it is a spectacular event it's hard to believe yes but it is mentioned all the way back in the prophet isaiah's prophecy in that there's something going to happen things are going to transpire matthew penned the words that start with abraham the point of covenant unto jesus the point of covenant all of this was part of the plan of god for humanity i've come to tell somebody today on this sunday afternoon your god is in the details he is into the smallest portion of what is happening in your life right now the fact that you are sitting here in the church service is a part of god's plan of the details for your life all of the little things that has brought you to this moment is a necessary part of your story it is how god put you together put you on a path and brought you to this place on a sunday at 4 40 eastern standard time i've come to tell somebody today god has you on his mind right now the question for you today is simply this what will you do with the story that god is writing in your life are you simply going to remember the good things of the lord and declare his power and love in your life or are you simply going to choose to remember what you had to give up what you had to sacrifice what you had to live without today so that you could have a life with christ will you dwell on the overall picture of what the smallest detail in your mind has left out or will you consider could it be possible that the very god that spoke everything into existence actually has a plan and a purpose for every single one of us would you ever decide in your life you know what i've got a story to tell and it's chock full of the goodness and the mercy and the grace of an almighty god hear the preacher today many times the enemy wants you to look over the scene of your life and focus on the outcome of a problem how you got into the situation the woe is me the dreadfulness but god is a bigger god than that look at the little things that has transpired in your life if you are in a meeting or a family union or at a gathering and somebody goes haywire if you will something goes terribly wrong things just don't turn out like you think a terrible situation comes out of what should be a great inner intervention of people interconnectedness of people could it be that the event that you were at the whole purpose of that event was to make something happen in the plan of god it might be the fact that somebody brought you a particular item put it in your hand is so important because god is saying i am working this out i am developing and i am doing things because it is my plan many times friend we have to consider things can be wasted or lost but things also can actually be an exact part of what god is doing in your life when the fact is god simply has a plan a moment that he wanted to bring you to to get clarity and and to make sure you understood that there's a million other things that have already transpired and what god simply wants is that one more thing to be put into position so that things can begin to turn in the direction that god is moving them in hear what i'm saying somebody now if you're one of the ones that just chooses to decide to live for god in the good days only and to forget about him in the bad days then you already need to know you're never going to understand the plan of god but if you'll make up within your mind and in your spirit come what may hell or high water i'm going to be found in the house of the lord i'm gonna be loving and serving him in the good days i'll praise his name in the bad days i'll do the same when it all makes sense or when it all falls apart i choose to believe god is working things out in my life the psalmist wrote this in 147 verse number three he healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds he tell it he telleth the number of the stars he calleth them all by their names great is our lord and of great power his understanding is infinite god calls the stars by their names how is that even possible according to the smartest scientists on planet earth today to the astronomers and those who study the movement of planets and stars they have declared there are approximately 170 billion galaxies that we have knowledge of hear me now when the stars in every one of those galaxies are added together to their very best speculation it all rounds up if you will or down doesn't matter because they really don't know it all adds up to this number there's a one and there's 24 zeros after it hear me at their best understanding there's a one with 24 zeros after it quantity of stars out there in space you've got to know that when the psalmist wrote about it god knows the star and he's even given them a name he knows where they're located he's aware of their position he has kept them in orbit he has kept them in where they are hear me on this sunday could it be then that the god of creation knows exactly where you're standing today and the road that has brought you to this place i've come to tell somebody today god got you in a story and he's working out every detail every day he knows the why the what for the how and the how come it is god's way that same god who has one to the 24th power of stars out there is it any wonder that we are so blown away by his majesty many times we sum up the new testament follow me for a moment we sum up the new testament with one verse john 3 16 you ready for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life it's on placards it is on signs it is on t-shirts it is on name it it's out there his love is so great that he would do everything needed and necessary to demonstrate to you his love you my friend are a part of that love story you and i are right in the middle of what he started and what he will finish somebody hear the preacher 2020 might seem to be a year of unheard rest and chaos but god remains it might look as though the smart people of this world have lost their minds but god remains it might appear that everything is un as unraveling and everything is coming apart of the seam but god remains it might be that your family your home your job your finance your health all the things that you find yourself in has been turned upside down and appear to be way out of control i've come to tell and declare to somebody as strongly as i know how but god remains as i stand here right now god is connecting somebody's life with another piece of the plan that he has for you and somebody in this place right now under the sound of my voice at this moment you're about to walk into the greatest miracle that you have ever witnessed why because your story day in and day out has been compromised it has been put to a place of mistakes it has been to put to a place of failures it has been comprised of issues and unrest but every single day you've got to know when you put your life in the hand of god your story is being written and the lord god almighty knows exactly what the outcome is going to be in your life you have looked for soulless and peace of mind in all of the long suffering today my friend somebody's story is coming together the very moment that you realize what has brought you to this place and the mistakes and the issues that have actually been a divine appointment by the hand of a mighty god then you begin to realize come what may i i'm gonna stand and shout glory to the one who put me here god is fulfilling a plan in your life the old testament prophet jeremiah we all have studied we've looked at it chapter number 29 allow me please verse 10 for thus saith the lord that after 70 years or be accomplished at babylon i will visit you and perform my good word towards you in causing you to return to this place for i know the thoughts that i think toward you saith the lord thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end then shall you call upon me and ye shall go and pray unto me and i will hearken unto you and ye shall seek me and find me when ye shall search for me with all your heart will focus many times friends on jeremiah 29 and 11. i know the thoughts that i think towards you we focus on it we get that we we put it on on everything we can write we tell it to folk we let them know there's an expected hymn god's working it out but if you will take jeremiah 29 and go backwards to verse number one you'll find out that what god did to the people is he began to tell him i'm gonna put you in captivity i'm gonna cause you and your children to go under somebody else's rule god the bible says allowed his chosen people to go into captivity in babylon god instructed him listen to what he told them he said you go ahead and build houses and live in them you go ahead and have your kids and you raise them you go ahead and plant your gardens and you eat from them what he told them was simply this it's all part of your story i want you to live life know that even in captivity i'm still gonna be god regardless of what your captors say and we read that when god's timing came he moved he was moving in all of the details of their daily lives while they were yet captive they couldn't see it they didn't understand it but god was simply telling them you're gonna get to a place and i'm gonna know that you're there and when the moment comes you may not recognize it you may not see it but if you call on my name i've already got an answer for you i know that it's out in the future i realize you don't know how it's gonna come together hear me today in 2020 your life might be a mess things may be happening and you know how you're going to make it i've come to tell somebody today you've got a story to tell the god of glory is working things out in your life and you need to know that if you'll trust him before you ever went into the problem god had an answer at the other end help me josh but when we read god's timing came and he moved his story was all part of what god was doing in their lives he was moving things were happening they might not could have seen it they may have even wondered time and again where is god how is this ever going to make sense but hear what i'm telling you today friend when god writes a story things begin to come together only because god is putting them together hear me there comes a point in your life when points will begin to connect together when things begin to happen and you really can't con understand him i am certain that in this place today somebody right now is connecting with god's plan your story in your life has brought you to this sunday afternoon at 4 54 in the afternoon and god has put you here for a reason and a purpose and you may be asking in your mind and your spirit okay god what now hebrews chapter 12 wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every weight and the sin with dutch so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us looking unto jesus the offer and the finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of god for consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself lest ye should be weary and fate in your mind can i tell somebody on this sunday afternoon that if god is the author of your story then the best is yet to come in all the things that your life has gone through there is something that god is bringing you to there's a story to be told and god is the worker he's the one that's put it together he is the one that offers your story have you ever been determined in yourself to destroy yourself but for some reason you couldn't come on there's a large number of us sitting in here today that should have done been dead and put in the ground and everything you were doing you were determined that you were writing your story and it was going to be a mess knowing that the hand of god was working you refused to accept it and believe in it in fact you got bitter cold and upset and mad at god because things weren't coming together the way you thought they should and all of a sudden you show up on a sunday afternoon in the pentecostal church wondering what in the world did i just do it doesn't matter i'm hateful i'm mean i'm bitter i've sinned i messed up i fell down what's going to happen next i've come to tell somebody that god has a plan for your life and there's a purpose if you will call upon him still and recognize him he is authoring he is writing a story and your life is that story he knew you in the first grade he knew you were in the fifth grade he knew you in high school he knew what school you went to he knew all the times you fussed and cussed about your parents he knew of all the rebellion in your life he knew of all the bad choices and decisions you made he knew about the drugs you put in your system he knew about the bottle that put you to sleep every night he knew about your language he knew about your sense of humor he knew about the things that you were going after and all the while the grace and mercy of god is saying you need to realize something i've got a plan and a purpose for your life and if you'll let me write a story the chapters are going to be long and drawn out until you finally submit yourself that i am going to do my work and i'm going to work it out the way that i see fit some of you in this room right now already the enemies jumped up plugged your ears and said don't listen to that preacher you're a sinner and you're not worthy of heaven you're not worthy of prayer i rebuke that devil in jesus name as long as the mercy and the grace of a loving god is alive you have the opportunity to say god let my story be written with you as the author because you're the finisher of the story as well now i know oh jesus stand with me would you i know that there are many in this room right now in the eyes of humanity you're not worth saving you're not you have done so many dumb things followed so many wrong things grieved so many times those who loved you poured themselves into you and every single one of us standing here today could look at the rest of you and say yeah i think that i'll just not believe that god contains them but there's a song that came out a few years ago he thought i was worth saving he had a story he was writing so you came and changed my life you thought i was worth you may know it keeping so you cleaning up itself you thought i was to die for so you sacrificed your life so i could be free so i could be whole and everybody would know got a story friend you've got a story ain't nobody walked in your shoes there's nobody that knows your history like you know it young folk god's got a story god's writing your story he knows your mistakes he knows your faults and he failures he he knows how many times you do the wrong thing but he thought you were worth saving so he came and he changed your life he thought you were worth keeping he thought you were worth dying today is a place of connection for somebody here all the stuff that your life has been through god has brought you to this place excuse me church there's somebody watching online right now you're streaming this and your heart is broken because you felt for so long that your mistakes were too far god's writing your story you can kneel right now wherever you are put your hands up lord be my author write my story and take all the chapters of my life somehow lord let me see salvation even in the midst of the sin and all the stuff there's some standing here today in this place you need to be in this altar right now allowing the author to do some work in you yeah this altar's open right now if you want to pray i want to invite you repentance is a great place to start lord forgive me i need you come on this altar is open right now would you come you've got a story god's doing a work it's not too late come on the church is still here the name of jesus is still proclaimed on baptism and his name is still right the holy ghost is still your god come into an altar and pray come on it's prayer time don't be afraid of the altar come on it's a great place to be jesus you know my story i want you lord god to put it all together come on throw your hands to heaven right now every head lifted high look into heaven i love you jesus i worship you jesus come on that's right somebody get close to him god you still love me there is still hope jesus i can still run to the cross i can still get to you it's part of my story is come on in close church come on in his prayer time come on press through the dark come on hallelujah come on get up close with somebody praise the lord hear me and go find another man pray with me you ladies come on in the name of jesus that's right that's right god knows exactly what he's doing in the name of jesus in the name of jesus come on that's right run into hallelujah come on pray church i need you jesus prayed is your faithfulness oh god the name of jesus in the name of jesus come on worship the lord right now lift your voice to him right now king of glory king of yes jesus hallelujah you thought i was to die for so i could be free i could be whole everybody that's right come on pray come on lift your voice in the name of jesus the name of jesus the name of every name the name of jesus come on get into his presence right now speak for me more let me hear your voice let me hear your play let me trust you lord god jesus don't listen to pastor for just a moment please fill this in the spirit of the lord right now in this room all you men in the church young men would you come up here please come on all you men come put you right over here all you ladies come on over here please come on men would you come to this side young men come on nobody left out please we're gonna pray one for another before you leave it's early still ladies on this side please come on man gather in close over here ladies gather real close one to another come on if if it's appropriate come on reach over get a hold of somebody come on man you know how to pray pray one for another right now pray for each other come on pray ladies you know how to pray pray one for another right now come on pray one for another yeah in the name of jesus come on pray come on you know it's going to take prayer you know it's going to take prayer it's going to take prayer it's going to take prayer come on you gotta pray you gotta pray come on man come on man touch heaven right now come on man lift your voice come on in and be that prayer warrior right now i've come to love you lord bless my brother lord anoint him right now in the name of jesus lord i am part of their story you are writing it as we speak in your name lord let my faith connect with their faith as we send it to heaven come on me and pray come on ladies lift your voice to the lord i believe in you lord i believe in you jesus you're the healer you're the waymaker you are the deliverer you are god you are god jesus yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah i love you jesus worship you lord i worship that's right that's right that's right yes jesus blessed me the name blessed be the name bless it be the name of the lord blessed be the name the lord bless it be the name of the lord blessed be the name there's a story being written that's you please understand friend sometimes in your hurt pain and suffering and confusion the enemy wants to become the author and if it were up to him he would simply put a period close over and shut the book but there's a bunch of you in this room that when he tried to do that you came out of it hands up saying no no no no no no no no no no there's another chapter going on i know i should have been done in the grave but i'm trusting in the living savior come on i'm coming out of this there's a story being written my name's going in the book i am a child of the king i will not stop i will continue to believe in my mistakes and failures i'm still gonna run to jesus believing in him come on if he's writing the story of your life give me praise right now before you leave this place hallelujah hallelujah i love you lord so glad you came to the house of the lord today god bless each of you bless your homes your families come on you're you're gonna make it it's gonna be all right you keep on reading your word you keep on praying you keep on talking about the goodness of the lord come on come on you need to brag on jesus every moment you got it don't forget afterwards you can see lauren back there take your picture with her she's got a book right in there something nice nice nice i love all of you don't forget wednesday night seven o'clock be in church at your house work wherever you are shake hands and be friendly you're dismissed in the love of the lord god bless all of you go in god