Tri-State District Campmeeting
by Steve Smith
First Apostolic Church of Knoxville (Knoxville, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Isaiah 55:8-11, Hebrews 13:8, Psalm 30:5, Lamentations 3:22-24, Psalm 18:26, Jeremiah 29:11, Psalm 105:17-19

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/steve-smith--tri-state-district-campmeeting-8
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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I invite your attention to Isaiah 55 beginning with verse number eight Isaiah 55 verse number8 while you're turning there let me just say thanks to the leadership and the team the staff here at fac Knoxville they just do everything first class uh and it takes a lot of Manpower a lot of hours a lot of work to pull off a meeting like this thank you very much and thank you brother homman and brother Johnson for preaching to me today wasn't that great preaching great preaching and I'm so thrilled that my wife and my boys are here they'll be here the rest of the week we we had to conquer and divide we got back from vacation on Tuesday I flew over on Wednesday because they had some things to take care of but but all is right in my world now everything's good everything's good I'm thrilled that they are they're here Isaiah 55 beginning with verse number 8 for my thoughts are not your thoughts neither are your ways my ways sayeth the Lord for as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts for as the rain cometh down and the snow from heaven and returneth not thither but water the Earth and maketh it bring forth and Bud that it may give seed to the S and bread to the eater so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth it shall not return unto me void but it shall accomplish that which I please and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it I want to entitle my contribution to this service tonight chess not Checkers turn to three people smile as big as you can smile and say chess not Checkers let's ask God to anoint our time together in his word God everything in the service has been anointed and touched by your power and your spirit every song every word every report God your word is already anointed but we ask that you will anoint our time together in your word God let your word be released in this room to heal and deliver and to bring comfort and encouragement we bind anything that is unlike you in the name of Jesus in this room and we will be faithful to give you praise and honor and glory for that in your name we pray Hallelujah why don't you put your hands together and give God praise for what he is about to do in this room and you may be seated chest not Checkers Magnus Carlson is a Norwegian chess Grandmaster he is a five-time world chess champion the reigning five-time world rapid chess champion the reigning seven time world Bliss chess champion and the reigning Chess World Cup champion he has held the number one position in the internal National Chess Federation World Chess rankings since July 1st 2011 he's a bad boy when it comes to chess matter of fact he only Trails Gary Casper off in time spent as the highest rated player in the world while holding the record for longest consecutive Reign his Peak ranking is the highest in history and he also holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak at an at Elite level in classic Chess at 125 games what one of the most remarkable skills of most if not all world grand Champions is their ability to think several moves ahead many chess players believe that grand Masters can calculate positions as deep as 25 to 30 moves ahead now that may be true in some simple positions I've read like when there are a few pieces on the board to toward the end of the game maybe but generally even the best players cannot calculate that many moves ahead Magnus Carlson claims that he can see 15 moves ahead sometimes even 20 moves ahead that's probably close to the maximum thinking depth for human chess according to an article in thechessworld.com yet man's limit ation are not God's limitations the restrictions of human reasoning ability do not apply to God people can only think so far ahead but the scripture says in Hebrews that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever he is in your past in your present and in your future all at the same time regarding how many moves ahead God can think he's already there he is in your future while you're living in your present while you are worried about how things will turn out he already knows and he is already there theologians call this the instantaneous now God is omnipresent we understand that but he is not just everywhere in place at the same time he is everywhere in time at the same time he is in your past in your present and in your future all right now now I'm more of a checker guy you set me down in the rocking chair behind a checker board at Cracker Barrel and I'm in my element now I'm not suggesting that I'm any good but I'm sure having fun jump jump jump King me I mean I'm living in the moment there's not much thought involved but I've come to declare to you one simple concept tonight that I hope we hold on to for the rest of our lives that God plays chess not Checkers all we see is what's happening right in front of us but God is moving so infinitely far ahead of us he may be making moves in your life right now to benefit your great great grandchild God plac chess not checkers the prophet Isaiah said for my thoughts are not your thoughts nor your ways my ways says the Lord now God's ways are not more advanced than our thoughts like a a parents thinking is superior to a young child's cognitive ability because given enough time children often become more knowledgeable than their parents a few years ago I rode in college again and when I was younger I failed to take the act but I had enough college credits built up that I didn't have to take the ACT in order to enroll in this new college but I did have to submit a short essay explaining why I did not want to take the SAT my essay said in short that one of my boys made a 31 on the ACT and another one made a 32 on the ACT and we are a family of smack talkers and since I have not been in high school for over three decades would you kindly help a brother out God's ways are not above our ways like a parent above a child Isaiah continues for my thoughts are not your thoughts nor my ways your ways nor nor your ways my ways for as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts as the heavens are higher than the earth Isaiah is saying God's ways are much more higher than ours they are so much higher that we cannot see from his perspective now in our modern day we think we can because of satellites we've seen images of the Earth because we fly in airplanes we see from that vantage point but before that we we couldn't see we couldn't even understand that concept and I would suggest to you that that still only scratches the surface to God's perspective in his book High Road Leadership John Maxwell writes that astronauts who have seen the Earth from space have had their entire perspective on life changed they experienced what author Frank White terms the overview effect when astronaut Frank Borman first saw our planet from far away in 1968 he said what a you this must be what God sees actor William William Shatner you know the guy who played the space traveling captain in the USS Enterprise in star track for those of you spiritual ones out there he was allowed to actually experience space travel due to the courtesy of Amazon's founder Jeff bezo when Shatner returned from space he was overcome with emotions with tears falling down his cheek he told Bezos what you have given me is the most Prof profound experience I can imagine it's extraordinary extraordinary I hope I never overcome it God's ways are so much higher than our ways that we cannot see from his perspective further God's ways are so much higher than our thoughts that we cannot live in his realm the only way we can be in the heavens is by some kind of medical device that helps us most climate use supplemental oxygen as they ascend Mount Everest if an airplane loses cabin pressure all the passengers lives are in Jeopardy all astronauts in space require oxygen to survive we were not designed to see from God's perspective or to live in God's realm we should study his ways we should strive to know him but his thoughts are still so much higher than our thoughts that we will never be able to comprehend then the prophet presses his argument a little further for as the rain comes down in the snow from heaven and do not return there but water the Earth and make it bring forth in Bud that it may give seed to the S and bread to the eater so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth God is saying my ways are as high above your ways as the heavens are above the Earth yet as as the rain Waters the Earth and bring forth a harvest so shall my word be that comes forth out of my mouth in other words he's saying when you cannot figure me out when you can't you you can't even wrap your mind around what I'm doing in my ways when you have no idea about what I'm doing my word is like the rain that comes down that it may give seed to the so he's saying my word is not coming to seed collectors my word is not coming to seed hoarders I only give my seed to sers I would suggest to you that Isaiah is saying when you don't know what to do keep sewing keep doing what God has called you to do keep sewing suppose the enemy of your soul can convince you that the only time that you could plant seed is when everything is going right in your life in that case he will do his dead level best to ensure that your life is always filled with chaos conflict and confusion but when your heart is breaking when your soul is aching and your world is falling apart may I suggest that you tuck a Bible study chart under your arm and go so SE make up in your mind that you're going to seow when the sun is shining make up in your mind when the rain is falling you're going to keep planning when everybody seems to like you you're going to keep preaching when nobody seems to like you you are going to keep teaching because the conditions are always right to plant the seed of the word of God in the hearts and lives of the people of our [Applause] communities to me one of the most powerful verses in the Bible that I'm not sure we totally understand or believe we do with a head but not with our heart is when the Apostle Paul said be not deceived God is Not mocked for whatsoever a man Seth that shall he also reap watch this this verse is neither negative nor positive it is simply a statement of divine principle we often say it in a negative response and it is when you seow bad seed you're going to get a bad Harvest but I want to tell some Pastor that's discouraged in this room some student Pastor that wonders why why am I doing what I'm doing where are the results be not deceived God is not marked whatsoever a man SWS that shall he also reap you will reap what you sow it is going to happen you don't have to worry about the Harvest if you put the seed in the ground there is going to be a Harvest Church planner friend of mine told me recently he said I tell you what we've done everything we know to do we and he is he's most one of the most creative SE winners that I know of he he's done everything he knows to do he said I don't know anything about Harvest but I know a whole lot about planting a lot of seed I said so you give it time because God will not be made Al Lie by anybody if you put the seed in the ground it is going to bring a harvest it is going to happen you will reap what you sow and you will reap in proportion to what you sow so plant as much seed as you can put it everywhere when you don't understand what God's doing keep sewing seed the PS says something powerfully he said he who continually Goes Forth weeping now what I life I added to the scripture I I believed in my mind that that meant that when you were going forth and you had such a burden for Souls that you were reaping but that verse does not say why he was reaping it could be a time that you are crying because of a burden for Souls but it could be because your heart is broken and you just say it doesn't matter what's going on my life I am going to continually go forth I may be weeping right now but if I'll continually go go forth bearing seed for sewing I shall doubtless come again with rejoicing bringing his chief with him somebody needs to understand there is a promise in that book that applies to every one of us if we keep putting seed in the ground there will be a harvest when you don't know what to do what you do in those times will determine your success or failure what you do when you don't know what to do will determine your success or failure when tear Tears are Falling Down your face keep sewing when your world is falling apart keep planning Isaiah continues for as the sun comes down and Waters the Earth that it may give seed to the swer and bread to the eater God says I'm only going to give bread to the eater I'm not sending my word to satisfied people I'm not sending my word to people with no appetite for me I'm only going to send my bread to the eater in other words when you don't know what's going on keep sewing and and keep living oh I I didn't come to preach to to people who aren't going through real problems but what I've discovered is we're all going through real problems what I've discovered is we all have the same story just the details are different Sonia Erikson Yuri wrote and recorded a song that speaks powerfully to these seasons in our life she wrote it two weeks after giving birth to a stillborn baby it's so honest the word say might as well just stay in bed because it feels like there's nothing left to get up for the curtains closed the fan is still pillows soaked can't find the wheel anymore but that stubborn Sun just won't take no keep slipping in a little Ray of Hope won't let me go sometimes life just doesn't play fair makes no sense we've all been there drank the bitter cup but the Earth keeps spinning on step by step you move along no you don't give up eventually the clouds do part and this is one of the most honest lines of any song I've ever heard and waking up gets less hard the chorus says but keep feeling keep trying keep praying keep Rising when you can't stand the pain inside and all you want to do is die you barely feel your Beating broken heart beating keep breathing the psalmist says in Psalm 30 for he his anger is but for a moment his favor is for Life weeping may endure for the night but a shout of joy is coming it's coming it's coming in the morning it may be dark right now but a shout of joy is coming in the morning keep living keep living least favorite book of the Bible I'm not even sure you're allowed to do that but I have one I'm sorry my least favorite book of the Bible is the book of Lamentations by far it's not even close one day I'm driving down the road listed to my favorite audio Bible The Word of Promise audio Bible it's incredible the narrators of this audio Bible are all Hollywood actors I mean Moses is Richard drus for crying out loud I mean eat your heart out char hon I mean this is this is awesome everything about this audio book is dramatic to the eth degree and and then you get to the book of Lamentations that has 154 verses of dramatic lament I wanted to pull my car off and RAM my head into a concrete barrier someplace I mean it's chapter after chapter of of Gloom Despair and Agony on me it's it's horrible I listened to chapter one I listened to chapter two and then I arrived at the center of the the center chapter of this book chapter three and it was it was dark and forboding in that place I called my car and in the middle of chapter three it was like a shaft of light broke through the darkness of my surroundings it was as if the whole book was like the black velvet of a Jeweler's uh store case and on that black velvet set a Priceless Diamond of exquisite beauty right in the middle of the book of Lamentations the prophet Isaiah picked up his pen and wrote the only three positive verses in the entire book when he said through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed because his compassions fail not they are new every morning great is thy faithfulness the Lord is my portion says my soul therefore I hope in him if the bottom is falling out of your life right now keep sewing if you feel like if you didn't have bad luck you wouldn't have any luck at all keep living because new Mercy is coming in the morning new Grace is coming in the morning New Hope is coming in the morning great is thy faithfulness thank God Isaiah concludes his arguments by saying for as the rain comes down and Waters the Earth that it may give seed to the soow and bread to the eater so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth it shall not return to me void it shall not return to be empty or without fruit and it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it when you don't know what to do keep sewing keep living and keep trusting King David speaking about God in the King James version in Psalm 18:26 says with the pure thou Wil show thyself pure and with the forward thou Wil show thyself forward the new King James version it reads with the pure you will show yourself pure and with the devious you will show yourself shre in the Steven Ray Smith version it reads with the sarcastic you will show yourself sarcastic I have the spiritual gift of sarcasm and God often meets me there you'd be surprised how he talks to me sometime when I lived in New York I flew a lot living in Memphis I liveed close to the center of the apostolic universe but in New York you have to fly to every event in New York particularly in the spring they shouldn't hand out seed assignments on the plane they ought to give you s coming out of New York the planes are always encountering severe turbulence and and I developed a fear flying I I don't I don't have a fear of hardly anything I was going to get on the plane but I didn't like the turbulence and one day in one of those situations I was gripping my chair's arms as tightly as I could and God spoke he said go ahead grip the arms of that chair a little tighter you'll keep this plane in the air see what I mean he continued that's your problem you're always trying to control the uncontrollable another time he asked me if you flew into Memphis and your spiritual father Bob McCool sior picked you up and said Steve I'm going to take you someplace really nice what would you do I said well I would sit back relax and enjoy the trip he said well then why won't you do that with me my question to someone tonight is are you trying to control the uncontrollable are you searching to discover the undiscoverable are you attempting to understand that Which is far beyond our comprehension wouldn't it be wonderful what if what would it look like if all of us could just sit back relax and enjoy the ride understanding that while we're playing checkers he is playing chest and his ways are so far above our ways that he knows what he's doing and he knows where he's taking us and he has a plan for us the same Prophet who pinned the book of limitations wrote that great verse that we all love you may have it on a magnet at home on your refrigerator you may have a picture someplace with these words for I know the thoughts that I think toward you says the Lord thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and a hope I don't think if we really thought about the context of that I don't think we like that verse so much because what was happening in that context was God was telling the children of Israel you are going to be in captivity for 70 years you got false prophets saying you're about to get out but you're not about to get out you're going to be there for 70 years as a matter of fact you need to build houses you need to plant Vineyards and Gardens and you need to pray for the Peace of the city that you've been carried captive to you you you've got to understand that that is the context but even when it's a long game much longer than what we want to think God says I still know the plans I have for you my plans are to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you a hope and a future I hate to break it to you but he may not immediately bring you out of your circumstance but he knows the plans he has for you he may not immediately turn it around but he has thoughts toward you to prosper you and not to harm you plans to give you a hope and a future so where where in scripture can we find this concept fleshed out that can help us understand it a little better there's several but I want to point you to my favorite I believe Psalm 105 says it so profoundly when it says he sent a man before them Joseph who was sold as a slave they hurt his feet with feathers he was laid and irons until the time that his word came to pass the word of the Lord tested him if God has given you a promise in your past that has not become a reality right now that word will test you until it comes to pass we all like the promise but none of us like the problems and so having the faith to hold on to the promise in the midst of our problems takes a a a a an effort it takes the ability to be able to trust God beyond our Checker mentality to understand that his chess mentality has got something way bigger than we could ever imagine I I've got to tell you never one time in my life has God ever taken me on an adventure where he had his hands over my eyes and he does that right you're on this adventure you have no idea what he's doing you you you have no idea it doesn't make any sense but never once time has he put me in that situation then he removed his hand that I was anything but Blown Away by where he had taken me and what he had done Joseph was the favorite son of a nomadic herdsman and his father said I want you to go on a little Mission today I want you to go to sheam and check out your your brothers the scripture says in Genesis now a certain man found Joseph and there he was wondering in the field this certain man gave Joseph the information that he needed to find his brothers in his book the point of low points King Gurley writes that whenever scripture speaks of a certain man our ears should perk up because this phrase often describes a Heavenly appearance by an Angel or by God years ago Lloyd John ogley wrote a book entitled The Autobiography of God and he asserted that if you want to know God you should look at The Parables Jesus told and when Jes Jesus described a certain man in one of these Parables he described God the phrase certain man appears 32 times in the King James version split twoth thirds in the Old Testament and onethird in the New Testament the first mention of the certain man is in the story of Joseph and this is not coincidental I believe but providential to the uncertain Joseph who is wandering in the field he is following his father others instructions but he doesn't know where to go to the uncertain Joseph the certain man comes scripture never records that God spoke directly to Joseph as he did to his great grand grandfather Abraham or his grandfather Isaac or his father Jacob outside of the certain man in dreams it doesn't appear that God ever spoke to Joseph at least we have no evidence of that but I believe that Joseph would have agreed with the Sentiments of CS Lewis who wrote I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen not only because I see it but because by yet I see everything else from his birth to his death God's hand of guidance Direction and provision can be seen in every stage of Joseph's life I submit to you that one day you are going to look back and it will feel as as if you were always an arrow in God's bow and he pulled back the bow strings and released you directly to your purpose I know it doesn't feel that way right now in our Checker's mindset but one day it's all going to come together as I look back on my life I realize that every time every single time that I thought I was being directed from something good I was actually being redirected to something better it was not a setback it was a set up I'm here to tell somebody if God has taken you on a roller coaster ride it's because he believes that you meet the height requirement he knows what he's doing he's got it all under control if we can keep sowing living and trusting the Bible records that Joseph's brothers conspired to kill him came to pass that they stripped his coat from him they cast him into a pit and then they sat down to eat and you thought your brothers were bad they threw him in a pit sat down to eat then they saw a company of Israelites coming by and said well let's not kill him because if we kill him we can't get any money out of that let's let's sell him at least we could get some money they took the the coat to his father and his father did what often we do with our Checker's mindset he took the evidence he had there was a coat there was blood on the coat and then he drew the conclusions that he would build his life upon and he said my son is dead he is torn into pieces and I shall go down to my grave in mourning this has got to be the worst day of Joseph's life betrayed by his own flesh and blood who genuinely desired to kill him but mercifully swed him into slavery James Russell L profoundly wrote truth Forever on the scaffold wrong forever on the throne yet that scaffold sways the future and behind the dim unknown standeth God within the shadow keeping watch above his own God was orchestrating and directing each and every step of this painful process but if Joseph could have known where that pit was going to lead him if he could have imagined how this pain was going to develop him if he could have realized how this trial was going to change him instead of crying for Help From the Bottom of that pit like guys put down your sandwich come help your brother out instead of doing that I believe he would have called him closer and said hey take a good look at me I I know you don't have cameras now that's that's many years down the road but take a good look at me take a look at me because the next time you see me you won't even recognize me you see I'm only 17 right now but in 13 years I'm going to be promoted to the second in command over all of the land of Egypt and then roughly nine years after that you're going to stumble into my Throne Room begging for food just to survive I'm going to recognize you but when you lift your eyes and look at me after Bowing in my presence you won't recognize me you won't recognize me then you won't recognize me later after numerous conversations after interactions together even after sharing a meal together you won't recognize me until I tell you who I am oh Brothers it won't be the Egyptian attire or the palace on the throne room that's changed me it's the pit it's the pit that's going to change me this pit is going to grow me and stretch me and develop me and change me into a totally different individual that I I am today oh you're right I can't leave Egypt now but you give me 13 years of pain and process and refining and stretching and development then see what God will be able to do through me take a good look at me now because you won't even recognize me in 20 years we all want an easy life do we not we want a painfree Revival we want we want painfree development but God always operates in process the Nolan loves that baby girls he's holding she's just awesome if God came to you tonight and said I can share I can spare you from a lot of pain I I can share you I can spare you from sleepless nights I I can spare you from all kind of expense I yeah he says Glory I'm gonna give you the deal I don't think you'll take it tonight if you bring that baby to the altar we're going to lay hands on it and that baby's going to go from her age to 18 tonight no deal because we want the memories we want the process and we want our churches to grow instantaneously do we not we want our leadership to grow instantaneously do we not that's never been the way it works it always happens to the pit it always happens to the process it always does that in our lives while Joseph is in the pit he could not understand nor comprehend what was going on he had had dreams from God why was he in the pit his dad was convinced that all hope was gone frustrated one time Jacob said all these things are against me have you ever been there everything is working against me everything is conspiring against me like most of us Jacob was living a Checker's life in a chess world he was just living in the moment reacting to what was right before his eyes he could not even imagine that the grand chess master of them all had the most crucial piece in the story of his life sitting on the throne of Egypt and he had been there for years whatever you are going through in your life understand you may not understand what he's doing right now in the moment but God plays chess he doesn't play checkers he's got a plan that's far beyond anything that you can imagine her dream or hope for and so Joseph's words Joseph's life rather powerfully illustrates the words of Isaiah for my thoughts are not your thoughts I wouldn't do it that way God you got a much better plan than I do nor are my ways your ways for as the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts for as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven and and do not return there but water the Earth and make it bring forth in Bud that it may give seed to the S and bread to the eater so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth it shall not return to me void but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper the thing that I sent it man of God one of the tensions of what we do is we hold to a promise from God and yet everything around us is not coming together the way the promise indicated that it would I'm 56 years of age pastored two wonderful churches and not one time have I ever walked the pull pit of a church that I Pastor in a building that we owned does that frustrate me can you see this face but I have to understand if I do what I can do I can allow God to work his work in my life and make sure everything Happ I give you that example because you've got things just as frustrating in your life you've got things that you don't understand why it's not happening God wants us to understand in this night in this camp meeting that he has got it all under control the game of chess comes down to when the King on either side has no more moves once the king is trapped The Winning Side declares Checkmate and the game is over there's a painting that what's hung in the Lou in Paris popularly known as Checkmate if you'll display that on the screen the pain depicts two chess players one is Satan who appears arrogantly confident and the other player is a young man who looks for La the story behind the painting is if Satan wins the young man loses his soul it's kind of The Artsy version of The Devil Went Down to Georgia in the painting the young man has no more moves for years it hung in the LOF the man has no hope he is going to lose his soul the devil has got him in Checkmate but the legend says that a grand chess master visited the Lou one day and he began to look at that board and he began to study every move on that board he began to think through every option and every alternative that that young man could play oh it was assumed that the devil had won and the young man had lost but but in a moment of realization that chess master began to yell at that young man and said young man it is not Checkmate the King has one more move your King has one more move I simply came to tell somebody who's discouraged in this room your King has one more move it is not over till it's over the King has one more move in this altar tonight I want ministers and spouses to lead the way I want you to grab each other's hand and I want you to come to the front and whatever you're frustrated about whatever you're concerned about whatever it seems like God is not doing in your life come and ask God for a fresh assurance that he placed chest not Checkers I may not know what's going on right now but I know who's in control now for the rest of the congregation would come around get just as close as you can around the ministry of this district and begin to lift your voice to God as well and say God sometimes my heart's breaking sometimes I don't understand what's going on but God I understand that you play chess not Checkers you've got a plan for me that's far above what I can imagine imagine you've got a plan far above what I can think of you've got plans to prosper Prosper me and not to harm me God I trust in you I trust in you I trust in you I trust in you you are my only Refuge I have no idea what's happening today but God you not only know what's happening today you know what's happening in the future as well