Renew

Psalm 103 5. who satisfyeth thy mouth with good things so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles I want to speak to you on the subject renew and that's going to be the focus of our time in prayer God bless you please be seated amen oh we're in the middle two Sundays into imagine Vision campaign and I'm very excited about what the Lord is doing on Sunday March 19th I'm going to do a little recap and give you a heads up about the next few weeks he launched this Vision campaign every Sunday is themed we honored our past and we made a promise to the past that we would bring the past with us the sacrifice the memories the respect and honor that we give to our past Joseph's bones are coming out of Egypt with us amen and then yes or two weeks or three days ago Sunday I spoke on the subject this day that there are some things that are always true but they may not be timely the word of God is always true and that promise this day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears from Luke 4 21 had been written 700 years prior but it came to pass on that day when Jesus spoke at the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth so we've honored our past we've spoken to our present this coming Sunday at our off-site service we're going to talk about promoting the future so it's going to be very unique we've talked to several pastors who've done this for one thing for us to get to worship together is an unusual thing to get out of our comfort zone is a good thing so I appreciate you making the extra effort we're going to start late so everybody has a little more time to get there and we found out from going there that sometimes the map programs don't get you there and I just wanted to make a footnote about the 747 if it is moving that is not the right place you are on an active Runway if it is moving but if it is sitting there by a game there's a picture of it on the directions then that's the Delta Flight Museum so I just wanted to make sure that you didn't wind up a casualty of the off-site service amen so then we have Easter and Easter will be all about the resurrection of Jesus Christ it will not be a part of this campaign after that we're going to preach again and focus on the faith that God has given us in our future we'll be preaching brother Marvin Mitchell will be here uh to preach about succeeding through sacrifice some amazing stories of things that God has done through people that have responded in Vision campaigns and then April 30th a challenge service committing to his Revelation on May 7th it will be a commitment service of our giving to the campaign between now and then there's a resource booklet and other materials communication so that you can pray and seek the Lord as has been the case for the past 27 years and seven months we're not going to coerce anyone or suggest how much you're supposed to give but it will be a time greater than anything we've ever done and as you're able and God directs you then we want to give on May 14th we're going to have a victory service a celebration of that announcement and then on May 21st May 14 and May 21st May 14th is Mother's Day so this service will be geared toward Mother's Day but we'll take time to celebrate the commitment of our church on May 7th then back to May 21st will be a first fruits offering a sacrificial offering where we give toward this campaign up front kind of front load this as we're directed of the Lord on these Wednesday nights they are themed as well tonight is renewed next Wednesday night is agreed and I apologize for a little confusion and messenger about which night that was it's next week and hopefully we clarified that with communication today week three April 12th is engaged week four is own and week five is commit so every Wednesday night has a specific purpose that is spiritual that is helping move our church in the right direction so tonight I want to teach on this theme of renew Psalm 103 5 that's our text who satisfied thy mouth with good things so that thy youth is renewed like the eagles in the past oh maybe 20 years or so I've spoken about this Psalm January 2013 I preached on a new you for a new year and I talked about the renewing of an eagle's youth I wrote about it in or preached about it just as one illustration in 2020 for my messenger article in 2013. I went back and reviewed this and it's a fascinating thing about eagles now bald eagles in North America are not the same as the Eagles of the Middle East east of the land of Israel but they're similar in the way that I will talk about them tonight the Eagles in the first five years of their development they become adults they go through a very change of plumages as they grow up during the first four weeks of Life an eagle's fluffy white Down Changes to gray woolly down after about five weeks black and brown feathers start growing on that eagle it becomes fully feathered at 10 weeks of age and at the first year many of those dark colored eagles look more like a golden eagle an American bald eagle looks like a golden eagle however it changes over time until a mature bald eagle has that distinctive white head or national symbol of course the Palestinian Eagle the eagle from there is not exactly the same name but the main thing I want to talk about is once that eagle reaches a mature age about five years old how is its youth renewed now I've read through the years you know stories of Eagles going to a rock and pecking and pecking until it's beak fell off I don't really find that as I researched this and look into the Bible what I do find is probably the most plausible explanation of what God had in mind when he wrote about this in Psalm 103 is the molting of an eagle's plumage a mature bald eagle has about seven thousand feathers and if you want to count and do a fact check on me you're welcome to if you can get a mature bald eagle to hold still long enough uh you can count the feathers but what I found is that when an eagle molts at its feathers it doesn't lose all of them at one time seven thousand feathers do not fall off so the eagle is standing there feather less waiting for its feathers to grow back as it molts old feathers the plumage is shed new feathers grow back so there is never a time in the life of that eagle that it cannot fly and you could say that for the eagle it is this process of renewal out with the old and in with the new getting rid of that which is no longer useful and growing back that which is useful for the future an eagle can live between 30 and 40 years but when it finally reaches the end of its life it will be sporting plumage that is new and not worn out so the psalmist said that our youth can be renewed in the same way that we can get rid of things in our life that are really holding us down that are no longer useful and productive and we can grow in place of that character traits godliness New Attitudes and actions that are more like Jesus Christ renewing is a priority for people and it is a priority for a church we need to be careful that in this campaign this Vision campaign that we are not more focused on a building than we are people we don't want to be decrepit people with a new building we need to crush cynicism that is so inherent in our society we need to pray through distractions and ask God to help us overcome our offenses and we need to focus on our need to renew we need a good mirror we don't need to be like the church in laodicea who told the Lord we're increased with Goods we're rich we don't need anything we've got it all together and anytime you ever feel like that anytime you feel like that you are deceived you are deluded the Lord said that really laodicea you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked so in the process of renewal it has to come with the recognition that there are things about every one of us that needs to go needs to be repented of need to be released you don't need to be hurt all your life you can forgive you don't need to be a victim all your life you may have been victimized but that mentality is getting you nowhere you need renewal in your life and that is the focus of this Vision campaign is to not be fixated or preoccupied with buildings or fundraising but on the renewing of our lives and a vision for the future of our church we know that buildings serve Ministries and money pays for buildings but our goal is to build the kingdom of God to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ amen now it is true that churches get old and if they are not renewed I'm talking about local churches corporate bodies if they are not renewed which starts individually and then corporately then they Decline and they die several years ago I taught about the autopsy of a deceased Church in Revelation 3 and 1 and the angel of the Church of Sardis Wright these things says he who has the seven spirits of God and the Seven Stars I know your Works your reputation the Lord said that you have a name that you are alive but you were dead people think you're alive but that's a historical observation the Lord said my assessment of you right now Church in Sardis is that you are no longer alive and vibrant you are dead but if Sardis would have been renewed Sardis could have been a vibrant church for the glory of God on October 13 2019 I taught on the subject of the autopsy of a deceased Church Tom Rayner wrote a book about it by that same title in 2014. they studied 14 specific churches that had gone into Decline and had died I'm aware because of my uh involvement on the general board that there are Parts in the cut parts of the country where a lot of Mainline churches that are dying uh Mark Brown in South Dakota has been given a church recently to their District that has been sitting there I was in Pennsylvania a few weeks ago for their District leaders the district superintendent showed me a picture of a church that they've offered twenty thousand dollars it's over a hundred years old it looks like a painting it is a beautiful Church it will seat over a hundred people but that church congregation died though I don't feel we're in any danger of dying today but we're all in danger of dying if we don't molt the old and grow something new in our lives and if we don't have a future Focus as a church amen Tom Rainer pointed out nine symptoms of a church and decline or dead and I'm not going to teach on them I'm just going to read his list the past is worshiped like a hero the church refuses to look like the community they run from the community the budget moves inwardly the Great Commission becomes the great Omission the church becomes a preference get driven church but people want for themselves rather than the mission of the church pastoral tenure decreases they don't keep pastors because they're dying the church rarely prays together I'm glad we're going to pray together tonight the church has no clear purpose the church obsesses over facilities and facility usages the ownership of rooms I'm glad we have shared space we have to amen but no one owns a particular spot it belongs to the church amen if churches are not renewed they become old and can no longer fly by analogy of the eagle into the Next Generation so whether we like it or not the plumage of yesterday is falling out yesterday's prayers yesterday's Ministries yesterday's successes are falling out they're part of our Legacy in our history and they are the pillar upon which we build the future but we have to build today and be renewed personally and corporately as a church amen we have to grow a new vision new Ministries we've got to grow a new generation we've got to reach new lost people or we will Gray and die as a church our church was born in 1961. this year we will celebrate our 62nd birthday in the life cycle of churches many churches only live to be 40 or 50 years old and then they start declining and dying if they're organized around self-preservation and the needs of existing members alone there is no renewal and there is certain death so today I'm just reminding us of the need to continually renew ourselves amen so there will be four emphasis you'll see them on the screen when we pray to renew our mind renew my mind renew my spirit renew my strength and renew my vision I'm going to teach through these four points briefly you'll see the scriptures on the screen when we pray and there's an overlap in the concepts of how you would Define the spirit of the mind and the spirit first of all the renewing of our mind Ephesians 4 23. Paul wrote and be renewed in the spirit of your mind this doesn't necessarily mean a mapping of neurons but it does refer to thought patterns it is the spirit of your mind your outlook on life you can be old and young in Outlook amen let me try that one more time you can be old and young and Outlook amen it's which direction you're facing amen I know that for many people that are older you obviously have a lot more history than you have future thank God for your history and face the future amen praise God I can tell that was really powerful for some people but I feel it and I could just drill down into that if I had time amen the renewing of the spirit of your mind Ephesians 2 and 10 we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus so this renewing in the spirit of your mind has to be a work of the Holy Ghost I believe in the grace and grit that God does his part and we must do our part to have a good attitude a right attitude amen after I was here a few years some of you were here when we brought in a hundred Silhouettes they were yellow we put them all over the church some people didn't like it I purposely put them in their seat I am guilty as charged I wanted to see how we would react when somebody accidentally sat in our spot you don't have a spot if you do I'm happy for you but if if a guest is there or some Saint decided to move and they sat in your spot if that causes you a spiritual problem you have a spiritual problem amen tide is three and five said that is the renewing of the Holy Ghost to be renewed put on the new man it is both powerful and spiritual and it is a constant process of being renewed Paul wrote in Romans 12 and 1 to not be conformed to this world right excuse me he told us but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind that we may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God all of this is so important to be renewed in the spirit of our mind the way we think our Outlook our attitudes we need to be renewed and then Psalm 51 10 renew my spirit created me a clean heart o God and renew a right Spirit within me to hear it is not the Holy Spirit it is a human Spirit David is praying a prayer repentance he's talking to God about reconciliation to God and it requires a renewed Spirit a transformation of his inner attitudes he wants a pure heart a steadfast Spirit a willing Spirit not one that is rigid Stephen's sermon in Acts 7 spoke about stiff neck and hardened ears Jesus spoke about people whose heart they had clothes or ears they had closed I want my spirit to be renewed so that I have a right Outlook with God I want to make sure that there is no root of bitterness Moses talked about it the writer of Hebrews spoke of it in Hebrews 2 15 that we don't want to root of bitterness to spring up and trouble us I've talked to you about T.L craft before who said don't ever let anything mess up your spirit I preached an entire message from JT Pugh I don't hate nobody on purpose exactly the way he said it not for the grammar teachers here I don't hate nobody second Corinthians 4 15. or which cause we faint not but though our outward men perish that the inner man is renewed day by day remember the eagle the eagle doesn't go to a molting conference and shed all of its feathers at the altar in a single service now I'm not decrying what can happen in a single service but you're not going to get everything you need from God and one praying through at an altar it can change your life it can change a trajectory of your life but our inner men is renewed day by day not week by week month by month year by year that stuff that needs to die in us it's a process of dying to the old and growing something new in our lives amen a process of getting rid of the old renewal this process dying out to old habits and thoughts and attitudes repenting they'll never justify a bad Spirit or sin in your life amen when you justify and look the other way and do not immediately repent I believe you open yourself up to the spirit of that sin because you're going along with the work of the devil in your life repent and run mortifier kill the Deeds of the body the Bible said the name my spirit and then renew my strength Isaiah 40. to mature Christians this is a very common Passage it's so powerful I want to read it and make a few comments only has thou not known hath thou not heard that the Everlasting God the Lord the creator of the ends of the Earth feigneth not neither is weary there is no searching of his understanding he giveth power to the faint and to them that have no might he increaseth strength even the youth shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall it doesn't matter what age you are the stress of Life can come to all of us but Isaiah 40 31 but they that wait upon the Lord we need to understand what that means and I'll try to explain what I believe it means to wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall Mount up with wings as Eagles they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint waiting upon the Lord in the Hebrew is the idea of an inner change of us giving God our weakness as God gives us his strength is to bind together with twisting it is it is not just praying but is praying when we're giving our sins up we're giving our stress up we're not just sitting around I've heard this preach many ways waiting on the Lord looking at our watch it's not mean here doesn't mean waiting on the Lord like serving tables although that's important it means to exchange something to exchange weakness that's in us for strength that is in him if you read that passage again it is God giving to us something that we do not have even young men he said are going to be weak they're going to fall everybody is subject to weakness but God does not get tired and he dispenses his strength that comes into US amen God I pray that you would renew my strength and weary body needs rest and nutrition oh weary mind needs meditation and peace from stress a weary Spirit needs strength that only comes from God body is a temple of the Holy Ghost so you need to take care of that Temple it belongs to God so we can glorify God in our body and our spirit which are Gods we have this treasure Paul said in Earth and vessels so while this outward man is perishing the inward man is renewed day by day so if you're carrying a load of sin you can exchange it for forgiveness if you're carrying a load of stress you can exchange it for strength if you're carrying turmoil you can exchange it for peace if you're carrying grief you can exchange it for Comfort if you're carrying anxiety you can exchange it for the assurance that comes from God waiting on the Lord in prayer and worship is The Great Exchange so the Lord renews our strength one last thing fourth Point renew my vision Proverbs 29 18 where there is no vision that people perish but he that keepeth the law happy is he there's been many people talking about Vision what does this mean and they cast off restrain and a lot of commentary does this really mean the way we see Vision but if you look at it in advance translations I I believe you can make the case that anybody who loses side of the future God has for them loses that Heavenly hope loses a sight of what God is doing in the future loses their motivation loses abiding by the law of God they get weary and well doing they cast off restraint they just quit they just give up and as a church I've already preached and taught about this at the beginning we want God to renew the vision that he has for his church for the future of his kingdom there is no end right but the jury spoke about it in the keynote address on Sunday this idea of vision is applied to many things a vision is a picture of what could be and what should be you know faith is the evidence of Things Not Seen so I believe in you pray with vision you see what God desires and you pray your way to it someone told me they were praying for a son that was away from God somebody not in our church I said when you pray you have grief and a burden but when you pray I want you to see your son turning to God that's what faith is it is a prayer of faith that you see a picture of that prayer coming to pass a vision is a picture of a preferable Future something better that God has in store of us and if you lose sight of the future you default to the past we like to sing it Easter Because He Lives I Can Face tomorrow but because he lives I can turn my face toward tomorrow toward the future knowing that God has a great plan for his church amen we get all messed up in the gloom and doom of this world but we have a Heavenly hope a great hope we have life we have it more abundantly we do not need to drown in the despair of this world God can give us a vision for what he's doing amen if you don't mind stand right now lift your hands to the Lord and when you thank him Lord I know Lord that I Has Not Seen Nor Ear Has heard Lord the things that you have in store for your people Lord that you have revealed it unto us by your spirit so tonight we Embrace by your spirit well you have provided for us and like Paul Lord we strain for the future we reach for the future Lord we forget the things of the past God in and we are pressing toward the prize of the High Calling of God in Christ Jesus Lord renew our vision I pray in Jesus name Hallelujah so tonight we're going to pray Lord renew my mind renew my spirit renew my strength and renew my vision