The Power of Lullabies

Pastor of Underground Church in Iran (Muslim Country)

“It seems to me that the church in the West is under some sort of satanic lullaby.”

New Series:

LIVING WITH PURPOSE

Next few weeks

Looking at how we Discover our purpose

To know your part in the plan, you need to understand the LARGER PLAN

We can’t understand our purpose outside of God’s larger purpose for all things

This is what we MUST know…

We are not an accident

On Purpose = You and this world are NO Accident

• You are not a mistake

Genesis 1:27

So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.

Isaiah 43:6-7

6 Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the ends of the earth—

7 everyone who bears my name and is created for my glory. I have formed them; indeed, I have made them.”

That means:

This is where the Lullabies Come in

If your ultimate purpose is to Glorify God with your life, then our enemy wants to do anything he can to distract you from that purpose

As long as I am doing things that make me happy and feel good, then everything will be OK, and I will have purpose.

• Sexual gratification

There is nothing wrong with “BEING HAPPY” unless that takes over priority

God’s purpose for your life is not to be HAPPY but to be HOLY and display His GLORY

Seeking pleasure only leads to FLEETING HAPPINESS

Seeking Holiness leads to FULFILLMENT and JOY

17 Therefore, I say this and testify in the Lord: You should no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thoughts. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them and because of the hardness of their hearts. 19 They became callous and gave themselves over to promiscuity for the practice of every kind of impurity with a desire for more and more. 20 But that is not how you came to know Christ, 21 assuming you heard about him and were taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to take off your former way of life, the old self that is corrupted by deceitful desires, 23 to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, the one created according to God’s likeness in righteousness and purity of the truth.

As long as I am in charge or people who think like me are in charge, then everything will be OK, and I will have purpose.

• Political power

The Lie in the Garden

Genesis 3

4 “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it…

The lullaby of power speaks to a part of us that WANTS to be in charge

• Wants to BE OUR OWN GODS

1 Peter 5

5 All of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that he may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you. 8 Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour. 9 Resist him, firm in the faith, knowing that the same kind of sufferings are being experienced by your fellow believers throughout the world.

As long as I can be popular and accepted by enough people, then everything will be OK, and I will have purpose

• Our culture highly values fame

Many may not want to be “MACRO FAMOUS”

We do like being “MICRO FAMOUS”

• Social Media

Fame is giving ownership of yourself to those who don’t know you

1 Samuel 15:24

24 Saul answered Samuel, “I have sinned. I have transgressed the Lord’s command and your words. Because I was afraid of the people, I obeyed them.

With fame, others become your master

• Do whatever

Matthew 5:16

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.

As long as I can work hard to have the life that I want, then I will be worthwhile, everything will be OK, and I will have purpose

• Wealth

“I can take care of myself”

“I did it MY way”

“I didn’t need ANYONE but me”

Luke 12

16 Then he told them a parable: “A rich man’s land was very productive. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? 18 I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there.

19 Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.”’

20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’

21 “That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Mark 8:36

36 For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life?

• These accomplishments are eternal

Satanic Lullaby of Personal Goodness

As long as I do good and treat others good, that means that I am good, everything will be ok, and I will have purpose.

• Spirituality

Isaiah 64

All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.

Personal goodness is a satanic lullaby

Romans 12:2

2 Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

• We have been drinking poisoned water as a culture

So, we start with the story the Bible is telling

The ULTIMATE PURPOSE for EVERYTHING and EVERYONE is to GLORIFY GOD

• You will not find true purpose outside of this

Are you allowing satanic lullabies to distract you from your purpose?

A WILDERNESS SEASON IS WHERE WE LEARN WHO GOD IS, HOW HE LOVES US, AND HOW WE SHOULD INTERACT WITH HIM

All relationships have rules

• Friendship has rules

What are some common rules?

No lying – Breaking trust breaks the foundation of EVERY relationship

Eyes only for that one person – Choosing each other over everyone else

No stealing – Don’t take what doesn’t belong to you

In the absence of rules, there is no freedom except for the one who is mightier and meaner than all the rest

God has

• Reintroduced Himself – THE GREAT I AM

All this without ANY RULES

• But God is about RELATIONSHIP

Exodus 6:7

7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians.

RULES FOR THE RELATIONSHIP

Exodus 20

1 Then God spoke all these words: 2 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

3 Do not have other gods besides me.

4 Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth.

7 Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God, because the Lord will not leave anyone unpunished who misuses his name.

8 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

12 Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

13 Do not murder.

14 Do not commit adultery.

15 Do not steal.

16 Do not give false testimony against your neighbor.

17 Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Dating & finding out you hate what they love

I HAVE to go Camping

I NEVER want to travel

I MUST have 5+ kids

• God’s rules demonstrate his values

We see this in the Structure

• The first 4 commandments deal with the Israelites’ responsibility to God

This is why Jesus said…

Matthew 22

37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

• This has ALWAYS been what God valued

• Instead, they give us freedom in their design and order

The right tool for the job – WASHING THE CAR

• Car wash mitt vs Sanding block

Living in God’s laws allows us to OPERATE as he designed us

• That was true then; it’s true now

If your life seems out of order, then you need to EXAMINE your life to see what must change

23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Wedding Vows…

• Sickness and in health

Imagine saying these things to someone you just met…

Wedding Vows only apply because the RELATIONSHIP is established

• You are not EARNING their love; you are responding to it

This is how God’s laws work

• You choose not to follow them

But we are NOT saved through following them

Ephesians 2:8-9

8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

There is only ONE way to God

• Through JESUS

John 14:6

6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Knowing how to walk in God’s freedom in his designed order

• He is the creator

Paul talked about this…

Romans 6:1-2

What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?

Romans 6:12-13

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness.

• Live in the grace and Goodness of created order

New Rules for New Relationships

• Some of you have never truly experienced what following Jesus feels like because you have not chosen to live under HIS rules

New Rules for New Seasons

In some wilderness seasons, you need to operate under NEW rules

• Fasting more

Are you willing to learn what God is teaching you in your WILDERNESS SEASON?

• God is trying to teach you who He is

Disappointment is more than a feeling – It’s a direction

• Leads you on a path

This is important because our series is called “LOST”

• A WAY out of the wilderness

Part of this learning is learning HOW to handle Disappointment

• Especially disappointment with God

What is disappointment?

Disappointment is magnified in “WILDERNESS” season because we are already stressed/worried/anxious/frustrated

“When God’s timing seems questionable, his lack of intervention seems hurtful, and his promises seem doubtful, I get afraid. I get confused. And left alone with those feelings, I can’t help but feel disappointed that God isn’t doing what I assume a good God should do.” ~ Lysa Terkeurst

This is exactly where some of you are right now—disappointed with God:

• You keep praying, but he keeps ignoring you.

And you’re like, “God, I don’t understand! How can this be your perfect plan? How can this be good? God, I had dreams but all you’ve left me with are disappointments.”

Examples:

Disappointed in a previous relationship, so you overcompensate in the next one

• Overly Jealous

Disappointed with yourself, so you second guess or push yourself too hard

• Never have any joy

Disappointed in how you were raised, so you choose to either over-control or passively parent

Disappointed in your life, so you look for someone to blame

What we must know:

Disappointment in life is unavoidable, but how we handle it matters and the story the Bible is telling has a lot to say about that…

Catching the story up to this point

• Freed the people from Egypt

Exodus 32

1 When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, “Come, make gods for us who will go before us because this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt—we don’t know what has happened to him!”

They forgot what ALL God has already done for them

What all had God done for them:

• Fed them

But as soon as Moses was gone a little too long, they FORGOT

• What God had commanded

Disappoint causes us to come down with…

Spiritual Amnesia

How do we handle disappointment?

GOD IS FAITHFUL

2 Thessalonians 3:3

3 But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

1 John 1:9

9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Forgetfulness is not Disappointment’s only problem…

• This God Yahweh is uncontrollable, different, and scary

“Come, make gods for us who will go before us…”

We would NEVER make a God of our own…

• We literally do it ALL THE TIME

What is “god” (The idea of)

And Ideal that gives purpose, meaning, and direction

That Means…

What God values is valuable, and what he doesn’t value is not valid

“Because humanity is made in the Image of God, then ALL human life is Valuable – From the beginning of life to the end

My Jesus loves EVERYONE

• Don’t Judge, Love is love, love wins, God created me this way,

My Jesus is a PATRIOT

• Law and order over alone.. No mercy, Might makes right, Judgement, and religion

The reason these stories are SO IMPORTANT is because the Bible is telling us a very important story…

The story the Bible is telling is any God we make in our own image to control is no God at all but just a fake, sad attempt to control our own lives, which always ends in our own destruction

Disappointments last problem direction is…

Exodus 32

2 Aaron replied to them, “Take off the gold rings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me.” 3 So all the people took off the gold rings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made it into an image of a calf. Then they said, “Israel, these are your gods, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!”

Disappoint makes us:

• Forget – Giving us the freedom to…

False gods, whatever they are or whatever they look like, don’t give us freedom; they only make us slaves

What do I mean by CAPTIVITY?

Back to patterns of Sin that Jesus has freed us from

• Patterns of broken thinking

Don’t go back to those things

• This is the ONLY PLACE disappointment leads

Finishing the Story…

• God sees what the Israelites had done

This is a PICTURE of the gospel

• We deserve God’s wrath – Instead, he offers salvation

But the Gospel says this…

Romans 5:8

God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

• On our worst day

That’s the God of the Bible

• That the God who created you

Disappoint is Inevitable

• We will all experience it

But don’t let disappoint direct you, instead let the TRUST of God be your guide

97 How I love your instruction! It is my meditation all day long.

98 Your command makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me.

99 I have more insight than all my teachers because your decrees are my meditation.

100 I understand more than the elders because I obey your precepts.

101 I have kept my feet from every evil path to follow your word.

102 I have not turned from your judgments, for you yourself have instructed me.

103 How sweet your word is to my taste— sweeter than honey in my mouth.

104 I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every false way.

105 Your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path.

Choose Your Hard

• In your health

Same with Following God

• Without God = HARD

Just because all things are difficult doesn’t mean all OUTCOMES are the same value

• Some things, while difficult, are worth more than others

>>LOST: A WAY IN THE WILDERNESS

Being in a wilderness season is when things are abnormally…

• Difficult

But wilderness seasons have purpose…

A WILDERNESS SEASON IS WHERE WE LEARN WHO GOD IS, HOW HE LOVES US, AND HOW WE SHOULD INTERACT WITH HIM

We are looking at the story of the EXODUS

• The escape of the Israelite people from Egypt to the PROMISED LAND

Last week was about the 10 plagues in Egypt

God’s purpose for many wilderness seasons is to teach us about Himself

Today, we continue that story…

• They let Israel Go

Pharaoh has a change of heart…

Exodus 14

5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people and said, “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.”

So he gathers part of his army and pursues the people of Israel

• Israel is gathered on the banks of the Red Sea

Exodus 14

10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and there were the Egyptians coming after them! The Israelites were terrified and cried out to the Lord for help. 11 They said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”

Moses responds…

13 But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see the Lord’s salvation that he will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you, and you must be quiet.”

Moses prays…

• Stretches out his arms

Through this, Israel and the world learn that…

God always makes a way for His People

• God parted the waters

What does this mean for us?

God is the one who makes a way in your circumstances

• In your pain

First, God introduced Himself to the people

Next, God was teaching the people to TRUST HIM

• That is what wilderness seasons do

There are two important things to know about GOD MAKING A WAY

That is what following God can be like

• You won’t always understand why

Israel didn’t know why God had brought them to the sea

“Have you brought us here to die!”

But God had a bigger purpose in bringing them there

• We’re still talking about it today

When you don’t know the WHY, Focus on the WHAT

What should I be doing now?

• Praying

In most wilderness seasons of your life, you will not know the WHY until you are out of it

• But you can know the WHAT

In celebration, they sing one of the first recorded songs in the Bible.

Exodus 15

2 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

3 The Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name.

11 Lord, who is like you among the gods? Who is like you, glorious in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?

12 You stretched out your right hand, and the earth swallowed them.

13 With your faithful love, you will lead the people you have redeemed; you will guide them to your holy dwelling with your strength.

If you haven’t ever been desperate for God, then worship doesn’t make sense

God had not told them what was next

• they were only just beginning their wilderness season

Worship does a few things…

• His faithfulness

When we sing songs of God’s goodness, it helps our spirit rest assured that

If He was faithful then, He will be faithful now

Next

• This is God’s story

Worship realigns our hearts to Worship GOD and not OURSELVES.

• When the way seems blocked, WORSHIP

Isaiah 43

1 Now this is what the Lord says— the one who created you, Jacob, and the one who formed you, Israel— “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine.

2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you, and the rivers will not overwhelm you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, and the flame will not burn you.

3 For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior.

You are not Forgotten in your wilderness

• God will make a way!

Key Question:

What Is A Wilderness Season?

A season of life where things are:

• Difficult

Wilderness Seasons are a MAJOR PART of the Christian Walk

• We anticipate them

A WILDERNESS SEASON IS WHERE WE LEARN WHO GOD IS, HOW HE LOVES US, AND HOW WE SHOULD INTERACT WITH HIM

1 Peter 1:6-7

6 You rejoice in this, even though now for a short time, if necessary, you suffer grief in various trials 7 so that the proven character of your faith—more valuable than gold which, though perishable, is refined by fire—may result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

• Don’t waste pain

We will be looking at the TRUE story of the EXODUS

The freeing of the people of God (Israel) from captivity in Egypt

One of the most powerful stories in human history

The story up to this point:

• Joseph

Exodus 1:13-14

13 They worked the Israelites ruthlessly 14 and made their lives bitter with difficult labor in brick and mortar and in all kinds of fieldwork. They ruthlessly imposed all this work on them.

The Exodus story is also Moses’ story

• Placed into a basket on the Nile

The Great Rescue

• Oppressed

Step 1 of God’s Rescue is:

Exodus 6

2 Then God spoke to Moses, telling him, “I am the Lord. 3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, but I was not known to them by my name ‘the Lord.’ 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land they lived in as aliens. 5 Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are forcing to work as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.

6 “Therefore tell the Israelites: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians and rescue you from slavery to them. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the forced labor of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you to the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.” 9 Moses told this to the Israelites, but they did not listen to him because of their broken spirit and hard labor.

God is REINTRODUCING himself to his people

• He reminds them of His promise to their ancestors

But the people DO NOT believe

• They are so broken

How will God free them from the most powerful kingdom in the known world?

Step 2 of God’s Rescue is:

Exodus 7

1 The Lord answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet. 2 You must say whatever I command you; then Aaron your brother must declare it to Pharaoh so that he will let the Israelites go from his land. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt. 4 Pharaoh will not listen to you, but I will put my hand into Egypt and bring the military divisions of my people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment. 5 The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring out the Israelites from among them.”

Egypt was the SUPERPOWER of its day

Superpowers think they are untouchable

They can do WHATEVER THEY WANT to WHOMEVER THEY WANT

God confronts the “gods” of Egypt through the plagues

Examples:

• Turn Nile River to blood – Hapi, the bull god, god of the Nile; Isis, goddess of the Nile; Khnum, ram god, guardian of the Nile

The “gods” of the Egyptians were POWERLESS against the God of Israel

At first, they tried to COPY God’s power, but they could not and were powerless to stop it

Exodus 12

33 Now the Egyptians pressured the people in order to send them quickly out of the country, for they said, “We’re all going to die!” 34 So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their clothes on their shoulders.

35 The Israelites acted on Moses’s word and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold items and for clothing. 36 And the Lord gave the people such favor with the Egyptians that they gave them what they requested. In this way they plundered the Egyptians.

Israel still had to choose to LEAVE

• All they had known

Application:

WHAT DOES THIS STORY MEAN FOR US?

Like how Egypt made slaves out of Israel – Sin makes slaves out of us.

16 Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of that one you obey—either of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness?

Sin…

• Oppresses us

The “WILDERNESS OF HUMANITY” is because of sin

• Your choices

There are HOLDING YOU CAPTIVE

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Every wilderness season is NOT because of some hidden sin, but many times it is…

Father, please reveal to me any hidden sin, thought pattern or way of living that is not in alignment with your ways

John 14:6

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

• Jesus came to show us the way through the TRUTH of His life

Sin is based on lies… It says…

• I know what’s best for me…

In order to free us, God must directly challenge the idols, false assumptions, and lies—whether they originate from within ourselves or from our adversary

What does this look like for us?

1. Reading and understanding the Bible (Learning Truth)

Galatians 5:1

For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.

• When God frees us, we must CHOOSE to walk in that freedom

The reason you may be in the wilderness is for God to DEMONSTRATE his POWER and TRUTH to you

• Can’t see it when things are good

Our God is a God RESCUES HIS PEOPLE

• Then and NOW

The START of making it through the wilderness is BREAKING THE HOLD of SIN, LIES, and STRONGHOLDS

It is only the POWER, TRUTH, and FREEDOM of God that can give us hope and purpose for our lives and our world

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