Trusting Why God Moves

Here is "Trusting Why God Moves" by Joseph Barkley. It's been a while since I've done one of these Ecclesia sermons, so this one is a bit old. You'll find it a few rows down here:

http://churchinhollywood.com/media.php?pageID=15

This sermon is based off of Exodus 14:31 - 15:18. It is a song that the nation sings after God has drowned their enemies in the Red Sea. Go ahead and read that or the notes won't make much sense.

I love what Joseph says here about the glory of God, and what that means. He says that everyone is hard-wired to have a main-thing in life, and I agree. It seems that we are predisposed towards following or worshiping something in life, no matter what. For me growing up (and maybe now  too) it was bands and skateboarding. My sister obsessed over N' Sync and Harry Potter (teenage girls are really good at obsessing over things). My dad loves cars and motorsports. It's just a tendency in our lives to associate ourselves with something we identify with or feel passionate about.

For many, those things come and go; replaced by new fads or more adult ventures. It's not always destructive to associate yourselves with these things in life, but I think everyone would agree that the total significance of skateboarding, Five Iron Frenzy or Ford Mustangs isn't much in the grand scheme of life. Further more, it all dies with us.

Joseph says here that the most destructive thing a human can do is count on an inadequate god. I don't think I would ever admit that skateboarding was my god, but I sure devoted A LOT of time to it (and still do). Most people probably wouldn't admit that money is their god, or career or family or gardening...but maybe it is? I've seen people with "Music is my Religion" stickers. I love music and attach a great deal of significance to its power to evoke emotion or describe a situation (after all, the bible verse for this sermon is a song). But is music an adequate god?

If God really is who He says He is, and can defeat sin and death; and if there is no one like God, then nothing else deserves the seat of authority in our lives. That's a paraphrase from this sermon, but it's true, right? If the God of the bible is who He says He is, then putting our faith in our 401k, Jimi Hendrix or my ability to kickflip is futile. It's okay to enjoy those things, especially in light of God ("Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." - James 1:17), but pay attention to who or what carries the most weight in your life, or your path may be a rocky one.

• The ultimate goal of the movement of God is the glory of God
• "And God said, 'I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.'” - Exodus 3:12
•  They sing a song as a nation after they escaped the Egyptians
• They saw their worst fears lying dead on the shore in broad daylight
• Movement 1: God has done great things
• It was no big deal for God (blowing the sea with just the breath of your nostrils)
• Movement 2: You will do great things
• There are enemies still to be faced (Moab, Canaan, Edom, Philistia)
• All of this leads the Israelites to believe that God is unstoppable
• What fear has become your god?
• Our God is bigger and can't be stopped
• Glory is the totality of who someone is, and why that matters
• Glory means weight, density, heft, significance, influence, importance
• It forces things out of the way
• We all have a measure of glory
• This is a song about God's significance
• God's name (Yahweh) shows up often
• God BECOMES our strength and our salvation
• "Who among the gods is like you, Lord?" - Exodus 15:11
• Why is it important that God tells the world who He is?
• Whether we like it or not, we are hard wired to follow a main thing.
• Something or someone is of ultimate glory, weight, significance in our lives.
• Who do you serve?
• The most destructive thing that a human can count on is an inadequate god
• If God really is who He says He is, and can defeat sin and death; and if there is no one like God, then nothing else deserves the seat of authority in our lives
• If God is at this place in our lives, he reorients everything else in our lives.