So What Are You Going To Do About It?

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…”

-Zechariah 4:10 (NKJV)

Most people struggle with getting started because the starting point can begin slowly and seem small. But Zachariah 4:10 implies that God greatly enjoys watching us get started and watching the process develop. We should not despise our small beginnings.

Pastor Eric recently read this truth, and shared it in this message, "So What Are You Going To Do About It?" When it comes to making a positive difference in the world, change occurs when someone, somewhere takes responsibility for changing himself or herself and takes action to help others change too. Without the actions of some person, somewhere change does not happen.

This is a powerful truth, because we all can identify problems in our lives. Maybe you’ve noticed a problem in your community, your family, or your church. Oftentimes after identifying the problem we have the thought "Someone should do something about this!" But I wonder if you've ever asked God what He would like you to do about it?

So what are you going to do about it?

“You will never be who you ought to be until you start doing what you ought to be doing.” -Pastor Eric Gilbert

Good intentions aren’t enough. Potential isn’t enough. We need to be people that do something and take action because God loves doers. You might remember this from last week's message, Hope Helpers, if we want to make a difference we have to begin doing things that make a difference.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. -James 1:22 (NKJV)

As Christians, we have divine help in making something happen! Why? Because of 1 John 4:4, Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. The force that is within us is greater than the force that is against us! We should not be discouraged by the enemy. He’s just a bully! We have the power to create change and influence change! We have the empowerment and the enabling of the Holy Spirit within us to begin to change our sphere of influence!

Pastor Eric encouraged us to start applying these 3 Starting Points to our lives TODAY to create change not only in our own lives but the lives of others:

• Start Sharing Your Faith

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. -Acts 1:8 (KJV)

• Start Being Generous

A man’s gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men. -Proverb 18:16 (NKJV)

• Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. Trust God to do what you can’t, because God is able.

“When you feel a sense of conviction about an issue, start moving in the direction you believe it should go even when you are uncertain.” -John Maxwell

God does not subscribe to the ideology that we’ve paid our dues, and there is no final destination in this life. God wants to take us from glory to glory! Don’t get stuck on the question “What can I do about it?” Just start moving in the right direction. You can take what you’ve learned and the experiences you’ve gained and impact change!

That is what the Scriptures mean when God told him, “I have made you the father of many nations.” This happened because Abraham believed in the God who brings the dead back to life and who creates new things out of nothing. Even when there was no reason for hope, Abraham kept hoping- believing that he would become the father of many nations. For God had said to him, “that’s how many descendants you will have!” And Abraham's faith did not weaken, even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead-and so was Sarah's womb. Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this, he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. -Romans 4:17-21 (NLT)

Abraham never lost hope and believed in God’s promise. His faith only grew stronger and he brought glory to God. Isn’t this what we all want our life's testimony to be? That at the end of the day we brought glory to God because we knew that He was able! God is able! He will help us create and influence change.

Pastor Eric had some very encouraging reminders for us if we plan to live lives that bring God glory and avoid discouragement along the way:

• God Enjoys Small Beginnings

Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin…” - Zechariah 4:10 NKJV

• Keep Hoping Like Abraham

• God is Able. Nothing is impossible when God gets involved.

The blessing of Abraham is available to anyone who believes. Check out this message, How to Receive & Respond to the Blessing of Abraham, to learn more about the promises of Abraham! Change may start slow and small, but if we keep hoping, God is able, and we will walk in a level of blessing greater than we can imagine or comprehend! Find hope in the fact that you are a child of the Most High God and you are blessed coming and going!

Many people will seek change, but never realize that they are empowered to be the change. Greater is He that is in you than He that is in the world.

You have the power and God is able.

So what are you going to do about it?

WATCH IT | DISCUSSION GUIDE | MESSAGE NOTES

Has Competition Limited Our Ability to Be Unified?

From a very young age, we’re taught to compete. As children, we battle with our siblings for attention, and we compete with our peers to win games. As we grow older, the stakes become even higher, instead of attention and games, we now compete for jobs, recognition, and influence. This competition isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it fuels us, makes us perform better.

But has competition gone too far?

Is it possible that our culture of competition is making us counter-productive? There’s a delicate balance between healthy and unhealthy competition. Healthy competition leads to increased productivity, but unhealthy competition leads to self-isolation and decreased efficiency.

Looking back in history, we would’ve missed out on countless advancements if the competition was as big then as it is today. Take the pyramids; for example, it took years and tens of thousands of men working together to build them. If they had that mindset, it might have looked more like tens of thousands of men, each trying to build the best pyramid by themselves in the shortest amount of time. If this were the case, not only would we not have the pyramids today, they would have killed themselves trying to build them. There is no doubt we are robbing the future of humanity of significant technological advancements. Not to mention killing ourselves, just because we refuse to be united in the name of competition.

So, what can we do about it?

We have to start with what we can control ourselves. We can’t help that some people refuse to work together. But we can control the way we work with others, and the attitude we have when doing so. If we could change our attitude of competition to an attitude of service, we’d turn the world upside down!

No man has ever had an impact on the world the way Jesus did, and part of that is because of his willingness to serve. He said it himself in Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve…” For Jesus, nothing was a competition. His focus was on serving others because he knew by doing that, he’d bring unity. Great unity begins with a spirit of humility and a willingness to serve.

This idea is brought to light in an even greater way in Philippians 2 when Paul shows us how unity under Christ should look. He explains that we must behave in a counter-cultural way if we want to experience unity. In Philippians 2:3-4, he says, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your interests but each of you to the interests of the others”. This type of attitude is the opposite of our human nature. We want people to serve us and look out for our best interests, but when everyone has that mindset, we create a lonely world.

To obtain unity, we must act counter to our culture. Instead of embracing competition, we need to embrace service. Paul progressively outlines this truth. First, it starts with not seeking your selfish gain; then, it moves to see others as more valuable than yourself. And finally, it ends by concerning yourself with other people's gain, not your own.

Think about the unity that would arise if everyone was concerned about helping and serving other people. We’re a long way from making that a reality, but we could get one step closer each day. Start small, start little unselfish habits, and mold that into an altruistic lifestyle.

Choose to serve even when it costs you something, be an example of selfless living. When you do these things, a unity will form around you, and you will be able to accomplish so much more than you could have alone. Our spirit of competition has limited our ability to have unity, which has limited our efficiency.

It’s time to move away from the world’s view, if you want to be more productive, spend less time on yourself, and more time on others.

Worshiping God In Your Daily Life: Easier Than You May Think

Worshipping God has gotten several people out of some very sticky situations. Jehoshaphat and the rest of Judah were under attack by several evil enemies. The Lord appeared to him and told him that He could deliver His people from the enemy without a battle. Jehoshaphat and the rest of Judah bowed in worship to God for this revelation. They later marched out to battle with their praisers out front, and God routed the enemy without a fight. Paul and Silas were in prison for spreading the good news of Jesus when they started worshiping in the middle of the night. At once, their chains fell off, and the doors of the prison were opened. More recently, in 2019, a group of Christians gathered in Florida to pray against hurricane Dorian which was headed straight for them. Through prayer and worship, this hurricane rerouted, and disaster was avoided.

Worship is essential, and it can save people in very tough circumstances; I think most of us can agree on that. But what is worship? Most people think of singing when they think of worship, and that’s true. All of the stories above are times when people worshiped through singing, but that is only a small piece of what worship truly is. Worship is more than just singing; worship is praying, serving, loving others, reading God’s word, remembering Him in both good and bad situations. Worship is trusting God and giving up our hearts. When we think of worship as only singing, we drastically limit what our worship is. That’s why worshipping God in your daily life is easier than you’d think. It’s because we can and should worship God through everything we do.

Webster’s dictionary defines worship as showing honor or reverence towards a deity. Every day, in every situation, worship is an option. In the good and the bad, there is an opportunity to worship God. The opportunity is there; the question is will we take it? The Bible is full of stories where people worship God through all times of circumstances. At its core, worship is remembering who God is and what He’s done for you and me. Psalm 77:11-13 says, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds. Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God?” When we choose to remember God, that is the start of honor and reverence. Everything else builds off of this.

Worshipping is easier than most people think. You may even worship God more than you think you do. But the hard truth is, none of us worship enough. There is not enough time in heaven or earth to worship God in His entirety. God is the creator of all things; he made us and saved us through His son. We are indebted to Him and should spend the rest of our days worshipping Him. And thankfully, we can do that in so many ways. With a mindset directed towards showing God honor and reverence in everything we do, we can worship God in every breath.