Anticipate the Miracles of God

It was two years ago that I was in a hotel room flipping channels came across CNN headline news and I was stunned for just a second because the person that was being interviewed looked very interesting.
He captured my attention. So I just sat on the edge of the bed and watched for a while.
There were long black braids that were hanging down all over this guy’s head. They were dyed jet black.
He had on a little bit of a goth style makeup on.
He had tattoos that were peering out from underneath the tank top that he had on being interviewed on CNN headline news.
I was captivated by him. I didn’t know who he was, but I would soon find out his name was John was John Welsh.
Brian Welsh, rather Brian Welsh. His nickname was head that his friends call him head.
Brian head Welsh turns out he was the lead guitarist for a heavy metal band called Corn.
Now, now, I don’t know if you could tell by looking at me or not, but I’m not really a heavy metal music listening kind of sister.
So I didn’t know anything about Corn or Brian Welsh, but I was captivated by this young man when I heard the word Jesus kind of just jump out at me and I wanted to know what this story was about.
So the interviewer was asking him questions and Brian Welsh was saying, I’m no longer the lead guitarist for Corn.
He said, because I was killing myself on that lifestyle, the drugs, the alcohol, the all night binges, everything was complete chaos and I was killing myself.
And he said one night after an all night binge, I stumbled into the first church I found in town.
He said, those people saw me in all of my makeup and my sweat from the night before the clothes I had on at the concert the night before he said, but somebody put their arm around me, sat me in the pew right next to them.
And that day they basically loved me into the body of Christ. He said, I gave my life to Christ.
And that day he said the taste for the drugs, the taste for the alcohol, the taste for those illicit relationships.
They just left me. He said, I’m completely free. Now, y’all need to understand.
This wasn’t TB N this wasn’t C B N love those stations.
But I’m talking CNN headline news, prime time television.
The, the news anchor looked at him as if he had lost his mind.
He said to him, are you saying you’ve been delivered?
Brian said, I am saying I have been delivered. He said, who are you saying did this for you?
Brian said, oh, I’m telling you, it was Jesus Christ, the news anchor then said to him, are you telling me you don’t feel the lure the pool for the drugs for the alcohol for that type of lifestyle anymore?
Brian kind of looked back at him quizzically and said, you must not understand.
He said that day, I was crucified with Christ on the cross of Calvary.
Now I’ve been made alive together with him. This man was basically giving the gospel on prime time television.
I was doing the Holy Dance on the hotel bedroom. Does anybody know what I mean?
When I say holy dance, I’m a hotel. He said, now, what about your band mates?
You know, you guys have been friends for some time. You don’t, you’re not just in a band together.
You guys have been friends, lifelong friends for many years. So tell me about your relationship with them.
Surely, don’t you feel the pull the lure from them to come back and be a part of the band?
And Brian said to him, well, no, actually, they’re getting saved one by one and coming to know Jesus Christ as savior for themselves.
I was captivated by this man’s story that was in September two years ago.
A month later in October, I got a call from the James Robinson show, James Robinson television show.
They tape in Fort Worth, I live in Dallas, Texas.
So every now and now and then they will call me to be a guest on the show.
You know, when, when one of their real guests is canceled.
So they asked me if I would come and be a guest on particular evening, they take four shows a night.
They asked me if I’d take two programs with James and Betty Robinson.
I told him that I would, I didn’t know who the other guest would be until I came that evening, sat down for dinner with James and Betty Robinson.
The rest of the staff and across the table from me was the other guest for the evening.
Brian head Welsh, he sat there with those braids hanging down everywhere, those tattoos still peering out a little bit of that makeup still on.
And let me tell you when it was time for him to be interviewed.
I sat like a little schoolgirl with my chin and my hands because I wanted to hear everything that that man was going to say.
He said lots of riveting things, but one thing in particular captured my attention.
He said, what a lot of people don’t know is that when I got saved, we were signing our fifth record deal.
This record deal was going to promise us each $20 million, somebody say $20 million.
He said everybody’s names were on the contracts except mine.
He said there was just something about signing it. That was bugging me a little bit.
That’s what the Holy Spirit of God will do when he’s a part of someone’s life.
He said, I told my boys that I had to go home and think about it a little while, what he really meant when he was going home to pray about it for a little while.
He went home. He said he got down on his knees and he just said, God, would you help me to make some, some correct decisions with this new life in you?
I don’t know much about what it means to follow you yet, but God would you please give me directions.
What is it that I’m supposed to do? He called out to God.
He said, he opened up his bible and happened upon a verse that said, and they left everything to follow Jesus.
He said, he called up his voice and he said, I’m sorry.
But today I’m putting a stake in the ground and I’m leaving everything to follow after my Jesus.
This was a man who was headed in one particular direction and the call of God on his life interrupted his perception of what his life was going to be.
It’s a life interruption. I call it a divine intervention when God surprises you when he shocks you, when he calls you in the opposite direction, a different direction than where you thought you were going.
I suspect that some of you were at catalyst this weekend.
Some of you are in this room because you are leading people in a capacity.
You never thought you would be, you never thought you’d be the pastor’s wife.
You never thought you’d be the Bible study leader. You never thought you’d be the preacher.
You never thought you’d be the CEO, the president, the manager of that type of organization or in that capacity.
Never in a million years. Did you think you’d be sitting in this seat doing what it is that God has called you to do your life?
One form of fashion has been a life interrupted, divinely intervened by God where he’s gotten you off the course that you had planned for your life and he’s got called you in a different direction.
It’s kind of like I was sitting in the rafters when Francis Chan was so beautiful.
Chan was so beautifully leading us last night.
And I noticed this big arrow that they have plenty in a specific direction on this platform.
You can probably see it as well if the camera angle is right.
And it occurred to me that oftentimes this is very much like our relationship with God where we get an arrow, a green arrow that is pointing us in a specific direction.
And there’d be nothing wrong with the direction that the arrow is calling us to God’s arrow for our life.
There’d be nothing wrong with that except there are oftentimes three or four different other options available to us.
They look just as intriguing just as inviting. Just as interesting.
We’ve got to decide when God interrupts our life, when He divinely intervenes and gives us specific direction, calling us in a particular area, will we go?
Will we yield completely to the direction God is leading us even if it’s different than what we specifically had in mind when we began this journey with God.
Well, there’s a character in scripture. His book in the Bible is named after him.
He is a leader of all leaders.
He is one who knew what it meant to have a life interrupted by God’s plan. His name is Joshua.
Do you have your Bible with you?
Because if you do, I just want to point out to you some simple characteristics and attributes about Joshua that if you and I will incorporate them into our lives as we yield to the interrupted life, we will find that we are victorious in doing what it is that God would have us to do.
And would you know that if you’re in this room?
And right now, you can’t say you’re in an interrupted life, a situation where God has surprised you.
Would, you just know that at one point or another in your life, everybody in this room will be in a situation that feels like the interrupted life.
In fact, in this room right now, you’re either you’re in one of three places.
You’re either right smack dab right now in the middle of the interrupted life on your way into the interrupted life or on your way out of the interrupted life because that’s the nature of following God.
He surprises us. He shocks us with his plans for us.
And Joshua was a man who had been surprised by God when he’d left Egypt under the leadership of Moses.
40 years earlier. You could not have told him that he would have been the one to take Moses’s place in leading the Children of Israel into the promised land.
Never in a million years. Did he think God would call him to that capacity?
And yet when we meet him in Joshua chapter one, God is giving him specific instructions.
You all know this story. He’s saying to him, listen, today is the day you’re going to lead the Children of Israel, approximately two million refugees.
I’m putting you in a position where you’re going to be leading them across the Jordan river.
And finally, after years of wandering in the wilderness, you are going to be the one to take them into Canaan.
And so on the heels of receiving an arrow from God instructions, specific directives that there was a place where he was supposed to go.
There are four things that Joshua did.
Four things that if you and I can incorporate them in our lives, four attributes or characteristics, if they will characterize us as leaders in the body of Christ.
We will see that they make a huge impact not only on ourselves but on others.
Joshua chapter three verse one tells us exactly what it is that Joshua did.
It says then Joshua rose early in the morning. Can we just stop right there?
Joshua rose early in the morning after receiving instruction from God to take all these people across the Jordan river to handle a task that probably He did not feel equipped to handle.
Remember this whole weekend, this whole catalyst conference, you’re talking, you’re thinking about when God calls you, not necessarily feeling ready but being open to doing what it is that God would have you to do.
So God tells him, listen, we’re going across the Jordan today and it says that Joshua rose up early in the morning to complete the task that God set before Him.
Here’s the first thing about Joshua that I love. Joshua acted immediately in obedience to God.
He acted immediately in obedience to God.
I want to ask you, what is it that God has asked you to do?
What is it that is on the table for you right now that you know, is the call of God upon your life.
Are you procrastinating? Are you ignoring it? Hoping God might change his mind or give the assignment to somebody else?
Can I just challenge you today? Would you act immediately in obedience to God? This is so different than Moses.
Do you remember when Exodus chapter three when God called Brother Mo Moses said, who am I that I should be able to do this?
And God had basically said to him, it doesn’t matter who you are because I’m gonna go with you.
And then he said, but wait a minute, who do I tell him you are?
And God says, you just tell them I am that I am Moses said.
but what if they don’t believe me? And God had said to Him, what’s that in your hand?
Moses, what’s that in your hand? And then Moses still had excuses. He said, I can’t speak well.
You do know that, right? God, that I’m not really the one for the task that you meant to call because I don’t do this right?
And God said, I’ve got that covered too.
You and I are good at giving excuses, aren’t we?
I know I am all the reasons why we can’t do what it is that God has called us to do man.
The difference between Moses and Joshua and thank God for Moses.
He did his job well, but every group of people needs a Joshua. They need that person. That’s you.
That’s me, the person who’s just going to stand in faith and act immediately in obedience to God, regardless of what they feel like are their weaknesses and deficiencies.
Will you? And I respond and act immediately.
It says at the end of verse one that he and all the sons of Israel set out from Shati and camped at the Jordan, they lodged there before crossing.
Look at the beginning of verse two, it says it came about at the end of three days.
This gives us insight into how long they camped at the edge of the Jordan river.
They were camped there for three days. Now, why is this important?
Because you need to know that this was April when they were camped at the Jordan river getting ready to cross over.
This was April. April was harvest season.
That means that Mount Herman, which was to the north of the Jordan river was melting all of its winter snow, snow, all of that runoff was now gathering in the Jordan river.
The Jordan means Jordan means to descend.
So the Jordan river itself was emptying all of its water into another body of water.
So you’ve got rapids that are rushing violently down from a mountain through the river and into another body of water.
That means that the Jordan river wasn’t a calm placid body of water when they were about to cross under Joshua’s leadership.
The Jordan river was a madly violent rushing body of water.
It was kind of like the Colorado River at flood stage, flood stage.
It was 50 times wider when Joshua was leading the people to cross than it would have been in its normal cap capacity.
And so the Children of Israel for three days, got to sit on the edge of the Jordan river and see this impossible, impossible body of water that God was telling them they were going to be able to cross.
And if they were anything like me, the fear would probably rise up in them as they had three days to consider what it was that God was asking them to do three days to look at this task.
That seemed like it was completely impossible.
And yet under the leadership of Joshua, they were told we’re going to cross this body of water regardless of what it looks like.
Simply because our God has promised us that he will carry us across.
Joshua was not only a man who acted immediately, Joshua was a man who acted fearlessly.
God is calling us to be leaders who are fearless, who don’t let the things of this natural world determine whether or not we will obey God over 300 times in the scripture.
He says, different derivatives of do not be afraid, fear, not over and over again.
We are told that because the power of God lives on the inside of us, we are not held captive to natural standards.
We have supernatural ability. Did you know that that the Holy Spirit of God lives in us to empower us to do what looks like it cannot be done in our natural abilities.
I’ve got uh it was mentioned to you that I have daughters. I do not have daughters.
I actually, I’ve got three boys. They are 6, 5 and 1. Can somebody say, Lord have mercy? Faith.
My oldest son a couple of years ago just started to lose all his teeth.
You know, they get around five and every just they start popping up out one after the other and he was so excited about losing his teeth.
That first tooth came out. We told him we’re gonna put it under your pillow.
The tooth fairy is gonna come in the morning.
You’re gonna have a surprise in the place of that tooth man.
I have never seen that brother so excited to go to bed in my whole life.
So we put the tooth under the pillow, you know, he laid his head down.
But every three seconds, he was looking under the pillow to just see if anything had happened.
So about three in the morning, the tooth fairy who is the six ft 3 £250 man that I sleep next to every night, he got up, went upstairs, exchanged the tooth for a treasure in the morning.
I knew when Jackson got up because I just heard thumping and chaos upstairs as he discovered his treasure under his pillow.
He ran downstairs. He said, mama, mama the tooth very came. Look what I got.
He opened up one hand, there was a package of gummy bears.
He opened up the other hand, there was $5.
I was thinking a dime anybody know my husband saw the look on my face because you know when mama ain’t happy, nobody is happy.
He said, Priscilla, don’t you worry?
He said you remember last month, which would have been November last month was Jackson’s fifth birthday.
He said, do you remember that? On that fifth birthday? We invited family members over.
They all came over, they brought cards inside of all those cards were $5 bills.
He said, you remember we took all those $5 bills, put them in a birthday drawer.
He said this morning, three ami went inside that birthday drawer, got out a $5 bill and put it underneath this pillow.
Yeah, that’s called good parenting.
That’s what that’s called Dave Ramsey. You’ll be proud of me. That’s good.
Financial stewardship is what that is.
And I watched my boy get so excited, listen to me.
He got so excited about treasure that he really already had.
And somebody in this room needs to know that the moment you got saved, there was treasure deposited on the inside of you and the person of the Holy Spirit so that you don’t have to fear stuff that regular folk fear because you and I are regular.
We’ve got the Holy Spirit of God on the inside of us, empowering us to do and be what we cannot do and be in our own natural ability.
The treasure of God is on the inside of you do not be afraid.
And then Joshua says to the Children of Israel verse three, they commanded the people saying, when you see the arc of the covenant of the Lord, your God with the levitical priest carrying it then and only then shall you set out from your place and go after it?
I love Joshua. Joshua doesn’t say I’m the leader. Follow me. Joshua says, God’s the leader.
Let’s follow him. He says, until you see God’s presence symbolized by the ark of the covenant.
Until you see God’s presence moving, then you don’t move. If God’s presence doesn’t go, you don’t go.
I don’t care how exciting it looks. I don’t care how good the opportunity looks.
If God’s not going, we ain’t going. I love that.
And so Joshua teaches us not only to act immediately, not only to act fearlessly.
He teaches you and I to acknowledge the presence of God.
Listen, I know there are so many good opportunities out there for you and I, but listen, if God ain’t going, we ought not go.
Do you know what I love about Jesus while he lived on, on planet earth while he ministered.
He said in John 5 19, Jesus said, I only do what I see the Father doing.
In other words, if God ain’t doing it, I ain’t doing it doesn’t matter how good the opportunity looks.
And so the captivating thing about it, Jesus Christ is not only that while he was here on earth that he did his Father’s will.
Here’s the captivating thing that He did his Father’s will and nothing else you see you and I are so often so captivated by everything else.
We don’t even have enough energy left for what God actually wanted us to do.
What if you and I just looked for God’s presence and we only moved when we saw the arc of the covenant, the presence of God moving.
We need God to follow. We need God to direct us to lead us even though we might be the leader of that, that, that management association, that, that organization, that church, that ministry, we might be the leader, but we better be following hard after God.
And there’s a reason why the end of verse four tells us why Joshua says, the reason why we have to follow God is because we’ve not passed this way before God’s been here already, but we’ve not been here and God knows where he’s going.
We better follow hard after him. My second little boy was sitting around the Christmas tree.
One year, he was three. Jackson was five.
They have a couple little gifts in front of them and Jerry, my husband tried to have a little spiritual moment with them before they opened up their gifts.
And he said, guys, whose birthday is it really? Today, Jackson, the five year old said it’s Jesus’s birthday.
The three year old heard his brother say it’s jesus’ birthday, saw the gifts in front of him and said, come on Jesus.
But see out of the mouths of babes, sometimes the truth comes because the reality is they, sometimes we’ll say things that we won’t say we’ll just think.
And the reality is we must think we’re God because if we didn’t, we wouldn’t try to control situations the way that we do.
If we knew that He was God and we were not, we would know that we’ve got to follow after him and try to trust him in our own devices.
Would you look at the person next to you and just say you are not God, you are not.
And, and I mean, I mean, come on, just look at them.
Aren’t you glad they aren’t God?
We’ve got to acknowledge the presence of God.
Finally, Joshua says, verse five, look at what Joshua tells the people. Here’s great leadership.
He says, consecrate yourselves for tomorrow. The Lord will do wonders among you, brothers and sisters.
It’s time for there to be a group of leaders who will tell people to do what Joshua told them to do.
He basically said to them, I’m not only going to act immediately, I’m not only going to act fearlessly.
I’m not only going to acknowledge the presence of God, but I’m going to anticipate God’s miracles.
I’m going to act today like God’s getting ready to do something tomorrow.
What if we had a group of leaders, you and I who encouraged people that whatever box they have, that they contain their God in whatever box they put a lid on to determine this is what God will do and this is how He will act.
What if we had some leaders that would shake up people’s boxes, turn them upside down and say to them, listen, would you take the lid off that box and anticipate that our God can do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond anything that you can ask or think and that He can blow the lid off of your box.
You and I are those leaders to tell people to anticipate God’s activity to assume that God can do bigger.
We’ve got to stop praying safe prayers all the time.
We’ve got to say God, I believe that you can do the unthinkable.
Why can we trust that God can do that? Because listen, He’s the first and the last.
He’s the beginning and the end. He’s the keeper of creation and the creator of all.
He’s the architect of the universe and the manager of all time.
He always was always, is always will be unmoved, unchanged, undefeated and never undone.
He was bruised and brought healing, he was pierced, but he’s pained. He was persecuted but brought freedom.
He was dead and brings life. He is risen and brings power and he reigns to bring peace.
The world can’t understand him. Armies can’t defeat him. Schools can’t explain him and leaders, they can’t ignore him.
Harrod couldn’t kill him. The Pharisees couldn’t confuse him and the people couldn’t hold him. Nero couldn’t crush him.
Hitler couldn’t silence him. The new age can’t replace him and Oprah cannot explain him away.
She can’t do it. He is right. He is love.
He is longevity. He is the Lord. He is goodness, kindness, gentleness and he is God.
He is holy, righteous, powerful and pure. His ways are right. His word, eternal.
His will is unchanging and his mind is on me and his mind is on you a God like that we ought to anticipate the miracles of God.
And so following Joshua, following this man who acted intentionally and immediately who acted fearlessly, who acknowledged the presence of God and who anticipated the miracles of God following a leader like that.
Finally, two million Hebrews walked across the Jordan and into the promised land.
They did it back then and following you, they’ll do it today, Lord Jesus, thank you for your word.
Thank you for the leadership of Joshua.
I pray that you would instill in us these exact characteristics that we might bring glory to you in Jesus name.
All God’s people said.