14th January 2018 – Don’t Hold Back Week 2 – Simon Benham

Simon Benham – 14^th January 2018

Don’t Hold Back – Isaiah 54:2-3

Introduction

In Isaiah 54 V2:

“Enlarge the place of your tent,

stretch your tent curtains wide,

do not hold back;

lengthen your cords,

strengthen your stakes.

For you will spread out to the right and to the left;

your descendants will dispossess nations

and settle in their desolate cities.”

The second of Isaiah 54 v2, there is a promise of what God will do: That we will spread out and that the children of God will flourish and multiply, and that life will come and infect the whole of society.

However, before that promise, God has some expectations of us:

There are things that we need to do:

Enlarge – make bigger –

Stretch - Take some risks

Lengthen - the rope

Strengthen – drive the stakes deeper

God wants the church to have a big vision and a church that is not afraid to step into the vision.

Matthew 20 v 29-34:

As Jesus and the disciples were leaving the place, 2 blind men were sitting on the road side. They called out to Jesus to be healed. After a short conversation Jesus touched their eyes and immediately they received sight.

The end of the story is great: The blind men could see. We should be believing that God is still in the business of healing and wants to do this today.

However, the focus of the discussions today relate to the In the middle of the story where Jesus asked a question: ‘What do you want me to do?’. It’s not that He doesn’t know the answer. He asks  so that our hearts are revealed. He wanted to know the heart of the blind men….’let us see again’ is what the blind men answered.

Sometimes we ask God to do the little things- the reasonable things, the small things. However we should be focusing on the big things and be expectant.

Simon quoted from Erwin McMannus –‘The truth is that many of us ask very little of God because we think little of God. We protect God from our prayers so as not to embarrass him if the prayers aren’t answered. Is it possible that our prayers are too small for God.  Are we the limiting factor?’

God wants to encourage us to dream big. That we attempt big things for God. He is the Alpha and the Omega, He is the beginning and can do all things. Let us be the big dreamers. Prepare to ask for something huge.

We want to have a big vision for God. We need to do this a s a community and individually.

If we live BIG lives and believing big things – we need to align our heart with Gods heart. Like the blind men. They wanted to be healed and Jesus wanted to heal them. The crowd were the ones saying that the men should be quiet.

We need to be a people that wants what God wants.

There isn’t an easy fix to make this happen. There isn’t a ‘magic prayer or a pill’. God only shapes our hearts and desires when we connect with him and spend time together. As you spend time with Him you become like Him.

We are in society where there is a culture of a busy environment that tries to stop us connect with people and God. We need to slow down, live a different pace to everyone else. The blind men couldn’t rush from place to place. Maybe the blind men had time to know Gods heart. They may have heard of the other healings  and pondered on Jesus healing them aswell.

We need to stop and spend time with Jesus.

Technology really gets in the way – Smartphones next to your bed: twitter / Facebook/news etc. Before you know you have lost half an hour. Stop having your phone by your bed and used an alarm clock instead. What would your life look like if your first connection each day was with Jesus.

This isn’t about how much time you spend: A woman recently had 3 minutes with God who spoke to her and changed the direction of the family. It is about making the effort to connect with God.

Simon encouraged us to pray the Lords Prayer. Stop after each phrase. For example, study the first word ‘Father’ – a God who is for me, who has good plans for me, has a relationship with me, then move onto ‘our’ we are a community, brothers and sisters. Work your way through the prayer. The phrase ‘your will be done’. Not my will but Gods will….. the things in my life how do these relate to Gods will in my life. If I get on board with Gods will – they will be answered.

Psalm 27 – says ‘delight yourself in the Lord and he will give your desires of your heart’. Because His desires will be yours.

Simon encourages us to:

Dream Big. Not little dreams. Not things that we can fix but things that you can’t do. That unless God turns up it won’t happen. Dream big as a community, for His glory. Let’s dream that God will fill big churches. Pray that God breaks in in ……. God for the impossible

As a church we dreamed big for baptisms last year. We dreamed for 100 and 115 were baptised.

Live Big: If you don’t live big and take action the dreams will not unfold. God requires us to step out. Some will work others won’t.  The blind men shouted at the top of the voices to call Jesus. When told off they shouted louder. We live in the nation of the tallest poppy syndrome. We cut people down when they step out. Let’s not do that. God will use as you as you act big in the big dream.

Pray Big: Big dreams will only come about with God. If it’s not big, God isn’t needed. We need to cry out and God will step in. Without Jesus there is no breakthrough. The type that only He can bring.

Referring back to the blind men, they had perseverance. They shouted when were told to be quiet.

When they prayed the prayer the first time. Nothing happened. In fact, they were abused by the crowd. They could have been quiet, but they shouted louder ‘Lord have mercy on us’. We need to keep crying out the same. Jesus came to them and asked them what they want Him to do. Their third prayer was ‘to see’. Their answer revealed the heart of the men. Rather than their eloquence.

Don’t hold back. Step out. Don’t limit God. Expand your vision and spend time with God. So that our will expands with His will.

Challenges:

·         What will you do differently this week?

·         What do you need to discipline yourself in this week?

·         What are your dreaming big for? Is it aligned with Gods vision? Have you given up on God?