Higher Ground

What does it take to move to higher ground in one’s spiritual life?  Moving to higher ground is synonymous with spiritual growth.  Let me ask it another way.  How do we make sure that we are living our lives worthy of the Lord by bearing fruit?  The story of King Josiah gives us great principles growth. 

The record of King Josiah’s life is found in 2 Kings, chapters 22-23.  The text reveals four things about Josiah that enabled God to take him and Judah to higher ground. 

1. Openness to the voice of God (2 Kings 22:11A).  We are told that after the book of the Law was read Josiah heard…He was sensitive to the voice of god.

2. Brokenness before the throne of God (2 Kings 22:11b; 19) The great paradox of the kingdom is to go higher you must go lower. 

3. Willingness to do the will of God (2 Kings 22-23).  The reforms that Josiah brought to Judah demonstrate a man who was willing to do God’s will.

4. Single-mindedness to seek the face of God (2 Kings 23:25). Josiah tuned to the Lord with al his heart, soul, and might.  

God will move to higher ground those who are humble before his throne, open to his voice, obedient to his will, and passionate about his presence.    

“Lord, lift me up and let me stand, By Faith, on Heaven's table-land, a higher

plane than I have found; Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”

Sermon Recap 7.16.2017

True Confession

Psalm 51:1-19

It’s not uncommon to see a lawyer trying to have a confession thrown out on the basis that is a false confession.  It’s the judge’s responsibility to determine if the confession is admissible for trial. 

In like manner, not all confession we make to God is admissible to God.  The Bible speaks of a godly sorrow and a worldly sorrow.  The former leads to repentance, but the latter leads to spiritual death. 

One of the best passages of scripture for identifying a true confession is found in Psalm 51.  King David confesses his sins of adultery and murder to God. There are three truths about true confession. 

1.    True confession understands our condition before God (1-6)

2.    True confession seeks cleansing from God (7-12)

3.    True confession is confirmed with a transformed life in God (13-19).

The Gist...

I love sitting down with people and sharing what Overflow is all about.  The gist of overflow is simplicity.  That’s right, simplicity.  We want to be a simple church, and by simple, I mean a church not built on programs but on 3 simple processes: encountering God, empowering people, and engaging the city. 

In a consumer culture, we often approach finding a church that meets our needs.  Most are settling for a Christianity that revolves around catering to self, but that is far from the message of the gospel, which calls us to deny and abandon self.

Therefore, at Overflow, we intentionally want to move people from a crowd of consumers to a community of Christ followers encountering God, empowering people, and engaging the city.

Sunday mornings is when Overflow gathers for corporate worship to encounter God.  Soon, we will begin monthly community gatherings as well as seasonal city groups for cultivating healthy and authentic community.  We will also have in place an elements course that will move people from consumers to contributors to the family.   

We are all about processes at Overflow.  We realize that our walk with Jesus is a process.  Come join the process with us.  

Pastor Patrick Mead. 

Sermon Recap for 7/2/2017

Trusting God in Hopeless Situations

Psalm 3:1-8

In Psalm 3, we find David running for his life because his son’s revolt.  The prayer he pens is considered a lament psalm, one that he wrote early in the morning.   Three things we learn from this psalm about trusting God when all seems hopeless. 

First, life will present us with circumstances that seem hopeless.  This is often caused by adversity and feelings of abandonment from people and God (1-2). 

Second, it is paramount that we don’t allow the circumstances to dictate our outlook on life.  David, focused on the hope that he had in God’s protection, victory, comfort, and faithfulness (3-4). 

Third, when we allow our upward look to God determine our outlook on life, it results is calmness, courage, and confidence to face the seemingly hopeless situations of life (5-8).