Pastor’s Message
CANCEL THE PITY PARTY
PSALM 30:1 I will exalt you, O Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. 2 O Lord my God, I called to you for help and you healed me. 3 O Lord, you brought me up from the grave; you spared me from going down into the pit. 4 Sing to the Lord, you saints of his; praise his holy name. 5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
6 When I felt secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” 7 O Lord, when you favored me, you made my mountain stand firm; but when you hid your face, I was dismayed. 8 To you, O Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: 9 ”What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? 10 Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me; O Lord, be my help.” 11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, 12 that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.
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The Invitation: By Oriah Mountain
It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.
It doesn’t interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon…
I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure
yours and mi ne
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”
It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.
It doesn’t interest me who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.
It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like the company you keep
in the empty moments.
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I WOULD LIKE TO HUMBLY ADD:
IT DOESN’T “INTEREST” ME WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH,
I WANT TO KNOW HOW LONG YOU ARE GOING TO LET IT GO THROUGH YOU
IT DOESN’T “INTEREST” ME WHAT THEY DID TO YOU,
IT MATTERS TO ME WHAT YOU DO IN RESPONSE, HOW YOU REACT?
IT DOESN’T “INTEREST” ME WHY YOU ARE MAD, IT MATTERS TO ME THAT YOU DON’T STAY MAD SO LONG THAT YOU MISS GLAD AND PEACE AND POWER AND HOPE AND JOY AS THEY KNOCK ON YOUR DOOR EVERYDAY…
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THE LAST 2 WEEKS HAVE BEEN AN EPIPHANY FOR ME IN A VERY REAL WAY. I HAVE BEEN PRAYING MORE THAN EVER, READING MORE THAN EVER, BEEN PRAYED OVER MORE THAN EVER, AND FINDING GOD IN NEW WORDS AND NEW WAYS.
WHEN I REALLY HEARD THAT SCRIPTURE A FEW WEEKS AGO, I THOUGHT IT WAS JUST AN A-HA MOMENT, BUT IT WAS A REVELATION. THEN LAST WEEK, WHEN I GOT THAT THING ABOUT THIS BEING THE 8TH PLACE AND THIS BEING THE 8TH DAY, THE FIRST DAY WE WAKE UP AT HOME, I PURPOSED TO PRAY ON HOW I WANT TO SPEND MY TIME IN MY MANSION.
I HAD STARTED WRITING OUT INVITATIONS AND TELLING PEOPLE TO SHOW UP…BUT I’VE DECIDED IT’S TIME TO CANCEL THE PITY PARTY.
I WAS BUYING LIQUOR AND COOKING COMFORT FOODS AND MAKING MAD MIXTAPES FOR MY MANTRA OF MADNESS AND SOMETHING TOLD MY SOUL TO CANCEL THE PARTY. GOD TOLD ME THAT IF WE TRULY INTEND TO CLAIM IT AS MINE IN 2009, THEN THERE’S GOT TO BE ROOM FOR MORE, ROOM FOR JOY, ROOM FOR POWER, ROOM FOR EVERYTHING WE ASKED FOR AND THERE CAN’T BE SPACE FOR GRACE IF WE ARE ALREADY CONSUMED BY OTHER THINGS.
GOD WILL RAISE UP A STANDARD AND PULL YOU BACK TO YOURSELF AND REMIND YOU THAT YOU ARE WONDERFULLY AND FEARFULLY MADE…IT’S TIME TO CANCEL THE PITY PARTY AND STOP WASTING SO MUCH TIME AND LOVE ON PROCRASTINATION AND HATEFULNESS…BECAUSE IT’S NOT GOING TO BE AN ALL NIGHT FUNCTION AT THE JUNCTION!
THIS SERMON ISN’T ABOUT BLIND OPTIMISM OR SUGGESTING THAT THINGS DON’T HAPPEN…BUT HOW LONG WILL YOU SUFFER? HOW LONG WILL YOU SIT IN IT?
A MOMENT? A NIGHT?
THE BIBLE SAYS THAT YOU CANNOT LET THE SUN SET ON YOUR ANGER…AND WHEN YOU DO, YOU EXTEND THE MIDNIGHT!
WHAT IS A NIGHT IF YOUR LIGHT IS OFF AND THE CURTAINS ARE DRAWN AND YOUR HEART IS CLOAKED AND NO LIGHT CAN ENTER?
CONFLICT…STRIFE…DISAGREEMENT…LACK…MAY ENDURE…IT MAY LAST…BUT IT MAY NOT.
MAY IS A REQUEST, LIKE MOTHER MAY I? NO YOU MAY NOT…PAIN YOU MAY NOT STAY BECAUSE I AM GOING TO FEEL YOU RIGHT NOW! DEPRESSION YOU MAY NOT MOVE IN…BEFORE I DESIRE BETTER FOR MYSELF…ANGER YOU MAY NOT STAY HERE BECAUSE I CAN’T STAY MAD AT FOLKS IF I DON’T WANT SOMEONE TO STAY MAD AT ME.
I’M CANCELING THE PITY PARTY AND PURPOSING TO MOVE ON AND MOVE UPWARD, EVEN WHEN IT FEELS UNCOMFORTABLE AND I DON’T KNOW HOW BECAUSE I HAVEN’T DONE IT BETTER. IT’S SUPPOSED TO FEEL LIKE SOMETHING BECAUSE WE HAVEN’T DONE THIS THING BEFORE…WE HAVEN’T ASCENDED TO THIS HEIGHT BEFORE…SO YOU MIGHT BE A BIT NERVOUS AND UNSURE, BUT BUTTERFLIES IN YOUR STOMACH MEAN THAT YOU ARE ENTERING A NEW DOMAIN!
THAT’S NOT FEAR…THAT’S FUEL!
WORK IT…WORK WITH IT…SPEAK TO YOUR MIDNIGHT AND LET IT SPEAK TO YOU!
ACKNOWLEDGE IT: YOU ARE HURT. YOU ARE MAD. YOU ARE LOST. YOU ARE BROKEN. YOU ARE WHERE YOU ARE AND THE ONLY WAY THAT HELP CAN FIND YOU IS THAT YOU BE TRUTHFUL ABOUT WHERE YOU ARE!
FEEL IT: THE VIEW, THE SHOW, IS ABOUT HAVING AN OPINION AND BEING HONEST ABOUT IT. WHEREVER YOU ARE, BE THERE AND FEEL IT FROM THERE. YOU’VE GOT TO COME CORRECT IN ORDER TO COME WHAT’S COME AT YOU. GET IT OUT! SCREAM IT OUT! BE EXPRESSIVE AND FIND A WAY TO GET IT OUT.
THE COUPLES
THE MEN
THE WOMEN
THE YOUTH
THE PARENTS
THE USHERS
THE DEACONS
WE MUST EACH HAVE SEPARATE SANCTUARY WHERE WE CAN GO AND GET IT OUT AND THEN GET UP AND GO FORWARD!
USE IT…LEARN FROM IT: DON’T IGNORE THAT MIDNIGHT…DON’T PRAY AWAY THAT MOMENT BEFORE YOU GET WHY IT CAME TO TEACH YOU. IF YOU DON’T FACE IT HEAD ON, YOU WILL HAVE TO LOOK AT IT AGAIN. SO WHILE IT IS DARK, WHILE YO U ARE WEEPING, CHECK IN WITH YOURSELF.
EVER HAVE A MOMENT WHEN YOU SAY…I DON’T KNOW WHY I’M CRYING…WELL, FIND OUT! WHILE YOU ARE WEEPING, GET IT ALL OUT…THE FRUSTRATION AND THE CONFUSION UNTIL YOU GET A CONCLUSION! THE LIGHTS WENT OUT FOR A REASON. THINGS GOT DARK FOR A REASON. SO BEFORE THE SUN CAN RISE FOR YOU TO THE POINT THAT YOU CAN SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY, YOU’VE GOT TO BE CLEAR.
AND THE LAST STEP: MOVE ON FROM IT – ONCE YOU KNOW THAT A THING IS DONE, LET IT BE DONE. YOU DON’T GO INTO THE TRASH TO MAKE SURE THAT ITS FINISHED, SO WHY DO YOU KEEP GOING BACK INTO THE TRASH TO PULL OUT OLD STUFF AND DEAD MEMORIES? IF YOU CAN REALLY ALLOW YOURSELF TO GET THE LESSON AND FEEL THE FEELING, YOU CAN MOVE ON KNOWING THAT YOU MADE IT THROUGH MIDNIGHT AND THAT THE SUN CAN SHINE AGAIN. WHY GO BACK AND KEEP REMINDING YOURSELF THAT YOU MESSED UP, THAT SOMETHING WENT WRONG, THAT YOU FAILED OR SOMEONE FAILED YOU…LEARN THE LESSON…AND THEN LIVE THE LESSON BY PUTTING IT INTO ACTION AND LIVING IT DAY BY DAY!
YOU HAD A MOMENT, A MIDNIGHT, BUT ONCE YOU GET OVER IT AND GET OVER YOURSELF, YOU’VE GOT A HUGE MISSION FROM EVERYDAY FORWARD – CANCEL THE PITY PARTY!
SEND BACK THE SAD CHAMPAGNE AND THE STALE CHIPS…BECAUSE JOY IS ON THE WAY…JOY CAUGHT A FLIGHT ON HER WAY TO YOU…JOY SAYS HOLD ON I’M COMING!!! WAIT FOR IT. WAIT ON IT. WAIT IN IT. BELIEVE IN IT!
WEEPING MAY ENDURE FOR A NIGHT…
WEEPING MAY MAKE IT THROUGH THE EVENING…
WEEPING MAY MAKE A GUEST APPEARANCE
WEEPING MAY SHOW UP…
BUT JOY IS DEFINITELY COMING
JOY IS DEFINITELY THE STAR OF YOUR LIFE AND SHOULD BE
JOY WILL COME IN THE MORNING TIME…
IT’S MORNING TIME, CHURCH FAMILY AND I DON’T CARE HOW LONG YOU ENDURED THE DARK, SUFFERED THROUGH SUNSETS, GOT BLINDSIDED BY BLACKNESS….IT DOESN’T MATTER BECAUSE IT’S MORNING TIME AND JOY…JOY…UNSPEAKABLE JOY…NEXT LEVEL JOY…THE DESIRES OF YOUR HEART JOY…PEACE THAT SURPASSES UNDERSTANDING JOY…I’VE GOT A FEELING THAT EVERYTHING’S GOING TO BE ALRIGHT JOY…JOY…THE JOY THAT THE WORLD DIDN’T GIVE YOU AND CAN’T TAKE AWAY!
YOU INIVITED IT NOW DELIGHT IN IT!
YOU MIGHT NOT THINK YOU CAN STAND IT BUT MAKE ROOM FOR JOY!
WEEPING, YOU’VE DONE THAT…
CAN YOU GET INTO JOY?
CAN YOU LIVE A LIFE FILLED WITH JOY!?
JOY!
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In Love, I remain