Get your own map!

During the recent “Selah” series, I preached a message that has become known simply as the “Maps Message”.  This teaching resonated with a lot of people and signified a defining moment for a lot of souls.  It is humbling when God chooses to anoint a message. 

Here are just a few of the things I said.  Okay, maybe more than a few things...

• I HAVE A PROBLEM!  I GET LOST! YOU HAVE A PROBLEM!  YOU GET LOST TOO...ADMIT IT!  
• JESUS NEVER GAVE ME A MAP THAT SAYS “TURN LEFT HERE” OR “TURN RIGHT ONLY” OR “NO OUTLET”.  JESUS GAVE US SIGNS AND SIGNPOSTS, BUT NOT MAPS. Why? BECAUSE JESUS NEVER LIED! MAPS LIE. 
• DID YOU KNOW..EVERY MAP IS, BY DEFINITION…A LIE.
• THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A MAP WITHOUT OMISSIONS, CONCESSIONS, AND INTERPRETATIONS.  THE MAIN PURPOSE OF THE MAP IS TO HELP YOU FIND YOUR WAY. 
• THE MAP IS NOT ACTUALLY…THE WAY. 
• EVEN JESUS SAID..."I AM THE TRUTH AND THE WAY"!  THE WAY IS NOT A THING...IT'S A "WHO"...JESUS!  
• I AM CERTAINLY NOT IMPLYING THAT THE BIBLE IS THE MAP IN QUESTION.  THE "MAP" IS THE MAN-MADE SELF-PRESCRIBED PLAN THAT ATTEMPTS TO STANDARDIZE OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.  HE EXALTED HIS WORD ABOVE HIMSELF...HE AND HIS WORD ARE NOT THE PROBLEM IN THE WORLD. 
• SOME ATLASES IDEALIZE THE REAL WORLD IN ORDER TO CONTROL IT.  OTHERS ARE DESIGNED TO EMBODY A CULTURE’S COMMON VIEW OF ITSELF.  BUT EVERY MAP IS A POLITICAL STATEMENT.
• MAPS ARE NEVER NEUTRAL!  A MAP IS DRAWN FROM A POSITION!
• YOU CAN USUALLY TELL WHERE A MAP IS MADE BY NOTING WHICH COUNTRY IS POSITIONED IN THE MIDDLE.
• DOESN'T EVERYONE ALWAYS THINK THEY ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF EVERYTHING AND IN THE MIDDLE ON EVERY ISSUE?...YEP. 
• YOU EVER KNOWN ANYONE WHO THOUGHT THE UNIVERSE ROTATES AROUND THEM? 
• IF YOU JUST GOT MAD AT ME… YOU’RE PROBABLY TICKED THAT I CALLED YOU OUT.   THIS WORLD DOESN’T ROTATE AROUND YOU. 
• YOU CAN’T REDUCE GOD’S WAY OF WORKING WITH ANY BIBLICAL FIGURE TO A CUTE FORMULA OR MAP.  EACH PERSON’S MAP OF THE WORLD IS AS PECULIAR TO THAT INDIVIDUAL AS A VOICE PRINT.
• ALC…WERE NOT LOOKING AT EVERY OTHER CHURCH'S MAP.  GOD HAS CALLED US TO IMPACT OUR WORLD!
• WE ARE SEEKING WITH ALL OF OUR HEARTS, SOUL, AND MIND…TO HAVE THE “WISDOM OF GOD” TO RESPECT OUR PAST, PRESERVE OUR FUTURE, AND POSITION OURSELVES IN THE “MIDDLE OF HIS WILL". 
• WHY ARE WE ARE CONSTANTLY SCANNING THE HORIZON LOOKING AT WHAT IS HAPPENING IN SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE OR IN SOMEONE ELSE’S CHURCH? (IF WE USED THE TIME WE SPEND "CHECKING UP ON EACH OTHER" SIMPLY FOLLOWING AFTER HIS MISSION FOR OUR LIVES, WE COULD CHANGE THE WORLD!..JUST SAYIN')
• YOU NEED A MAP OF YOUR OWN!  YOU NEED A RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD OF YOUR OWN!  
• INHERITED MAPS, HAND-ME DOWN MAPS, WAY-WE’VE ALWAYS DONE IT MAPS...WON'T WORK!
• A RIVERS COURSE DOESN’T CHANGE QUICKLY, BUT THE CHARACTER AND COMPLEXION OF THE RIVER CHANGES DAILY, EVEN HOURLY.
• WE LISTEN TO EACH OTHER, LEARN FROM EACH OTHER…BUT AT SOME POINT, YOU’VE GOT TO GET A PADDLE IN THE WATER, RAISE A SAIL, CAST OFF, AND GET YOUR FEET WET! 
• GOD IS ABLE TO HELP YOU NAVIGATE THE RAGING RIVER OF CULTURE.
• YOUNG FAMILY?  STRUGGLING ADDICT? BROKEN HEART?  GOD IS ABLE TO HELP YOU!
• Jesus is our “anchor”, our “north star”!
• If you ask me…what are you going to be doing in 10 years?  I can tell you...If I’m in charge of my own life.  But if God is in control…I have no idea how to answer that question! 
• One of our problems is that we have too many answers and not enough trust in God! 
• GOD PROVIDES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOME THINGS THAT WILL GIVE OUR KIDS A FUTURE AROUND THE THRONE OF GOD.
• I am praying that a “righteous risk” nature takes over this church!  I pray for child-like faith to overtake us!
• It seems that the more distance life puts between us and our childhood, the more rubbery our necks.
• The older we are, the harder it is for us to take those first leaps of faith, to engage in trial and success.  It’s almost as if to be an adult is to become hard-wired to avoid risks. That must be why Jesus said only those with the faith of a child will enter the kingdom of heaven.
• SPIRITUAL MATURITY IS NOT PARALLEL TO PHYSICAL MATURITY.  I KNOW PLENTY OF "MATURE SAINTS" WHO HAVE NEVER AGED IN THE SPIRIT.
• I ALSO KNOW PLENTY OF "SPIRITUALLY MATURE" SAINTS THAT STILL MAINTAIN A CHILDLIKE FAITH THAT BELIEVES GOD CAN DO ANYTHING!  WE CHOOSE!
• Be the “family blessor” in your generation! 
• • Crucify the curse of criticism.
  • • Bury the bones of bitterness.
    • • Distance yourself from divisive spirits.
• OUR TONGUE IS THE INTERSECTION OF IDEAS AND INSULT! 
• ARE YOU A GOSSIPER?  IF YOU HAVE EVER TALKED ABOUT SOMEONE ELSE BECAUSE YOU WERE "CONCERNED" ABOUT THEM...YOU MIGHT BE A REDNECK...GOSSIPER.  
• IT'S HARD TO EAT WITH YOUR MOUTH OPEN.  IF YOU HAVE EVER SAID..."I'M NOT BEING FED"...MAYBE YOU NEED TO QUIT CHEWING UP OTHERS IN THE CHURCH AND MATURE BEYOND THE NEED TO BE "SPOON OR BOTTLE FED".  WHEN DID THE CHURCH BECOME ALL ABOUT KEEPING YOU FED ANYWAY?  WHAT ABOUT THE HUNGRY WORLD?  (I DON'T THINK I ACTUALLY SAID THIS IN MY MESSAGE BUT I SURE WISH I WOULD HAVE. I'M FEELING A LITTLE SOMETHING THERE...HAHA!)
• ALC…WE ARE FOLLOWING JESUS WHILE BEING KEENLY AWARE OF THE TIMES WE LIVE IN!  IT IS TIME...FOR US TO LIVE BEYOND OURSELVES! 
• WHEN IT IS TIME FOR HIS “SECOND COMING”, MAY WE PRESENT A CHURCH OF GENERATIONS, REACHING EVERY GENERATION.  
• WE WILL BE A CHURCH COMMITTED TO BIBLICAL TRUTH AND IGNORE THE "METHOD MAPS" THE OF THOSE THAT SAY "IT CAN'T BE DONE!"  WE WILL BE A BOOK OF ACTS CHURCH IN THIS CULTURE OR I'LL DIE TRYING! 

Contact us at info@alcplano.org if you would like to get the “Selah” series on CD.
For further study, check out Leonard Sweet’s book, Aqua Church 2.0.