Get Me Through The Middle | Pastor D-Wom | Faith Church

If you got a Bible, I hope you do, open it to

the book. I'm gonna be actually in two different

places today. I'm gonna be in Numbers chapter

Numbers 11 · chapter mention

11, and then I'm also gonna be in John chapter

number six. Numbers chapter 11, and then John

Numbers 11 · chapter mention

chapter six. You're in for a treat today, because

I have for you two titles. Two titles today.

If you're taking notes, I hope you are. Write

this down. My first title is Get Me Through the

Middle. Get me through the middle, and here's

my, if you don't like that title, no problem.

Here's my second title. My second title is, it's

less flashy, less catchy, and much more boring,

but much more impactful. My second title is this,

The Importance of Missions. Get me through the

middle or the importance of missions. Now, if

you haven't learned by now, I'm loud. I'm a loud

preacher. I'm going to be yelling at you all

day today. I pray you yell back at me. But most

importantly, I pray you yell at each other. So

we're going to practice this today. I want you

to turn to a neighbor. Get all up in their face

with that nasty morning coffee breath and say,

neighbor. No, we didn't all do it. Say, turn

to a neighbor and say, neighbor, I need you to

help me get through the middle. Now turn to your

other neighbor because that neighbor didn't like

you. Turn to the other neighbor and say, other

neighbor, did you know that missions in the U

.S. It's God's heart. Numbers chapter 11 and

Numbers 11 · chapter mention

John chapter 6. If you got Numbers chapter 11,

John 6 · chapter mention Numbers 11 · chapter mention

say, I got it. If you're still turning there,

say, hold on. Oh, desperate hold on over here.

We will wait for you. Numbers chapter 11. I'm

Numbers 11 · chapter mention

going to start reading in verse number one. The

word of God says this, and the people. This is

the people of Israel, God's chosen people, the

people that God has designed, destined, orchestrated

to usher in the kingdom of God. And the people

of Israel complained in the hearing of the Lord

about their misfortunes. Everybody say, uh -oh.

And when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled

and the fire of the Lord burned among them and

consumed. Some outlying parts of the camp. Pause.

Did you read what I read? Don't make God mad.

He will burn you and your tent and your goats.

All of them. Verse 2. Then the people cried out

to Moses. Right? Naturally. That is a natural

response. If the chairs are on fire in faith

church and it's God's fault, what are you going

to do? Pastor Cammie, chairs are on fire. God

did it. Tell him to stop it, right? That's what

you would do. Moses, God's being mean. Tell him

to stop it. And so Moses, being the good leader,

prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down, verse

3. So the name of that place was called Tibera

because the fire of the Lord burned among them,

verse 4. Now the rabble. Come on, everybody say

rabble. You might have a version of the Bible

that says the mixed multitude. It might say something

like the others. It's important that we know

in verse 4, the rabble there, they are not, not

Israelites. Remember, we're reading verse 1,

the people of Israel complain. The people of

God, these people are not. Israelite people could

have been Egyptians traveling with the people

of Israel. Might have been nomads. Might have

been people they picked up along the way in the

wilderness. But they are not Israelite people.

Likely Egyptians. The rabble that was among the

people of Israel had a strong craving. Everybody

say mmm. Dreaming about lunch. When is this preacher

going to be done? Dreaming about the double bacon

cheeseburger at lunch and the fries to go with

and the chocolate milkshake. Come on, these friends

had a craving, church. They had a craving and

the people of Israel also wept again and said,

oh, that we had some meat. Any vegetarians in

the room? No vegetarians. This is the house of

God. No vegetarians. I cannot believe. No vegetarians

in the room. Oh, that we had some meat to eat.

We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt that

cost us nothing. The cucumbers and the melons

and the leeks. And the onions and the garlic

and the steak with butter dripping off and the

onions on top and the fries and the bag of Skittles.

Friends, they had a craving. But now our strength

is all dried up and there's nothing but all of

this manna to look at. Now let me just pause

before I go on and read John 6. Pause so we can

understand what's happening in the life of the

people of Israel. They are at a critical stage.

Juncture in their history and in their life.

They have been, what we just read, they have

been emancipated, set free from 400 years of

slavery in the land of Egypt. 400 years, been

crying out to God. God, set your people free.

Hallelujah. Been a week. God, hey, still here.

A year goes by, right? After a week and a month,

we're like, hey, God. Did you forget about your

people here? Two years go by, 50 years go by,

100 years. God's still here. In this moment,

God has answered their prayer. He has emancipated

and set the people of Israel free. This story,

they're no longer slaves. 400 years. Friends,

I don't know what you're going through today,

but has it been 400 years? of slavery in Egypt,

and in this moment, they're free, but they want

to go back. They want to go back to the land

of Egypt because they remember. They remember

the fish and the steak and the butter, and they

remember the leeks. I don't even know what a

leek is, but they had them in Egypt, and they

want to go back to the land of Egypt. They're

free, but now they want to go back. I find it

intriguing because how many times in our life,

when God doesn't work, do we find ourselves right

back in the same place that God delivered us

out of? God sets you free. He delivers you from

addiction. But you remember. You remember the

highs. You remember the adrenaline rush. God

sets you free from a relationship, but you remember

the good times. And you've got some cravings

to want to go back. God delivers you from financial

despair. And then all of a sudden, pre -approved

$60 ,000 capital and credit card, hallelujah,

must be the Lord, right? All of a sudden, you

find yourself back in the same place God delivered

you. This is the people of Israel. To a T today.

Now let me go out. I'm going to read John chapter

John 6 · chapter mention

6 just so we can make this make some sense for

us today. John 6, I'm going to start reading

in verse number 30. It will also be up on the

screen. The word of God says this. So they said

to him. Just for some context here, the they

is a group of people who come to the hymn. That

would be Jesus. If you read earlier in this same

chapter, John 6, you will read a story about

Jesus who has done a miracle, friends. A miracle.

The Bible says he fed a group of thousands, 5

,000 to be exact, but it's not even exact because

they didn't count the women or the children or

the goats or the rats. We got rats in Chicago.

We count them as well as the population. He didn't

count any of them. So he feeds a group of likely

10 ,000 to 20 ,000 with five loaves of bread,

two fish. Five loaves, two fish. Wouldn't feed

this room for a meal. Five loaves, two fish.

Wouldn't feed my boys on the car ride back to

Chicago today. And yet Jesus feeds the masses

with five loaves, two fish. I make a huge deal

because the question that they're about to ask

Jesus is ridiculous. Then what sign do you do,

Jesus, that we may see and believe you? He's

just fed the crowd with 12 baskets left over.

Who doesn't love leftover meatloaf? The disciples

loved it. 12 leftover after the miracle, the

sign. Then what sign do you do, Jesus? That we

may see and believe you. What work do you perform?

Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness. Now

they're going back to the story we just read

in Numbers. Our fathers ate manna in the wilderness

as it is written. As if Jesus didn't already

know. He gave them bread from heaven to eat.

Translated, Jesus. Talking to Jesus, the crowd.

Jesus, we know Moses was the real deal. You know

why? Because our forefathers told us crazy stories,

wild stories, Jesus, about what happened to our

forefathers in the wilderness. Jesus, you should

have been there. There was water. It came out

of a rock. Moses hit the rock and water came.

Crazy Jesus. We had a pillar of cloud and a pillar

of fire. Wild Jesus. We had Panera bread falling

from the sky every night on the ground. And we

picked it up and had carbohydrates. Jesus. Crazy.

We had a golden calf. Wasn't our best moment,

Jesus, but we had it in there. There was a mountain

shaking and God wrote stuff on a rock. Wild,

Jesus, you should have been there. Then Jesus

said to them, truly, I truly, I say to you, it

was not Moses who gave you that bread from heaven.

But my Father gives you true bread from heaven,

for the bread of God is he who comes down from

heaven and gives life to the world. And they

said to him, Sir, give us this bread always.

Jesus said to them, I am. Jesus says to them,

Do you remember that water that came from the

rock? Jesus says, You remember that manna that

fell every night for a generation in the wilderness

that you picked up and sustained you for a generation?

That was me, Jesus says. The pillar of cloud

and fire, that was me, Jesus says. I am the bread

of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger.

And whoever believes in me shall never thirst

again. Amen? Father, let's pray together today.

Father, I love you. I praise you. God, your word's

alive, living, active, has the power to go places

my words cannot. So, Father, if we do nothing

more than read your word today, we can leave

here changed. Anything I say above and beyond

this, let it be anointed by your Holy Spirit,

I pray. In Jesus' mighty name, everybody said

amen and amen. Get me through the middle or the

importance of missions. Curious, in the room,

do we have any frequent flyers, frequent travelers

by plane? Maybe you travel for work. Anybody

in the room? frequently fly. Okay, has anybody

ever been on an airplane? Anybody ever been?

Okay, there we go. Everybody else, you've seen

an airplane? Everybody we've seen an airplane?

Okay. All right, we got them all. We got them

all. My family, we're in a unique season of time

where we travel frequently for what we do, what

God's called us to do in Chicago. We don't fly

frequently, but here's what I've learned. In

the few times we fly per year, maybe once, twice

a year, what I've learned about the whole process

of flying, the whole TSA. It's orchestrated,

designed to suck the fruit of the Spirit from

your face. That's what I've learned about the

whole process. I mean, we're a family of seven.

So when we fly specifically, like a move of God

must happen in our home to get from our door

to our destination, right? We've got to find

the suitcases because inevitably they're in the

attic or the basement. Sometimes they're in the

alley. We don't know why they're there, but they're

there. We've got to find them. We've got to find

the underwear with no stains in the underwear,

right? Especially if you're going to see the

in -laws. You've got to make sure you impress

the in -laws. You've got to find the socks with

no holes in the socks. You've got to find the

stuffies and the water bottles and the backpack.

You've got to find it all. And then my family

and I, when we travel, specifically by plane,

we are faced with a critical decision. Do we

drive to O 'Hare International Airport? Because

if we drive there, then we've got to pay to park.

It's $14 ,000 a day just to park. At O 'Hare.

And so then we must decide, do we drive or do

we Uber? We can't just Uber. Did you know that?

We have to Uber XXL. Did you know that was a

thing? I didn't either. It's the last time we

had to do it. Uber XXL. You got to get all the

kids inside there. The largest Uber they have.

The car seats. Got to get the backpacks and the

suitcases. Got to get the kids in there and my

wife in there. Got to get them all in there.

And then you get to the airport. You got to get

them all out. All the kids, all the car seats,

the stuffies, the backpacks, the goldfish. Everything

got to come out. All the while they're yelling

at you. You got to go. Got to move. Hurry it

up. You're a terrorist. Keep it going. We're

not terrorists. We just have a lot of kids and

a lot of stuff. Then, friends, you are faced

with the reality you must go in to talk to the

ticket counter person. They don't love you. They

don't even like you, frankly, right? Like, you've

got to get your ticket, and then you have to

go through security. TSA. You've got to get all

the kids through there. You've got to go through

the thing. You've got to turn around. You've

got to bend over. You've got to cough. The whole

thing, just to get through security, to get to

your gate. And then we get to our gate, friends,

and we all do this. Last time we flew, true story.

We all do this. We grab our phones or our boarding

passes and we look at them. Tells an important

story because your boarding pass is going to

tell you, it's going to give you a number and

a letter. That letter is important in how you're

going to spend the next three, four hours of

your life. If you get the letter A, you are blessed

by God. Blessed because you have the window seat.

You can look out, see the clouds. You can hashtag

it, post it on your Insta. It's great, powerful.

You get the letter B, mm -mm, no bueno, nope,

not good. You got the middle C, not good. Favor

of God's not on your life. You get the letter

C, awesome. Holy Spirit has anointed you. You

have the aisle seat where you can get up and

move around freely. So last time I fly, I grab

my phone. We all do this. Lest you think I am

the only heathen in the room. We all do. We grab

our boarding pass and we get onto the plane.

And we start looking in the area that we think

we're going to be. Right? And you start stereotyping

people. You're like that guy. Looks awesome.

Looks like he'd ignore me. Earbuds in, arms crossed.

Perfect guy. You're like, that person looks like

they smell. Don't want to sit next to that person.

So I grab my boarding pass, looking down the

plane, and I look at the area that I think I'm

going to be. I see a large guy. Large guy. Totally

cool. He has the earbuds, the arms crossed. He's

on the aisle seat. Then I see an empty seat,

the middle one. And then I see another seat taken

by a lady. Lady was special because she had something

special with her. Someone special with her. Brand

new. Days, weeks old, baby. Baby. Brand new baby.

They're having a time. I can hear the baby from

the front of the plane looking back there, seeing

the guy, empty seat, and then the lady with the

baby. I'm thinking, dear Lord, baby Jesus, if

there's any grace left in you, let that not be

my seat. Because as I get closer, then you hear

things, you start to smell things, you start

to see things. Baby's projectile vomit coming

out of baby. You get closer, I'm looking, I see

brown dribblies coming down baby's leg. You know

how you're supposed to have the tray table up?

During text, not this lady. Nope, she had tray

table. Down, changing the baby, changing the

baby. I'm thinking, oh God, oh God, please let

this not be my seat. Lo and behold, that's my

seat between large guy and lady with the baby.

I sit down, the plane takes off. We're in the

air. She's still having a time. Mom's having

a time trying to keep baby calm, fed, nourished,

all the thing. She's having a time. I now ding.

I call it the dingy bar. You know the dingy bar?

You got the air, you got the light, and you got

the dingy bar. The dingy bar will ding the flight

attendant. The flight attendant will come your

way. I ding the dingy bar. The flight attendant

comes my way. I say, excuse me. And I try to

like slunk away from the lady because she's doing

the best she can. Best she possibly can. Give

her the benefit of the doubt there. Excuse me.

Are there any other seats anywhere on the plane?

Now I could tell immediately this flight attendant

was not on my side. She says, no, there are no,

loudly, other seats anywhere on the plane. Now

I must slunk back into my seat. Mom was having

a time. Guy's over here just kind of chuckling.

You could see his shoulders just kind of going

at it, right? Like mom's having a time. She turns

to me with what I can only describe as this demonic

voice, force. She looks at me and says, how dare

you? And I'm trying to be calm and respectful.

Like, you're doing the best you can. How dare

you? Can't you tell? I'm doing everything I possibly

can to keep my baby fed and changed and clothed

and nourished. I said, no, I cannot because it

smells and it's gross. Can't you tell? How dare

you? Now, again, lest you think I'm the only

bad guy in the room, in the room, sermonic survey

time, how many of the room you'd say, you know

what, pastor, you should have just sat there

and taken it. You should have just been there.

If the baby vomits on you, so be it. You should

have offered a chance. You should have just sat

there, not said a word. Raise your hand. I don't

see any hands. All right. How many in the room?

You're on my side. Absolutely. Not sitting next

to stinky, poopy, vomit baby. Anybody in the

room? Be honest. Heathens, heathens, heathens,

heathens, heathens, all heathens. I couldn't

believe this lady was mad at me, friends. I couldn't

believe this lady who's having a time, this lady

who was my wife, was mad at me, babe. We're headed

to a ministry trip. I had to write a sermon.

Babe, I've been there. Done that with Geronimo.

He's good. You got this, right? You got this.

Couldn't believe my wife was mad. Me. We're still

in counseling over this. Here's what I've learned,

although this story paints a ridiculously true.

story. It paints a powerful picture in the life

of the people of Israel today. Because if we

could just kind of paint the picture here, if

we could say that the window seat represents

the land of Egypt, then the middle seat represents

what we would call the middle. The journey, the

process, the Bible calls it the wilderness. But

we also know that the aisle seat represents the

land of promise. The Bible says the land of Canaan

is the land of favor, milk, blessing, and honey,

the Bible calls this place. So we got the land

of Egypt, we got the middle, and we got the promised

land. The people of Israel today find themselves

in the middle, frustrated, stuck in the middle.

Because for 400 years, they've been crying out

to God. God, set your people free. And in a moment,

he does. He emancipates them from captivity,

slavery in Egypt. And we all know he could have

zapped them immediately into the land of blessing

and favor and milk and honey. But he doesn't

do that. For 40 more years, it's almost as though

we could say he condemns them. Although he doesn't,

from our perspective, it feels like he condemns

them to the middle, to the frustration of the

wilderness. Friend, you may be here today and

you may be saying, you know what, this kind of

describes my life because God in my life has

done a work. He has saved me. He has emancipated

me. He has removed me from captivity in my Egypt,

in my sin. And I know that God has a land marked

out for me, a season of life and ministry and

blessing. ahead of me, a new season of ministry

ahead of me. But today I find myself stuck, frustrated

in the middle. I find myself drinking that same

water coming out of the rock. I'm like, God.

Dr. Pepper would be good every once in a while,

but it's the same water. It's the same manna

every day. I mean, it's the same thing. It's

the same job. It's the same car. It's the same

bills over. And you find yourself frustrated

and stuck in the middle. And what I've learned

is that God uses the middle, the frustration,

the feeling stuck. of the journey, of the process,

of the wilderness. He uses it to remove remnants

of our past from us, to prepare us for what he

has in the future for us. Maybe today you're

here, still captivated by your Egypt, captivated

by your sin. Today you're going to have an opportunity

to experience that freedom that the people of

Israel experienced. that I have experienced,

that so many in the room have experienced. But

friend, let me tell you this, that the journey

you're about to walk into is not necessarily

the land of blessing and favor and milk and honey

immediately. God may have a new journey marked

out for you, marked with what you would say is

the frustration of the middle, but friend, it

is the best place you could possibly be. In fact,

if I could just even take it a step further,

because friends in the room, if you are saved,

sanctified, filled with the Holy Ghost, you got

the victory kind of a person. If God has done

a work in your life, God has designed, orchestrated

you to be a missionary to this world. You don't

have to be a fully appointed Assemblies of God,

U .S. missionary, world missionary to do what

God's called you to do. He has called each and

every one of us to fulfill the Great Commission.

Therefore, go. and make disciples. The Bible

doesn't say, open the church doors and yell loud,

hey, Lincoln, get in here. No, the Bible says,

go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing

them in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

Here's what I found. When people give their life

to Jesus, God does a work instantaneously in

their heart. They move from death to life in

a moment, in a moment. But oftentimes those same

proclivities, patterns in their life require

a journey, a process to be removed to prepare

them for the future he has for them. Our job

is to fulfill the Great Commission by getting

people out of Egypt and into the middle. Because

we know the middle is going to lead to the promise.

The frustration of the middle is going to lead

to the promised land. Can I share a story with

you? Story of a guy named Big Sean. Big Sean

is one of our friends in Chicago. Large, probably

6 '6 guy. Lives on the street. He lives under

an underpass in Chicago, right off Lakeshore

Drive, under the Wilson underpass. This is a

large man who is mentally not all there. When

you have a conversation with him, you understand

that he is clearly demonically possessed. And

the things he says and the things he does, you

talk with him and you almost get chills because

you understand you're dealing with something

spiritual here. So one night our team from our

church, our ministry was out. We have a big homeless

ministry that we do. And we were out under this

particular underpass. What we typically do is

roll up. We have a bunch of food. We feed them.

We clothe them. We give them whatever they need.

We pray for them. And then you move on. You do

all that stuff and then you move on. Because

it's not a place you want to stay for too long.

So this particular night I've got a caravan of

three people. I'm leading the caravan. We've

got two cars behind us. Myself. My oldest son

was with us that particular night. My kids are

out on the streets, friends. That's why I'm asking

for your prayers for my family. So we're out.

We do our whole thing. We feed them. We pray

for them. And then I get back into my van to

start it up, and my van will not start. I'm leading

the team, the caravan, this particular night.

We fed them. We prayed for everybody. Van won't

start. I send the team on ahead. I stay behind

with myself, my son, and then we had one other

guy. I said, hey, why don't you stick back with

us just for... You know, security. It's not a

place you want to be in Chicago for too long.

Left there. So we're stranded. I call my wife,

babe, find us a tow truck. I got to make sure

we're good. We're safe here in this area. Find

us a tow truck. This is Chicago, friends. Anything

you want, you can get any time of day. You want

a Ben and Jerry's? It's there. You can have it

delivered to your house at 2 a .m. You need a

tow truck any time of day? It's there. For 45

minutes, my wife could not find a tow truck.

This is like 7 o 'clock at night. Unheard of

in the city of Chicago. We're there. She's frantic.

panicking because I got our son with us in an

area you don't want to be there. And so we get

out of our van and then Big Sean is standing

there. For the next 45 minutes, you have to understand,

I have never had a coherent conversation with

Big Sean, ever. For the next 45 minutes, we shared

the gospel with Big Sean. Big Sean, in the most

coherent possible way, asked questions about

the gospel, asked questions about Jesus. At the

very end of that conversation, Big Sean gave

his life to Jesus. We moved. We didn't move.

God moved Big Sean from slavery, addiction, demonic

possession. He moved him from his Egypt into

the middle, into the process where God's going

to start pruning some things out of him to prepare

him for what he has for him in the future. The

crazy thing about this story, we finished with

Big Sean for 45 minutes. Again. He gives his

life to Jesus for 45 minutes. My son's running

up and down the embankment, Lakeshore Drive,

not a place you want to go and hang out. He's

just hanging out doing his thing. We get back

into my van. The van starts right back up. God

had us positioned there as missionaries in the

city of Chicago to move one guy from Egypt ultimately

to his promised land. But we know that it's going

to be frustrated in the middle for a little while

while God removes the things from him. The van

starts right back up. We get back in the van.

Johnny, my oldest at the time, he didn't know

how to phrase it. He said, Dad, I didn't know

God could do magic like that. We talked about

the power of God. Two things needed to happen

that night. Big Sean needed to hear the gospel

in the most coherent way he's ever heard it.

He needed to give his life to Jesus. And my son

needed to see the power of God on display in

a tangible, real way. Moving Big Sean from his

Egypt to the wilderness, ultimately to his promised

land. That's what we're called to do as missionaries.

That's what you're called to do as believers

in the Lord Jesus, to move people from their

Egypt. We know it's going to be frustrating for

a while while God prunes and removes some things

from the past to prepare them for the future.

One last story. This is a little more personal.

When I was... Pastor, what time are we done?

We're good. Okay. You can send me a keyboard

player. It'll make me sound more spiritual. Awesome.

Thank you. Personal story here. I was 12 years

of age, and my entire world shattered, completely

changed, blew up. I grew up going to church,

kind of like what we're doing here today. We

went to church on Sunday morning. The next six

and a half days of the week were met with utter...

Violence, I think, is the best word to describe

my upbringing. My father is a Vietnam vet. I

am grateful for the military. Lest you think

there's any disdain, there's none. I'm grateful.

If you have served, if you serve, thank you.

We honor you. We are so grateful for your service

and sacrifice. Just the reality of my story.

My dad is a Vietnam vet. He was a sniper in the

Vietnam War. I cannot imagine what my dad saw.

I can't imagine what they went through. I can't.

And I never will. He never talked about it, and

still to this day does not. He had a severe anger

problem going into the military, which was only

exacerbated by the war, and then further exacerbated

by a severe alcohol problem. And when I say alcohol

problem, this isn't just get drunk. This is drinks

whiskey, beer, like it's water to this day. He's

74 years of age to this day. It's the exact same

thing. My upbringing was met by violence. Again,

I'll be delicate. I know we have young people

in the room there. Culminated in a moment where

my father attempted to murder my mother with

a machete. My brother calls the police. They

take my dad off to jail. That moment clearly

marks you. And it stays with you. And if I'm

being honest, the reality is that marks me to

this day. I would love to tell you that that

moment set me on a course and a trajectory towards

God. It did not. It set me on a course trajectory

running from God. Really for the next three or

four years, I ran from God with everything I

had and got into all the trouble you can imagine.

Wrong friends, wrong things, trouble with the

law, in places I shouldn't be. You name it, I'm

there. Just wild and rampant for three, really

four years of my life. 16 years of age, right

around 16 going on 17. My mom had invited me.

I was still living at home, but I was doing my

thing. She invited me to go to dinner one night

at a cafe. I grew up in South Dallas. A cafe

called Cotton Patch. Cotton Patch Cafe, if you're

ever in South Dallas. Look it up, go, it's awesome.

Invited me to dinner. Little did I know, my mom

had invited that particular night some family

friends. They happened to be Assemblies of God

world missionaries. They were world missionaries

to Austria. Nick and Ruth Wilson. This moment

changed my life. Because as we're walking into

Cotton Patch, they looked at me and said, David,

you have a call of God on my life. I didn't know

what that meant. I had no clue what that meant.

And they walked me as we're walking. We hadn't

even had dinner yet. Normally you save it for

after dessert. So for the next hour, two hours,

whatever it was, we walked through what we would

call God meant. We walked through what repentance

meant. We walked through what it meant to serve

God and to give your life fully to the Lord.

In that moment at Cotton Patch Cafe, I gave my

life back to Jesus because of a world missionary

who just happened to be home. They serve overseas.

They only come home every so often. They happened

to be home that night, that day. My mom invited

them, and because of that world missionary, it

changed this U .S. missionary for the rest of

my life. But I also tell you that because the

reality is this, that I would love to tell you

that I, today, as a man of God, no longer find

myself in the middle, but the reality is I do.

I find myself in the frustration of the middle

almost daily. Because the moment when I was 12,

when my father attempted to murder my mother,

that stays with you. And it will never leave

me. It will never go away from me. Because the

reality is this. I today, as a man of God, married

to my best friend, my high school sweetheart.

With five amazing kids. You have to forgive my

emotion. My son will tell you I never do this.

I find myself often still frustrated in the middle.

Because my reality is the same proclivities that

my father exampled in front of me. I've dealt

with in my own life. The same substance as my

father abused, I have abused. The same things

that my father has dealt with, I have. The same

anger he's dealt with, I've dealt with. And if

it's not for the frustration of the middle, God

pruning, God removing, God preparing me, I'll

find myself back in the same place that God delivered

me out of. Friend, you may be here today frustrated

in the middle. Can I tell you that John 6, 35

is true. Jesus says, I am the bread of life,

he says. Whoever comes to me will never hunger,

will never thirst again. Friend, the middle is

the best place you can possibly be. Whether you're

stuck in Egypt and need to move to the middle,

whether you're in the middle today and waiting

for your promised land, the middle is the best

place you can be to experience the grace of God,

the favor of God, the direction of God, the sustenance

of God, the mercy of God, unlike any place you'll

find in Egypt or in the promised land. Friend,

you may be stuck here in Egypt today. God wants

to remove you from Egypt. He wants to emancipate

you, set you free, and move you ultimately to

the promised land, but by way of the middle,

by way of the journey, by way of the process,

to remove some things to prepare you ultimately

for what he has for you. I think my title, I

think it's wrong. That's our prayer, is it not?

God, get me through this. And yet I think my

prayer and our title today should be, God, don't

get me through it. God, keep me. in the middle

until you've done all you want to do in me. Remove

all you have to remove from my path, from me,

to prepare me for what you have ultimately in

the promised land. Whether you're stuck in Egypt

today, surrounded by your sin, accompanied by

your addiction, whether you find yourself freed

but frustrated in the middle, maybe you find

yourself today living in your blessing. God wants

to do a work in your life today. He wants to

stir some hearts. He wants to set some people

free. He wants to call people into missions today.

Can we pray together today? Father, I love you

and I praise you. Again, I'm grateful for the

opportunity to gather around your word. Would

you do what only you can do in this moment? Let

me make this synced, but... Maybe you're here

today and you would say, Pastor, here's my reality.

I today find myself still frustrated, stuck in

Egypt. I find myself surrounded by sin. I find

myself in a reality of the decisions I've made.

Just stuck in sin. Today I need to be free. I

need to be emancipated. I need to be set free

from my captivity. Or maybe for you, you've had

that moment. You've made some decisions that

led you on a path. path away from God, and you

need to come back into alignment. And you find

yourself still kind of stuck and frustrated in

Egypt. If there's anybody in the room today,

you can say, I need to give my life to Jesus

for the first time, or I need to come back into

alignment with Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Lord

means He's in charge of all. I hold nothing in

my own control. I give it all to Him. Savior

means I accept Him as the one who died on a cross

in my place for my sin. I need to come back into

alignment with the Word of God. If you're here

in the room, would you just wave a hand? No one's

looking around. Wave a hand at me and say, pray

for me. Move yourself from Egypt. Maybe you're

in the room today and you'd say, Pastor, I find

myself freed, no longer in captivity, but frustrated

today in the middle. I find myself asking God,

why the same water? God, why the same manna?

Why the same wandering every day? You've promised

me a land of blessing, a season of fruitfulness

and ministry ahead. But today I find myself frustrated

in the middle and I need to be reminded that

God is as near to me in the middle as he was

in Egypt and as he is in the promised land. I

need to be reminded and encouraged today by God's

grace in the middle. Anybody here wave a hand

to me? Pray for me today. Praise God. Praise

God. Amen. Maybe you're here today and you say,

Pastor, I feel a call of God on my life. Into

the mission field. Whether that's overseas or

whether that's right here in the United States

of America, I feel that the Lord has positioned

me, called me by name, and stirred my heart today

and birthed inside of me a dream that I didn't

even know was there. But I feel a call of God

on my life to answer that today and to say, I

am committed. Here I am. Send me. frustrated,

stuck in the middle, Lord, I pray you remind

them that they're not stuck. God, you're removing

some things from the past to prepare them for

the future. God, remind them of that daily water

and manna. You are more than enough. You are

the bread. You are the well that never runs dry.

You are the one who crawls, who sustains, the

one who does it all. So God, remind them and

encourage them. Lord, I pray over my brother

who's called. Lord, I pray your anointing and

your manna. your colossal, give them a complete

knowledge of your will, spiritual wisdom and

understanding. And for those who are called and

you're just a little afraid to answer that call

today, give them courage and boldness to know

that when they step out of the bow, that's where

you are. You're in the midst of the wind and

the waves and the storm. You're the one who sustains,

you're the one who calls, you're the one who

provides. And so God, I pray your anointing upon

this church. Thank you for the heart of this

church to not just minister here in this house,

but to minister locally, globally. May your blessing

and your anointing fall upon this house in such

a rich and unique way. Lord, I pray over Pastor

Darren and Kim, your anointing, your fresh vision.

May they never rely on yesterday's anointing

for today's call and today's challenge. We honor

you. We thank you. awed sinners like us. You

are so good and so kind to us. We commit our

lives to you once again. In Jesus' holy name,

amen. Faith Church, God bless you. Thank you.