Past the Gates - Pastor Elissa Kisner

Thank you for listening to this message from

Lifehouse Church. Well, good morning again. It

is so good to see everyone. I feel like it has

been so long since I was on maternity leave.

And then last week, Ryan and I were on a little

mini vacation. I feel like it's been a really

long time since I've seen everyone. So I'm really

excited to be back. So as I said, last weekend,

Ryan and I took a trip up to Maine, actually,

which was our first time in Maine. Beautiful.

Beautiful state. But we flew out of Harrisburg.

And yes, we took our two -month -old baby with

us. So if you want to see the most adorable pictures

of my sweet Oliver flying on for the first time,

see me afterwards. But anyways, who here likes

to fly? Okay. Personally, I love to fly. I think

it is so efficient. I get to enjoy my travel,

eat snacks while it's happening, and even sleep

if I need to. I know, I'm married, so I can do

that while Ryan drives anyways, but it's way

more fun over the clouds. But I'm also learning

that traveling with a baby requires a couple

extra steps. It means I need to remember to pack

way more than I ever thought. It's a longer process

through TSA because they have to check my hands,

they check his formula, they check the bottles

and everything else. And then also holding my

breath to make sure my baby does not scream on

the plane. But honestly, everyone that I spoke

to before we left said that this is the easiest

time to travel. And honestly, Oliver flew so

well that I believed them. It was beautiful.

And so, like I said, on Thursday morning, we

headed to Harrisburg, bound for our first flight.

We got there about two hours early, as you do.

So you hang out, and then you wait for your plane

to be called. Around noon, we boarded with our

sleeping baby. We got situated, and we waited

to take off. The flight was super smooth. Oliver,

like I said, he ate, he slept happily. And we

landed, got to our next gate for our connection

flight, which is in Philadelphia. And then we

did the same thing. We boarded, we waited, smooth

flight with a sleeping baby, landed in Portland,

Maine. Simple enough, right? All went super smooth.

Yeah, that is until we realized that we had gate

checked our car seat in Philly. And we left it

in Philly because we forgot to pick it up at

the jet bridge. Yeah, you see those gas on your

face? I had that too. And so. You see the dilemma,

of course. And we stood there at baggage claim

panicking because we're wondering, okay, well,

what are we going to do without our car seat?

We have to be able to get the baby to the Airbnb.

So we ended up at the airline office. They gave

us a loaner, thankfully. And so we were at least

able to get back to the Airbnb. They told us

that once they found it, it would be delivered

same day. And we're like, oh, all right, what

a relief. I got it. But long story short, we

still don't have that car seat. And so that meant

over the weekend, over the week, we had been

thinking, okay, are there things that we should

have done differently, could have done differently,

would have done differently? And that's where

this morning, ultimately, our trip became a lesson

of which we choose where to dwell. Has anybody

ever heard of the term dwell time? Dwell is a

really weird word, and the more I say it, the

more annoying it is. Dwell time is the amount

of time someone or something spends in a particular

place, state, or a phase. So, for instance, airplanes,

they want a shorter dwell time at the gate. Companies

tend to want a longer dwell time on their sites,

their listings, and so on. And meanwhile, we

as people also need to think about where we choose

to dwell, because we all dwell somewhere. Often,

dwelling has a bit of a negative connotation.

You know, you think of you dwell on regret, you

dwell on comparison, sometimes you dwell in worry.

And so dwelling itself, though, isn't actually

a bad thing, but it's when we dwell on the wrong

things that'll keep us from where we're meant

to be. And the Bible doesn't just tell us to

stop dwelling on the wrong things, but it invites

us to dwell in the right place. So today we're

going to dive into Psalm 84. And while the world

invites us to dwell in what should have been,

could have been, and would have been, Psalm 84

invites us to dwell where God's presence is.

And as believers, our destination is heaven,

but the goal isn't simply to get to heaven one

day. It's to make God's presence our dwelling

place today and then every day. So that brings

me to my message title, which is Going Past the

Gates. Before we get started, bow your heads

with me as we pray. Heavenly Father, God, I thank

you for this morning. I thank you for the opportunity

to get up this morning for the air in my lungs.

And I pray that today be a morning that it's

not me, it's not my words, but God, you speaking

through me. I pray that all ears and spirits

be open to receive, to hear the word and to let

it resonate with them, God. But let it not be

just another good message, another, okay, I'll

think about it today and then forget it tomorrow.

But God, I just pray that today as we think about

what it is to dwell in you, God, that we truly.

Let that sink in and focus on our time with you.

Be with us, guide us, lead my every word, and

edify me as I speak. In Jesus' name, amen. All

right, this is the part that most introverts

hate. Go ahead and turn to your neighbor and

say, go past the gates. To go past the gates

means that we first have to pass by the gate

of should have. We cannot dwell on our should

have moments because they will lead to regret.

When we got back from baggage claim and realized

our mistake, we felt horrible. I mean, we started

thinking, okay, well, we should have double -checked

the luggage tag. We should have asked the airplane

stewardess. We should have just waited at the

gate bridge, jet bridge, and figured it out.

But that's what regret does. Maybe those should

-haves were true, but replaying them wouldn't

change a single thing. Dwelling on the should

-haves, A regret can make us miserable, they

can drive us crazy, and they can even drive a

wedge between us and other people as we live

in the past. Dwelling on what we should have

done could have easily driven a wedge between

Ryan and I and ruined our entire trip. It may

have built up resentment, anger, and frustration,

which could have caused us to lash out. It easily

could have been a much different weekend. And

so now losing a car seat definitely felt like

a crisis to us. But in number 16, we see a family

that is literally facing a life -altering crisis.

At this point in number 16, we have the Israelites,

and they had just been freed from slavery in

Egypt. They were told of this land flowing with

milk and honey, the promised land, and yet they

had found themselves wandering in the desert

with no end in sight. And during this time, there

was a man, his name was Korah. Korah was a first

cousin of Moses and Aaron. Moses and Aaron were

the ones leading the Israelite people at the

time. And being from the exact same lineage,

Korah had privileged duties related to the tabernacle

as a Levite, and yet he still felt unsatisfied

and jealous of Aaron's priesthood. He began to

think, well, you know what? I should have been

the one chosen instead. I should have more of

a say. And so Korah, two other leaders, and then

250 others rose up against God's leadership.

And now this is where it gets dramatic. Moses

basically says, listen, if I'm wrong and you're

right and you should be the one in charge, then

nothing's going to happen. But if I am correct,

then, and the Lord does something that you have

never seen before, like, oh, I don't know, opening

up the ground, swallowing you up, and then you'll

never be seen again, then you know it's not me.

And just like that, I'm sure you probably heard

a little ripple of laughter going through the

people because that had never happened before.

And who's to think that that would ever happen?

Well, just as Moses said, the ground opened right

up, swallowed them and gone they were. Just think

about that. I mean, you're sitting in the pews.

Imagine if the floor opened up right below us.

We sunk down. And I'm not talking into the basement

or 100 feet down. I mean like down and gone.

Because the ground sealed up then as if it never

happened. Nobody else other than the ones who

were there to witness it would have ever known

anything occurred. It's pretty wild stuff. And

so that seems like a pretty... good ending to

us. We as, you know, believers in Jesus are like,

oh, you know, the bad guys lost. They were gone.

They were defying God's leadership. And so we

think, all right, well, that should have been

the end of the story. But then in Numbers 26,

buried under genealogy, there's a single scripture,

and it just says, the sons of Korah did not die.

They were spared. We may think that the lineage

should have died off because of arrogance or

pride. We may think that even though they lived,

well, that surely should have held them back.

But rather than dwelling on the should have of

their ancestors' pride, it became a testimony

of their faith. Instead of rebellion, they chose

worship. Some of Korah's great -grandsons, or

they're called the sons of Korah, were attributed

to 11 Psalms in the Bible. These Psalms express

a great spirit of gratitude, of humility to an

awesome and mighty God. They express a longing

for God and a deep devotion. In Psalm 46, verse

one to three, this was written by the sons of

Korah. It says, God is our refuge and strength

and ever present help in trouble. Therefore,

we will not fear, though the earth gives way.

and the mountains fall into the heart of the

sea, and though its waters roar and foam and

the mountains quake with their surging. This

psalm very specifically references their past.

The earth had split and swallowed up their ancestors,

and yet they did not have to live in that state

of fear because instead of living in a mindset

of what should have happened to their lineage,

they chose to see God's mercy. And then later,

even the prophet Samuel himself was a great,

great, great, great, great, great, great grandson

of Korah. And these several other great grandsons

of Korah also went on to do incredible things

for God. Some of them worked with King David,

and many of them in 1 Chronicles were told that

they are doorkeepers, custodians, singers, and

worshipers in the temple. Korah wanted a position,

but his sons sought God's presence. Korah wanted

recognition, but his sons wanted relationship.

Korah wanted authority, but his sons just wanted

to be near God. Had these sons of Korah stayed

in the gate of should have, they'd have never

made it to the gate of the temple and spent time

in his presence. Likewise, we as parents, as

graduates, as believers, we cannot get stuck

in the thought process like, you know, I should

have done more. I should have chosen differently.

I should have, I should have, I should have.

Because God is the same God yesterday, today,

and forever. Meaning is we don't have to get

stuck in yesterday, but we know that he's with

us today. And so we have to remember that this

gate still isn't our destination. Visit if you

must, learn from it, repent, but don't unpack

your bags there. Once you go past the gate of

should have, we also then have to go past the

gate of could have. When Ryan and I got to the

airport in Portland, again realizing our mistake

of leaving the car seat, we began to think of

all the ways it could have been different. We

finally moved past our should haves, but our

minds then instantly began running scenarios.

It wasn't regret anymore, but alternatives. We

could have asked, we could have driven. We could

have packed differently. We could have checked

the bag in at the check -in and not at the jet

bridge. But instead of replaying our mistakes,

there was a shift then into imagining these alternative

realities. But then here's the thing. The more

we imagine different versions of our lives, the

less present we become in the lives God actually

gave us. In some cases, it's because we're comparing

past decisions. In some cases, because we are

comparing ourselves against others. But regardless,

our gate of could have or the gate of comparison

can steal our joy. Because dwelling on someone

else's journey or wishing the journey could look

differently can keep us from remembering God's

faithfulness in it all. Korah and his men were

stuck then in the gate of could have. They looked

at Moses and Aaron and thought, well, we could

have done a better job. We could have been the

leaders. And while Korah and his followers died

trying to force their way into positions that

God did not assign for them, generations later,

these sons of Korah weren't concerned with how

things could have been different about their

history or their role. If we go to Psalm 84.

This is also written by the sons of Korah. So

Psalm 84, verse 1 through 4. They write, The

Psalms 84:1–4

sons of Korah acknowledge that blessing is upon

those who dwell with God. This form of dwelling

is much different than dwelling on what could

have been. They said, how lovely is your dwelling

place. Why lovely? Because they experienced God's

mercy and didn't want to take it for granted.

They said, my soul yearns, it faints. Why? Because

they're not trying to earn their way into God's

presence. They're amazed that they still have

access. The sons of Korah easily could have gotten

stuck in the thoughts of, I could have been born

into a different family. I could have had another

legacy. I could have been remembered for something

else. I could have done something else. And instead,

they wrote in verse 10 of Psalm 84, better is

one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of

my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

The sons of Korah were not writing from a place

of entitlement. Even that mere acknowledgement

of being from the lineage of Korah shows that

they are well aware of their family lineage and

how it could have been different. It could have

impacted their future. But God's mercy and his

grace spared their lives and brought them near.

to dwell with him. Likewise, he also calls us

to dwell with him despite our could have moments.

In another Psalm, not written by the sons of

Korah, it says in Psalm 91, verse nine through

10, says, if you say the Lord is my refuge and

you make the Lord, if you make the most high

your dwelling, no harm will overtake you and

no disaster will come near your tent. We have

to remember to focus on who he is instead of

what could have been. We're able to go past what's

not for us and move toward where we're supposed

to be, which is dwelling in his presence. He

is our place of refuge. He's our safe place.

He's our protector, our provider. He's the one

to keep our tent, our family from harm. But still,

in seeking his presence, the danger then is to

stop too soon. In airports, especially with connecting

flights, you go from one gate to another. And

so we still have to go past the gate of would

have. Despite not having our car seat and not

hearing anything from the airlines as to its

whereabouts, we had a great weekend. It was beautiful

weather. And then we began our trip home. This

time, different airlines, but with a similar

layover. And so we thought, all right, it'll

be. pretty smooth. So we landed in Washington

Dulles instead of in Philly. We headed to our

gate to wait and then they announced a delay.

Our original layover was only about an hour.

And then another delay with a gate change. This

one hour delay turned into four. Originally we

were supposed to get home around 6 45. Now we

weren't supposed to get home until around like

10 30. So, of course, thoughts of an overtired

baby were running through my head. And as we

sat there, we wound up looking at rental cars.

And we thought, you know what? We're only two

and a half hours from home. What if we just drove?

So we did. We got a rental car. We slowly canceled

our airline plane. In case you didn't know, they

don't like that you do that. And then we got

to the rental car office, which if you've ever

seen the movie Zootopia, it felt like that, where

Officer Judy Hopps is trying to get something

done, and she is being serviced by sloths. Yes.

So we finally got on the road, and we arrived

at the Harrisburg airport to pick up our car

around 10 .20 p .m. So if you just heard me mention

what time we were supposed to get back with the

plane, it was about the same time our plane would

have landed. But you know what? We made it. We

were on the last leg of our trip home, and we

just began to think, you know, if we'd known

that this would have happened, we would have

just driven the whole way. We would have been

fine if dot, dot, dot, as you can imagine. Have

you ever noticed just how much we delay joy until

life fully cooperates? When we get stuck at this

gate of would have or the gate of conditions,

we dwell on moments of our life so much that

it can impact what happens in our future. It

often starts with things like, well, I would

have if, and then it turns to a future statement

like, well, I would serve if, I would have peace

if, I would worship God if, and so on. When we

add these conditions, we delay blessings. In

the grand scheme of things, our inconveniences

are often pretty minor, but we have an opportunity

to find Christ in it. It was a super long day

of travel, and we could have spent our entire

trip dwelling in our minds, but Christ invites

us instead to dwell in the one who has already

done everything necessary to bring us near. When

the sons of Korah were writing in Psalm 84, They

weren't writing about their duties. They were

writing about their delight or their extreme

joy. They never celebrated what they do for God.

They celebrated that they get to be near him.

In Psalm 84, verse three, it said, even the sparrow

has found a home, even the swallow a nest for

herself where she may lay her young, even your

altars, a Lord of hosts, my King and my God.

You see, swallows and sparrows are these tiny

little birds that freely built their altars along

the perimeter of the temple, and they were then

protected by the temple itself. No one could

bother them, could scare them away, or pursue

them, or of course take away or destroy their

nests. This protection offered by this holy place

was a continuous refuge which protected their

lives. They enjoyed shelter, an abundant supply

of food, and a good place to live. For the sons

of Korah, dwelling near God was not something

to be taken for granted, but instead they referenced

how the swallows were continuously close to the

altar. And we as believers, that's where we should

want to be too. It's easy to just let your life

become so focused on other things that you forget

to spend time with God. Worship team, if I could

get you to get ready. But see, the heart of dwelling

is not measured by what was accomplished in your

day, but whether you remained in his presence.

Our human nature is so tempted to live however

we want and ask for forgiveness later or even

to give our lives to Christ later. But sometimes

later ends up being too late. If we continue

to stay at the gate of would have, then blessing

is perpetually one step ahead. When Psalm 84

so clearly and so beautifully teaches us that

blessedness is available now to those who dwell

in him. And so, like I said, as of today, we

still do not have our car seat. But isn't it

amazing how one missing car seat almost became

the only thing that we remembered about an otherwise

incredible weekend? That's what dwelling does.

It takes one. minor inconvenience to overshadow

every blessing. And listen, we're not expecting

to ever see that car seat ever again. We have

already ordered a new one, already got a reimbursement.

But if we would have just continued to dwell

in that should have, could have, or would have,

we'd have left the trip bitter, empty, resentful.

And so maybe that's where you are this morning.

Maybe some of you are dwelling in a gate of should

have, could have, Or the gate of would have when

you should be dwelling in God's presence instead.

That's the difference between dwelling in the

world and dwelling in God. To dwell in the world

means we would regret the past, compare our present,

and even crave a different future. But to dwell

in God's presence is to anchor ourselves in grace

for the past, peace for the present, and hope

for the future. This morning, I just want us

to spend some time in the presence of God. I

love when the worship team sings. And I believe

heavily in sometimes that those words are exactly

what you need. But I also believe that there

is something so beautiful about just the raw

heart of whatever is going on between us and

the Lord that is coming from us, that is our

words to him. It's not about having the perfect

prayer. It's not about having your life all put

together. In most cases, we don't anyways. But

it's about having the desire to just be with

him. Because the sons of Korah could have spent

generations telling people about this giant hole

in the ground that swallowed up their ancestors.

But instead, they spent generations singing about

the house of God. That is redemption. They stopped

dwelling on where their family had fallen and

started dwelling on where God had invited them

to be. And that's God's invitation for all of

us this morning. To stop living at the gate of

should have. To stop living at the gate of could

have. To stop living at the gate of would have.

Because there's a better dwelling place. Psalm

84 reminds us, blessed are those who dwell in

your house. So I don't know where my car seat

is, but I know where my dwelling place is. Eventually,

then for you guys, every flight is going to get

called. So which gate have you been waiting at

for too long that's keeping you from where you

should be? If you've been at those gates and

never realized that there were any other options,

but there is the presence of God himself. If

you would, go ahead and stand. In a moment, the

worship team is going to come out and do a song.

But during this time, as they sing, like I said,

I want you to just spend time in the presence

of God. There are beautiful songwriters out there

and they've created incredible worship music

that we have an opportunity to use. But there

is something very special about your direct connection

and relationship with the Lord. So this morning,

that is my prayer for you, that you just spend

time in the presence of God today. Bow your heads

with me. Heavenly Father, God, we thank you.

We thank you for who you are. We thank you that

you are a God who sees us through every should

have, every could have, every would have, every

regret, every comparison, every bit of things

that are trying to steal our joy. God, I pray

that this morning, as people spend their time

with you, as they reflect on who you are, on

the things that you have brought them through,

even sometimes the things they are still going

through, or the worries that they have over their

future. God, we just pray that this morning they

give it to you, that this morning they remember

that there's a better place to dwell. They don't

have to stop at those gates. They don't have

to get stuck in those places, God, but that you

are the one who walks with them, guides them,

leads them, shows them that you're with them,

that you love them, that you care about them,

that you don't want them to carry those things

onto themselves, but God, that you... Ask us

to give our burdens to you. You say that you

are the one in which we have our peace. Heavenly

Father, this morning, we just pray that we give

those things to you and allow us to just spend

time in your presence, God, for the scriptures

say that it's better as one day in your courts

than thousands elsewhere. And I pray that as

our true prayer this morning, that as we spend

time in your presence, that we're not rushing,

that we're not concerned about what our lunch

plans are, what we're gonna do this afternoon,

but God, we're just focused on you, being with

you, being in your presence, dwelling with you.

God, we worship you. We give you all glory and

all praise. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Worship

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