Preferred Future- Pastor Erik Kutchen

Thank you for listening to this message from Lifehouse Church.

Alright, how's everybody doing this morning?

Long time no see.

There's probably a bunch of people here that have never seen me before.

Hey, I'm Eric.

Nice to meet you.

My name is Eric, I'm the campus pastor at our East Shore campus in Harrisburg.

It's been a trip.

I say if you really want to be a minister, start a church.

It'll test your faith.

It's very encouraging over there.

We're super excited what's happening at East Shore.

I want just God's plans for all of it.

But in the meantime, I'm super happy to be here with you guys again.

It's been a while.

I missed you.

Abby and I have missed you.

We're just happy to be here.

But I did want to start off with a question though.

The question is, how cool would it be if you could tell the future?

Everyone wants to know the future.

Imagine, imagine if you're leaving.

Yes.

But imagine you knew somebody who could tell the future.

Maybe they come up to you and they say, hey, I can tell the future.

So instant reaction right there is like, okay, crazy person.

I'm going to move on with life now and act like I didn't meet you.

But what if, why is that so appealing to the human being to know the future?

Because we always have that desire to be where we're supposed to be in life.

If we could just know the future, then we would take the active steps to go into that

future.

But the truth is we don't.

And yet when people speak into our futures, we're encouraged.

Some person might say, oh, man, you're going to be a great entrepreneur someday.

And you're like, dude, I just made a lemonade stand and charged a dollar for a cup.

Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.

Or someone might say, hey, you're going to be an amazing engineer.

And you're just like, dad, I just did two plus two equals four.

Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.

It's a simple thing.

But yet when you hear that, you're like, wow, you really think so?

Can I really be that?

Can I go the distance there?

But nobody knows your beginning and your ending more than God does.

Amen.

Psalm 139, 16.

You saw me before I was born.

Every day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

This tells me that God has a plan for us.

And if he has a plan written down, then it is possible that we can go outside of his

plans.

He wrote a book that tells the story he had in mind when he created you, when he was forming

you.

He was writing your story.

He would get so excited of when, you know, Jeff is going to be like in trouble with his

neighbor.

But you know something, he's still generous.

He was still forgiving.

He was still loving.

That was his preferred future for them.

He gets excited about the wife, the mother, the friend, the business owner that takes

the distance and goes steps into what God's plan is.

He gets excited about that because he wants so much for us.

He recorded every moment that he called you to do that he planned for you.

But it's up to us, though, to believe, to believe God's plan for us.

He has a preferred future for us.

And what do I mean by preferred?

I mean, God prefers that you believe him, believe what he has written and spoken over

you.

You don't have to believe, but it is very preferred that you do.

If we don't believe, how could we move forward into what God has spoken to us and what he

has said?

So if you have your Bibles, we're going to spend some time in Hebrews chapter three today.

And Hebrews is a book that was written to, well, you guessed it, Hebrews.

So but the author is writing to them so that they don't abandon their faith because they

were very tempted to return back to the old way of doing things as a Jew, going back to

the law, going back to all the practices, because you know what?

It's a lot safer.

It's a little better than being a Christian right now.

The Old Testament, they needed to know, as the author has pointed out, that it all points

to Christ.

Everything in scripture points to Christ.

And so just before we get into the word, we're going to pray over the word that God just

pierces our hearts this morning.

Amen.

So Lord, we just thank you for your goodness.

We thank you, God, for your kindness that you move our hearts like nobody else could

move them.

This is our hearts are boulders that are just so hardened, Lord, but you find the power

to pierce through that boulder, to break that heart of stone and make it a heart of flesh

that is sensitive to your spirit, Lord.

And Lord, I pray that your spirit will just be in this place, Lord, piercing hearts, changing

lives, making known your will for us.

And it's the mighty name of Jesus we pray.

Amen.

So, Hebrews 3, starting with verse 1, it says, And so, dear brothers and sisters who belong

to God and are partners with those called to heaven, think carefully about this Jesus

whom we declare to be God's messenger and high priest, for he was faithful to God who

appointed him, just as Moses served faithfully when he was entrusted with God's entire house.

But Jesus deserves far more glory than Moses, just as a person who builds a house deserves

more praise than the house itself.

For every house has a builder, but the one who built everything is God.

Moses was certainly faithful in God's house as a servant.

His work was an illustration of the truths God will reveal later.

But Christ said the Son is in charge of God's entire house, and we are God's house if we

keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ.

That is why the Holy Spirit says today, when you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts

as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness.

There your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty

years.

So I was angry with them, and I said, Their hearts always turn from me.

They refuse to do what I tell them.

So in my anger I took an oath, they will never enter my place of rest.

Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters, and make sure that your own hearts are not

evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God.

You must warn each other every day, while it is still today, so that none of you will

be deceived by sin and hearted against God.

For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed,

we will share it in all that belongs to Christ.

So the writer of Hebrews says, hey, Moses is great, but Christ is greater than Moses.

Moses was a faithful servant in God's house, but Christ is in charge of God's entire house.

He built God's house.

Tell me, what's more worthy of praise, the builder or the building?

The builder.

The builder.

And it says we are God's house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope

in Christ.

Everyone say if.

Amen.

That's an important if.

God has a desired destination for us.

It's His best.

And who here wants God's will for their life?

Men?

Recall Jeremiah 29, 11.

For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord.

They are plans for good and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope.

And those days when you pray, I will listen.

If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

So God says I have a future in mind for you.

If you look to me wholeheartedly, not giving up, but remaining confident in me, and I will

bring you to that preferred future that I wrote about.

God's preferred future for us requires that we remain confident in Christ.

Following God will always be a decision.

There's not one day where we're just, you know what, any decision you make, you're just

going to totally be placed into what God's preferred future for you.

No, it's following Him.

If I make my own decisions apart from Him, I'm going in the opposite direction of Him.

That's why we follow Christ.

We believe Him.

Believing in Him is to follow Him.

We do that by being courageous and deciding to remain confident in Him.

So let me show you who didn't remain confident in God.

The writer of Hebrews points to the Israelites in the wilderness.

In a quick summary is that Joseph was the second command in Egypt and his family, the

twelve tribes of Israel, moved into Egypt and after a few generations, it says that

the Israelites greatly multiplied.

It says the Israelites had many children and grandchildren.

In fact, they multiplied so greatly that they became extremely powerful and filled the land.

So this becomes a threat to the Pharaoh of Egypt.

In the order, the Israelites become slaves.

For 400 years, the Israelites were slaves in Egypt.

Does that sound good for your family line?

Yeah, 400 years we were slaves in Egypt.

The only hope though for the Israelites was that God would deliver them out of Egypt and

He delivered on His promise.

He set the Israelites free from Egyptian slavery.

Now, I don't know about you, but I'd be pretty pumped if I just got delivered and set free

from slavery for 400 years.

All you've ever known is slavery.

That's a shift.

And I'd be grateful because in those days, I mean, hard, hard labor, long hours, scraps

for food, getting whipped while you work.

And I know it seemed like you could go through a lot at work sometimes, but this was rough.

How could we ever doubt the character of the one who set us free?

That life of gratitude and thankfulness of what He's done allows me to believe Him all

the more.

And yet Israel, time after time, when things got uncomfortable, Israel would cry out and

lose their confidence in God.

Just like that.

One moment it was, yay God.

And the next was, how could you do this to us?

It was so much better for us in Egypt.

Why has God let us out here to die?

It sounds very dramatic to me when I read it.

Israel would see a dead end and instantly lose confidence in God and His preferred future

for them.

God, 400 years earlier, promised to Abraham a promised land.

And Israel at this time is on a journey with God to this promised land.

They experience victory after victory.

Why?

Because God is with them.

And they get really close to the promised land.

And Moses, the leader says, hold up guys, before we get too far ahead of ourselves and

just go willy nilly in there, let's scout the land.

Let's see what it's like.

So Moses sent 12 spies into that promised land called Canaan.

He used to instruct them, see what the land is like.

Find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many.

Seek what kind of land they live in.

Is it good or bad?

Do their towns have walls or are they protected like open camps?

Is the soil fertile or poor?

Are there many trees?

Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.

So first off, I want to point out, why does Moses want to scout it out before he enters

at what's already promised?

Why is that such a thing?

I believe because Moses wanted their desires for the promised land to only increase and

not decrease.

You know how maybe in your family, you're like, oh, I'm thinking about having burgers

tonight but I don't care.

But then you see a commercial, whether that's a Whopper or Big Mac, whatever you see on

the TV, like, holy moly, I want burgers tonight.

Let's get going.

I want it now.

That's what it was like for them because that was the preferred future.

You wanted that burger.

But seeing that on the TV was like, that's my preferred future, baby.

All right.

Moses was expecting them to come back from the promised land and say, you know what,

it's everything we ever thought of.

Let's go get it.

I want it now.

But this is with the report.

We entered the land you sent us to explore and indeed a bountiful country, a land flowing

with milk and honey.

Here's the kind of fruit it produces.

It's incredible.

But the people living there are powerful and their towns are large and fortified.

We even saw giants there that had sent in a panic.

But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses.

Let's go out once and take the land.

He said we can certainly conquer it.

So the majority of the Israelites spies that scouted land said, yeah, it's incredible there,

but we simply can't take the land.

They're too big for us.

Matter of fact, they'd probably have us for lunch.

We'd be grasshoppers dipped in honey.

That was a regular diet back then.

But Caleb with the unpopular opinion remained confident in the hope of God's preferred future

for them.

Meanwhile, the other spies did not remain confident in God's preferred future.

And they convinced all the entire community of Israel to lose their hope and confidence

in the one who just set them free from Egyptian slavery.

It says the whole community began weeping aloud and they cried all night.

Their voices rose in a great chorus of protesting against Moses' Aaron.

If only we died in Egypt or even here in the wilderness, they complained.

Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle?

Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder.

Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt?

Then they plotted among themselves, let's choose a new leader and go back to Egypt.

It's funny to me.

They wanted things to go back to the way they were.

Back into slavery in Egypt.

Not only that, but they wanted to pick a leader to help them do that.

God was so eager to give them the land, but they lost confidence in him.

They became so discouraged at what they saw and said, there's no way.

Why God, why would you lead us to the promised land when it's just so unobtainable?

Our natural hope will only take us so far.

Israel experienced that.

They had hope to get to the promised land, but that's where their hope ended.

God's kind of hope said, no, we aren't finished yet.

You've seen how wonderful it is, go there and fight and I will give you the victory.

If you're a believer in Christ, that's just what we do.

We believe God above everything.

Our hope never fades because he never fades.

We courageously remain confident that he who began a good work in us will bring it to completion.

If he said one thing, he's going to follow through on that.

Every day there's an opportunity to exercise our confidence in God and enter into his preferred

future for you and I.

Do you have confidence in God to reach out and compassion to others?

Do you have confidence in God to take enemy territory and your job or your family?

Because maybe the enemy has gotten into the territory that God has called yours, but you're

saying, you know what, I give up.

How did Israel learn that the promised land was God's preferred future for them?

The answer is they heard him.

He spoke.

How could we do anything God prefers if he doesn't tell us what he desires?

It'd be a cruel joke if he didn't, but he does.

He shares with us what he desires because in order to enter into God's preferred future,

we must hear from him today.

Today.

Everyone say today.

Today.

Not tomorrow.

Not next week.

Not next month.

Not two years from now.

Today, God is speaking.

Do you believe God speaks to you daily?

God doesn't speak to us via the post office system where you receive a letter in the mail

from him once a week, once a month, once, six months, you know, it's a late, delayed

delivery, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah.

I mean, we have advanced in society a lot since that was the primary way of communication.

Now we have texting.

Woo!

Now we have phone calls that are, you know, caller ID.

I mean, I grew up in the 90s too, so I am familiar with caller ID from back in the 90s,

but now it's even quicker.

You want to hear your friend's voice?

You give them a call.

You want to clarify plans or if they're going to be at said event, you text them and they

say, I'll be there.

What if you never got the call though?

What if you never got the text from them?

You would start to question that they even cared about you or your well-being or where

you're even at and maybe the communication was just delayed.

But if you can call or send them text and they don't get back to you until a month later,

how many know you're kind of over it by then?

It doesn't mean the same thing as if it was a timely message that was received.

We tend to think God is like that though.

We can start to believe, oh, well, God speaks to me from time to time.

You know, I think he's listening.

You know, he sends a letter to me here and there, but really God is speaking to us every

day.

Today he is speaking.

He sends messages we may not be aware of every day, but receiving the message is dependent

on our anticipation and our awareness of what he is saying.

How many of you order something that says it'll be arriving in two days?

You get kind of excited like, oh, okay, cool.

Two days?

No problem.

And then that day comes, you're like, I cannot wait to open that package up.

I mean, I know I'm not alone here, guys.

When there is a package in front of my door, now I'm like, it came and here it is.

Yeah.

Oh, yeah.

And then you see what's inside and you're like, about time.

That's the anticipation, the excitement that comes from just hearing what God is saying,

because it's not that he's not speaking.

It's just we're not aware of it.

We're not eagerly anticipating what he's saying because we're too caught up in our little,

our things, our weeds in life.

Now, for the delivery service, I mean, that's three days.

I mean, if you have Amazon Prime, it's two days, whatever.

But God speaks moment by moment, day by day.

His messages or His calls are His thoughts for us.

And they outnumber the grains of sand in the entire world.

And since that is true, that means He wants to share all of His thoughts with you.

He's not the God that withholds.

He's the God that gives.

He doesn't want to withhold anything from you.

Why would He withhold His voice?

The Hebrew writer says it like this.

This is why the Holy Spirit says today, say today, when you hear His voice, don't harden your hearts

as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness.

The Hebrew writer is actually referencing Psalm 95, which just says, if only you would hear His voice today.

This is why the Holy Spirit says is all scripture is God breathe.

It's God's word inspired by His Holy Spirit.

And it's Holy Spirit's job to make known to us what God is saying.

Likewise, God's voice is always available to us.

God's word is like the mail being delivered to your house.

But Holy Spirit can't make it known to you unless you check your mailbox and open up the letter.

Israel didn't have the written word of God.

I mean, they had the law, but God didn't speak to them personally.

They had to speak to Moses.

Aren't you grateful that you have the you can access God's word any time of the day, especially via your phone now?

It's pretty cool.

Can you imagine not having any indicator of God speaking to us?

For Israel, it was Moses.

They heard God only through another person.

Israel said to Moses, OK, you speak to us, we'll listen.

All right.

But don't let God speak directly to us, because if he does, we're going to die.

We can't handle it.

Sad, right?

God wanted a relationship with all of Israel, a direct relationship with him.

But they said, Moses, you got this.

We're out.

You just tell us what he says and we'll do it.

But what if Moses never told them what God said?

How would they know what God's preferred future for them was?

They never would have known.

Moses wouldn't have been in the know and Israel would just be questioning everything.

It'd be like having your kids in the backseat when you're driving to a said place.

Are we there yet?

How long is this going to take?

Where are we going?

Why do we have to do this now?

I was doing something.

How much longer?

Moses, as the driver, would have known God's preferred future.

But Moses kept it to himself, how could Israel enter into God's preferred future for them?

His promise.

The fact of the matter is that Moses did answer those questions.

He gave them the why.

He gave them the where of what God's future was.

And that is where they headed.

If they didn't hear God, they never would have been in the car going to the exact same location.

If we do not know what God is speaking to us, how could we enter into his preferred future for us?

Into his overall story, his plans for us?

If we do not know what God is speaking, could we even have any confidence in what we're even doing day to day?

We hear people out when they have to say something, but why not go to the author of your story?

Don't you want to experience his words to you personally?

We all have access to his voice every day.

And it's important that we become aware of what God is saying so that we can walk in that direction.

If we become aware and knowingly heard his voice, but do not respond, that's called disobedience.

And that's the last place you want to be.

Verse 15.

Remember what it says.

Today, when you hear his voice, don't harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.

And who rebelled against God, even though they heard his voice?

Wasn't the people Moses led out of Egypt?

And who made God angry for 40 years?

Wasn't the people who sinned, whose corpses lay in the wilderness?

And to whom was God speaking when he took an oath that they would never enter his rest?

Wasn't the people who disobeyed him?

So we see that because of their unbelief, they were not able to enter his rest.

There's a correlation here.

You see that because of their unbelief, they were not able to enter his rest.

So for those who do believe, we can enter into that rest.

We can enter into God's preferred future for us.

In this example, God spoke, they heard, they didn't follow through.

God equates lack of confidence in him with sin or disobedience.

If I have a friend from out of town and we're driving to a local event and he's driving, I'm just guiding him.

I say, hey, turn left here, but he turns right.

Why did you do that?

Because they didn't have confidence in me in giving them directions.

Their lack of confidence in me had them go the opposite way of the preferred future that we both had desired.

He disobeyed my directive to enter into that place.

After their lack of confidence in God and taking the promised land, God was pretty heartbroken.

I mean, he sounds mad because he's upset. He's heartbroken.

Because he wanted so much for them to be a part of that.

He said, all right, then, if you don't believe me, then let's just go back in the wilderness.

This is what I have for you, but you don't want to have confidence in me.

You spied in the promised land for 40 days, so you will wander in the wilderness for 40 years until every last one of you has passed away.

There were consequences for their disobedience to God.

And God shared their consequences to Israel.

Moses spoke God's word and they received a new direction.

They were to go away from the promised land and go back wandering in the wilderness until they had passed away.

And it says Israel was filled with grief.

Israel tried changing their minds.

They woke up early the next morning and they said, hey, Moses, buddy, old pal, you know something?

I'm so grateful for your leadership.

Dude, you do a fantastic job in getting God's word to us.

And you know something?

We were silly.

We were wrong yesterday.

And so let's get the promised land.

I get it. God's going to provide the victory.

I get that now. Let's go.

You know what Moses says?

Absolutely not.

It's too late.

So are you going to disobey again?

God just gave you a new directive and you're wanting to disobey again.

If you try going to the promised land now, God is not going to bless that battle.

You will lose.

Israel took it as a do this or else.

But God's not in the business of scaring you into believing him.

He's not.

He wants it to be a personal relationship with you where you have confidence in what he has said.

No matter what, Israel still didn't understand that.

Even if they went back to the promised land, it would have been an obligation.

Oh, OK, I see the or else here.

So I'm just we're going to go to the promised land now.

You guys ready?

You're ready to go?

He said no.

God said no.

This was your promise.

This was your preferred future.

But you know what?

It's for your children now.

Maybe they'll believe me then.

Israel was saddened by the consequences of their unbelief.

Not because it hurt God's heart, but because it was still about them.

Moses said it's too late.

If you turn back now, you're just disobeying God.

And I know what you may be thinking at this point, but God wanted them to enter the promised land.

Why does he not want to do that now?

The truth of the matter is that Israel did not have confidence in God.

They were not affected by his nature.

They were not convinced that what God was saying, even if they did go back, their heart would not have been a heart that puts confidence in God.

And you cannot enter into God's preferred future unless you have confidence in him.

We all get opportunities to display God's heart, to openly show others his goodness and beauty.

It is by confidence in God in any of our circumstances that we enter into his preferred future for us.

You have to think.

Every day there's an opportunity to enter into his preferred future, and you enter into that by believing.

And maybe God is speaking that you need to forgive somebody, to obey that.

Because he knows it's not just for his sake, it's for your sake too.

Because if you don't trust him, you put your confidence in the command to forgive somebody, you're the one that's going to be wandering in the wilderness, slowly dying.

And it could look like greeting somebody with the biggest smile and warmest welcome.

Why?

Because I believe I have confidence in God's preferred future for them, and it makes me excited for them.

If I treat people as common or less than, that shows my that demonstrates my lack of confidence in God for people.

And I can't let people's shortcomings discourage me from believing what God says about people.

If you didn't have confidence in what God says about others, it will hurt.

It could look like putting your confidence in God to pierce other people's hearts.

Amen?

Because like we said earlier, our heart of stone is a heart of stone.

It doesn't respond to God.

But when we believe for the breakthrough for other people, they can be sensitive to his spirit just as much as we are.

Amen?

They can be lavished in his love.

Anything God speaks of the Bible and we believe it is an opportunity to be a witness to God's preferred future for everyone.

Amen?

So we're going to we're going to close soon.

And if you are, please stand in the house.

Pastor Kipp is coming at East Shore.

If you're watching online, just read your hearts.

Now, if God spoke into you, I just ask that you receive that and let that word change you from the inside out.

Israel was God's chosen people, the nation that would be close to God and have a relationship with him.

God's preferred future for them was to take the promised land, be fruitful and multiply his glory throughout the entire world.

But how could they do that if they lost their courage to have confidence in him?

How could they accomplish God's preferred future?

If he didn't hear what he was saying, if they're just disobeying what he says.

God is for us, not against us.

We think we know what's best for us, but God knows best for us.

And it's trusting in his word, trusting in the character of Jesus Christ.

The visible expression of the word of God made flesh and this place on earth for us to see what the father was really like.

What it looked like to believe dad over anything.

Where's children?

How can we not trust our father?

He's not a bad father. He's not a father that doesn't follow through on his word.

He's the father that wants your best to reflect his nature, to be a son or daughter in the most high.

Your royalty, your treasured. He has thoughts that outnumber the grains of sand.

He thinks so much about you.

I don't know about you, but I'm curious. I want to know what he's thinking.

I want to know what he's saying to me and to the people around me, because it's only the truth that will change your life.

The Holy Spirit ministering to you here today.

I just ask that you really activate that. Don't don't not respond.

If someone gives you a gift for your birthday, do you go?

No, you take that gift, open it excitedly.

Wow, I can't wait to use this. He's given us his own son.

Are you ready to respond?

So I'm going to pray.

OK, I'm going to ask that if any of you have that tugging that prompting that there's something in your life right now that you've lost courage and you've lost your confidence in God with.

I just invite you to come up front here.

I'm sure we have the prayer team that is more than willing to pray with you as well.

So let's pray.

Father, we just thank you for your kindness, Lord, for your mercy.

And Lord, you've never forsaken us.

You've never left us for dead.

You've never not considered our hearts in the matter, but you have our best interests in place.

I pray, Lord, that there are there are children in this house today, Lord, that would see you as the true father, the true loving God,

who's not withholding anything from them.

They're willing.

You're willing to give your word to them, Lord.

You're willing to give your grace in all matters.

There's power in the name of Jesus to overcome every obstacle that we face when we feel heavy, Lord.

Let your word penetrate our hearts and be light unto the world.

Let us fly like eagles renewing our strength because our hope is in you alone.

There are families here that you're discouraged.

And God is wanting to reunite the family household.

And it's his design for the family to be fruitful and multiply, to raise them up in the Lord Jesus Christ, to to let them know the truth,

to set them free and be fruitful and multiply the truth across the world.

I just pray over that right now, Lord, let your hand be on the families in here.

Let your your hand be on every individual, Lord.

Show them the father.

Show them your will to be one, one household, one family, one family under God in Jesus name.

Strongholds be loosened in the name of Jesus.

We bind every stronghold of the enemy and we lose heaven's reality into the household at this moment in Jesus name.

Lord, this is life house, but your house, your your house, Lord, and the family of believers unite in Jesus name.

Let there be a beacon of light, not just here in this place, Lord, but outside.

When people see us, they see Christ.

When people see our families, they say, how do you do it?

How do you do it? We love God and he loves us and we're not ashamed of it.

We thank you, Lord, for your mercy and grace.

Holy Spirit, we thank you for just showing us the father, for showing us truth and reminding us of who we are and you.

We continue the holy work that you've started in us, Lord, in Jesus name.

Amen. Amen.

So it's been awesome being with you guys today.

I just pray a special blessing over you that God's grace would shine on your face, that as you walk, you walk in step with him because you're not, you're not doing this out of obligation.

You're doing this out of believing in him and believe in God will propel you into his destiny for you. Amen.

So have a wonderful week. God bless you.

God.