Tim Timberlake - Going Beyond
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Celebration, it’s good to be back. I don’t consider myself to be a visitor; I consider myself to be family. So it’s good to be back with my family here in Jacksonville, and I love you all. I mean, I really love you all. I love your pastors; I think they’re just the best, and you guys should be very proud of the angels that God has placed here to serve you all.
And Pastor Stovall, the Pastor Kerry Weems, can we give them a round of applause? Yeah! I mean, you can tell a lot about leadership, not based upon the size of a church. For me, anyway, I’ve been to a lot of big churches that had some terrible leadership. You can’t tell it really about the staff because they’re employed, you know, they get paid, you know, they don’t want to talk about the boss man. But you can tell a lot about good leadership by the children and how they look at their parents. And I see the way that Pastor Weems' children look at him and how they want to be around him, and that’s an indicator to me that that’s great leadership.
So one more time, can we put our hands together for the incredible Pastor Stovall and Pastor Kerry Weems? While you’re standing, can we put our hands together for Jesus in this place? Come on, let’s make some noise! It’s Wednesday; let’s blow the roof off this place! Come on, He’s the King of Kings. He’s the Lord of Lords. He’s the Alpha and the Omega. He’s the beginning, and He is the best; He is the best! How many of you came expecting and anticipating God to do some incredible things tonight? Come on, I need to hear you, Celebration!
Now, y’all know I wanted them talk-back type pastors. Yeah, y’all got to talk to me tonight! It’s Wednesday and y’all are here, which means the child is absolutely crazy! That’s what the world says about those who come to church on a Wednesday night. You know, you got to go to work in the morning; you know your kids got school and summer camp. Who come to church on a Wednesday night? This crazy group of people!
And so we’re believing that God will do the impossible. You know, we don’t just serve a God that just wants to do something; we serve a God that wants to do the impossible. And so I’m just curious, how many of you in here have some impossible situations tonight? Come on, look around, look around, look around. Look at all of these opportunities for God to show up tonight and do something unique and do something spectacular.
So I just want to share with you for a little bit about going beyond. I believe that in this season of your life, in this season of revival, you’re gonna go beyond some things that you have been stuck in. You’re gonna go beyond some areas that you have been kind of hesitant to go beyond. You’re gonna move beyond some places that you’ve never moved beyond before! If you believe that, call your boy! Come on!
So let’s do this. Repeat this after me: This is my season to go beyond. This is my season to move beyond the limitations that have held me back for so long. This is my season to go beyond every obstacle that I have had to pedal and jump over. This is my season to go beyond everything that has been holding me back. How many of you believe that this is your season to go beyond?
The last time I was here, I was privileged to talk to you guys about praise, and I’m a big praiser. I’m a praise-ologist; I love praise! I love talking about praise! But tonight, I want us to go a little deeper, so we’re gonna talk about worship. So if you got your Bible, go to Genesis chapter 22. Genesis chapter 22, the NLT version is what I’ll be reading from tonight.
I think… no, throw it up on the screen. Verse 1 says, «Sometime later, God tested Abraham’s faith. 'Abraham! ' He said. 'Yes, ' he replied. 'Here I am.' God called. 'Take your son, your only son, yes, Isaac, whom you love so much, and go to the land of Moriah. Go and sacrifice him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I will show you.'» The next morning, Abraham got up early. He saddled his donkey. Your version may say something different, but we’re going to keep it rated G tonight, and took two of his servants with him along with his son Isaac. Then he chopped wood for a fire for a burnt offering and set out for the place God had told him about.
On the third day of the journey, Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. «Stay here with the donkey,» Abraham told the servants. «The boy and I will travel a little farther; we are going to worship there.» But one of the things I want to point out is this place in the distance. This is the place of beyond. It didn’t have a drum set up there, but this place in the distance, this place of beyond, didn’t have guitarists up there strumming the guitar. This place in the distance, this place over yonder, didn’t have a keyboard. It didn’t have a choir. It didn’t have a great worship team. It didn’t have anything; it was just a place in the distance.
But Abraham told the servants, «Listen, stay here. Me and the boy are going up to worship,» which is a clear indicator for me that worship has very little to do with how much noise you make and a lot to do with the posture of your heart. See, this is the first reference of worship in the Bible, and this reference of worship is not about how good of a song the worship team sings, but it’s about sacrifice. You don’t start worshiping until something dies. You don’t start worshiping until you move beyond your comfort. If you’re still stuck going, «I wonder if they’re gonna sing my song tonight,» then you’re not worshiping.
If you’re still stuck on «I wonder who’s speaking tonight,» then you’re not worshiping. See, worship is about sacrifice. Look at your neighbor and tell them, «Are you making a sacrifice?» See, everybody can praise. As a matter of fact, the Word of God says that «let everything that hath breath praise the Lord.» Every one, everything can praise. It says that the trees praise him. It says that the fish in the sea praise Him. It says that when the wind blows, it praises Him. It says the rocks, if you don’t do what you’re supposed to do, will cry out and praise Him in your stead.
But there is something significant and unique about worship. In John chapter 4, it says that Jesus says that God is searching the earth looking for worshipers. You mean to tell me the creator of the universe, the one who separated light from darkness, the one who created all things, the Alpha and the Omega, the omniscient one, the omnipresent one, is looking for worshipers? Which means to me that there are a lot of praisers, but very few worshipers. See, there is something different about worship.
See, praise is when we invite God in. Worship is when God invites us in. He’s telling us, «I’m searching for worshipers.» Isn’t it also amazing that in that same passage of Scripture in John chapter 4, it doesn’t say that He’s looking for worship; He’s looking for worshipers because He understands that when you worship Him as a worshiper, your life changes. He doesn’t necessarily need it; He can make anything worship Him, but we need it.
And so He says, «I’m searching for someone who loves me enough to worship me, and when they worship me, their life gets better because of the worship.» Is there anybody here that says, «God, I am who you have called me to be! I will do what you’ve created me to do! I’m here not only to praise you but to worship you!» Come on, somebody say, «I’m going beyond!»
Going beyond, rewinding back to Genesis chapter 22, verse 5: «Stay here with the donkey,» Abraham told the servants. «The boy and I will travel a little farther; we will worship there and then we will come right back.» So Abraham placed the wood for the burnt offering on Isaac’s shoulders, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them walked on together, Isaac turned to Abraham and said, «Father?» «Yes, my son,» Abraham replied. «We have the fire, and we have the wood,» the boy said, «but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?» Abraham said, «God will provide.»
Sometimes you need to remind yourself, no matter what your circumstances may look like, no matter how difficult your journey may be, no matter how long your road may be, no matter how long you’ve been on the path you’ve been on, you’ve got to remind yourself sometimes that God will provide. Is there anyone in here that has ever been in a situation where you couldn’t provide for yourself and the only thing you had was to rely on God’s faithfulness? And you needed to remind yourself that God will provide!
How many people in here can attest to the fact that God has been faithful? How many people can verify that He’s been good? How many people can shout, «He’s been better to you than you’ve been to yourself?» Somebody shout, «God will provide! He’ll provide!»
We’re gonna get loud in here in a minute, but I want to get back to this as we dig a little deeper. God will provide a sheep for the burnt offering, my son, Abraham answered, and they both walked on together. When they arrived at the place where God had told him to go, Abraham built an altar and arranged the wood on it. Then he taught his son Isaac and laid him on the altar on top of the wood, and Abraham picked up the knife to kill his son as a sacrifice.
At that moment, the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, «Abraham! Abraham!» «Yes,» Abraham replied. «Here I am.» «Don’t lay a hand on the boy,» the angel said. «Do not hurt him in any way, for now I know that you truly fear God. You have not withheld from me even your son, your only son.» Then Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket.
And I just believe tonight that when you posture your heart to worship God, you’re gonna have a look-up moment. You’re gonna have a moment that you’ve been praying for, some things you’ve been searching for, some things you’ve been wondering, «Is God really going to do what He’s promised me He’s going to do?»
And when you are sure in this moment of worship, you’re gonna have a look-up moment. Do you know what a look-up moment is? A look-up moment is when you’ve been searching for something, and then there it is. A look-up moment is when you’ve been praying for something, and then it appears because your heart is postured in the position of worship.
Are there any worshipers in the house tonight that say, «Hey, God, yes, I will! Yes to your way! I’ll be who it is you want me to be!» But I have a look-up moment! I love having look-up moments! As a matter of fact, there’s a passage in Scripture that says that you’re gonna be blessed so fast that your head is gonna spin! And I just believe that this year, 2018, is a year of acceleration, and there have been some things that have been held up that are going to be accelerated on your behalf.
There are some things that you’ve been praying for and waiting for, and being faithful, stewarding that God is gonna assure you into at an accelerated pace. Because you’ve been faithful, He’s saying, «Don’t lay hands on the boy.» Look up! Look up! Abraham looked up and saw a ram caught by its horns in a thicket. So he took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering in the place of his son. Abraham named that place Jehovah Jireh, which means «the Lord will provide.» To this day, people still use the name as a proverb.
See, when God is trying to do something through you, He’s trying to do something before you. God will never require you to give anything that He does not already have a blessing in mind to replace it with. Only a fool negotiates with a giver. If God is saying, «Hey, you should worship me,» then He already has something on His mind to replace it with.
Only a fool negotiates! Have you ever had someone trying to give you something, and you say, «No, no, no, don’t give that to me?» You ever had someone try to give you, let’s just say we’re trying to give you a voucher or a Visa gift card, and the Visa gift card was $400, and what you say? «No, don’t give it to me; give me $75.» Well, what happened? That hundred-dollar gift card no longer is a gift card; it’s a discount card because now you’ve exchanged the gift for something far less.
When we don’t do what we’re created to do, when we don’t do what we’re made to do, when we don’t do what God has formed us and shaped us to do, we are trading our life, that is a gift, for something as cheap as a discount. I just made up in my mind I don’t care what people think about me. I don’t care if people like me. Listen, they don’t got a heaven or hell to put me in! Anyway, if people think I’m crazy for being crazy for Him, so be it! The reality is you’re crazy anyway!
Are there any people up in here that said, «Listen, if it had not been for Him, I don’t know where I would be! If it had not been for Jesus, I would have lost my mind a long time ago! I’m here on a Wednesday night because I believe God has something for me!» If that’s you, let me hear you scream!
Yeah! See, worship is so important because worship is not only us speaking to God, but it’s God speaking to us. The voice that you listen to determines the destiny you experience. You want to know where you’re going? Start paying attention to the voices you listen to. If you want to know what your destiny looks like, start paying attention to the people speaking into your life because the voices you listen to determine the destiny you experience.
Worship is so key because it gives us an opportunity to exalt God and give Him something that’s worthy of who He is. If you’re writing notes, write this down: Worship broken down means worth-ship. It’s me giving God something that’s worth something! It’s me giving God something that costs me something! If it doesn’t cost you anything, why give it to Him? If it’s not worth something to you, why present it to Him? He wants something from you that costs you something so that He can give you something that costs Him something.
See, isn’t it amazing how He never asked you for something that you want to give? He’s talking to Abraham, and He’s telling Abraham, «Listen, you have to offer up Isaac as a living sacrifice.» Now I know a lot of us are spiritual in here, or spiritual, but if someone were to say, «You need to offer up your kid as a sacrifice in order to show me that you love me,» people would start walking out of this room!
But Abraham said, «God, you’ve proven yourself to be faithful.» He told his servants, «Me and the boy will be back.» Which is an indicator that Abraham remembered. He remembered the time that he got up in age, and he was expecting and anticipating a child from God. He didn’t know how it was gonna work out; him and Sarah, their bodies began to give up on him. But God stepped in and provided a miracle for them. He remembered that when he was worshipping God, God called him out of the land that he was in and called him into a new territory to worship Him so that he could be the father of so many generations.
He remembered all these things, and so if God told him to sacrifice his son, he knew that God would be where He said He would be and show up just where He said He would show up. And sometimes when God wants you to worship, you just gotta remember all the things that God has brought you out of! Is there anybody here that remembers some of the things God brought you out of? Come on, just take an opportunity to think back for a moment, where you were this time last year. Come on, think back to where you were five years ago.
See, something supernatural happens when you start remembering how good God has been! There’s an old-school song that I like to sing every now and again that says, «When I think of the goodness of Jesus and all that He’s done for me, thank God for saving me.» There’s something supernatural about remembering where God brought you from. Bump your neighbor, tell them, «Take a moment to remember!»
If it had not been for the Lord on your side, where would you be? If it had not been for God on your side, where would you have been? If it had not been for Jesus that saved your life, what mess would you be stuck in? Take a moment to remember how faithful God has been!
See, I know your dress is nice tonight. I know you got your good clothes on, but there was a day and a time where you didn’t know how you were gonna make it. I know you got your smell-good on, but there was a day and a time you didn’t smell so good. It was a moment in your life that you had more month than money, and you were praying, «God, if you just get me out of this mess, I promise I’ll give you all the glory and all the praise.» And He was faithful! He got you out of that mess! And here you are, you have an opportunity to remember!
See, when we remember, it brings us into an opportunity where we can worship God in spirit and in truth. See, it’s powerful to think about in spirit and in truth because a lot of you are in situations right now where your truth does not look that presentable and that glamorous and that glorious. Some of your truth is ugly, but He’s saying, «I want that because I can take that messy situation and I can turn it into a miracle for My glory.»
Let’s not get into this position where we forget the things that God has done for us. But let’s not get into the position where we’re so far removed from being who we were, into who this person is, and we forget the struggle that God brought us out of. It’s an opportunity for us to lift up our hands and open up our mouths and say, «God, you’ve been faithful!» «God, you’ve been good!» «God, you’ve been better than good!» «God, you’ve been so great to me!»
If I had ten thousand tongues, it still wouldn’t be enough! Think, think, think about that! A doctor that told you you had cancer, and you prayed, «God, I believe You’re a healer!» Think about when your job was laying off and they were having cutbacks, and you said, «God, You’re faithful! I believe that You will protect me!» And somehow, someway, God stepped in right in the nick of time, and you were protected! You can’t forget the things that God has done!
Abraham remembered! He said, «God, you’ve been faithful in my yesterday. Oh, God, you’ve been faithful in my today, and God, I believe you’ll be faithful in my tomorrow!» If you tell me to sacrifice my son, the one who I love, my only son, then to God, I believe you will provide me with everything that I needed!
So much more said you got to be willing to give up some stuff too in order to walk into the things that God has for you. This is what I believe your next blessing will determine and be determined by what you’re willing to walk away from. So some of you are surrounding yourself with situations and things that you’re not supposed to be surrounding yourself with, and in this season of revival, God is saying this is an opportunity for you to revise some things and switch some things and work on some things so that you can get out! And if you just be faithful and worship Me, I’ll provide!
Abraham remembered! Number two, the thing that fascinates me about this passage of Scripture is that Abraham gave Isaac the wood, but he carried the fire. He didn’t have a fire starter on the top of the mountain. It says he carried the fire for three days and then up the mountain in order to make the sacrifice, in order to worship the way he thought God desired from the worship. And something stuck out to me. Sometimes we come to service; sometimes we come to revival looking for fire to hit us when we’re supposed to bring the fire to revival.
See, some of you came looking for fire tonight when you’re supposed to be bringing the fire! This is not an opportunity for you to observe; this is an opportunity for you to contribute! See, when everybody is on fire, miracles happen! When everybody’s bringing fire, the unexpected takes place! When everybody is on fire, we go up the same way!
In the Old Testament, it says, «It’s just like fire shut up in my bones.» God has been faithful to me! Abraham took fire with him. And I’ve been around fire before! I’ve tried to take fire from my stove to the fireplace before, and it goes out! I mean, trying to do rolled-up little pieces of newspaper like—fire don’t always cooperate with you the way you’d think it would!
But Abraham understood how to fan the fire for three days! It says that he carried the fire up the mountain; he carried the fire! And sometimes we come into environments like this, and we’re looking for the fire to fall when we’re supposed to be bringing the fire with us. And in order for you to bring the fire with you, you gotta fan the fire!
All throughout the year, you say, «Well how do I fan the fire?» You think about everything to set you on fire before you think about everything that God has brought you out of. Sometimes you can’t think about everything, but you can think about something! See, sometimes we get so bombarded with all these things that we forget about the one thing that we said, «God, if you just get me out of this thing, I promise I won’t do it again!»
God got you out of that situation, and you forgot! Now you have an opportunity to give back to Him what He’s given to you! You gotta fan the fire! Sometimes you gotta take opportunities like this to think about how faithful God has been in situations where you’ve been faithless! See, some of you in here tonight, you’re tired, you’re weary, and firstly here, you’re ready to tap out, throw in the towel, give up.
You’ve been coming in, «I’ve been coming, I’ve been giving, I’ve been sowing, and my situation is still the same!» And I came tonight to tell you if you keep fanning the fire, the fire grows! And then the fire gets bigger! And you start thinking about every area in your life that has not yet been consumed!
And one thing about fire is contagious. So some days you may come in here and you don’t feel like you’re on fire; the person beside you is, though. And when they praise and they worship God, it rubs off on you! And sometimes you just gotta worship! I failed! Sometimes you may not feel like worshiping; sometimes you may not feel like praising, but you just gotta worship by faith!
And I’m telling you, something miraculous happens when you just do what God has created you to do. You gotta fan that fire! Something supernatural happens when fire hits your life. Fire transforms! Can you imagine a cake put in an oven with no fire? There would be sweet soup rather disgusting. Can you imagine your car with no fire? It wouldn’t go anywhere! Fire transforms!
And some of you are trying to live a life where you believe in God but you trust in yourself, and there’s no fire! And you’re wondering how come my life is not changing? It’s because there’s no fire to transform you! But I’m telling you tonight, if you posture your heart and you position yourself to worship God and you bring the fire with you, transformation will take place in your life!
And you’ll leave here differently than the way you came, and your situation may not change, but you are changing! Therefore, your situation is changing! And I came to tell you tonight that although it seems like God is up to nothing, God is up to something! And when it seems like God is doing nothing, God is doing something! And you may not feel any different; you may not see any different; you may not hear any different, but if you’ll just be faithful to do what God has called you to do, I’m telling you, He will prove Himself faithful!
Your situation—bring the fire! Fan the fire! You are not held back by what you don’t have; you’re only held back by what you don’t use! See, you’ve got everything you need to be successful! You’re worship trapped up on the inside of you, and God is just waiting for you to release that thing that’s already on the inside of you!
See, He created you to be a worshiper! He seeded you to be a worshiper! But He pleads to see the worship on the inside of you, and He’s just waiting for you to discover what you already are! See, God creates our future; your decisions decide how fast your discovery! You have to make up in your mind, «I’m no longer gonna stay in this position, whether they be good or whether they be bad. God has more for me!»
And the way that I receive God’s best is through the posture of worship. Number three. Number three is this: Abraham carried the knife. He carried a knife because he understood that there were some things that were still alive that needed to die. And when you come and worship, worship is an opportunity for you to expose some stuff in you that’s still alive and needs to die.
If worship is about you, then you’re not worshiping! Worship is always God-centered! And this is the reality, everybody is worshiping something! Very few of us are worshiping Jesus! You can tell what you’re worshiping by what you’re becoming like because you start to change into what you worship.
So if your problems are what you talk about, guess what? Your worship! My destiny is moving in the direction of my conversations and what I talk about most. That’s what I see the most! If you’re tired of seeing the things you see, change what you say! Abraham understood something that was so powerful. He understood that what he said had the ability and the power to come to pass! He told his servants, «Me and the boy will be back.» He told his son, «God will provide.» God will provide!
And that sounds like an easy statement when you have everything, but when you are down to decisions that you don’t know the outcome of and your back is up against the wall, those three words can mean everything in that situation: «God will provide!» Tonight, some of you, you need a physical healing in your body, some of you need a financial breakthrough, some of you, your relationships are on the verge of being torn apart, but you just need to declare over yourself and over your life that God will provide!
Doesn’t matter what it looks like! We don’t go by what it looks like; we go by what He said! Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen! So the opposite of faith here is not doubt; the opposite of faith is what you see! It does not take faith to see what you see. It takes faith to see your situation changing when you can’t see your situation changing!
Abraham had no idea what the outcome would be for his son, Isaac, but he had faith enough to believe that God is faithful. And if He tells me to do this, I just have to believe that He will provide! He took a knife because he understood there were some things that were still alive in him that needed to die!
Every time you get into the environment of worship, you must understand that there are some things in you that have to die in order for God to do what He desires through you! Number four: Abraham built an altar. See, it’s at the altar where alterations take place! It’s at the altar of worship where portals are opened to heaven!
If you remember Daniel, he was praying for these things, and it says literally that the prayers were being blocked by the Prince of Persia, and God tells him to build an altar! And this altar was a portal that went to heaven so that the prayers he was praying could get through, and so the blessings from God could get back down!
And I just believe tonight that if you would create an altar of worship, you’re opening up a spiritual portal for God to do the supernatural in your life! Abraham built an altar! It says that he laid his son down on this altar, and when he lifted his hands, God spoke! And tonight, I believe that as we worship and you lift your hands, God is gonna speak to you! God is gonna heal you! God is gonna deliver you! God is gonna set you free! God is gonna show up and the areas of your life that you need Him to show up all because you are obedient to the things that God called you to be obedient to!
I don’t know; some of you were thinking, «So you mean to tell me that there’s something significant in lifting my hands?» Absolutely! Supernatural miracles take place sometimes from physical obedience! Moses was in battle, and it says that every time he lifted his hand, they had the victory! And it says he got tired, and he began to drop his hands, and they began to lose. It says that Aaron came and he sat down and he propped his hands up, and because he propped his hands up, they got the victory!
Tonight, listen to me! You may think what God has called you to do is crazy, but physical obedience sometimes creates spiritual miracles! I can remember I got this truck, and I had these keys for it. And over a portion of time, like most men, I didn’t read the manual; I just figured, «Hey, I’ll figure it out.» You know, the vast majority of men don’t really read instruction manuals. They look at the box and say, «Yep, screw goes there, screw goes there; poor little Maxwell, let’s go get on a bike!»
Anyway, one day, the front wheels go come off of it! But I was looking for the keys to my truck, and I couldn’t find them anywhere! I looked all over my house; I asked my family, «Have you seen my keys?» They said, «No, we have not seen the keys.» Three days went by, and I was still looking for my keys! I’m getting frustrated! «Where are my keys?»
So I ascertained, «I’ll find this key!» Finally, something told me to go to the truck and look in it! Sure enough, the keys to the truck were in it! Everything that I was looking for was already in place! And sometimes we’re looking in all the wrong places for something that’s already in us!
Tonight, worship is in you! Tonight, I believe everything you’ve been searching for is already in you! And you can’t look to other people for something that God created you to do! Bring the fire with you! In John chapter 4, it talks about Jesus meeting a lady at the well and begins to talk about water, and they’re having a conversation about water, but they’re not really talking about water—they’re talking about worship!
And He says, «If you understood who you were talking to, you would understand that what you are looking for is right in front of you.» And if you’ll just drink, you’ll never thirst again! What Jesus was saying is: Water to the body is what worship is to the spirit! And there are some of you in here tonight that are thirsty!
Who is thirsty and looks at a glass of water? Who is parched and talks about how great the water looks? Who drives to a place in the middle of nowhere and says, «I’m thirsty,» and has bottles of water all in your vehicle? You’re thirsty! Tonight, and you’re around this well of worship, and it’s your job to partake in it instead of look at it!
Is there anybody that came tonight that says, «Listen, I’m not just gonna look at it; I’m gonna jump in it! I’m not just gonna look at it; I’m gonna consume it! I’m not just gonna look at it; I’m gonna be a part of what God is doing here in Celebration Church, because I believe God has something special in store for us!» So this is what I invite you to do: The altar is open; bring your fire! The altar is open; bring your fire!
See, some of you are waiting on music to start. It doesn’t take music to worship! Some of you are waiting on the piano to pump up; it doesn’t take all that! It takes you posturing your heart and saying, «God, there’s something in me that I need to get rid of so that I can help you!» Come on, bring your fire!