The Return, Be Ready | August 21, 2022

Follow Along with the Message

"Hello my name is Dave, I’m from Newtown Square and I’ve been coming to Prov for about 2 years.

So I have a question for you. What would you do if on Friday night you had the best pizza you’ve ever had in your life? I know what I would do. I would return to the source over and over again to take in more…and,  I would tell everyone I knew about it! 
I’d tell my neighbors…my coworkers… I tell my friends…strangers…I probably would’ve told a dozen or more people here already this morning!  

I have been a Christian since I was a single digit age. I grew up in a Christian home with beautiful parents, I had grandparents, aunts and uncles…who knew and loved the Lord.  We attended a wonderful evangelical Christian church where I was active in Sunday school and youth group. My father was what we now know as the “ Worship leader”, My brother and his wife are in full-time missionary service, my nephew is a youth pastor, and I…

 I am what you would call a “closet Christian”! 

Let me explain.

I love the Lord and I love coming to church. I arrive early, I sing at the top of my lungs…I take an occasional screenshot to reflect back on later…I mutter an “amen”, when we are reminded to go out and share the gospel with others…I give the pastor a thumbs up, or pat on the back,  on my way out the door…and I talk about “what a great sermon it was” over lunch or dinner with my girlfriend. 

But here’s where I come up short. 
I don’t go out and share what I believe...even though I’m commanded to do so. 

Mathew 28:18-20 says: And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Nope, not me…I always think that there are others who can do it better…others who are more prepared…others for whom
 ”its more their thing”.    

For me it’s like…  
what if I say the wrong thing?  
What if I falter or fail?  
What if I “blow it''? 
What if…I embarrass myself?! 

So I just serve In other ways. The broadcast team and art initiative is more in my “comfort zone”…I’ll just leave the talking to someone else. 

6 months ago or so, Brenna asked me if I would create an art piece to coincide with the end of the Matthew series and I happily agreed. As I was thinking about what to create, I decided that I should also produce a video to help wrap up the Mathew series as video production is my profession. 

I would interview people about the Mathew series. Ask tough probing questions about loss, loneliness, and longing…about questioning God and questioning our faith. 

I’d weave their answers together with the help of an editor…
lay in some moving music…
the congregation would be moved…tears would be shed…
souls would be saved…
and hope…would reign eternal! 

Yep…I was gonna do all that! 

A month ago we shot interviews with xx people over the course of 2 Monday nights. The interviews were everything I had prayed they would be, and then some. You got to see MOST of those interviews this morning. 

Two weeks ago as I was getting ready to come to Prov,  I took the camera card  from night 2’s interview and put it in my pocket with plans to hand it off to Jesse the editor when I got to church. 
I stopped at Wawa for coffee…dropped by my girlfriend's house for five minutes to say hello to an out-of-town friend…I ran into CVS to grab one thing…and I drove through the car wash. 

When I got to Prov I stood in the parking lot…reached into my pocket…the camera card was gone…and panic set in!!!

I went back to CVS and searched the isles, the cash register area, I looked in the parking lot... I did the same thing at Wawa, even crawling under cars…
I called my girlfriend who turned her family room upside down…and I went to the car wash and dug through a trash can.  And then…a did it a second time , and third time. 

And now the reality set in!  I was going to let Brenna down, I was going to let the teaching team down, I was going to let this congregation down, and most of all…
I was going to let God down. 

I arrived home early that afternoon…went into my room…and dropped to my knees.  

“Why God?  Why did you let this happen?  I was doing this for you!  Why didn’t you put a hedge of protection around those interviews? 


You have to understand…
these interviews were powerful. 
The words that were spoken needed to be heard.

“We’ve all suffered loss, and longing, and loneliness.”

“We are all mumzers.” 

“We’re all prepared to share the gift we’ve received.”

“All it takes…is a little leap of faith”

——

“Why God…why did you let this happen?”

And here’s what God said, 
“Dave…I did those interviews… for you!

You needed to hear…

You needed to learn….

You needed to realize that you’re prepared…

And now you need to go talk to others.” 

——-

There’s a saying that “we make plans…and God laughs.”  And God was laughing at me. 

“Sill boy…I had this all along. Those lost interviews…were for you.” 


Imagine having a friend who was willing to “take a bullet” for you. 
Willing to lay down his life for you. 
Imagine saying to him, “dude, how can I ever repay you” and having him say…

“Just tell your friends what I did…and tell them I’m here for them too.”

All Jesus has ever asked of us… is that we trust Him, and allow His kingdom to live inside of us and be known through us.

So back to my question about the best pizza ever. 

You’ve been given the greatest gift you could ever receive in Jesus Christ. How often do you return to the source?  Who are you telling about what you’ve received? 

I’m guilty of waiting for the big things in life to come around while  God is standing by to help with even the littlest things.  (Camera card) 

If you’re here today wondering about the gift of Jesus…uncertain of the place he has in your life…ask someone. Just ask.  We’re ALL prepared to help you find answers. 

If you’re a believer…know that you’ve been prepared to share your story from the day you accepted Jesus.   We’re called to be a mirror…a reflection of Christ.”