Click HERE to view Rev. Rogers’ guided meditation during the service.
Alright, so how do you get things done? I want you just to open your mind to that thought. How do you get things done? Are you a kind of a “get ‘er done” kind of person? Or are you kind of a “hold back a little bit” kind of person?
As spiritual people, I want to talk about how we move our lives forward. Because I believe that, no matter where we are — no matter what our age; no matter where we are with life — I believe this moment presents an amazing opportunity to move our life forward.
And I believe that sometimes we kind of get stuck in a rut. We get stuck with our life the way it is, or the way it’s been, and we just kind of keep moving through the issues of life. But we’re not really moving it forward in a way that’s exciting to us. And sometimes we even lose interest in life, because we’ve done it for so long. We’ve lived the same life, the same year, the same decade over and over and over again … and it’s kind of lost some juice.
So, when you look at your life, do you feel empowered to move it forward? Do you feel connected and inspired and ready to create the next level of your life? Or are you kind of on hold? And if you could, if you would, if you’d be willing to move your life forward and to get it done in a greater, bigger, more wonderful way than ever before, what would you do? What would you create? Who would you be? What would your life look like? And I want you to really see the power from a spiritual point of view that you have to move your life forward.
Stephen Covey wrote this in The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. He said:
“There’s a mental or first creation, and a physical or second creation to all things. Take the construction of a home, for example. You create it in every detail before a hammer is ever set to a nail … Then you reduce it to blueprint and develop a construction plan … You have to make sure that the blueprint — the first creation — is really what you want, that you’ve thought everything through. And then you put bricks and mortar together … You begin with the end in mind. Through imagination, we can visualize the uncreated worlds of potential that lie within us all.”
See, as a spiritual being, you have this incredible inner universe that is ready to be brought into manifestation; to be created in the life that may be the greatest life you’ve ever lived. And we can do that, or we can not do that. We can put everything on hold and just go through the motions until our last day, and we have our last cough and [coughs]. And that’s it! Or we could decide that, wherever you are — whatever is going on in your life — that this is your moment to live in such a way that you are living your greatest, most amazing life possible.
And what I want you to see is: it’s just a decision. That the moment you decide that you’re ready for what’s next, the universe knows exactly how to move you in that direction.
So Covey says that we start with a mental image; that we start by imagining the house or the world or the life or the relationship or the work that you desire. We start by envisioning it. See it with your mind’s eye. That that’s the first level of creation.
But some of us are creating our lives through our emotions. We are not envisioning the life that we want. We’re emotionally reacting to the problems and the challenges before us. We are filled with our lives; filled with the drama of our emotions.
And what I want you to see is that you can actually be the architect of the next level of your life. That you can see it; you can imagine it! And, as you imagine it, you begin to believe in it and begin to work in that way.
Jesus said it this way in Matthew 7:24:
“Everyone that hears these words of mine and does them is like a wise man who built his house upon the rock …”
And what is that rock? That rock is faith.
“…And then the rain falls and the floods come and the winds blow and they beat upon the house. But it does not fall, because it was founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does nothing about them will be like the foolish man who built his house upon the sand. And when the rains fall and the floods come and the winds blow and they beat against the house, the house will fall. And it will fall a great fall.”
And so, what I want you to see today is that, as we envision the life that we want — and we build that life on faith … And sometimes faith is hard! If you’re building a life that you’ve never lived into before, sometimes it’s hard to have faith that that much love, that much joy, that much abundance, that much health is even possible! But as we build it on the rock — as we build it on that understanding that God is our source and that all things are possible — we actually build our house, and that there’s no limit to it!
Like, as a spiritual being, you’ve come into this three -dimensional world, and there’s no limit to the amazing life that you get to create! There’s no limit but your own mind to see a better possibility; to see a bigger world; to see that which has never been called forth before.
So, we have the ability to hold it in mind. And then we have the ability to take action.
[Laughs] In my backyard, I have three neighbors: behind me on each side. And on two of the sides, they have big trees. And we had a big tree until last year, and it died. And so, there was just a panoramic of big trees. Now it’s on two sides. And what I want you to know is that, when we have the storms of this time of year, those big trees tend to drop a goodly amount of leaves.
And what I want you to know is that I don’t spend a lot of time planning — thinking — of the cleaning of my backyard. I don’t map it out. I don’t create a flow chart. I don’t! I don’t spend a lot of time praying about it … Like, praying somebody else is going to come in there and do it. [Laughs] I don’t! Because I’ve already spent the time envisioning the backyard that I wanted. And now my only job is to get myself outside and clean it up. Right? There doesn’t have to be a big mental process or even a spiritual process. I just have to get myself outside with my rake in the trash can and gather them all up and take them out.
And I want you to see tonight that we have to really understand what is a mental project; what is a spiritual project; and what is a physical project. Because to create the best possible life, we need to have all three! And we need to be comfortable with all three! Because sometimes it’s just a mental activity. We need to envision it. And when we envision it, it requires that we think about it. And thinking is hard! That’s why we try not to do it.
Has anybody ever built a house or built a big project? When we built this church, it was such a big project! We had to decide: Do we want it here? Do we want it there? And how will that work? Where is the door going to go? Where are the files going to go? Where’s the bathroom going to go? Is it going to be a two-stall or a three -staller? I mean, all those things you actually have to think about! And if you don’t think about it and it’s actually built, It is much harder to change it
And so part of our life is mentally putting in the energy to actually design the life that we want: to think about it; to play with it in our mind.
And then we have to get active at the physical level to actually see that it’s built and built correctly; built right; built the way we want it … so that we know that, when it’s built, it’s done.
And then we have to do the spiritual activity, where we allow the Spirit of God to flow through us that makes all things possible.
In Zechariah 4:6 we read:
“Not by might, not by power, but by the Spirit, says the Lord of Host.”
I love that line!
“Not by might, not by power, but by the Spirit, says the Lord of Host.”
Because the third aspect of the creative process is calling forth the activity of God into every situation and making sure that we are in the flow of the Divine.
And so, I want you to look tonight: Has there ever been a project in your life that didn’t work? Maybe not. Maybe you’re just batting a thousand percent, right? But for most of us, there’s been a project or a desire or a longing that kind of hasn’t worked the way we hoped it would. And tonight, I want you — without going into deep grief over it — I want you to bring it to your mind. I want you to think about it. It could be a relationship or a work situation; whatever it is, right?
I want you to think about it, and I want you to ask yourself the question: Was the mental activity of this project not done successfully? Was it a physical problem? Or was it a spiritual problem? And I want you to begin to actually look at those projects in our life to say, “Look; did I need to call forth more God? Did I not plan it out well enough? Was it a mental challenge?” Right? “Or did I not put the work in necessary to make it successful?”
Because over and over again, that’s really all we get. You either have to do the mental work, the physical work or the spiritual work on any project. And if you miss one of the three, it may not turn out as well, because all three are required — the mental, the physical, and the spiritual work — to make sure your life reflects the desires of your heart.
You know, there’s such a Power that’s within us. That over and over again, what I want you to see is that the spiritual side of you … there is this flow of the Divine. And in the most successful projects in my life, the flow has been so amazing! Like, the whole project just seemed to flow out of me. And I could see it clearly the way I wanted it to go. And I was energized every day to move forward with that project. And the Spirit of God was just flowing through me.
And that, over and over again, what I see for many of us is the piece that is sometimes missing is being willing to call forth the power of God — the flow of God; the activity of Spirit — in such a way that you have what you need to complete the project that is in front of you.
Reading from John 7:38:
“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture said, out of their heart will flow rivers of the living water.”
And what I want you to see: as a spiritual being, you have the ability to call forth the power of God — the activity of God — in any situation in a greater way than we can even imagine. And that that is by divine providence that you have been entrusted with the fullness of Spirit. That, if you’re stuck in a project — if you’re stuck in any area of your life — I want you to call forth the power of God in that situation and feel the power of God, the Spirit of God, the flow of the Divine moving through you to unlock what has been locked up; to move through the chaos and the confusion or the disbelief; and to watch the power of God moving through you to make all things dawn.
Acts 2:2:
“And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.”
“I am in the flow of the Divine.”
Will you say that with me? [With congregants:] “I am in the flow of the Divine.”
One more time like we actually mean it: [with congregants] “I am in the flow of the Divine.”
And what I want you to really practice tonight … And I really mean this! What I want you to practice tonight is calling forth more God; more flow; more activity of Spirit in and through your life to open doors that have been shut; to open possibilities that seem too big or too great; and to allow the flow of the Divine to move through you; to heal; to bless; to transform.
And I think that sometimes we’re praying in a too-timid way. That the very power of God is within you! The fullness of God is within you waiting to be called forth to do a mighty work wherever you decide.
So do you have a project in your life? Do you have a goal? Do you have a desire that you’re working on in your life? I want you — if you’re willing tonight — I want you to imagine it right in front of you. Alright? I want you to see it. And I want you to see it done. Are you willing to play?
I want you to see it done. Whatever it is, I want you to see it done. It could be a healing; it could be a new job; it could be a transformation; it could be a financial blessing. I want you to see whatever it is right in front of you. I want you to close your eyes for a moment. And I want you to feel the full power of God moving through you to create that reality now. To see it and feel it and know that you have the ability to call forth the fullness of the Holy Spirit to make all things new again.
So just see it! Feel the activity of God rolling through you like a mighty river; like a mighty wind; like a mighty power. And that, at your disposal, it is available to you in a moment to change; to heal; to transform.
“I call forth the power of God.”
Together: [with congregants] “I call forth the power of God.”
I call forth the power of God!
Feel God. Feel that activity of God changing; healing; blessing; uplifting; filling you with new energy and wisdom and power; and blessing you in greater and greater ways.
I call forth the power of God!
And we are channels to all that power! We are channels for all that wisdom; all that love; all that infinite goodness! We are channels for all that God is!
Whatever is in your life right now — whatever is going on in your life tonight — the power of God rolling through you is greater than any obstacle. And as we call forth that power of God, we are blessed in greater and greater and greater ways.
“I call forth the full power of the Holy Spirit to do a mighty work in my life.”
I call forth the full power of the Holy Spirit to do a mighty work in my life! In the name and through the power of the living Christ, it is done. Amen.