"Always Give Yourself Something To Look Forward To" Rev. Reginald W Sharpe Jr. May 11, 2022

3:28 I only have about 20 minutes. Our clock is rolling. here at the ship and i want you to know that when we start um these refuels that my intention is not to waste your time i know you're moving i know you're taking care of children i know you are tired from working the fact that you tuned in means that your time is valuable and we honor your time and so you don't have to eat a whole hog to know you're eating pork isn't that right So here we are in part two of six ingredients that will make for a happier life. Six ingredients for a happier life. Last week, man, it was a rich conversation that we had around the area of protecting your internal peace. Protecting your internal peace. That's the first ingredients. And I hope that you added that to your bowl. Now today, the second ingredient that we want to talk about to adding to a happier life is number two, always give yourself something to look forward to.

4:29 I know that's wordy, but that's the best way I can say it. Always give yourself something to look forward to. And this is kind of special that Mother's Day just happened. And this is one of the lessons that my mama taught me growing up. She said, always give yourself something to look forward to. She says that's how you keep yourself energized to focus on tomorrow, to embrace tomorrow, to keep moving forward. She says you give yourself something to look forward to. Unless I tell you all of the lesson, our key verse today comes from Hebrews chapter 12, verse 2. That's the only verse we're going to look at tonight because this verse shows us Jesus. It shows us how Jesus moved. It shows us how Jesus lived. It shows us how Jesus endured suffering. And so I want to read it tonight out of the King James Version and I want to read it out of the Message Bible.

5:30 Hebrews chapter 12 verse 2 from the King James Version says, Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the throne of god i like that looking unto jesus the author and finisher of our faith watch what did he do who for the joy that was set before him there was some joy set before him and it helped him endure the cross despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of god the throne of god now listen to this out of the message bible it says keep your eyes on jesus who both began and finished this race we're in study how he did it because he never lost sight of where he was headed that exhilarating finish in and with god he could put up with anything along the way cross shame whatever and now he's there in the place of honor right alongside God. I mean y'all this is such a simple text but it's so powerful. Jesus endured the cross. Jesus faced the shame of the crucifixion. The shame of being denied.

6:52 The shame of being betrayed. The shame of being crucified which is a old old a new testament word for what we call being lynched. Jesus was publicly lynched by the Roman Empire the same way black people in this country were lynched by the American Empire. But the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 2 that Jesus was able to endure the crucifixion, the lynching, the desertion, the embarrassment, the shame, the weight of the death, the pressure that came from the empire because he kept in front of him where he was heading. And I'm trying to tell you, if you want to have a happier life, you have got to give yourself something to look forward to. And it's not deep. It's simple. When you order things on Amazon, I talked about this, you know, addiction I have.

7:48 It's not a real addiction, but it is a habit that I have to order things online. I cannot tell you what happens to me psychologically and mentally. and emotionally even before it gets there. I'm excited because I know it's coming. The moment you order something online, you are giving yourself something to look forward to. When you plan a date with a friend and say, hey, can we get up at the end of this month on the 27th? What are you doing that night at 7th? When you set that date, you are giving yourself something to look forward to. There are some dates already on my calendar for 2022 where I'm going on vacation. I'm a long way from some of those vacations, but I'm giving myself something to look forward to. Every year, some of the church members may not like it, but every year I take a sabbatical in August. And I rest and I unplug and I take that time to reboost and refuel myself and re-energize myself and relax myself and refresh myself.

8:52 I go hang out with friends and I hang out with my wife and I hang out in other countries and I travel and I try to do that or other states. Whatever I want to do, it's a time of refreshing. And in May, when life gets heavy, I'm giving myself something to look forward to. August is coming. When life gets hard in March, when life gets hard in June, when the weight of ministry, which it is a real weight, gets a little too heavy, I'm giving myself something to look forward to. And in this text today, Jesus shows us that's how you endure the cross. That's how you endure pressure. That's how you endure hard seasons. You look ahead and you say, I got to put something ahead of Jesus said. I love the King James Version. It says for the joy that was set before him. Oh, the whole time they're spitting on him. The whole time they're killing him. Jesus knew that he was sent to this earth on divine assignment.

9:47 assignment and in the book of Philippians chapter 2 it says that and God gave him a name which is above every name so Jesus knew I gotta go through this but this is not the end of my story I have some joy set before me it could be as simple as this watch this if if you're if you're dieting or if you say I'm gonna be disciplined on Monday through Saturday I'm not gonna eat things that really bring me pleasure. I'm going to be disciplined in my eating. This is what I do sometimes, especially when I know that my weight, when I see the scale and I'm not so happy, I look at trying to discipline myself with my eating. Monday through Saturday, I say, no, no, no, I'm not going to eat ice cream. I'm not going to eat that fried food. I'm not going to eat bread. I'm not going to eat those things that we know add weight to us, but on Sunday, I eat whatever I want to eat. See, that's how you give yourself something. Are y'all following me here? Something to look forward to. And you have a happier life when you set up dates and you set up vacations and you just set up small things. Maybe you order something. Maybe you were looking forward to somebody calling you, but you have to be able to see beyond what you see. Are you hearing me? You got to see beyond what you see. So when you do this and you always give yourself something to look forward to this is what the text teaches us and this is what the biblical lesson is trying to show us three things and i'm gonna break it down like a fracture and then i'm gonna bid you good night number one when you always give yourself something to look forward to you can endure life number two you can envision life and number three you can enjoy life catch that i can endure life say it with me i have to i can endure life somebody say endure life somebody say envision life somebody say enjoy life let's do it again somebody say i can endure life endure life somebody say i can envision life let me hear you and then lastly let me hear you say enjoy life these are the three things that happen when you always give yourself something to look

11:52 forward to maybe it is a vision of what you're hoping for maybe you're working towards a goal You have a goal in your savings account. You have a goal to write a book. You have a goal to start a business. You have a goal to see some shift, some debt be canceled in your life. And so what you have to do is set a plan up and you say, hey, this is the plan and I'm looking towards that. So when you set something up ahead of you, you can endure your now because you're looking forward to your next. am i making any sense the bible says and he endured the cross watch it keep your eyes on jesus who both began and finished this race we're in study how he did it well how did he do it because he never lost sight of where he was headed that exhilarating finish in god and with god so he could put up with anything you can put up with a whole lot when you give yourself something to look forward to you can deal with the cross you can deal with the shame and i like the message bible i hope it's popping up on the screen it says cross shame whatever you can almost deal with whatever is coming when you give yourself something to anticipate in your future oh i hope i'm coming through and making sense tonight so i'm speaking to some of you right now you're in a storm you're in a season where there's pressure you're in a season where there's unhappiness you're in a season where there's some tight tension on you and your neck is real tight and your back is tight and you're stressed and you got a lot of pressure on you you're in finals and you're writing papers well guess what you got to keep your eye on graduation guess what if you're a teacher and it's getting real tight right now and and the semester's not over to june you got to keep your eye on the summertime if you are in a marriage and y'all raising those babies you're a grandmama You better put something on the calendar that is a marker that says, hey, once it gets to this date, we about to take a break.

13:54 We're going to unplug from everything and I'm going to enjoy my life. I don't know what that is for you, but you can endure life when you give yourself something to look forward to. And then number two, you can envision life. And the whole point here, that word envision means to look beyond, to see deeply. Can you envision yourself happier? Can you envision yourself living somewhere where you are a little more at peace with where you're living? Can you envision yourself in a better, more fulfilling relationship? I'm about to jump about this. See, can you envision yourself in a place? See, while Jesus was going through the cross, he had his mind on the crown. While he was going through Friday's pain, he had Sunday's joy on his mind. I'm trying to you got to see yourself beyond where you are right now. I don't care where you are in your life.

14:51 This is not your final chapter. Your falling is not final. Your condition is not your conclusion. And I need you to see yourself living better, feeling better, looking better, dancing better, laughing better, dressing better. I need you. Can you see yourself like that? Because if you can see it, then you can seize it. It's hard to seize what you cannot see. And so that's why the Bible keeps on talking about we walk by faith and not by sight. You better not just walk in this life based off of what you see right now. You got to see beyond what you see so you can seize what you see. uh-huh i'm trying to help you endure life you got to envision life and then you can enjoy life look at jesus look at him he it says study how he did it verse two put it back on the screen message bible study how he did it because he never lost sight of where he was headed that exhilarating finish i like that word exhilarating that means that enjoyable finish that that soul-fulfilling finish in and with god he put up with almost anything cross shame whatever and now and now And now he's there in the place of honor right alongside God.

16:11 And now he's seated at the right hand of God the Father. Look at Jesus. Can y'all see that? He's in a place of honor. His name is honored. His name is called. He's referenced all over the world. And while he was going through his cross, while he was being misunderstood by the people that he was called to serve and live with, he had to see himself beyond where he was he had to envision a better life he had to endure the life before him and now he's able to enjoy life let me tell you something god did not call you to be miserable in perpetuity what's that word perpetuity sharp i don't know those bigger words you'd be dropping on us perpetuity means forever it means indubitably it means it means as long as life lasts. God does not want you to be miserable in perpetuity. I look forward to the day where enjoyment finds you and life finds you again. I'm done. I'm done teaching the lesson is over because either you're going to get it or you're not. You're going to endure your life because you're going to give yourself something to look forward to. You're going to endure this tough season. You're going to envision yourself on a beach, envision yourself debt-free, envision yourself investing your money envision yourself graduating envision yourself married and happy envision yourself with real peace perfect peace not that fake peace and then you're gonna enjoy your life i look forward to seeing you and you walk up to me one day and say pastor i am enjoying my life you know people walk up to me all the time and they tell me a lot of the bad stuff pray pray for me i gotta go to surgery pray for me my child is cutting up pray for me me and my husband going through me and my wife going to pray for me you know i got bad news from the doc pray for me and there's nothing wrong with that i'm your pastor i'm your shepherd so i'm there for you i don't mind you coming to tell me to pray for you about anything but don't forget to come back and tell me when life is good you feel me don't forget to come back and and let me know things are well pastor i'm in a season right through here where life feels like a summer breeze where life feels

18:23 like sand underneath my toes where I am seated I like the text they don't miss that Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the father almighty when you were a ruler and a king everybody else may stand in the palace but the king sits the queen sits because it is a sign that they are unbothered they are unmoved that they are confident in who they are Jesus is sitting And the fact that he's sitting on the right hand of God, the father almighty, lets me know that while we're pacing and while we're rushing and while we're worrying, you got a God in Jesus who is sitting. And I pray for you that when you give yourself something to look forward to, there's coming a season where you will be able to sit, where there will be no hurry. There will be no worry. There will be no stress and there will be no strain on you. I'm prophesying right now.

19:16 I said there will be no worry. There will be no hurry. There will be no stress or strain on you. But I'm going to look at you and you're going to be like, Pastor, I'm sitting in this season. I'm good. I'm settled. I'm at ease. All is well. I'm relaxing. I'm enjoying myself. Because when you give yourself something to look forward to, you can endure life. You can envision a greater life. And then one day you'll be able to enjoy life. Let me pray for you as we close. God, I thank you for the time that you have given us to grow tonight. I thank you for these six ingredients to a happier life. Lord, we're trying to protect our internal peace. And now, God, we're trying to remind ourselves to give ourselves something to look forward to. God, show us how to take breaks when we work hard. God, teach us we can work hard, but we got to play hard and we have to laugh hard. God, show us how to pause.

20:09 Show us how to unplug. hug show us how to set dates right now so that we can relax and go on vacations and and have a staycation even if we don't have the finances to go out of town but we can find a spot in town where we just change our atmosphere walk by the lake do something that's relaxing take the children somewhere where we don't normally take them see something in the city we normally don't see but God, teach us, teach us, Lord, to embrace a greater life so we can enjoy life, so we can have a happier life and help us to right now find ways to strategize. How can I give myself something to look forward to weekly, daily, monthly, annually? How can I give myself something to look forward to that helps me get through a tough day because I'm looking to go beyond today? I pray, oh God, that you help us get through our now, get through our cross, get through this pressure so that we can one day be seated.

21:13 One day we can be settled. One day we can have serenity. One day we can be at ease because we really do believe in Jesus. We're going to study how he did it. But in Jesus, we can find a happier life. Have your way. Bless us. If somebody needs you tonight, bring them on with us. Help them to come back to the Lord. help them to come back email us text us so they can have a new walk with god this is our prayer in jesus name let everybody say amen amen and amen the doors of the church never close you can email us tonight you can text us tonight because we believe things are gonna get better come on i hope