Sheryl Brady - Don't Block the Flow

On your way down here, somebody tell them, «Don’t break the flow.» Tell somebody else, «Don’t you be the one; don’t you be the one that breaks the flow.» So, for the last couple of weeks, I’ve come here to the building during our construction, just to walk around and see what is going on. It is amazing how our workers are right down here, working even into Saturday, but it is astonishing to me how fast they are able to turn this building around and make it what you see today. If you look up here, I’m sure you will see dust, and if you go out there, you’ll see dust and remnants of our construction zone, but it is what it is because we are under construction. Yeah, and you know everybody gets excited when you first share the vision of the construction—I mean, everybody gets excited, but that’s before we experience inconvenience. We’re excited before we’re inconvenienced, okay? We are excited because we hear about things that are yet to come, but in the middle of it, frustration can arise. When we’re shuffled off to an overflow, we can become frustrated when we have to come early just to get a seat in the sanctuary. When will this construction be over? That’s when all of that starts happening. We’re excited before we are asked to move out of the section where we’ve always sat and relocate to another section. Church just doesn’t feel right when you have to sit in another section. You know what I’m talking about because you’re used to seeing it from that angle and feeling it from that angle. You don’t want to sit over there. It takes you an hour before you finally lock in and realize that God is God, whether you’re over here or over there. It doesn’t matter, okay? But the reality is, we are creatures of habit, and it’s a mess. Change is exciting until you’re in the middle of it. Look at somebody and say, «But hold on, hold on, because we’re coming out better! We’re coming out better. Hold on, because we are going to come out better!» From the beginning, I told you, and some of our pastors have told you, that we should not be surprised if we start seeing things in our lives, homes, businesses, and families going through a similar process as what we are experiencing in this building. Okay, so if you found yourself under construction at home, oh yeah, and maybe you didn’t even plan for it, don’t be surprised because your house of worship is under construction. Yeah, okay, and if you feel like God has suddenly made your life be under construction, let me tell you about God—He never needs to get a building permit. Never! He will just take a ball, a crane, and a chain, and He will wreck your life, permit or no permit. So if you feel like, in the last couple of months, that God has closed in on you and is doing reconstruction in your life, don’t think it’s strange because that’s usually what happens. Look at your neighbor and say, «Neighbor, it’s a mess, but we’re moving through it. We are!» There’s dust, there’s debris, there’s clutter, there’s commotion, but the reason I can endure all the clutter, debris, and commotion is that I know what awaits us on the other side of progress. So if we keep progressing, a blessing is waiting for us—not just in this building, but in your life and in your walk with God. If you can keep progressing, there is a blessing just on the other side. What am I saying, Pastor BR? I’m saying that there is an increase just beyond the mess. Okay, let me say it again: there is an increase just beyond the mess. There is growth that is just beyond the mess. There’s room for more just beyond the mess. There’s room to stretch, to expand, to enlarge, to increase, and to evolve, and it’s just beyond the mess. So, don’t underestimate us by looking at our mess because we are moving toward something greater. It’s messy, but we are making progress. We are making headway. We are on the move. It may look like your business is going under, but it’s not—hold on, because we are just in the middle of construction. God is preaching a message to us out of all the mess we are in. Yeah, so have you ever had God take your mess and turn it into a message? Let me say it like this: have you ever had God take your test and turn it into a testimony? Oh my God, you don’t feel like it when you’re in the middle of it, but if you ever want to really be used by God in ministry, you have got to survive messy moments. Let me say that again. I said, especially for everybody who thinks they are holier than everyone else, if you ever think that God is going to use you and your holy self in ministry, you have got to be able to go through and survive the messy moments.