Get Started with Sam Roberts - Life.Church

Get Started

Scripture References

• Hebrews 11

Overview

Standing on the first weekend of a new year, Pastor Sam Roberts urges the church to “get started.” Looking at Moses’ calling, he shows that God moves ordinary people into extraordinary purpose when they simply begin. The message unfolds in three movements—start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can—so believers will quit circling in indecision and take the first faithful step God is prompting.

Context

• Life.Church is celebrating its 20-year anniversary next weekend.
• A new series, “Dangerous Prayers,” launches in two weeks.
• Today’s standalone message prepares the church to enter 2016 with action-oriented faith.

Main Points

Start where you are

• Moses’ story: raised in Pharaoh’s palace, fled after murdering an Egyptian, spent 40 years herding sheep, then encountered God at the burning bush.
• When God said, “Go to Pharaoh,” Moses asked, “Who am I?”—haunted by his past failure.
• God’s answer: “I will be with you.”
• Truth: It doesn’t matter where you are when you know Who is with you.
  • Illustration: Sam’s brother confronted an angry moviegoer; once Sam remembered who stood beside him, his confidence changed instantly.
• Many skip resolutions out of fear of failure, yet “you’ll never finish what you don’t start.”
• Craig Groeschel’s line:

  “If you’re not dead, you’re not done.”

Use what you have

• God asked Moses, “What is that in your hand?”—just a shepherd’s staff.
  • The ordinary staff became a tool for miracles: turning into a snake, parting the Red Sea, winning battles.
• God consistently uses the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary.
  • Examples: welding skill to train former inmates; cooking lasagna to care for grieving families; love for running to start a gospel-centered running group; patience with kids to serve in LifeKids.
• Question for each listener: What has God already placed in your hand?

Do what you can

• Moses’ final objection: “I’m slow of speech.” God replied, “Now go… I will teach you what to say.”
• Obedience precedes full understanding; God fills the gaps after we move.
  • Illustration: Parents telling a child “Go to bed”—the simple command meets endless excuses; God’s “go” often meets ours.
  • Illustration: Six-hour airport delay turned extraordinary when an employee led Sam and his son through a hidden door to the operations tower and onto the tarmac—because they simply followed step by step.
• Practical application: apologize to start healing a marriage, begin Couch-to-5K to pursue health, skip a purchase to start eliminating debt.
• Mother Teresa quote: “If you can’t feed a hundred people, feed one.”
• Progress isn’t measured by speed but by obedience.

“It’s time to get started.”

Key Truths

• God’s presence overrides our past and empowers present obedience.
• Ordinary resources placed in God’s hands become instruments of His power.
• Delayed obedience often masks fear; immediate action invites God’s guidance.
• Purpose unfolds progressively—God teaches as we walk, not before we walk.
• A life that starts, continues, and finishes in faith leaves an enduring legacy.

Response

• Admit where you are and invite God into that exact place.
• Identify the “staff” in your hand and dedicate it to God’s use this week.
• Take one concrete step today—send the apology, sign up, give, volunteer.
• Replace excuses with the declaration, “God is with me, so I will move.”
• Keep eyes on the eternal reward rather than temporary comfort.

Closing

Pastor Sam challenged every listener: your shot at 2016—and at life—is single and unrepeatable. Starting now determines finishing later. When you start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can, God writes a Hebrews 11-type legacy through you.

“You be you, and let God be God—it’s time to get started.”

Prayer

Pastor Sam prayed for raised-hand responders, asking the Holy Spirit to empower fresh beginnings and turn ordinary offerings into extraordinary impact. He then led newcomers to Christ in a repeat-after-him salvation prayer, thanking Jesus for forgiveness, new life, purpose, and strength to follow Him “all the days of my life.”