Part 1
Praise God for every one of you, my dear brothers and sisters.
Thank you, dear Mahmoud, for your invitation, and thank God for preparing this day so that I could be here to share with you.
First of all, it brings me great joy simply to see each of your beautiful faces. It has been my privilege to serve many of you—if I have truly been a good servant—and with many others I have had the honor of serving alongside you. We have fought side by side in the faith, and it is a great blessing for me to see you again after so many years.
My heart became joyful as I looked at these familiar faces. I know many of you are scattered all over the world—in Turkey, throughout Europe, across the United States, Canada, and many other places. I don’t even know exactly where everyone is today, but I’m thankful that we’re gathered together.
Even if we are not together physically, we are together in the Spirit.
Thank you, Mana, for that beautiful prayer. Thank you all for the wonderful worship songs you chose. Personally, I was deeply blessed.
When I looked at the announcement that dear Mahmoud posted online inviting everyone to today’s meeting, I honestly smiled. We really aren’t all that impressive. We are much smaller than people might imagine.
But thank God for this moment.
Thank God for every single one of you.
A few weeks ago, Mahmoud invited me to come and share God’s Word with the New Life Church—I believe that’s the name of it, if I’m remembering correctly.
The truth is, for two or three weeks I had absolutely nothing to say.
Nothing.
I had nothing to write.
Normally I struggle to put my thoughts into words, but thank God, today I can speak freely. Yet during those weeks I had nothing.
As I wrestled with the Lord, asking,
“Lord, what should I say to these people? What should I share with this church? What message should I prepare?”
…I came up completely empty.
I was in the middle of that struggle.
After the Lord, there is someone who has always stood faithfully beside me—my wife, Behnaz.
She has always been there.
We talk about everything together, and she has been such a tremendous help to me through the years.
When I shared my frustration with her and told her,
“I don’t have anything to preach. I have nothing to talk about,”
she gave me one simple piece of advice.
She said,
“Talk about where you are right now.
Talk about what God is taking you through.”
Those words changed something inside me.
It was as though God shifted my thinking and placed me on a completely different path.
That became the beginning of what I want to share with you today.
Dear friends,
Change is an inseparable part of human life.
Every one of us makes decisions throughout life because we want something to change.
The details are different for each person, but change itself is part of who we are.
We change.
We become different.
We grow.
People often say,
“You’ve changed.”
“You’re different now.”
“You’re not the same person you used to be.”
“Look where life has taken you.”
“Look at everything that’s happened to you.”
Growing and becoming different matters to us.
We strive for it.
But very often, while we’re pursuing change, we find ourselves saying,
“If only I had started earlier.”
“If only I had made that decision.”
“If only I had asked someone else for advice.”
It seems that every change in life is followed by an “if only.”
We’re constantly looking for ways to improve some part of our lives.
I remember many years ago I was carrying extra weight.
I wanted to get into better shape. I wanted my body to reach what I considered an ideal weight and a healthier appearance.
So I began exercising.
I joined a gym.
I trained.
I worked hard.
It wasn’t easy.
I had to follow strict diets.
Exercise plans.
Nutrition programs.
Whatever was necessary to reach my goal.
There were many things I had to give up.
Sleeping late.
Foods I really enjoyed.
Many pleasures had to be set aside.
I kept training because I had made a decision:
I was going to change.
I wanted to become the person I envisioned.
I wanted to improve.
But I also realized something.
To make that kind of progress, I needed someone beside me.
Someone to guide me.
Someone to tell me,
“Don’t eat that.”
“Do this exercise.”
“Don’t do that one.”
“You’re weak in this area.”
“You’re strong here.”
“Spend more time strengthening your weak points until your whole body develops evenly.”
I needed someone to walk that journey with me.
That was my experience years ago.
But when I look at where we are today, I realize many of us have made an even greater decision.
We decided to leave the place where we once were.
Many of us chose change.
Some left their homeland simply to save their lives and protect their families.
Others left the only home they had ever known.
Some came looking for a better future.
Some came because they wanted a better future for their children.
Others already had comfortable lives financially, yet still left everything behind.
When we look honestly at our own stories, we realize something remarkable:
We left where we once were…
…and then we kept moving even farther.
From the very beginning, our lives have been marked by coming out from somewhere.
When we look back, we see how many roads we’ve traveled.
How many places we’ve left behind.
We were here…
then we decided to move.
We changed.
We didn’t want to stay where we were.
Every one of us accepted risks.
Every one of us paid a price.
Every one of us stood firm because we believed change was worth it.
We accepted the uncertainty.
We embraced change.
No matter what it cost, we came out.
If I look at the twenty-three people gathered here today, I believe every one of us has endured painful changes along the way.
There were places where we suffered.
Places where we were broken.
Times when we found ourselves on our knees for hours.
Yet we remained committed because of the decision we had made.
We kept standing.
We kept pressing forward.
As Christians, change isn’t merely something that happens to us.
It is one of our goals.
Every follower of Christ should desire to be changed.
To become better than we were yesterday.
To become more like Christ than we are today.
Part 2
As Christians, our desire is to change.
But perhaps you’re asking,
“Why?”
“What does that even mean?”
“Why should I come out from where I am?”
“If I change, what difference will it make?”
“What will actually happen in my life?”
My brother…
My sister…
Today I want to encourage you to say something to yourself.
Say,
“Today I choose to come out from where I am. Today I choose to be changed.”
Say it again.
“Today I choose to come out from where I am, and I choose to let that change enter my life.”
Tell yourself,
“Today I want to become a new person.”
Up until this very moment, perhaps we’ve been strong people.
Perhaps we’ve been weak people.
Thank God for wherever we’ve been.
But today let us say,
“I want to be changed. I want to be transformed.”
“Lord, beginning today, I want to change.
Beginning today, I want to be a new daughter of God.
Beginning today, I want to be a new son of God.
Beginning today, within the family of God where I live, serve, and worship, I want to become new.”
But in order for that change to happen, something else has to happen first.
We must let go of who we have been.
If we truly want to come out…
If we truly want to change…
Then we must leave behind the person we’ve built.
The self we’ve carefully constructed.
The identity we’ve grown comfortable with.
We have to let it go.
Only then can we become people who have truly been changed in Christ and for Christ.
So let’s declare together,
“Today is the day my life changes.”
Today is the day my life changes.
Today is the day your life changes.
Today is the day our lives begin to change.
Let’s say to ourselves,
“Up until now I’ve lived one way…
I’ve behaved one way…
But from this moment forward, I want to change.
I want to come out.
Enough is enough.”
Maybe we’ve been doing well.
Maybe we’ve been struggling.
Maybe we’ve been somewhere in between.
Whatever our story has been…
Today we choose to come out.
Today we choose to change.
Isn’t it interesting?
Whenever we want to change, we usually look for someone to motivate us.
Someone to hand us the key to success.
Someone to explain what we should do.
Someone to take us by the hand and lead us out of the place where we’ve become stuck.
Someone to lift us out of the place where we’ve settled.
My dear brother…
My dear sister…
Jesus is that Person.
He is the hand that is stretched out toward every one of us today.
If we will simply reach out our hand and take His, He will lead us out.
And as He leads us out…
change begins to enter our lives.
When our hand is in the hand of Jesus…
our lives begin to change.
But understand this.
Coming out…
Changing…
Making the decision to leave where we’ve been…
That isn’t the destination.
It’s only the beginning.
It is the beginning of our journey with God.
And what a beautiful journey it is.
A journey filled with moments that slowly transform us into the people God created us to be.
Everything I’ve shared so far has been leading to one simple message from Scripture.
The title of today’s message is:
“Come Out from Where You Are, Be Changed, and Walk with God.”
Since everyone is listening so quietly, it feels a little strange speaking! So if you’re still with me, wave a hand or give me some sign once in a while so I know you’re awake!
Our message today is:
Come Out from Where You Are, Be Changed, and Walk with God.
Please open your Bibles with me to the book of Exodus, chapter 2.
This chapter tells us about the early life of Moses.
His birth.
His childhood.
His mother’s care for him.
And the remarkable way God began preparing his life.
I encourage you to read the whole chapter later for yourself.
I love this chapter.
Sometimes it feels as though it’s describing our own lives.
When we decide to come out from where we are…
When we decide to change…
There are many steps involved.
But today I’d like to focus on three decisions we see in the life of Moses.
The third one is the result of the first two.
It is the fruit that grows out of them.
So let’s begin with the first.
The First Decision
Come Out from Where You Are
Come out of the place you’re living in.
Come out of that position.
Come out of that safe cocoon you’ve built around yourself.
Let’s read Exodus 2:10 together.
I remember years ago, when we were all in Bible training, there was a sister with such a beautiful voice.
She could always find the verse faster than the rest of us.
I wonder if she’s here today…
Does she remember?
Would she like to read it?
No?
It seems she doesn’t!
Sister Neda…
Would you read it for us?
Wonderful.
Can you unmute your microphone?
…
“I think my microphone isn’t working, Brother Vahid.”
That’s alright.
I’ll read it.
“When the child had grown older, his mother brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, saying, ‘I drew him out of the water.'”
Now notice something.
The very name Moses means “drawn out.”
Or…
“brought out.”
Isn’t that remarkable?
From the moment Moses entered the world, his life was surrounded by fear.
Hebrew baby boys were under a sentence of death.
Death was literally walking through the land looking for them.
Yet God’s plan for Moses was already unfolding.
He was rescued.
He was drawn out of the water.
He was brought out of the life that should have ended in death.
He returned safely to his own mother for a season…
until the time came for him to enter the place God had prepared for him.
I find that fascinating.
When you go home and read this chapter, don’t rush through it.
Read it slowly.
Verse by verse.
There is so much hidden there.
The first thing we learn is this:
Coming out marks the beginning of a new life.
When we place our faith in Jesus Christ…
He draws us out of our old life.
He brings us out of who we used to be.
He gives us a brand-new beginning.
But…
that’s not the whole story.
Because coming out isn’t simply a one-time event.
It is a process.
A process that continues throughout the Christian life.
Every day…
again and again…
Jesus continues drawing us out of the old and leading us into the new.
Yes, when we first believed, He brought us out of our former life.
That is true.
But every day afterward, He continues that same work.
Think of a caterpillar.
Most of us have either heard this illustration or experienced it ourselves as children.
We watched the caterpillar crawl into its cocoon.
Inside that cocoon something incredible was happening.
Eventually it broke free.
Only after it emerged did we finally see the beauty that had been hidden all along.
Before then, we thought the caterpillar itself was interesting enough.
But we had no idea how difficult that transformation really was.
Or how much struggle took place inside the cocoon.
The same is true for us.
When Christ brings us out…
the beauty He has placed within us begins to be seen by others.
I remember when we first arrived here in Canada, in Vancouver.
My son started school, and during his first year the class had an incubator with duck eggs.
Every day the children watched.
They watched the eggs.
They watched the chicks grow.
Eventually the shell began to crack.
The little duckling struggled to break through.
Finally…
it emerged.
The children saw how beautiful it was.
How soft it was.
How alive it was.
But no one had seen the struggle taking place inside the shell.
They only saw the beauty after it came out.
Many of us remember holding little chicks when we were children.
We loved them.
Sometimes we cuddled them.
Sometimes we squeezed them a little too tightly.
And, if we’re honest…
sometimes we even tossed them gently into the air just to watch what they’d do!
That’s exactly what happens when Christ brings us out.
A new life begins.
A beautiful life begins to flow.
Every one of us needs to come out from somewhere.
When we choose to come out…
our thinking begins to change.
We need to come out of places where we’ve become trapped.
Places where life has become repetitive.
Thought patterns we’ve lived with for years.
Relationships.
Habits.
Fears.
Whatever has held us captive.
We all know where those places are.
Some of us have been stuck there for a very long time.
But today…
Jesus is calling us out.
Just as Moses was drawn out of the water…
He wants to draw us into a completely new season of life.
So tell yourself,
“I want to come out from where I am.”
“I want to enter a new season…
A new chapter…
A new life…
with Christ.”
Part 3
Every one of us has witnessed the birth of a child.
If it was our own child, we’ve experienced it personally.
If it was the child of someone we love, we’ve celebrated it with them.
But perhaps even more beautiful is watching one of our spiritual children come to faith in Jesus Christ.
When someone gives their life to Christ, we begin helping them grow.
We teach them.
We encourage them.
Whether they are our physical children or our spiritual children, the process is remarkably similar.
Think about what happens when a baby is born.
The moment that child comes out of the mother’s womb…
everyone rejoices.
Everyone celebrates.
Everyone is excited.
In the same way, when someone is born into the Kingdom of God, heaven rejoices.
The church rejoices.
We encourage them.
We celebrate with them.
They have entered an entirely new life.
A new environment.
A new beginning.
So today our need is the same.
We need to come out from where we are.
Of course…
coming out can be frightening.
Let’s be honest.
There are many places God calls us to leave that feel safe.
Stepping into something new can be terrifying.
I’ve experienced that many times myself.
Whenever I’ve stepped into something deeper with God…
it has been frightening.
Because I had never walked that road before.
It’s like a newborn baby.
The baby leaves the safety of its mother’s womb and suddenly enters an entirely different world.
Everything is unfamiliar.
The sounds are louder.
The light is brighter.
Nothing feels the same anymore.
Let’s think carefully for a moment.
Where is the place that Jesus wants to bring us out of today?
As I continue, don’t think only about the people in these Bible stories.
Put yourself in their place.
Ask yourself,
“Where am I in this story?”
As I prepared this message, I found myself saying,
“Vahid… you need Jesus to bring you out in every one of these areas.”
I wasn’t preparing this message for someone else.
God was speaking to me first.
Jesus cleansed the leper.
He brought him out of the disease that had isolated him from everyone else.
Jesus rescued the woman caught in adultery.
He brought her out from under the sentence of death.
Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter.
He brought her out of death itself.
Lazarus had been lying in the tomb.
Jesus called him out.
Bartimaeus lived in darkness.
He couldn’t see.
He endured the shame people attached to his blindness.
Jesus brought him out of that darkness.
Jesus met the Samaritan woman.
He brought her out of her shame.
Out of her broken identity.
Out of the life she had hidden from everyone around her.
And one of my favorite examples is Paul.
Jesus brought Paul out of religious pride.
Out of legalism.
Out of his own self-righteousness.
There was also the woman who had suffered from bleeding for many years.
Jesus brought her out of loneliness.
Out of isolation.
Out of hopelessness.
So today…
what is it that you need Jesus to bring you out of?
Take His hand.
Tell Him,
“Lord, I want to come out.”
Take His hand and say,
“I want to leave this place behind.”
Because when we make that decision…
when we begin walking out…
that is when the journey truly begins.
And once we’ve taken that first step…
God invites us to take a second.
The Second Decision
Learn to Leave Yourself Behind
Let’s return to Exodus chapter 2, verses 18 and 19.
I’ll read them for you.
*”When the daughters returned to their father Reuel, he asked them, ‘Why have you come home so early today?’
They answered, ‘An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds. He even drew water for us and watered the flock.'”*
There’s something beautiful hidden in this story.
After Moses left Egypt…
after God brought him into the wilderness…
one of the very first lessons God taught him…
was to forget about himself.
Notice what the women said.
“He drew water for us…
and he watered the flock.”
Moses didn’t think about himself.
He served.
Most of us have played tug-of-war at some point in our lives.
Maybe at school.
Maybe in the neighborhood.
Maybe at family gatherings.
Or perhaps you’ve climbed a rope before.
At first…
it seems easy.
The first climb isn’t so bad.
The second is harder.
The third becomes exhausting.
Little by little your hands lose their strength.
The same thing happens when you’re drawing water from a deep well.
I’ve only done it once or twice myself.
It’s hard work.
Every time the bucket goes down…
the rope becomes wetter.
Heavier.
Harder to pull.
With every bucket your strength begins to fade.
Now imagine Moses.
He didn’t draw one bucket.
He didn’t draw two.
He watered an entire flock.
Just stop and think about that.
How many sheep were there?
How many trips back and forth to the well?
How many heavy buckets?
It was exhausting work.
It’s interesting that throughout Scripture, some of the Bible’s most beautiful stories happen beside wells.
Isaac’s story.
Moses’ story.
And in the New Testament…
Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman.
At that well, Jesus offered her something greater than water.
He offered her salvation.
When we learn to deny ourselves…
our attention shifts away from ourselves and toward other people.
Self-denial teaches us to leave ourselves behind.
To stop making life revolve around us.
To begin noticing the needs of others.
That’s exactly what happened to Moses.
He stopped thinking about Moses.
He began thinking about someone else.
This is something every son and daughter of God must learn.
I must learn to come out of my own private world.
Out of the life where everything revolves around me.
Out of the place where only my needs matter.
Other people have to become important to me.
That’s what happened to Moses.
Other people became important.
And when that begins to happen…
something beautiful takes place.
We fall in love with Jesus.
And when we love Jesus…
we begin seeing our brothers and sisters through His eyes.
The eyes of Jesus are filled with love.
They teach us to love people.
To care for people.
To serve people.
Just as Jesus loved us to the very end…
we learn to love one another in the same way.
Let’s be honest.
That’s hard.
When I think about my own life…
I believe this is one of the areas where God still has a great deal of work to do in me.
Because dying to yourself…
is difficult.
Sometimes it means stepping aside.
Sometimes it means laying down your own desires.
Sometimes it means giving up your right to be noticed.
So let’s ask ourselves a few questions.
Have I learned to deny myself before Jesus?
Do I lay myself down for my husband?
For my wife?
For my children?
For my family?
For the people around me?
For my church?
For the people God has called me to serve?
And perhaps the hardest question of all…
Am I willing to step aside so someone else can grow?
So someone else can be encouraged?
So someone else can flourish?
Self-denial means…
I’m willing not to be seen.
I’m willing for someone else’s name to be remembered instead of mine.
I’m willing for someone else to receive the encouragement.
Someone else to receive the recognition.
Someone else to grow stronger.
Because in the end…
the goal isn’t that people see me.
The goal is that they see the risen Christ.
That Jesus alone receives the glory.
If we’re looking for the greatest example of self-denial…
we don’t have to look any further than Jesus Himself.
He is the perfect example.
But even today…
I think we see the same humility in the work of the Holy Spirit.
Think about how we pray.
We often say,
“Holy Spirit, in the name of Jesus, do this work.”
God answers.
The miracle happens.
And then what do we say?
“Jesus, all glory belongs to You.”
It’s almost as though the Holy Spirit quietly steps back and says,
“Let the risen Christ receive the glory.”
So today let’s ask ourselves honestly,
Where have I chosen to step aside…
so that Jesus would be seen instead?
Where have I willingly surrendered my place…
so that others could be strengthened…
encouraged…
and built up?
My brother…
My sister…
If we truly want to be changed…
we must first come out from where we are…
and then we must learn to leave ourselves behind.
This second step is extraordinarily difficult.
It requires practice.
It requires surrender.
But it prepares us for something every believer longs for:
To serve God.
To walk with God.
To become His fellow worker.
To participate in what He is doing.
Let’s go back to Moses.
It seems that until Moses learned these first two lessons…
God did not entrust him with the greater work He had prepared for him.
First, God brought him out.
Then God taught him to deny himself.
Only then…
was Moses ready for the next step.
Part 4
These first two decisions prepare us for the desire that lives in the heart of every believer.
Every one of us longs to serve God.
We long to become His friend.
His fellow worker.
To walk with Him and take part in what He is doing.
Let’s return once more to the life of Moses.
It seems that until Moses learned these first two lessons, God did not entrust him with a special role in His plan.
First, God taught him to come out from where he was.
Then God taught him to deny himself.
Only after those lessons came the third step.
The Third Decision
Walk with God
Let’s turn to Exodus chapter 3, verse 10.
“Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”
Isn’t it remarkable?
The entire story of Moses is marked by one theme:
Coming out.
He was drawn out of the water, and his life was spared.
He came out of Egypt, where God taught him to walk with Him.
He came out of himself.
Then God invited him into His own work.
God invited him to become part of His plan.
So today…
if you have a dream…
if I have a dream…
if there is a ministry God has placed on your heart…
if there is a calling…
an invitation…
or anything else that God has spoken to you…
then this coming out must first happen inside of you.
It must become part of your own life.
Every one of us must experience it.
Moses did these two things.
And then God included him in His plan of redemption.
Before that…
there was no partnership.
There was no commission.
So if today we want to become instruments in God’s hands…
if we want Him to use us…
then we must first come out…
and we must learn to leave ourselves behind.
But how do we actually walk with God?
How do we take this final step?
It begins when we come face to face with ourselves.
When I encounter the real me.
When you come out from where you are…
when you learn to deny yourself…
and when God, like He did with Moses, invites you into His work…
only then do you begin to discover who you really are.
You begin to see where you are strong.
You begin to see where you are weak.
You discover that there are things you simply cannot do.
Those things belong to God.
That is why Moses eventually said,
“I can’t do this.”
“This isn’t my work.”
My brothers and sisters,
We truly come to know ourselves only as we learn to walk in friendship with God.
When we read His Word…
When Jesus meets us…
We begin to see ourselves clearly.
I know who I really am when I meet Jesus.
Again and again, while reading the Scriptures…
while spending time with Him…
He brings us face to face with our true selves.
And when that happens…
we discover who we really are.
We discover what still needs to change.
We discover the places where we thought we were strong…
but are actually weak.
We discover the places where we believed we were pure…
yet find hidden impurities still within us.
But here is the good news.
Jesus says,
“My son…
My daughter…
Take My hand in those places of weakness.
Come out.
Learn to deny yourself.
Then I will make you part of My work.”
Today is the day to allow God to bring you face to face with yourself.
Allow Him to show you your own heart.
Today let us say,
“I don’t want to leave this meeting the same person I was when it began.”
“When this message is over…
When I close my computer…
When I turn off my phone…
When I walk away from this gathering…
I want to be a different person.
I want to become someone new.”
My dear friend…
My brother…
My sister…
Vahid…
If today you want to become a useful instrument in the hands of Jesus…
He is giving us that opportunity.
He is saying,
“The opportunity is here.”
Jesus was a carpenter.
I often think about that.
A carpenter knows his tools.
He knows exactly which tool is needed for each task.
He knows when to use it.
And he knows how to use it well.
If today you want to become one of the tools in the hands of Jesus…
then come out from where you are.
Learn to deny yourself.
Practice laying yourself aside.
Allow God to confront you with your true self.
Then…
you will become an instrument in His hands.
An instrument through which God can work.
Through you.
Through me.
Through all of us.
For the glory of His Name.
For the advancement of His Kingdom.
May He use me.
May He use you.
May He use all of us.
May He use His Church.
As the music begins to play…
As we worship together…
Let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Father,
Today we hear Your invitation.
You are calling us to come out from where we are.
You are calling us to be changed.
You are calling us to walk with You.
Lord, draw us out of every place where we have become trapped.
Bring us out of fear.
Bring us out of shame.
Bring us out of pride.
Bring us out of the places where we have settled for less than what You desire for us.
Teach us to deny ourselves.
Teach us to love others more than ourselves.
Teach us to step aside so that Jesus alone will be seen.
And as we walk with You, show us who we truly are.
Transform us day by day into the people You created us to become.
Lord, make us useful in Your hands.
Use our lives for Your glory.
Use Your Church for Your Kingdom.
In the precious name of Jesus we pray.
Amen.
Running Down Vimy 