The Limits of Unbelief

 Don’t you think it’s interesting that there were no disciples at the tomb when Jesus rose from the dead?  We read that Jesus told them He would rise, but we don’t read anywhere that they believed Him. 

The thing I find most interesting is that His enemies did believe it, that’s why they placed a crack squadron of soldiers to guard the tomb.  That’s why they sealed it.  That’s why they said, “We remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.”

Even when the women who visited the tomb told the disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead, they didn’t believe them.

Sometimes Christians struggle with believing God.  There’s really no difference between believing Jesus when He said He would rise from the dead, and believing Jesus when He says He will pour out blessing.  Today I want to address something that I think needs to be addressed.  There are things that God has spoken that seem to be easier to believe than others.  So, in this post, I want to look at unbelief, from this portion of scripture:

2 Kings 7:1-2 (NKJV)
^7:1 Then Elisha said, "Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord: 'Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.' " ² So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, "Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?" And he said, "In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it."

Can You Believe the Promises?

This takes place at a very bleak time in Israel’s history.  There has been a famine in the country, so there isn’t much food available.  Things were very tough.  Now on top of that Ben Hada, King of Syria, has placed them under siege.  They’re being held captive inside the walls of the city. 

In fact, people have even turned to cannibalism:

2 Kings 6:26-29 (NKJV)
^6:26 Then, as the king of Israel was passing by on the wall, a woman cried out to him, saying, "Help, my lord, O king!" ²⁷ And he said, "If the Lord does not help you, where can I find help for you? From the threshing floor or from the winepress?" ²⁸ Then the king said to her, "What is troubling you?" And she answered, "This woman said to me, 'Give your son, that we may eat him today, and we will eat my son tomorrow.' ²⁹ So we boiled my son, and ate him. And I said to her on the next day, 'Give your son, that we may eat him'; but she has hidden her son."

This shows how desperate the people were.  All of us go through times of famine like this.  Maybe you’ve never been desperate enough to eat your children, but you have been through times when you didn’t think you had enough.

You’ve got the rent, food, utilities, taxes, gas, insurance, it seems like what goes out is bigger than what comes in.  Then there’s layoffs, semester breaks, down business times.  It seems like a time of famine in your life.

Maybe in times like that you’re less open to the promises of God.  Maybe you’re like the man on whose arm the king leans. He said, “Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?”

He’s wondering in light of these desperate circumstances how God can make this happen.  I’ve wondered the same thing myself – a number of times.  How can you open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing, but that’s one of the promises isn’t it?

In our text Elisha the prophet is repeating what God has promised.

2 Kings 7:1 (NKJV)
^7:1 Then Elisha said, "Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord: 'Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria.'

That by the next day, about the same time a seah (about 7 liters in volume) of flour for a shekel (about $4.50 USD, 2025 dollars).  That’s a low price for flour, but things are so bad that people can’t believe it. 

When we don’t see a way out of our circumstances, we can’t see how God can deliver us.  We judge God’s abilities by our own, but God can do supernatural things. 

That word super as a prefix means beyond.  So, God can do things beyond the natural, which is what we can do.  We live and operate in the natural, but God operates in the supernatural.  God can do miracles.

Look at the circumstances of your life.  Are you struggling in one area?  Is there a part of your life that you think can’t be changed?  Maybe a doctor told you there’s no treatment for what you’re suffering.  Maybe, you can’t see an improvement in your finances.  Maybe you think there’s no way you can change.  You are limited in your ability to affect change in your life, by your own abilities and natural laws, but God isn’t affected that way.  God can transcend circumstances and nature.  The limit to what God can do for you is the limit to which you believe God. 

The man in our text limits God to the natural circumstances.  He’s saying that even if God were to open the windows of heaven, our circumstances are so bad that they can’t be fixed.  This is unbelief – It’s a lack of faith. 

Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV)
^11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

Our unbelief limits God.  Look how that is worded.  He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He rewards them that diligently seek Him.  There is faith in God, that is, that most of us believe in God; We believe that God exists, but is there faith in God’s abilities?  Is there faith that God can do things and will do things to eliminate your suffering?

You believe in God – Do you believe He can heal you?

You believe in God – Do you believe He can provide for you?

You believe in God – Do you believe He can change you?

Those are the promises. 

The disciples believed in Jesus.  They believed He was the Messiah.  They believed He could do miracles.  They believed that He was there to deliver mankind, but they couldn’t believe that He would rise from the dead, even though He promised that He would.

We’re like that, too.  We believe in God, we believe we’ve been forgiven.  So, why can’t we believe God to keep His promises? Let’s examine that.

God Keeps His Promises

Let’s examine a promise that God has made.

Malachi 3:10-11 (NKJV)
^3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. ¹¹ "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," Says the Lord of hosts.

This is a promise of God.  If we will do something, then God will do something.  We know it’s a promise because God s saying, “Test me.  See if I will do what I have said here.  I promise that I will do this; you can check me on it.  Bring all of your tithes and offerings into the storehouse.  Do this and I will open the windows of heaven and bless you so much you won’t have room for it all."  I wonder, though, how many are really believing God for this promise.  How many are like the man on whose arm the king leaned, "I'm struggling, there’s a lot of expenses.”  “I can’t make enough money to keep up.”  “If I give more there won’t be enough.”  That’s thinking in the natural and forgetting about the supernatural.  “Look if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?”  Look at what God did in the day of need for Israel:

2 Kings 7:5-7 (NKJV)
.⁵ And they rose at twilight to go to the camp of the Syrians; and when they had come to the outskirts of the Syrian camp, to their surprise no one was there. ⁶ For the Lord had caused the army of the Syrians to hear the noise of chariots and the noise of horses--the noise of a great army; so they said to one another, "Look, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians to attack us!" ⁷ Therefore they arose and fled at twilight, and left the camp intact--their tents, their horses, and their donkeys--and they fled for their lives

God made a promise that would happen the next day, but because people couldn’t see how it could happen, they didn’t believe that it would happen.  That’s how a lot people are.  “If I give more there will be less, so how can there be more if I give more?”  That’s what the promise is, though.  We can’t see how it could happen, but God promises that it can. 

Then we look at this story and we see how God did it in this instance.  He caused the Syrians to hear the sound of chariots when there were no chariots.  He caused them to panic when there was no reason to panic.  He caused them to abandon everything, even though there was no attack.  God moved outside what we think is possible, in order to keep His word, and He will do the same thing with our giving.  God moved in a supernatural way and suddenly there was abundance in the midst of famine.  You may think that if you give more there will be less, but God has promised that if you give more, there will be more.

This whole event takes place in the midst of a famine.  Did you know that there is an underlying purpose for famine?

Amos 4:7-8 (NKJV)

⁷ "I also withheld rain from you, When there were still three months to the harvest. I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon, And where it did not rain the part withered. ⁸ So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, But they were not satisfied; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the Lord.

The last line in this scripture gives us a clue as to that purpose.  “Yet you have not returned to me.”  God uses famine to cause His people to return to Him.  He wants people to depend on Him.  He wants people to trust Him.  If God uses famine to cause His people to come back to Him on a national level, do you think He might do the same thing on a personal level.  Maybe you’re in the midst of a financial famine because you’re not trusting and depending on God.  You don’t believe God can move supernaturally on your behalf.  When God is saying, “Try me now in this,” in Malachi chapter three, He’s really saying, “Let me show you what I can do.”  God can’t show you His response to your giving if you’re not giving.

The Reward of Faith

If we look back at our text, we can see the prophet’s response to the man on whose arm the king leaned.

2 Kings 7:2 (NKJV)
^7:2 So an officer on whose hand the king leaned answered the man of God and said, "Look, if the Lord would make windows in heaven, could this thing be?" And he said, "In fact, you shall see it with your eyes, but you shall not eat of it."

He’s telling him that because of his unbelief, he will see God move but he won’t share in God’s deliverance.  Because you don’t believe there’s no deliverance for you.  It’s the same in the promise of tithes in the storehouse, if you don’t believe you won’t receive deliverance.  If you don’t test God’s promise, you won’t receive God’s deliverance.

Do you ever look at other people and wonder why they’re blessed aand you’re struggling?  Maybe it’s the same answer this man received.  You’ll see the blessing but won’t share in it because of unbelief.  You see those who believed receiving the blessing, but you don’t share in it because of your own unbelief.  Look at what happened to the man:

2 Kings 7:17 (NKJV)
^7:17 Now the king had appointed the officer on whose hand he leaned to have charge of the gate. But the people trampled him in the gate, and he died, just as the man of God had said, who spoke when the king came down to him.

This is a direct result of the man’s not believing God’s promise.  He saw the abundance that came about supernaturally.  He saw the promise fulfilled, but he didn’t receive it.  In fact, something much worse happened.  The man was killed.

This is a spiritual principle.  Unbelief will always lead to spiritual death.  Belief and faith brings eternal life, unbelief brings eternal condemnation.  The man who didn’t believe ended up dead, not just that he didn’t get blessed, he died.

Every church has seen this before.  There are people who aren’t there, anymore.  They have died a spiritual death…because of unbelief.

If you’re struggling with this, right now, don’t despair.  The promise is there for you if you’ll just begin to believe God.  Remember Hebrews 11:6:

Hebrews 11:6b (NKJV)
^11:6b for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

The first thing is to believe that God is; that God exists; that God is a patient and loving God. Secondly, believe that if you diligently seek Him, you will be rewarded.  If you hunt for God, God will let you find Him. God is the God who blesses.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8 (NKJV)
^9:6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ⁷ So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

Do you want to see God’s promises play out in your life?  Do you want to reap bountifully?  This scripture is rooted in faith.  A cheerful giver believes that God will bless.  One who sows bountifully will reap bountifully.  Purpose in your heart to be a cheerful giver and God will bless you.  If you act in unbelief while others act in faith you will see the reward of that faith in them being blessed but you will not partake in blessing.  Unbelief will keep you from the blessings of God.  So, bless God and He will bless you.

 

Note:  I am not a preacher of prosperity doctrine.  I don’t believe that God exists to make you rich, but I do believe in the principles highlighted in Malachi chapter three.

 

Rejection

Today I want to post on something that we’ve all experienced at one time or another during our lives – Rejection.  Not long ago I posted on another emotion, fear, and how it causes us to act in certain ways.  Today, I want to do the same thing with rejection.  In order to do that I want to focus on the story of Jacob’s wife, Leah.

Genesis 29:18-23 (NKJV)
^29:18 Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter." ¹⁹ And Laban said, "It is better that I give her to you than that I should give her to another man. Stay with me." ²⁰ So Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her. ²¹ Then Jacob said to Laban, "Give me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in to her." ²² And Laban gathered together all the men of the place and made a feast. ²³ Now it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter and brought her to Jacob; and he went in to her.

Rejection Hurts!

Jacob has followed his father’s advice and gone to his family to find a wife.  As he arrives there, he meets Rachel, who is watering her father’s sheep and falls in love.  So he makes a deal with her father to work for him for seven years, so that he can marry Rachel.  But on his wedding night Leah is given to him.  I don’t know how they pulled this off, but Jacob consummated the marriage with Leah, and didn’t discover it until the next day.  Look at his reaction:

Genesis 29:25 (NKJV)
^29:25 So it came to pass in the morning, that behold, it was Leah. And he said to Laban, "What is this you have done to me? Was it not for Rachel that I served you? Why then have you deceived me?"

Rightfully, Jacob was angry, seven years is a long time to work for one wife only to be tricked and receive another one, but what about Leah.  Think about what she was feeling at that moment.

First, look at descriptions of the two women:

Genesis 29:16-18 (NKJV)
^29:16 Now Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. ¹⁷ Leah's eyes were delicate, but Rachel was beautiful of form and appearance. ¹⁸ Now Jacob loved Rachel; so he said, "I will serve you seven years for Rachel your younger daughter."

Apparently, Jacob’s decision was made on Rachel’s appearance.  Rachel had a good figure and a beautiful face.  She was beautiful, but Leah was just described as having delicate eyes, whatever that means, perhaps she was nearsighted. 

So Jacob has fallen for Rachel based on her looks.  It wasn’t her character, because later in the story we see that Rachel was:

1.        A thief – She stole her father’s household idols  (Genesis 31:34)

2.        A liar – She lied and deceived her father about them (Genesis 31:35), and

3.        She tormented her sister (Genesis 30:8).

Leah was rejected because of her looks not her character.  Then there’s this:

Genesis 29:30 (NKJV)
^29:30 Then Jacob also went in to Rachel, and he also loved Rachel more than Leah. And he served with Laban still another seven years.

Jacob loved Rachel more that Leah.  There are two rejections here:

1.        Her father has no respect for her.  He felt that he had to sneak her into Jacob or she’d never marry.  Apparently, he thought she was too ugly to find a husband on her own.

2.        And now Jacob, her husband, has rejected her, too.  She must have felt like any woman whose husband has cheated on her. 

Do you think Leah was aware that Jacob loved Rachel more?  I’m sure that she was.  You can see what she was feeling in the names of her first three children, Reuben, Simeon and Levi.

The name Reuben means seen, look at verse 29:32:

Genesis 29:32 (NKJV)
^29:32 So Leah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Reuben; for she said, "The Lord has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore, my husband will love me." “God has seen my affliction.” 

 The New International version says misery;  The Amplified version says humiliation.  She’s miserable; she’s hurting and she’s humiliated.  She says, “Now maybe my husband will love me!”

Simeon means heard.

Genesis 29:33 (NKJV)
^29:33 Then she conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Because the Lord has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also." And she called his name Simeon.

“God has heard that I am unloved.”  God’s heard her cries he’s given her a son.  She wants to be loved.  There’s no love in her marriage.  This son will love her.  This is a woman who’s suffering.

Then there is the third son, Levi.  Levi means attached:

Genesis 29:34 (NKJV)
^29:34 She conceived again and bore a son, and said, "Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name was called Levi.

“My husband will become attached to me because I have borne him three sons…”  The Amplified version says my husband will become a companion to me.  She’s longing for the attachment and companionship of her husband.  She can feel the rejection, “I've given him three sons, now MAYBE now he’ll care about me.

This is how rejection affects people – It causes pain and suffering.  Look at this from an article in Forbe’s Magazine, “Rejection and Physical Pain Are the Same to Your Brain”:

For example, when someone feels physical pain, opoids are released in the brain so that the significance of the pain is inhibited.  We now know this same experience occurs when people feel slighted or rejected by others.1

There is a reaction like physical pain that takes place in our brains.  Your brain interprets rejection and physical pain in the same way.  It also affects our personalities:  How we relate to each other.  We’re become afraid of rejection because of the hurt, so we lash out and drive people away before they can hurt us.  In effect saying, “If I hurt them first, then they can’t hurt me.”  Another strategy is to become competitive.  In the story of Leah and Rachel, Leah wouldn’t give some flowers that Reuben had picked for her to Rachel.  She used them to purchase Jacob’s attentions for the night. 

We see competition play out in a contest to see who has the most loyalty among friends.  We gossip and denigrate other to see whom people will choose to side with.  A way of saying, “See, more people like me than him or her.”  We want to see someone else rejected.

We want someone else to hurt because we already do.  We use social media – cyber-bullying, and subtweets.  Subtweets are just another form of Gossip. We assassinate people’s character, spiritually murdering them.  All of these are a strategy for coping with rejection, but are these the right ways to cope?  Not if you’re a Christian they’re not.  Let’s look at how Leah handled her pain

How to Handle it

The Bible doesn’t come right out and say, “This is how you handle rejection.”  But we can get a glimpse at how Leah handled it by looking at the names of the rest of their children.  The first three names reflected her pain and misery; afterward she came to a decision about how to deal with her rejection.  Look at these names:

Judah – Judah means Praise God

Gad – A Troop (lots of sons.)

Asher – Asher means happiness

Issachar – Issachar means reward – God has rewarded her!

Zebulun – Zebulun means dwelling –

Where has the focus of Leah gone?  Some time after Levi was born, Leah had a change of heart.  Don’t stay in that Place of Pain.  She’s not crying about her husband’s rejection anymore.  She’s not thinking about what has been inflicted on her.  She’s looking at what God has blessed her with and she’s happy.  I’ve said this many times, “Happiness is a decision we make.  It comes from what we choose to focus on.  We can choose to focus on the hurt and what we don’t have, or we can choose to dwell on the blessings.  Leah has chosen to focus on the blessings. 

One other thing is that sometimes the rejection we feel isn’t what was intended by the other person.  One result of past rejections is that we become oversensitive.  We see everything as a potential rejection and we react that way.  We cause the suffering and hurt of other people because we’re looking at everything they say, and the way they say it through the filter of past rejections.  I used to be exactly like that.  I’ve been rejected in some very painful ways over the years, but I made a choice to look at the good things and not the painful ones.

None of us is alone in this world; all of us have suffered rejection.  It’s just as painful for everyone else as it is for you.  You have inflicted the same pain on someone else.  We’ve all rejected someone to one degree or another.

People make mistakes, people say things, things happen – people have opinions just like you.  It’s not always all about you.

God Hasn’t Rejected You

The suffering can cause one of two reactions in you.  You can focus on the hurt and always look inward, or look at your feelings, only.  If you do then nothing will ever change.  You’ll always be sad and hurting.

Or, you can turn to God.  This is apparently what Leah has done.  She’s decided to turn to God to ease her suffering and He did.  She began to praise God.  Nothing had changed in her relationship with her husband, when she turned to God.  Jacob still loved Rachel more, but God is where blessing comes from.  It’s obvious that there was a great change in her attitude.

Over the years an interesting thing takes place in Jacob.  Look at what happens at the end of his life:

Genesis 49:29-31 (NKJV)
^49:29 Then he charged them and said to them: "I am to be gathered to my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, ³⁰ in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite as a possession for a burial place. ³¹ There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife, there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife, and there I buried Leah.

He’s telling them that he’s going to be buried with Leah.  She’s the one he buried with his ancestors.  She’s the one accorded with that honor, not Rachel – The one he loved more.  Rachel’s buried in Bethlehem.  He has chosen Leah.  In the end, he came to love her.

I think Leah came to the realization that she couldn’t change Jacob.  We always try to change other people.  After all, they’re the ones who are wrong, right?  We always think we’re right or we’re the one standing on the moral high ground.

I had a friend that once said, “I wouldn’t think it if it wasn’t right.”  We always think we’re right – it’s human nature.  I want to share a truth with you – You cannot change anyone else, you can only change yourself.

After a while, Leah didn’t try to change Jacob, she just changed her own way of thinking.  Jacob came to love her for whom she became.  The key to overcoming rejection is to change your focus.  Focus on God and his blessings.

Source:

1.  Rejection and Physical Pain Are The Same to Your Brain

Stealers Gonna Steal

None of us are crying out for hardship, are we?  I know what Paul said about rejoicing in tribulation.  I understand what he’s saying… but no one really looks forward to that. 

Don’t get me wrong, we need tribulation.  That’s how God works in us.  That’s how God changes us.  That’s how God completes us, but life on its own has a lot of stresses and struggles, too.  If we’re honest we have to admit that we need blessing, as well.  So this post today will look at how to get blessed.

John 10:10 (NKJV)
^10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Stealers Gonna Steal

Jesus has come that we may have life more abundantly.  God blesses – Isn’t that what you’ve heard?  I say that all the time, God wants to bless you.  I know that some of you think that this is just “preacher talk.”   It’s just what preachers say to keep people coming.  You’re thinking, “Yeah, he says that all the time but I’m just not seeing it.” 

This scripture tells you why.  Jesus came that we may have life more abundantly, but what else does it say?  It says that the thief comes to steal, kill and destroy.  He’s a thief.  What does a thief do?  He steals.  So, there is someone who comes to steal the blessing of God from your life.  He’s a glutton; a devourer – He swallows your blessing.

That word devourer means an excessively greedy eater.  Devourer – One who swallows and eats ravenously.  That’s what God calls the devil in the book of Malachi.

Malachi 3:11 (NKJV)
^3:11 "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," Says the Lord of hosts;

Malachi is telling us that God will rebuke the devourer for our sakes.  The devil is the devourer.

Let me ask a question, here.  Have you ever felt like there isn’t enough money to make it to the end of the month?  Maybe that’s even a reality in your life.  Maybe you're constantly struggling to make ends meet.  Your credit cards are maxed out.  The bills are more than you get paid every month.  Creditors are calling and demanding payment.  If that’s you, you don’t have to be embarrassed.  The thief is doing what thieves do – stealing.  You know hater’s gonna hate?  Well stealers gonna steal.

The devil hates God and he hates you!  The thing that really makes him mad is you believing God.  The devil hates your faith.  He hates it when you believe God for His promises.  He will do whatever he needs to do to make you doubt.  He’s also looking for those that will be easy to trick into unbelief. 

1 Peter 5:8 (NKJV)
^5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

The devil is an adversary:  That means he opposes and resists you, and he’s looking to devour you.  Why would you let the devil win?  Look at what we need to do to beat him back:

1 Peter 5:9 (NKJV)
^5:9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

Resist him – You don’t have to let him win.  Stay faithful – faithful means full of faith.

I know it’s hard, sometimes.  This happens in my family, too.  We’re getting near the end of the month and the end of the money, and we’re wondering what’s going to happen.  We start to waver in our faith.  We struggle in our faith, too and I’ve been a Christian for a long time.  I should be past that struggling with that, but there’s still that struggle of faith because the devil, that lying, cheating devourer wants me to doubt God.  He knows that if I can’t believe God for His provision; if I doubt that His promises are real, then he can cause me to doubt whether or not God’s really saved me.

That’s dangerous because if I lose faith that I’m really saved, the devil can turn me away from God, because I’ll begin to doubt that God is even real.  If you start to doubt God’s promises you’ll eventually doubt that God is real, and that’s all that he needs to do to win.  The devil doesn’t need to get you to commit serious sin, he just needs to make you doubt.  It’s the sin of unbelief that will cause a lot of Christians to miss heaven.  This is why resisting is so important, because he comes to steal your blessing, he comes to kill your faith, and he comes to destroy your soul. 

The devil wants to remove blessing, but Jesus is just the opposite of the devil.  Jesus doesn’t come to steal he comes to give.

Jesus Has Come to Give

“I have come that you may have life and that more abundantly.”  What does abundant mean?  Abundant means marked by great plenty – That means a lot of supply or support.  God is not stingy.  He doesn’t just keep it all for Himself.  God gives abundantly.  He will supply you. 

Matthew 6:30-32 (NKJV)
^6:30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

Again, it’s a matter of faith.  He says, “Don’t worry.”  God knows what you need  and God doesn’t withhold.

Malachi 3:10 (NKJV)
^3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

Test me.  Check out what I say.  Here’s my promise, “I will open the windows of Heaven.”  Then remember Malachi 3:11, “I will rebuke the devourer.”  That’s God’s promise.  That’s life more abundantly.  Jesus has come to give that.  The Bible even says, “Test me now in this.”  There’s a way to test the promise of God.  God tells you how He can prove to you that He blesses.  Do you want to know what it is?  The following scripture is the key to getting blessed.

Malachi 3:10a (NKJV)
^3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house,

This is the test we can use to see if God will keep His promise.  When we do that God will show us this:

Malachi 3:10b (NKJV)
^3:10 "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

The tithe – Tithe means tenth – a tenth of your resources.  If you make NTD $60,000 (US $2,000) then your tithe is NTD $6,000 (US $200).  Test it out.  God is challenging you to try it.  God says He will make you a believer.  

I know that some of you think that you can’t afford it.  You think that you don’t have enough, so you won’t test God in that.  But guess what – That’s exactly how the devil rips you off.  It’s how the stealer steals.  It’s a spirit:  It’s spiritual:  We call it a “Poverty Spirit.”  I call it the “Spirit of Not Enough.”  Uh-oh, some of you may be thinking, “He just wants our money.”  I’m not posting this so that I can get blessed; I’m posting it so that you can get blessed. 

As a pastor, I have seen people who have tested this and God has blessed them.  They’ve stood up and testified about God’s miracle provision.  There are others who tested this for a few weeks and then they backed off.  Maybe it wasn’t what they expected.  I don’t know.  Maybe they expected a pile of money to fall out of the sky.

How it Really Works

The following is a testimony by James Dobson:

“As an evangelist, my dad could never depend on the compensation he would be given.  The local church would collect a freewill offering for my father, but many times the gifts barely paid his traveling expenses.
 He would usually stay with the pastor during a ten-day revival.  While there, he often observed that the children needed shoes or books or medication.  So, on the final night of the revival, my dad would take enough money to get home, and then donate the rest to meet the needs of the pastor’s family.  Then my dad would return to be greeted by my mother and me.  I can still hear the conversations between them.        “Did you have a successful revival?” my mother would ask.        “The Lord was with us," my dad would reply.        “How much did they pay you?”
        “Well, I need to talk to you about that,” my father would say, grinning.        “I know,” Mom would say, “You gave it all away, didn’t you?” A few days later when the bills began to accumulate, our little family would gather on our knees before the Lord.  Dad would pray first, “Lord, you know we’ve been faithful with the resources you’ve given us.  We’ve tried to be responsive to the needs of others, when you laid them on our hearts.  Now Lord, my family is in need.  You’ve said, ‘Give and it shall be given unto you’ (Luke 6:38).  So we bring to you our empty meal barrel and ask you to fill it.” As a child, I listened intently to these prayers and watched carefully to see how God responded.  I tell you, without exaggeration, that money invariably arrived in the next few days.  God didn’t make us rich, but He never let us go hungry.

This is a perfect example of how it really works.  God doesn’t make you rich, He just keeps supplying you.  I’ve told you before about the widow of Zarephath.

She’s collecting sticks to make a fire and cook the last meal for her and her son.  They have nothing; just enough for one last meal and then they starve.  She has nothing.  No husband to provide for her.  Nothing to sell for money.  No prospect of any more – There’s a drought.  All the crops are dead.  This is the end of her resources.

Then the prophet comes by and has the nerve to ask her to feed him before they eat their last meal.  He literally says to her, “Give to me, first.”  The prophet’s not looking to get blessed.  What’s a small cake for him; it’s a little thing, but he knows if she responds, she’s going to be sustained.  She’s going to receive a blessing, and so, she does – She gives him a cake. 

She probably thinks, “This is my last meal, what’s a small cake more or less?”  She has nothing to lose and everything to gain.  So what does God do?

She doesn’t receive a huge amount all at once, but for the next three and a half years God meets her daily needs.  Think about it she gives one day’s food and receives back 1,277 days’ worth of food.  She wouldn’t be able to store all of that.  That’s abundance – That’s how God blesses.

But it takes faith – trust in God’s promises.  Let me tell you on more story – about another widow.  This one is at the temple; Jesus is watching her.  She’s near the donation box; where people give their tithes and their offerings.  Jesus is standing near there also, watching.  All of these rich people come and put in their offerings.  Then the widow comes up to give.  She, like the other widow has nothing; no husband, no son, no money; nothing.  All she has is two cents…well, she has one other thing:  She has faith; she believes.  She gave it all.  How many of you trust God like that? 

So, here’s the question for today:  If you can’t trust God with your finances.  If you really can’t trust God with ten percent of your resources, are you really trusting Him with your salvation.  Faith is the cornerstone of Christianity.  It’s what sets the foundation for our lives.  If we don’t have faith then prayer is a waste of time.  It’s a useless endeavor – Faith activates miracles.  If we don’t trust God, we have no salvation.  We’re not saved because salvation is based on believing and trusting Jesus.  If we don’t have faith there will be no miracles.

Hebrews 11:1 (NKJV)
^11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Be a person of God and let God prove Himself to you.  That’s how you find blessing.

The God of Interruptions

Interruptions happen in life, don’t they?  It seems like sometimes you can’t get anything done, because of interruptions.  When I’m the busiest that’s when I get the most interruptions and sometimes the interruptions take you in a completely different direction.  You’re doing one thing and suddenly you’re shifted into another thing, when you get interrupted.

When my younger sister was born, my mother’s doctor was giving his son a haircut.  My dad called him and told him my mom had gone into labor.  The doctor, knowing that my older sister and I had been born quickly, decided to stop the haircut and get ready to go to the hospital.

In getting ready, he started to shave, but then he thought he was taking too much time and was afraid he would be too late.  So, he stopped shaving and left.  So a half-shaved doctor, who hade a kid with half a haircut at home delivered my sister.

Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans – John Lennon

Interruptions!  Life is a series of interruptions.  Careers can interrupt lives.  Children can interrupt your life, and the will of God can interrupt your life.  Today, I’m going to post about interruptions: 

Mark 8:34-36 (NKJV)
^8:34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. ³⁵ For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it. ³⁶ For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

The God of Interruptions

When I got saved God interrupted my life.  My life was heading in one direction, it had been going that way for a long time, but God suddenly took my life in a completely different direction.  I’d been changed.  I wasn't who I’d been before.  I began to think and act differently, than had been the pattern for most of my life.

In Christian terms, I’d been converted.  That word converted means to be transformed or changed.  This happens in true repentance; it happens when you are committed to living God’s will for your life.

It’s what is meant by, “deny yourself and follow me,” in our text.  If you are a committed Christian there must be a moment, in your life that you can point to and say, “That’s when I changed.  This is the moment when I began to think and act differently.”

Ken, one of the men in our church told me that the moment of transformation took place for him when he took on ministry.  For me, it was when I realized that salvation was my last chance:  That if something didn't change I would be dead.  God interrupted my life.  He interrupted my plans.  He interrupted everything.  Ken had told his family, “I’m just going to learn English.  I’m not going to believe Christianity.”  God interrupted his plans.  God is the God of interruptions.

If you’re a Christian look at your life, are you different?  Has God interrupted YOUR lifestyle?  Has God interrupted YOUR plans?  Have YOU been converted?  If not, then you need to get back to the altar; You need to get back down there and pray again, because God works in our lives through interruption.

I was thinking about Abraham…God interrupted his life.  He was living in Haran.  No doubt Abraham had a plan for his life.  I have no doubt that he wasn't just sitting around doing nothing.  He was taking his life in a direction but God interrupted:

Genesis 12:1 (NKJV)
^12:1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: "Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you.

God had a promise for his life.  God had a plan for his life, but for that plan to happen Abraham’s life had to be interrupted.  Your life is going to have to be interrupted for the plan of God to take place as well.

I was thinking about Moses.  He had gotten the idea that he was going to deliver Israel form Egypt.  He tried to make that happen.  He’d made some mistakes, so he withdrew to the desert.  He got married, he became a shepherd, and he was living out that life.  he wasn't planning to change.  He had no more plans to deliver Israel, but God interrupted:

Exodus 3:9-10 (NKJV)
^3:9 Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. ¹⁰ Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt."

God had a purpose for Moses’ life that was bigger than what Moses had planned for his life.  God wanted to use him to deliver his people.  What about God’s purpose for your life?

There are men who are reading this right now, whom God wants to use:  Men that God wants to use to draw people to Him.  Maybe God has a city or a nation that He wants for you to preach in.  Are you open to God interrupting your life?  Are you like Moses?  God interrupts but only if you’re open to His will for your life.  God has given you a free will and he won’t violate that, you make a choice as to whether or not you’re going to follow him.  But remember this:

Mark 8:35 (NKJV)
^8:35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it.

This scripture isn't about dying in a physical sense.  It’s about giving your will to God’s use.  It’s about letting God interrupt you.  It’s about converting your will into His will.  It’s about saying, “Okay God, if you have a plan for my life then I’m ready to take it on!”  That’s losing your life and saving it at the same time.  Let God interrupt you.

Why are you Hanging on to your Will?

Have you ever thought about what it is you’re hanging onto?  Before I got saved I struggled.  I thought I’d given myself the best opportunity to make money.  The question was though, was it the best opportunity for a full and satisfying life?  I spent almost all my time working.  When I wasn't working I was isolated in my apartment.  I had a friend at work who was a Christian.  She witnessed about her life.  I knew she was happy and that I wasn't.  So, why did I hang onto that life so tightly?  Why was I so afraid to let it go?  One of the reasons I resisted letting it go was because of the expectations of other people.

In one way I was like Ken.  He was worried about his family’s expectations.  “I’m only going to learn English.  I won’t believe Christianity.”   That was part of my struggle, too.  I was expected to do well in business.  What would my dad think if I just quit what I was doing and did something else.  The problem was that I knew I couldn't continue to do what I was doing and be a Christian. 

Part of me wanted the money and the accolades that went with doing well in business.  In other words, I had my own will for my life and what frightened me about turning to the will of God was giving up the material things that I wanted. 

I was materialistic; I wanted stuff; I wanted money.  My will and God’s will were at cross purposes…but my life was wreck.  I hated myself.  I was a drunk.  I wanted to kill myself.  I was lonely, miserable and depressed.  Why was I trying desperately to hang onto that? 

There are people reading this right now, and you’re trying to hang onto a life that isn't fulfilling…why? For some, maybe you’re afraid of what others will think.  What will my sinner friends think if I change my life?  Will they think I’ve become some kind of a weirdo? 

What will my parents do if I begin to:

REALLY serve God?

Quit drinking?

Go to church more often?

Get involved in church events and activities?

For some maybe you think you’ll miss out.  “I have to put money ahead of everything else.”  Do you?  Does money really satisfy, because there are a lot of miserable rich people.  I’m not criticizing.  Those are the reasons I resisted God, too, but God interrupted my life and I’m glad He did.  God filled up the empty spots in my life. Looking at our congregation on Sunday morning, and seeing people who got saved as a result of my ministry is much more satisfying than having a cool car.

Being unwilling to turn over your will to God’s will is worldly thinking.  Life is temporary.  How long do you expect to live?  Ninety years?  One hundred years?  Turning your will over to God’s will is eternal thinking.  Ninety years is a blink of the eye in terms of eternity.  Ninety years is ninety years but eternity is FOREVER.  Look at verse thirty-six of our text:

Mark 8:36 (NKJV)
^8:36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

I was well on my way to becoming a rich man.  That was all I thought about.  Wealth consumed me.  I remember that on my twenty-fifth birthday, I was upset and depressed because I hadn't done anything with my life, yet.  I didn't have a lot of money.  I was still poor.  I actually said, “A quarter of a century and I have nothing to show for it.”  That’s what trying to live up to the expectations of the world will get you.  My own will was killing me. 

By the time I was thirty-five, I was trying to kill myself.  Do you know why?  I didn't have the things I thought I should have.  What would suicide have gotten me?  Where would I have been if I died without Jesus?  I’d have possibly had money and power but what good would that do me in Hell?  I was in a cycle of self-destruction; God interrupted that.  God interrupts; He’s the God of interruptions.

Eternal Life is Worth it!

I want to go back to Abraham and Moses for a moment.  God interrupted Abraham.  God brought Abraham out of the plans Abraham had for his life.  God called him to the place He that showed him and that place was the place of destiny for him.

Genesis 12:2-3 (NKJV)
^12:2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. ³ I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."

What would have happened to Abraham if he didn't follow God?  he would have remained in Haran, doing what ever he had been doing before God called him.  God would have led someone else out to that place.  Abraham wouldn't have been a great nation.  His name wouldn't have been made great.  He would have lived and died in obscurity.  Abraham would have lived out his life and completely missed his destiny.

What about you?  To what is God trying to call you.  If you believe that God has a plan for your life then why aren't you allowing Him to call you to it?  Do you know what’s interesting?  When you answer God’s calling with a good heart you achieve God’s purposes AND you find blessing for yourself.  Abraham died about three thousand five hundred years ago and we still talk about him.  We still speak about his life.  He’s in the lineage of Jesus.  All the families of the world have been blessed…through Abraham.  Your family can be blessed through your obedience.

God interrupted Moses.  What would have happened to Moses if he didn't answer God’s call?  He would have continued to be a shepherd, working for his father-in-law, out in the middle of nowhere.  When God called him, God gave him the desire of his heart.  Remember, Moses had tried to deliver the people of God, once before.  It was the reason that he was out in the middle of nowhere in the first place. Look at this:

Hebrews 11:24-26 (NKJV)
^11:24 By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, ²⁵ choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, ²⁶ esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

His desire was rooted in his faith.  It takes faith to let God interrupt.  Faith seems to be in short supply in our day and hour. 

People are hesitant to trust God:

In giving.

In looking for healing.

In answering God’s call.

Faith is the key to responding to God’s will, and responding to God’s will is the key to blessing.  Abraham got blessed because he answered God’s call.  Moses got blessed because he answered God’s call. These men were in the will of God.  It’s impossible to find real blessing outside of God’s will. 

Abraham was called a friend of God.

James 2:23 (NKJV)
^2:23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God.

Do you want to be friends with God?  You need to have the faith it takes to answer God’s call.

God met with Moses at the tabernacle:

Exodus 33:11 (NKJV)
^33:11 So the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. And he would return to the camp, but his servant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, did not depart from the tabernacle.

God spoke to Moses as a man speaks to a friend.  Do you want to hear from God?  You need to have the faith to answer His call.

How do you gain faith?  The Bible says, “faith come by hearing…”  But it also says, “Test me now in this…”  Faith comes by testing to see if God is faithful.  If you want to know if God will bless you like Abraham and Moses, you need to let him interrupt you and find out.  God interrupts to bless – He’s the God of interruptions.

God Did That? I Forgot

Editor’s Note:  This is the second part of a two-part series on becoming dissatisfied with the blessings of God.  The part one is entitled, “Dissatisfied” and was presented last week.

In ancient time the Israelites would stand stones on their ends to commemorate a movement of God.  They did that so that when they walked by that stone they would remember that God moved in that place at one time.  It was a way of remembering what God had done.  Sometimes in the crush of life we forget what God has done for us in other times and can begin to doubt and stray away from the faith we once had. 

In this post I want to stand up some stones in your thinking and write about what can happen when we forget what God has done

Matthew 16:5-11 (NKJV)
^16:5 Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. ⁶ Then Jesus said to them, "Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees." ⁷ And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have taken no bread." ⁸ But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? ⁹ Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? ¹⁰ Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? ¹¹ How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?--but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees."

How Easily We Forget

I think this is an interesting moment in scripture, because the disciples have just seen Jesus do two powerful miracles.  In the first he fed four thousand families with five loaves and two fishes, and in the second he feed five thousand families with seven loaves and “a few small fishes.”  These were two of Jesus’ most important miracles. 

They had two purposes.  The first is that Jesus met a simple human need.  These people had been following him all day.  They’d been sitting and listening for many hours.  One miracle was done after they had been there the whole day; the other took place after they had been following Him for three days.  They’d exhausted their food supply, they were tired and hungry and Jesus didn't want to send them away without food.  Simply, he was concerned that they were hungry.  This is His care for us; He moves to meet our needs. The second purpose is that He wanted to glorify God. 

  

Let’s take a moment and look at these miracles separately:

Matthew 14:16-21 (NKJV)
^14:16 But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." ¹⁷ And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." ¹⁸ He said, "Bring them here to Me." ¹⁹ Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. ²⁰ So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. ²¹ Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

So these people had been with Him all day and they were no doubt tired and hungry.  Jesus doesn't want to send them away like that but no one has the money to buy food for so many people.  Think about how much it would cost to feed five thousand families.  How much food would be necessary to feed all of them?  So Jesus feeds them miraculously.  He turns a few loaves and fish, practically nothing, into a huge amount of food.  Now look at the second miracle:

Matthew 15:32-38 (NKJV)
^15:32 Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way." ³³ Then His disciples said to Him, "Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?" ³⁴ Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" And they said, "Seven, and a few little fish." ³⁵ So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. ³⁶ And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude. ³⁷ So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left. ³⁸ Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.

This takes place not too much later.  These people have followed Him for three days and he’s afraid that if he lets them leave without feeding them they’ll faint on the road.  The same thing happens, he’s brought a small amount of food and uses it to feed four thousand families.

But this is the thing that I found most interesting.  It seems that the disciples completely forgot about the last miracle.  Jesus tells them He wants to feed the people and they worry, “Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness?”  They recently saw Jesus feed five thousand men PLUS women and children.  Did they forget?  Doesn't it seem like something like that would stick in your mind? 

I want to mock them on the one hand, because how do you forget that?  On the other hand though, I think this is pretty common.  In my eleven years as a pastor I've preached a lot of sermons, but what is interesting is that if I asked less than a week after the sermon was preached, there are many who don’t remember what it was about.  I think we all have a tendency to forget what God has done for us.  I know some of those sermons spoke to people, I could see their reactions, I saw them at the altar, and I know God ministered to them but they seemed to have forgotten what God did.  In the stress and strain of the week we forget. 

I've seen people powerfully healed and in a few weeks they have forgotten.  I've seen God move and give them jobs, or help with a financial crisis or some other problem in their life.  A few weeks later they’re walking around like nothing happened and when they face the next crisis they have forgotten how God moved the last time. The disciples here are just like us.  God moves powerfully but when they’re faced with the next crisis they forget what God has just done in the last crisis.  Do you wonder like I do about what causes that?

The Cause of Forgetfulness

Look at our text for a moment.  The disciples are concerned because they only have one small loaf.  They forgot to bring bread.  They’re concerned because they messed up,.  The Bible specifically mentions this as if it’s a mistake. 

Matthew 16:5 (NKJV)
^16:5 Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread.

This is a mistake, they blew it and I think they’re concerned about with their own needs here.  “Where are we going to get bread?  What will Jesus say?  Oh we’re going to get in trouble, now.”  You would think after seeing Jesus do those powerful miracles they would say, “Oh, He’ll just make enough to feed us out of what we have.”  They might even joke, “I wonder if He’ll miraculously cook it, too?”  When they focus on their current problems they forget what God has done.  I think this is human nature.

Let’s go back to the Old Testament for a moment; specifically I want to focus on the deliverance of Israel.  For four hundred years Israel was in bondage and slavery to Egypt.  The people were groaning under the oppression.  God was moved to compassion and used Moses to speak to Pharaoh, but Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, so God did several powerful miracles through Moses to free Israel.  After the death of the firstborn, Pharaoh released Israel but then decides to take his army and pursue them.  He pursued them to the Red Sea and they were trapped between the mountains, the sea and the army.  Look what happensed:

Exodus 14:10-12 (NKJV)
^14:10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ Then they said to Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? ¹² Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, 'Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?' For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness."

They have forgotten what God has just done.  God had just done powerful things to release them from the bondage of Egypt.  But now they're facing a new trial, a new circumstance and what happens?  They become afraid and begin to complain.  In the face of this new challenge they forgot what God had done to deliver them.  So God parts the sea and delivers them across the sea on dry land.  Then he closes the sea over the Egyptians, killing them and destroying the danger to Israel.

God once again uses a powerful miracle to deliver them.  The women sing with timbrels or tambourines, “The Lord has triumphed gloriously!”  God has done wonders for Israel, but three days later they come to Marah.  Marah is a three-day walk from Egypt. 

Exodus 15:22-24 (NKJV)
^15:22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. ²³ Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. ²⁴ And the people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?"

Three days later.  Three days after the most powerful move of God since the creation, the people are complaining again.  “Did you bring us here to die in the wilderness.”  They forgot what God had just done three days earlier.  It seems that whenever we face a new problem or trial or crisis in our lives we forget what God has already done.  We focus on the new discomfort; the new circumstances and we just forget that God has moved powerfully in our lives before.

What happens to our faith?  When we face troubles, where does our faith go?  Why is it so difficult for us to remember that God is a God of compassion and will move on our behalf?  Look at Jesus’ reasons for feeding the people:

Matthew 14:14 (NKJV)
^14:14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.
 Matthew 15:32 (NKJV)
^15:32 Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way."

God WILL move to meet our needs.  He promises this throughout the Bible.  He will help us in times of trouble if we will boldly come to the throne of Grace.  We struggle and suffer needless and there is the promise and the demonstration of that promise of help throughout His Book.

Things That Will Help You Remember

I want to close with three things that will help you to remember what God has done for you.  The first is obvious…Keep Track. One of the people in my church was telling me the other day that she's keeping a prayer journal.  What a great idea.  You write down what you're praying about and then you check it off when God answers that prayer.  You can go back and see what things you have gone through and what God has done to deliver you from that.

Doing something like keeping a journal will show you how faithful God is and will help you to build your faith. Something like this might have helped the Israelites. 

1. We cried out for deliverance as slaves and God met us and did powerful miracles to deliver us on this day.
2. We were trapped and facing Pharaoh’s army, we prayed and God parted the Red Sea and then closed it on the Egyptians.
3. We cried out to God for water at Marah and God made the water sweet.

When you keep a journal like this you have a record of God’s power in your life that you can look over and see what God has done for you. 

The second thing you can do is to witness and testify about God’s provision and deliverance.  When you tell someone what God has done in your life it reinforces it in your mind.  Verbally speaking something will help to build your faith.  Remember faith comes by hearing…I use my testimony a lot in both preaching and witnessing, because every time I speak it out loud it, it reminds me of what I've been delivered from and it shows to someone else the power of God.  My faith can be imparted to them at the same time it's reinforced in me.

Finally, read your Bible.  I always read the Bible with a pen in my hand so I can make notes in the margins or on a yellow legal pad.  I make up Excel spreadsheets on things, as well.  For example, I have a spreadsheets on miracles (New Testament), the Timeline of History (Genesis 5), a comparison of the feeding of the four and five thousand.  I have lots of those, because they help me to remember what I've read. When I remember what I've read about what God has done in past history, I know that I can count on God to do those things again.  Why?  Because God is the same, yesterday, today and forever. 

Faith is our responsibility.  People pray for more faith, and that’s good, but it’s up to you to build and maintain your faith.  What are you doing to build your faith?  Most of us can’t remember what we did yesterday, so it’s hard to remember what God did last year in a crisis while we were hurting or afraid.  We have to stake steps to remember.  It will help us to be optimistic rather than pessimistic and full of faith rather than empty of faith.

The Blessing of Adversity

Sometimes, things happen in our lives and we think that God has abandoned us. I hear this all the time, “Why would God let this happen?” “Where is God in all this?” “What have I done to cause God to be angry at me?” But that may not be the case at all. God is in heaven and he’s in control. In reference to that, I want to look at Job’s story today. Something happened in Job’s life that is like nothing any of us experienced. Job suffered a loss so great in one day that most of us would never be able to understand. He lost his children, all of his wealth and his health in ONE DAY. I wan to look at Job’s life and response and see how we can apply it to our own lives.

Job 1:1-22 (NKJV)
1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. 2 And seven sons and three daughters were born to him. 3 Also, his possessions were seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred female donkeys, and a very large household, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the East. 4 And his sons would go and feast in their houses, each on his appointed day, and would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, "It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." Thus Job did regularly. 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the Lord said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the Lord and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it." 8 Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?" 9 So Satan answered the Lord and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!" 12 And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person." So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. 13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house; 14 and a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 when the Sabeans raided them and took them away--indeed they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!" 16 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!" 17 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three bands, raided the camels and took them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I alone have escaped to tell you!" 18 While he was still speaking, another also came and said, "Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 19 and suddenly a great wind came from across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell on the young people, and they are dead; and I alone have escaped to tell you!" 20 Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord." 22 In all this Job did not sin nor charge God with wrong.

Job Went Through It!

Look at what Job experienced in one day. The loss of everything that had meaning for him. He lost it all, his kids, all of his wealth, eventually even his health. Everything that was important to him was lost, with the exception of his wife.

What would you say if this was to happen to you today? What would you be thinking? The first thought we would have is, “The Devil is after me. That lying, stinking devil is trying to kill me.” When we look at what happened to Job, that’s not far from the truth. The devil was trying to destroy him. He was trying to get him to turn away from God and he thought he could do it by destroying everything that Job cared about or possessed. His thought was that Job only served God because of the blessing that God gave him.

Don’t you wonder sometimes how you would hold up under that kind of assault? Think about this, this is hard-core demonic attack. None of us have ever experienced that kind of assault. How would we handle it? I know people who have lost it over nothing: Christians who have backslidden over some small setback in their day. “My boss yelled at me, I’m going to go get drunk.” Maybe they just got mad at God over something that didn’t happen in their time frame. Maybe they blame God for something that happened that caused hurt or suffering.

Job has lost everything and the Bible tells us he didn’t even sin with his mouth. He didn’t roll up his fist and say, “This is your fault God.” His wife asks him, “Why don’t you just curse God and die?” Look at his response:

Job 2:10 (NKJV)
"What are you a fool or something? You sound just like those foolish women. Can we expect that God will only bless us?” He’s telling her God has a right to bring adversity into our lives. God can do whatever He wants.

Do you know what’s really interesting about this, though? The devil had to ask God’s permission for this and God gave him permission. God gave the devil permission to attack righteous, blameless Job.

The devil comes to Him an says, “Oh sure Job loves you now, because you’re blessing him, but he wouldn’t do that if you suddenly stopped blessing him.” That’s what ticks me off about the devil. He’s a liar, he’s the father of lies and he accuses us all time before God. He says the same thing about us, “Oh sure, he says he’s a Christian but what if things get really bad? He’ll fold up like a cheap, empty suit.” Look what God says in verse twelve of our text:

12 And the Lord said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person."

God says, “I can prove he’s faithful and loyal. I can prove that he’s blameless; you can’t get him to sin even if you take everything. So take it, it’s all under your power…but don’t hurt him.” God gave him permission to attack Job.

Why would God do that? Sometimes we think God gives permission because he doesn’t care about us. But that isn’t true, because when we rebelled He sent Jesus to redeem us. He could have just destroyed the entire human race but he didn’t. The Bible tells us that He loves us; John 3:16, right…”For God so loved the world...”

Other times we think God is punishing us. That’s what traditional Taiwanese religion teaches; that if we offend the gods they’ll curse us. That’s what Job’s friends think, too. Eliphaz the Termanite comes to comfort him. Look at his comforting(?) words:

Job 4:7-9 (NKJV)
4:7 "Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? 8 Even as I have seen, Those who plow iniquity And sow trouble reap the same. 9 By the blast of God they perish, And by the breath of His anger they are consumed.

But God doesn’t respond to us that way. Eliphaz is mistaken because in verse eight God calls Job a blameless and upright man. Blameless and upright means he is a man of integrity who is in the will of God. There’s no sin on Job’s part, so God isn’t punishing him. In fact, it’s just the opposite. Look at the Book of Psalms:

Psalms 34:16-19 (NKJV)
34:16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles. 18 The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit. 19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, But the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous. What does that tell us; even though we’re righteous we’re going to be afflicted. We’re going to go through a few things. In Job’s case it was because he was blameless and upright that the devil asked to attack him. If you are in the will of God, you’re going to face demonic assault.

But it seems that Eliphaz, although he missed God’s purposes in all this, gave Job some good advice.

Job 5:8-9 (NKJV)
5:8 "But as for me, I would seek God, And to God I would commit my cause-- 9 Who does great things, and unsearchable, Marvelous things without number

. This is what the psalmist is telling us, too. If we cry out to God He will deliver us from all our troubles, and that includes afflictions. “Cry out to God, that’s what I’d do.” That’s his advice, and it’s good advice.

What if it Happened to You?

The problem is that when we are at our best with God, that’s when the devil tries to prove to God that we’re unfaithful. In our text, when did the devil ask God if he could attack Job? When God was bragging about him. Is God bragging about you? Let me ask that question another way. Is everything going right in your life? No little struggles or hardships? No big struggles or adversity? Maybe there’s no attack on you because you’re not that close to God, right now. What is it that pleases God? The Bible tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. Maybe, because of what you have struggled through before, you’re not full of faith. There’s no reason to be Satan’s target in that case. Satan doesn’t have to drag you into deep sin to destroy your salvation; all he has to do is build unbelief and he wins.

Think about this for a moment. Peter declares that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. What a statement of faith! Jesus tells him that this is what the church of Christ will be built on. God is pleased by his faith. Peter is standing in the very center of the will of God. But what happens a few chapters later?

Luke 22:31 (NKJV)
22:31 And the Lord said, "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.

The devil says, “Oh, this great man of faith, let me sift him like wheat.” It’s virtually the same thing he said about Job. So Jesus tells Peter that and after he delivers that bit of good news look what he says next.

Luke 22:32 (NKJV)
22:32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren."

What does that mean? It means Jesus gave the devil permission to sift him. He’s essentially telling Peter, The devil is going to sift you, and you’re going to backslide, but when you come back strengthen these others. Ouch.

Maybe when we’re at our closest with God, that’s when the devil gets really mad. That’s when he goes after us the most, like he did with Job and Peter. But there is some good news here. That is that God uses adversity to strengthen us, and then can use us to strengthen others. In other words, we go through things for God’s purpose sometimes.

Here is another thing to look at: You are working and trying to live in the will of God. You love God; you trust God; you’re in the will of God and yet you’re struggling. You just can’t seem to get a break. You look at others; the unrighteous, the liars, the cheaters, the thieves and they’re the ones getting blessed. They’re getting rich while you struggle.

Have you experienced that? You’re trying to do the right thing and live for Jesus. You’re not cheating people, you’re honest you’re doing it right. And the cheaters and liars and connivers and thieves, they’re making all the money and getting all the blessings. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that only the evil people get blessed. Not everyone who is blessed is like I described. I know people who are doing the right things and God is blessing them. But sometimes we’re tempted to think, “I’m doing it right God. Why are the bad guys getting blessed and I’m being punished?”

Matthew 5:45 (NKJV)
5:45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

God blesses whom he blesses. What have we really done to expect only good things from God? We have, at best, given only our reasonable service. God saved us from eternal torment in hell and he did that while we were yet sinners. While we were just as bad as those others we were just complaining about. We didn’t deserve God’s mercy but he has given it anyway. He has blessed anyway. Job really gets it right when he says, “shall we expect only good from God, and shall we not expect adversity?”

God uses adversity to bless us. If you go through something you can often look back and see the blessing that was hidden in the adversity. I was writing to my pastor recently, about Muscular Dystrophy and I said this: “I’m not going to go so far as to say that Muscular Dystrophy is a blessing, but if it wasn’t for that, I probably would never have responded to God’s call and gotten saved.” Through that adversity I was blessed and I think that’s how it often happens.

That’s How it Worked in Job’s Life

After Job went through all that he did, God blessed him.

Job 42:10-17 (NKJV)
42:10 And the Lord restored Job's losses when he prayed for his friends. Indeed the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11 Then all his brothers, all his sisters, and all those who had been his acquaintances before, came to him and ate food with him in his house; and they consoled him and comforted him for all the adversity that the Lord had brought upon him. Each one gave him a piece of silver and each a ring of gold. 12 Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. 13 He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. 15 In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. 16 After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. 17 So Job died, old and full of days

After all of that, God blessed him. He restored all that Job had lost and doubled it.

Before – After

1. Seven sons and three daughters - same
2. 3,000 camels – 6,000 camels
3. Five hundred yoke of oxen - 1,000 yoke of oxen
4. Five hundred female donkeys – 1000 female donkeys
5. A very large Household
6. He was the greatest of the people in the East

God doubled what he lost to Satan. He also restored his health because he lived another one hundred-forty years and saw his grandchildren to the fourth generation. He got blessed, but look at the adversity he went through to get there.

If you’re struggling right now, hang on to your integrity; stay away from the blame God game and the jealousy of lost and dying sinners and you just might get blessed, as well. In all he went through Job didn’t sin and God blessed him. He will bless you as well. Glory to God!