Slavery to Dominion

In 1865, The US Civil War ended, and the slaves were freed. Many of those that were freed were stuck in a “slavery mindset.”  They didn’t know what to do after their emancipation.  They missed the opportunity that their newfound freedom afforded them. 

There was one man, though, that was determined t do something with his freedom.  He made a decision to move forward.  He was going to break away from that mindset of slavery, he decided to, “buy property and a gun.” He did just that!  He was able to buy and keep enough property to set up his children and grandchildren in their own homes before he passed away.  He made the best of what he’d been given – His Freedom!

Many of those set free did not possess their freedom and remained as employees on the land where they’d been enslaved.[i]

Today, I want to post about making the most of our deliverance and salvation.

Joshua 3:14-17 (NKJV)
^3:14 So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, ¹⁵ and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), ¹⁶ that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. ¹⁷ Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.

The Slave Mindset

In our text we see Israel crossing into the Promised Land.  This is a very happy time in Israel’s history.  They’re about to receive all that God has promised them, but remember this has taken place forty years after Israel’s first arrival there.  It has taken place after the loss of an entire generation in the wilderness. 

Israel had been slaves in Egypt.  They were suddenly emancipated; suddenly set free.  God had delivered them through the Red Sea, and destroyed the pursuing Egyptians.  Israel was free! 

That deliverance was an event…it happened and it was over.  Once they passed through the Red Sea, they were free, but they hadn’t received their destiny.  There was still a walk in their newfound freedom and a fight possess the Promised Land.  Their destiny was still at a distance. 

Their old slave mentality had to be transformed.  Their institutionalized thinking had to be overcome.  They were much like those slaves of 1865; they didn’t yet know how to process that freedom into destiny.  It has often been said, “It was easier to get the Children of Israel out of Egypt, than to get Egypt out of Them.”[ii]

Even though they were free, they lived with the cultural norms and slave mindsets of the past.  Every obstacle they faced was met with murmuring and complaining against Moses and God.  How many times did they ask, “Why did you bring us out here to die” (Exodus 14:11)?  They demanded water and provision.  “What shall we drink (Exodus 15:23)?  We had it made in Egypt and you brought us out here to kill us with hunger (Exodus 16:3)!  They wanted everything provided for them just like they had in Egypt in slaves.

It carried over into their arrival at the Promised Land when the spies looked over the land and saw obstacles.  God had promised them the land.  God had done powerful miracles to release them from bondage, but they couldn’t see the possibility of doing anything to gain their destiny.  They had been delivered, but they didn’t have dominion.

There’s a transition that’s necessary to go from slavery to destiny.  You cannot continue in the same patterns of thought and behaviors of the past and expect a different outcome.

There is the story of Mickey Mantle – He played for New York Yankees.  He was a great player!  But he had one problem – he was a very heavy drinker!  He developed cirrhosis of the liver.  His liver was destroyed, he was going to die!  Then he received a liver transplant!  He had a new lease on life; a second chance.  He’d been delivered, but he continued to drink, eventually he died of liver cancer.  In the 1990s he stopped drinking finally, but it was too late.  He was a slave to alcohol and when he was delivered (through the liver transplant) he didn’t transition from the old patterns of life until it was too late.  He stayed on the same plantation where he was enslaved.  That deliverance was wasted. 

God had a destiny for Israel.  He had done His part.  He had brought them out of slavery and bondage, but those that had been delivered couldn’t change their old patterns of thought and that entire generation died in the desert, never seeing their destiny come to pass.  It was those that were born in the wilderness; those that had no slavery experience that made it!  Only Joshua and Caleb, two out of hundreds of thousands could change their mindsets and see the Promise. 

Numbers 14:30 (NKJV)
^14:30 Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in.

Only those two saw the possibility of a future destiny.  Only those two transformed their thinking into possibility.

We Were Slaves

Think about this carefully, we have all been delivered.  There is a transformation that has taken place in us.  We’ve been delivered from our own sinful lifestyle:

John 8:34 (NKJV)
^8:34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.

We were slaves to sin, but I have to ask, “What is your thinking like, now?”  Hundreds of thousands of people were delivered by a move of God, but they died in the wilderness.  They were set free but hey died in the wilderness because they still thought like slaves. 

Have you ever known backsliders?  They always go back to the sin they were involved in before they got saved, because that’s what they know.  The slaves in 1865 stayed at their old plantations because that’s what they knew.  That’s where their comfort zone was.  If you want a different destiny, you need a different pattern.

I was talking to someone recently about destiny!   There are multiple destinies for each of us.  Think about this.  If you had remained in sin, you would be on a path to one destiny, but salvation opened a different path – It took you in a different direction.  There is a different destiny awaiting you! (See Directional Decisions[iii])

It’s a different path.  There are different obstacles.  There are different pitfalls and dangers.  You have to think and react differently on this path than on the other.  If there’s no adjustment to your thinking and behaviors, then it’s very likely that you will never get where you’re going.  You’ll turn back to the “safer” path; the more “comfortable” path.

God delivers us and lays before us a potential destiny.  There’s a promised land that is for us, and there’s a path that we have to walk in order to get there.  There are battles we will have to fight and obstacles to overcome as we walk that path. They are there to help you to change your thinking from “slave” thinking to dominion thinking.  Deliverance is the event that frees you, but it is dominion that brings you to the promise. 

Think again about Israel.  They saw what God did to deliver them.  They saw the miracles and they thought God must be with us, but they broke down at every obstacle.

At every obstacle they tested to see if God was still there.  They constantly put Him to the test.  That’s why they said, “What are we going to drink?”  “Where will we get food?”  The complaining and murmuring were tests to see if God was going to deliver them again.

When they hit the Promised Land, they couldn’t see any possibility to defeat the inhabitants. They wanted to know if God would deliver them again.  “Are you still with us God?  They were still caught up in the deliverance mindset, but what they needed was a dominion mindset.  Where does that come from?  It comes from faith.  Dominion flows from faith.

Dominion Thinking

We can find “dominion thinking” in our Bibles in Hebrews Chapter 11.

Hebrews 11:4 (NKJV)
^11:4 By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

Abel was called righteous by his faith.  Cain who had none became a fugitive and vagabond.  A vagabond is a wanderer.  He never found the promise, while Abel entered into his promise.

Hebrews 11:5-6 (NKJV)
^11:5 By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 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.

Enoch was taken and did not taste death.  His testimony was that he pleased God.  “Without faith it is impossible to please Him.”  Enoch entered into His promise.

Hebrews 11:11 (NKJV)
^11:11 By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.

Sarah received strength to conceive at ninety years of age, after years of barrenness.  By faith she became the mother of the nation of Israel.  She entered into her promise.

Hebrews 11:24-29 (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. ²⁷ By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. ²⁸ By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them. ²⁹ By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

All of these are examples of “dominion thinking.”  All of these entered into the destiny that God had placed before them.  What do they all have in common?  Faith.  Dominion flows from faith.

---

[i] Star Parker, Uncle Sam’s Plantation (Paraphrased)

[ii] John Gooding, Joseph Campbell, Deliverance to Dominion, 2019

[iii] Chris Banducci, Standing Stones Sermon Blog, March 3, 2014

Deliverance: Where is the God of Miracles?

 

A number of years ago, my father died.  I was living in Southern California and he lived about six hours away in Northern California.  I received a phone call that he was in the hospital and that he had probably reached the end of his life.  So, I left to go see him, one last time.

On the way a tow truck in front of me dropped a chain that hit the freeway and bounced up into the engine compartment of my car, damaging a number of the hoses and belts. 

I had to wait for a tow truck, and then rent a car to continue to get to the hospital, where my father was.  It took about twelve hours.  My father was slipping into death and was lying on the bed.  He had tubes down his throat, his eyes were closed and he was nonresponsive.

I laid hands on him and prayed for him, asking God for more time.  Then my mom and I went to get something to eat. I hadn’t eaten all day.  When we got back, all of my father’s vital signs had revived and he was sitting up and removing the tubes. I got to spend a day with him before he died.  A Miracle.

All of us have times when we’re struggling.  All of us have times of great need; times when we think our circumstances are impossible. All of us have times when we need a miracle!  I believe there are times when all of us read our Bibles, and see the miracles that God has done, and think to ourselves, “Where is the God of miracles, now, when I need Him.”

Judges 6:11-13 (NKJV)
^6:11 Now the Angel of the Lord came and sat under the terebinth tree which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon threshed wheat in the winepress, in order to hide it from the Midianites. ¹² And the Angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said to him, "The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!" ¹³ Gideon said to Him, "O my lord, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all His miracles which our fathers told us about, saying, 'Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?' But now the Lord has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites."

Where is the God of Miracles?

At this time in Israel’s history, they were being harassed by the Midianites. Words often have double meanings.  In the Bible Midian is a place, a nation; but the word Midian in Hebrew means strife.  Another word for strife is struggle.

We’ve all heard about Shammah and the beanfield.  He fought and defeated the Philistines, protecting the harvest.  The Philistines represented the cares of the world.  He kept the cares of the world from stealing the harvest.  The Midianites in our text represent great struggle or hardship.  So, this is a time of great hardship for Israel.  Midian sweeps in and destroys their crops., keeping them poor and in need.  Every time they think they’re getting ahead; Midian comes in and beats them down again – over and over.  At this point Israel is desperate for a leader that can destroy Midian and deliver them from this oppression.  They’re crying out for deliverance.

How many times have you felt like Israel? 

“Every time I think I’m turning a corner in my finances – In my marriage – In my job – In whatever it is, something comes along and kicks my feet out from under me, and I’m right back where I started!”

That’s what Israel had been going through for the past seven years.  They’re tired, they’re beaten down and they need deliverance.

It’s in the middle of all this, that our text takes place. We come across Gideon and he is out at the wine press, threshing wheat.  The wine press is not the place to do that.  He’s doing it in hopes of keeping it from the Midianites. He’s hiding; he’s avoiding them.

That’s when the Angel of the Lord comes along and sits down under the Terebinth tree, and he says to Gideon, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!”

He hears those words, and he can’t believe it.  God is with us?  Really, God is with us?  The God my fathers talked about?  The One who did miracles?  The One who opened the sea?  The One who delivered the people from Egypt?  We need that God, now and I don’t see Him!

“Where is the God of miracles, now?

I’m willing to bet that Gideon isn’t the only person who’s ever felt that way.  Maybe even you’ve felt that way.  Maybe you read your Bible and you see powerful things:

Blind men who can see!  Lame men who can walk!  Demons cast out – defeated!  Dead men raised!  You say to yourself, “Where is the God who does that? How come I never seem to get miracles when I need them?  Why doesn’t God move like that for me”

God showed up for Gideon.  God came to him.  It was after seven years of troubles. (Seven is the number of completion.)  You can say God came to him when it was time.  Israel’s trial was over – It was time for deliverance.  God had seen that they had suffered enough!

Are you suffering, right now?  Are you struggling, right now?  Are you looking for a God of miracles?  Do you need deliverance?  He’ll come.  He sees, He knows,  He’s a deliverer.  He will deliver you.  Maybe you’ve prayed and nothing happened.  Maybe you’ve given up.  God knows, there have been a lot of people who’ve walked away.  People who’ve left God, saying to themselves, “There is no God of miracles!  I needed Him and He wasn’t there for me!”

Isn’t that what Gideon is saying?  “The God of miracles?  There is no God of miracles, anymore!  If there is, where is He?  Where’s the God miracles?  These Midianites are killing us!”  But the angel of the Lord has shown up, to call on Gideon to deliver his people.

Mighty Man of Valor

Judges 6:14-16 (NKJV)
^6:14 Then the Lord turned to him and said, "Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites. Have I not sent you?" ¹⁵ So he said to Him, "O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house." ¹⁶ And the Lord said to him, "Surely I will be with you, and you shall defeat the Midianites as one man."

He’s sitting under the Terebinth tree – It’s like an Oak Tree.  It symbolizes strength.  It symbolizes power.  He sits under that tree and calls Gideon:

“The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor!”

At this point he’s hiding from the Midianites.  I’m thinking Gideon isn’t feeling like a mighty man of valor at that moment.  He’s hiding – he’s fearful – He’s not valorous, he’s not courageous.  Gideon has been complaining that God has forsaken them and the Lord says –

“Go in this might of yours, and you shall save Israel from the hand of the Midianites.”

Me? Are you talking to me?  Who am I?  I can’t face all of Midian.  I’m not a powerful or brave man, I’m just a guy.  I’m just a man, I don’t have ANY power!  I’m just me.  Gideon knows who he is – He’s defeated before he even starts to fight!  It’s impossible – I’m weak! I’m useless! I’m the weakest in my father’s house.

You know, I get that – I understand that.  Sometimes I feel like I can’t do anything.  Look at me – I even need help to dress.  Have I accomplished anything?  Have I done anything to move the Gospel of Jesus Christ forward – to bring the kingdom of God to earth?

You know one time in Riverside…  Riverside has a lot of churches.  Big churches.  One has 15,000 people; another one has 11,000.  Big churches, lots of people.  So, we were outreaching at a night market.  And I met another pastor.  I had been there two years and so had he.  So we were talking and I asked him, just out of curiosity “How many people in your church?” Eighteen hundred!  Eighteen hundred after just 2 years. And then he says to me, “How about you?”  Thirteen… “Thirteen hundred?”  I didn’t want to answer.  Let him think that.  I couldn’t do it… “No, just thirteen!”

I was embarrassed.  I felt like an idiot.  I was like Gideon, “I’m worthless!  I’m weak!”  I am the least in my Father’s house.  Thirteen people; who was I to think I could deliver anything?

That’s where Gideon was at – That’s where some of you are.  “I’ve failed so many times – Who am I to think I could overcome, now?”  What did the Lord say, though?  What did he say to me?

“Have I not called you?  This isn’t your fight – I called you and I will be with you.  It’s time for deliverance, so pull up your big boy pants and fight!”

God is there in the middle of your suffering – And God will be there in the middle of the battle – And God will be there fighting alongside you.  I called you, and I don’t make mistakes. You can win this battle because God is with you. 

You can win this battle that you’re facing because God is with you.  God said, “Gideon you WILL destroy Midian, because I will be there!”  We need God to be there.

When God was about to deliver Israel from Egypt, Moses said, “If we go You have to come with us, because if You’re not going, I don’t want to go, either!”  God answered and said, “I will be with you.”  God will be with you, too.

A Miracle Happened

Judges 7:7-8 (NKJV)
^7:7 Then the Lord said to Gideon, "By the three hundred men who lapped I will save you, and deliver the Midianites into your hand. Let all the other people go, every man to his place." ⁸ So the people took provisions and their trumpets in their hands. And he sent away all the rest of Israel, every man to his tent, and retained those three hundred men. Now the camp of Midian was below him in the valley.

Judges 7:12 (NKJV)
^7:12 Now the Midianites and Amalekites, all the people of the East, were lying in the valley as numerous as locusts; and their camels were without number, as the sand by the seashore in multitude.

Gideon looks down into that valley and there’s the Midianites.  They can’t even be counted – there’s too many of them.  That’s a whole lot of problems.  That a lot of struggle – it’s never-ending.

That’s life.  That’s how life is, one struggle – one problem after another.  It never ends.  You get through one thing and a hundred more things are right there behind it!

Gideon looks back and he has three hundred men behind him.  How can he do this?  How can he win against these odds?  Because God was with him; and he did win – He defeated Midian!

Judges 7:16-18 (NKJV)
^7:16 Then he divided the three hundred men into three companies, and he put a trumpet into every man's hand, with empty pitchers, and torches inside the pitchers. ¹⁷ And he said to them, "Look at me and do likewise; watch, and when I come to the edge of the camp you shall do as I do: ¹⁸ When I blow the trumpet, I and all who are with me, then you also blow the trumpets on every side of the whole camp, and say, 'The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!' "

That was God’s plan – three hundred men with no weapons – only trumpets, empty pitchers and torches:

Judges 7:22-23 (NKJV)
^7:22 When the three hundred blew the trumpets, the Lord set every man's sword against his companion throughout the whole camp; and the army fled to Beth Acacia, toward Zererah, as far as the border of Abel Meholah, by Tabbath. ²³ And the men of Israel gathered together from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and pursued the Midianites.

The Lord set every man against his companion.  The Midianites turned on each other and destroyed themselves.  God delivered them.

Why would He do it like that?  Why did he cut the number of soldiers down from thirty thousand to three hundred men?  Here’s why:

Judges 7:2 (NKJV)
^7:2 And the Lord said to Gideon, "The people who are with you are too many for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel claim glory for itself against Me, saying, 'My own hand has saved me.'

He wanted them to know it was Him that delivered them; that it’s God who brings the victory. It's funny how when things go good, we congratulate ourselves, and when they go bad, we blame God.  God wanted them to know who brought the deliverance.

Do you know why the Bible has stories like this?  Do you know why God set this in here? So that we can see that God delivers – That God is with us.  He said, “I will not forsake you.”  He’s there, right in the midst of your struggles.  He will deliver you from the Midianites – the struggles and problems – in your life, so that you will give him the Glory.

Two final things:

1)   That other pastor, he may have had a lot more people, He may have had a lot more money, he may have had a much nicer facility.  I had only thirteen, but that was thirteen souls snatched from the gates of Hell, not from some other church.  On August 5, 2021 that little church celebrated twenty years in that city.

2)      I needed that time with my dad!  I was afraid that he would pass without me being there!  Without me being able to let him know I loved him.  God did a personal miracle for me! 

 He IS the God of Miracles!

Deliverance: Goliath Had A Brother!

I’ve been a pastor for nineteen years.  In fact, August 1, 2001 was the day we opened the church we founded in Riverside, California.  In those nineteen years, I have seen a lot, and one of the things I have seen over and over is people who just can’t seem to break away from certain sins.  It’s like they’re trapped in that thing – They think they’ve beaten it, only to come have it come back at a later time.

The problem with this is that people begin to think that they can’t be completely delivered; that there’s a reliance on willpower for deliverance.

There’s a young man that attends one of our Free Talk Sessions that is quite taken with my testimony about how I stopped drinking.  He wants to do the same thing, but without Jesus and he’s struggling with it.  I have to declare to you right now, I could not have stopped drinking without Jesus in my life.  I can state that so positively, because I tried many times to quit drinking, unsuccessfully, before I got saved.

Willpower cannot keep you from sin.  There will be weak moments that will cause you to do that thing you don’t want to do.  This is why twelve step programs will say that you are forever an addict.  I have news for them, I am an ex-drunk! I’m delivered.

The real question, today is, “Why do some people go back to the sin from which they’ve been delivered?”  That’s what I want to explore in this post – Through David’s life!

2 Samuel 21:15-17 (NKJV)
^21:15 When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint. ¹⁶ Then Ishbi-Benob, who was one of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose bronze spear was three hundred shekels, who was bearing a new sword, thought he could kill David. ¹⁷ But Abishai the son of Zeruiah came to his aid, and struck the Philistine and killed him. Then the men of David swore to him, saying, "You shall go out no more with us to battle, lest you quench the lamp of Israel."

Goliath Had A Brother

I believe, as a Christian, that one of the biggest things we struggle with is our old sin.  It’s supposed to be “buried with Christ in baptism.”  (Romans 6:4).  “Put off the Old man and put on the new.”  (Ephesians 4:22-24).  “Walk in the newness of life.”  (Romans 6:4).

The problem is that some of those things are stubborn and difficult.  It’s not easy to defeat some habits and addictions.  The Bible says that “we are slaves to sin;” they own us!  They can be giants that we face and have to fight to defeat.

I want to talk about David and his defeat of the giant, but I want to look at it in a little different way.  We all know the story – A young shepherd faces and defeats a battle hardened giant. 

So, look at this:  David has decided that he will destroy the giant and he’s preparing for the battle:

1 Samuel 17:40 (NKJV)
^17:40 Then he took his staff in his hand; and he chose for himself five smooth stones from the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag, in a pouch which he had, and his sling was in his hand. And he drew near to the Philistine.

Why did David take five stones?  Does he think he’s going to need five stones to defeat Goliath?  Is he afraid God isn’t going to help him?  The answer is that Goliath had a brother and he had three sons.  David knew he might not have to defeat just Goliath.  He knew that there might be others who came for him.  David did defeat Goliath with just one stone.

1 Samuel 17:49-51 (NKJV)
^17:49 Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. ⁵⁰ So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. ⁵¹ Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. And when the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, they fled.

David destroyed the giant with one stone, then he cut off his head.  You don’t get much deader than that!  No head equals totally dead! 

So, let’s think about this for a moment.  Why do people get saved?  People don’t come to Jesus when everything is good.  “I’m so blessed, I need Jesus!”  People usually get saved when they’re sick of the way they’re living.  In my own case, I thought I’d ruined my life!  I was exhausted, sick and depressed.  I was addicted to alcohol, a depressant, what else could I expect?  I needed to defeat that giant in my life – alcohol!

For others it may have been something different – maybe financial debt, or sickness, or marital problems.  Whatever it was that led you to Jesus was probably a giant in your life, and you were looking to defeat it.  Some of you may still be in the process of selecting your stone, or running out to face it.  Others have already cut off the giant’s head.  Maybe its been a while.  Maybe you’ve even testified, “I beat my giant (whatever it was)!”  Months later, or years later it’s come back, you’re facing it again and you don’t understand why.  I’ll tell you why – Goliath had a brother!

When David defeated Goliath, he was seventeen years old.  He hadn’t become king yet.  That didn’t happen until he was thirty.  So, our text takes place many years after he killed the giant, but now he finds himself fighting with a giant once again.  The giants have come back!  The original giant has been defeated – He’s not coming back from the dead.  That original deliverance in your life wasn’t temporary.  The giant in your life has been destroyed, it’s not coming back, either, but a similar thing is rising up to destroy you.  This is what’s happening in our text – Do you think this son of Goliath isn’t gunning for the man who killed dear old dad?  Of course, he is!  The devil hasn’t given up on you, either – He wants his revenge!

This Happens to Mature Christians

Look at verse 15 of our text:

2 Samuel 21:15 (NKJV)
^21:15 When the Philistines were at war again with Israel, David and his servants with him went down and fought against the Philistines; and David grew faint.

David has been engaged in the battle.  He’s been fighting, and the Bible says, David grew faint!”   He’s weary.  The devil above all other things is an opportunist.  He watches and waits, and when the time is right, he comes back.  He even did that with Jesus!

Luke 4:13 (NKJV)
^4:13 Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

When he saw that he couldn’t tempt Jesus at that time, he departed “until an opportune time.”  Goliath’s son waited until David was weary to attack him.  He waited until David wasn’t in a good position to fight.  When you’re exhausted from battle you don’t have the energy to fight a fresh opponent.  In a spiritual battle this takes place when you’re spiritually worn down – when you’ve been facing assaults.  When you’ve been pushing back against the enemy, but he’s worn you down.

A number of years ago I had an opportunity to visit a battlefield from the US civil war.  The person I was there with was an expert on civil war battles.  This particular battle was won by government troops, because they just kept sending wave after wave of fresh troops until the opponents were too tired to fight any more and were destroyed.

That’s how the devil fights – temptation after temptation, struggle sfter struggle, with sickness.  Financial failure after financial failure – marriage problem after marriage problem until you’re worn down and exhausted then he sends in the giants, and this giant looks an awful lot like the last giant!  Why?  Because they’re related!

Think about it.  He beat you once with pornography.  That’s his “Go-to Giant” in your life.  Maybe it’s not exactly pornography, but an affair with someone at your job.  Maybe it’snot alcoholism this time, but some other addiction instead.  That’s how good strong Christians end up failing.  That’s how they end up defeated.

“I thought God would protect me! I thought God would keep bad things from happening!  I’m just tired of it all – I don’t want to fight anymore!  Oh, Hello, Ishbi-benob, is that a new sword?” 

Guess what, this wasn’t the last one, either. 

2 Samuel 21:18-20 (NKJV)
^21:18 Now it happened afterward that there was again a battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbechai the Hushathite killed Saph, who was one of the sons of the giant. ¹⁹ Again there was war at Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaare-Oregim the Bethlehemite killed the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam. ²⁰ Yet again there was war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number; and he also was born to the giant.

Three more times they came after him.  Remember, the five stones?  There’s the other four.  The devil isn’t going to give up!

What Saved David

This is the interesting part – What saved David?  You might say, “A better question is “Who saved David?”  Okay, “who saved David?” – His fellow soldiers.  The reason I asked what saved David is because what really saved David was the fellowship he had with those other men.  There was a camaraderie and concern among them.  Abishai was concerned for David so he fought for him.

That’s why God has structured the church the way He has.  That’s why the church is a body of believers.  Christianity was never intended to be a solo pursuit.  It was always about being of one accord, fighting and contending together against a common enemy – You know who!

How many times in the Bible are we exhorted to be together and encourage each other?

John 15:17 (NKJV)
^15:17 These things I command you, that you love one another.

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NKJV)
^10:24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, ²⁵ not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

1 Thessalonians 4:18 (NKJV)
^4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

This is God’s plan for us to defeat the giants that we face.  The Bible shows us that this is the way to go!  The Bile gives us concrete examples.

Matthew 18:19-20 (NKJV)
^18:19 Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

Are you struggling with something?  Is there a battle to wear you down?  Ask someone to pray with you – Don’t fight alone.  Find an Abishai to stand in the gap with you!

James 5:16 (NKJV)
^5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

Sickness?  Physical or spiritual?  Confess your sin and pray for one another.

“I don’t want anyone to know I’m struggling!”

“People might judge me, if I confess and ask for prayer.”

Abishai saw that David was weary – If you hold back and put on appearances, that it’s all good – there won’t be anyone to help.  Don’t let your ego be your downfall.  David need help with that second giant – we all need help!  That’s why God brought us together.  FOR EACH OTHER!  No soldier wins a war by himself.  Not even David!

Dominion: Praise Breaks Chains - Part 3

Last week, I posted on the power of our words; that speaking out in faith can influence your life and circumstances.  Words can even cause a change in those circumstances.  Speaking brings dominion.  Today, I want to continue in this same series, Deliverance to Dominion, with part 3.  Another aspect to dominion is praise!  Praise breaks, chains!

Acts 16:23-26 (NKJV)
^16:23 And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. ²⁴ Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. ²⁵ But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. ²⁶ Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.

Creating an Atmosphere Where God can Move

Praise is a powerful weapon in our stockpile of weapons, that are mighty for the pulling down of strongholds.  A stronghold is an attitude, habit, or belief that holds you in bondage to sin.  It’s a chain that binds you and keeps you from fully entering into your calling and your destiny.  It can be sin, disease, finances unbelief – whatever it is, it can stop God from moving in your life.   Praise allows you to develop an atmosphere where God can move.  Our text is an example of Paul and Silas using praise to activate a move of God in their circumstances.

What has happened is that Paul has had a vision.  He saw a man from Macedonia calling out to him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!”  So, Paul is engaged in the calling of God.  He concludes that the Lord had called them, “to preach the Gospel to them.” (Acts 16:9-10) The devil attempted to disrupt this by sending a young woman with a spirit of divination.  (She was a fortune teller.) Paul rebuked the spirit and ordered it to come out, which it did, and which caused a problem with her masters.  Paul and Silas were arrested and put into prison.

As they sat in prison, they begin to sing and praise God.  The chains with which they were bound were broken.  The stocks that held them were sprung open, and they are released from their bonds.  The doors to the stronghold were opened!

They have created an atmosphere where God can move.  If we want to see God move in our circumstances.  If we want to see a miracle occur in our lives then we must create an atmosphere in our homes where God can move!  Whatever atmosphere you create will determine what will happen in your life.  You can create an atmosphere where God can move, or you can create an atmosphere where the enemy reigns.  If you allow your home to be filled with negativity, discord and oppression, it will be difficult to stand in the faith.

We have to learn to counteract those things when start to be seen in our homes.  It’s so easy to complain and gripe!  But those are not “God things.”  Those things don’t create an atmosphere of faith.  There’s no optimism and expectation of God’s moving there.  There’s only unbelief.  If you create an atmosphere for God to move, He will come!

Psalms 91:1 (NKJV)
^91:1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

This is the beginning of Palm 91 – It’s the beginning of a promise, but have you noticed that every one of God’s promises starts with a condition?  Psalm 91 starts with a condition but ends in a promise:

Psalms 91:14-16 (NKJV)
^91:14 "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. ¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. ¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation."

If we dwell in the secret place of the Almighty; we can expect deliverance.  We can expect answers to our prayers.  We can expect a long life, and we can expect salvation.  So, what is that secret place where God dwells?  It’s that place in your heart that you have turned over to God! 

Have you opened your heart to God?  Let me ask that this way:

What are your priorities in life?  What do you fill your free time with?  Do you have a disciplined prayer life?  Do you read your Bible regularly?  Are you focused on “God things,” or are you still giving most of your time and energy to the world?

Last week, I mentioned a cancer patient, I want to show you how he created an atmosphere for God to move in his hospital room:

“Instead of watching television, we spent time reading Scripture.  We listened to the Bible on audiotape around the clock, and we asked the nurses to come in at night and turn the tapes over.  In other words, we turned the hospital room into a sanctuary for God to dwell in.  We kept the atmosphere charged with praise.” 

Source:  10 Hours to Live, Brian Wills, Whitaker House, Page 137

God Inhabits the Praise of His People

Psalms 22:3 (NKJV)
^22:3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.

Another way to say that is that He lives in or inhabits our praise!  Praise brings God’s presence on the scene.  This is why we praise God in the beginning of our church services.  It’s why song service is the first thing we do; to bring God’s presence to our services.

When Paul and Silas were in prison, they decided to sing praises – They changed the atmosphere and God was able to move in those circumstances.  Praise causes chains to break and walls to fall – It paralyzes the enemy!

Psalms 8:2 (NKJV)
^8:2 Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, Because of Your enemies, That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

What this scripture is saying is that praising God releases His power to stop the enemies of His people.  Our enemy is the enemy who steals, kills and destroys.  Praising God activates Him in our favor!

In 2 Chronicles 20: - Judah is under attack.  The enemy that had come against them was so powerful that the Bible says that, “Jehoshaphat (the king) feared!”  He called the people together to fast and praise!  Look at this:

2 Chronicles 20:21 (NKJV)
^20:21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying: "Praise the Lord, For His mercy endures forever."

We are appointed to praise God.  Those appointed to praise went out before the army.  They praised God and His holiness, that was their only part in all of this.  Look what happened as they praised:

2 Chronicles 20:22 (NKJV)
^20:22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.

Judah’s army never lifted a weapon against the enemies.  They did nothing but stand and praise God, and God moved to destroy their enemy.  Look at the Scripture: “Now the people began to sing and praise.  The Lord set ambushes against the [enemies].”It was the praise that set the move of God in motion.

Are there attacks on you and your family?  Is Satan trying to wear you down and cause you to doubt God?  Is he trying to make you fear like Jehoshaphat?  What’s your reaction to problems and attacks in your life?  Is it to pull away from God, or to praise God?  Which one brings you closer to God?  Which one does God inhabit?

Praise is a powerful weapon!  It can be used to destroy the chains that Satan uses to keep you in a stronghold of sin and doubt.  Praise is like a nuclear bomb – It causes the enemy to flee!  There’s no nuclear fallout so you can use it every morning!

The Joy of the Lord

Praise is a manifestation of the Joy of our salvation.  If the devil can steal that from you , he can destroy your walk with God!

You’re probably going to think what I’m about to say is weird, because when things are getting bad you may not feel joy, but you can begin to have joy, even in the bad times, by remembering that God moves through your praise. 

God will deliver us!  He delivered Jonah from the fish.  He delivered Meshach, Shadrack and Abednego from the fiery furnace.  He delivered the entire nations of Israel out of slavery…and He will deliver us, too.

Psalms 91:14 (NKJV) ^91:14 "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.

Maybe He’s helped you in the past.  Know that He will help you, again!

God will answer us!  God clearly promises that when we call on Him, He will answer us!

Psalms 91:15 (NKJV)
^91:15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.

God will be with us!  One of the names of Jesus is Emmanuel, “which is translated God with us.”  He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  He is always there – always near us.  He dwells inside you.  Psalm 91:15 – I will be with him in trouble.

These are promises – God is faithful to keep promises.  Remember from last week, “I will watch over my words to perform them.” (Jeremiah 1:12) That’s a vow to keep promises.  So, even when things go wrong, we can change the atmosphere in our homes and activate a move of God by simply, the act of Praising God!

Dominion: Planning for Victory - Part 1

Editor's note:  After a long illness and hospital stay, I'm ready to begin to write this blog again.  I have committed to myself to write something everyday!  That doesn't mean that there'll be a new post everyday.  I have a number of projects that I'm working on, so I will work on one of those every day.  I will say that for the most part I'll be posting once a week.  Thanks for your patience and hanging in there as I recovered.  Following is this week's post:  Planning for Victory

There is an old story of two farmers in the middle of a drought.  They begin to pray for rain.  One farmer sits and waits for God to move, the other farmer prepares his fields for rain!

I believe the second farmer understands something about our part in seeing a miracle.  We all want and need God to move in our circumstances.  We all have times in our lives where we need a move of God to change our circumstances.  So, what do we do?  Do we sit and wait on God or do we prepare for those things to take place?

Jeremiah 29:10-11 (NKJV)
^29:10 For thus says the Lord: After seventy years are completed at Babylon, I will visit you and perform My good word toward you, and cause you to return to this place. ¹¹ For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Here’s how the Message translation puts it:

Jeremiah 29:10-11 (MSG)
^29:10 This is God's Word on the subject: "As soon as Babylon's seventy years are up and not a day before, I'll show up and take care of you as I promised and bring you back home. ¹¹ I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.

The Power of Faith

The first thing we need to understand is what faith looks like!  All of us that are Christians say, “I have faith in Jesus!”  Faith in Jesus is the definition of Christian!  We’re not Christians if we don’t have faith in Jesus.  The question is do you really live out your faith?  

Faith is expectation.  The farmer who goes out and prepares for the rain is the farmer who has faith.  He expects God to move in response to his prayers so he acts as if the prayer has already been answered.  Faith isn’t about believing; faith is about acting!  

Faith is making plans for the future.  You have faith that today won’t be the last day of your life.  How do I know that?  Because we all make plans for the future. 

"When I graduate, I’m going to… " 

"When the baby is born, we’ll name him/her… " 

"On my vacation, I’m going to…"

I’m pretty sure that most people aren’t saying, “I don’t have plans, because I may die tonight!”  No one is saying, “We’ll just see if tomorrow comes and do whatever!”  Before any of my leadership ever decided that I would be coming to Taiwan, I had already begun to visualize what would be necessary to get here, and what I wanted to do once I got here!  I was pushing myself into my purpose.

As you begin to push yourself into your purpose, the power of God will come upon you and enable you to do what God has called you to do.

I want to look at Noah for a moment:

Hebrews 11:7 (NKJV)
^11:7 By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

We all know the story of Noah and the flood.  The world had devolved into wickedness.  People were doing all sorts of evil things.  God got fed up with people and decided to judge the world with a flood.

How many of you reading this have heard from God?  Did you hear a big, loud voice calling you, or did it seem as if a thought came to you?  When you heard that still, small voice did you say, “Oh, God is calling to me.” 

So, God spoke to Moses in that same way that he speaks to us.  He has called Moses through that still, small voice to build an ark.  Let me tell you something, when this happened it had never rained before.  No one had had any experience with floods, but Moses began, by faith to build an ark and saved his family.  Moses took action on God’s plan and God helped him to build an ark.  He’d never built a boat before, but it worked out, because God enabled him to do that!

I’ve witnessed the power of God to heal people, as soon as they took steps toward their purposes and began to do what God had called them to do.  Don’t leave this step of faith out.  Make plans.  Set Goals for your future.  Let God enable you.  Let God equip you for victory!

Think about what you would do if those circumstances were miraculously changed.  What would you do if your finances got better?  What would you do if you were healed from some debilitating disease?  What plans would you make if you thought you had a chance?  Think about it, take a paper and write it down.  Hang it on the refrigerator and begin to make plans as if God had already done it.

Faith is living like you know that God will move.  God moves in the unseen.  Even though you don’t see any evidence of God moving doesn’t mean He isn’t.  Are you planning for your future as if God is already answering your prayers?  Are you living as if you know God will move?

Make God’s Will Your Will

When I was a young man, I had a very different plan for my life.  I was depressed at age 25, because I wasn’t already a millionaire.  I didn’t have the success that I thought I deserved.  My career wasn’t working out as quickly as I had envisioned it would. I hated myself at age 30, because I wasn’t married.  All of that misery and depression was destroying my life.  Look at this scripture:

Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV)
^16:9 A man's heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps.

You can’t do one without the other.  I tried making plans for my life but I left out the will of God.  I didn’t even go to God and ask, “What’s your plan?”  Of course, I wasn’t saved at the that time.  I didn’t know to do that, but I know now, that God’s will is essential to seeing my plans come to fruition.

When I finally laid down my dream, my plans and took up God’s will and plan for my life, I was transformed!  That’s when my life changed.  That was the key to the loss of misery and suffering.  I wasn’t trying to force my plan on God.  I began cooperating with His plan and then I found out that God’s plan – God’s dream – was more satisfying that anything I could have imagined.

1 Corinthians 2:9 (NKJV)
^2:9 But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him."

Are you open to God’s plan for your life?  Are you willing to surrender your dream – to dream God’s dream for you?  Do you know the easiest way for your plans to happen?  Listen to God, hear His plan and make his plan your plan!  Let God direct your steps to breakthrough and victory!

In the Old Testament, there is the story of Jacob as he is about to meet Esau, the one he ripped off and who had threatened to kill him.  He’s afraid.  He knows Esau’s plan and Esau is coming with 400 men.  Jacob’s plan was to take his family home to his father’s house, but it looks to him like that’s all over now!

Then a man comes to him and wrestles with him throughout the night – That man is the Angel of the Lord, which is an Old Testament name for Jesus.  All night long they wrestle until finally God throws Jacob’s hip out of joint.

Finally, Jacob surrenders and God is able to move.  Jacob’s name is changed to Israel, and he begins to live God’s plan for his life.  The promise of the Promised Land is completed through Jacob.  Look at Ephesians 2:10:

Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV)
^2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

That scripture tells us that God had a plan for your life, before you were even born!  God has prepared something for you.  Something good that’s beyond your imagination.  Maybe, it’s time to cooperate with God’s plan and move to victory!

God Honors Faith

Here’s the promise:

Philippians 1:6 (NKJV)
^1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

This verse tells us that what God has started in us He will finish, but you need to know this one thing:  God doesn’t just have a plan for your life – You are the plan!  Noah was God’s plan for continuing the human race.  Moses was God’s plan for delivering Israel from bondage in Egypt.  Esther was God’s plan for rescuing the Jews from Haman.  Jesus was the pan for our deliverance from sin, and you are God’s plan for his purpose through you.  By cooperating with God you will see victory!

Finally, God promises that if we seek first the Kingdom of God, then the things we need will be added to us.

Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)
^6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

God wants to change your circumstances!  God wants to do a work in your life! Most of all God wants you!

So, how do we live out our faith?  We get ready for God to move in our lives.   We pray and call upon God to move in our lives but we forget to prepare for a move of God.  That’s really what faith is, living our lives like we know that God is already moving!  Prepare your field – THE RAIN IS COMING!

Just Do It!

There are some people who like to think that they have faith.  They pray; they believe God; they do have a certain type of faith.  I’ve preached often enough that faith is action.  We take action based on our faith.  In other words, we live out what we believe.  Sometimes, though we’re hesitant to take a step of faith and even more than that sometimes we’re resistant to take a step of faith.  Today, I want to post on taking a step of faith:

Exodus 14:10-15 (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." ¹³ And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace." ¹⁵ And the Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.

God Has Already Moved

Here, we stand with Israel after leaving Egypt.  They have fled the country and are standing before the Red Sea and Egypt’s army is bearing down on them.  It seems pretty dire at this moment, but is it really as hopeless as it seems?  Yeah, the people are fearful.  Yes, Egypt’s army is looking for blood and revenge.  It’s not going to be pretty if they catch them. 

You can’t really blame the Israelites for their terror.  They’re stuck.  There are mountains blocking them from going north around the Red Sea.  There’s only the Red Sea ahead of them and Egypt is coming after them.

You have to remember what God has already done, though.  Look at this list:  He saved Moses as a child in the River Nile.  He brought him into Pharaoh’s household where he was educated and raised to be a leader.  He kept him for forty years in the desert to be the deliverer of Israel. 

He’d done ten major miracles to get them this far.  Water turned to blood, frogs, lice and of course, the death of the first-born.  Through all that He'd preserved them.  They didn’t have to endure the plagues in Egypt.  He’d come to deliver them from bondage.  That was His purpose in the first place.  In this moment, He has placed himself between the armies of Egypt and the people of God as a pillar of smoke by day and fire by night.

God had already moved powerfully to get them to the Red Sea and protect them.  Why would they think that God would bring them out there and leave them to die?  It’s because the problem wasn’t a problem on God’s part.  It was something in the Israelites character – unbelief.  They didn’t see a possible solution; what could they do?  The failing isn’t God’s it’s theirs. 

How many times are we like Israel in this moment?  We testify, “Wow, God has moved powerfully on my part.  Look at all God has done for me so far.”  When it gets hard; when it seems like trouble is coming, all of that faith goes right out the window and we say the same thing to God that Israel did, “Did you bring me this far just to kill me?”

We pray and we say, “God help me with this thing – I need you God.”  I have to tell you something God’s blessing almost always comes through adversity. 

I wrote it last week, “If there’s no battle there’s no victory.”  Look at all that Job endured.  In one day he lost his family, his wealth and his health, but in the end he went on to great victory.  He ended up with twice as much as he had before the calamity.  His wife told him to curse God and die.  Look at his response:

 Job 2:10 (NKJV)
^2:10 But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

When that adversity comes, though, we always say, “What happened to God?  How can I trust God in all of this?”  Then we give up, “I guess it wasn’t God.”  We look for someone to blame.  Israel chose Moses.  Who do you blame – Your husband, wife, business partner, pastor…or God? Or, do we cry out God, DO something – God YOU move! That’s what Israel did and what did God say?

Exodus 14:15 (NKJV)
^14:15 And the Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.

Take a step of faith.  Does it sound to anyone else like God’s a little irritated here?  Have you ever heard someone say, “God helps those that help themselves”?  People always think that’s in the Bible.  It isn’t.  It doesn’t say that anywhere in the Bible.  But in this scripture it does say, “I brought you this far, so trust me and just keep going.”

The Course is Set

Psalms 37:23-25 (NKJV)
^37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. ²⁴ Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand. ²⁵ I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.

The psalmist is looking back over his life, “I have been young and now I’m old…”  I’ve gone completely through life and I’ve never seen God’s plan for His people fail, because it IS God’s plan.

In my own life I know that what I’m doing in Taiwan is God’s will for my life.  I know that this is God’s plan for my family, but I want you to know that this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  It’s God’s will and plan for our lives, but it’s still a struggle. 

I feel like Israel sometimes, too.  God, why won’t people lock in?  Why don’t people give?  Why am I always worried that the rent isn’t going to get paid?  “Oh God, move in these circumstances.”  God is saying the same thing He said to Israel, “Just move forward and I’ll take care of the rest of it.”  Just don’t stop going forward, because that’s the place where God can move in our circumstances.  If we quit trusting Him and quit moving forward then He can’t push the obstacle out of the way.  He’s stuck there with us. 

Let’s go back to the Red Sea for a moment, and pick up where we left off:

Exodus 14:15-18 (NKJV)
^14:15 And the Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. ¹⁶ But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. ¹⁷ And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. ¹⁸ Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen."

If Israel stays where they are there’s nothing God can do, but if they move forward God can change the circumstance and take away the adversity.  He can open the Red Sea and deliver them…and He will.  God will bring us through the problems, just like He brought Israel through the Red Sea.  Do you want to know why?

Psalms 103:13-14 (NKJV)
^103:13 As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. ¹⁴ For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

How many of you were able to trust your own father?  We know that our father has our best interests in mind.  We know that he loves us and wants the best for us.  If our earthly father is able to give good gifts to us, how much more is our Father in Heaven able to do that?  It’s harder to trust God though, because we aren’t always able to see Him moving on our behalf.  We aren’t always able to see what He’s doing for us.  Sometimes, what He’s doing even looks like a problem or like adversity, but God may be clearing a way or causing us to think in a different way.

In our text, Israel is stopped cold by their circumstances and with Egypt bearing down on them this must look like an impossible situation.  They really don’t have any choice but to trust God and go forward.  They can’t go back to Egypt at this point.  The death of the first-born pretty much burned that bridge.  Going forward is the only real choice that they have.

God does move and changes the circumstance.  The Red Sea is opened and they go through on dry land, God causes the Egyptians to follow them into he sea and then closes it on them.

The Struggle becomes and advantage, because Egypt doesn’t have the strength after that to pursue them through the wilderness.  The Israelites make a clean escape.  They’re free to go forward after that.  If that hadn’t happened Egypt could have pursued them all the way to the Promised Land and possibly destroyed them.

This is Where Faith Becomes Real

How easy is it to believe God when you’re not doing anything?  You’re comfortable; everything seems to be working out.  You’re not facing anything, so there are no roadblocks to progress.  It’s always smooth sailing.  It’s when we step out and try to do something that it becomes stressful and nerve wracking.  When we try to do something, that’s when our faith becomes real.  That’s when we really have to trust God. 

If you’re trying to do something, look back at what God has done to get you to that place.  What miracles has God done?  What circumstances has He changed?  What fights has He fought on your behalf?  Did He do all of that to kill you where you’re at now, or do you need just to move forward and let Him bust through the obstacles you’re facing now?  There’s an old Nike Sportswear ad campaign that has this tag line:  Just Do It! 

I’m not recommending recklessness.  You need to be sure that what you’re doing is God’s will.  You need to be “prayed up” and know that it’s God’s plan.  If you’re sure of that, then you need to move forward in faith.  Believe that God will bring you through the circumstances.  That struggle that you’re going through may be the thing that you need to succeed – Just like Israel.  The Red Sea at first, was an impossible problem, but then became the thing that guaranteed their success.

Maybe God is trying to teach you something that will equip you at a later point for a different obstacle.  The whole lesson here is to believe god and step out in faith.  Your faith becomes real in action.  It doesn’t take any faith to talk about what God CAN do, but it takes a lot of faith to move in spite of the circumstances and SEE what God will do.