May 3, 2012

^"Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.  I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” Exodus 14:13-18

Moses knew what the rest of Israel was about to discover, God will always make a way! If He leads you in He will bring you out! At this point Moses didn't know how but he knew Who!

Deliverance is God's part. It is His specialty.

God told Moses that what looked like their dilemma was about to become their deliverance if they would make the right decision. God is SO good at doing that! He will take the very thing that looks like a disaster and turn it into your deliverance!

Do you believe that?

You say, "I want to believe that! I see it in this story and I know the promise that with every trial and temptation He will make a way of escape but I am not seeing it."

Let's look at the story again and see if you can gain some insight.

God will turn your dilemma into your deliverance if you will wait - “Do not be afraid. Stand firm"

Waiting is always hard! Always! It gets harder when you have an vicious army riding down at you in your vulnerable moment.

Every instinct in your body is shouting, "Run!" but the voice of God whispers, "Wait! Don't be afraid, just wait!"

Why does He ALWAYS want you to wait?

I don't know all the reasons but I do know His timing is always perfect and yours isn't.

God will turn your dilemma into deliverance if you will watch - "you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again."

You have to do something while you are waiting for the Lord - so, why not just watch Him do what He does?

If you aren't keeping your eyes on God guess what you will do? You will either be focused on the enemy or fixed on yourself. Niether of those will get you delivered!

When those winds began blowing and when those waves rolled up on either side and that way of escape opened wide, don't you think they were glad they were watching!

Do you need deliverance from your dilemma? Wait! Watch!

God will turn your dilemma into deliverance if you will walk - "Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left."

There is a time to wait and a time to watch but then there comes a time to walk! God WILL open a way but when He does you must be ready to walk through it!

What an amazing way He chose to deliver them! Imagine seeing a wide and deep sea open up and make a path of escape from the enemy!

Now, let's be real about this! God could have built a gigantic battleship that he could have pulled up to shore to deliver them and then opened the big guns and missles on the Egyptians.

Or, He could have just had the Israelites simply walk across the top of the water like Peter did once.

But God chose to open the sea to deliver them so He could close the sea and destroy the enemy! They were delivered and the Egyptians were destroyed!

One thing you can expect from God - He will make a way for you!

But He will expect you to wait on Him and watch for Him and walk through the way when He opens it!

May 2, 2012

^"As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. Raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them. And I will gain glory through Pharaoh and all his army, through his chariots and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen.” Exodus 14:10-18

God's people found themselves in a dilemma, trapped between the Red Sea and the charging Egyptian army. Not an enviable situation. Their best case scenario seemed to be a return to slavery and the worst case was probably being slaughtered.

They found themselves feeling very vulnerable and unsure what to do. The options they had to choose from were both seemed risky - give up and turn back or trust God and Moses for something they had never seen or could not imagine. It was a very hard decision, but that's what a dilemma is! The way out of a dilemma is to make a bold decision. And hopefully, the right decision! When you face a dilemma the next decision you make is HUGE!

The decision they faced was this, "Should I trust my gut or trust my God?" Would they follow their fears or would they face their fears with faith? When you feel vulnerable it is easiest to retreat to your comfort zone rather than risk commitment to the unknown. That is how slaves remain slaves and victims remain victims.

They had become slaves not by their own decision but by the decisions of people more powerful than them. And while they were in slavery they didn't have the freedom to make decisions that mattered. That's the point of slavery isn't it? So now they were free and they had to learn to make decisions that would keep them free. Remaining free requires right decisions.

In this study series we are doing on "HIMpossibility" - What Should I Expect From God? we are operating from the theme - "our expectations of God arise from our experiences with God and those experiences come from our encounters with God". Following 400 years of being slaves these folks didn't have a lot of experiences with God. However, based on their most recent encounters with Him, they should have been a lot more positive! He had sent plagues to break the iron will of the Pharaoh and not only were they set free but they were given the wealth of the land in the process! And everyday since they saw God leading them through the cloud and the pillar of fire. And, by the way, while they were in the throes of this dilemma, that very same pillar had moved between them and the attacking Egyptians for their protection. There was plenty of evidence to cause them to trust the Lord! But would they?

Like you and me, they were one decision away from solving their dilemma. They were also one decision away from turning back to slavery. Would they draw from their recent experiences with God and base their expectation on those powerful encounters or would they give into their fears and surrender to slavery again? This was the most important decision they had ever made. How do you make good decisions in the midst of such pressure?

Look, listen and learn!

Look at how you got here. Did God lead me here or did my bad decisions lead me here? If you know God led you in to this vulnerable situation you can be sure He will lead you out of it. Let that certainty guide your decision.

Listen to those in leadership above you. If you have a godly leader who regularly hears from God listen to him because listening to him is like listening to God. More importantly, listen to God! If what your leader is saying syncs with what God is saying to you commit to it.

Learn from your previous experiences with God and especially, learn from your most recent encounter with God. See how He is leading. Hear what He is saying. Also, learn from the bad decisions you may have made in the past and avoid repeating those.

The story of the Red Sea has a happy ending because a good decision led them out of a bad dilemma! They looked over their journey, they listened to Moses and they learned what God can do to people who are willing to trust forward and not turn back!

If you are facing a dilemma you just need to make a decision. But that next decision will be a big one! Are you looking? Are you listening? Are you learning?

May 1, 2012

"Then the LORD said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to turn back and encamp near Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea. They are to encamp by the sea, directly opposite Baal Zephon.  Pharaoh will think, ‘The Israelites are wandering around the land in confusion, hemmed in by the desert.’ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them. But I will gain glory for myself through Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So the Israelites did this. When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have let the Israelites go and have lost their services!” So he had his chariot made ready and took his army with him. He took six hundred of the best chariots, along with all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites, who were marching out boldly. The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, horsemen and troops—pursued the Israelites and overtook them as they camped by the sea near Pi Hahiroth, opposite Baal Zephon. As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians, marching after them. They were terrified and cried out to the LORD. They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”  Exodus 14:1-14

Moses and the Red Sea is one of the great epochs of the Bible.

For someone of my generation it is hard to think of this story without having a mental image of Charlton Heston from the Cecil B. De Mille classic movie "The Ten Commandments". Some of you are envisioning that right now!

As dramatic and spectacular as that scene was in the movie, I've got to believe that the actual event was far more awesome! Scholars I read have determined the Red Sea was ten miles wide where the Israelites crossed and that area today is 3,000 to 5,000 feet deep. They also estimate that for 2.2 million people to cross at that place in the time span indicated by the Bible the sea would have opened nearly a half mile wide. That's a lot of water to split!

This Sunday we will be looking  at the expectation of God to lead us out of trouble that He led us into! We will trace that study via this blog over the next three or four days.

They Had A Dilemma

They Had A Decision

They Had A Deliverance

Even though this event happened 3,500 years ago it is relevant to you today because you still find yourself in dilemmas. They were in an extremely vulnerable place between the charging Egyptian army and the expansive Red Sea. Pharaoh had chosen 600 of his finest and fiercest charioteers and they were not in a good mood. This was a tough spot!

So, how did the people of God respond? Panic! They responded like many Christians do today, they rebelled against their leader and began longing for the old days! It is hard to move forward when you are looking back!

The people of God had a dilemma and you may find yourself in a dilemma today as you read this. You find yourself feeling very vulnerable and very trapped. And, as painful as your past has been you are considering going back! That is the reaction of someone in panic mode.

No one likes feeling vulnerable. Vulnerable feels weak and powerless. There is a good reason for that - you are! Just like the Israelites at the Red Sea when you and I feel trapped in a vulnerable place and threatened on every side we tend to ask the wrong question, "How do I get out of this?"

You have asked it. I have asked it. They were asking it. Moses was probably wondering it.

The right question is this, "How did I get into it?" And, the follow up question is, "What can I get out of it?"

How did they get into it?

God led them there! They followed the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. When the pillar moved, they moved. When the pillar stopped, they stopped! And following the pillar led them to where they were!

That is why this question is so important! Asking, "How did I get into this?" helps you recall if God led you to this place. And if you know He did, then that answers the other question because you know that if He led you in, He will bring you out!

What you will get out of it is eventual deliverance and a deeper trust in God!

Feeling vulnerable and trapped? Finding yourself in a tough spot? Ask the right questions and the answers will become more clear!

(EDITORS NOTE: I didn't complete this devotional last night as I usually do and mistakenly published my outline. Apologies to you early risers who logged on and found it unfinished.)

April 30, 2012

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Hebrews 11:6

This is a great verse, isn't it? Most consider it the key verse of the great 11th Chapter of Hebrews. In one concise sentence it captures the essense of faith that pleases God. For that reason it is worthy of our consideration.

So, what IS this faith pleases God?

Faith is coming to God - "because anyone who comes to him"

Everyone is drawn to something - or someone. What you are drawn to reveals alot about you and, it will have a profound impact on you.

If you are drawn to money you may be greedy or ambitious.

If you are drawn to cars, boats, or houses you may be materialistic.

If you are drawn to God it is evidence that you have a measure of faith active within you.

Faith pleases God when it draws you toward Him!

Faith is believing God exists - "must believe that he exists"

Why would you come to someone Who does not exist? Why would you be drawn to an non-existant person?

Faith is seeing the invisible and touching the intangible. Faith is knowing that which cannot be completely known.

Faith is overcoming the natural tendency to disbelieve what we cannot tangibly verify or prove. So, believing God exists shows that we have moved beyond the natural to the spiritual. Faith comes from hearing the truth about God's nature and existance from the Word of God and believing what it says. That pleases God!

Faith seeks God earnestly - "that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

One evidence that God is real is that the more you seek Him the more you want to seek Him. That is because He rewards your earnest seeking with His presence and His goodness and His comfort and His joy and His love!

Earnest seeking means that you pursue Him not for what He can give you nor what you can get from Him. You seek Him earnestly to get more of Him! You let nothing stop you from your spiritual pursuit of God.

Who are you trying to please?

If you want to please God it will take faith.

April 29, 2012

^"The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10:17-20

 

There are two things you can expect from God in this text. One we discussed yesterday and it is - You Can Expect God To Give You Joy As You Celebrate Your Salvation. 

The second expectation is - You Can Expect Joy From God As You Share Your Salvation.

 

TRUTH: Joy comes from being used by God to share His joy with others.

Another way you will know you have joy in the Lord is that you will want to share it!

^“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.” Psalm 51:12-13

When the 72 went out in Jesus’ Name to share the good news of the Gospel of the Kingdom, they saw the power of God heal and deliver and change lives and their joy increased! Not only because they had joy BUT BECAUSE THEY SAW OTHER PEOPLE GET IT!

ABOUT THE ONLY THING THAT MATCHES THE JOY OF YOUR SALVATION IS SHARING THAT JOY AND SEEING SOMEONE ELSE RECEIVE IT! The disciples had seen that and were filled with joy!

I don’t know of anything that gives me more joy than knowing that I have been used by God to bring comfort, or encouragement of joy to someone else!

Sharing the joy of your salvation is the SWEET SPOT of enjoying your salvation!

When you go out to share you joy with others:

·         You Find A Sweet PRESENCE!

·         You Find A Sweet POWER!

·         You Find A Sweet PEACE!

·         You Find A Sweet PASSION!

·         You Go With A Sweet PROMISE!

·         You Find A Sweet PRODUCTIVITY!

Someone once said that the way to joy is:                      Jesus   Others   You

JOY COMES FROM CELEBRATING YOUR SALVATION -  BUT JOY STAYS WHEN YOU SHARE IT WITH OTHERS!

1)       THE WOMAN AT THE WELL FOUND JOY AND THEN SHARED IT WITH A CITY!

2)       ZACCHAEUS FOUND JOY AND SHARED IT WITH HIS CITY IN FORM OF TAX REFORM.

3)       THE WOMAN AT THE TOMB FOUND JOY WHEN THE STONE WAS ROLLED AWAY AND THEY RAN TO SHARE THE NEWS!

These disciples returned to Jesus in great joy after they had shared the news about the Kingdom of God!

THREE THINGS HAPPENED WHEN PEOPLE FOUND SALVATION WITH JESUS:

THEY CELEBRATED IT

THEY SHOWED IT

THEY SHARED IT

YOU SHOULD EXPECT GOD TO GIVE YOU JOY AS YOU SHARE THE JOY OF YOUR SALVATION!

Luke 15:7 – “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.”

Are You Celebrating Your Salvation?

Psalms 47:1 “Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!”

Are You Showing Your Salvation?

Philippians 4:4 - “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!”

Are You Sharing It?

Acts 2:42-47 – “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

Vance Havener said, “There is something wrong with our Christianity when we have to beg most of our crowd to come to church to hear about it.”
Have you forgotten the joy of your salvation?”

TODAY, ALL ACROSS THIS LAND THERE WILL BE MAJOR LEAGUE BALL PARKS FILLED WITH BASEBALL FANS EXPRESSING THEIR JOY OVER BASEBALL – AND THEY WILL FIGHT TRAFFIC AND CROWDS AND PARKING SPACE AND PAY A LOT OF MONEY TO DO IT.

WHILE ACROSS THAT SAME LAND THERE WILL BE HALF EMPTY CHURCHES WITH JOYLESS PEOPLE WONDERING WHY NO ONE COMES AND SECRETLY WONDERING WHILE THEY ARE THERE.

WE DON’T WANT TO BE THOSE GUYS AND WE DON’T WANT TO BE THAT CHURCH – DO WE?

GOD EXPECTS US TO HAVE HIS JOY – AND SO DO THOSE UNCHURCHED FOLKS WHO WALK IN OUR DOORS?

AS WE COME TO THE END OF WHAT HAS BEEN A GOOD YEAR – A YEAR OF HOPE – I WOULD LIKE TO SEE US MAKE NEXT YEAR A YEAR OF JOY!

WHO WANTS TO HELP ME?

WHO WILL COMMIT TO:

CELEBRATE YOUR SALVATION?  - IF YOU DO – EXPECT HIS JOY!

SHOW YOUR SALVATION?  – IF YOU DO – EXPECT HIS JOY!

SHARE YOUR SALVATION? – IF YOU DO – EXPECT HIS JOY!

April 28, 2012

^"The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.  However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”  Luke 10:17-20

What can you expect from God?

In the first two weeks we have learned some solid truths about healthy expectations of God.

Week one there were three truths from the encounter between David and Goliath. First, you can expect that if God allows a giant to appear before you it is to prove that His power is greater than the giant. Second, you can expect if God places a giant before you so He can raise up the giant within you. Third, you can expect that when God raises up the giant within you it is so you can raise up giants around you!

 

Last week we learned that we should expect God to help us get through our personal Jordan.

Sunday we will learn the third expectation - you can expect God to give you joy.

Do you have joy in your faith?

Do you live in spiritual joy?

I believe God desires for you to have joy. The disciples discovered joy in this text and gave Jesus great joy.

There are two sources of joy that I want to call your attention to in this encounter.

Expect Joy From God As You Celebrate Your Salvation - "However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” 

The ultimate and ongoing source of spiritual joy must be found in your salvation.

If you cannot comprehend and celebrate the significance of your salvation in Christ, you will never be able to experience true joy.

These disciples were sent out by Jesus on a spiritual mission trip. As they went from town to town in His authority they saw demons cast out and diseases healed. Imagine how must joy they must have experienced and how much joy they must have given others! After completing a successful mission they returned to Jesus greatly hyped by what they had seen and done.

Jesus' response to them was significant. You need to hear it and understand it.

He told them not to get too impressed with the signs and wonders but to be very impressed by their salvation. Joy arises as you begin to grasp the greatness of your salvation wrought by Christ and bought by His blood.

Salvation brings forgiveness of your sins! What joy that brings!

Salvation redeemed you! That means His blood paid the price to buy you back out of the debts of your sins. That brings joy!

Salvation adopted you into God's family as His child and joint-heir with Christ. What a joyful realization!

Salvation regenerates you! That means His Spirit brings life to your spirit which was dead in its sins. What a joyous truth!

Salvation brings you into a personal relationship with God through Christ. You can walk with God and talk to God and hear His voice and feel His presence once you have been saved! The joy of the Lord becomes your joy!

Salvation connects you with eternal life! When you come into relationship with God through Christ, His life flows into the eternal part of you and your name is written into the heavenly Book of Life! Knowing you have received eternal life brings real joy!

The truth could not be more clear or simple to understand. If you want deep constant and abiding joy - spend your time meditating on and celebrating the great joys inherent in your salvation! If you cannot be joyful over your salvation nothing will ever give you joy.

April 27, 2012

"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."  Luke 10:1-2

Good news!

There is a harvest to be had! It is out there! It is ripe! It is ready!

What does it take to have a harvest?

First, there must be good soil. Wherever there is good soil that has been prepared there is the possibility for a harvest!

Second, there must be seed sown. Everytime good seed is sown onto good soil there can be a harvest!

Third, there must be sunlight shined on the seed and the soil. Or, in this instance, SONlight must shine on it! Anywhere that the light of the Son shines on the good soil and the sown seed there is the possibility of a harvest!

Finally, there must be servants to bring in the harvest! Someone must go out and reap the harvest for the Kingdom. The ripe and ready grain does not bring itself into the storehouse. It waits for the laborer to bring it in!

This is great news for the discouraged congregation that hasn't been growing. There is a harvest to be had!

For the pastor who is about to give up because his church is plateaued. There is a harvest to be had!

The only thing needed to bring in the harvest is laborers! Jesus gives the plan for the harvest - GO! Yes, you! And the second thing is while you are heading into the harvest - PRAY! Ask God to raise up more laborers!

Will you go! Will you sow seed as you go? Will you shine the light of God's love as you go? Will you bring in the harvest that God has prepared?

There IS a harvest to be had!