Tag Archives: Abraham

The Wilderness Experience (Part 2) – The “Wild” Experience

19 Thursday Jan 2012

Posted by in Our Journey Into The Promised Land

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You can’t spell “wilderness” without using the word “wild“.   All God’s children tarry in the wilderness for some period of time after salvation or deliverance from Egypt.  But if your wilderness journey tarries longer than you expected, it is because you need it!  Your journey might take some wild, unexpected turns.

 

As tough as Egypt is to escape, the wilderness experience is tougher still.  In fact, it is the most difficult of all experiences in the believer’s life.  The reason is because the wilderness experience is God’s process.  I know many, including myself, who have spent most of the journey fighting the process.  I have done my share of blaming the devil when I should have been discerning God’s handiwork and humbly submitting to the process. 

 

As I said yesterday, in the wilderness either one of two events happen… 1) We come to the end of ourselves and enter into rest, or 2) We  physically die in the process without inheriting the promises!

 

If you want your wilderness experience to end, then die to the fleshly desires and submit to God’s process.  Remember, God is seeking to conform you to the image of His Son, Jesus.  You are not enduring or experiencing anything that Jesus Himself didn’t endure.  I am always encouraged by the words from  Hebrews 5:8 , ” Although He was  a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”   If Jesus learned obedience, then we all will have to learn obedience through suffering in the wilderness.  There are no short cuts! 

 

 – Understanding Polar Opposite Promises –

 

 

      The children of Israel entered the Wilderness Experience because they chose the Lord’s Promise and Exit. If you have chosen the promises of Scripture and the path of the Lord, then you too are on the same road through the wilderness to receive the fullness of God’s promises.

After God’s children passed through the Red Sea (which was a type of baptism in Christ) and renewed their intention to believe God’s Promise to receive a “land flowing with milk and honey”,  they entered into the Wilderness Experience.

Remember, this was supposed to be a “land of milk and honey”.   Yet just three days into following God and God’s man Moses, what they actually received were the “Bitter Waters of Mirah.” (Exodus 15:23)   Why did this happen?  Why were there so many problems on the road to “milk and honey“? 

 

– Wilderness Experience Principle –

 

Between the place where we actually receive the promise of God and the Promised Land (the fulfillment of the promise), there is usually going to be a “Bewildering Experience” that is the exact opposite of what we have been promised.  This is usually when our “rose-colored glasses” get smacked off our face.  Many have dropped the promises of God because they couldn’t continue believing God beyond a few difficulties and hardships.  They became bitter like Mirah because God did not move in their life as they expected.  The question is:  Will you experience bitter situations along the road to the Promised Land?  Yes you will! 

 

You can apply this principle to every promise of God you have received, regardless of what it relates to in your life.  The promise may involve gifts, ministries, personal promises for yourself, promises for others, spiritual issues, and even physical issues.  No matter how grand, how spiritual or important your promise may be, expect more than one dead-end that appears to be the death of that very promise. 

 

This barren place requires you to develop new faith and trust to move forward.  You do not have to stay in these barren places a long time.  But the place of barrenness will require some time in order that we might discover what is in your heart.  It is at these places the Lord circumcises our hearts from all fleshly desires.  (Deuteronomy 10:16, 30:6)

 

     There is always a difference between the time when God’s “anoints” us; until the time when he “appoints” us.  God anoints, speaks, and promises first.  There is often a space of time before He appoints, answers or fulfills that very word/promise.  It is between the “anointing and appointing” that God works in us to conform us to the image of His Son, Jesus.

 

Abraham endured years of “conforming” before he actually received the promise of a son.  It was during this time he received bad advice and produced an Ishmael.  It was also during this time he conquered kings in order to rescue Lot and tithed to the order of Melchizedek.

 

Joseph received a dream at a young age that one day even his father, mother, and brothers would bow and pay homage to him.  It was during this time he was rejected, enslaved, imprisoned, and forgotten.  Landing in jail would definitely suck the wind out of your promises!  But he soon learned what men meant for evil, God meant for good.  He ultimately saved his family, thus preserving Israel as a nation.

This Bible is full of examples of ordinary people receiving promises from God and then being plunged into dry, wilderness experiences where those same promises appear far away.

How about you?  Are you holding on to a promise of God today?  Have you been befuddled by circumstances that declare your promises are dead?  Don’t believe circumstances, believe the living, breathing word of God to you.

I will be sharing some of the deeper purposes of the wilderness wandering tomorrow.

 

Blessings,

Pastor

How Did We Get Into Egypt?

17 Tuesday Jan 2012

Posted by in Our Journey Into The Promised Land

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– Most Are Born In Egypt –

Exodus 1:1 Now these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob; they came each one with his household:

These seventy plus people after 400 years exploded into a mighty nation of people, each BORN and remaining there.  They did not do anything to get into Egypt; they were born in Egypt.  Since Adam and Eve, everyone born into this world is born into sin.  There no exemptions.  The Book of Romans reminds us “for all have sinned.”

 

– Egypt Is Also Born In Us –

 

Unfortunately, no one is born with the capacity to do good in and of himself.  “The heart is deceitfully wicked and there is no good in it.”  You do not have to worry about finding Egypt, it is born in your heart. From the earliest of ages of development Sin/Egypt longs to express itself in us.

The world would have us to believe that man’s nature is basically “good” and will evolve into something better.  Christianity teaches that man is evil and will progressively express more of his evil nature.

We all start in Egypt with Egypt in our hearts.  As life moves on, we can move further into her midst and live in bondage or be delivered.  No one is born out of the influences of Egypt.  Some are just a little less closer to the border than others.

PRAISE THE LORD!  This is exactly why Jesus came.  He came to set us free from the bondage of sin and deliver us into the realm of God His Father.

 

– Unfortunately, Some Keep Egypt As A Source –

 

A familiar occurrence happens in the lives of all three patriarchs in Genesis. (Abraham, Issac and Jacob)  FAMINE! 

 

Abraham, while living in the Promised Land, turned to Egypt as his source during famine.  (Genesis 12:10)  OK, lets give Abraham the benefit… he overshot the goal of the Promised Land and wound up in Egypt.  Maybe he just wasn’t sure about the boundaries.

But what Abraham didn’t understand before, he clearly understood afterward.  God’s provisions couldn’t be found wandering in Egypt.  The whole ordeal nearly cost him his life, wife, and future family.

Isaac too, while living in the Promised Land, turned to Egypt as his source during a time of famine.  (Genesis 26:1-2)   Now Isaac didn’t quite make it into Egypt.  If the Lord had not told him to stop, he would have gone into Egypt like his father, Abraham.

Isaac stopped in the future land of the Philistines, Gerar.  It is worth noting that the same problem that plagued his father, plagued him.  The king wanted to take Isaac’s wife for himself.  Isaac offered up the same fleshly response…he tried lying his way out of the situation.

Ultimately, because he stayed in Gerar, God blessed Isaac.  During famine Isaac sowed and reaped 100 fold.  That’s almost impossible during the best of times.

Jacob – Is an interesting story.  Here is a family man during a time of famine who desperately did not want to go down to Egypt.  But ultimately, he did turn to Egypt for provisions.  It took over 400 years before the Lord moved them out.

For each generation Egypt (worldliness) remained a temptation and source as it does for us today.  When we finally cleanse our system of Egypt, we are able to enter into the Promised Land of God.   But when we turn to the world as a source, we will experience times of dryness and periods of circumstantial lack.  Just because everyone else is turning to Egypt for their supplies doesn’t mean the believer has to go there!

 

     A man was watching the news one night when it was reported that a car was going the wrong direction on the freeway. The man knew his wife was on that freeway and became very concerned so he called her on her cell phone. She answered and he said, “Dear, there’s one car going in the wrong direction on the freeway.”

     She exclaimed, “One car! There’s hundreds of them!”

 

You would think as many people as we have seen trapped by Egypt’s snare…we all would know better.  But the pressures, both within us and without, cause us to look longingly upon the resources of Egypt.  Remember Egypt is nothing more than human/worldly solutions to a spiritual problem.

 

      Your problems and my problems are ultimately spiritual and can only be solved by God.  We have to approach Him and trust in His resources.

 

 There was a man who was standing in front of a church and someone walked by and said, “What are you doing.” The man said he was thinking about asking God why his life was such a mess.

     The passerby said, “Well why don’t you ask?” and the man shook his head and answered with a sigh, “I’m afraid he’ll ask me the same question.”  

 

The opportunity to turn back to Egypt will always be present in our lives.  We must understand that bondage always accompanies going back to those old places.  Like the patriarchs, who sojourned in those places, we can be restored…but the journey will be costly.

 

 

    There was a family that lived in the Northeast part of the country. In the bitterly cold part of winter their car had become especially dirty, what with road salts, frozen slush, and other wintry deposits. Conscious of the condition of their car, this family was driving down the road and came across an unusual sight. Water was gushing into the air from a broken pipe, beneath the surface of the road.  A work crew had arrived and was just getting set up. Simultaneously, the family concluded that this was the perfect occasion for a car wash. They pulled the car far enough forward to park under the shower of water. The road crew watched, somewhat puzzled, and a little amused.

 Since it was still bitterly cold, they left the engine running, and kept the heater going as well. In a short time, a rather unpleasant odor began to dominate. It was about this same time that the family noticed that the water which was running down the windshield was not clear, not clear at all.  Finally they understood the problem—they were not parked under the shower of a broken water main, they were under the shower of a broken sewer main. Quickly. they departed, watching the filthy matter freeze to their car in the bitter cold of that day.

 

Do you really want to go back to Egypt?  Do you really want to take the easy road instead of trusting in God’s provisions?  When you go back Egypt gets on you and in you, just like sewer water. 

Stay free!

 

Blessings,

Pastor

Be Good to Yourself – Build Integrity

02 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in Our Spiritual Process

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       A couple was speeding down the highway when a State Trooper pulled them over. He asked the man to step out of the car and show him his license. The trooper asked, “Did you realize you were going 85 miles an hour back there?”

       The man said, “Officer that would be impossible. I’m the most law-abiding driver you’ve ever seen. I never exceed the speed limit, no matter my circumstances.”

The policeman leaned into the window of the car and asked the wife “Is that true?”

       “No Officer, it’s not, he drives like a maniac, he speeds wherever he goes, his driving scares me to death.”

The policeman wrote out a ticket. Then he said, “I also noticed you didn’t have your seat belt on, which is against the law in this state.”

       “Officer,” the man said, “with all due respect, I value life too highly. Buckle up, that’s my motto.“

The policeman asked the wife, “Is that true? “

       “Are you kidding? I’ve never seen him wear the thing, you’d probably find cobwebs in his seat belt.”

The policeman began to write him another ticket. About that time, the man leaned in the window and screamed, “Woman, what are you trying to do to me? Keep your big fat nose out of my business!“

The officer said, “Ma’am, does he always talk to you like that?”

       She replied, “Only when he’s drunk.”

We laugh at stories like this.  Part of God’s will for you is to create authentic integrity.  Others walked this path and so will you, if you enter into His process.

   Did you know that several of the Bible’s greatest “heroes of the faith” were liars?

  • Abraham lied to the Egyptian Pharaoh saying that his wife Sarah was actually his sister….then did it again with another king.
  • Jacob lied to his father Isaac saying that he was actually his brother Esau, so he could receive the blessing meant for the eldest son.
  • Peter lied to the servants and soldiers surrounding the fire outside the trial room where Jesus-Peter’s friend, teacher and Lord-was being tried, convicted and sentenced to the cross, saying, “I tell you I never knew the man!”
  • Paul, after his own fashion, was so blinded by his own arrogance that he sought to suppress the Truth of Jesus Christ.

 

      However, the Holy Spirit can work miracles and change a liar into a person of integrity

  • Abraham came to a point and place in his life when he was able to trust God for everything, even the life of his beloved son Isaac.
  • Jacob, after a night of wrestling with God, was able to trust God with everything he had, and so he returned to face his brother Esau whom he had cheated and betrayed.
  • Peter was able to trust God before the same crowd that had called for Jesus’ crucifixion when he stood up at Pentecost to proclaim the same name he had denied a mere 50 days before.
  • Paul, who called himself “abnormally born” because he persecuted the Church, eventually wrote: “I preach Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.”

Allow the Lord to so move in your life in 2012 that integrity becomes the foundational cornerstone of your life!   What He has done for others, He will do for you. 

Blessings,

Pastor

Three Tests of Faith

08 Tuesday Nov 2011

Posted by in Times of Testing

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 1 Now it came about after these things, that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 He said, “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you.”  Genesis 22:1-2  

There are three tests found in the life of Abraham in this passage.  These tests are common to our lives as well. Satan tempts to bring out the bad, but God tests to bring out the good. Although I would rather be exempt from tests, a faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted.

The story is told about a man on the operating table who was very uncomfortable about his imminent surgery. Although anesthesia was to be applied, the doctor said, “It seems you are very uncomfortable about this surgery.” “Yes,” the man replied,” it is my first surgery.” “I understand,” the doctor said, “this is my first surgery too.”

How many of us would rather go to a surgeon who has been tested?

 

      The first test answers the question – Can You Trust God with the Possessions He Has Already Given You?

 

Abraham was a hundred years old when Isaac was born.  Sometimes we say we are willing to give up everything for the Lord, but are we willing to give it up to the Lord? There’s a big difference between giving up something for the Lord and giving it to the Lord.

God had given Abraham a priceless possession and then asked for it back. It was the test of Abraham’s faith because he loved both Isaac and God. It is not enough to give God a place, prominence, or priority in our lives.   God wants to have preeminence. Is there anyone, anything, or any blessing that we love more than God? Is it possible that Abraham was beginning to love the blessing more than the Blesser or the gift more than the Giver?

Somewhere along life’s journey, God will ask you to give some of your blessings back to Him. Can you trust Him with your possessions?

 

      The second test answers the question – Can You Trust God with His Purposes for You?

Not only did God give Abraham a possession, He gave him a purpose. “With Isaac there is a purpose, and through him the nations will be blessed.” Understanding and doing the will of God requires three simple steps of finding, following, and finishing the will of God.

The opposite of obedience is disobedience. Faith is not simply obeying in spite of the evidence; it is obeying in spite of the consequences. It is obeying whether or not we understand the purpose.

Sometimes we offer sacrifices for which God is not asking. Real obedience is doing what your told to do…doing it when your told to do it… and doing it with the right heart attitude.   A lot of people who plan to obey only procrastinate. As soon as we move into procrastination, however, we are automatically in disobedience.

 

 The third test answers the question – Can You Trust God with the Promises He has Spoken to You?

 

God said to Abraham years earlier, “You are going to have a son. It’s going to happen.” Did it happen the next day or during the next ten years? No!  In the course of time Isaac was born in fulfillment of God’s promise.   For decades Abraham stood on those promises even when he and his wife became old.  Wow!  Have you ever struggled holding on to a promise of God for a week?  Real faith stands the test of time.

Can you trust the promises of God even when the circumstances of life do not add up? On life’s journey, you may face many problems, sicknesses, and disappointments – but God will still keep His promises to you.

This devotional was created from original material by James O. Davis.

Blessings,

Pastor