This week we piggybacked on our prior series about the
rivers that should flow from the church into the world. We talked a little prior to this about moving
closer to God (west) rather than away (east) and our progression from slavery,
through the wilderness, to the promised land and eventually into God’s rest as
we grow as believers. This week we
discussed 6 signs we are living in the wilderness. We started in Hebrews 3:10 through the end of
chapter 4. We read it in the amplified to understand the
deeper meaning of this scripture. Why does
He say they were led astray in their hearts?
They didn’t really know God’s
ways intimately. They may have seen His
work but did not deep down in their heart know God’s ways. We are no different.
Often when circumstances come at us, we question God when
circumstances contrary to His word occur.
Entering the promised land is about obtaining the things that are
there. Once the enemies are defeated, we
enter into God’s rest and maintain. It
does not mean we do nothing, but the battles are over. Every once in a while someone tries to take
it, but we have already won the victory.
A good example is Jesus sleeping through the storm in the boat, then
waking up and telling the storm to be still.
Remember, all of us will encounter these 6 signs at times. We just do not want to choose by our actions
to dwell in the wilderness, but instead in the promised land.
#1 Blames God for their problems—We have been given dominion
and authority, but we are to turn and ask Him to take care of things. We can employ God’s power, use our own, or
give it to the enemy. The best thing to
do is let go of the why. It will always
lead us to 2 bad answers. John 10:10 is
my litmus test to see whether something is from God or the enemy. Is it stealing, killing or destroying, or
life. 1 John 1:5 says there is NO
darkness in God. God can use the bad for
good, but He does not cause it. John
5:19 says Jesus only does what He see the Father doing. Jesus healed ALL who came to Him and said
that the person’s faith made them whole.
He never told them they needed to wait to learn something or hurt them
saying it would help them grow. Bad
things happen, but God does not cause them.
#2 Continually Lacking Resources (not just financial)—How can
we help others, if we only have just enough?
#3 Living Crisis to Crisis—trying in life is really nothing
more than setting out wanting to succeed but expecting to fail.
#4 Inability to Commit—God wants us fully engaged in
whatever we are doing.
#5 Judgmentalism/unforgiveness—Along
with #1, this is among the 2 most key signs.
This is the most prevalent. This means
morally judging the world. Jesus loved
sinners. He did not go out telling them
what they were doing wrong. We also
shouldn’t harshly judge Christians. Judgmental
people often have a lot of knowledge of the Word but have little understanding. The only people Jesus treated harshly were
people who were judgmental and attacked Him first. We need to walk in the same grace for others
that God has for us. Often these people
don’t believe they are right with God and have trouble forgiving themselves.
#6 Unfunded Sense of Purpose—They know they have a purpose
and know God wants them to do it, but either never get around to doing it, or
step out without preparation and fail.
To listen to the entire sermon go to http://ahwatukeechurch.com/ and click on online media. To learn more about Living Word Ahwatukee, visit http://ahwatukeechurch.com/.
To listen to the entire sermon go to http://ahwatukeechurch.com/ and click on online media. To learn more about Living Word Ahwatukee, visit http://ahwatukeechurch.com/.
To listen to the entire sermon go to http://ahwatukeechurch.com/ and click on
online media. To learn more about Living
Word Ahwatukee, visit http://ahwatukeechurch.com/.
