The chorus for 'The Song Of Guyana's Children' goes like this
Onward, upward, may we ever go
Day by day in strength and beauty grow,
Till at length we each of us may show,
What Guyana’s sons and daughters can be.
There is a message in it for the Children of God's Kingdom!
Do we find ourselves dwelling in the past and what it used to be? Do we find ourselves comparing what is now to what it was before. Do we long for the "good old days" when life was predictable with no challenges?
God does not want you to dwell on your failures.
God does not want you to dwell in the past
God expects you to move on with Him.
There are people who are always moving but getting nowhere and there are people who seem not to go anywhere but keep making gigantic strides in the right direction with God.
Abundance of activity is not indicative of progress!
Stop singing about the way we were..rather start singing we're marching on.
Every time Israel came face to face with an obstacle they began reminiscing of the way they were back in Egypt! They seemed to have forgotten
the unceasing labor,
the taskmaster's whip,
the constant male infanticide,
their lower class slave status
and their constant groaning and crying out to God for deliverance.
They subsequently incurred the displeasure of God because of their unbelief.
Remember what the Word says? "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Heb 11:6)
The song says it all "the more I seek you the more I find you".
Jesus said seek and you shall find (Mat 7:7).
God who knows your heart knows the difference between earnest seeking and a half-hearted search! The search can take a long time and necessitates the dying of the unbelieving self life until the new nature in Christ asserts itself and move onward...upward to victory.
In review it is noted that:
The blessing of God was on their lives in Egypt Ex 1:7
They grew and prospered mightily Ex. 1:7
The Pharaoh and his people became afraid Ex 1:9,10
The Pharaoh made them slaves Ex 1:11-14
Taskmasters afflicted them Ex 1:11-14
Male infanticide was ordered. Ex 1:15-22
They cried to God for release from bondage Ex 2:23
They were heard and God sent a deliverer...Moses. Ex 2:24,25; 3:1-10
Things appeared to become worse after Moses appeared, sent as deliverer to Israel by Yahweh. They blamed the deliverer Moses for this! Yet Moses was obeying God!!!
When they left Egypt they became:
THE COMPLAINING DEPARTMENT!!!
1. THEY COMPLAINED AT THE RED SEA!
(Exo 14:11) And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? (Exo 14:12) Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. God delivered them without they having to fight
2. THEY COMPLAINED ABOUT BITTER WATER
Exo 15:22-24 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
(23) And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. (24) And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? God sweetened the water for them
3. THEY COMPLAINED FOR BREAD
(Exo 16:3) And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. God provided manna
4. THEY COMPLAINED ABOUT PRIVILEGES AND LEADERSHIP
Num 16:1-5 Now Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On, the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men: (2) And they rose up before Moses, with certain of the children of Israel, two hundred and fifty princes of the assembly, famous in the congregation, men of renown: (3) And they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron, and said unto them, Ye take too much upon you, seeing all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them: wherefore then lift ye up yourselves above the congregation of the LORD? (4) And when Moses heard it, he fell upon his face: (5) And he spake unto Korah and unto all his company, saying, Even to morrow the LORD will shew who are his, and who is holy; and will cause him to come near unto him: even him whom he hath chosen will he cause to come near unto him. God got rid of the dissenters
5. THEY COMPLAINED FOR WATER
(Exo 17:3) And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? God provided water from the rock
6. THEY COMPLAINED WHEN MOSES DID NOT SHOW UP
(Exo 32:1) And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. (Exo 32:4) And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
God began punishing them. God now retaliates!
7. THEY JUST COMPLAINED!!!
Num 11:1 And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of the camp. More punishment!
8. THEY COMPLAIN ABOUT FOOD VARIETY
(Num 11:5) We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick: (Num 11:18) And say thou unto the people, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow, and ye shall eat flesh: for ye have wept in the ears of the LORD, saying, Who shall give us flesh to eat? for it was well with us in Egypt: therefore the LORD will give you flesh, and ye shall eat. (Num 11:20) But even a whole month, until it come out at your nostrils, and it be loathsome unto you: because that ye have despised the LORD which is among you, and have wept before him, saying, Why came we forth out of Egypt? God gave them flesh and smote them with a plague in the process.
9. THE COMPLAINED ABOUT MOSES'S WIFE AND MOSES AS A LEADER
Num 12:1-4 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman. (2) And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.(3) (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.) (4) And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out. God spat in Miriam's face
10. THEY COMPLAINED ABOUT GIANTS AND OBSTACLES
(Num 14:2) And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! (Num 14:3) And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? (Num 14:4) And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt. They were soundly trashed by the enemy.
(Num 14:22) Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;
11. THEY COMPLAINED FOR WATER AGAIN
Num 20:1-3(1) Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.(2) And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.(3) And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!
(Num 20:5) And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink. Moses suffered as a result
12. THEY COMPLAINED AGAIN ABOUT THE BREAD
(Num 21:5) And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. God sent fiery serpents among them.
Because of their unbelief the children of Israel were sentenced to death by Divinely Ordained Compulsive Wandering Syndrome!
The old nature will never break out of that cycle. Therefore it must be put to death in order that the new may arise up to its victorious destiny.
When they tried to act on their own and break out, they were soundly beaten and chased right back into the wandering cycle. As recorded in Numbers 14: "And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly. And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the LORD hath promised: for we have sinned. And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? but it shall not prosper. Go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies. For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the LORD, therefore the LORD will not be with you. But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and Moses, departed not out of the camp. Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah." (Num 14:39-45)
You can always expect a sound trashing from the enemy when you move presumptuously without God!
However in the years of wandering something marvelous was happening. The weak, unbelieving, sniveling, complaining grumbling crowd was being slowly transformed into a fighting fit unit as every corpse of unbelief dropped off one by one in the wilderness.
The beaten down mentality of the subdued slave gave way to a freedom loving, forward looking people who were no longer subjected to the victim mentality that God hated so intensely. It may have seemed as though nothing was happening but slowly and surely one corpse at a time God was stripping away the old nature and outfitting them anew for the Onward and Upward journey!
Ah! The Wilderness Crisis...it breaks you and remakes you! We need to get rid of the victim mentality, the naming and blaming and self indulging misery of the past and move ever onward and upward to our God Ordained Goal.
Like Paul I am "forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you." (Php 3:13-15)
The old Israel was completely conformed to Egypt: The new Israel was completely transformed.
The old Israel was always looking backward: the new Israel was forward looking
The old Israel moved in circles on constant old ground: the new Israel march onward to new territory
The old Israel could not possess the promises: the new Israel moved into the Promised Land
The old Israel carries too much baggage around: the new Israel is not restricted by the past
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. (Rom 12:1-2)
Before transformation can occur death must take place.
In conforming to the world you become squeezed into an uncomfortable mold.
In transformation you experience renewal and expansion from within.
Expansion and victories are limited to the extent we limit God.
anakainōsis Gk
This Greek term in its various forms (anakainoō, anakainizō) has two basic meanings.
1. “to cause something to become new and different (i.e., better)” – Rom. 12:2; Col. 3:10
2. “to cause a change to a previous preferable state” – II Cor. 4:16; Heb. 6:4-6
(taken from Louw and Nida’s Gree k-English Lexicon, vol. 1, pp. 157, 594)
Moulton and Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, say that this term (i.e., anakkainōsis) cannot be found in Greek literature earlier than Paul. Paul may have coined this term himself (p. 34).
Frank Stagg, New Testament Theology, has an interesting comment.
“Regeneration and renewal belong to God alone. Anakkainōsis, the word for “renewal,” is an action noun, and it is employed in the New Testament, along with verb forms, to describe a continuing renewal, as in Romans 12:2, ‘Be ye transformed according to the renewing of your mind’ and 2 Corinthians 4:16, ‘Our inward man is being renewed day by day.’ Colossians 3:10 describes the ‘new man’ as ‘the one being renewed unto thorough knowledge according to the image of the one having created him.’ Thus the ‘new man,’ the ‘newness of life,’ the ‘regeneration,’ or ‘renewal,’ however designated, is traced to an initial act and a continuing act of God as the giver and sustainer of eternal life” (p. 118).
(http://www.freebiblecommentary.org/special_topics/renew.html)
Being an action noun Renewed (renovation) implies a continuous effort to tear down and build up. We tear down that which is unlike Christ. We build ourselves up on the most holy faith praying in the Holy Ghost. We make a constant examination of our lives like a conscientious home owner who regularly examines his home for signs of wear and need for repair. He does not sit down and allow it to fall to pieces but is constantly inspecting, examining, fixing things and replacing worn out and broken fixtures. The statement, Let a man examine himself takes on new meaning: 2Co 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates? 1Co 11:28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
Our lives for God is meant to be active. Nothing is accomplished by passivity. Serving in the kingdom requires active attendance to doctrine.
Paul advised Timothy in 1Ti 4:12-16 Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. (13) Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. (14) Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. (15) Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. (16) Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
So let us heed the command to turn to the Lord and yield to His Spirit in order that we "... all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2Co 3:18)
