Running with a Limp
The Role of the Wilderness
When Jesus comes into our lives, things sure do change don’t they?
I recall when I was a new believer, I used to work out at the gym all the time, and there was one occasion when a I wanted to use a rowing machine and noticed a towel on the bench. No one was around, so I put the towel on the side and used the machine. A few minutes later, this giant muscle guy that looked like he was fresh out of a muscle magazine walks up to me and just goes into a barrage of UNCHRISTIAN words and calls me all these names.
In my old days, I’d probably deck the guy, but now, I’m a Christian and sometimes, I am realizing, that I probably shouldn’t do what I feel like doing. Well I back down and later ask my dad for some advice.
I sought some fatherly advice from my dad who told me, “I’d pick up the towel, throw it to the right, and when his head turns to look at the towel, I’d knock him in the face.” Here is confession time. As a new believer, I know I am a Christian, but for a long time, I regretted not doing what my dad said.
Fast-forward a few years to a gym here in Hilo. I recall a guy here in a gym where I worked out, that I asked if I could grab a weight. I tapped him on the shoulder. He turns around begins going off on me again. Calls me some UNCHRISTIAN names! You know what he does then? HE PUTS HIS TOWEL DOWN ON THE SIDE MACHINE. YOU KNOW WHAT IS GOING THROUGH MY MIND. He puts his finger in my face and begins to threaten me. I WRESTLE WITH WHAT TO DO BECAUSE MY FLESH SAYS, “I CAN NAIL THIS GUY” I THINK, “WHAT WOULD JESUS DO? JESUS WASN’T A WIMP.”
It’s like the Lord said, “Blessed are you when your are persecuted for MY name sake. Ty go and apologize.” “I don’t want to Lord. It’s not for Your name, it’s for mine. I didn’t do anything wrong.” By some miracle, my feet began to move. One foot, then the next. The next. I went up to him. Got in his face and said, “What’s your name?”. He paused, looked like he was ready for a fight, and told me his name. I told him, “My name is Ty. I just wanted to tell you that if I offended you, I rrr… I rrrr. I apologize. If I offended you, I am sorry. I apologize.” It was like a big burden was lifted off my shoulders. Since that time, he and I got to develop a relationship where I got to share Jesus with him.
To this day, Pastor Allen and I are still friends. No just kidding.
How many of you know that sometimes, God calls us to do what we would rather not do? How many of you have ever had to do something you don’t feel like? Throw me out some things that you have to do, that you don’t feel like doing…
Ø Washing the dishes.
Ø Taking the rubbish to the dump.
Ø Guys, putting down the toilet seats.
Ø Working out issues with your spouse. Fights with your spouse. I said fights.
Because we are good Christian people, we say that we don’t have fights, we have, “conversations”. My fights with my wife usually ends up the same way every time. With my wife coming to me on her hands and knees. Then she says, “Ty, get out from under the bed and fight like a man!” What else do we do that we don’t feel like?
Ø Homework
Ø Going to work. – How many of you feel like going to work every day? But we understand that there are some things we don’t feel like doing that we need to do anyways.
All of us have to endure some decisions to make and do things we don’t feel like doing. Although we don’t like all that we do, we understand that we need to do them nonetheless.
I’d like to talk to you today about something that we don’t like having to do, but if we are going to be all that God wants us to be, we will have to endure.
We all have to go through wilderness times at some point in our lives. All of us. Young, old, tall, short, skinny, less skinny. All of us. All of us, at some point or another, needs to deal with people that we would rather not deal with and endure situations we would rather not endure.
Once upon a time, I was an athlete. Believe it or not, I was a wrestler in high school. It is a very physical and competitive sport, and there was something important I learned in the sport that has carried over to my life still to today. Sometimes, if you want to be the best you can be, you need to compete with injuries.
The best athletes are not immune to injuries. They simply have learned to press through them. I remember having to compete often with an ankle brace on, a shoulder brace on and headgear. Sometimes I’d go on the mat and look like the “Mummy Returns.”
The author of Hebrews (who I think is Paul) compares living life to running a race. He says…
“… let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1-2
Did you know that sometimes, we must run the race of life, with a limp? We all have the choices to make as to how we will run.
I want to share with you some things about those times in life, when we need to learn to RUN WITH A LIMP. That’s what I want to talk to you about this morning.
I WONDER HOW MANY OF US HERE TODAY ARE RUNNING THROUGH A LIMP TODAY. DEALING WITH NOT FEELING LIKE SERVING IN THE MINISTRY. NOT FEELING LIKE GOING TO YOUR JOB EVERY DAY AND DEALING WITH THE PEOPLE THERE. NOT FEELING LIKE DEALING WITH THE ILLNESS THAT LIES IN YOUR BODY, OR THE CHALLENGES THAT YOU GO THROUGH WITH YOUR FAMILY.
Someone once said this…
"Whatever comes our way, whatever battle we have raging inside us, we always have a choice. ... It's the choices that make us who we are, and we can always choose to do what's right." - Peter Parker in Spiderman 3
It has been well said, “Life is too short to dwell on the shortcomings.”
The story is told of a couple that has no children, but they have a poodle they treat like a child.
One day, the wife leaves to go on a trip in Europe by herself. She calls home everyday to see how her husband and dog are doing.
One day, while she's in Paris, she calls home. She asks her husband, who lacks tact, how the dog is doing. He answers "The dog is dead." Shocked his wife answers "Couldn't you be more gentle in your answers? Like, the first day, while I'm in Paris, you could tell me that the dog is on the roof. Then, the next day, when I'm in London, you could tell me that the dog fell off the roof. Then, the next day, when I'm in Rome, you could tell me the dog is in the hospital and not doing well. Then, the next day, when I'm in Prague, you could tell me that the dog died. That way I could handle it better."
So he says ok.
Then she asks "How's Mom?" He answers "She's on the roof."
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Sometimes we need to learn to run with a limp. PAUL SAYS TO RUN THE RACE WITH ENDURANCE. DO YOU KNOW WHAT ENDURANCE MEANS? IT MEANS PUSHING ON, EVEN IF AT TIMES, YOU NEED TO RUN WITH A LIMP
IT WAS IN THE WILDERNESS THAT GOD’S PEOPLE OFTEN RAN WITH A LIMP. IT WAS AS DAVID fled from Saul, that he grew as a leader. Those skills as a leader would carry him to become one of the greatest kings in the history of Israel. It was in the wilderness, that DANIEL was thrown into the lion’s den. How many of you know that running with God, Daniel probably ran with a limp in the den, but he overcame? As did ABRAHAM, MOSES, PAUL, and PETER.
May I share with you what has been by far, the most important lesson I have been learning in the last half year since moving to Oahu? God has been teaching me this recently. While we are in the wilderness, we struggle and run, because we don’t want to leave the wilderness changed. I used to often think that the reason God had me in the wilderness was because HE WANTED TO STRENGHTEN ME THERE. LOOK AT 1 SAMUEL 30:6 THOUGH.
"Now David was greatly distressed, for the people spoke of stoning him... But David strengthened himself in the Lord." 1 Samuel 30:6
NOTICE WHO STRENGTHED DAVID IN HIS WILDERNESS… God strengthened him? Pastor strengthened him? Church?
WHEN I RUN THE RACE OF LIFE, THERE WILL BE TIMES THAT I NEED TO LEARN TO STRENGTHEN MYSELF IN THE LORD. NOT DEPEND ON PASTOR, OR CHRISTIAN BOOKS, OR EVEN WAIT FOR GOD TO MAKE ME FEEL BETTER. IF I WANT TO BE AN EFFECTIVE LEADER AND BELIEVER, THERE ARE TIMES I WILL NEED TO STRENGTHEN MYSELF IN THE WILDERNESS.
Do you know that David wasn’t a great leader developed under the best circumstances? David had to run from Saul, the King of the day, in the wilderness. He fought giants. Had friends and family turn on him during his lifetime. He wasn’t inspired by a pillar of fire from God, or a cloud of smoke, or even a stunning revelation from God.
He needed to be ENCOURAGED SIMPLY BY WHO GOD IS. There will be times of discouragement that I won’t get a call from the pastor, or a church service to inspire me, or there may not even be a friend there to lean on. Sometimes, like the psalmist, I must simply remember who God is. His character, His faithfulness, His mercy, and His peace. No lights. Nothing glamorous. No great revelation. Simple trust in God, even if I don’t sense Him and it doesn’t feel like He is near. Too often, we associate God and our belief in him with our feelings.
God wants to lead us into seasons of growth, not gratification.
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Before we left Hilo, I was learning how to fish. Just dabbling a little bit. To this day, I have caught several different types of seaweed, but seem to have the best luck catching fish at KTA.
Here is something I have noticed about fish however. Although the fish has lived in the ocean, the salt-water, for its entire life, do you know what we often sprinkle onto its meat when we eat it? We need to sprinkle salt on it to bring out the flavor. How interesting, even though the fish has been marinating in salt-water for its entire life, none of the salt got on the inside of it to flavor its meat.
It’s outward circumstance, did not change it’s insides. If God can do that for fish, how many of you think that He can do that for each of us as well?
Each of us has been placed in the middle of a world filled with desert times and challenges all around.
Although we must endure desert times on the outside, God allows us to guard our hearts and strengthen ourselves, on the inside.
Let me share with you a verse from the bible that’s really spoken to me over the years, and then we will unpack that verse for the rest of the time we have together.
“… when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near, for God said, ‘Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.’ So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea.” Exodus 13:17-18
Isn’t it interesting that God is more concerned about getting things done right, than He is concerned about getting things done fast.
Israel could have taken a quick journey to the promised land right after leaving Egypt. Instead, God took them the scenic rout. HAS GOD EVER TAKEN YOU THE SCENIC ROUTE TO WHERE HE WANTS YOU TO BE?
Why did God take them through the scenic route? It was in order that they would develop the character needed to seize the promised land. God’s promises without God’s character, leads to a breakdown.
Interesting that God could have led them by way of the Philistines. The 40 year trek could have taken a mere 2-3 weeks. BUT LET’S SEE WHAT GOD WANTED TO DEVELOP IN THE WILDERNESS AS HE ALLOWED HIS KIDS TO RUN WITH A LIMP.
1. GOD WANTS TO DEVELOP A STEADFAST HEART WITHIN ME.
He wanted them to develop hearts that will not “change their minds when they see war.”
He wants hearts that will persevere despite difficulty. As a result, He uses deserts as a place of visitation.
“Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 *while Annas and Caiaphas were high priests, the word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.” Luke 3:1-2
Notice all the important people of the day, doing what they do every day? The governor. The tetrarch. Where does the Word of God come to John?
It was in the wilderness that the Word of God comes to John the Baptist, the wilderness where Jacob wrestled with God. It was in the wilderness that a burning bush spoke to Moses and two on the road to Emmaus encountered Jesus.
God uses the wilderness. But what does He do with us in the wilderness?
I think God wants to develop a different spirit in me.
“But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.”
Numbers 14:24
When a potter bakes a pot, he checks its solidity by pulling it out of the oven and thumping it. If it “sings,” it’s ready. If it “thuds,” it’s placed back in the oven. The character of a person is also checked by thumping.
Been thumped lately? Late-night phone calls. Grouchy teachers. Grumpy spouses. Burnt meals. Flat tires. “You’ve got to be kidding” deadlines. Those are thumps. Thumps are those irritating inconveniences that trigger the worst in us. They catch us off guard. They aren’t big enough to be a crisis, but if you get enough of them, watch out! Traffic jams. Long lines. Empty mailboxes. Dirty clothes on the floor … Thump. Thump. Thump.
How do I respond? Do I sing? Or do I thud? Jesus said that out of the nature of the heart a man speaks (Luke 6:45).
There’s nothing like a good thump to reveal the nature of a heart. That’s what God did with Israel. THUMP! Why? He is developing within them a steadfast heart.
God calls us to sing in times of distress. Sing when we so much rather feel like thudding.
Someone once said it this way… “The great men and women of history were great not for what they owned or earned, but for what they gave their lives to accomplish.”
Boy the enemy is good at deceiving us into spending too much time trying to grasp the wrong things. He wants us to develop a heart that will be steadfast after the things that He wants. Why do we need to develop a different spirit? Because we often take the wrong things too seriously and the serious things too nonchalantly. Let me prove my point.
Take this quiz.
Name the ten wealthiest men in the world.
Name the last ten Heisman trophy winners.
Name the last ten winners of the Miss America contest.
Name eight people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer prize.
How about the last ten Academy Award winners for best picture or the last decade’s worth of World Series winners?
How did you do? I didn’t do well either. With the exception of you trivia hounds, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday too well. Surprising how quickly we forget, isn’t it? And what I’ve mentioned above are no second-rate achievements. These are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten.
Here’s another quiz. See how you do on this one.
Think of three people you enjoy spending time with.
Name ten people who have taught you something worthwhile.
Name five friends who have helped you in a difficult time.
List a few teachers who have aided your journey through school.
Name half-a-dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you.
Easier? It was for me, too. The lesson? The people who make a difference are not the ones with the credentials, but the ones with the concern. The ones who were there for you when you were being tested. The ones who sang with you when you were being thumped. The ones who had that different spirit, or the ones who were there for you with a steadfast heart. I WONDER IN HOW MANY OF US, GOD IS TRYING TO DEVELOP A DIFFERENT SPIRIT RIGHT NOW?
When I am put in the furnace of trails, do I thud or do I sing? The true character of a person is seen not in momentary heroics, but in the thump-packed humdrum of day-to-day living.
I want you to catch this as well…
2. God leads us into seasons of growth and not gratification.
“Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness…”
Luke 4:1
Notice who led Jesus into the wilderness? His sin? Was it the enemy? Was it because Jesus did something wrong? No. Was He led there because He did not obey God and was being punished? No. Why did The Spirit lead Jesus to the wilderness? Because God is more concerned about our growth than our gratification.
It is in not on the mountaintops, but in the desserts that vision gets enlarged.
Notice that even Jesus had to learn to run with a limp. I believe that is the mark of a believer. Not that he is never marred by life, but rather that he endures.
Psalms 23 speaks of “though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” Do you know why it says that? We often refer to that verse in where? Funerals. But what does it really mean? In the bible days, shepherds would lead their flocks to greener pastures, and when they traveled, they would walk their flocks through the valleys. Why? Because when it rained, the water fell on the mountaintops, but trickled down to the valleys. Why did they go through the valleys? Because that was where the life giving waters were to be found.
Ever wonder why we go through valleys? Because God has life giving waters to be found for us. We get to choose how long it will be, before we drink of those waters. How long will it take you?
There is often a plateau, something that God wants us to breakthrough in life. Something He wants us to gain from our journey in the valleys of life. Whether at work, at home, or even at church. Yet we often run and flee from the valleys. We long for the greener pastures. We move churches to find greener pastures. We bail out of relationships to find greener pastures, when all along, God had deposited gems and life giving water at the bottom of the valleys.
God wants to equip us to do new things, and greater things than we ever thought we could do, but we often bail out before we break the plateau. We sever relationships, we hold onto grudges at home, or we move from church to church, when so often, what God is asking us to do, is simply BREAK THROUGH! But too often we run. We bail out. We jump ship. A song once stated it this way, “Second verse, same as the first.”
God will allow us to go through the same hurts, same trials, same challenges, until we break through. It all begins in your thought life. If we never let God get a hold of our thoughts, we will fail even before we begin. When we allow poor attitudes to lead us and our relationships, our relationships suffer in the long run.
You may ask, “But Ty, why would God allow me to go through so much in order to learn these lessons?” Can I tell you, it is because “God is less concerned about what I go through and more concerned about who I am becoming.”
Sometime ago I read a story of a youngster who was shooting rocks with a slingshot. He could never hit his target. As he returned to Grandma’s backyard, he spied her pet duck. On impulse he took aim and let fly. The stone hit, and the duck was dead. The boy panicked and hid the bird in the woodpile, only to look up and see his sister watching.
After lunch that day, Grandma told Sally to help with the dishes. Sally responded, “Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn’t you Johnny?” And she whispered to him, “Remember the duck!” So, Johnny did the dishes.
What choice did he have? For the next several weeks he was at the sink often. Sometimes for his duty, sometimes for his sin. “Remember the duck,” Sally’d whisper when he objected.
So weary of the chore, he decided that any punishment would be better than washing more dishes, so he confessed to killing the duck. “I know, Johnny,” his grandma said, giving him a hug. “I was standing at the window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgave you. I wondered how long you would let Sally make a slave out of you.”2
He’d been pardoned, but he thought he was guilty. Why? He had listened to the words of his accuser.
HOW MANY TIMES DOES GOD WANTS TO LEAD US INTO SEASONS OF GROWTH, AND NOT GRATIFICATION, BUT WE LISTEN INSTEAD TO THE WORDS OF THE ACCUSER? And God watches, because God is more concerned about doing things right, than He is concerned about doing them fast, He allows us to wait and learn.
Every moment of your life, your accuser is filing charges against you. He has noticed every error and marked each slip. THE DEVIL WHISPERS IN YOUR EAR TELLIN YOU THAT GOD WON’T HEAR, YOU AREN’T GOOD ENOUGH, COMPROMISE IS OK. “Go back to Egypt,” he beckons. Neglect your priorities, and he will jot it down. Abandon your promises, and he will make a note. Try to forget your past; he’ll remind you. Try to undo your mistakes; he will thwart you.
3. GOD WANTS TO DEVELOP THE COURAGE OF A WARRIOR.
God is looking for a willingness to follow the Commander in Chief’s orders even if it is scary.
We all know that they spend 40 years wandering in the dessert before moving on to the Promised Land. Did you know that the journey they needed to take from the Red Sea to the Promised Land was about 200 miles? What does that mean? Their stay in the wilderness only needed to be about 2-3 weeks. Yet because they refused to learn the lessons they needed to, they spent 40 years wandering the same dessert.
Listen to what the scripture says about what God did after the people left Egypt.
“…God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near, for God said, ‘Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt. So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea.” Exodus 13:17-18
This is what I am learning this year about the gifts that God gives…
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God wants to bring the COURAGE OF A WARRIOR OUT IN YOU. HOW DOES HE DO THAT? I’VE OFTEN THOUGHT IT WAS ABOUT NATURAL GIFTING AND TALENTS, BUT I AM LEARNING THAT IS NOT ENTIRELY TRUE. WELL, THIS IS WHAT I AM LEARNING ABOUT THE GIFTS GOD GIVES THESE DAYS…
Let’s say that you go to a revival meeting and a prophet speaks over you and you receive the gift of…. Playing baseball. They laid hands on you and spoke a word of prophesy that you are a gifted baseball player.
When you leave the meeting, you feel the same, look the same, and you smell the same. So what do you have to do to see this gift in action? What must you do to see this gift blossom and mature?
You need to pick up a ball and bat and start playing.
But to you a Ball-Park is nothing more than a hot dog. You’ve never swung a bat, thrown a ball, or caught a ball. So you go to the field, talk to the coach and he takes you out to the field. He throws you a few pitches, and you miss. Again. Again. Again. Do you quit and say you cannot do it? No. Coach encourages you. “It’s in you! Swing again! I know it is in you!”
What do you need to do? Keep swinging the bat. Develop the muscles needed to utilize the gift. You miss a lot at first, but over time, you develop your skill.
Fast forward the tape three years. Your reputation as a seasoned rookie has spread and now scouts from the Atlanta Braves are checking you out. They come to watch you play, and see you hit a homerun in the third inning. They turn to each other and they say, “that kid has a GIFT.”
How did that gift come to its fullness? You had to get up and play. Get up and hit the ball. How does God create develop hearts of warriors? By men and women of God standing up and swinging the bat. Will you miss? Sure, at times. Will you get injured? Will you have to run with a limp at times? Absolutely.
What gifts does God want to bring out from you? Well, I’d say the only true and biblical way to discover them is to RUN THE RACE, EVEN IF YOU HAVE A LIMP.
Do you know it takes courage to let Jesus be born in me? See, many people allow God’s grace and redemption to flow to them but not through them. God bless me. Help me. Give this to me. But not, Lord use me. Lord love others through me.
We want all of God’s blessings and His goodness and mercy in the hard times. We want all that He has for us when things get difficult, but we step back when things are good and God calls us to do something that may be uncomfortable.
Are you letting His power and grace not just flow to you, but also flow through you?
It is said that for many years Monterey, a California coast town, was a pelican's paradise. As the fishermen cleaned their fish, they flung the innards to the pelicans. The birds grew fat, lazy, and contented. Eventually, however the innards were utilized, and there were no longer snacks for the pelicans. When the change came the pelicans made no effort to fish for themselves. They waited around and grew gaunt and thin. Many starved to death. They had forgotten how to fish for themselves.
By the way. I wonder sometimes if we have grown fat and lazy as believers hoping that some one is going to do everything for the Lord. Someone else will greet in the morning. Someone else will take care of the children’s ministry. Someone else will clean and care for the fellowship. Someone else, surely is a busy person.
The problem in Monterey was solved by importing new pelicans from the south, birds accustomed to foraging for themselves. They were placed among their starving cousins, and the newcomers immediately started catching fish. Before long, the hungry pelicans followed suit, and the famine was ended.
What happened? In the animal kingdom, like in the world we live in; examples need to be followed. What kind of example are you living? How powerful would the church be, if it weren’t someone else’s job, but our own?
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It has been said, “Lamps don’t talk, but they do shine. A wise Christian should do the same.”
The story is told of Coach Cleveland Stroud who led the Rockdale County High School Bulldogs to a very successful 21-5 season several years ago. The Bulldogs had a dramatic come-from-behind victory in the state championship game to top off a terrific year. The town was ecstatic!
However, if one was to travel to Rockdale County High School and look in the school's trophy case outside of the gymnasium, the trophy case would be missing the state championship trophy. The Georgia High School Athletic Association stripped the Bulldogs of their state championship title after Rockdale County High School officials said that a Bulldog player had been scholastically ineligible to play. The player had only played 45 seconds in the first of the school's five postseason games.
Coach Stroud said, and listen closely, "We didn't know it until a few weeks ago. Some people have said we should have just kept quiet about it, that it was just 45 seconds and the player wasn't an impact player. But you've got to do what's honest and right and what the rules say. I told my team that people forget the scores of basketball games; they don't ever forget what you're made of."
What are you made of? What example are you living? Are you living a faith that is vibrant and courageous? Are you living with a faith that is willing to risk for the Lord? Is your faith one that other people will look at and say, “Wow. That’s what I want! That’s the kind of passion I want to live with.”
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A man's life is always more forcible than his speech. When men take stock of him they reckon his deeds as dollars and his words as pennies. If his life and doctrine disagree the mass of onlookers accept his practice and reject his preaching.
C.H. Spurgeon.
It was the great reformer Martin Luther who said, “Good works do not make a good man. But a good man does good works.” It has also been said, that, “It is by faith alone that we are saved, but a saving faith never comes alone.”
“But Ty”, you might say. “I’m only one person. I’m busy. I work. I have bills to pay. I have a family to take care of. What can I do for the Lord? There are so many hindrances in my life.”
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Let me explain it this way. A friend told me a story of some hunting dogs that he had. They were good hunting dogs that he used when he went to hunt pigs in the mountains. He shared however, that the dogs, as tough as they were, were deathly afraid of chickens. I couldn't believe it, so I asked him why.
When the dogs were puppies, they lived around the chickens. The chickens at the time, were much larger than the little puppies. As a result the chickens would bully the puppies and chase them all over the place. The young puppies learned to fear the chickens. Because of that, as strong hunting dogs, they still clung to their fear of chickens!!!
Satan may have had power over us before. He may have taught us to be afraid of him for many years. When we have Jesus in our lives, we have authority over Satan. Still because we have learned for so long that we are powerless against Satan, we often tend to still believe that. Like those dogs, we often fear what we need not fear.
God wants to bring forth His Son in your life, but you will not let Him begin to move and direct your life, until you begin to train yourself to let God be set free in you. To begin to live for Him, .25 cents by .25 cents.
God cannot begin to move freely through you, until you realize that the limitations that were once upon you, are gone in Christ Jesus.
SOMEONE ONCE SAID IT THIS WAY. “COURAGE IS NOT THE ABSENCE OF FEAR, BUT PRESSING ON IN SPITE OF IT!” I AGREE.
DON’T ALLOW OUTSIDE DESERT TIMES TO BECOME INSIDE DESERT TIMES.
4. HE WANTED TO REMOVE EGYPT FROM THEIR HEARTS.
Suppose I ask you to take care of my house while I’m out of town. You pledge to keep everything in great shape. But when I return, I find the place in shambles. The carpet is torn, walls are smeared, furniture is broken. Your explanation is not impressive: some bikers came by and needed a place to stay. Then the football team called, looking for a place for their party. And of course there was the fraternity—they wanted a place to hold their initiation ceremony.
As the owner, what do you think I have to say? “Don’t you know how to say no? This is not your house. You don’t have the right to let in everyone who wants to enter.”
Ever think God wants to say the same to us?
You’ve got to admit some of our hearts and minds are trashed out. Let any riffraff knock on the door, and we throw it open. Anger shows up, and we let him in. Revenge needs a place to stay, so we have him pull up a chair. Pity wants to have a party, so we show him in. Lust rings the bell, and we change the sheets on the bed. Don’t we know how to say no?
Many don’t. For most of us, thought management is, un-thought of.
We think much about time management, weight management, personnel management, even scalp management. But what about thought management? Why is it that we let in everything and anything that knocks on the door of our minds?
What thoughts do you let enter into your mind? Be very careful of what you allow to dwell in your thought life.
Egypt, or their past, kept creeping up in the mind of the people of Israel. Their thoughts kept wandering back to the times they were slaves and had cucumbers given to them. You see, GOD REMOVED THEM FROM WHAT HELD THEM CAPTIVE, BUT THEIR HEARTS STILL FLOWED BACK TO EGYPT. WHY DID GOD ALLOW THE WILDERNESS? BECAUSE HE NEEDED TO REMOVE EGYPT FROM THEIR HEARTS, BEFORE THEY COULD ENTER INTO HIS PROMISES AND SUCCEED.
A while back, the garbage men in Honolulu went on strike. Slowly but surely, garbage began to pile up outside people’s homes. The neighborhoods and houses near my parent’s home looked messier, became stinkier, and just fell apart. If the garbage is not taken out, it piles up.
The same is true with us. For some reason, we forget that we need to take out our spiritual garbage. We pick up spiritual garbage all the time. An unkind word from a co-worker, arguments with family members, disagreements with your spouse, unwanted criticism. Spiritual garbage. It may range from minor irritations to major hurts in life. Quite often we feel compelled to hold onto and maintain our spiritual garbage.
It’s as if we put out or rubbish waiting for the garbage man to come and take it away. He comes and tries to pick up the trash can to dump everything into the truck, but we run out and grab the trash can. “Don’t take it!” we yell. “I’m not ready to let it go.” We don’t want to let it go. We cling to it as if it were so valuable to us. I remember seeing my parent’s neighborhood in Honolulu on the six o’clock news because garbage was piled up outside the homes, and no one took their garbage to the dump themselves.
Sometimes we think that someone else will take out our trash for us. That it’s the responsibility of the pastor, or the church, or the school system. The truth is, the only one who will have a part in what you keep and what you throw out, is you.
Why are the Gospels full of such people who encounter God in the wilderness, who run with a limp?
Why did God leave us one tale after another of wounded lives being restored and wilderness times being redeemed? So we could be grateful for the past? So we could look back with amazement at what God did back then and think how great it would be to live back then and see the miracles He did back then?
No. No. No. A thousand times no. The purpose of these stories is not to tell us what God did.
Their purpose is to tell us what God does.
These are not just stories. They are historic moments in which a real God met real pain so we could answer the question, “Where is God when I hurt? Where is God when I need to run with a limp?”
He’s not doing it just for them. He’s doing it for me. He’s doing it for you.
In the end, do you know who entered the promised land? Those who grew in the wilderness, went through it, were strengthened in it, and met God there. You want to enter God’s promised land for your life? Endure the wilderness.
Someone once said, “When the train goes through a tunnel and the world gets dark, do you jump out? Of course not. You sit still and trust the engineer to get you through.”
That is my charge to you today. Trust the engineer to get your through..
Have you received Jesus as your Lord today? I’m not asking if you have accepted Him, but have you received Him?
Let me close with this story.
The story is told of a young pastor and his wife who took on their first pastorate at an old abandoned church that was deteriorated and falling apart in a depressed part of New York City.
They arrived shortly after the summer, so the pastor and his wife worked tirelessly at restoring the building, preparing it for service, and to reach some people to start the fellowship with.
After months of hard work, it appeared that the building would be ready and they would open the doors of the church for its first service that Christmas Eve. But then, it happened. A part of the dilapidated roof caved in leaving a very unsightly opening in the building right in the front area. It looked like service needed to be postponed again.
Pastor went to a farmer’s market to buy some groceries and he noticed a purple tablecloth with a cross woven into it. He thought that this tablecloth just may fill the hole in the sanctuary, so he bought it, took it back to the church and put it up. Surely enough, the tablecloth fit, so he put it up for service. Later that day, he noticed an elderly woman outside waiting for the bus to come and pick her up. The young pastor went out and invited her into the church for some warmth as she waited. When she looked around at the sanctuary, she turned pale as her jaw dropped. “Where did you get that tablecloth?” Pastor explained his story. “Are there the initials ERB in the corner of that tablecloth.” They checked and sure enough, there it was.
The old woman went on to share that long ago, when she was in the Nazi concentration camps, she knitted that very quilt for her husband. They were separated in the concentration camps and she had never seem him again. Of course the pastor offered to give the tablecloth back to her, but the old woman insisted that he keep it for the church. Well, after they built a relationship, the pastor drove her back home.
Christmas came around and the first Christmas Eve service went on with a good turn out. After the service, an old man came up to the pastor after service, staring at the table cloth asking pastor where he got it from. His face just turned pale. The old man asked if there were the initials ERB in the corner. He went on to explain that back in the old Nazi concentration camps, his wife made that very quilt for him, but they were separated there at the camp and he had never seen her again.
Needless to say, the young pastor spoke to the old man and offered to drive him to a place that he thought the old man might enjoy. So off they go to the small old apartment that the pastor had visited just a few days prior.
It would be one of the most heartfelt and tearful reunions of any Christmas. Can I say, that the old man did not just accept that woman as his wife, he received her as his wife that night. When was the last time you received Jesus as your Lord? Maybe you accept Him, but I challenge you today, even if you have to run with a limp, RECEIVE HIM
Let’s pray…
Heads bowed and eyes closed…
You know all the points I shared this morning hinge on one thing. God can change you. He can transform you, but only if you let Him. If you invite Him to come into your life. He is a gentleman. He will not force Himself upon you. He comes, but only by invitation. If you have never invited Him into your heart, won’t you do so today? Let’s all say this prayer together. To invite Him in, or to reaffirm your faith. Receive Him again like you have not in so long. He is not to be a religion or a creed, but a coveted relationship to
“Heavenly Father, thank you for Jesus. Lord Jesus thank you that You came, to lay down your life for my sin. I repent of my sin today. I give my life to You. Make me the person You want me to be. Amen.
Take the message outside. Don’t let it die here. Go home with a new and refreshed attitude.
