CHALLENGES To The JOURNEY Of FAITH-III—Genesis 11:26—12:9
VENTURING By FAITH
Attention:
A Journey/Venture Challenged by heavy traffic.
Our trip to McAdenville, NC(Christmas Town) the last weekend before Christmas 2012.
We drove our grandsons of 3 & 5yrs. to McAdenville. We had been near the area on a shopping venture when we decided to go to McAdenville in the evening to show them the Christmas lights. Of course we got lost at one point(we didn’t have a GPS) but finally got on track. We were told by an officer at a barricade the correct way into town. We went down the road which T-boned into a 3-lane road which right lane was rapidly filling with cars to McAdenville.
We waited to get into traffic but some kind soul let us in. We then crept along for about an hour(?) completing the mile(or less) to the entrance to town. We thankfully had a video player in the van, which we had installed for our kids when they were on boring trips.
Once in McAdenville, we opened the windows & saw the beautiful Christmas lights & heard the sounds of cheerful people talking as they walked the streets, with seasonal & Christmas music playing.Both Isaac & Wesley were thrilled! We all had a great time!
As we exited McAdenville onto interstate 85N. As we looked north, the far right southbound lane of I-85 was backed up beyond the farthest hill with anxious people anticipating McAdenville’s charms before Christmas!
Had we gotten ‘fed-up’ with the traffic, with the delays to our schedule, with the rude drivers, with the kids whining, etc., Had we ‘given up’, we would have missed the whole reason/treat of being there & would have wasted our time on wandering rather than being awed! There were many temptations/opportunities to turn around & go home but we maintained because we knew that what was promised would be good.
The same is true of our Journey/Venture of Faith.
There are many Challenges to that Journey...There are many Challenges to that Venture to which we are directed by God. A Journey/Venture Challenged by heavy traffic.
Our trip to McAdenville, NC(Christmas Town) the last weekend before Christmas 2012.
We drove our grandsons of 3 & 5yrs. to McAdenville. We had been near the area on a shopping venture when we decided to go to McAdenville in the evening to show them the Christmas lights. Of course we got lost at one point(we didn’t have a GPS) but finally got on track. We were told by an officer at a barricade the correct way into town. We went down the road which T-boned into a 3-lane road which right lane was rapidly filling with cars to McAdenville.
We waited to get into traffic but some kind soul let us in. We then crept along for about an hour(?) completing the mile(or less) to the entrance to town. We thankfully had a video player in the van, which we had installed for our kids when they were on boring trips.
Once in McAdenville, we opened the windows & saw the beautiful Christmas lights & heard the sounds of cheerful people talking as they walked the streets, with seasonal & Christmas music playing.Both Isaac & Wesley were thrilled! We all had a great time!
As we exited McAdenville onto interstate 85N. As we looked north, the far right southbound lane of I-85 was backed up beyond the farthest hill with anxious people anticipating McAdenville’s charms before Christmas!
Had we gotten ‘fed-up’ with the traffic, with the delays to our schedule, with the rude drivers, with the kids whining, etc., Had we ‘given up’, we would have missed the whole reason/treat of being there & would have wasted our time on wandering rather than being awed! There were many temptations/opportunities to turn around & go home but we maintained because we knew that what was promised would be good.
The same is true of our Journey/Venture of Faith.
There are many Challenges to that Journey...There are many Challenges to that Venture to which we are directed by God.
The same is true of our Journey/Venture of Faith.
There are many Challenges to that Journey...There are many Challenges to that Venture to which we are directed by God.
Need:
We have a Need, as Christians, to remain faithful, completing the Journey which has been chosen for us by God in Christ.
Genesis records Abram’s encounter with YaHoWeH & his resultant/subsequent actions of faith.
Encountering God calls us to a venture/journey by faith.
What limits/hinders the venture of faith?
What is challenged in a journey of faith?
12 challenges to the venture/journey of faith.
A challenge to our journey of faith lies in...
1. Our HOME(11:26-32)
2. Our RELATIONSHIPS (11:26-32)
3. Our COMMUNITY(11:27-28, 31)
4. Our DIRECTIVE(12:1)
5. Our ABILITY To BLESS(12:2)
6. Our FUTURE(12:3)
7—A challenge to our journey of faith lies in...
Our WILLINGESS(12:4-5)
Explanation: (12:4-5)
12:4—“So Abram departed as the LORD had spoken to him, & Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.”
Abram left his land, extended family, & immediate family, as God had personally instructed(“had spoken”) him.
Previously after personally hearing from God, Abram had left Ur with his extended family(minus Nahor(11:31)) et al. This first of Abram’s moves left him at Haran until the death of his father, Terah(Acts 7:4).
Following Terah’s death, it is stated here that Abram actually leaves Haran, specifically heading for the land of Canaan(12:5), something he had intended to do all along(11:31).
“Lot” accompanied Abram, seeing as his father Haran & grandfather Terah were both dead(Gen. 11:28; Acts 7:4).
Abram was “75 yrs. old” when he left Haran. He would go on to live 175 yrs.(Gen. 25:7).
Abram is of some age now, being “75 years old.” Since Terah lived to be 205 yrs.(11:32) & he had fathered the first of the three boys at 70 yrs.(11:26), we are left with a 60 yr. period previous to Abram’s birth within which Abram’s brothers had been born. Thus Abram must have been born in Terah’s 130th year. If Abram had been the first-born or they were triplets, Abram would have been 135yrs. old when he left Haran.
12:5—“Then Abram took Sarai his wife & Lot his brother’s son, & all their possessions that they had gathered, & the people whom they had acquired in Haran, & they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan.”
Abram took his wife “Sarai,” his nephew “Lot,” & all their “possessions” & “people.” They had “acquired” all these while living in Haran. Abram must have been a man of some means in order to have “people” under his authority.
Many people were under Abram’s authority & moving them was surely a challenge, though he was a nomad. Abram was not a ‘lone wolf’ as it were. It was not a solitary move. Others had to have been convinced that Abram’s encounter with his God was real.
Abram was bound for Canaan. Abram’s entourage entered Canaan.
“because this one[Haran] of the three sons died, his son had to take his place in the line of primogeniture. He had to take his father's place. And so Lot is mentioned because he takes the place of his father... He then is treated more like a son than a grandson. In fact, Abram himself, who is his uncle, takes him under his wing,... & takes him into the land of Canaan with him. So since Haran died before his father Terah, died, his son, Lot, took his place as if he were a son.”—John MacArthur
Argumentation:
*Josh. 24:14-24—““Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity & in truth, & put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River & in Egypt. Serve the LORD! And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me & my house, we will serve the LORD.” So the people answered & said: “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; for the LORD our God is He who brought us & our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, who did those great signs in our sight, & preserved us in all the way that we went & among all the people through whom we passed. And the LORD drove out from before us all the people, including the Amorites who dwelt in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.” But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the LORD, for He is a holy God. He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. If you forsake the LORD & serve foreign gods, then He will turn & do you harm & consume you, after He has done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “No, but we will serve the LORD!” So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the LORD for yourselves, to serve Him.” And they said, “We are witnesses!” “Now therefore,” he said, “put away the foreign gods which are among you, & incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “The LORD our God we will serve, & His voice we will obey!””
*Mat. 7:15-28—““Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down & thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, & done many wonders in Your name?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, & does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: & the rain descended, the floods came, & the winds blew & beat on that house; & it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, & does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: & the rain descended, the floods came, & the winds blew & beat on that house; & it fell. And great was its fall. And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching,”
Mat. 21:28-31—““But what do you think? A man had two sons, & he came to the first & said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ “He answered & said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it & went. Then he came to the second & said likewise. And he answered & said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. “Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors & harlots enter the kingdom of God before you.”
Further Concepts:
the old man
giving up the pre-Christ life
I was... but now am changed
Illustration:
The Carson family/Missionaries to Bangladesh/But when they signed up for mission service they had a very different country in mind/Did they stop? Did they say, ‘No way!’ did they walk away angry? Did they throw their hands up & quit?—NO!!/They remained Willing...to serve God in any capacity...Willing to answer the call!/Our WILLINGESS
Seriously consider our Lottie Moon Easter Offering for National Missions/Annie Armstrong Christmas Offering for International Missions/Our WILLINGESS
We love to watch home renovation shows on HGTV/The Before & After is the hook/The vision & foresight is incredible/But it comes at a price!/The homeowner must submit to the renovation!/They must trust the designer with their money!/Our WILLINGESS
Likewise, I must trust God(the designer) with my life. I must give Him all I have, all that I can’t seem to afford. To trust His work.
Shopping for a new car or truck/What are you willing to give up?...Rather What are you willing to accept?...What do you really need?/Do I need Satellite Radio, Satellite TV, a Sun Roof, Movie player with screens in each headreast?/Our WILLINGESS
Shopping for a new house to be home/What are you willing to give up?...Rather What are you willing to accept?/Our WILLINGESS
Application:
?Is WILLINGESS a daunting Challenge to your Journey of Faith?
?You overcome the Challenges to your Journey of Faith?
8—A challenge to our journey of faith lies in...
Our SOCIETY/CULTURE(12:6)
Explanation:(12:6)Entrenchment/Teaching/World
12:6—“Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.”
Abram’s entourage came as far as the site of “Shechem.” At “Shechem,” stood the oak of Moreh. Canaanites were living in the land when Abram arrived.
Shechem is known to be located in the valley between Mt. Ebal & Gerazim in the modern West Bank of Israel.
There was evidently a well-known location marked by a particular tree, which was associated with a person by the name “Moreh.” Abram did not travel beyond this tree.
It is very possible that “Moreh” employed this particular tree as a teaching point, seeing as “Moreh” means ‘teacher.’ Evidently it was a teaching point for some form of paganism centered near the city of Shechem, as “the tree” is also referred to as the Diviner’s Tree”(Jud. 9:37). The valley separating Mt. Gerizim & Mt. Ebal is called the valley of Shechem(a Canaanite prince, the son of Hamor the Hivite, & associated with Jacob in Gen. 33).
It appears that some of the names in the OT arise, not thru their parents, but thru some definitive event or action by which they are distinguished in adulthood. To this are added place names which carry thru generations beyond the originating persons themselves. Shechem may be one such person. Thus Shechem is only seemingly anachronistic since this actual record is after the Exodus for the children of Israel who will be entering the land of Canaan.
The city of Shechem is known to be located in the valley(Valley of Shechem) between Mt. Ebal & Gerazim in the modern West Bank of Israel.
The “terebinth of Moreh” is referenced in Deut. 11:29-30, where it is said to be situated between Mounts Ebal & Gerizim.
Deut. 11:29-30—““Now it shall be, when the LORD your God has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim & the curse on Mount Ebal. “Are they not on the other side of the Jordan, toward the setting sun, in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the plain opposite Gilgal, beside the terebinth trees of Moreh?”
The Terebinth Tree in Shechem is referred to as “the Diviner’s Terebinth Tree” in Jud. 9:37.
Jud. 9:37—“So Gaal spoke again & said, “See, people are coming down from the center of the land, & another company is coming from the Diviners’ Terebinth Tree[in Shechem(:31)].””
Israel would become well aware of the inherent dangers of the Canaanites. The Canaanites were to be supplanted by Israel who were to become the true witnesses of God on earth.
“The Canaanites” were a continual threat to God’s authority because they had gone their own way. Their sin of totally abandoning God was such that it warranted their being uprooted & replaced.
Abram & his entire household would have to operate within a society & culture given to paganism.
Society—‘The community of people living in a particular country or region & having shared[similar] customs, laws, & organizations. MW—a. ‘An enduring & cooperating social group whose members have developed organized patterns of relationships through interaction with one another; b : A community, nation, or broad grouping of people having common traditions, institutions, & collective activities & interests.
Culture— ‘The attitudes & behavior characteristic of a particular social group.’ MW—‘The customary beliefs, social forms, & material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also : the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life} shared by people in a place or time.’
Basically ‘Society’ is the grouping of peoples thru commonalities & ‘Culture’ is the behavior borne out of that Society. Society is the grouping, Culture is the result/manifestation.
Argumentation:
*Jn. 6:57-66—““As the living Father sent Me, & I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. “This is the bread which came down from heaven--not as your fathers ate the manna, & are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever.” These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum. Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, & they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, & who would betray Him. And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” From that time many of His disciples went back & walked with Him no more.”
Returned to their former societal & cultural acceptances.
*1Jn. 5:18-21—“We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, & the wicked one does not touch him. We know that we are of God, & the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one. And we know that the Son of God has come & has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; & we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God & eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.”
“The wicked one” can touch us thru society & its corresponding culture.
**Jn. 17:11-18—““Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, & I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; & none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I come to You, & these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; & the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.”
*2Cor. 6:12-7:1—“You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open. Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.” Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons & daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.” Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh & spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.”
If secular Society/Culture is immersed in their “own affections” then it is “restricted” in its relationship with God & thus Society/Culture dictates itself by those norms & limitations.
*1Jn. 2:15-17—“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, & the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, & the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”
*Jn. 15:18-19—““If the world hates you[disciples], you know that it hated Me[Jesus] before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
Rom. 12:17-18—“Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”
*1Jn. 5:1-5—“Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, & everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God & keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
*Rom. 12:1-2—“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good & acceptable & perfect will of God.”
Illustration:
Muslim society & culture is dictated by Muslim norms & the specific interpretations of those norms/Voice Of the Martyrs—northern Nigeria/Muslims severing the limbs of Christians/Our SOCIETY/CULTURE
Your answer for non-Christian behavior—“Well, everybody’s doing it!”/Our SOCIETY/CULTURE
Application:
?Is SOCIETY/CULTURE a daunting Challenge to your Journey of Faith?
?You overcome the Challenges to your Journey of Faith?
9—A challenge to our journey of faith lies in...
Our FEAR(s)(12:6)
Explanation: (12:6)
12:6—“Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.”
“Canaanites” were already the inhabitants of the land at the time Abram entered & passed thru it.
Gen. 10:15-19—“Canaan begot Sidon his firstborn, & Heth; the Jebusite, the Amorite, & the Girgashite; the Hivite, the Arkite, & the Sinite; the Arvadite, the Zemarite, & the Hamathite. Afterward the families of the Canaanites were dispersed. And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon as you go toward Gerar, as far as Gaza; then as you go toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, & Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.”
Spiritual:—The ‘FEAR’ would arise for Abram in that he would remain true to his God(the true God) in the midst of perverted worldviews of the Canaanites. Abram would have to establish relationships with these people groups.
*Young & old alike have a fear of ‘not fitting in’, of ‘not being accepted’, of being to enjoy only the fringes of society.
Physical:—As the Israelites about to enter the promised land—They heard the report from the spies(Num. 13-14) & weighed it against the direction of YaHoWeH.
Unfortunately Fear moved them away from God & an entire generation died in the wilderness.
Established boundaries, control, power bases. As Christians growing up with a democratic political system founded on Christian value & principle, we do not grasp the pressures upon our faith.
Christian nationals in countries fundamentally opposed to Christian truth, face incredible FEARs!
Argumentation:
Gen. 15:1—“After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.””
Gen. 26:17-25—“Then Isaac departed from there & pitched his tent in the Valley of Gerar, & dwelt there. And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them. Also Isaac’s servants dug in the valley, & found a well of running water there. But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water is ours.” So he called the name of the well Esek, because they quarreled with him. Then they dug another well, & they quarreled over that one also. So he called its name Sitnah. And he moved from there & dug another well, & they did not quarrel over it. So he called its name Rehoboth, because he said, “For now the LORD has made room for us, & we shall be fruitful in the land.” Then he went up from there to Beersheba. And the LORD appeared to him the same night & said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you & multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.” So he built an altar there & called on the name of the LORD, & he pitched his tent there; & there Isaac’s servants dug a well.”
Gen. 46:2-3—“Then God spoke to Israel in the visions of the night, & said, “Jacob, Jacob!” And he said, “Here I am.” So He said, “I am God, the God of your father; do not fear to go down to Egypt, for I will make of you a great nation there.”
Jacob was not to fear traveling to Egypt...However we must remember that ‘lack of fear’ would bring enslavement to all Israel for 400 yrs.
Ex. 14:8-16—“And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, & he pursued the children of Israel; & the children of Israel went out with boldness. So the Egyptians pursued them, all the horses & chariots of Pharaoh, his horsemen & his army, & overtook them camping by the sea beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, & behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, & the children of Israel cried out to the LORD. Then they said to Moses, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, ‘Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?’ For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness.” And Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand still, & see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The LORD will fight for you, & you shall hold your peace.” And the LORD said to Moses, “Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. But lift up your rod, & stretch out your hand over the sea & divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.”
People holding positions of height & might as well as the lowest beggar face Fear. People of every degree of responsibility face Fear. This fear is deep seated within our human nature because we have no knowledge of outcome. Therefore we must trust the Omniscient & omnipotent God in all circumstances.
Num. 13:25-14:10—“And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. Now they departed & came back to Moses & Aaron & all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them & to all the congregation, & showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told him, & said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk & honey, & this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified & very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, & the Amorites dwell in the mountains; & the Canaanites dwell by the sea & along the banks of the Jordan.” Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, & said, “Let us go up at once & take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, & all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); & we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, & so we were in their sight.” So all the congregation lifted up their voices & cried, & the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses & Aaron, & the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives & children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader & return to Egypt.” Then Moses & Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. But Joshua the son of Nun & Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; & they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land & give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk & honey.’ “Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, & the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.” And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.”
We all face Fear, even as Christians! We are unable to appreciate the direction in which the LORD is leading us because of a lack of knowledge regarding our circumstances. But we must trust God Who knows the outcome, knowing that our call is to be obedient!
Rev. 2:8-11—““And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write, ‘These things says the First & the Last, who was dead, & came to life: “I know your works, tribulation, & poverty (but you are rich); & I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews & are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, & you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, & I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.”’”
Though they are told that suffering awaits, they are told not to Fear. The promise of eternal life in heaven is enough.
Acts 20:22-25—[Paul to the elders of the Ephesian church]““And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains & tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, & the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more.”
Paul had ministered at Ephesus for a minimum of 2 years. He loved the people but he loved obedience to God even more!
Illustration:
We have a leak around the vent in our bathroom/It has made the ‘popcorn’ fall off of our ceiling/I know it needs to be fixed—I have tarred the roof end of the vent—But I have yet to fix the damage done to the ceiling/I have no confidence in my ability to fix it properly/Our FEAR
Our front door is wooden/It is in dire need of refinishing/I am afraid to launch into refinishing it/ I have no confidence that I can put a similar finish on it/Our FEAR
Application:
?Are FEAR(s) a daunting Challenge to your Journey of Faith?
?You overcome the Challenges to your Journey of Faith?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
McAdenville trip/Temptations to turn back.
Action:
A challenge to our journey of faith lies in...
7. Our WILLINGESS(12:4-5)
8. Our SOCIETY/CULTURE(12:6)
9. Our FEAR(s)(12:6)
1. Our HOME(11:26-32)
2. Our RELATIONSHIPS (11:26-32)
3. Our COMMUNITY(11:27-28, 31)
4. Our DIRECTIVE(12:1)
5. Our INTEGRITY(12:2)
6. Our FUTURE(12:3)
Presented 02/10/2012pm to:
Needmore Baptist Church
1620 Mt. Vernon Rd.
Woodleaf, NC 27054
