The middle
INTRODUCTION
A few months ago we were setting goals and visions for the year, we were so excited and full of anticipation for what is going to happen, for some of us it is going well and we are on track just pushing to get to the next level, for others it is not going well at all and we are getting frustrated or already frustrated wondering is the end ever going to or wondering am I going to see the promised land.
ecc 9:11I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift nor the battle to the strong, neither is bread to the wise nor riches to men of intelligence and understanding nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.
12For man also knows not his time [of death]: as the fishes are taken in an evil net, and as the birds are caught in the snare, so are the sons of men snared in an evil time when [calamity] falls suddenly upon them
1. God will give you a vision or a dream and show you how it is going to end but he never shows you the processes that will be happening.itis amazing that life happens on the way and things don’t go the way that we planned it to go.
2. We need to know that God is true and faithfull that if he say that you are going to the promised land then you are going to the promised land.
3. But there is always a timeline between the saying and the receiving of the promise it is called the MIDDLE, it is important what we do in the middle that will determin if we put our selves in a place to receive.
4. God told the Israelites the promise but never shows you what fully lies ahead of you, Process always precedes receiving the promise.
5. The process is just as important to God as the end goal is, it is the time where the character and skill get developed to maintain the vision.
a. God protect the vision and the faith that you have, it is very overwhelming to see the challenges that are ahead of you .
6. A hateful middle
17 When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” 18 So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.]
13 But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand still and watch the LORD rescue you today. The Egyptians you see today will never be seen again. 14 The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”
15 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to me? Tell the people to get moving forward!
1. The Enemy will attack your dream and God given vision
The enemy becomes active in your life when he see that you are about to take hold of your destiny.
a. The enemy will come straight away to kill your vision, if he can get the vision early he has a chance to stop you, talk you out of it.
b. The enemy came after Mary & Joseph to kill jesus
c. We have to do what mary and joseph did they protected Jesus
d. We need to nurture our vision just like a baby
Temptation is a sign that Satan hates you not a sight of weakness or worldliness
1) We will all be tempted
a) We have to predetermine what we will in a circumstance before we get into the circumstance, often times it is too late when we are in the test.
b) Just because you are tempted doesn’t mean that you have sinned it is what we do with the temptation.
c) Temptation is not only sex but there are different types of temptation that we will face.
13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16
the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
i. Will Bring Fear
• When the Israelites saw the Egyptian army coming toward them they had fear come upon them,
• Many people have a fear of the unknown or what is going to happen in the future, we don’t have to fear the unknown because didn’t god say follow me as you have never been there, as we follow God he will take care of you. He knows the beginning from the end he knows the future.
• The devil will love to come and intimidate you out of your dream,
o They saw a multitude of soldiers’
o They had a a lot questions and anxiety about the future
Will we make it out alive
Can we do this
Fear has power not because bad things have happened but just in case they will happen
o Fear will make you act strange
Torment you
Angry
Over react in situations
see things that don’t exists
can paralyse you and make you ineffective
2 tim 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear and
timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.
fear and worry are like a rocking chair they will keep you busy but take you know where
o Story of a lump to stump
2. BITTER WATERS
22So 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.
23And 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
Three days from no where
Sometimes when youre three days from no where, your in a mind battle, youre become confused you don’t know where Gods is, you don’t know where you are.it doesn’t taste like it supposed to it has a bitter taste because this is not what you showed me Lord.
You know where you are going but this does not look like where you supposed to be at this time in your journey
Def of Bitter : hard to bear; grievous; distressful: a bitter sorrow.
• The journey sometimes has a bitter taste because of trials and hardships that happen along the way , sometime the journey happens to take longer and harder than expexted
• God reminds them that they must use what is in the hand, God spoke to moses to throw the wood into the water and the water became sweet.
• It is in the time that character is formed and we begin to moulded and shaped to become the person that God wants us to be and the person that can handle the end.
• STORY – OLIVE
3. Murmuring and complaining
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit
1 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. 2 For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. 3 Indeed,[a] we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. 4 Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. 5 Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.
• A murmorer and complainer have a attitude that nothing good enough.
o They were feed quail and manna from heaven, they saw a miracle after miracle but they were moaning about the menu
o We need to conscious that we don’t become a complainer
We need to develop a heart of gratitude
We need to speak the solution conscious and speak Gods word
It takes discipline to watch your words because our words have power and create our destiny
It is easy to speak what is wrong
• how ugly
• short
• uneducated
• poor
we need to build our selves up in the word
confessions
1. For I know the purposes which I am purposing for you, says Jehovah; purposes of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Jer 29:11
2. I am God’s childfor I am born again of the incorruptible seed of the Word of God, which lives and abides forever (1 Peter 1:23).
3. I am God’s workmanship, created in Christ unto good works (Ephesians 2:10).
4. I am a joint-heir with Christ (Romans 8:17).
5. I am more than a conqueror through Him Who loves me (Romans 8:37).
6. I am an overcomer by the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony
7. I am part of a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people (1 Peter 2:9).
8. I am the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).
9. I am the head and not the tail; I am above only and not beneath (Deut 28:13).
10. I am the light of the world (Matthew 5:14).
11. I am forgiven of all my sins and washed in the Blood (Ephesians 1:7).
12. I am redeemed from the curse of sin, sickness, and poverty (Galatians 3:13)
13. I am greatly loved by God (Romans 1:7; Ephesians 2:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:4).
God is too good to be unkind
God is too wise to be confused
When I can not trace his hand, I can always trust his heart.
4. Looking past God
3“You shall have no other gods before Me.
4“You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God
7 And the LORD said to Moses, “Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. 8 They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them. They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’”
God is simply prohibiting the worship of anything we make, mold or imagine. And God was driving at this because God knew and knows in His sovereignty that anything we use to try to mirror the majesty of our Maker is going to fall miserably short of communicating the totality of God's being. So God is saying, don't minimize the majesty of your Maker
Youre on the only contagious when you do whats right despite your fears
Today you have a choice to either let others determine your worth or let God
Break out comes before breack through
Who is God
• He is limitless
• King of kings
• The way where there seems to be no way
• Bright morning star
• God of Possabilties
• Almighty
• All powerfull
• Redeemer
• Forgiver
• Lover of my soul
• Jehovah gireh – my provider
• Jehovah Rapahe – my healer
• My banner
• Heaven could not contain him
• Death could not hold him
• Defender
• Captain of the conquers
• All suffient
• but He's indescribable.
• He's incomprehensible,
• He's invincible,
• irresistible.
• Friend
• Soon coming King
