Transitions
Powerpoint 1 Series Title
Powerpoint 2 Message Title
Powerpoint 3 text:
Jos 5:12 And the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate some of the yield of the land of Canaan during that year.
Last week I preached on how one of Moses last acts on earth was to individually bless the tribes of Israel. It was one of the ways God prepared them for what was ahead. They were about to enter a serious transition, although in many ways a very good one. They were going from the wilderness to the promised land.
We usually don't associate danger with promotion and increase, but people fail and walk away from God just as much when things are going well, as when they are very difficult. That is most obvious in the world of entertainment, but it is also true in business, and almost every other venture in life. So God did several things to prepare the children of Israel to adapt to the situation on the ground. I will talk about them in weeks to come, but they include: Circumcision, Passover, and a visit by the commander in chief of the angel armies.
I will only touch lightly on our text today and will talk more at length on transitions, and a simple strategy on how to successfully navigate them.
Our text says the manna ceased. Perhaps the two most significant events that changed for the Jewish people are the one before us in our passage and another that is never spoken of in the bible. Both have to do with the way God related, and revealed Himself to His people.
The first had to do with how the children of Israel got their food. Paul in 1 Cor 10 tells us that what happened to them in the natural was to teach us spiritual principles.
Manna in the natural can be compared to spiritual daily bread. They went from being fed by their parent, to having to provide their own meals. Most children make the change very easily, but every now and then there is one or two that want to be baby fed. Paul laments this truth when he said, I gave you milk, and not meat, because you were a baby.
The child was not growing up.
The other major change for the children of Israel, and as I said this is never spoken of in the bible, is that the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night disappeared. One exception dedication of the temple by Solomon.
3 Purposes of the cloud and fire:
1. Direction
2. Illumination
3. Assurance - God is with us
The way a parent assures us changes over time. God changed the way He related to His children.
God changed and transitioned the way He chose to reveal Himself to the children of Israel. A lot of Jews were probably very troubled by that, probably felt God had left them. They probably kept looking for God to reveal Himself in the old familiar way, but He never went back to doing things that way.
Elijah the prophet wisely teaches us the way to handle that transition in his listening for God in the cave, while on the run from Jezebel. God was not in the fire, God was not in the mighty blowing with, God was not in the ground shaking, but God was in the still small voice. He wisely understood the whispers of God are just as true and as powerful, as when He shouts like in a hurricane.
Let's talk about transitions in general, and then we will move from there.
Transition is how we adapt when God or life requires us to move from one state of being to another.
Some transitions we choose some are thrust on us.
Success or failure in life is often determined by how we handle the transitions of life. This is true individually, as an organization, as a church body, as a business entity, and as a government.
Let me illustrate:
There is something in life we call the mid-life crises where people realize the candle of their life is getting shorter. Their body is changing with relentless passage of time. Some people at this critical time in their life make decisions that destroy their finances, destroy their families, and in many ways destroy their lives.
Young people going away to college, or a career, or the military invariably come to the reality that my life is my own I can do what I want. They are transitioning from childhood to adults. They are moving from one state of being into another, and they can make foolish choices that will affect them for a very long time.
Churches once successful and growing without the right leadership in the time of transition can implode. The neighborhood changed and they did not.
Society changed and they did not. (Not doctrine but how we relate and are relevant to the culture. For example when someone goes into a church with choir robes they are going to think they have time traveled back to the 1950's)
Some people die within a few months of retirement. Coincidence? Sometimes, sometimes it is a reflection that they couldn't handle the transition.
An industry on the cutting edge can easily fall off the side if they don't adapt to the ever changing marketplace: Blackberry, Lotus spreadsheet, Xerox desktop publisher, Xerox machines, Kodak camera's. Are all businesses that failed to change. Blackberry is still alive, but barely.
Transitional events can happen in a moment.
At any given time in life we are only:
A phone call, a text message, and e-mail, a 1 minute conversation away from a radical transition in the life we have come to know.
You can go from a vacation condo to an emergency room.
Rainfall to drought.
Married to single.
From empty nester to rejoicing grandparents.
From single to dating
From dating to single
From employed to unemployed
From unemployed to employed.
From a stable church to an empty pulpit
From overtime to your line at the factory being shut down.
Because transitional moments are so critical in our lives you will often find that God shows up in a special way in those moments to help us through.
In the case of the Jews going into the promised land the commander of the angel armies shows up and meets with Joshua, and I want to show you another example from the life of Jesus.
Just prior to a season of severe testing He had this wonderful moment where God the Father spoke this over Him: "This is My Beloved son in whom I am well pleased."
For 30 years He lived at home in relative peace and quiet. He is about to transition from serenity to tumult. Immediately after His Jordan river experience we read this:
PPT 4 text
Lu 4:1 And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,
Lu 4:2 Being forty days tempted of the devil...
Before I talk about how He overcame in that time of transition led me just mention that God will often times lead us to places we do not understand so that He can show us some wonderful aspects of His nature that we may have not fully realized.
If He leads you to a dark place, it is so you can learn He is the light of the world.
Valley - He is the Lilly of the valley.
Shaky ground - sure foundation
Emotional storm - He is my peace
Time of war - He is the Lord, strong and mighty in the battle
Season of crying - the great comforter
Season of constraint where your hands are tied - He is your freedom
Let's get back to Jesus being led from that wonderful scene at the Jordan to the desert.
So He goes from a foot stomping, hand clapping, snot running down your face, shouts of joy ringing, angels dancing, Holy goose bump raising, meeting in the river to a season of severe testing and trial, without the benefit of any physical nutrition.
There are two ways Jesus overcame in His time of transition.
That's right I said time of transition. He was a home boy, and He was moving into His role as savior of the world. This is that hallway in between. For Him it was a very short period of time, but it can last much longer.
So here are the two things that I think really helped him, and I can show they were the same things God gave Joshua.
First was the word spoken over Him, and second was the word that lived in Him.
First was the word spoken over Him. This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.
Jesus had all kinds of things spoken over Him:
Blasphemer
Illegitimate child
Demon possessed
Sinner
Drunkard and glutton.
He didn't allow the opinions of others to dominate His mental landscape. I don't accept your opinion. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. That is the opinion He lived in. Some where along your journey God needs to personally communicate that thought to you. His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
Then you can say If God be for me who can be against me?
So we see God preparing Jesus with special encouragement prior to testing, here is the same thing in the life of Joshua:
PPT 5 text
Jos 1:5 "No man will [be able to] stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.
When you have the word spoken over you, you can deal with most anything. If you hold on to it.
You can talk about me just as much as you please, I'll talk about you down on my knees. I don't care about your opinion, I'm resting on what my daddy said.
What I whisper in darkness, shout from the rooftops. God whispers in darkness. You will not be alone.
2ndly Jesus not only used the word spoken over Him, but the word that lived in Him. Get thee hence satan it is written....
Here it is in Joshua:
PPT 6 text
Jos 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success.
So there you have it, personal assurance of God's favor, and the word of God dwelling richly in you are two keys to help you successfully navigate the transitional moments of life.
Close: Prayer for those in transition
