Scripture: Genesis 13:14-18; Joshua 1:1-11; 1 Chronicles 4:10
Theme: Taking New Ground With God
INTRO:
Grace and peace this morning from God Our Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Did you know that you can learn a lot and grow a lot from just reading, gleaning, meditating and studying the Bible? It is amazing how rich and how deep its words are and how much knowledge, insight, wisdom and power they bring life into our lives.
I want to talk to you today about “Taking New Ground”. In particular about taking New Ground with and for the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. It is a subject matter that we find that is as old as humankind itself.
Listen to the words of Genesis 1:29 where the Lord blesses Adam and Eve and then gives them a mandate to take New Ground:
“Then God blessed them and said, ‘Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground.”
This morning we serve a moving, momentum God. While the LORD does rest and wants us to rest (the Sabbath) He also wants us to move; to be active. He wants us to take New Ground. We see this not only in Genesis chapter 1 but later on listen to what the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY tells Abram:
“Go and walk through the land in every direction, for I am giving it to you.” – Genesis 13:17
And still much later in the book of Joshua chapter one we read a passage that in essence is a foreshadowing of the life of a disciple where the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY tells Joshua:
“In 3 days you will cross the Jordan River and take possession of the land the LORD you God is giving you.” – Joshua 1:11
There is so much symbolism, so much deep truth in that little verse in Joshua is almost overwhelming:
+In 3 days +Crossing the Jordan River
+Take possession +Land the Lord your God is giving you
The whole Gospel message is almost contained in that little verse thousands of years before it would become a reality through the life and mission of Jesus our Messiah and LORD. The crossing of the Jordan River has always stood as a symbol of leaving one’s old life and beginning a new life. Of coming out of the wilderness and beginning a new life in the Promise Land.
The Christian Life; the life of being a disciple of Jesus is a life of movement; of both movement and Sabbath. The Christian Life is one of putting one’s shoulder to the wheel and then bringing one’s burdens and laying them at the feet of Jesus for a time of rest and revival.
It is tempting in this life to try to coast. To say to one, “You know, I am quite comfortable right where I am. I like this season of my life and I want to crystallize it. I want to stay right where I am. I have worked hard to get here and I feel good. Please tell someone else about taking New Ground. I like the ground I have already taken so let me just check out. Others can take New Ground but for me where I am I am comfortable.”
However, the Bible reveals to us that the LORD wants us to take us to higher heights and deeper depths. He wants to take us to places that we have never gone before with Him. He wants us to continually grow in our walk with Him.
Still there may be those who this morning may want to raise their hands and say – “Look, I am already redeemed, born again and filled with the Holy Spirit. I am already saved, sanctified and have God’s power pouring in and through my life. What more do I really need? Isn’t that enough and isn’t it enough just to pause and wait for either the Second Coming or My Home going? I already have enough on my plate as it is!”
But growing deeper and rising higher in God is not as much a goal as it is a Life Adventure.
Even if we have been serving the LORD for years, the truth is the LORD invites all of us to move forward onto new ground. He calls all of us to follow Him and in following Him we find ourselves on the mission of taking new ground.
One of the great old hymns in our tradition reminds us to always be in the mindset of taking New Ground:
“Lord, lift me up and let me stand,
By faith on Heaven’s table land.
A higher plane than I have found
Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.”
In the book of 1 Chronicles there is a man who became famous for a prayer that asked that very thing – his name was Jabez – his prayer is only a few words and they go like this:
“Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory.” – 1 Chronicles 4:10
Oh, God that you would allow me to take new ground for you. Oh, God that you would lead me to a deeper encounter with you so that my witness for you would be greater than ever.
This morning, I would like for us to look at a few things that can help us take New Ground – Physically, mentally, socially and spiritually. A few things that can help us experience a time of growth like Jabez, Abraham and Joshua. A few things that can help us be Christ followers who are enjoying the Born Again life but who are doing their best to become more like Christ.
What does it mean to take New Ground and how are some ways we can do that?
I. We get into God’s Holy WORD
One of the greatest ways to take New Ground is to read, study, meditate and saturate our lives with God’s Word.
We all know that we are supposed to read God’s Word. We are suppose to reach for our Bibles and take some time out each day and spend some quality time in the WORD.
But if we are not careful it is easy to let a day or two pass and then a week and then before we know it we haven’t really spend some quality time in God’s word in quite a spell. Or we convince ourselves all we need to do is read a verse for the day and then we have done enough.
Now, it is here we have to be honest with ourselves.
+One, we don’t want to go down the road of condemnation but at the same time we don’t want to simply give ourselves a pass.
+We have to look at our Christian Life as the most important thing that that we will ever do in this life. More important than the house that we live in, the job that we go to day after day and the money that we have in the bank is our personal relationship with the LORD.
We have to be convinced that how we treat God, how we live for Him is of utmost importance or we will never truly find a meaningful relationship with God nor will we be ready to meet Him when He comes again. We will find ourselves like the Parable of the Five Foolish Virgins and discover that we have been shut out.
Once we become convinced that the most important relationship that we experience in this life is the one we have with God then we will make the time to spend some quality time with His Word.
Most of the time each of us has enough time in the day to either to sit down with God’s Word, to listen to God’s Word or to focus on God’s Word for our Daily Bread. +If we have time to eat then we have time to spend with God’s Word.
+If we have time to drive then we can listen to God’s Word.
+If we have time to get on social media, watch TV or text, email or do the other 100’s of things we do each day then we have time to spend 5/10/15 minutes at least in the most important book of all – God’s Direct Words to His Human Beings.
For the WORD is the key that can open up to us so many amazing things that will help us physically, mentally, socially and spiritually.
+The more we read the WORD the better we will be able to see things.
The better we will be able to see ourselves, life in general and ourselves. Reading God’s Word will help you feel better about yourself and others. Reading the Bible will help you see yourself as one of God’s Masterpieces.
+The more we read the WORD the more our mind will become sharper and more focused.
The Bible tells us how we can obtain true wisdom, knowledge and insight. The Bible tells us how our minds can become renewed, healed and sealed in God’s Holy Spirit.
We need to see that each time we open the Word we are opening the doors that will help us take new ground. We are opening the doors that will enable us to have a deeper encounter with the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. And from those encounters we will see life in a whole new way.
+The more we read the Bible the more power we will receive to live as a Christian and the better we will be prepared to defeat the Devil in our lives.
It was not by accident that when Jesus was attacked by Satan in the Wilderness that Jesus used the Word of God.
Before we go to our second point this morning listen to these two verses of scripture:
“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” – Hebrews 4:12
“Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” – Ephesians 6:17
II. Secondly, we ask God to help us deepen our Prayer Life
We live in an exciting time. All around us there is all kinds of revolutions going on that we may not be aware. One of those revolutions involves a new technology that is being experienced all over our world. It is called 5 G.
Pretty soon all over the globe there will be 5 G.
What is 5 G?
It is revolutionary way of being able to use our smart phones, surf the web and down load data. 5 G will enable us to down load the same information in 3 ½ seconds that it just a few years ago took us over 2 ½ hours. It will enable us to be able to have real time conversation so there will no longer be any delay time. 5 G is one of the reasons why the self-driven car may become the car of the future.
But as fast, as clear and as instantaneous as 5 G is reported to be it can not compete with prayer – for our prayer time is the clearest, fastest and most instantaneous communication we can experience on this earth and it provides us direct access to the most powerful Being; the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!
You don’t have to be a certain color to pray. You don’t have to have a certain amount of education. You don’t have to have a certain amount of money to pray. All you have to do is to pray – pray with your mind or with your audible words. God hears both for God knows what is both in our hearts and in our minds.
There is no right or wrong formula for prayer – all the time you hear people say you have to say the right words the right way. They act as if God cannot be reached unless we use a prescribe formula. That’s just wrong.
God hears and answers prayers. He hears what we think, what we say in our heads and what we say out loud. He also speaks to us. Sadly, sometimes we are not tuned into His words; we are only tuned into our words and our wants and wishes.
Sometimes we have very selective hearing when it comes to God. God responds. God answers. It may be Yes. It may be No and it may even be Wait. The Holy Spirit will lead us if we allow Him to lead. He will speak to us if we are open. But He cannot speak to us if we don’t open our hearts and minds. He cannot speak to us if we have already decided to not obey or listen.
So, how do we deepen our prayer life so that we can gain New Ground.
+By first and foremost not to worry about some Prayer Formula and whether or not you are praying right.
After all, you are praying to Your Heavenly Father. So, we don’t need to be frightened or afraid that we are going to do something wrong or make God so mad that He never listens to us.
+We open up ourselves; our hearts, minds and souls
+We share our life with God and then allow God to share His Life with Us.
+We pray – we wait – we allow the Holy Spirit to talk to us – we listen – we respond – we grow and we discover that we are taking New Ground.
+We pray in the Holy Spirit.
That is to say we pray with the Holy Spirit. We allow the Holy Spirit to have freedom in our prayer life. We allow the Holy Spirit to lead us and guide us. We allow the Holy Spirit to help us to understand what we really want when we pray. And we invite the Holy Spirit to join in our prayer time.
Let us try to remember the Apostle Paul’s prayer revelation:
“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groaning that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.” - Romans 8:26-28
3. Thirdly, we leave unnecessary or harmful things on the other side of the Jordan River
That is to say we learn to leave some things behind and other things we get rid of when God tells us.
After crossing the Jordan River the Bible tells us that Joshua and God’s People were able to miraculously defeat the armies and people of Jericho. God co-operated with them to bring the walls down. It was a major victory and was to be the first of a series of victories as they would take the whole Promise Land.
However, we quickly read in chapter 7 where the small militia of Ai stopped this huge mass of 2 million people and nearly put them on their heels to turn around and go back either to the wilderness or to Egypt.
But then again that is what evil can do. When evil is not checked it will stop the strongest of God’s People.
+Adam and Eve did not check sin and it cost them the Garden of Eden
+Cain did not check sin and it led him to murder his brother
+Noah’s son Ham did not check sin and it caused him and generations of his children to be cursed
+Samson did not check sin and it brought about his downfall
+Jezebel did not check sin and it cost her life
+Judas did not check sin and it cause him to betray God’s Only Son
Joshua chapter 7 tells us that Achan did not check sin and it cost Israel a victory and in the end it cost him and his whole family their lives.
For what; a Babylonian robe, five pounds of silver and 20 ounces of gold. All together that would add up to around 33,000.00.
Now, that is a nice tidy sum – but was it worth his life, the lives of his wife and children not to mention the lives of 36 men and stopping the advancement of God’s People taking the Promise Land? Was 33,000 worth all of that?
Of course not!
But that is the way the Devil works – he offers us trinkets for jewels. He lies so that he can steal, lie, divide, create chaos and destroy. He will do anything to get us to focus our attention on ourselves and our own needs rather than be obedient to the LORD.
Achan had all the Promise Land before him. There would be tons of silver, gold and millions of garments available for him and for others. But he listen to the Devil and lost it all.
If we want to gain new ground this year as a church, as families and as individuals then we have to get rid of things that will cause us to put our eyes off of Jesus and on ourselves.
In the book of Chronicles (1 Chronicles) we read about the story of King Asa (chapters 14 – 16). He was committed to follow the LORD and do everything necessary to bring about a time of revival and renewal for the people of Judah. He did his best to purge his nation of idolatry and pagan worship. For over 25 years the land of Judah prospered so much that some of the northern tribes of Israel wanted to rejoin the southern kingdom of Judah. They witnessed the blessings that God was placing on a king who lived a sold out life.
All of his hard work, his faithfulness to God and God’s blessings brought about a Golden Age. A Golden Age that was supposed to last for decades. A Golden Age that was supposed to bring about God’s blessings upon His People. But during King Asa’s 36th year as King he started listening to evil. He first got mad at God. Then he imprisoned God’s prophet who had been sent to help him repent. Sadly, in just a few years not only did he die but so too did the Golden Age. King Asa allowed his anger and his pride to destroy his relationship with the LORD.
He had done so much to gain new spiritual ground for himself and for his people but he failed to keep on advancing. He decided that he had done enough with God and rejected God’s plan for the later stages of his life.
King Asa had been a perfect example of how to live a righteous life. He had been a perfect example of what it means to continually gain new ground spiritually, physically, mentally and socially. But he allowed the Devil to get his eyes off of God and on himself and his own selfish needs and wishes. And in doing so he not only stopped growing but he lost the blessings and favor God had for him and his people.
Gaining new ground is not just for young people. Gaining new ground is for young, middle age and senior age.
Joel 2:28 – “Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. You old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions.”
Psalms 92:14 – “Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green.”
We don’t have to be a King Asa – we can be more like a Daniel, an Anna, A Simeon, a Naomi, an Apostle John and a Joshua.
All of them were men and women who did not stop growing, did not stop gaining new ground. All of them were men and women who each passing year grew in God are Word, deepened their prayer life and knew how to put behind them anything that would hinder their growth and walk with the LORD.
This morning, don’t let the Devil make things in front of you a stumbling block. Instead, use them as stepping stones to go higher and gain New Ground for God.
4. Finally, this morning there is one more thing that can help us take New Ground this year – A YES ATTITUDE AND HEART
I read this story the other day:
It was about a man and his children. One day the man road home on an old beat up dapple-grey horse. His family thought he was crazy to have bought such a horse. But then they listened as he told them that he saw it and found out that it was going to go to the glue factory and he just could let the horse go that way.
The man decided that he would buy the horse and allow it to live out the rest of his days in comfort and pleasure. It wasn’t long until his children fell in love with Old Jim. They loved to ride him and it seemed like he loved it as well.
They would lead him to an old stump and as many of the children as they could they would jump on his back and ride him around the yard. As Old Jim would plod around the yard the children would imagine that they were in a rodeo, or roping cattle in a round up or whatever their imagination could ponder up.
But they discovered that there was one odd thing Old Jim would do. When he got tired he would walk into the backyard where the clothesline was hung. He would get beside it and very firmly but careful dump the children off his back. Then he would stand there with his eyes closed and become deaf to the children’s calls. He wouldn’t move until he had taken as much time as he wanted to rest. The children tried to coax him, badger him and even tell him that he had to obey them. But nothing worked. He was finished with them. Old Jim had a mind of his own.
Now, we may think that is funny and we may even agree with the horse. After all, a few minutes with a bunch of children riding you, screaming in your ears might be all we could ever want or enjoy. But being stubborn or obstinate is not the way we need to be with the LORD.
We need to be always ready to move – to grow – to take New Ground. We need to be ready to say – “YES, LORD, YES” and then get ready to move.
This morning, we can count on God’s Holy Spirit. He will lead us to deeper truths, to a deeper prayer life and a deeper and more meaningful relationship with Him, the Son and the Father. But we must be ready to follow His leading.
As we close this morning – Do we want to take New Ground?
+Do we want to know more about God – more about His Word so that God can give us wisdom, knowledge, insight and power to not only live but to live abundantly?
+Do we want a prayer life that involves more than words but answered prayer?
+Do we want an encounter with the LORD that is fresh; one that is not decades old and full of rust but one that is recent and that empowers you to be a fresh witness?
+Are we ready to leave some things behind that have been stumbling blocks in our spiritual lives?
+Are we ready to allow the LORD to shift us, prune us and remove any dross that may be in our lives?
+Can we say that we have or are developing a Yes Attitude when it comes to the LORD – YES, LORD, YES to Your Will and to Your Way?
This morning, this year can be a life changing year for all of us whatever age we are or whatever season we are in our walk with the LORD. It can be a year that we gain New Ground – let us determine that by this time next year we will have taken new ground spiritually, physically, mentally and socially.
