God goes before me!
How many of you are dealing with “something” right now? How many of you are dealing with something BIG right now?? I know we have a lot of people that have something going on right now and have stuff that they have gone through. Anyone desperate for a word or just a handful of faith to hold onto? Yes/No?
We all like to think that we are sooo much stronger than what we really are. But it doen’t take much for us to find out otherwise. We are really just one “circumstance” away from the edge aren’t we? Sometimes we crash out at rock bottom. Sometimes we roll down the edge a little ways and end up beaten and bruised, but we find a grip somewhere and God starts helping us climb back up.
But today is not going to be about dwelling on that thing and climbing that “mountain”, conquering that “giant”, or just hanging on for dear life. No, what we are going to talk about, and what I want to get deep down into every spirit here is the cornerstone of the faith that we need to ENDURE. Because when we realize that God already knew all of this before we walked into it, and place our faith fully in Him, then we can experience that PEACE that He promises us in Phillipians.
Are you tired today?
Has life itself become the thing that you struggle to just get through?
Are you feeling like David today? For those of you who don’t know the story of David. Here’s the quick “Jeremy’s unapproved version”. David is a teenager taking care of his father’s sheep in the field. Samuel the prophet shows up like Gandalf and pulls him out from the rest of his brothers, pours oil all over his head, and “God says ‘YOU SHALL BE KING’!” Yall like that? Nerd flag!!!
And this is all just before the whole Goliath bit. So, we have David anointed to be King of God’s people Israel. Great news huh? Not just some tribal leader, or general manager of the local sheep union. No sir, the sovereign of all Israel….King. But fast forward just a little bit and after Goliath and after serving the current king Saul in his court, David ends up in a pretty tough spot. Ya, he was told he would be King and yet Saul is now actively trying to kill him. So, that brings us to 2 Samuel 3:39 where it begins with this statement. “I am weak today, though anointed king;…
Short, sweet, and to the point. Any of you resonate with this statement? Boy I sure have lately. Its incredibly frustrating. Its kinda depressing. It doesn’t necessarily start your day off with a great attitude.
So, now that we are all sufficiently depressed, let’s get into the message. And I hope that by the end of this message you will find hope. We are going to talk today through these “things” that we are all dealing with right now.
Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.
You know, I have been reading through the Old Testament stuff again and I wanted to specifically focus on some of those books that I just glazed over or didn’t really “READ”. And how many of you know that God’s word is ALIVE!!!??? It has life and spirit. John 1:1 says “In the beginning was the Word, and Word was with God, and the Word was GOD. You want the really short version of the answer to today? This book right here, this WORD right here is GOD’s WORD. It is GOD. All the answers are right here!!!!
Anyway, getting back on track……
Re-reading the Old Testament stuff….. And I get to Chronicles. Have any of you actually tried to read Chronicles???? There’s your homework for the week…..Go read through Chronicles (There’s 2 of them by the way!), and let me know what you think about it next week.
Whew, God be with you on that one.
Ok, so I’m reading Chronicles (yes, both of them) and oof……ugghhhh…….ohh Lord help me……and suddenly I saw it. Those of you who have read it are now asking, “What the heck did he find in Chronicles????”
Wait for it………. And this is so simple, and we overlook it every single day.
You ready for it?
Now you’re getting frustrated aren’t you? I hear the Lord saying He wants you to be patient. 😊 Ohh wait, that was just for me.
Just kidding, …..So over and over through king after king, the recurring theme is that for those leaders and kings who “did right in the eyes of the Lord” ……… it says that “AND GOD WENT BEFORE” them and they were successful in whatever it was they were doing. War, conquering, defending, whatever.
And that is all I want us to focus on today. To get deep down into our spirits that, if you are truly in God and following God, then He WILL GO BEFORE YOU!
Do you truly understand what is involved in just that one little phrase???
And the Lord went before………
Not after, not on a cleanup mission, not just WITH you (how many of us have listened to that before), BUUUUTTTTTTT……. The Lord Goes BEFORE YOU. Take just a minute to let that really sink in. The Lord God of everything. The one who spun all of space, matter, and time into existence goes out before ME? Yah…..He does.
So, lets look at a few verses here NOT in Chronicles that really hammer this thought home and give us such an undoubtable promise that we can’t help but hang our Faith on it!
Psalm 139:5 You go before me and follow me, You place Your hand of blessing on my head.
Bet you can’t guess who said that???? You better say David after my awesome retelling of his story!
You know you can’t get much more bipolar than David when you get to really reading the bible. He’s up, he’s down, he’s king, wait not yet, but he won, now he’s on the run……. Ughhh.
Who here can testify that its exactly that kind of struggle through life that will absolutely wear you out???? But reread that verse again right here. “YOU GO BEFORE ME -AND- Follow me” I still want us focused on that first part.
And now I want to read Psalm 13:2 all the way through.
13 How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God;
Enlighten my eyes,
Lest I sleep the sleep of death;
4 Lest my enemy say,
“I have prevailed against him”;
Lest those who trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
5 But I have trusted in Your mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation.
6 I will sing to the LORD,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.
Do I need to read that one again??? How many of you feel that one deep right now? I’ve only got 2 hands to raise so you know.
Do you feel FORGOTTEN today?
Do you feel like God has hid his face from you today?
Do you have SORROW daily?
Has your enemy been exalted over you? (I have no comment on that one!)
So, let me answer those questions for you straight from the word…..
Do you feel FORGOTTEN?:
Isaiah 49:16 - …”I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; …”
Yes, God invented the palm pilot! Sorry, that was terrible I know.
But get that thought firmly planted in your mind. Are you one of the ones that feels like you have been FORGOTTEN today?? I have news for you. If you are here today, then God knew it before hand. He knew you would be here on this Sunday to hear this message.
And do you know what He wants to tell you today? NOW LISTEN TO ME CLOSE! And back to our original verse: Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.
If you come here today feeling forgotten, then hear these words and HOLD ON TO THEM. You are NOT forgotten. His words, not mine! So, even in the darkest of times. When you can’t even feel like you are seen by anyone and feel forgotten. HE sees you, HE knows you, He LOVES YOU!
Do you feel like God has hidden His face?:
We can tie that one tightly to the previous one. Do you feel like you were once “there” with God? You know what the feeling of God shining on you feels like. WOW, isn’t that an awesome feeling. Like the sky opens up with bright blinding light and the angel chorus is singing. Ohh man, that is a great place to be. But when the opposite is true, and you feel like nothing is getting through to or from heaven. Those can be some seriously lonely times. I’ve been there…..heck even recently! Sometimes that feeling is worse than being forgotten. You know that He is there, but you just aren’t getting through to Him and He isn’t getting through to you.
But we have hope.
Hebrews 13:5 - …”I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Sounds kinda familiar doesn’t it?
Do you need one that actually says that He wont hide his face from you?
Ezekiel 39:29 – “And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel, ‘ says the Lord God.”
Let me pour one more verse on here that adds context to right now!
Joel 2:28 - 28 “And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
People this is happening now! God is pouring out His spirit on all flesh. HE IS GOING BEFORE US EVEN AS WE SPEAK! Do you think that I can get up here and talk to you like this without His strength and spirit? Absolutely not! So, if He is pouring out His spirit, then we can reread the first part of Ezekiel 39:29 – “And I will not hide My face from them anymore;
So don’t think He is hiding from you. Seek Him and you will find Him again. Keep knocking on heaven’s door, and He WILL answer. Beat on that door, not out of frustration or anything like that, but FERVENTLY seek and knock until you get the answer you need. He tells us to do it, so He isn’t going to get mad at you. He has Gone Before us and TOLD us to seek and knock.
Do you have SORROW?:
Many of us have lost loved ones over the past couple of years. Especially here in this church. Are any of you here today with sorrow on your heart. That’s a heavy burden isn’t it? Like a weighted blanket holding us down sometimes. Sorrow takes some time doesn’t it? But our God is so patient, and He is so good.
Psalm 34:18 – “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Jeremiah 31:13 – “… I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.”
I don’t know how to say it any simpler than that. God is telling us through His word that He sees our sorrow.
Wait, here we are again……. He knew we would have sorrow? Sure did! And He has gone before us. He isn’t waiting to scrape up the broken pieces. I want to say that again…… He isn’t waiting to scrape up BROKEN PIECES!!!! He has gone BEFORE YOU. We just read that He is CLOSE to the brokenhearted and those crushed in spirit. Are you here today and have SORROW? HE IS CLOSE TO YOU!!!!! He wants to give you Comfort! I know I could use some of that comfort today!
Look yall, I didn’t come here today to bring anyone down. I just realize that there is sooooooo much pulling all of us down right now. But when you read this WORD, you read the “little w” words in His “big letters” W.O.R.D. and get them into your spirit, you can push back on the darkness. You can push back on the SORROW. You can see that He is NOT hiding His face from you. You can realize that you are NEVER FORGOTTEN.
He is Lord of all creation and He, not some messenger, not some angel, not some minion, HE is near to you today!
There is freedom from whatever has you in bondage TODAY!
There is HOPE in the darkest of places!
He is smiling on you from heaven!
You are NEVER FORGOTTEN, and your name is written on His palm!
In the midst of your enemies, HE HAS GONE BEFORE YOU!
HE HAS GONE BEFORE YOU! The war is already won! The battles may still rage on, but for just a short time.
Do you have a Mountain in your way today? Do you have a Goliath to face? Are there closed doors and gates in your way? Listen to this one last verse and find HOPE today.
Isaiah 45:2-3 I will go before you and will level the mountains[a]; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
If you need to know this God that I speak of today, come down and talk to me or one of the other leaders. We will point you to the one who has already GONE BEFORE YOU. He has all the answers because He already knew everything about you. Come meet my God today! And all those verses that give us hope, you can have all of those promises too!
Come today and leave your brokenhearted, abandoned, searching, lost and confused. Leave all of it on this altar in the hands of the God who has already conquered all of those things and who gives us life everlasting and riches beyond measure.
