letting God lead

Numbers 14:1-10a

Vs. 7: “And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.”

The phrase ‘to search it’ means there was a reconnaissance mission to find out how to go forward in God’s will. Prayer & fasting, coupled with saturation of the Word, will bring that to light.

Vs. 8a: “If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us.”

‘If the Lord delights’ hinges on God delighting in us while being obedient to His word & will. ‘Then he will bring us’ accompanies the Lord delighting and our obedience, but doesn’t always mean we are to go forward. Sometimes we must be patient & wait right where we are while He brings & gives what He has for us. Though here we see that God’s delight and our obedience is what will bring us into the land of promise. That is God’s plan for our life.

How is this accomplished?

1. When God moves, you move!

Vs. 9a: “Only rebel not ye against the Lord…”

YOU is implied emphatically as the one that should not rebel. If God is moving DON’T stand in the way! A friend of mine once gave the analogy of God being the engineer of a train. Now we have the choice of either being on the tracks or on the train. If we are on the tracks, God will run us over. As we are His children He wants us to obey & if not then we are asking for the chastisement. But if we are on the train then we get the opportunity to experience His blessing of doing His will.

2. While God is moving, don’t fear.

Vs 9b: “neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them…”

This is so cool! He is saying to not be afraid as the people that are in the land already are more afraid of you than you of them! They don’t have a leg to stand on with God and you against them! Amen! Being on God’s side makes it so much easier especially knowing that the moving forward is part of His will.

3. Watch God while you move!

Vs 9d: “and the Lord is with us…”

Keep your eyes glued to the One doing the work. Too many times I tend to focus on what I think I’m doing for God. It is at these times that God politely puts me in my place only to tell me that it isn’t me doing the work. It’s Him working through me in order for Him to get the glory. I’m glad God is merciful enough to remind me gently instead out of vengeance.

4. Willingly move with God.

Vs 24a & b: “But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully…”

Moving begins in the heart long before it gets to the feet! If you are ever going to follow God it MUST begin in the heart. The action of your heart is closely linked to all the other areas of your body; mind, eyes, ears, mouth & etc. People say that your heart must be in something in order to do it; though I know many that did something without any part of their heart being involved. It’s the same with following God. If it truly comes from God, it will begin in your heart & then travel throughout thus making it easier to follow with your feet. Hence the prayer & fasting coupled with the Word. The only way to follow God is fully – no half-heartedness!

Proverbs 3:5 & 6, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thine ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” (bold for emphasis)

the word is resort

Deuteronomy 1:42b, “Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies.” this post accompanies combined heartache and joy. the heartache is not even a drop as to what my Lord experienced on the cross.

as previously posted, beyond a shadow of a doubt, I believe God called me to the mission field. along with my salvation, I am certain of the call. this is the 2nd time He has called me to missions with the 1st being at age 15. now here is the heartache. it is NOT for the foreign mission field (although He revealed to me the place I could have served). that I traded in for what the devil had behind door #2. I vividly remember the moment I resorted to that life instead of the one God called me into. a chilling thought.

along with the aforementioned verse, I base this fact on the qualifications given for a pastor in I Timothy 3:1-6. the qualifications of a missionary are the same. the three that disqualify me are thus: not blameless, sexual immorality and the lack of good behavior. my sincerest apologies to my readers.

now here is the joy. what I thought was to foreign missions is actually to the town in which I live. God needs men, and women, to serve Him in the church just as much as on the field. both sets are called to live Godly lives. the things in which God has shown me to increase my faith need to be implemented in every Christian’s life. whether pew or pasture, God does not differ the guidelines to live a holy life.

now I have exuberant joy as this too is the will of God. true it is also a consequence but there are a multitude of those He should have given. thank God for His mercy! thank God I no longer have to resort but instead yield to Him.

journey in Him

hello again. yes it's been awhile and trust me, God has been blessing in so many ways it is all too exciting to contain within this blog. church, family and work has all seen God's miraculous hand throughout. I am only privileged to be a vessel.

Exodus 40:36 & 37, “And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys: But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.” these verses are both loaded with so much good stuff that I need to back up, get the steam going, then explain.

chapters 36-39 tell of how the Lord used the wisehearted within Israel to construct the tabernacle in the wilderness. then men were filled with the Holy Spirit as they performed the set tasks given to them. the bible says they did “as the Lord commanded Moses.” Moses was the leader so God told the leader and he in turn passed the memo down to the workers. every little detail was carried out as God commanded. nothing was let half done or waiting for someone else to complete. even the priest's were clothed according as God commanded. on top of all this every item was anointed for the service of the Lord. the items were sanctified, or set apart, to the Lord. this included every ladle, pan, candlestick and even the altar. even Aaron and his sons were anointed as they were the priests using those items on a daily basis. God wanted to make sure they were set apart as well.

now here is the good part... God commanded Moses to construct the tabernacle. He gave Moses the plans to the minutest detail. God gave Moses able-bodied individuals to carry out those tasks. those individuals carried out God's plan. then God set apart certain men to perform within the tabernacle to continue the plan. only then did God rest within the tabernacle. only then did God Himself reside within the tabernacle that He Himself had commanded to be built.

once we get God's command, enable those God gives us to carry out the command, and then perform the command will He then continue to reside. but it doesn't stop there. if the cloud moves, then we move. if the cloud stops, we stop. being in God's will doesn't matter where the cloud leads or where the cloud travels, you need to follow. can you see through a cloud? no. can you see around a cloud? no. so the only choice is to stay behind the cloud and follow. too many times I want to look around. too many times I want to look through. I've found it very difficult to look through, around or past my Lord. but that is exactly where He wants me. dependant upon Him to lead and trusting in Him while I follow on life's journey. I can only journey in Him. not through or around. but in Him.

right now God is working in my life. I don't feel qualified to carry out the task He has asked me to perform. but I do know that He will be my strength to perform said task. does my imagination try to look around Him? yes. does it try to look through? still yes. but I know one thing is certain. He is taking me to the mission field. see I must journey behind the cloud through this task in order to get to the mission field. that is why I must journey in Him.

hiding His face

today its been hide and seek. me hiding. God seeking. God hiding. me seeking. its been this spiritual teeter-totter that is making me sick. I didn't have an appetite for lunch and there wasn't much of one for dinner. I am aware of when things are done in the flesh and then in the Spirit. this constant back and forth.

I can say along with David in Psalm 30:7, “LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.”

I know He is allowing me to see this as I must understand I can't get to the mission field of my own accord. not only TO the mission field but the daily path en-route to the mission field! my preaching is too self-illustrated right now to preach in any church. plus He is training me to trust in Him for simple monetary support. both at the same time. these lessons must be learned. I only want God's will so through this we must go.

lead on Oh Great Jehovah, lead on. even if as I follow, my face is hid in your bosom as only there I find support.

hate in the harshest sense

I hate the devil. I hate what he does, what he stands for, how he destroys lives and how he uses the simplest of tricks to accomplish his deeds. I thoroughly hate the devil. it's the only time God will allow you to reference yourself as all other times it must be to Him. yet even then it is He that gives you that hate for the devil.

this past weekend was a milestone in the path of God's direction for my life. I made it public to my parents and church family that I have surrendered to God's calling to the mission field. do I know to where God has called me? the answer is yes... where ever He wants me. right now it's my hometown, the surrounding towns and the state. no place like home. but what many times we fail to realize is we are all called to be missionaries. if to no other place than our own hometown.

that's exactly the same place where the devil wants to stop you. see if he can stop you there then he knows you won't go where God wants you. this is no more evident than in Genesis 25:34 when Esau sold his birthright to his brother Jacob. and for what, a bowl of beans? no. he sold it to curb an appetite. one that could never be satisfied. and where did it happen? AT HOME! it wasn't at a conference in the next city, it wasn't in the next state and it wasn't in the Bahamas. it was at home. the exact place where the devil knew he could curb his appetite.

God has opened my eyes to see that I have a huge bullseye directly above me with the devil aimed and ready. and he's begun in my own comfort zone. exactly where he knows I can curb my appetite. so how will I make it to where God wants me? by realizing that, “God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power (II Timothy 1:7)” and relying on that,“Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (I John 4:4). that's why I hate the devil.