2 Corinthians 6:9-11 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully…
We’re not just “trying” to PASSIONATELY PURSUE the Lord. We are “training” to passionately pursue the Lord! If you just try to bench press your weight it can be very discouraging. But you can train to bench press your weight and make progress to get there. Training physically and training spiritually have a lot of resemblance.
We’ve come into a season of KINGDOM ADVANCE! Acceleration is taking place, and this requires greater precision in our pursuit or we can more rapidly deviate from God’s intended pathway for our lives and for our legacy. Foundational truths matter more than we may realize to hold us on course. So, we return to the five foundational truths we know God has given us as a church family to focus on and to grow in together.
Jesus came bringing God’s Kingdom into the world where many kingdoms exist, and this means war!
Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” ESV
Making room and taking time for a conversational relationship with God will awaken amazing things that exist within you. We are designed to experience, explore and express God’s presence to the world around us. “Unto us a child is born” and “He will be called Immanuel” which means “God with us”. The nearness of God is always there. We must work on our awareness of the nearness of God practicing the presence of God as our way of life.
Whisper was a dog, but he was part of the family. He couldn’t be trusted to be left home alone without being locked up. We learned this the hard way. I’d recently purchased a pair of Cole Haan dress shoes which were very expensive compared to what I’d normally spent on shoes. Tracy and I came home from a nice meal out only to find that Whisper had used my new shoes as a chew toy. I was furious! He writhed around in shame as I held the shoe in my hand. The deep emotion of anger I felt led to a deep emotion of shame this dog was feeling in the presence of his mistake. Once I put the show away he was his normal happy self.
Acts 3:1-16 Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o’clock prayer service. 2 As they approached the Temple, a man lame from birth was being carried in. Each day he was put beside the Temple gate, the one called the Beautiful Gate, so he could beg from the people going into the Temple…
Giant Killers in Egypt have forgotten who they are. Giant killers in the Wilderness are learning what’s inside. Giant killers entering the Promise are awakened to the deeper realities of God. I'm realizing this movement from the grace of Moses (who parted the waters on behalf of the people while they watched) to the grace of Joshua (who mobilized the people to cross the waters in their own faith and trust in God) is extremely significant in this hour of the church as we learn to live in light of eternity.
The greatest work God does in our lives is not what he does for us but what he does in us to cause us to become who he designed us to be in the first place.
Notice when the Israelites came out of Egypt it wasn’t just an easy road to freedom. They faced the Red Sea right up front to help them see what existed within their own hearts. The walked three days into the wilderness before finding water and they complained. The problems in our lives reveal the content of our hearts. In doing so we have the opportunity to address the deeper issues of our lives that we didn’t know were there. This is the process that is part of the promise so you don’t arrive too quickly without being prepared for war.
Exodus 13:17-18 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. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle. NLT
Giant killers in the wilderness are those who have come out of the world’s system but have more capacity than they do ability. Process turns capacity into ability.
Suffering reveals what’s truly inside as does success. “Money changes people.” Money doesn’t change you. Money reveals you. Both success and suffering reveal what’s inside.
The Israelites are wondering around in the wilderness and come face to face with the opportunity to go to war but the thoughts they rehearsed were how big the giants were in the land. And truly those giants are big compared to you but they are small compared to God. The thoughts you rehearse will either silence capacity or awaken ability.
Nothing is as vexing as frustrating your identity. When who you are isn’t right, nothing you do can fix it. We all agree pregnancy has the right to be cranky. Christians who never give birth are continually complaining and being cranky. It’s not until you get fruitful that you will get free! Complaining is a symptom of an unfulfilled, boring life. The only way you have time to complain or gossip about my life is if there is nothing happening in yours!
Numbers 14:1-10 Then the whole congregation lifted up their voices and cried out, and that night the people wept. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.” 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown before the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the whole congregation of Israel, “The land we passed through and explored is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the LORD delights in us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and He will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, for they will be like bread for us. Their protection has been removed, and the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them!” 10 But the whole congregation threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb… ESV
When you discover your God-given identity and move from capacity to ability not everybody in your life will celebrate you but God will sustain you! Joshua and Caleb later become Giant Killers in the promised land. Giant killers are coming out of the wilderness. You were born for more than showing up at church services as often as you can fit them into your busy schedule.
We gather as the church to breath in the very breath of God together in a way that we cannot alone. Out of this atmosphere we are awakened to go be the church. This atmosphere grows giant killers!
Invite somebody you trust in your five-foot circle to help you identify complaining so you can address the deeper issues.
THE ABUNDANT LIFE: Giant Killers in the Wilderness
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Click here for a downloadable pdf file of this guide.
Our 2022 New Year’s Revelation as a church family is EVERYONE IS CREATED FOR ABUNDANT LIFE! The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy but realize the aim of death is not to kill you but to keep you from the fulness of life until you die. Distraction is destruction of what could have been in your life.
John 10:10b “...I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].” Amplified
We are called to be the giant killers of our generation. Some giant killers still live in Egypt, some live in the wilderness and some are moving into the Promised Land. The greatest tragedy of indifference is the life you never live and the difference you never make in the lives of other people.
Great encouragement comes from rehearsing God’s Word. It is God’s plan is for us to hear his voice together as a family and that is why we start each group with this question first:
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
1. Where are you reading in your Bible and what are you sensing from God?
Ask each person in your group to answer the discussion questions below after reading the verses. Realize there is great power in just reading the Bible together and allowing the Holy Spirit to awaken his conversational nature in the group.
Numbers 14:1-10 Then the whole congregation lifted up their voices and cried out, and that night the people wept. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.” 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown before the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the whole congregation of Israel, “The land we passed through and explored is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the LORD delights in us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and He will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD, and do not be afraid of the people of the land, for they will be like bread for us. Their protection has been removed, and the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them!” 10 But the whole congregation threatened to stone Joshua and Caleb… ESV
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
2. Have each person give a 60 second summary of what these verses are saying, in their own words.
3. What do these verses teach us about God?
4. What do these verses teach us about people?
5. What should you do this week in response to what we are reading and what God is revealing?
6. Who comes to mind when considering a person you might share this with this week?
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Invite somebody you trust in your five foot circle to help you identify complaining so you can deal with it more effectively.
