I want to look at Numbers 13 first. We are
focusing on the investigation of the Promised Land and the parallels to our
lives.
A Quick
Snapshot!
The
Israelites were slaves in Egypt and Moses’ famous request was ‘let my people
GO!’ The first miracle they experienced was the parting of the Red Sea. They had been given manna from heaven, water
from a rock, they had received Ten Commandments.
Now, here we
are on the EDGE of promise and what was supposed to take 40 days took 40
years. Moses sends out 12 spies, one
from every tribe including Joshua and Caleb.
He never asked them to size up themselves….YES, size up the situation,
but magnify the LORD, bring him into closer view! They did the opposite, they magnified the
situation and lost sight of who was coming with them…Almighty GOD!
The
Parallels!
When you get
a vision of God, turn up the volume, size up His strength, not your weakness. When you need to step out in faith expect for
every 12 thoughts that are out there, 10 will be negative and two will be
positive. Often when God call you to an
act of faith, it will go against your common sense. He is not the God of pros vs cons. We aren’t
called to weigh out the options, but listen to His voice.
THE RATIO of
problems to promises can also be viewed as 12 to 2.
Think about
the spies inside your mind. When you weigh yourself, your weakness, your doubt
and fear instead of God’s promise, you WILL always come up short
Remember
this…the NEWS is not the MESSAGE.
Psalm 112:6,
7 He has no fear of bad news, his heart is steadfast, always trusting in the
LORD.
What the
enemy has been bringing into your life to break you and destroy you, God wants
to bring a resurrection!
Renewed
Investigation!
Now, let’s
look at Joshua’s plan Joshua 2
He had a
different focus, he only sent out 2 spies and they went to a specific city,
Jericho. He doesn’t want them to walk by
their sight. He had them just focus on
one thing at a time, the next thing, not later.
Don’t get overwhelmed by the whole project.
The plan was
also very unconventional and completely went against common sense and that is
what happens when we listen to God’s voice.
They went out and march and then sounded the trumpets on the 7th
tour of the perimeter of the city of Jericho and the walls came down.
The walls
that seem impenetrable in our lives and the places that we desperately need
victory will only be fully realized when we rely on God for spiritual
breakthrough. Thank God for breakthrough
and recognize that it often comes through a heart ripped open wide in worship!
Check out
how a worship team led an army to victory.
2 Chronicles 20 specifically starting at verse 20
Manor Church
Update
Our church
(at the Manor...a local strip club in Guelph) had a blast on the coldest Sunday
of the year with temperatures sitting at -23C. We rented a BIG yellow school
bus and took our church out to Roger’s home, the owner of the Manor, for a
winter carnival! It was a great mix of
people coming from the church, The Manor staff and the Cohen family. There were
people braving the cold to go skating, shoot pucks and tobogganing. Paul was manning the BBQ and Brenda, Roger’s
wife, had put on an extravagant spread of food!
It was a pure lovefest. One thing we've learned since starting a church
in a strip club? That's LOVE conquers all...it ALWAYS wins. People don't need
our judgement and condemnation...they need a friend and a listening ear.
Last week I
finally broke down through Rick's perseverance and made the 3 hour trip east
with him to pick up his many personal belongings that had been placed in
storage for over five years. Rick has
been attending church pretty consistently since we started last Easter. He has
been in & out of jail and has had a fair number of personal life
challenges. Now, Rick isn't the most amicable person to deal with (he'll even
admit that), but God softened my heart to him on our long journey together. He now
refers me to as his ‘ass saver!’ & the nicest $@#%* pastor he knows! (I'll
take it!!!). LOL.
So, we
arrived at the storage facility and if this was an episode of Storage Wars, I
wouldn't have paid too much for this locker (at first sight)....however we DID
end up uncovering an antique dresser, CD’s by the hundreds, hockey jerseys, a
pioneer sound system, a storage chest and so much more! He was so thrilled to be able to retrieve it. We then went down to the court office and he
was able to get his monthly payments lowered for outstanding bills, another
small victory towards being able to get his driver’s license. At the end of our
adventure, we had time to enjoy Swiss Chalet together. What a day & what
memories!
Johnny* has
re-entered our lives and I was so thrilled to see that Doug* reached out to him
and to others who have attended our services.
Kenny is now seeking help through the HADS program at Homewood. He wants
to get our regularly to services, but the cool part is that the ministry is getting
multiplied as our attendees are reaching out to each other in love!
**names have
been changed to protect their privacy*
