"Joshua 2:8-13 (AMP) 8 Before the two men had lain down, Rahab came up to them on the roof, 9 And she said to the men, I know that the Lord has given you the land and that your terror is fallen upon us and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you. 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the [east] side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. 11 When we heard it, our hearts melted, neither did spirit or courage remain any more in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath. 12 Now then, I pray you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a sure sign, 13 And save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all they have, and deliver us from death. "
OBSERVATION 1. Rahab was a prostitute 2. For some reason, God lead the 2 spies to her. 3. She let them know how afraid everyone was of their "Lord". 4. She took a huge risk, and showed the spies kindness. 5. She called God, LORD. 6. She asked that she and her family be delivered from death. She eventually became King David's Great, Great Grandma.
APPLICATION I tend to put people in categories as to how likely they are to respond to Christ. I would have written Rahab off as too far gone (too hard of a heart), to respond to Christ. Yet, God was at work. He knew her heart. I have the same problem with Sharka. She is so into New Age stuff that I tend to doubt that her blinders could ever come off. I need to daily, boldly ask God do reveal himself to Sharka, and praise Him when I see miraculous things in her life (like her bringing up the fact that she wanted to hear more about the Bible yesterday).
Prayer Lord, you are the almighty God. You are infinite. You are transcendant. My finite mind cannot even begin to comprehend the ways in which I minimise you, your power, your plans. I praise you that you love every single person in the world. You are no respecter of person. I praise you that you are not limited by my skills as an evangelist or apologist. I'm not a debater like Apostle Paul. I feel so inadequate to share with Sharka. Yet yesterday she asked if we could talk about the Bible again. I asked that you would somehow bring the topic back to the Bible. I so wanted to tell the story of Christ on the cross, and you did it. You even led her to start reading some of the Bible on her own. God I praise you. My faith was so tiny and yet you responded to weak faith by leading her to take action to seek you. Lord, I beg you to bind Satan in her life. Deliver her from the kingdom of darkness into your kingdom. My days here are numbered and I feel desperate for her to hear more about you and respond, and yet I know that you can draw her with or without me here. Lord, show me what to do to be in line with your spirit. Continue working in her heart, and bring her into an intimate relationship with you. Amen.
Title: "Knowledge, Obedience, Expansion" Mentor: Paul
S: 2 Corinthians 10:4 "We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 15b...., we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended."
O: Paul was a bit feisty here in this writing, he was defending himself and his authority. His real concern here was that there wouldn't be any obstacles to people knowing Jesus. He wanted false arguments and rebellious thoughts to be put away so that people could know the true God and be obedient to Christ. This then will lead to an expansion of the kingdom.
A: What false arguments and rebellious thoughts do I have against the knowledge of the true Jesus? This will keep me from obeying Jesus truly and authentically and this will lead to a barrier to the expansion of the kingdom.
P: Jesus, help me to know you better. Show me where I have thought of you in a wrong way, in a way that limits you, or does not show your true character. May through this knowledge I be more obedient to you and that your kingdom might advance! I praise you today King Jesus for who you are and what you have done. Reign in me today.
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 10:5 "We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ."
Observe: Paul was saying that there are many barricades to knowing God and he wanted to remove those barricades for these people.
Apply: I need to be aware of good or bad things that keep me from knowing God for who He really is.
Prayer: Dear God, help me to remove barricades in my life to knowing you.
Unexpected faith
ReplyDelete"Joshua 2:8-13 (AMP)
8 Before the two men had lain down, Rahab came up to them on the roof,
9 And she said to the men, I know that the Lord has given you the land and that your terror is fallen upon us and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.
10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the [east] side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed.
11 When we heard it, our hearts melted, neither did spirit or courage remain any more in any man because of you, for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
12 Now then, I pray you, swear to me by the Lord, since I have shown you kindness, that you also will show kindness to my father’s house, and give me a sure sign,
13 And save alive my father and mother, my brothers and sisters, and all they have, and deliver us from death. "
OBSERVATION
1. Rahab was a prostitute 2. For some reason, God lead the 2 spies to her. 3. She let them know how afraid everyone was of their "Lord". 4. She took a huge risk, and showed the spies kindness. 5. She called God, LORD. 6. She asked that she and her family be delivered from death. She eventually became King David's Great, Great Grandma.
APPLICATION
I tend to put people in categories as to how likely they are to respond to Christ. I would have written Rahab off as too far gone (too hard of a heart), to respond to Christ. Yet, God was at work. He knew her heart. I have the same problem with Sharka. She is so into New Age stuff that I tend to doubt that her blinders could ever come off. I need to daily, boldly ask God do reveal himself to Sharka, and praise Him when I see miraculous things in her life (like her bringing up the fact that she wanted to hear more about the Bible yesterday).
Prayer
Lord, you are the almighty God. You are infinite. You are transcendant. My finite mind cannot even begin to comprehend the ways in which I minimise you, your power, your plans. I praise you that you love every single person in the world. You are no respecter of person. I praise you that you are not limited by my skills as an evangelist or apologist. I'm not a debater like Apostle Paul. I feel so inadequate to share with Sharka. Yet yesterday she asked if we could talk about the Bible again. I asked that you would somehow bring the topic back to the Bible. I so wanted to tell the story of Christ on the cross, and you did it. You even led her to start reading some of the Bible on her own. God I praise you. My faith was so tiny and yet you responded to weak faith by leading her to take action to seek you. Lord, I beg you to bind Satan in her life. Deliver her from the kingdom of darkness into your kingdom. My days here are numbered and I feel desperate for her to hear more about you and respond, and yet I know that you can draw her with or without me here. Lord, show me what to do to be in line with your spirit. Continue working in her heart, and bring her into an intimate relationship with you. Amen.
Title: "Knowledge, Obedience, Expansion"
ReplyDeleteMentor: Paul
S: 2 Corinthians 10:4 "We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 15b...., we hope that your faith will grow so that the boundaries of our work among you will be extended."
O: Paul was a bit feisty here in this writing, he was defending himself and his authority. His real concern here was that there wouldn't be any obstacles to people knowing Jesus. He wanted false arguments and rebellious thoughts to be put away so that people could know the true God and be obedient to Christ. This then will lead to an expansion of the kingdom.
A: What false arguments and rebellious thoughts do I have against the knowledge of the true Jesus? This will keep me from obeying Jesus truly and authentically and this will lead to a barrier to the expansion of the kingdom.
P: Jesus, help me to know you better. Show me where I have thought of you in a wrong way, in a way that limits you, or does not show your true character. May through this knowledge I be more obedient to you and that your kingdom might advance! I praise you today King Jesus for who you are and what you have done. Reign in me today.
Title: "Removing Barricades"
ReplyDeleteMentor: Paul
Scripture: 2 Corinthians 10:5 "We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ."
Observe: Paul was saying that there are many barricades to knowing God and he wanted to remove those barricades for these people.
Apply: I need to be aware of good or bad things that keep me from knowing God for who He really is.
Prayer: Dear God, help me to remove barricades in my life to knowing you.