In 1 King chapter 20 a man named Benhadad, King of Syria, along with a league of 32 other kings, warred against Israel. It seems Israel has been hated by it's neighbors forever. Benhadad lost a battle against Israel although he had superior numbers. History just seems to repeat itself. Benhadad's advisers counseled him to engage Israel in the valley because, evidently, Israel's God was a God of the mountains. What they found out was that Israel's God is also God of the valley
The Syrians made the mistake that the God of Israel was like their gods. Their gods were limited, in fact they were powerless. They were only gods in the sense that they worshipped them. They were powerless to affect their condition. Their gods were not gods of love and mercy but of wood and stone.
Today's Christian knows that God is God of the mountain. It is easy to trust God when everything is going good and the sun is shining. But is God the God of your valley? The valley where the enemy want to strike. Can we say like David:
Psalm 23:4 (KJV)
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
Why would we not trust God in the valley? He’s been there in my darkest hours and kept me from harm. He’s led me past all of the dangers of the dark valley. He is God of the valley just like he is God of the mountain.
We sing the following song in church occasionally. It reminds me that God is God when things are going good and when things are not going so good. I am determined to praise the God of my mountain and the God of my valley.
Blessed be Your Name
Blessed be Your name When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's all as it should be Blessed be Your name
Blessed be Your name On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering Blessed be Your name
We don’t have to surrender to negative influence of this world. Satan wants you to believe that there are no answers to the problems you face in life. He’ll say you can never be happy again or that you can never feel good about life again. But he is not the final authority. Surrender your life to Jesus Christ and let Him guide you through the valleys and over the mountains of life.
God said He would deliver Israel and they would know that He is the Lord. When you win victories with God you know He is in your corner. You know that Satan can’t win against you.
Our God is God of the mountain and God of the valley!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Sunday, August 3, 2008
God Wants to Build You a House
Matthew 7:24-26
In this parable Jesus talks about how a wise man builds his house on the rock and how foolish men build their house upon the sand. Every building needs a firm foundation. It is critical that we build our lives a firm foundation. A wise man will build his life upon the rock, Jesus Christ. In order to build we need the appropriate tools. We need to be filled with the Holy Ghost to be properly equiped. Jesus said many things that are important to our lives and will equip us to build.
Here are a few of the critical things that Jesus told us:
Come unto me and I will give you rest.
Drink from the well of living water and never thirst again.
You must be born again.
You will receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you.
Read God's Word to learn about the things you need to obtain to become a wise builder.
Build upon the rock that is the stone that the builders rejected but has become the chief cornerstone.
The nail, the board, and the hammer.
Trying to live our life without the power of God is like trying to drive a nail with our hand. None of us would try to build a house without the proper tools. Why do we try to live life without the power of God’s Spirit dwelling within us? We need the power of the Spirit to be the “hammer” that will give us the power to “build our house” and live the kind of life that God has for those who believe.
We don’t have the ability to cleanse ourselves from sin.
We need the power!
We don’t have the ability to deliver ourselves from sin’s burdens.
We need the power!
We can’t give ourselves peace and contentment.
We need the power!
I found peace because I let God build my house! Only through the power of teh Holy Ghost can we build a house that stands.
In this parable Jesus talks about how a wise man builds his house on the rock and how foolish men build their house upon the sand. Every building needs a firm foundation. It is critical that we build our lives a firm foundation. A wise man will build his life upon the rock, Jesus Christ. In order to build we need the appropriate tools. We need to be filled with the Holy Ghost to be properly equiped. Jesus said many things that are important to our lives and will equip us to build.
Here are a few of the critical things that Jesus told us:
Come unto me and I will give you rest.
Drink from the well of living water and never thirst again.
You must be born again.
You will receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you.
Read God's Word to learn about the things you need to obtain to become a wise builder.
Build upon the rock that is the stone that the builders rejected but has become the chief cornerstone.
The nail, the board, and the hammer.
Trying to live our life without the power of God is like trying to drive a nail with our hand. None of us would try to build a house without the proper tools. Why do we try to live life without the power of God’s Spirit dwelling within us? We need the power of the Spirit to be the “hammer” that will give us the power to “build our house” and live the kind of life that God has for those who believe.
We don’t have the ability to cleanse ourselves from sin.
We need the power!
We don’t have the ability to deliver ourselves from sin’s burdens.
We need the power!
We can’t give ourselves peace and contentment.
We need the power!
I found peace because I let God build my house! Only through the power of teh Holy Ghost can we build a house that stands.
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