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Gen. 12:1-2 -
Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;… NASU
God recently shared this gold nugget of truth with me. You will notice in today's text Abram, who will have his name changed to Abraham by God, was told he had to do something to become a blessing. He had to leave his country, his relatives and his father's house. What does that spell? It spells that Abram had to leave his comfort zone. When I look back on my life as a teenager I can't believe how easy my life was. Seriously! Dad paid for the house, all utility bills, all the food, and bought my clothes. My mom did all of our laundry, kept the house clean, cooked all the meals, did all the shopping, nursed us back to health when sick and a gazillion other things. All I had to do was come and go as I pleased. Life was EASY! I was in the comfort zone and didn't even know it. Well, Abe was in the comfort zone and he knew it. He didn't want to do what God wanted him to do. He didn't want to leave. God didn't give him prior information about where He wanted him to go. Only that he was to leave his country, relatives and father's house. Abe had to trust God and go. So he leaves but he takes his dad, Terah, with him. Abe was not doing exactly what God had commanded. He was told to leave his father's house, which is another way of saying you are to leave your parents and their control of you. Terah, Abe's father, dies and then Abe continues his journey to the Promised Land.
If yes, then you must be prepared to leave your comfort zone and go where God wants you to go and do what God wants you to do.
I was going to end up at Eastern Christian College in Bel Air, MD. It didn't matter which college I attended either one would have me out of my comfort zone. I remember one encourager informing me about how I barely got through high school. How was I ever going to get through college? I have to admit there was a lot of truth in what he was saying. How was I ever going to do this? Why didn't I just stay in Ohio and continue to work as a union boilermaker? I was making great money back then. On my summer break in 1981 I was working six days a week, ten hours per day (6-10's as they were known) and my gross pay was over a $1,000/week. I was in my comfort zone. I was doing what I loved to do and making great money doing it. So why did I leave? I felt God calling me to serve in His Kingdom in a new way.
Does God want you to leave your comfort zone and join Him in something adventuresome? It is my desire to say, "May the good LORD smile upon you as you serve Him faithfully". Our real comfort zone will not come until we die and go and be with the LORD in Heaven. Think About These: You must first be a believer if you would be an achiever. Confidence is the feeling you have right before you fully understand the situation. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Ps 27:13-14 - I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD. NASB
When I hear that I say, "Oh really, if my call were so important to you then why don't you have a real person answering my call. I will tell you why because my call isn't that important to you." Did you notice my voice tone kept getting louder? Yeah, you guessed it. Waiting is not one of my gifts. How about you? Are you good at waiting? There was a study done and they found out we would rather pay more money if we didn't have to wait. The amusement parks have already proven this to be true. You can buy a pass that allows you to skip the long lines. At Disney World these passes are called "Lightning Lane Passes". Think about a grocery store scenario. There is a long line or a do it yourself check out with no line, which means no waiting. If you are like me you are going to the self check out everytime. What is your choice? I like how the Psalmist thinks. He would have despaired except there was this one motivating factor. He believed he would see the "goodness of the LORD". He wasn't seeing the "goodness" right then but he told himself to WAIT for the LORD. In fact, he tells himself twice to WAIT for the LORD. Maybe the Psalmist was a little like us not very good at waiting. So he had to give himself some positive reinforcement and that was "Wait for the LORD".
This is a very important truth. While we are waiting we want to slow down and say God has me waiting for a reason. What is it that God wants you to see while you are waiting? If you happen to be stuck in traffic all you have to do is look up into the sky and see God's handiwork. Ps 19:1 - The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. What good event has happened in your life as you look back upon it now you know this was the LORD at work in your life? What disaster has happened in your life at first you thought this was the worse thing could have possibly have happened to you, but now years later you can see God's hand was totally at work in that situation and it has turned out for the best. Believe you will see the goodness of the LORD and all you have to do to see His goodness is "WAIT" for it. Think About These: This would be a wonderful world if men showed as much patience in all things as they do waiting for a fish to bite. It's easy finding reasons why other people should be patient. Patience is often bitter, but its fruit is sweet. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word John 8:34 - Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. NASU
Lk 22:3-6 - And Satan entered into Judas who was called Iscariot, belonging to the number of the twelve. 4 And he went away and discussed with the chief priests and officers how he might betray Him to them. 5 They were glad and agreed to give him money. 6 So he consented, and began seeking a good opportunity to betray Him to them apart from the crowd. Matt. 27:3-4 - Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." But they said, "What is that to us? Luke informs us that Judas went and hung himself after he realized what he had done. Acts 1:18 - (Now this man (Judas) acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out.) Yes, it cost him his life, his reputation and whenever someone hears the name Judas it will always be connected with the one who is a traitor. What a price to pay for allowing sin to rule your actions. Some sins have cost people their jobs, their families, their reputations and even their lives. Sin will cost you more than you ever wanted to pay.
Romans 6:1-2 - Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Romans 6:6-7 …knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. Romans 6:12-14 - Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace. Paul is informing us in verses three through seven that we have been baptized into Christ Jesus and in so doing we have gone through a death that has separated us from sin or as Paul says we have been "freed from sin". Many times Christians find themselves remembering their sins from the past and when they get caught in this vicious cycle of remembering their sins they feel as though they are not going to make it to heaven because of their sinful past. If you find yourself in this awful cycle of remembering do yourself a favor and read Romans 6:1-7. These verses will tell you what has happened to the sins of your past and what has happened is you have BEEN FREED from them. Don't allow the devil to feed you a bunch of lies about your past sins that have been covered by the blood of Jesus. Let me quote to you something Dr. Don Wilson preached when he was the minister at CCV (Christ's Church of the Valley): Sorrow Looks Back Worry Looks Around Faith Looks Ahead. If you're sorrowful it is because you are looking back. If you're worrying it is because you're looking around at all the things you believe might happen. If you're happy it is because you're walking by faith knowing God is in control. Think About These: Secrets sins won't stay secret sins very long. Sin would have fewer takers if its consequences occurred immediately. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word John 8:34 - Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. NASU
When the devil comes at us with temptations he generally starts off very slowly enticing us to do that which is wrong. If you talk with an alcoholic or a drug addict they don't usually start out by drinking a bottle of whiskey or sticking a needle in their arms. The alcoholic usually starts out drinking a few beers and gets what is called a "buzz". He may get totally inebriated and say I am never going to do that again. That usually lasts until one of his buddy's calls him and tells him of their new laid plans. The drug addict most likely started out smoking a joint and when that doesn't supply him with the "high" he is looking for the only thing to do is move to something a little stronger. You may know someone that is an addict and you can remember them before they ever got as we say "hooked" on drugs. The odds are "sin" never left them off where it first picked them up. Genesis 4:5-8 - So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. 6 Then the LORD said to Cain, "Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? 7 "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." 8 Cain told Abel his brother. And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him. Sin picked Cain up when he was angry with his brother Abel. When it released him he was a murderer.
I think about the different people who have been charged with embezzlement. I wonder how much money did they steal the first time and get away with it? Did their thoughts say we only need to do this one time to get me out of this financial hole? So then another plan was devised and more money was stolen until it seemed so easy and they never thought they would get caught. This reminds me of the Old Testament story of Joseph and his brothers where they sold him to some Ishmaelites. Gen. 42:21-23 - Then they said to one another, "Truly we are guilty concerning our brother, because we saw the distress of his soul when he pleaded with us, yet we would not listen; therefore this distress has come upon us." 22 Reuben answered them, saying, "Did I not tell you, 'Do not sin against the boy'; and you would not listen? Now comes the reckoning for his blood." Joseph has been gone for many years but you will notice they had been living with a guilty conscience and could not get away from it. They thought they could just sell their brother and that would be the end of it, but that isn't how sin works my friends. Now that they had given into the temptation to sell their brother and lie to their father about Joseph's body being killed by a wild animal. They had to live with what they did and a guilty conscience to go with it. They were corralled by sin and they weren't getting free. Genesis 4:7- "If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it." As we go through life we have an enemy and it is sin. It is crouching at our door and it wants to pounce on us because it has a desire to conquer us. The good news is Moses informs us we can master it. Just say, "NO!" and get away from the temptation as fast as you can. We must remember it is easier to be conquered by sin if we are where we are not supposed to be. King David sinned with Bathsheba because he was where he wasn't supposed to be (2 Sam.11:1). Think About These: A Christian has not lost the power to sin but the desire to sin. Confessing your sins is no substitute for forsaking them. Sin deceives, then defiles, then deadens. (Part 2 Next Week) Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word John 14:16-17 - "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. NASU
I would like you to notice the text does NOT say the Holy Spirit will be with us and help in only the hard times of our life. The Holy Spirit will be with the followers of Jesus forever. I interpret that to be in the good and bad times of our lives. One will also notice the promise of the Holy Spirit is NOT for those who don't believe in Jesus or as they are called here "the world". The non-followers of Jesus neither know Him nor see Him. The apostle Paul can't make it any clearer than what he wrote in the book of Romans. Romans 8:9-11 - However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. The Holy Spirit dwells in those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
How is it possible for us to know the truth? We can know the truth by knowing the "Word of God". As you read the Word of God you will be able to discern the truth because the Spirit of Truth dwells in you. I imagine some of my readers may be thinking but what do I have to do to have the Holy Spirit dwell in me. On the day of Pentecost Peter was preaching a message that stated the Jewish leaders had crucified Jesus, the Son of God. His message convicted them and they asked what they had to do and that is when Peter shared these words with them: Acts 2:38- Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. They had two things to do if they believed Jesus to be the Son of God. First, they were to repent which is a change of the mind which brings about a change in one's behavior. Secondly, they were to be baptized or immersed into water. This immersion represents a burial. You have died to sin and are buried in a watery grave, but that isn't the end. You're then raised up out of the water into a new life. You're forgiven and the Holy Spirit of God now dwells within you. How cool is that? If you would like to be immersed contact me and we will make it happen. The Spirit of Truth would love to dwell in you. Think About These: God isn't only a present help in the time of trouble, but also a great help in keeping us out of trouble. Whatever God wants us to do; He will help us accomplish it. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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