Possessing The Promise Of God Pt. 1 | Ps Glenn Bleakney

[00:00:01] Speaker A: Welcome to the Numa Church podcast. [00:00:03] Speaker B: Wherever you are in the world, we are so glad that you've joined us. Our prayer is that this message will. [00:00:07] Speaker A: Reveal more of who our heavenly Father. [00:00:09] Speaker B: Is as we grow deeper in intimacy with Jesus. [00:00:12] Speaker C: Enjoy the message. [00:00:15] Speaker B: Okay, so it's an honor to have you with us. Thank you so much for joining us again. Whether this is your family or you're just coming for the first time, thank you so much for being with us. We are definitely excited to have you with us. Happy New Year. It's literally New Year's Eve daytime right now. Tomorrow is 2024. And yeah, that's definitely a difference. How many remember the year 2000? Okay, do you remember that? Y two K and the world's going to come to an end and all the computers around the world are going to crash. All that stuff. If you don't remember that, that means you're too young. But God definitely has preserved us, brought us through some difficult times. And we know that last year was. This year, sorry, was a bit chaotic, especially with the economy and everything else still transitioning out of COVID And so next year, we don't know what it's going to look like in the natural, but ultimately we believe in a God who is supernatural. Amen. And God has called us to trust him no matter what things look like in what we go through in the natural. I'm just going to go back here a little bit and it's going to be a good year for those who trust in the Lord. Ma'am, I'm saying you won't have any challenges. I'm just saying God is going to bring you through that. And he's good, he's faithful. It's good for he's just so full of mercy, isn't he? Caused the reign to bond the just, the unjust. And even people that don't know the Lord still prosper, that kind of thing. And we understand that. But there's something the Bible calls the blessing of the Lord. There's the benevolence of the Lord, which is the kindness of God. It's for all people, he's kind. Romans two four. The kindness of the Lord leads to repentance. But there's something called the blessing of the Lord, and that's a covenant term that's reserved for those who fully trust him, who belong to him, who even obey him. So we're going to jump into a passage of scripture here in Deuteronomy, chapter eight this morning, going to kind of give a high level view of a message that I believe will help really us step into what the Lord is saying for us in the year 2024. We'll break it down later on in next month and even in February. We're going to continue on this theme. But how many know there's more in 24? Do you believe that? Okay, I get that 23 was great. And we want to walk out of 23 into 2024 with our eyes open, not with any sense of just pretension. We have to be intentional if we want to see change in our lives. And there's some things that we're going to be talking about to help us really transition into more. So, Deuteronomy eight, first three verses, and then we'll just start to unpack that a little bit, see how we go this morning. The English standard version is what I'm using. It says here, starting at verse one, Deuteronomy eight, verses one through three, the whole commandment that I command you today, you shall be careful to do that. You may live and multiply and go in and possess the land that the Lord swore to give to your fathers. You shall remember the whole way that the Lord, your God, has led you these 40 years in the wilderness. Then he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Wow. What an amazing passage of scripture. Just quick kind of context for this. So Israel had been in the wilderness for 40 years, and they're about to cross over. God saying, it's time to cross over into the promised land. And God speaks to Josh, I'm sorry, to Moses, and says, hey, Moses, knowing that, of course, Moses is not going to be the one that leads them in that Joshua will. But he speaks to Moses and he says, I want you to prepare them for what is about to happen. They're about to cross over into the promised land. And I don't want these past 40 years to be in vain. [00:05:07] Speaker D: Now, understand that no matter what you've gone through in life, even if it. [00:05:12] Speaker B: Was the results of choices that you have made that weren't necessarily God's will, they weren't necessarily wise choices. [00:05:22] Speaker D: They may have been even choices that. [00:05:25] Speaker B: Literally run contrary to God's will. [00:05:28] Speaker D: Regardless of that, there's mercy. There's mercy. And God, even though there may be a delay. [00:05:37] Speaker B: There may be a detour in the process. Process. Sorry, I'm speaking american English for a minute. I struggle back and forth. People ask me, how many languages do you speak? Coming from Canada, we're bilingual. We're supposed to be. But I speak actually at least three languages. Are you ready? American English, canadian English and a bit of australian English. Come on. But anyway, let's talk about this. So we're in a process. The process has to do with preparing us for what God. God wants to do in our lives. How many know that when preparation meets with opportunity, you experience breakthrough. Something takes place when you prepare yourself, when you learn those things that God. [00:06:31] Speaker D: Is wanting to teach you. [00:06:32] Speaker B: And then the set time comes, the opportunity comes where God says, now is the time, now is the season. If you have prepared yourself, then you will see an amazing future. God will do amazing things in your life. [00:06:48] Speaker D: But you can be like the children of Israel who were locked into the wilderness for 40 years. Should have taken them just a few. [00:06:56] Speaker B: Months to cross over. The journey wasn't that far. It was about 400 km from Ramsay's Egypt into the promised land. They could have done it in a few weeks, perhaps even three weeks by foot. And yet they spent 40 years in the wilderness. [00:07:18] Speaker D: How many know that? There are some times and occasions in our life where we get off track, we go against God's will. And that causes us to at least see the promise postponed. I'm not saying we won't experience it because God is merciful. But what I am saying is we can delay our destiny if we are. [00:07:44] Speaker B: Not fully submitted to God. [00:07:47] Speaker D: So what the Lord says to Moses is, I want you to speak to the children of Israel. I want them to look back before they can go forward. Come on, 2023. And even maybe back further. We may have some memories, there may be some pain, there may be circumstances that weren't favorable to us. But the Lord says, I want you to look back. Now, that's contrary to what we hear in a lot of places today. Because we read the scripture earlier, Lynn shared from Isaiah, where he says, forget the former things. Now, that word forget doesn't mean like be in denial. It's not what it means. It means don't focus on that. Don't stay attached to that. But remember, God has some great things ahead for you. But then we read elsewhere that God says, I want you to remember my faithfulness. I want you to remember, as it says here, specifically in verse number two, and you shall remember the whole way, that the Lord your God has led you these 40 years in the wilderness. [00:09:04] Speaker C: Remember the whole way. [00:09:06] Speaker D: Some other translations say, remember that the Lord led you. That's really not what it's saying. The English standard says, remember the whole way. The Niv says, remember how the Lord led you. In other words, there is a specific plan that God had when he took them through the wilderness. The Holy Spirit was leading them in the wilderness. God was taking them where he wanted them to go. He could have taken them right from Egypt into the promised land, but he chose not to do so. Why? Well, several things. We'll break this down in greater depth as we unpack this message more. As I said, this is just kind of an overview today, but ultimately, there's a purpose for the process. There's a purpose for the wilderness. There's literally a purpose in the delay. There is a purpose in your pain. Come on. You say, well, the devil. The devil. Hey, I want to show you something here. Okay. The devil gets too much credit for things at times. You know that? Because it says how the Lord led you these 40 years in the wilderness that he might humble you. How many know that? Sometimes being humbled is a bit uncomfortable, even painful. Right? Because we deal with pride, we deal with that ego thing, and it ends up happening. Is God says very clearly that he was testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. He humbled you and let you hunger. Oh, God, let them hunger. How many know that not eating food makes you hangry? Right? Some of you, maybe you're at that point right now you're hangry. Okay. We said this is going to be a shorter service. I'm sorry. You know where liars go, right? It says in the book of Revelation. Do you know where that. [00:11:13] Speaker B: To the altar. [00:11:15] Speaker D: So. [00:11:15] Speaker B: I'm just kidding. [00:11:16] Speaker D: No, there's mercy. We won't be too long today. [00:11:20] Speaker B: I'm seriously. [00:11:20] Speaker D: But the point I'm trying to make here is that God was the one who caused him to go without. God was the one who allowed them to experience limitations. Why? Because he's testing them. [00:11:40] Speaker C: What do you do? [00:11:42] Speaker D: How do we respond when we don't get what we want, when we want it? God intentionally allows us to experience unfulfilled promises at times in our life. But doesn't mean that it's a no. Doesn't mean it's denial. But it means at least there is a delay. But there are times when he denies us. He knows what's best for you and I. And he understands that sometimes, if he gave us what we wanted. It would not be good for us. So God leads them into the wilderness to tumble them, to test them, to expose their hearts to them. [00:12:30] Speaker B: He already knew what was in their. [00:12:31] Speaker D: Hearts so that they would understand something of great revelation, of great significance and importance. And that revelation is this, that man, that word literally means male and female does not live by bread alone by the material, but by every word that. [00:12:53] Speaker B: Proceeds from the mouth of God. [00:12:56] Speaker D: That means there is a present word that proceeds. Matthew four, verse four. [00:13:02] Speaker B: Jesus quoted this verse when he was. [00:13:05] Speaker D: Being tempted by the devil. And it literally is in the present tense, which means it's not just a word that you heard ten years ago, it's not just what God said to you earlier this week, but it is a present word. It is an ongoing word that he wants to speak to you. So Romans says, those that are led by the spirit are the sons of God, those that are led by the spirit, those that follow the voice of God. Jesus said that he came from heaven to earth not to do his will, but to do the will of him who sent him the father. He said elsewhere that he said, I only do those things I see my father doing. He said, I only say those things I hear my father saying. The reason for his effectiveness while he was here on the earth was because he was completely submitted in surrender to his father. That's it. And sometimes we don't know what to do. Sometimes we are at a loss to know the direction that we should go. Have you ever been there? Right? How many will say, no, I've never been there before. [00:14:38] Speaker B: We will give an altar call at the end for those who are deceived or not telling the truth. [00:14:44] Speaker D: Okay. You come to a place in your. [00:14:48] Speaker B: Walk with God where you may not know the way you should go. [00:14:53] Speaker D: And guess what? God loves that for those who have to have all their I's, dotted, all the t's, cotted, all the ducks in. [00:15:08] Speaker B: A row, you will struggle in the kingdom of God if you are a control freak. I pray for you because honestly, the kingdom of God is the antithesis of that. You have to let him have control. You have to lose your life in order that you can find your life, is what Jesus said. [00:15:30] Speaker D: And he will show you. He will guide you. He's not going to lead you in the dark, but you have to make a decision to allow him to lead you. And this is what the journey in the wilderness is all about. God had brought them into the wilderness to bring them to a place that they would begin to understand the purpose for their time. That season in the wilderness. Now, again, they didn't know tomorrow what's going to happen. Like, there's this pillar of cloud, this pillar of fire. There's a cloud. And they just followed God. That was it. [00:16:13] Speaker B: So, Moses, what's the plan tomorrow? Moses, I have no idea. [00:16:17] Speaker D: Like, I don't know. When the Lord says, break camp and the pillar of cloud, the fire moves, we move. When he moves, we move. So what's the plan? When he moves, we move. That's the plan. So ultimately, we have to at a place where we understand that. Now it takes for some of us, a lot of deconstructing, a lot of death to self in our ways, denial. To be able to come to that place where we're willing to forsake all, to follow the calm. God will bless you when you do things his way, right? But we often are like, God, bless my mess. And that's not how it works. Think about Abraham, right? He wanted to help God out. Remember that. God, you've given me a promise. Gonna have a son. That's great. Hey, Sarah, you're too old. So what are we going to do about this? Well, I have this servant girl, Abraham, and, you know, what happens next. And then ultimately, it was like they're trying to justify and to validate their disobedience and the course that they've chosen. And later on, God says, hey, you did this. This is the result of your choice, your decision. And then Abraham says, oh, that Ishmael might stand before you. And God says, I don't think so. [00:17:57] Speaker B: It's not going to happen that way now, because you didn't wait on me. [00:18:03] Speaker D: You took matters into your own hand, right? Have you ever heard the expression, God helps those who help themselves? Let me tell you something. It's not in the Bible. It's not there. Search for it. You got Google guys search, okay? It's not there. Let me say this. God helped those who help themselves. There's a difference. Because if you're the type of person that will just become the captain of your fate, the one who tries to take matters into your own hand, and so on, you're never going to fully see God's power and glory manifested. You might have a solution that works temporarily. It might get you out of a quandary or predicament to a degree. But let me tell you, it'll never take you out of the wilderness into the promised land. You'll have to go back around the mountain one more time in order to learn the lesson. [00:19:07] Speaker B: But when we trust the Lord, we. [00:19:10] Speaker D: Lean on our own understanding. In all our ways, we acknowledge him. Right. [00:19:14] Speaker B: Proverbs three, five and six. [00:19:16] Speaker D: Guess what happens? [00:19:16] Speaker B: He directs our paths. [00:19:18] Speaker D: And what does that mean? [00:19:20] Speaker B: He said he leads us in paths of righteousness. [00:19:23] Speaker D: He leads us. Psalm 32, verse eight and nine says, in the way that is good for. [00:19:29] Speaker B: Us, the way that is best for us is what it actually means. He knows best. [00:19:37] Speaker D: So I want you to please understand that as Israel came out of Egypt, Egypt was the place of not enough. [00:19:48] Speaker B: The promised land will be the place. [00:19:50] Speaker D: Of more than enough. But God brings them into the wilderness to have just enough. And you see there's a place of prophecy where God speaks to you. He gives you a word, he reveals his promises to you in his word. And you look at that and you. [00:20:11] Speaker B: Go, there's a massive canyon, there's a gap. There's a chasm between here and there. [00:20:18] Speaker D: Between revelation and manifestation, there's a massive gap. And God wants us to recognize and understand that the whole purpose of the wilderness was a place where they would learn complete dependence and trust in God implicitly. It's a place where you go from prophecy to sufficiency to destiny. Well, we want to go from prophecy to destiny. It's kind of like the kids, you get in the car, you pull out and you get around the corner and you maybe get on the freeway and the kids are like, are we there yet? [00:21:03] Speaker B: Like, no, there's a journey. There's a journey, right? [00:21:07] Speaker D: And we have to understand the destiny. The destiny is important. Where are we headed? Where are we going? I mean, can you imagine, you friends? And you're like, hey, it's holidays. Let's take a road trip. Let's go on a road trip. And then everybody rocks up, you throw your luggage in the car, and then at the last moment you look at each other and they go, where are we going? Oh, we haven't discussed that yet. [00:21:37] Speaker B: What's the destination? [00:21:40] Speaker D: Where are we going? That would be ludicrous. That'd be ridiculous in the natural, wouldn't it? Well, I don't know. Let's just get in the car and start driving and maybe we'll end up somewhere and that's absurd. We have to know the destiny. It's very important, the destination. But there's still a journey. And the journey is of utmost importance. It's of utmost importance. We have to go on the journey. We want quick solutions, panacea rather than process. But God wants to bring us on a process that prepares us for ultimately, what he has planned for our lives. So the destination for the children of. [00:22:34] Speaker B: Israel was a place called the promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey. When you get know he's very clear in the unsuit. Verses, verses number seven through nine the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks. [00:22:53] Speaker D: Of water, fountains and springs, flowing out. [00:22:55] Speaker C: In the valleys and hills, a land. [00:22:57] Speaker D: Of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing. You will lack nothing. So God is bringing them into the. [00:23:19] Speaker B: Wilderness to prepare them for their destination. [00:23:23] Speaker D: It's part of the journey, but it's not the easiest, smoothest, quickest route. [00:23:31] Speaker B: God has a purpose for the wilderness. [00:23:34] Speaker D: But when they get into the promised. [00:23:37] Speaker B: Land, ultimately they are going to dwell and live there. They're going to abide in the promised land. [00:23:45] Speaker D: In other words, the promised land was. [00:23:48] Speaker B: Not a vacation, it wasn't a holiday. [00:23:52] Speaker D: The promised land was their destiny. It literally was a vocation. You know the difference between a vacation and a vocation? You might be on holiday and do some work, but that's not your vocation. And what he's saying is that it is a place of vocation. The word vocation comes from a latin term that means a calling. [00:24:15] Speaker B: A calling. [00:24:16] Speaker D: It's your calling. The promised land was their calling. It was the place where they would live and dwell. It was the place where they would settle. In other words, it was the realm of rest. [00:24:35] Speaker B: Says in chapter twelve of Deuteronomy, verse ten. [00:24:38] Speaker D: But when you go over the Jordan. [00:24:40] Speaker B: And live in the land the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, you're going to live in that land. It's not visitation, but it's habitation. Secondly, it was a place of abundance, where they would experience. Listen to this. The fullness of God's provision, the fullness of what Jesus for us did at the cross, where we are literally experiencing everything that is ours by virtue of his death and resurrection and the fulfillment of all promises. See, a land in which you eat bread without scarcity, in which you'll lack nothing. Then later on we read in Joshua 21, verse 45, not one word of all. The good promises that the Lord has made to the house of Israel had failed. All came to pass. And he's talking about when they transitioned into the promised land. Every promise came to pass when they came into the land. What gonna happen in the wilderness? See, some of us, we feel like hey, I've been in the wilderness and God's saying, yes, there's a purpose for the wilderness, and you can even delay or extend. How many know you can extend your time in the wilderness by failing to submit to God? Stay longer. There was a generation that didn't make it in at all. That's scary. But ultimately, there's still a purpose for the wilderness. [00:26:22] Speaker D: God leads us to teach us, to. [00:26:26] Speaker B: Prepare us so that we will experience the fullness. The promised land is also a place of safety and freedom. Deuteronomy 1210 b says, and he God will give you rest from all your enemies round about so that you dwell in safety. [00:26:45] Speaker D: It's a place of rest. [00:26:47] Speaker B: Wow. [00:26:48] Speaker D: A place where you dwell in safety. It's a place where you are not being bashed around all your life. God is saying, hey, this is my plan. This is my purpose for your life. And when you step into it, sometimes it can be literally a geographical location. [00:27:12] Speaker B: It can be. [00:27:13] Speaker D: It's not just that it's spiritually, but when God has a plan and a purpose for your life, sometimes it can be the church that you align with. Some people are trying to see breakthrough and transformation in their lives, but unfortunately they're not in the right place with the right people. And there's a lot we could say about that. Sometimes, God forbid, it's the relationships that. [00:27:41] Speaker B: We have that hinder us. [00:27:46] Speaker D: So we have to recognize that God wants to bring us to a place of freedom and safety where we experience the fullness of his blessings. But it all comes through a preparation process. [00:28:02] Speaker B: A preparation process. [00:28:04] Speaker D: You see, there's actually several things that. [00:28:09] Speaker B: We could talk about. Let me just quickly unpack these and then we'll go into greater depth next time. [00:28:18] Speaker D: In the wilderness. [00:28:19] Speaker B: Before Israel could move from prophecy to destiny, they had to learn sufficiency, that God was their sufficiency. See, sometimes we think that we know just to. So Egypt is the place of destitution, right? It's the place of destitution. The promised land would be the place of dominion. [00:28:44] Speaker D: But you see, the wilderness, some of. [00:28:47] Speaker B: Us think it was a place of deprivation, but it wasn't the place of deprivation. [00:28:52] Speaker D: They had everything they had need of, right? They had everything they had need of. I mean, it was manna every day. I know that gets old, but they still had everything they had need of. God was providing for them. So it wasn't like God was trying to deprive them. Like, oh, I want you to go without. I want you to suffer. No, he wasn't trying to do that. There's a purpose at times for not understanding or not experiencing everything because it's meant to bring us to a place of greater dependence on God. So it's not deprivation, but it's dependence. [00:29:38] Speaker B: And when we learn to depend on him, boom. [00:29:42] Speaker D: Fully depend on him, boom, we cross over, we break through, we experience the favor of God upon our lives, and we live in a place of dominion. [00:29:55] Speaker B: We live in a place where we experience the fulfillment. [00:29:58] Speaker D: So what did Israel have to learn in the wilderness? [00:30:02] Speaker B: Number one, that God was their sufficiency. Number two, God had to become their satisfaction. [00:30:08] Speaker D: What does that mean? It means that they literally. [00:30:11] Speaker B: I love this scripture. In Psalm 62, verse one, David says, my soul finds rest in God alone. [00:30:19] Speaker D: He was in the wilderness when he. [00:30:20] Speaker B: Said that, by the way, my soul. [00:30:23] Speaker D: Finds rest in God alone when it's not God and, but it's just God. He's enough. He's my sufficiency. He will take care of me. It's not like, oh, yeah, I don't have needs. Of course we have needs. We have social needs, we have financial needs, we have emotional needs, we have physical needs. [00:30:43] Speaker C: We do. [00:30:44] Speaker D: But the point is, God wants us to come to the place where we. [00:30:48] Speaker C: Delight ourselves in him, and he gives. [00:30:51] Speaker D: Us the desires of our heart. When we learn to delight in him, so he becomes our satisfaction. [00:30:59] Speaker B: Thirdly, he's our shepherd. He leads us in paths of righteousness. He's like the shepherd that leads us, that goes ahead of the sheep and shows them the way there to go. And then lastly, he's our salvation. And what do I mean by salvation? [00:31:13] Speaker D: Salvation is not just saying, well, I'm. [00:31:16] Speaker B: Saved, I'm going to heaven. Salvation literally means, and we've talked about this already, it means that God literally rescues us. He delivers us. [00:31:26] Speaker D: It's not just a thing he did. [00:31:27] Speaker B: Once in the past, but it's a lifelong experience. He's delivering me. He's healing me. He's rescuing me. He's making me whole. He's bringing me through things and he's bringing me out of things. He delivered them from Egypt. He delivered them in the wilderness, and. [00:31:48] Speaker C: He delivered them in the promised land. And he will deliver you all the. [00:31:53] Speaker D: Days of your life. And whatever you go through, he'll be. [00:31:56] Speaker B: Your salvation if you'll learn to trust in him. So, guys, 2024 is just a few hours away. What do we do? How do we transition? How do we cross over? Well, first of all, we have to discard the old, we have to forget old mindsets. Perhaps some behaviors have to change. Maybe there's some pain that you need to let go of. Some memories, maybe shame, disappointment, frustration, anger, unforgiveness. Whatever it is, let go of it. Let God expose your heart. Teach him. Let him teach you. Teach yourself what he wants you to know. Be intentional. There's something called the eximm, which was a process that was Jesuit priests use, and it's actually a five step process. I won't unpack it only, but it literally entails the following four things. We'll put this on the screen. We discard the old, leave the old behind. So here we go. Number one, guys, I encourage you to do this. As we are about to cross over, make a list of key events in 2023. You can take a photo of this and work on this if you'd like. I encourage you to do so. Make a list of the key events of 2023, perhaps all the good, the bad, the ugly. Okay? All of it. Secondly, rejoice. Give God thanks for all of his blessings, even the things that were hard and difficult. [00:33:54] Speaker D: Give him thanks for bringing you through, for protecting you. [00:33:58] Speaker B: I mean, come on. He was faithful to Israel, even in the wilderness. Thirdly, repent. Ask God to open your heart to anything you need to repent of. What is there in my life that I need to repent of. What do I need to let go of? And by the way, the word repent means to change your thinking, to change your mind. Metanoia is the greek word. So it doesn't mean just stop doing bad things. It means change the way you think. First and foremost, perhaps you have mindsets that are not healthy, mental attitudes that aren't good. Let it go. Let him replace it with what is biblical and honoring to him. And then lastly, reset. Ask God, what do you want to say to me about the past year? What are the lessons I need to learn? What do you want to say to me? What are the lessons I need to learn? How many of us are intentional to do this? A lot of times we just go into 2024. Yes, it's going to be a great year. You go to the gym three weeks into January, you stop going to the gym. True story. And what happens is we fall back into old mindsets and habits and patterns, and God wants to change that. He wants to bring true healing and freedom to your life. But we have to own it. What we have to own. We have to allow him to do what he wants to do in our lives. So I'm going to ask you just to stand with me, and we're going to pray. And this is not just a prayer blessing. We want to pray over you because we said we'd have you out here earlier than usual. We've got future Sundays to really lean in. But this isn't just something that happens on Sunday where you get ministry from someone. This is a commitment that we have to make ourselves with the Lord Jesus. [00:36:17] Speaker D: You be you in him. Allow him. [00:36:25] Speaker B: To do what he wants to do in your life. [00:36:30] Speaker D: And, guys, any of this stuff right. [00:36:32] Speaker B: Now that applies to you. [00:36:38] Speaker D: Just allow. [00:36:39] Speaker B: The father who has your best interest in mind to deal with that. Let it go. Let it go. If you need to let go of. Maybe you're. [00:36:55] Speaker D: Projecting. [00:36:57] Speaker B: Maybe there's obsessive compulsive stuff in your life. Whatever it may be, just let it go and let him have his way. So just begin to pray and just lift your voice. And Holy spirit, we just thank you right now that you are dealing with our hearts. [00:37:20] Speaker C: We thank you, Lord, that you have. [00:37:21] Speaker B: A purpose for the delay. There is a purpose for the pause. [00:37:27] Speaker C: And, Lord, we bless you and we. [00:37:29] Speaker D: Thank you that you take us into the wilderness, Lord, that at times you. [00:37:35] Speaker C: Allow us to be put in those. [00:37:37] Speaker D: Situations where we don't know what to do. We don't know the way we should go, Lord. [00:37:43] Speaker C: But we thank you, Father, that you. [00:37:45] Speaker D: Have a reason for that. And right now, we bless you and we honor you and we pray, Father. [00:37:51] Speaker C: That you would just speak to us and reveal to us those things that you are shedding light upon in our lives. Lord God, we thank you for your faithfulness in 2023. We thank you for being with us, Lord God. Even in times of transition, in times of pain, in time of disappointment, we thank you, Father, that you've been with us, Lord God. But we also acknowledge today, Lord God. [00:38:18] Speaker D: That there's things that you want us to own, Lord God. [00:38:23] Speaker C: Ways in which we didn't respond appropriately, ways in which, Father God, we did not fully embrace even what it is. [00:38:31] Speaker D: That you're doing in our life and. [00:38:33] Speaker C: What you've been trying to do, Lord. [00:38:35] Speaker D: That we've been running from it, Lord God. [00:38:38] Speaker C: Lord, we have not embraced, Lord God, the wilderness experience. But at times we've just said, lord, get me out of here. I don't want to be or, I don't want to go through this. Lord. No, we worship you. We worship you in the wilderness. It's easy to praise him in the promised land, but can you worship him in your wilderness? Will you worship him in your wilderness? Will you allow him to have his way in your life. Allow him to have his way. Let it go this morning, Father, thank you. We let go of old mindsets. We let go of pain. We let go of disappointment, of bitterness. Lord God, Lord of trauma, Lord God, we let go of it this morning. We say, come and heal your people. Come and heal your people. And Lord, thank you for what it is, Lord God, the things that even have been so difficult and so hard, Lord God, we thank you, Lord Jesus, that Lord, we've learned to lean in on you, even in the pain, even in the disappointment, even, Lord, with the difficulty, we've learned to lean into you, Lord, we thank you, Lord, that you're bringing us through it, Lord God, that you're bringing us closer to you, Lord God. It's not Lord, that we would just experience difficulty or deprivation, Lord, but that we would lean in and we would experience dependence upon you. We would depend upon you. You would become our delight, that our soul would find rest in God alone, that our soul would find peace and fulfillment and satisfaction in God alone. We thank you, Father. We thank you, Father. And as we cross over into 2024, Lord, bring us in. Lord God, bring us in. Lord God, bring us in with a new conviction. Bring us in with a new mindset, Lord God, bring us in with a new attitude, Lord, bring us in, Lord God, with a renewed desire to follow you, to be led by you, to let go and allow you to have your way. Lord Jesus, we thank you. Lord, we thank you for your goodness. We thank you, Lord, for your faithfulness in our lives. And Lord, we thank you for delivering us from setting us free, Lord, and bringing us in to the more, the more the fullness, the fullness and the fulfillment, Lord God, the fullness of your power, the fullness of your provision, the fullness of your peace, the fullness, Lord God. And the fulfillment of your promises. Lord, the fulfillment of your promises. Lord, we thank you. Jesus. Come on. What is it? I want you just to allow the Holy Spirit, please, to just highlight some things, some promises that you've not yet fully seen come to realization in your life. You've not fully seen the manifestation of these things in your life. Would you just begin to just embrace those things and say, yeah, this is a year. This is a year. This is a year. We're going to look at how to wage warfare for the promises of God according to scripture. How do we wage warfare? How do we contend for the fulfillment of what it is? We don't just sit back passively, but we cooperate with what he's doing. Come on. God wants to do amazing things. God is a good God. He's a good, good father. He wants to give you the breakthrough. He wants to bring you out so he can take you in. He doesn't want you stuck in the wilderness. He doesn't want you to die in the wilderness. He doesn't want you to decline in the wilderness, but he wants you to come out of the wilderness in the power of the spirit. The Bible says in Luke's gospel that after Jesus was in the wilderness, he returned to Galilee in the power of the Holy Spirit. He wants to bring you out of the wilderness in the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord, we worship you, we praise you, we honor you Lord Jesus. Come on, let's lift up our hands. Let's just begin to worship him. Let's just begin to embrace the truth of his word. [00:42:51] Speaker D: Come on. [00:42:51] Speaker C: The Bible says, let God be true and every man a liar. The Bible says that he's put his word even above his own name. That he's at a place where he says, yes, my word is true. Do you believe my word? Do you believe my word? Will you embrace my truth? Will you go after my word? And will you say, yes Lord, I will contend, yes Lord, I will believe. Yes Lord, I will let go. Let go of disappointment. Let go of things that didn't work out. It doesn't matter if it didn't happen. It doesn't matter. That doesn't change the truth of who God is and what his word says. It doesn't matter if it hasn't happened. God is true. God is true. God is not a man that he would lie. He's not a man that he would lie. Come on, have faith. Have faith. I pray right now in Jesus name for renewed passion, for renewed vision. I pray in Jesus name that you would experience a desire for the fullness of who he is and what he wants to do in your life. Give him your yes, allow him to do that work in your life that he wants to do. Stay in the fire. Allow him to purify you in Jesus name. [00:44:14] Speaker A: Thank you for joining us. We hope that you enjoyed today's podcast. Now we realize that not everyone has had the opportunity to respond to the good news of the gospel. And for this reason, in all of our services and platforms, we want to extend to you the opportunity to follow Jesus. The Bible teaches us that we have been created for a relationship with God. However, sin, which is essentially disobedience, independence and disbelief, or are simply missing the mark, entered the world and separated us from God. Romans chapter six, verse 23 says that the wages of sin is death and a debt was owed. And the Bible tells us that he, Jesus, demonstrated his love for us, that while we were still sinners, he died for us. Jesus paid the penalty for our sin. John 316 says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. God so loved the world that he gave us Jesus, that whoever believes in him will be saved. All that is required of anyone is that they believe in Jesus. The son of God who came, lived, died and rose again so that we could be forgiven, made right and given the right to become children of God and to have life forevermore with him. Today you can begin a relationship with Jesus. To believe in him is to simply to respond with faith in our hearts and confess with our mouths that he is Lord and we do that through a simple prayer. Follow along with me dear Jesus, I believe that you are the Son of God. I thank you that you love me and came to forgive me of my sin. I repent from my old way of life and I turn to follow you. I receive the free gift of eternal life and I ask that you fill me with the Holy Spirit so that I can live a life of following after you. I thank you that I am born again as a child of God and that I am a new creation in Christ Jesus. Amen. If you prayed this prayer for the first time, we would love to connect with you and connect you to your next step and the local church in your area. You can contact us on our website at Numa Church. Thanks for listening.