Deuteronomy 31:4
“And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to Sihon and to Og, kings of the Amorites, and unto the land of them, whom he destroyed.”
Israel could have easily thought they had seen everything after seeing God deliver them from Egypt and the wilderness. Yet, that was just the beginning. God said this much in the verse above when He says, “And the LORD shall do unto them as he did to…” God was reminding them that what they saw Him do in the past was just the beginning.
Deuteronomy 20:1
“When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.”
Every person will at some point in their life take on a project that is bigger than they seemingly can handle. It doesn't mean they shouldn't have taken on this project, because God will God can give us these projects so that we will rely on Him more. If we never take on projects that are bigger than us, pride will fill our hearts because we will think that every victory is of our own making.
2 Corinthians 4:6
“For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
“Hide it under a bushel? NO! I’m gonna let it shine.” These are the words from the popular song, This Little Light of Mine.
We oftentimes sing this song without stopping to think about what we
are saying. We are to let our light shine brightly in a dark world. God
commands us to do so in the verse above. But, how do we let our light
shine brightly in a dark world? God shows us five things we must do to
accomplish this.
2 Corinthian 9:2
“For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of
you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your
zeal hath provoked very many.”
The Corinthian church is sadly known as one of the most worldly
churches in the Scriptures. What is interesting is that when this church
laid aside its worldliness, it picked up an attitude of ministering.
Paul said that this church became known as a church that ministered to
the saints. In fact, the verse above says they became forward about it.
In other words, they were eager and zealous to help others. This
attitude spread to the point that others churches were provoked to do
the same thing.
Deuteronomy 6:18
“And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of
the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and
possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers,”
The desire of every Christian should be to be blessed. There is
something about hearing the blessings of God upon someone’s life that
motivates Christians to do whatever it takes to also be blessed of God.
But, just being blessed should not be enough, we should also want to
stay blessed.
1 Corinthians 12:11
“But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.”
It always amazes me the makeup of every church. The different personalities, backgrounds and talents that each church has is different, but these differences exist to enable that church to reach their community for Jesus Christ. This is why it is important for every church member to get involved because God has given them a gift that will help their church better reach their community.
In 1 Corinthians 12, God gives the makeup that He gave every church. In every church, there are those who are naturally gifted, those who hold church offices and those who are involved in the daily operations of the church by fulfilling their ministry. Each of these people are given a different gift to help fulfill one of these roles. Some are gifted with wisdom, others are gifted with the knowledge to show how to do something, others are gifted with the ability to discern direction better than others, etc. There are several thoughts we must learn about this area of gifts.
First, everyone has their own gift. It is important that you learn your gift and grow it. The gift God has given to you is to help your church better reach your community. Don't expect everyone to have your gift because God has given it to you so you can help your church.
Second, don't be jealous of another’s gift. God gave each person their own gift. Stop being jealous of another’s and start using your own gift to do what God wants you to do with it. Jealousy of another’s gift will only waste your own.
1 Corinthians 5:11
“But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any
man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an
idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an
one no not to eat.”
Just because someone is a Christian doesn't mean that it is fine
for you to be in company with them. There are people in every walk of
life who are good and bad. Just because a person is saved doesn't mean
that they are living the life they should be living. God shows us a list
of people with whom we should not keep company.
Numbers 35:34
“Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.”
There are certain people whose presence inspires others. There are those who inspire others when they tell their stories. There are others who inspire people by their ability to go on in tough times. There are others whose attitude is inspiring when you are around them. Certainly, we all enjoy being around those who inspire us to do more.
Numbers 19:11
“He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.”
When a person gets saved, the one thing they still have to deal with is their flesh. Your soul may be saved, but your flesh is still corrupt. Throughout the Scriptures we are told to make no provision for the flesh and to crucify it. How you deal with your flesh will determine the degree of victory you will experience in the Christian life.
Numbers 11:1
“And when the people complained, it displeased the LORD: and
the LORD heard it; and his anger was kindled; and the fire of the LORD
burnt among them, and consumed them that were in the uttermost parts of
the camp.”
One of the things that every pastor has to watch for are the
destructive groups that would destroy God’s church. Every church has
those groups of people who seem to have their own agenda and would
rather destroy the church than to move on to a church with which they
agree. Many Christians have been destroyed because of these destructive
groups.