January 28, 2018 (Part 5)
May 24, 2018
Joshua 3:1-4 (NIV)
3 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3 giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before…
Jeremiah 6:16-17 (NIV)
16 This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ 17 I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.’
Genesis 26:12-25 (NIV)
12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. 13 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. 14 He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. 15 So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.
16 Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”
17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled. 18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.
19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. 22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.”
23 From there he went up to Beersheba. 24 That night the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bless you and will increase the number of your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.”
25 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.
As we stood at the crossroads and looked for the ancient paths in which we can walk with confidence we identified the following proven pathways…
1. God is on the throne and is in control… Trust Him with all you heart and He will direct your paths
2. The devil is still at work… Resist him and he will flee from you
3. Our days are numbered… Some of us may not be here next year… Live with that in mind
4. The Word of God is necessary food and brings nourishment to our souls
5. You must be born again
6. There is encouragement through the Fellowship of Believers
7. Prayer is powerful and brings us into the presence of God
8. The great commission is still God’s Mission and should be ours
9. Love is still the greatest commandment
10.Forgiveness is not optional
11.God blesses the tithe
12.Sexual purity is essential
As we bring this series of messages to a close, I want us to consider three more ancient pathways which lead us in the direction God wants us to go.
· Praise & Worship is the overflow of our experience with God
· The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a gift for all
· There will be both challenges and opportunities (and sometimes they are the same thing)
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