Journey to the Promised Land - Sermon Notes - Bro Mike

Sermon Notes for Sunday, June 10, AM Service

Bro Mike introduced a new short series for this summer - Journey from Egypt to the Promised Land

Text is Exodus 13:17-22

We are, even now, headed for the Promised Land. Are you?

Underlying question to consider: Is there a difference between the sinners' prayer and someone genuinely becoming a child of God?

 Reminder: This epic journey caravan was accompanied by a casket- the bones of Joseph (see verse 19).

Our Journey - Does anybody know the way?


GETTING THERE....

1. With God giving the directions.

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter...

 By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or by night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.   Exodus 13:17a, 21-22

--Who is giving the directions is important to anybody.

--God did not chose the near route.


2. With God knowing why we are taking this route.
      For God said, "If they face war, they might change their
      minds and return to Egypt." Exodus 13:17b

--God doesn't want us to go back to Egypt.

--Our default position is to go back to our Egypt, not to the Promised Land.

--The journey is dangerous and difficult

--Notice the phrase, "For God said..."  God watches out for us, to deliver us from trouble, but also to make us grow: protection and growth.

--Ultimately, it's not about our comfort and enjoyment. It's about getting you to where He wants you to go. He has a specific destination for us.


3.  With God responsible for the supplies.
       Wilderness straight ahead.
       Last chance for supplies
       for 40 years.

     
Question: Is there any evidence (not feeling) in your life that you are indeed on the journey to the Promised Land?

Since we are not traveling in single file with the cloud and the fire, led by Moses, how do we stay on the right path?

They had a pillar of cloud by day
They had a pillar of fire by night
They had Moses

We have:

The Holy Spirit
The Church
The Bible

These are the tools to keep us on the right path on our Journey to the Promised Land.

This message was a sort of journey in itself. My mind was considering our personal journey as we move away from this wonderful church.

So much of it applied to us -- I appreciated all the thoughts --
but I was sad also. Many of the Israelites had left friends, perhaps close and dear friends, back in Egypt.

With all the drama surrounding their Exodus they were certainly excited, and the prospect of the Promised Land certainly beckoned them forward. But probably, for many, it was a hard thing to leave their homes and familiar surroundings....

For the complete sermon, with its great illustrations, go to fbc-bc. org and click on sermons....

Thoughts from Bro Mike from Sunday

We heard words of wisdom yesterday - words to help guide our lives in these treacherous times:


I. God's Word explicitly establishes marriage between male and female
(Genesis 1:26-28, 2:24)

II. God's Word explicitly requires disciples of Jesus to adopt His commands as their lifestyle (Matthew 28:19-20)


Implications:

1.  A strong statement on traditional marriage made by the Church requires Christians to live out a strong lifestyle consistent with that stance.

2.  Every disciple must come to terms with the tension between the Church's attitude and the world's attitude about Biblical standards.

3.  Every disciple and congregation must be faithful to God regardless of the circumstances in which they find themselves.

Living (Still) Legends

They are still standing guard - 3 men of God on prayerful duty watching over us --

Billy Graham - will turn 93 In November. Remember him standing tall and looking us in the eye, with his Bible held up  high? - "The Bible says..." he would begin..... And we knew there was no doubt the words were Truth.

George Beverly Shea - just turned 103. According to the Guinness Book of World Records he has the world's record for singing live to more people than anyone else in history - upward of 220 million cumulative.

Cliff Barrows - just turn 89 - This is the Hour of Decision he would announce - we will never forget - for so many, probably at least 2 million, those crusades were their Hour of Decision.

Recently Cliff Barrows recalled that day in 1948 when Billy Graham, at one of their first crusades, in Modesto, California, asked each of them to compile a list of things that might threaten their ministry and what they could do to prevent each one.

Their lists centered on  integrity, accountability, humility and purity of life. They called this"document" their Modesto Manifesto, and it guided their ministry from that day on.

Thought: where would this nation be if those great soul-winning crusades during the last half of the 20th century would ever have occurred?

The Wonder of it All

There's the wonder of sunset at evening

The wonder as sunrise I see

But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul

Is the wonder that God loves me

O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all!

Just to think that God loves me

There's the wonder of springtime and harvest

The sky, the stars, the sun

But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul

Is the wonder that's only begun...

The wonder of it all! The wonder of it all!

Just to think that God loves me!

-----George Beverly Shea

What is God's Most Repeated Command in Scripture?

The most often  repeated command in Scripture.....



          Fear not....

                Do not be afraid....

                        Have no fear....

                                Fear them not...




Think maybe we should obey this command?

Holy Week - Thank you, Dan

Holy is the week...
Holy, consecrated, belonging to God...
We move from hosannas to horror
   with the predictable ease of those who
   know not what they do.

Our hosannas sung, our palms waved,
Let us go with passion into this week.
It is a time to curse fig trees that do not yield fruit.
It is a time to cleanse our temple of any blasphemy.
It is time to greet Jesus as the Lord's Anointed One,
   to lavishly break our alabaster
   and pour perfume out for Him without counting  the cost.

It is a time for preparation...
The time to give thanks and break bread is upon us.
The time to give thanks and drink of the cup is imminent.
Eat, drink, remember:
On this night of nights, each one must ask,
   as we dip our bread in the wine, "Is it I?"
And on that darkest of days, each one of us must stand beneath the tree
and watch the dying, if we are to be there
When the stone is rolled away.

The only road to Easter morning
   is through the unrelenting shadows of the Friday.
Only then will the alleluias be sung;
   only then will the dancing begin.

   --- by our dear friend, Dan Lozier