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Pastor Bob Joseph
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Dear Church Family:
"The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying; "You have dwelt long enough at this mountain. Pull up your stakes and go to the mountains...to all the neighboring places in the plain, in the mountains and in the lowland..."See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to your fathers-to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob-to give to them and their
descendants after them" Deut. 1:6-8
This was God's instruction to His organized church as they came out of Egypt on their way to the "promised land." Think about those verses in light of the church today as we are about to enter the heavenly "promised land." Could it be that we too could become so comfortable with our surroundings, comfortable with our Christian fellowship, comfortable with the blessings of having come out of "the world" and into the church, that we (like the Children of Israel) might need to be reminded as to why God has freed us, and called us at such a time as this? Could it be that we need to be reminded of what we are called to be about...what we are called to be doing...prior to entering our eternal home of milk and honey?
There are two thoughts that I want to touch on above. Two thoughts that apply to us and our being ready for the second coming of Jesus and entering into heaven. One is our need to GO to the mountains; and two, is our need to GO to all of our neighbors. If we'll go, we'll possess the land; for the promise is just as sure to us today as it was to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob of long ago.
I'd like to relate the call of going to the mountains to that of our need for seeking out a fresh, and a new, mountain top experience with Jesus on a daily basis. This type of relationship realizes that I'm not to be satisfied with yesterday's view because there is a better view to be gained today as I daily go higher in my walk with Him. Once I set my stakes, become satisfied with where I am, and refuse to advance any higher, is when God can no longer lead me into the promised land. So let's keep "pressing on the upward way" as we keep asking God to "plant our feet on higher ground." Let's not neglect our personal time with Jesus!
But then we must not neglect to come down from the mountain in order to reach out to our neighbors and the people around us on a daily basis as well. We are called to do two things --seek out the Shepherd daily; and --seek the Shepherd's lost sheep daily. If I set my stakes on the mountain and refuse to pull them up to go down to be about Christian ministry in serving others, I have again refused to be led to the promised land.
So we're called to GO and that is what being a movement is all about. God never wanted His church to be a place where we grow comfortable. Instead it's a place for us to grow up and to grow out. Church is to be a place for us to be spiritually enriched but that will never happen if we are not also seeking to spiritually enrich others outside the church. Let's focus on these two aspects of "going" as we are rapidly approaching our "promised land". Let's keep the main thing the main thing. Seeking Jesus and serving others.
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