PART 4: PUTTING AWAY CHILDISH THINGS

CAN YOU HANDLE BEING BLESSED?

1 Corinthians 10:1-12

           How many times have we said, “Oh Lord, if you get me out of this situation, I promise to serve You.” Once God delivers you from your situation, you respond, “Thank you Lord! As soon as I finish college, I’m going to serve You.” Or “Lord, as soon as I finish these wedding plans, get my marriage settled, and maybe have a few kids, then I will be ready to serve You.” We get what we want from God and forget all about what it took to get to where we are in life. 

          The children of Israel continued to complain even after seeing the miracles of God, the parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:21), manna to eat (Exodus16:15), and water from a rock. (Exodus 17:6) God delivered them and each time they did not realize the blessings of being God’s people. They just wanted a comfortable life. They didn’t want God on His terms. Nor did they want to love Him from their hearts and become totally devoted to Him according to His word. Unfortunately, they chose not to follow God fully. (Numbers 32:11)

Remember who Brought You Out: No one knows what you have had to go through to get to where you are today. We must remember that Jesus brought us out of our situations. When we didn't have a job, God was the one that provided for us. When we didn’t know where our next meal was coming from, God had mercy on us and opened His hand toward our needs. God is the source of all natural and spiritual blessings that come down from heaven.  We must never forget how faithful He has been and will be to us.

Refuse to be controlled:  The adversary wants us to believe that nothing we have is good enough. Our homes that we were blessed to get has become too small, now we need a bigger house. We need the latest technology, even though our pockets are telling us we can’t afford it. When you are satisfied in Jesus Christ you are content. We should keep our eyes fixed on our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to get through our daily battles of dissatisfaction. Jesus has blessed us with the privilege to be a fellow heir with Jesus as God’s son. (Rom. 8:17) We will find contentment with the help of the Holy Spirit speaking to our hearts.

Really Believe You are not Exempt: God wants us to learn from the children of Israel. They are our example of a people chosen by God to know Him and to be a witness to the world of His mercy, compassion, grace, and holiness.  When the LORD had called them to live a life that represented Him, they didn’t enter fully into their blessing because they wanted to follow God without truly trusting in Him. Their hard times in life caused them to doubt the God who delivered them from Pharaoh.  A world empire that no one could conquer, but God conquered Egypt through Moses.

      We must choose to shake loose the chains of unbelief concerning the direction God wants to take us to have a fulfilled life in Jesus Christ. If we don’t take heed, we will fall short of truly seeing God’s glory lead us. We want to hear from you. As Pastor Hamilton continues his sermon series, what are your thoughts? Can you handle being blessed?