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Good
Monday Mornin!
Hebrews 11:1 tells us. . .
Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not
see.
Cory and I went up to the mountains this weekend to camp out and ride
horses. The trails where we went are fairly wide, but they are covered
over
by the fallen leaves. However, there was always one path no matter where
we
went that you could tell all of the other horses had been using because it
was well worn. And what was funny is if we would just let our horses reins
go they would walk on that same worn path. If the path moved over from one
side to the other, the horses moved over. No matter where that path went,
the horses wanted to be exactly where they knew it was safe.
We were going along and I saw a great place to go off trail and up the
side
of the mountain. So I turned my horse and coaxed him to go. He did, and we
climbed up the side of a hill, and then back down the other side. There
was
never a problem because I have been riding my horse for so many years that
when I asked him to trust me up the side of the hill he did and we were
able
to explore off the beaten path.
But then the time came to cross a mud puddle and that was a different
story.
And another time when he saw a big rock that was not going to hurt him,
but
he gave me a fit! I had to literally fight him to passed it. There was no
way else to go but past the rock and through the mud puddle.
As you guys walk with Jesus this week, I want you to ask yourself,
"how much
of the beaten path am I following, and where is Jesus asking me off the
beaten path and I won't go?" Because the deal is there are places
that you
will go with a little coaxing, but others that you just balk and God has
to
get hard on you because He wants you past it. I think the reason Jazz
didn't
want to cross mud puddles or walk past certain rocks is because they
represent the unknown.
How many of you guys are walking with Jesus day in and day out and all of
the sudden something comes up and you are like, "woe Jesus, I aint
going
there"? Really, how many of those times come for you? Like how many
of you
are going along just fine and then Jesus asks you to forgive that person,
stop that habit, give that money or help that person? He asks you to go
somewhere that you are scared to go. Forgiving that person feels like
letting them off the hook, stopping that habit means giving up something
you
crave, giving that money means you might not have something for yourself
and
helping that person, well that takes time and we all know how precious
that
is! But really we are talking about a faith thing.
You see Jazz has to have faith in me that I know that the hill won't hurt
him, the mud puddle has a bottom and the big rock is not a horse eating
alligator! He has to trust me. And guys you have to trust Jesus! If He is
asking you to do whatever that something is then you have to trust Him and
His Word that He will not let you down! If the God that fed the five
thousand, stopped the sun for a day and forgave us all of our sins asks us
to do some of the same who are we to not!
Look at a few things with me. . .
1.Where God asks you to go He knows what is going to happen already!
One of the most comforting things about being a Christian is the
sovereignty
of God. The fact that He knows what is going to happen before it ever
does.
Where ever it is that God is asking you to go I promise you He has already
been there and knows what is going to happen.
2.God will never take you into danger. Whatever it is that God is
asking you to do will not hurt you. If God asks something of you there are
not hidden dangers. He will provide all your needs. God will never ask you
to go to a place or do a thing that will be of danger to you. It may hurt,
you may get stretched to the limit or you may lose something that you
thought you needed, but in the grand scheme of God's plan you have to
trust
Him that no matter what happens He will not endanger you.
3.God only wants to get you past your fears so that you can move on
with your life. Did you ever realize that God is not concerned with how
much
you can do for Him? Isn't that liberating? God is very concerned with how
much you trust Him, but never concerned with how much you can do for Him.
God is taking you and I on a journey and that journey requires you to get
past things that hinder your walk with Him. God doesn't need you to get
past
them, He wants you to get past them so that the two of you can get on with
your journey.
This week as you walk with Him ask yourself, "where is He taking me
off the
beaten path?" Where is it that He is leading you, and then trust Him!
Some
of you guys God is calling you to do something so much bigger than you
could
have ever imagined with you lives, you just will not trust Him.
Give Him your everything you will be surprised at what He can do with it.
I love you guys.
Pastor Jason Lyle
The Open Range Church of Henry County
Many are the plans in a man's
heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails.
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