Halloween has come and gone already. It was
always a fun time when we were growing up in the ONCE UPON A TIME ago,
wasn't it. But, there was always that ONE KID that seemed to make it a
little scarier than it ever was--even when it wasn't Halloween. I guess
every neighborhood has its' bully. When I was growing up, our neighborhood
sure did-Boomer! I'm not making that up. That was his name! I seriously
can't remember his real name. This guy made all of us little kids in the
neighborhood his victims. He'd beat us up, he'd tower over us, he'd threaten
us, and he’d take our stuff, just because he could.
One day I'd had enough!
I was little and he was big. But I marched all the way down our little block
on East Katherine Street. I went up the steps on that back porch, and man, I
pounded on the screen door there. Boomer came to the door. I said, "Boomer,
I want my stuff back!" He said, "Man, you're a brave little kid." Well, he
didn't really say that, but you probably said, "Well, Chuck, I really
underestimated you." Yeah, there was one thing I forgot to tell you. My dad
went with me. That made a very big difference. Like this: Boomer was bigger
than I was, but my Father was bigger than Boomer was.
In Deuteronomy chapter 1, we're finding that
God's ancient people are being terrorized and frightened by the Boomers in
their world. They have scouted out the Promised Land that God wants to give
them; that He promised to give them. They've come back and said, "The people
are strong and tall. They are taller than we are. The cities are large with
walls that go up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites; those giant people.
Nobody goes against them. We saw them there."
Now, I don't know what your Boomer is, your
giants, your walls. It could be a challenge or a problem that you're facing
right now that's just a lot bigger than you are or your resources are. Well,
here's the reaction of these people. "You were unwilling to go up" the Lord
says. "You rebelled against the command of the Lord your God because of how
big the giants were."
They could have had the Promised Land. Instead
they got the wilderness; wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Chapter
1, verse 29, "Then I said, 'Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them.
The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as He did
for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw
how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way
you went until you reached this place. In spite of this, you did not trust
in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by
night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to
show you the way you should go.'" Then He says, "You were unwilling to
trust."
"Look who's going with you" He said, "the Lord
your God." And he reviewed five promises to His people; for any of His
people who are following His lead into something difficult and challenging;
five worries that could keep us from going for it. First of all it says,
"The Lord your God will fight for you." In other words, you don't have to
fear your enemy. "I am bigger than your enemy even if he's bigger than you
are."
Secondly, He says, "The Lord your God is going
before you." "I'll get where you're going even before you get there" is what
he's saying. No fear of the unknown; there's no unknown to Him. He's already
there getting it ready. Then He said, "I will carry you." That means that
when you run out, He'll still be carrying you. There's no fear of your
inadequacy because it's all about His adequacy.
Then He says, "I will search out places for you
to camp." There's no fear about your location. He says, "I'll get you a
spot. Don't worry." And finally He says, "I will show you the way you should
go." There's no fear of getting lost on the way. He promises His guidance.
But they made this tragic mistake, "You did not
trust in the Lord your God." See, you can miss the place to which all the
journey has been leading you if you don't move out in total trust that your
God will fight for you. Why don't you move boldly into the, I call it "God
alone zone" where God alone could do this.
After all, whatever is bigger than you are, your
Father is bigger than it is, Halloween or NOT!
See You in Church,
Rev. Chuck
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