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Series: Other Speakers

Sun am 6^th July 2014 – Shane Egypt

Isa. 46:3-5, 10; Jer. 24:2-7; Num. 23:19; (Luke 15:11-24); (Col. 1:27); John 16:13-15;
John 6:14-15; (Heb. 5:8); (Luke 22:42); Matt. 10:29-31; Luke 12:6

God is dealing with us individually and corporately, but are we ready for the next level? Are you ready for God to take action? Can God deal with us as mature people? He wants to give us more responsibility and He chastens every son. There will be babes because we are a family but there also need to be mature ones to carry that which God has given.

“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob, (that would indicate that you should listen to others), And all the remnant of the house of Israel, You who have been borne by Me from birth And have been carried from the womb; Even to your old age I will be the same, And even to your greying years I will bear you! I have done it, and I will carry you; And I will bear you and I will deliver you. “To whom would you liken Me And make Me equal and compare Me, That we would be alike? (Isa. 46:3-5). Why is God asking this question: “How do you perceive Me?” “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “Figs, the good figs, very good; and the bad figs, very bad, which cannot be eaten due to rottenness” (Jer. 24:2-3). They were in captivity due to disobedience. We perceive ourselves through what we find ourselves in, and thus perceive God in a different light. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘Like these good figs, so I will regard as good the captives of Judah, whom I have sent out of this place into the land of the Chaldeans. For I will set My eyes on them for good, and I will bring them again to this land; and I will build them up and not overthrow them, and I will plant them and not pluck them up. I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart” (Jer. 24:4-7). We ask, “How can You as a Father do something to me in this way and You say I am a first-fruit? Should it not be the other way around?” How does God see Judah? For I will set My eyes on them for good (vs. 6). So God comes and creates a situation where there would be recognition and an understanding that this is Father-God that I belong to. This is how He wants us to get to know Him and perceive Him even if we are in difficult situations. Sometimes we feel we are failing. The thoughts of doubt and withdrawal come flooding in. God is saying, “Do not compare Me with anything or anyone else, because I Am God.”

Has God taken things away from you? Anything in which He is not central, He will remove. While the prodigal was lost, he was still a son, but how did he perceive his father? In his mind his father had rejected him because he had done wrong and lost his way. However, his father was there every day, waiting and longing for his return (Luke 15:11-24).

God is not a man that He should tell or act a lie; neither is He a son of man that He should feel repentance or remorse for what He has promised. Has He spoken and will not do it, or has He said and will He not make it good? (Num. 23:19).  In a seeming situation that God has rejected us, there is a feeling of extreme loneliness and abandonment. Why would the people of God serve and worship other gods? They knew what God had done for them previously. When you are alone and you cannot find your way, you grasp at other things. Sometimes you move away from the centrality of God. God says “I am not a man who promises you something I will not deliver.” We cannot lean on our own understanding nor lean on the arm of the flesh.

God is pushing us into a new level of faith. In His dealings with us He wants to bring us into an understanding that He is our heavenly Father. Remember the things He did of old, He is God and there is none like Him, declaring the end from the beginning (Isa. 46:10). He is finality and He will do all His pleasure and purpose. “I have spoken and I will bring it to pass. I have purposed it and I will do it.” What then is my frame of reference? Christ in me, the hope of glory! (Col. 1:27).

Why were the people seeking Jesus? (John 6:14-15). Thousands were fed. See how they perceived Jesus: a provider of bread, a king, a deliverer from oppressions, to take them out of their circumstances, and satisfy their desires. The word was clear of what was His mandate. He learned obedience by the things He suffered (Heb. 5:8; Luke 22:42). Their motives for seeking Him were clearly wrong.

Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows (Matt. 10:29-13). A sparrow’s value is not much, but the Father is saying that no sparrow falls to the ground without His consent or His notice. Fear not then, you are more valuable than sparrows. If things happen in our lives, does He not notice? Does it happen without His consent? His eye is on you for good. Nothing happens without His consent and will never go unnoticed. Will God be caught by surprise? He knows the end from the beginning. Even the hairs on your head are numbered. You are of great worth. Do not be struck with fear, God understands. He wants you to come to an understanding of Him. His will, will be done. Give over to the will of God. Do not be ignorant of the devices of the enemy when you find yourself in difficult circumstances. Doubt comes, the flight response comes, withdrawal comes because of how we perceive ourselves, and we perceive God in a different light.

Let the word be an encouragement a blessing and an empowerment to you by the grace of God. It is written!