Message from the Pastor |
THE LORD'S TRAINING CAMP |
You may mail questions or comments to Pastor Lawrence Bradford above |
Rev. Lawrence Bradford Archived from: May 2001 |
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I. I Proberbs 3:5-6 5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and le not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. A. Teachable Spirit 1. The first thing in the Lord's training camp is we have to have a teachable 2. Do not get set in your ways 3. If you haven't changed your opinion in a year, you are set in your ways, or as Proverbs puts it; you are leaning on your own understanding 4. When the word of God meets deception, there is hurt 5. The word of God hurts as no sin can ever hurt; the word of God comes to change us, when we refuse to be changed, the hurt comes 6. There can never be any mistake bout the hurt of the Lord's word when it comes to his child 7. But the point of the hurt is the point of revelation 8. There a places in our lives that are real sensitive, they are lodged in our life and we don't want to let them go 9. The word of God goes right straight to these places 10. Do we trust Him or do we lean to our on understanding 11. The word of God always reveals me to myself 12. The moment I say or refuse to let the word of God have its way in my life, the word has exposed me to leaning on my on understanding, and not trusting in God B. Trust 1. Trust = Hebrew (982) batach = baw-takh'; a prim. root; prop. to hide for refuge [but not so precipitately as 2620]; fig. to trust, be confident or sure: - be bold (confident, secure, sure), careless (one, woman), put confidence, (make to) hope, (put, make to) trust 2. Trust is to be in the Lord 3. Trust is to be with all the heart 4. Amp. Proverbs 3:5 Lean on, trust and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind, and do not rely on your own insight or under- standing 5. Trust is David facing Goliath when no one else will. I Samuel 17:45 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou has defied. 6. Trust is Moses standing at the red sea, and nowhere to go Exodus 14:9-10 9 But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth, before Baal-zephon. 10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. 7. Trust is three young Hebrew men, that when everyone else is bowing they are still standing Daniel 3:11-12 11 And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth, that he should be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. C. Understanding 1. You don't have any so don't lean on it 2. Most of the time you can't see God in a situation, because of your understanding 3. Isaiah 55:8-9 8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. 4. In the Lord's training camp the first thing to go is our understanding, our thoughts, our ways 5. Sometimes we don't understand what the Lord is doing 6. Did David understand why? 7. Did Moses understand why? 8. Did the three Hebrew children understand why? 9. We don't have to understand, but we have to trust, we have to lean, with all of our heart nothing kept back 10. To see God move we have to give up our understanding D. Acknowledge God 1. David acknowledge God I Samuel 17:34-37 34 And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his fathers sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: 35 And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. 37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee. 2. Moses acknowledged God Exodus 14:13-14 13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. 14 The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. N.I.V. 14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still." 3. The three Hebrew children acknowledged God Daniel 3:16-18 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. 17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. E. God will direct 1. God directed David I Samuel 17:40; 49-51 40 And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherds bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine 49 And David put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon his face to the earth. 50 So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David. 51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine, and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and cut off his head therewith. And when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled. 2. God directed Moses Exodus 14:15-16 15 And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: 16 But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. 3. God directed the three Hebrew children Daniel 3:23-25 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. II. Victory is ours if we A. Trust in the Lord B. Lean not on our understanding C. Acknowledge God D. Let the Lord direct our path E. In other words entering the Lord's training camp with a teachable spirit |