On Our Father's Shoulders

Deuteronomy 1:28-31 (NIV) "Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart. They say, 'The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there,'" Then I said to you, "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."

When a child, who is barely three feet tall, sees the world around him ... from his vantage point everything is terrifying. But, when the child is picked up and placed on his father's shoulders the child gains a new understanding of his surroundings. Those that seemed like giants are not so big after all. 'What was I afraid of?' Also, the child can 'see' much farther from the shoulders of his father. The child's line of sight is much better. He can preceive the far horizon and feel at peace that he is in a safe place. What safer place is there?

Moses sent the spies out into Canaan to do reconnaissance and report back. Through the spies eyes (except Joshua & Caleb) and at their level of understanding what they saw was terrifying. Giants and high walled fortified cities. How could they overcome them? They could not. Not without the LORD their God. Moses reminded the spooked Israelites of how GOD had rescued them from their slave masters in Egypt, and how HE had 'carried them' like a father carries his son thru the desert leading to Canaan.

Have we asked Our Father to carry us on HIS shoulders?

GOD Wins

There were rumors in heaven
On the eve of the pageant.
The stench of which filled
The hallways and passages
With hints of defiance and rebellion.
The hot wheeze of one deceitful
Whose heart was consumed by the fire of envy
Scorched the ears of fading angels
Until the rebellious ranks of heaven
Cried CHALLENGE!

There was war in heaven.
The host and the Almighty
Responded with volleys of
Superior thunder and
Purged the accursed ones
From their reign.

There was rule in hell
By one deceitful.
Sweltering in anger and fury
Again with fist raised he cried out
But his cry fell short
Never again to be heared
By one Almighty.

Discernment Road

Godly wisdom is practical discernment.
It begins with an awe and reverence for HIM ...
which leads to right living ...
and results in an increased ability to tell right from wrong ...
It moves us from being self-centered to being GOD-centered.
It aligns our desires with HIS will.
It enables us to make wise decisions in difficult circumstances.
It helps us hear HIS voice even amongst the clanging call of the world.
We 'be' with HIM, instead of 'doing' things for HIM.
It leads us on our journey to HIS heart.
And, that is where HE desires us to 'be'.

Surrendering to GOD

Surrender: to yield ownership, to relinquish control to another.

Questions

1. What does it mean to surrender to GOD?

2. Why do we need to surrender to GOD?

3. Man’s first opportunity to surrender failed.
Genesis 2:8-9
8Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9And the Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 3:1-7
1Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
2The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4“You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves

4. What are the consequences of not surrendering to GOD?
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
15See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

5. What are the blessing/benefits of surrendering to GOD?
Jeremiah 29:11
11For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Isaiah 40:29-31
29He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint

6. How does one surrender to GOD?
James 4:7-10
7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double–minded. 9Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

7. Why is surrendering to GOD a key to discernment?
Romans 12:1-2
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God–this is your spiritual[1] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.

7. Jesus’ models surrender for us.
Luke 22:42
42“Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”

Relational Nature of GOD

GOD as Seeker

Genesis 3:8-9 (New International Version)
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"

GOD as Father …

Deuteronomy 1:30-31 (New International Version)
30 The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 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."


GOD as Brother

Hebrews 2:11-17 (New International Version)
11 Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers; in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises."[a] 13And again, "I will put my trust in him."[b] And again he says, "Here am I, and the children God has given me."[c]
14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for[d]the sins of the people.

GOD as Friend

John 15:12-15 (New International Version)
12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

GOD as Lover

Song of Solomon 2:8-17 (New International Version)
8 Listen! My lover! Look! Here he comes, leaping across the mountains, bounding over the hills.
9 My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There he stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice.
10 My lover spoke and said to me, "Arise, my darling, my beautiful one, and come with me.
11 See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone.
12 Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.
13 The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me."