What Happens When You Try To Register The Lord Of The Mountain

"Lord, make us part of what you are doing in your earth. Put us within the menstruum of your Spirit. Assistance u.s. to practice the things that yous are approval in this nowadays age."

At the beginning of the Volume of Deuteronomy the people of God take wandered close to 40 years in the wilderness and desert. They went through some tough, faith stretching times. They struggled at times to be obedient and true-blue to God's commands and at the same fourth dimension the Lord provided for their needs. Not anybody passed the test and many of those who had left Arab republic of egypt wouldn't alive to run into the Promised Land. After wandering around for so long, we hear these words in Deuteronomy 2:1-iii (NASB, 1995), where Moses says: "And so nosotros turned and set out for the wilderness by the style to the Red Sea, as the LORD spoke to me, and circled Mount Seir for many days. "And the LORD spoke to me, maxim, 'You have circled this mountain long plenty. Now turn n,"

December 1, 2013
Deuteronomy 2:i-iii, Isaiah two:1-5, Moving Forward
Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church
[vimeo 80803627 w=500&h=375]

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Have you ever felt like your life was going in circles? Have you had times when each twenty-four hour period and week or even month and year seemed to be similar the last and the view never inverse? Perhaps when you're young then much tin can change from year to twelvemonth this doesn't happen as much equally when you lot get to exist my age. On Thanksgiving 24-hour interval we were discussing my nephew Pietro's upcoming wedding in June, my nephew Gabe'south pending induction into the regular army in January, Greg's higher search and graduating from loftier schoolhouse next June, and Nathan's college experience and his excitement virtually going to the Panama Jazz Festival in January. When you're younger in that location are a lot of big milestones that are life shaping and life altering that come up effectually every few years. Only when you get to be older, sometimes life tin can feel like being stuck in a very decorated rotary and being unable to leave of it. When that happens, depending on our perspective, life can start to autumn into a comfy, familiar design or a boring rut. It's like the movie Groundhog Day in which every day Bill Murray's grapheme wakes up it is Footing Hog Day in Puxatawney, Pennsylvania.

Even this time of year tin experience a little flake like going effectually in a circle. It's the same thing every twelvemonth from Thanksgiving to New year's. On Thanksgiving y'all go together with family or friends and most likely eat the exact same things yous ate the year before. The twenty-four hour period later giving cheers for all our blessings, tens of millions of people get shopping and stand outside in the common cold to buy more things to be thankful for because what they have isn't enough. I know some people will tell me they get some good deals, but you practise have to appreciate the irony of the busiest shopping twenty-four hour period of the yr following "Thanksgiving." And then we go through the 4 calendar week dash to Christmas with more shopping, cards, cooking, parties, concerts and other special events about all of which are a lot of fun, I bask them, until we enjoy a few quiet moments late on Christmas Day to let it all sink in. Some of u.s. savour a lighter calendar week or time off from Christmas to New Year's and and then we come up effectually the corner to a New Yr and the journeying begins again. Many people have their own traditions and routines every bit they go through the holidays.

Routines can be our friend. Doctors tell us that information technology is skillful for united states of america to have consistent routines and habits; it's better for u.s.a. to get to bed and get upward at the aforementioned time every day, to eat and exercise at the aforementioned time every day; it helps us to function better and feel improve. While routines can be beneficial and helpful, ruts are not. The deviation between a routine and a rut is that a routine helps u.s.a. to be at our best and a rut prevents the states from moving forward and existence our best. Having routines of eating, exercising, sleeping, worshiping, on a consistent ground helps us to be healthier and amend people. The blazon of heat I'one thousand talking about has nothing to do with deer; just comes from a track worn past a wheel or by habitual passage; a heat is a usual or fixed practise; especially a monotonous one.

In the Bible, at that place are a number of times when God'due south people get into a rut, peradventure none worse than during the Exodus when they were wandering around in the wilderness. Today's brief scripture from Deuteronomy is about a key moment that happens for God'south people to get them out of the monotonous stage they've been in. The Lord says to Moses, later on they had circled Mount Seir for many days. 'You lot have circled this mountain long enough. At present turn north," At that place are times in life when the Lord speaks these words to us too. We get in a heat, going in circles effectually our own particular mount. We go around information technology for days and days and it gets familiar. We know the view from every side. We know what it looks like from the northward, south, eastward, and west. We know every angle and line. Information technology may sound tedious, but we know what to look, nosotros know what to do, we know nosotros tin can do information technology because we have circled effectually this way before, we know what's coming effectually the curve. There is nothing to fear, been there, done that, but there as well may not be as much to look forward to or to anticipate.

When we starting time circling the mountain every bit the people of God part of what happens is that our organized religion can starting time to atrophy and weaken considering nosotros really don't need God to get through your 24-hour interval, nosotros know what to do and we practise it. The less unexpected life is the less nosotros may experience similar we need God'south assistance to get through it. Unlike a merry go round, God's people aren't meant to get through life simply going around in a circle. So much of the Bible describes life and religion every bit a journey and if nosotros're going to movement forwards in life and faith, if we're going to get anywhere, nosotros can't simply go effectually in circles. There comes a time when the Lord says, 'Yous have circled this mountain long enough. Now turn north," Is in that location anyone hither today who feels that style? If y'all've been circling a mount perchance the Lord is telling you, "At present, plough north."

I experience this is where our church is today. I've been praying, reading, thinking, discussing and wrestling for over a year with how to move BBC off the plateau we've been on for over a decade. Now don't misunderstand me, God has blessed us greatly. We're in the elevation two% of churches in the Usa both in terms of size and age; there are very few churches in the entire land for whom that is true. Nigh of the largest churches are much younger, and near of the older churches are much smaller. Bill Easum who consulted with us two weeks ago commended a bang-up deal about our church including our worship, hospitality, the number of our volunteers, and the leadership of our laity which has enabled the states to practice so much even though he believes our church has been understaffed for years.

In a sense, our church has been circling the mount for a few years now and it'south fourth dimension for u.s.a. to go north and endeavour some new things. Bill Easum has described "the way northward." His recommendations even though they won' be achieved easily or painlessly are the path we're going to follow. Bill has consulted with over 500 churches through the years; there isn't much he hasn't seen. I had to ask myself as nosotros began the procedure, "Am I willing to risk what we have, for the possibility that God may have more in shop for us if nosotros're willing to trust the Lord, and footstep out of the comfortable and the familiar." Bill Easum asked me when I picked him upwardly on November 15 and nosotros were driving to the church for the first time, "How seriously exercise you want me take this?" I looked at him and said, "Very seriously, I want y'all to tell us, based on your wisdom and experience, what we need to do." He was request because he knows alter is hard, especially for people who beloved their church building and are deeply invested in it, similar and so many of us.

Spiritually speaking, part of "going north and moving forwards" means leaving the familiar, the comfy, and the expected. We demand the Lord more in unfamiliar territory because we don't know what's coming; nosotros don't know what lies over the next hill or around the adjacent corner. Just role of life and function of religion is having the trust and the courage to let get of what we know so that nosotros can enter into God's future. What is has to give fashion in social club for what will be to have a run a risk to emerge. I read an commodity recently chosen, xi Things I Wish Every Parent Knew by Dr. Steven Cowan. In the article Dr. Cowan states, "Life is a process of constantly giving way. Things pushed past their prime transform into something else. Just as spring gives fashion to summer, so is each stage of evolution a process of letting get. Crawling gives way to walking. Babbling gives way to speaking. Childhood gives way to adolescence. Past breathing in, you exhale out. By eating, you poop. Each season, each stage, each little rhythm of our life is a thing of letting go. This allows u.s.a. to get rid of what we don't demand to make room in our lives for new data. Learning to let become is not always like shooting fish in a barrel and each child has his own adaptive style and timing."

Learning to let go is not always easy and each of u.s. has our ain adaptive style and timing. Sometimes unless we permit go of the things nosotros're clinging to, our hands can't be open up to receive the new things God has for the states. I believe that God has proficient things in store for BBC and for all of usa. We have been up confronting the 500 barrier for years; we've been stuck in a rut in our development. If we're going to movement to the side by side stage of development, there volition be things we need to permit go of that may non exist easy for some of us. As Dr. Cowan said, "Each season, each phase, each piffling rhythm of our life is a matter of letting go."

Letting go is a constant theme in the Bible. Noah and his family, Abraham and Sarah, Moses and the people during the Exodus, the Israelites after their nation was conquered, the disciples leaving their nets, Mary the female parent of Jesus, Paul leaving his former life; all of them would have missed out on God's future if they weren't willing to surrender their nowadays and the familiar, their hopes, dreams, and plans to risk trusting God for the future and "going north." I hope that nosotros all will be able to pray our way through this flavour of letting go and modify and then we can receive the new things God wants to practise in united states of america and through BBC. I sincerely hope everyone will go with us as the church building journeys forrard into the time to come.

In Deuteronomy, Moses seeks to lead God's people away from a mountain. The Isaiah scripture that began the service is a vision of a fourth dimension when all people will come up to the mountain of God. "Come, let usa go upwardly to the mountain of the Lord, to the firm of the God of Jacob; that he may teach united states of america his ways and that nosotros may walk in his paths. come, allow us walk in the light of the Lord.

That is the invitation that is given oftentimes in the Bible, the invitation to walk in God'south paths and in the light of the Lord. We do so trusting that's the best style to become. Nosotros want to exist a faithful, disciple-making church that reaches out to those not yet continued to God. Throughout the Bible, the invitation is given and some cull to accept it and others don't. Jeremiah 6:16, "Thus says the Lord: Stand at the crossroads, and await, and enquire for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls." Nosotros've circled this mountain long enough, nosotros're going north.

"Lord, brand us part of what you are doing in your world. Put us within the flow of your Spirit. Help united states to do the things that you are blessing in this present age."