Obedience & Arising & Contagious Victory by the Blood of Jesus

This morning Pastor Peter taught about the type of faith and obedience that was demonstrated through the Joseph of the Old Testament and the Joseph of the New Testament. Both men went through many trials and had much to overcome, but both were positioned to become obedient to God. No one likes to think of the difficulties that come with living daily for God, but they're there. They exist. We have been set apart from this world and in doing that we invite conflict into our lives. That conflict can build though - it can build through faith. I want to get continually stronger in God and I couldn't, or rather wouldn't, rely on Him if my life was picture perfect. Sure, we praise Him in the good things, but if they were continual we really would walk away - we would walk alone. Being for God always is the faith we work towards, not the one we walk out in our present lives. If we did we'd just be pulled up to Heaven now - no more world life required. The message was interesting, and more importantly it was thought-provoking. It made me think about fractals (what doesn't?) - about the importance of timing and about the intersections between all circumstances and all people. Which falls completely in line with the evening service...

Pastor Bryan preached tonight about the positions we can take as a Christian. It was really interesting. It was about how the mountains and valleys of life affect our position - and how we're called out of that mindset. It's true - we don't know God's plans. Who are we to give up when we feel like it? People that stop themselves from breakthroughs, that's who! Wow, that sounds like a line from a kids book - moving right along. Joshua was the focus of the message. He was a man who'd been given victories by God and who forgot, who felt himself unworthy - he was a man who in hopelessness lay down and stopped moving for God. Sure there were problems, when are there not, but God told him to get up:

Joshua 7:10
"So the Lord said to Joshua, 'Rise up! Why is it that you have fallen on your face?'"

--> Despite circumstances we need to rise up! Are we children that need to be coddled and continually persuaded to follow God? No! We need to be mature in Christ. Joshua did get up. He got up and faced and defeated 31 kings. Does that sound like a breakthrough to anyone? It did tonight and if we keep it close to our hearts then during our struggles it will remain a breakthrough story. The other verse Pastor Bryan spoke on was:

Ephesians 6:13
"Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm."

--> Standing for God is important. It's where He wants us to be. This verse is full of responsibility - it puts us in the position of having to do everything we can to stand firm in God. I like that. Everyday of being a Christian is about making the choice to live for God. Stand because you know God's victory is around the corner. The service was about how both defeatist and victorious attitudes are contagious. So, we need to make the choice and declare God's victory. We need to see the truth of that past our situations, past ourselves.

The last thing I'll mention about the service is about circumstances. Pastor Bryan talked about having to recognize that God asks us to face different circumstances in different ways. Something that worked in the past will not work in the present. There is only one manual for Christian living and that, the Bible, describes all of the situations we can face. I wouldn't want to read it if it had the same response for everything - it wouldn't be God's Word. Yes, there's a consistency and a constant love, but it's a living book, not a dead one. We can't change it and we for surely can't make it simple. Anyways, the idea of different circumstances and responses made me think of the intersecting aspect of our lives on earth. Yes yes, again with the fractals. But seriously, of course we need to respond differently in all things. The amount of details on this earth are innumerable. God intersects all small, seemingly insignificant, details and uses them for His purposes. If you changed one part of my life before I got saved it would have been a different life. Every interaction we have and every struggle we go through gets put towards God's plan. How could we not be in awe of that? How could we not declare victory for that which we don't see? He will reign. We can rest on that. We can stand firm. In Him and Him alone.