19.Aug.2008 Connecting to God as Your Source

We are going to continue talking about disconnecting from the world as your source and connecting to God as your source. These are crazy times, and people are afraid. People who depend on the world for their provision are afraid. God says we are in the world, not of the world. We are living in our self-made craziness – economic trial, terrorism, wars – and no one knows where to go and who to trust, because they aren’t connected to God as their source for everything. If your life is attached to all that, you are going to struggle. You have to make the leap and completely submit all areas of your life. You have to submit your finances to God and enter the kingdom and the economy of God.

Joshua 1:1-9:1 After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: 2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites. 3 I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea [a] on the west. 5 No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 6 “Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. 7 Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

The more people I can get disconnected from the world as their source and connected to God, not only will our lives change, but our church will change. There will be a shift as multitudes of people get a hold of Biblical truths and kingdom principles. In this story, there was a critical shift in leadership. God brought forth his law to the people through Moses. We know that when God wants to bring a message to the earth, he finds someone who believes him, gives them the vision and then brings his purpose forth in the earth. God’s plan is to redeem the earth. Jesus’ sacrifice gave us a way back to God. God has been waiting for you. When you come back, Heaven rejoices. When one gives their life, myriad angels rejoice. When a human heart decides to turn, drop their pride and stop living for themselves, millions of angels worship in heaven – every time a soul comes back to God. And God, just like the prodigal son, receives you back into the family.

But God has a bigger plan than just that. God is so passionate about people, that he turns around and says “Can I use you? Can you help me get others back? Can I give you power and help you discover your gifts and talents? Will you use them for me?” We begin the journey of giving God our full life and discovering our purpose in Him. But sometimes we never get there – sometimes we never completely submit our lives to God. Living in the world is living for yourself. Sometimes, we never truly unplug from that. But God is asking you to fully submit and find yourself in him, enter his kingdom, find your purpose and expand the kingdom. It’s not just about you going to heaven. It’s about everyone going to heaven. God retrains our thinking, from us-centered to others-centered. We start on a journey of transition, transitioning our thinking.

This passage in Joshua demonstrates a transition – old to new. Sometimes there are things in our lives that we just will not let go. There are some things that we find security in. We find it difficult to let go of the things in our life that are dead. While you are connected to death, it will affect you and swallow you. The Bible says to repent from dead works and submit to God. God wants us to leave all old things behind. Repent of being plugged into the world – it is dead to you – it is not your source. Repent of dead works – things that you do to make money. That is not your source! You are in it, but not of it. I am in the world, but the world is not my source. I have repented from things that are dead and God is my source. Don’t look to that thing that is back there – it will never release or unleash you. Only God can unleash you. Only God can provide for you.

Paul says, the one thing I do is to let go of the past and I reach forward to the future and press on to the goal of the upward call of Christ Jesus. In the world, all that rules your life is circumstances. What you see is what you believe. But that is the realm of the natural. When you were saved, you were transformed into the kingdom and over here, it isn’t what we see, it’s what we believe. It all about faith because God is our source. You left the realm of the natural as your source and planted yourself is the kingdom – the promised land.

God says to Joshua, I want you to lead my people into a place that I have for them. Leadership is all about submission and humility. When you learn submission and humility, you understand discipline and commitment. But the greatest leaders are the greatest followers. The last in the kingdom become the first. If you can’t submit, you will never lead. On paper, Joshua was a much more impressive, strong person than Moses. But he knew that his connection to greatness was through submitting to Moses and following him on the journey. If you are plugged into the kingdom of self, you can’t submit to someone you don’t think is deserving. But when you are in the kingdom, and God is your source, and you submit your pride and are humble, you rejoice to follow those that God puts in your life because you know it is your avenue for growing in God. God breathes on your submission and humility and turns it into something great.

The first person you are going to have to lead is yourself. You can’t lead others until you lead yourself. It doesn’t matter if you have the name of “leader” if you don’t have the influence and authority to affect others’ behavior. When you discover the pathway to leading yourself, you will discover untold power. God will empower you with the skills and the vision you need to do what he is asking you to do. Once you trust him and follow him, he invests in your life and grows you. When God invests in your life, you start to grow, but you are never proud. God is your source, and it is never about pride. You begin to get confident and believe that God has a plan and a calling on your life and wants to accomplish something through you.

Ten of Joshua’s companions went into the promised land – to look at what God promised – and came back saying it was impossible. Joshua and Caleb had the vision and trusted the promises of God. Ten couldn’t, two could. Ten didn’t make it, but those that believed led millions into God’s promise because they could see it. When you decide that God is calling you and that you are going to step out, there is always going to be challenge between where you are and the promised land. In this story, it was the Jordan River – a full, raging river. It was an obstacle between where I am today and where God wants to take me. You will run into obstacles every time you decide you are going to trust God as your source, trust more, make change and move further along the journey. You will never cross or make it through unless you are willing to take the steps into the water and walk in faith.

You have to walk into the middle of your fight. You have to forgive here for deliverance there. You have to have a kingdom mindset – never about us, always about other. We have to trust God in everything despite what you see. God will challenge you in certain areas because he is trying to move you. He is trying to get you past obstacles to get to the place he wants to take you to. You have to have faith that God will hold back the water. When you get to the other side, you will see clearly and thank God. And then God will touch another thing in your life, and you will have to trust him again. That is how you grow. Maybe it’s time for you to trust God with your money. We have to trust God in everything. We have to ignore what we see in the current economy and trust God as our source.

Those who are already living in God’s economy aren’t worried about money, because they know it isn’t theirs. They know God provides and they don’t have to worry. They are focused on growing God’s kingdom and fulfilling his purpose because they don’t worry about natural things. You can’t possess what God has for you if you don’t do it on his terms. You can’t go to that place without trusting him. You can’t demand God’s blessing but refuse to trust him with your finances. You’re still going to have setbacks, but it won’t matter. You won’t care because all you are focused on is what God is doing in your life. In the natural, you can have tons of money and no happiness. The world is all about self and stuff. In the kingdom, it doesn’t matter if you have a lot or a little because you are happy and blessed and joyous in God. You will never be happy there. You can only be happy in God. You can only have that peace living in the kingdom and in God’s economy.

And you can’t be jealous of the people that are already there – the people that are already in the promised land or passed the obstacle you are facing. Jealousy is a curse. Don’t be jealous of others, or afraid of the obstacle or stuck on the banks of the river. Trust God fully! And every time you will find that God is always there. God is always faithful to fulfill his promises when we trust him.