I went to the Lord and prayed by the Spirit not knowing what He would say back. I just wanted to hear His heart, and I got just that and more. See, how many of us have wanted to serve God and said “This has got to change”. The change starts with you. Before your house (temple of God [you], family, your dwelling, church) can serve the Lord it starts with you.
Joshua 24:15 “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that [were] on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
There will be times you will have resistance in you, and we wonder if the Lord is with us or not. That place is called “Massah” and “Meribah”, you really don’t want to dwell there.
Exodus 17:7 “And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the LORD saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”
Massah means to tempt God or test God, Meribah means to be in strife or contention. We don’t want to dwell in those places! When you can conquer this in you, then you can conquer it with your family and beyond! It must first be conquered in you! Once you conquer it in you, you will find resistance and your family will even be angry with you. We see this with David, and the way he stewarded himself warranted him a promotion to kill the giant he was after! Before he got the chance to kill the giant, he found those who agreed with him and word got to someone in a high place (Saul), and he found favor with him by the grace of God!
1 Samuel 17:25-31 “Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his father’s family from taxes in Israel.” David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.” When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.”
See David was rewarded doubly, his reputation and sphere of influence increased greatly AND the king made him and his family exempt from taxes and gave him great wealth as well as his daughter! Wow Saul basically said “Welcome to the family, enjoy my riches and by the way you and your family owe me nothing”
It all starts with you. Once you have mastered Massah and Meribah (temptation, strife and contention) in you then when you are put in a place to speak and your family (family, church family, extended family) comes at you saying “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” You won’t be drawn into their leaven, temptation or strife.
Start at home, and realize you have already been promoted to high places in Christ. To walk that out steward what you have, and before you know it your day of killing a giant will be before you and the favor of God will manifest at the right place at the right time. Now is the day of salvation! Your heavenly Joseph named you in Christ “Manasseh” meaning “God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household” (Gen 41:51) and rightfully so. Jesus bore it on the cross and adopted you into His house! So forget your toil, trouble, labor (trouble), and rest in the finished work of Jesus. From now on you will always sit at His table! (2 Sam 9:10-11; Psalms 23:5; Sgs 2:4; Luke 24:30-31; Matthew 26:26-28) Little kids always burn off their energy after a big meal and their desserts, they can’t burn off what they haven’t eaten, in the same way you can’t give what you don’t possess. He has laid out the table before you, you have everything in Christ, now fill your plate and possess it starting at home!
- August 30
- , 2011
