083 He brought us OUT, to bring us IN

“And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he swore unto our fathers”

Deuteronomy 6:23

 

~A few months ago I rediscovered a little Chorus which we sang as Children in the 1960’s when I was growing up, simply called “He’s the Saviour of my Soul”.   This and many other similar Choruses had at their heart the Theme of Saviour, … one read: “I have a Saviour who’s mighty to keep, all day on Sunday and six days a week” and another “S.A.V.I.O.U.R. we want you all to know; He’s the one, the only one who saves from sin!”

If you think of it, most “Church going” folks sing this kind of song, celebrating their Saviour and His work of Salvation, yet I believe that few Christians fully understand and have grasped just what the Saviour did for them?   Some will cite his forgiving mercy, while others will take pleasure in his substitutionary sacrifice on their behalf.   Some glory in his life and words, while others can’t wait for his reward.   “He saved us from Hell” that is true, “He bought for us Heaven” and that also is true, but is that all He did, and is that why He came 2000 years ago, just to get us out of Hell and into Heaven? It would seem as I have listened to most Preachers for the past 50 years that that is the case, and even as a Theological Student way back in my twenties, I was taught that this was why He came, to die for our sin, and to buy with his own blood our redemption.

All of this was, and still is TRUE, and in that, I was not taught any erroneous doctrine, but I have discovered over the years that “the half was not told me!

Way back in the book of Deuteronomy in the 6th Chapter we read the testimony of Moses concerning the “Children of Israel”

who were in Slavery in Egypt. In verse 23, we read;

“And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he swore unto our fathers”

and it is to this verse that I want to focus my attention today in this sermon which I have entitled….

“HE BROUGHT US OUT, TO BRING US IN”

 

It is true that Gods purpose was to deliver his people from bondage and slavery in Egypt, and the whole story of that deliverance you can read for yourself in

Exodus Chapters 1 through 12.

Yet God did not merely intend “to bring them out”.   God had a plan “to bring them in” which was why he brought them out in the first place.   God had prepared for them a “Promised Land” indeed he swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob that such a land would be theirs: and it was as the Bible says “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exodus 3:8) and indeed 22 other times in the Old Testament the Land is referred to in these terms. It was to be a “good land” and a “large land” it was truly a prepared land for a prepared people, and God wanted to bring His children into it. He brought them out, to bring them in!   Of course if you know the story, you will know that they did not enter in to it immediately, but for forty years afterwards, and Moses did not enter it at all. (More about that later on)

Yet in spite of their “wilderness wonderings for 40 years” it still remained Gods ultimate purpose that they should enter into his rest, and into his place of promise for them, for he had brought them out to bring them in!

There are wonderful lessons for us to grasp and learn from this truth, lessons which should change the way we live as Christians.

The Bible clearly shows that Our Salvation was planned to

bring us out of the world and into Gods promises. If you like, to deliver us from Hell and destine us for Heaven, but Jesus did not say that that was why he came.   In John 10.10. (in the Amplified Bible) he says “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it in abundance, to the full, ’till it overflows.”   Jesus came to give us life, not just eternal or everlasting life, and not just life in Heaven, but that heavenly quality of life – that is abundant, full and overflowing. Is that the kind of life you are enjoying and experiencing now, today?   Sadly, many Christians simply know nothing of this kind of life.   They may have come OUT, but they have not yet come IN,

and therefore are still in the wrong place with God.

Tragically many of our Churches, even our more Evangelical Churches, who ought to know better, feel that their only mission in life is to get souls saved, get them out of the world and into the Church.   Now don’t misunderstand me, that’s a good mission, that is a worthy cause, for “he that wineth souls is wise” (Prov 11:30 ) But our Churches are simply full of believers who are OUT but have not yet come IN.   They have a form of Godliness but know nothing of the power of God. They appear to be in the right place to others for man looks on the outward appearance, but they are not yet in the right place with God, for He looks on the Heart.

 

Remember the words of Jesus ” a full life, and abundant life, an overflowing life” these are terms used at the Granary, when one comes with an empty vessel to buy grain. Jesus was familiar with this and also spoke about “good measure, pressed down, shaken together and overflowing” (Luke 6:38)   I am reminded now of another little chorus which I sang often in my youth, it said:

“Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up Lord,

come and quench this thirsting of my soul,

Bread of Heaven, feed me ’till I want no more,

fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole”

Unfortunately while this kind of sentimentality is spiritually refreshing, it is nevertheless out of step with Gods Word?

If you understand anything of the “abundant, full and overflowing” life offered you by Jesus – you will know just what an insult it is to lift up a “cup” to Him!   For years now I feel that I have been insulting the Lord as I raised my cup to him, – “fill my cup Lord” I would sing, and I meant it, every word. But God brought me OUT to bring me IN.   God has brought me out of Poverty into Wealth, out of Sickness into Health, out of Darkness into Light, out of Fear into Faith, out of Bondage into Freedom, out of Weariness into Rest, out of the Paupers way into the Palace …. He has brought me out to bring me in, in to a “good land” in to a “great land”. “Don’t bring me your cup” He says, “Don’t bring me your Bucket” “Don’t even bring me your Barrel”   but bring me your Barn,

… I can fill your Barn!

 

This is the abundant full and overflowing mentality, … Oh may God give us the “Barn Mentality” where we expect great things from God and attempt great things for God. May God help us to have done with lesser things.   God grant to us “Greatness” the greatness that belongs to Him, and therefore to us. The Devil has been telling you that you are a failure, but God says you are a success, and “can do all things through Christ who will strengthen you” (Phil 4:13 ) The Devil tells you that you will never amount to anything, but God says “you are the apple of his eye” (Zec 2:8 ) The Devil says that you’re all talk, but God says “open your mouth wide and I will fill it” and “I will feed

you with the finest of wheat and honey from the rock” ( Psalm 81:10&16) Do not allow the Devil to frustrate your zeal and ambition for God. If you have surrendered your life to Jesus Christ and truly know Him as Lord then anything and everything is possible with your life in His hands.   Begin believing God, taking him at his word, venturing faith on him, step out there in your world and lay hold on God, and like Jacob, who wrestled with God at Peniel, hold on to Him, and say

“I will not let you go, except you bless me” ( Gen 32:26)

I am not a “prosperity” preacher, but I am also not a “poverty” preacher, for God has promised to prosper his Children so that they might help others, and give generously to the poor and needy. Indeed if you look back at the History of the Church in both Britain and Ireland, you will discover that most of the benefits and blessing of the welfare state have come to us because of Christian Influence and Generosity.   Homes for the Poor, Orphanages, Hospitals, even our Holidays, we owe to Christian influence. God can prosper us in many ways, not just financially. Indeed, speaking for myself, I have never had vast sums of money that I could give away yet God has given me influence with those who had, and I have been able to source much funding here in Ireland for other less privileged

nations and people overseas.

 

Bringing us IN to all that God promises, is the work of the Holy Spirit.   The impact of the Holy Spirit in the human Spirit, impacting the mind, the mentality, the ambitions, the dreams and visions of Gods Children.   Many Believers are settling for less than is rightfully theirs and are belittling God, they have no ambition, no enthusiasm, no vision, no dream.   They continue to pray “fill my cup Lord” and have no concept of the reality that God wants to “fill their Barn” also!  Stretch your Faith

today,   Jesus said you can’t put new wine in old wineskins, in other words you cannot go to a new level with old attitudes. God has a new season for you, open your mind and your mouth and expect God to fill them both. “God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that you ask or think”. (Eph 3:20)

Psalm 115 says, “The Lord your God will increase you more and more.” God wants to take you places you’ve never even dreamed of, but your capacity to receive and your level of expectancy will either limit God or allow Him to work and do great things in your life. It’s time to give God permission to increase you. If you’ll take the limits off of God and believe for supernatural opportunities, expecting far and beyond favour, you won’t be disappointed. God says you’re going to be blessed!   Yet you are already blessed and if you are not thankful for the things you already have, I don’t expect God will give you more?

 

Ingratitude can be a blockade to Blessing.   As a child of the Most High, you are entitled to be Most Blessed!   It is of no glory to God if his children are walking the streets like paupers, while the world is dressed in designer gear!   There is nothing wrong with Christians having nice clothes, nice cars, nice houses, and so on, as long as those things do not become “gods” or take the place of God. Many Christians simply love and lust after things … when God wants His offspring to love Him.

I was raised in a poor environment, where most people in those days were genuinely struggling to make ends meet. Even though my Father and Mother often scrimped and saved to pay the bills, they had big hearts, and would give credit to our customers who were also struggling.   But even as a child I knew that God had put something in my heart that told me “I was supposed to be blessed”   I don’t expect that my parents ever raised anything more than a cup to God, but I have learned

to leave the Barn Door open and say “Lord fill it”   God has so much more for us than we could ever expect, we have been enclosed and often imprisoned in a certain level of expectation.

God takes pleasure in prospering his children, ( Psalm 35:27) When someone asks you how you are doing, reply with these words, “I am truly blessed and highly favoured”

A frog might live in a little pond on the farm , and think to itself that it has all the water in the world  but such a frog has never seen the ocean.   Are you looking at a bucket, or a well or a pond, and forgetting that God is the God of the ocean?

Just how Big is your God?

“HE BROUGHT US OUT, TO BRING US IN”

 

I say again, that “the abundant, full and overflowing life” is the NORMAL life for the Christian.   There are of course times in all of our lives when we experience little rough patches.   A head-Cold, a Tummy Upset, a Flat Tyre, a Leaking water pipe, and so on, but this is just life, it is not necessarily a judgement from God or a Satanic attack, its just life, and even in those problematic situations we can still be singing, still rejoicing in our Saviour, and still living on the mountain top.

Even the Kings, Queens, Presidents and Prime Ministers of our world, all have their off days!   It’s just Life!

…

Now our text reminds us that God brought them out to bring them in, in to the Promised Land.   As I mentioned a while ago, the Children of Israel did not enter into the Land right away, in fact they wandered through the wilderness and around the mountains for 40 years.   Their murmurings, complaining and ingratitude, their sins and idolatries, had proved to God that they were not yet ready to come in to all that He had promised. Moses himself in an act of anger had misrepresented God before

the people and this barred even him from the land.   At the end of his life on the top of Mount Nebo, God allowed him to see it, but he died there and never entered in. (Deut 34:4 )

But there came a day when God said to his people “You have compassed this mountain long enough: turn northward” (Deut 2:3)   In other words God was telling them that it was time to “move on” time to move forward into the things that He had for them. Sometimes we can become so familiar with life, even our Church life that we never expect anything better or anything different, or anything more. Perhaps that’s what God is telling you today. It is time to move on, time to move up to what is yours, time to possess the land, time to possess your inheritance in Christ, time to leave the old ways behind you, and time to embrace change.

 

I have said it before, and will no doubt repeat it, that in more than 37 years of ministry I believe that in many of our Churches we are merely “playing at Church”.   We are more concerned about who is chosen for this task or that job, more concerned about the way in which people dress, the versions of the Bible they read, the way in which they park their cars in the car park, who arranged the flowers, the volume of the organ, or the voice and sound of the preacher, than we are about whether or not God was in the Service? (and I have to say that God is not in any of that)   God will allow us also to go “round the mountains” and “through the wilderness” and we will never come into the Promises until we get ourselves right with God, and understand what His Church is all about.

 

HE BROUGHT US OUT TO BRING US IN

yet if we are not In, then we are still not in the right place!

Stop “Playing at Church” and start helping the folks who do come to Church into the life abundant and the life overflowing

in Jesus. Catch a Vision, a Dream of what you could do.

 

NOW THIS FINAL WORD

 

It started like so many evenings. Mom and Dad at home and Jimmy playing after dinner. Mom and Dad were absorbed with jobs and did not notice the time. It was a full moon and some of the light seeped through the windows. Then Mom glanced at the clock. “Jimmy, it’s time to go to bed. Go up now and I’ll come and settle you later.”

Unlike usual, Jimmy went straight upstairs to his room. An hour or so later his mother came up to check if all was well, and to her astonishment found that her son was staring quietly out of his window at the moonlit scenery. “What are you doing, Jimmy?” “I’m looking at the moon, Mommy.” “Well, it’s time to go to bed now.” As one reluctant boy settled down, he said, “Mommy, you know one day I’m going to walk on the moon.”

Who could have known that the boy in whom the dream was planted that night would survive a near fatal motorbike crash which broke almost every bone in his body, and would bring to fruition this dream 32 years later when James Irwin (Jimmy) stepped on to the moon’s surface, just one of the twelve representatives of the human race to have done so?

 

If God gives you a dream, who knows just what the future will hold, for He has brought you out, to bring you in.

 

May Almighty God Bless this Sacred word to all our Hearts for His dear names sake …Amen.