Facing A treachous Jouney

Facing A Treacherous Journey

There is a Rio Grande Gorge bridge in New Mexico that served as a backdrop for my thoughts for this counseling prop. There is actually a paved bridge that spans across this amazing gorge. Furthermore, God moved on the heart of a unbeliever who took a dome video gorge to give permission to me to use the photo in the center of prop. However, the prop bridge is made mostly from pop sickle sticks

*** Imagine that you are someone who is standing on the left side of the cliff and overlooking a 600 ft. drop to the raging water below. You know God would have you to move forward on your journey to get across the treacherous bridge to the other side. How do you do it?

I. Here are some options.

A. You could try to walk across, but the planks are too far apart and some are damaged and some wouldn't support your weight.

B. You could try leaping to the next plank on the ridge, but that would be very risky and some of the planks would not support you weight.

C. You could try to walk the railing, but a wind gust would surely blow you off to your death.

D. You could try to wrap your arms around the railing, but there would be various damaged planks in the way and your grip would give away before you reached the other side.

E. You could take a rope and lasso the pole on the other end, but you don’t have a rope.

F. You could try to leap from one canyon to the other, but it is way to far to leap across.

G. The journey forward looks impossible and hopeless.

II.We should understand that just because we have become Believers, it does not mean that there won’t challenges that will stand before us.

A. "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

B. There is a challenging story in Scripture about king Asa, in II Chronicles 14:1ff. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. He tore down the idols of the pagan gods. He had the people to obey the Law. He built up the cites and his army. He did everything right, but then there arose an impossible situation. God permitted and army much larger than his to rise up against him. He didn’t run and hide, get mad at God, or even rush to attack the enemy, but instead, he stationed his own army which that was far out numbered and then he prayed.

"And Asa unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee” (II Chronicles 14:11).

C. Jesus also said to the world and to his disciples that offenses would come. "“Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!” (Matthew 18:7).

D. "Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!” (Luke 17:1).

"And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee” (II Chronicles 14:11).

III. We also need to realize that there is no such thing as a leap of faith.

Look at the illustration of the treacherous bridge. There is a man standing there in a yellow hat at the edge of the canyon. It would be impossible to try to walk across the bridge with planks missing and those that remain are aged and some burnt. It would be stupid try to leap from one plank to the next. Surely you would fall to your death.

See: A walk of faith

A. It is a walk of faith.

1. "And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden" (Genesis 3:8). To be with God we must learn to walk with Him.

2. "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him" (Genesis 5:24).

3. "These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God" (Genesis 6:9).

4. "And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do" (Exodus 18:20).

5. "(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)" (II Corinthians 5:7).

B. There is a growth factor.

Today we want a microwave maturity. We want instant coffee and instant direction, instant deliverance, and instance healing. Although these may on occasion happen in a moment, often there is a time factor involved. We just don’t jump from babes to mature adults.

1. "The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon" (Psalms 92:12).

2. "For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear" (Mark 4:28).

3. "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ" (Ephesians 4:15).

4. "As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby" (I Peter 2:2).

5. "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen" (II Peter 3:18).

IV. We should understand that God doesn’t always deliver us from the trials we face, but rather delivers us through them.

A. Almost all of us battle with some kind of fear that is set before us at some time or other.

B. There are over 100 different kind of fears.

C. Fear may open the door for the enemy to work in our lives. Even Job said, "For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me, and that which I was afraid of is come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came" (Job 3:25-26).

D. Fear, in one sense, is the opposite of faith.

E. Without faith it is impossible to please God.

1. "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Hebrews 11:6).

2. "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).

F. Fear is centered around the sense of our possible loss.

1. Loss of life.

2. Loss of health.

3. Loss of a job.

4. Loss of possessions.

5. Loss of a position.

6. Loss of respect.

7. Loss of appreciation.

8. Loss of reputation.

9. Loss of family.

10. Loss of friends.

G. What are we holding to? The devil can't steal from you what you don't own.

1. "Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (I Peter 5:7-8).

2. "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

V. The situation may be impossible for us, but not with God.

A. Science would say that metal is heaver than water and can not float, but Elisha made an axe head swim. (II Kings 6:4-7).

B. Science would say that no one can stop the sun and moon in their orbits, but Joshua commanded that the sun and moon stop in their orbits and it happened. (Joshua 10:12-14).

C. Science would say that a man can not walk on water, but Peter and Jesus did. (John 14:25ff).

D. Science would say that anyone who has been dead for 4 days and rotting could not be resurrected, but Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead after 4 days. (John 11:42).

E. Science would say that a virgin can not have a child, but the angel visited Mary and told her that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and encouraged her by telling that her cousin, Elisabeth, who was and already pregnant in her old age. Then the angel says, "For with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37).

VII. There is a need to stop and pray.

A. We are not to worry, but to pray.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6).

"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).

B. We have not because we ask not.

"Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not” (James 4:2).

C. We also may ask for the wrong things.

"Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3).

D. We should make God our delight.

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalms 37:4).

E. We should seek His Kingdom first.

"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).

VIII. We are look behind us to find the planks of faith to cross the bridge.

A. Look again at the photo of this prop. If you didn't notice, there is a container of planks behind the man. These planks can be used to replace the missing planks and the burnt ones. These planks represent what God has done to save us and bless us in the past.

B. Here are some Biblical characters who recalled what God had done

1. Crossing the Jordan = “And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day” (Joshua 4:9). These are called standing stones.

2. David = “David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee” (I Samuel 17:37).

3. Jonah = "When my soul fainted within me I remembered the LORD: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple" (Jonah 2:7). I believe that he remembered the Lord through all that God had provided for him in the past.

4. When John the Baptist was in prison and began to doubt, he sent someone to Jesus to ask him if he was the Messiah. “Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them” (Matthew 11:4-5). Jesus encouraged John by looking at what was already accomplished.

5. Paul encouraged the young minister, Timothy. "When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (II Timothy 1:5-7).

C. You see, we need to remind ourselves, that we are special, loved, and that God has a purpose for our lives.

1. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (I John 4:10).

2. Second, I am alive, not because I have been perfect in my obedience, which I haven’t been, but because He loves me and has a purpose for me to remain alive thus far.

3. God said, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end" (Jeremiah 29:11). God also has a specific plan for your life.

IX. If we look close at the model of this old worn out bridge in the photo, there are some of the planks missing and some even burned.

A. Those planks, as is, can not be used.

B. They need to be either removed, repaired, or replaced.

C. Those planks may represent hurtful memories and other trauma experiences from the past which may shape our present reality.

1. They may be an addiction which we have had.

2. They may be secret sins.

3. They may be failures that we have had in spite of doing our best.

4. They may be experiences of rejection or abuse from others.

D. However, there is good news.

1. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).

2. "And I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm, my great army which I sent among you” (Joel 2:25).

3. "And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in” (Isaiah 58:12).

4. God can take the curse and make a blessing out of it. Joseph told his brothers who had sold him into slavery. “But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive” (Genesis 50:20).

5. Jesus said, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord” (Luke 4:19).

*** It is only through Jesus that we can receive freedom and healing for the emotional wounds that we have received in the past.