First sit down and estimate the cost II

Deuteronomy 1: 19 Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful desert that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea. 20 Then I said to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” 22 Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.” 23 The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe. 24 They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and explored it. 25 Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported, “It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.” 26 But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. 27 You grumbled in your tents and said, “The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made us lose heart. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’” 29 Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.” 32 In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, 33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.

There were many questions that I had for the Lord in the last weeks, concerning our moving to the next level for our Church. I know change is never easy. In September we will have been here in this building for two years. First with Bible school, Café and then the Church. Many things are easier if we just stay the same, but the fact is in the Kingdom of God, when we stop moving forward we begin to move backwards.

That is why I wanted to know for sure what we were to do, that is the reason we need to count the cost of moving ahead. These are some of the things I wanted to know from God!

o I wanted to know WHY we were to move ahead.

Genesis 12: 1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Why do we need to move? So that we can become a greater blessing.

We are to become greater, so that we can be a greater blessing.

all peoples on earth will be blessed through you

All the peoples of the earth! You see it’s not supposed to be about what we get out of it, but about becoming a blessing to the world. To show the love of God.

What would we do different in another place? What the spies found.

The Israelites were wanderers; God was giving them a more permanent place. It is time for us.
Some of the things that we want to do there.

Worship nights, more teaching opportunities, Seminars with guest speakers, conferences, Youth meetings, children’s activities. FCF Conference yearly.
Sport classes, movie nights, special food nights, discussion evenings,
Office space, children’s rooms, youth rooms, a meeting room that doesn’t need total building up each week. Multi purpose room. Baptismal,

Is it a good land? YES!

Bigger, cheaper, more versatile, location, transportation,

I wanted to know that the Lord was leading us (This is what he showed me.)

Since last year God has been preparing our hearts to move on. How? His Word is a lamp unto my feet.

July – October “Blessed to be a blessing”

Abram had to leave all to follow God Abram had to learn to trust God and not move till he said. (Go to the land I will show you)*
Abram had to separate from things that were hindering him from receiving the full blessing of God.
Lift up your eyes, look and Go!
If you believe you will trust the Lord to fight for you
Believing that he will do it.
Patience “waiting for God to move”
I have made you the Father of many nations

Letting God make us big enough for what he has for us (Financial advisor)

Count the possibilities not the impossibilities
Then Abraham bowed down to the ground, but he laughed to himself in disbelief. “How could I become
Can you trust God with your life…even unto death? Sacrifice of what is important to us.

December

“The great Faith of God and Mary” - Us Trusting God, and he trusting us with his plan. “Giving the gift of Jesus” *
“Covenant of Salt and Light”

The salt represents our covenant to God and man to live what we believe. To bring forth deeds of our faith, not only words.
The light represents our covenant to walk in love as God does. To love God first, then to be a vessel of his love to this world.

January and February till we left for America

“The Church rediscovering his Purpose”

The Church is called first of all to be a world changing people. o The Church Those that have separated themselves to follow and serve God in real life
Rediscover! We can lose our way, forget our purpose, become confused and afraid to do the will of God, o For this Purpose “Learn not to be disobedient to the vision”

o And more…

March –April

“I am the door any man who enters through me”

His will is the doors we should be looking for, not our own. * “He must become greater I must become less”
He and his will must be more important than ours.

May

Here we are counting the cost!

o I wanted to know if it was THIS place.

§ V:20 “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. 21 See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”

§ V:32b you refused to trust the Lord your God, v:33a who goes before you looking for the best places

o I wanted to know

o If WE could do it.

o “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid... 30 The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you,

o If I could do it!

§ Joshua 1: 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.”

o We all have a choice after we know it is from God.

o We can say NO!

§ We say no by…v:26b Refused to go in. v:27 You murmured and complained in your tents… v:34 “When the Lord heard your complaining, he became very angry

· Complaining and Murmuring make things seem harder than they really are.

o Quote: “I’ve seen a lot of troubles in my life, and most of it never came to pass.”

~ Mark Twain

o We can say YES!

§ Not yes to our ability, but yes to his!

· His leading – His word and spirit and open doors

· His promises – make us a blessing

· His Power – he can do all things

· His provision – He owns it all