The Promise in the Dirt

Honor: Pastor Tom, Pastor Don, Merinda, Family

I want to talk today about, “THE PROMISE IN THE DIRT”

1 • IDENTIFY THE PROMISE •

PROMISE TESTIMONY

• Prophesied over at young age

• Felt the call at age 16

• Prophesied at age 18 that I didn’t have 10 years, that I would be a voice in my generation

• Just passed the 10 year mark this last January!

I saw the promise, I started digging

THE PROMISED LAND

The nation of Israel recieved their “promise” 40 years earlier.

Moses is taking a moment to remind them of that promise.

Deuteronomy 4:1–8 ESV

1 “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you. 3 Your eyes have seen what the Lord did at Baal-peor, for the Lord your God destroyed from among you all the men who followed the Baal of Peor. 4 But you who held fast to the Lord your God are all alive today. 5 See, I have taught you statutes and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. 6 Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8 And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?

Deut 4:

The generation that Moses is talking to is a new generation - one that needed the promise, and needed a path to the promise.

the previous generation had the promise, but no path and they missed out

they needed to be reminded because one of Satan’s great strategies is to make us remember what we should forget, and forget what we should remember

if this next generation was going to make it to the promised land, they need to learn how to dig!

2 • DIG FOR THE PROMISE •

God lays out the highway to get to the promise...

Deuteronomy 6:1–9 ESV

1 “Now this is the commandment—the statutes and the rules—that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, that you may do them in the land to which you are going over, to possess it, 2 that you may fear the Lord your God, you and your son and your son’s son, by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be long. 3 Hear therefore, O Israel, and be careful to do them, that it may go well with you, and that you may multiply greatly, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

So if God is laying out the path for us to get to the promise, this is the main highway. There are other smaller signs along the way, but this is the main thing:

Love God with all your Heart, Soul, and Might (capacity)

Now, God begins to tell them how to live in the promise...

Deuteronomy 6:10–15 ESV

10 “And when the Lord your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12 then take care lest you forget the Lord, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 It is the Lord your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. 14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you— 15 for the Lord your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the Lord your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth.

...”cisterns that you did not dig”

Digging Wells - IMAGE SUPPORT

When digging wells, you can dig upwards of 200+ down feet before you hit water!

Water lives in the part of the Earth we call “BEDROCK”

In some places on Earth, BEDROCK is above ground (i.e. mountain with streams flowing)

In most cases, to get to BEDROCK you have to dig through the OVERBURDEN

When digging for water, we really don’t know how deep down we will have to dig, but what we know is that, “THE PROMISE IS IN THE DIRT”

DIG THE WELLS OF THE PAST

“cisterns you did not dig”

during our church fast, I felt compelled to pray about remembering the wells that were dug before our time, that provided for us to be in the place that we are now.

those of us that are young or new to FOB, we are drinking from wells that we did not dig

the property, the building, the culture of worship, the openness to let the Holy Spirit move in our services - someone had to pioneer that before us

Pay Respect - to the parents and grandparents that paved the way, prayed for us when we didn’t know God, that prayed for us before we could even speak

Genesis 26:18 ESV

18 And Isaac dug again the wells of water that had been dug in the days of Abraham his father, which the Philistines had stopped after the death of Abraham. And he gave them the names that his father had given them.

DIG THE WELLS OF THE PRESENT

We have a responsibility as the current generation to steward and learn from previous generations so that we don’t fall into the same traps, but that we succeed in bringing more people into the population of Heaven!

tells us, “dont forget the ancient roads”

Pain in the Dig

It’s easy to say all this, but let’s be honest, chasing the promise is hard work.

• PAIN IN THE DIG •

When you dig for an extended period of time - you can develop some pain along the way…blisters & calluses

blisters - form when the skin is repeatedly rubbed (friction)

DIG THE WELLS OF POSTERITY

calluses - are caused by an uneven distribution of weight (burden)

bitterness, anger

Removing Calluses:

you can use a stone to remove a callus

Jesus is the chief cornerstone

Matthew 21:44 ESV

44 And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”

PAIN IN INNEVITABLE!

Show me someone in the Bible that did great things and didn’t go through pain.

How we deal with the pain is what makes the difference...

…James tells us

James 1:2–4 ESV

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

In order to press through the pain, we have to remember the promise, and we have to remember that the promise is not just for us, but for our children!

DIG THE WELLS OF POSTERITY

Standing here today, it’s easy to say the sacrifice was worth it 30 years ago, but in the moment, it was hard to tell.

Standing here today, it’s hard to say if the sacrifices, if the digging day after day is worth it.

OLDER GENERATION

3 • STRIKING WATER •

We’ve heard about the moves of God that took place in your generation - but we are ready to experience that for our generation.

We need you to come alongside us and show us the ancient paths, show us how to pray, show us how to seek God until He pours out His Spirit on our generation.

Moses & Joshua

Joshua spent his time in the desert serving

When Moses went up the mountain the first time, Joshua was there. The only times we see Joshua not with Moses was when Moses wanted God to show His glory, and when Joshua stayed in the tent of meeting because the presence of God was so strong and he couldn’t get enough.

We aren’t going to be handed a deep well and run it well unless we came alongside the well digger and learned the depths and behind the scenes of what it takes to get a well like that

3 • STRIKING WATER •

Once you strike water, it’s incredibly important that you build in boundaries around the well, otherwise it will fill back in.

SETTING BOUNDARIES

This book is full of boundaries that cover every aspect of life.

tells us that this great nation has statutes and rules so righteous

You could choose to read this book and follow every rule to the “T” or there is a shortcut

THE SHORTCUT

Jesus gives us the shortcut when an expert of Deuteronomy approaches Jesus and asks Him what the greatest commandment is...

Luke 10:27–28 ESV

27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”

If we want to see the promises of God fulfilled in our life, we have got to start loving him with all our heart, soul, and might

That means...

lifestyles have to change

schedules need to change

friendships need to change

priorities need to change

Jesus says in ...

John 7:37–38 ESV

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”