That was Then, This is Now2
06/24/2007
THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW!
ISAIAH 43: 1-2, 18-19
There is a:
I. PRINCIPLE WE NEED TO REMEMBER!
A. Personal DIFFICULTIES are UNAVOIDABLE!
Isaiah 43: 2 “WHEN” you pass through the waters . . . ”WHEN” you walk through the fire . . .
B. Personal DESTINIES are UNSTOPABLE!
Isaiah 43: 2 When you “PASS THROUGH” the waters, I will be with you and THROUGH the rivers, they will not overflow you and when you WALK THROUGH the fire, you will not be scorched!
**For I AM the Lord your God and:
1) I have CREATED you!
43: 1 But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator. . .
2) I have REDEEMED you!
43: 1 Do not fear, for I have redeemed you!
3) I have CALLED you!
43: 1 I have called you by name; you are Mine!
**Jeremiah 29: 11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope!
There is a:
II. PROCESS WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE!
A. Our PROBLEMS must be RELEASED!
Isaiah 43: 18 Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past!
B. Our PROMISES must be RECEIVED!
Isaiah 43: 19 Behold, I will do something new!
**How will you know it?
Joshua 3: 3 When you “SEE” the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God . . . then you shall set out from your place and GO AFTER IT!
Joshua 3: 4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, BECAUSE YOU HAVE NOT BEEN THIS WAY BEFORE!
Psalm 102: 13 You will arise . . . for the “TIME” to favor her, yes the “SET” time, has come!
**I have in my possession a picture taken between 1876 -1884 in She-boy-a-gan Wisconsin of a man sitting on his dead horse. The historical research center discovered that the city laws required a man to stay with his dead horse until the dead horse was picked up and disposed of properly.
*The Church would do well to learn from that picture. Here is a news flash, “If the horse you have been riding has died, “dismount”! However instead of dismounting our dead horses, here are several things the Church tries to do!
1) We buy a stronger whip (more discipline)
2) Buy a new saddle (new technology)
3) Tighten the cinch (more control)
4) We say things like, “This is the way we have always ridden the horse” (tradition)
5) We ride the horse for longer periods of time (More and longer meetings)
6) We switch riders (it must be the leaders fault)
7) We appoint a committee to study the horse
8) We arrange a visit to other cities where they ride dead horses more efficiently
9) we write a policy manual for riding dead horses (improve the technique of riding dead horses)
10) We buy some air fresheners and fly strips so we can pretend the dead horse we are trying to ride really isn’t dead!
06/24/2007
THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW!
ISAIAH 43: 1-2, 18-19
There is a:
III. ____________ WE NEED TO ___________!
A. Personal _______________ are _______________!
Isaiah 43: 2 “WHEN” you pass through the waters . . . ”WHEN” you walk through the fire . . .
B. Personal ___________ are ___________________!
Isaiah 43: 2 When you “PASS THROUGH” the waters, I will be with you and THROUGH the rivers, they will not overflow you and when you WALK THROUGH the fire, you will not be scorched!
1) I have ________________ you!
43: 1 But now, thus says the Lord, your Creator. . .
2) I have ________________ you!
43: 1 Do not fear, for I have redeemed you!
3) I have ________________ you!
43: 1 I have called you by name; you are Mine!
There is a:
IV. __________ WE NEED TO ______________!
A. Our ________________ must be ______________!
Isaiah 43: 18 Do not call to mind the former things, or ponder things of the past!
B. Our __________ must be ____________________!
Isaiah 43: 19 Behold, I will do something new!
Psalm 102: 13 You will arise . . . for the “TIME” to favor her, yes the “SET” time, has come!