Promised Land

D.W. West

Worship Team

Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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Notes

Transcript

Getting there

Pray

I want to ask you today, do any of you have any idea of what you want to do when you grow up. Do you want to be a full time stay at home mom? Do you want to be a professional athlete te, or a doctor? Listen to what they want to be. Then tell them you remember growing up just a little boy and when we joined the church I really became a student of the Bible. But as I grew older and played more video games and hung out with friends I quickly forgot about my Bible it’s interesting because I loved the Bible so much I even asked for a clear word paraphrase for my birthday one year. I remember when I was In the church wanting to be the conference president one day, but then I remember also growing up wanting to be a geologist or a volcanologist. But as I grew older I got into music and began to play my guitar and use my computer more than I ever read my Bible. Quickly I began to record people and work on the entertainment I Industry. I even decided I would go ahead and give up on my college education because at this point I made the decision I was going to do what I wanted to do. My life slowly but surely fell apart. But each step of the way God put one piece back together for me. I married my lovely wife, I moved back to West Virginia to be closer to family, I decided to reach out to the friends I had when I was younger and I felt life was getting better. However the problem was my commitment. The call God has for us. The will he has for us. I ran from it for so many years my neglecting to pray, neglecting to read my Bible, neglecting to goto church and I quickly lost any relationship I had with God at the time. A couple years back a friend, Kerra mace asked me to come to ten nights of prayer. I remember being torn about what to do. My dad had just died a couple years before and I was grieving and a different sort of way. I wasn’t crying and showing those signs of grief but more signs of self destruction. Kerra called and asked I come to ten nights of prayer which is going on right now. I agreed and went. Tell them how you went to Wednesday bible study until contract was up and you began to goto church and follow the sabbath and even began volunteering and eventually working here as a teacher and aide at the school. I quickly after much prayer snd being back in the Bible and living that life with Jesus realized the call he had for me as a child. So I took the call and enrolled back into school to get my bachelors degree since I stopped at two years. You see on my own I could never do it. I couldn’t take that next step. And just like we neglect our bibles and prayer it happens. This bible I received in 1995, I never actually really used it until 2018 and 2019. Because as I grew away from God and the Bible other things took up my time. So let’s look at

Joshua 1:7–9 NKJV

Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

I imagine it wasn’t easy for Joshua to become the leader here. You see God asked Moses to lead and he said he couldn’t speak so he provided his brother Aaron. Here the leadership is shifting and I know it must have been hard for Joshua. Because I went from just being a musician and being out in the world to coming and helping out as an aide to being called to do Gods work by spreading the gospel and soul winning. Being a Pastor, going to school, being an aide, a teacher, a mentor and a husband and many other things such as a son and a friend and brother as well to many can be difficult to juggle t all around accept the call and what is right in gods eyes and allow him to lead us that is why we must remember what the verse tells us. You know I also think of Moses at Mount me I being shown the promised land and how he felt. So I think of Pastor Daniel because God blessed me over the course of the last year to be mentored and taught by one of Gods great servants and we This ha-pen in the Bible here and other times I think of Paul and Timothy . So here Moses has went out and think of pastor retiring and now i had cross over as well into another city and church. Similar to Joshua. Som;era read this together and think about how it ap-lies to your every day life.

Read it again and emphasize it.

Joshua 1:7–9 NKJV

Remember in life that God commands us to be courageous and I know at times you are scared and you don’t have the answers. Well instead of making that reckless decision the way I did and run away from God your whole life my prayer is that you will follow this verse and allow God to lead you. You see I didn’t ever expect when I came back I to the church and came here to the school to help and teach as mr DW that we would fast forward to 2021 and now I am Pastor DW West of the Point pleasant church and the youth pastor in Parkersburg. So remember you have a lot of people around you who love you. Just like Kerra. You have all these teachers and friends so keep in contact with them but most importantly keep in contact with God because if you don’t you may never receive the blessings and promises he has given to each and every once of us. I praise the Lord for allow me to serve him and I humbled to be a pastor and my prayer for each of you as that you allow God to lead you to his will for each of you. Let’s pray.

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