The Bible often calls "God's Good Stuff" -- BLESSINGS.
Today we use the word, "Blessing" to describe the prayer we say before eating.
We use the word, "Blessing" to describe.... well, nothing. Today we seldom use the word.
So I paraphrased the word BLESSING into "God's Good Stuff".
Fact #1: God is not the cosmic kill-joy.
Fact #2 God is not looking for excuses to withhold good from you.
Fact #3: God is good -- in every situation -- always working to bring about the best in every situation.
So why is it, that we so often "miss out" on God's good stuff?
Moses is our sermon illustration for this . (Exodus 4:10-17)
But Moses pleaded with the LORD, “O Lord, I’m not very good with words. I never have been, and I’m not now, even though you have spoken to me. I get tongue-tied, and my words get tangled.”
Then the LORD asked Moses, “Who makes a person’s mouth? Who decides whether people speak or do not speak, hear or do not hear, see or do not see? Is it not I, the LORD? Now go! I will be with you as you speak, and I will instruct you in what to say.”
But Moses again pleaded, “Lord, please! Send anyone else.”
Then the LORD became angry with Moses. “All right,” he said. “What about your brother, Aaron the Levite? I know he speaks well. And look! He is on his way to meet you now. He will be delighted to see you. Talk to him, and put the words in his mouth. I will be with both of you as you speak, and I will instruct you both in what to do.
Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say."
Our spiritual take-away from this is, "If you allow FEAR to hold you back from OBEYING God, He will find someone else to do the job and get the good stuff".
One of the most amazing verses in the Bible is found in Ester 4:14:
"If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”
Get this, Queen Esther was born to save the Hebrew nation from destruction.
God carefully trained her and placed her as Queen so she would have influence over the King.
But when it was crunch time, she had a choice, she could obey God and get a part of the "good stuff" or she could be controlled by FEAR and let someone else take her place.
And if you notice in the Ester 4:14 verse, that if she refuses to step up and obey God's plan, then not only will God use someone else, but she and her family will die. No pressure.
So your spiritual challenge tonight is, "What does God want you to do?"
There are some things you can count on.
#1. God will demand that you leave your comfort zone.
#2. God will demand that you sacrifice something that you value.
#3. God's purpose will benefit OTHERS (not yourself).
#4. There will be a time when you will feel that God abandoned you.
#5. You will come out of the experience with a better understanding of WHO God is, WHO you are in God's eyes and will experience a deeper love for God because of the experience.
