The Curse of Convenience
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· 382 viewsThe best things in the kingdom of God come through time, commitment, and patience.
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The Curse of Convenience
The Curse of Convenience
Text
Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour. And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
Joshua 6:1-5
Introduction
That One Guy Who Questions Everything
I can imagine coming up to that large, walled city of Jericho and Joshua giving the instructions from God, and somebody out in the crowd thinking, “Psshhh! Yeah right! Physically this doesn’t make any sense!”
You know, he’s probably that ONE GUY who questions everything.
“Hey, Joshua! Take a good long look at that wall! The only way we are EVER getting through that is if we put all of our force against in right now.”
“We can get a log and use it for a battering ram and have the door open before the day is over!”
“Why do we have to walk around it? And why is it going to take seven days?! That’s a wasted week!”
“We could run over there tonight and find a way to sneak in through some passage in the wall.”
“Why does it have to be THIS way? There’s got to be a better, faster way!”
Body
Fast-food Society
Ladies and gentlemen, we live in a society that is always looking for a faster, quicker, more convenient way.
We have fast-food in every flavor you can imagine.
We’ve got Keurig coffee makers that’ll have your coffee done in seconds.
From our phone, we can order all of our groceries and have them waiting for us at Walmart.
All of our bills can be paid online.
You can push a button and get a ride with a company called Uber.
And if you think that’s crazy, you should see this Amazon Alexa thing… some of the things it can do are downright crazy!
My, my. How far the world has come!
If you need romance, all you gotta do is get online and you won’t even have to meet them in person!
If you need romance, all you gotta do is get online and you won’t even have to meet them in person!
And if you want a spiritual leader that is personal to you and can push you to the goals that YOU want on YOUR own time, you can get you a life coach!
And you can find churches everywhere where you don’t have to worry about the preacher preaching any of the tougher stuff in the word of God and you won’t be tearing up at any point. As a matter of fact, you’ll feel exactly how many want to: stirred, but unchanged.
I’m thankful I go to a church where I’m stirred - AND I’m changed!
My, my. How far the world has come!
Bro. J.R. said the other day that when he leaves this building every service he “FEELS LIKE HE’S BEEN TO CHURCH!”
When we leave, it ought not to feel similar going home to if we had just left Harps Grocery Store!
It ought not to feel as though we’ve just left the Starbucks or the J.C. Penny Department Store!
When we leave this place, we ought to feel stirred, we ought to feel changed, and we ought to feel empowered!!!!!
The Curse of Convenience
And drive-throughs are full with people paying dollars for coffee that cost pennies to make. And the coffee is no better than what they could make at home. But people spend because they value the convenience, not the contents.
Folks, the curse of convenience is fighting our world today!
And there is no such thing as drive-through anointing!
Did you hear that?! There’s no such thing as drive-through anointing!
So, yeah brother! We absolutely could go up to that wall and hit it with a battering ram!
Sure, we could try to sneak in some other way!
And that all would seem more convenient...
But I think that maybe you are selling out to trying to find an easy way! I think maybe you value the convenience, and not the contents!
And if you ever want to see God make these walls fall flat, we’re going to have to do this thing God’s way! And God is NOT ABOUT convenience!
God is not respecter of persons, the scripture says. But I also believe that he’s no respecter of time, as He isn’t bound by it.
Crock-pot Faith
This weekend I was the lone ranger, as my wife went to ladies conference.
And so I had to do what all men do at this time of the year: step up to the plate and feed my own face for once.
But I’ll say this - I didn’t do a bad job!
I peppered and seared some pork chops and then placed them in a crock pot with sauerkraut and let it
slow cook about 6 hours!
You talk about good eatin’!
But that pork never would’ve tenderized without the time in the crock pot!
If I had just grilled the pork chops and warmed up the kraut and threw it over them, it would’ve gotten me by, but I wouldn’t have been near as satisfied!
When you let it cook over time like that, it adds flavors and character to the food that was not once there before!
And I think that what God is looking for is some Crock Pot faith today!
There may be a little wait involved, but when dinner’s done, God’s meal is going to taste so much better!
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings as eagles;
They shall run, and not be weary;
And they shall walk, and not faint.
Now I’m going to read you what it would be for those who are concerned with God being fast and convenient:
“But they that can’t wait upon the Lord shall lose their strength;
They shall mount up with wings as canaries;
They shall drag their feet, and be so weary;
And they shall walk, and certainly faint.”
But let me read that verse again for those unsatisfied with the convenient:
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings as eagles;
They shall run, and not be weary;
And they shall walk, and not faint.
I’m talking about some folks who don’t mind giving a little extra to get the attention of almighty God!
Anybody can pray a little prayer - that’s convenient! But not everyone will P.U.S.H. - Pray Until Something Happens!
Anybody can do a little golf clap for Jesus - that’s convenient! But not everyone will get past their pride and step outside their comfort zone to give God some real worship!!!
“I wonder if there’s somebody who’s more concerned with the contents than the convenience?!”
Faithful! (OPTIONAL POINT)
I’m talking about some faithful folks!
There’s a word that has been lost in most of Christianity: FAITHFULNESS.
By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand.
Anybody know who Silvanus was? The Bible don’t have much on him!
I don’t read where he slew a giant! I don’t read where he killed a lion and a bear! I don’t read where he parted a red sea or called fire down from heaven!
For a fact, I don’t read about him anywhere else but here.
But that’s alright… because Peter said he was a faithful man!
Get Ready!
I want to read to you a scripture that came a little before our text, but it struck me:
And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.
In other words, “Get yourself ready today, because tomorrow God will respond to it!”
In the rebuilding of the temple, they worshipped on the foundation, before it had even been built!
I want to tell you, it’s easy to worship and praise when God answers a prayer, but I ask you - can you shout and worship TODAY for what he’s going to do TOMORROW?!
That’s called prophetic worship!!!
You ought to prophecy what God is going to do through your praise today!
This kind goeth out not but by prayer and fasting
Things That Have Been In The Crock Pot
There are things that people in this church have been praying for years, almost given up because an answer doesn’t seem to be in sight.
But we’ve heard people talk about expectation for a good long while now… And the atmosphere for miracles is just right!!!
SIDE ILLUSTRATION: For years, Nick MaHaney was backslidden. His father was an incredible man. A powerful man of God who could really preach. Nick got involved in gangs and drugs and all kinds of ungodly living.
But the whole while, back home his father was praying for his return and that God would bring him back. For years and years Bro. Charles MaHaney prayed for Nick.
And today, Nick is one of the most powerful, anointed evangelists the world has ever seen! He goes to the Philippines and there may be 1,000 get the Holy Ghost on a given week!
Aren’t you glad Charlie MaHaney didn’t just pray for a year and then give up on God ever doing anything!
Aren’t you glad that God blesses those who aren’t only concerned with what’s convenient, but they’re concerned with the contents!
I’m gonna tell you what - with the prayers that have been swirling around this church of late, there’s no telling what God may do!
“I Expect A Miracle!”
The atmosphere in this church is perfect for God to work in!
Prayers have been cooking in the crock pot and God is just about finished! And when He’s done cooking up an answer, it tastes just right!
I’m not interested in a fast food revival!!!
I want a crock pot revival!!!!!
Conclusion
I think God is challenging us and calling us to a little crock pot faith and worship!
Hey - we’ve experienced great things recently. But I’m stretching out my faith to believe that there’s greater things ahead!!!
But some things ain’t going to come but by prayer and fasting and time in the prayer rooms!
I wonder if there’s anybody who isn’t interested in merely dipping your toe into the anointing today - you want to just do a cannonball and jump in!
Hey - in gyms everywhere they go all in to build up the muscles they want and be in top physical state. And it takes time and commitment!
Well if they’ll do that for their physical state, how’s your spiritual state today?