POWER STUDY - A47

[Albert Finch]

A PLACE OF NEW BEGINNINGS

(Read Psalm 51 & John 17)

Exodus 3:1-2 1Now Moses was pasturing the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2The angel of the LORD appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed.

1 Kings 19:2,8 2Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your £life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time8So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

(After being demoralized and chased by Jezebel, Elijah was led to Horeb, the mountain of God. In Hebrew Horeb means “desolation”. The barren environment mirrored Elijah’s soul. Five centuries earlier Moses had tried but failed to liberate Israel from Egyptian oppression. When the Lord brought Moses to Horeb it was for two reasons:
1. To reveal Himself to His servant.
2. To initiate a new beginning based solely upon God’s sustaining power. In the eyes of Moses Horeb had been a time of desolation. To God, however, Horeb was a place where He repaired His servants for new beginnings. As the Lord had met Moses He would now meet Elijah.)

1 Kings 19:9 9Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

(Elijah had come to Horeb and lodged there in a cave. Soon, the word of the Lord came to him, “what are you doing here Elijah?”

Three of the most important questions God can ever ask us are:
1. What are you doing here?
2. How did your service to me become so dry and desolate?
3. When was it that you left your first love?

Question: Is this existence that I now live the abundant life promised me by Christ?

We can be honest at Horeb, here we have nothing to prove and no one to sell. Here, the internal mechanism of defensiveness and pride crumble. If we are disappointed, we are free to express it. If frustrated, we can admit it. We simply and truthfully evaluate our heart’s condition. We see in our transparency:
1. The presence of God draws near to our hearts.
2. The intimacy with God is the very thing that we have neglected.
3. That the Lord alone is the source of our strength in battle.)

Luke 2:41-49 41Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. 42And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; 43and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, 44but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day’s journey; and they began looking for Him among their relatives and acquaintances. 45When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem looking for Him. 46Then, after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. 47And all who heard Him were amazed at His understanding and His answers. 48When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.” 49And He said to them, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”

(Likewise, many of us have become so consumed with our battles that we fail to notice that Jesus is not with us in our journey. Jesus’ parents returned to where they had last seen him; so also must we. To renew us, God is bringing us back to our most recent encounter with Christ.)

Affirmations:

To reach my place of breakthrough God is bringing me back to the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

What seems to be a time of desolation is truly a time of preparation.

At my Horeb God is preparing for me a “NEW BEGINNING”.