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Clarence O. Clough, Jr.

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Conquering Containment

Genesis 12:1-3

By Robert D. Pace

Abraham is one of Scripture's greatest men.  He's identified as the "Father of our Faith" and many lessons are taken from his life. Just because God calls him the "Father of our Faith" doesn't mean he lived perfectly.  What we learn from Abraham is, regardless of his actions—whether perfect or imperfect—he maintained an undeviating pursuit of God.

 

Once Abraham responded to God's voice to leave his homeland and search for the Promised Land, he never wavered from his course. He was resolute and single-minded in obeying God.

 

One unique aspect of Abraham's life was his special partnership God and he maintained.  When you investigate this partnership it discloses two aspects of a Believer's relationship with God: It reveals, (1) God's inclination to bless man; and, (2) it reveals man's faith that's needed toward God.

 

(Transition)  Satan understands God's intentions and that's why he seeks to undermine them.  He doesn't want people claiming God's covenant blessings.  He doesn't want people enjoying the promises of Kingdom living. Matter of fact, Satan generally undermines this planet in three primary ways:

 

Satan's Three-fold Strategy

 

A.      Satan advances his evil kingdom.  Through cults, the occult, social education, literature, electronic media, motion pictures, illicit drugs, our culture, and the list is unending. His pollution is promulgated every way possible.

 

B.      Satan not only advances his kingdom, he attacks God's Kingdom—the Church.  He provokes division in it, creates a world bias against it, fights its evangelism and prayer efforts, and stifles sufficient finances for the Gospel.  No earthly institution is detested and fought more vehemently. That's why the Church always contends with something!

 

C.      Satan not only attacks the Church he seeks to contain Christians. If he can't totally overpower you he'll seek to contain your experience with God.  He doesn't want you achieving God's best for your life.  A good example is found in Joshua's chiding admonition to Israel at Shiloh in Joshua 18:1:

 

"The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there.  The country was brought under their control, (2) but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance. (3) So Joshua said to the Israelites:  "How long before you will begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?"

 

Here Israel was—free from the Egyptians and the desert.  They had crossed the Jordan River and Joshua had made great conquests of the Promised Land.  But seven tribes had grown content and failed to claim their territorial rights. They literally snubbed God's offer with contentment when they should have been conquering.

 

We can't blame God when we don't possess our possessions.  God is always more than willing to do His part.  These tribes were dormant and complacent and if they wanted their possessions they had to exercise faith and get combative.

 

That describes many Christians today.  They become content and neglect accessing more of God's available, and even commanded, promises.  They believe if God wants them to have more, He'll work past their unbelief and lethargy and sovereignly bring it to pass.

 

You see, "faith without works is dead." Most of God's promises will never be claimed without rising up and claiming them. It takes faith, persistence, and activity to claim them!

 

That's why Ecclesiastes 9:10 exhorts:        "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might."

 

It's why Jesus said in John 4:35, "Do you not say, `Four months more and then the harvest'?  I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest."

 

It's why He urged His Apostles in John 9:4, "As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work."

 

That's why Colossians 3:23 says:  "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men."

 

That's why Paul reminded Timothy to "fan into flame the gift of God."  (2TI 1:6).

 

Don't yield to the containment that comes through complacency!  It's dangerous!  Look what Revelation 3 says about this.

 

Revelation 3:14-20

 

(Illustration)  Let's draw an illustration from the eagle.  The eagle builds its nest in the tallest trees or loftiest mountain ledges.  It employs unusual skill in constructing that nest too.  First, the eagle arranges thorns, jagged stones, and other sharp objects as the nest's infrastructure.  It then applies a comfortable covering of wool, feathers, or fur. Eventually, the eagle uses its habitation to birth and feed her children.  But the little creatures aren't destined to remain in that environment. Inevitably the mother will "stir the nest."  She does this by removing the comforter and letting the protrusions pierce her young's flesh.  Until this juncture the chicks had their food delivered and dropped into their mouths, but once the nest is stirred they become so miserable they willingly search for another habitat.  This was the mother's objective. It wasn't cruelty, it was to produce discontentment with their life of ease and mature them.  (Adapted from Ruby Miller's writing.)

 

This illustrates how the Heavenly Father deals with His children.  And I'll guarantee you most here have experienced this. At some point when life was relatively normal, the Spirit swooped into your comfort zone, raised your "misery index" to an intolerable level, and you had to scramble for any place other than where you were!  But that's what God wanted!  God brought the discomfort because He wanted you to stretch your wings and soar.

 

(Transition)  But there's another strategy Satan employs in containing God's people.

 

B.      Satan contains Christians by creating covetousness.

 

Luke 12:13-21

 

Covetousness is sin.  And it exists when people hoard their blessings.  God's purpose for blessing people is that they might perpetuate the blessing.  We're blessed to extend blessing to others.

 

We don't need the mentality that says, "All I want is enough for me!" There's little God will do with that person. You will choke off God's supply if you operate as a reservoir rather than a river.

 

Abraham's Call

 

When God called Abraham from his homeland in Mesopotamia Abraham was wealthy. He could have argued, "God, I'm content with my welfare.  I don't need more."  But he didn't.  He accepted God's offer and God ordered the Messiah to eventually come through his offspring.  All the nations of the world have been blessed through Abraham.

 

I'll say it again: You will choke off God's supply if you operate as a reservoir rather than a river.

 

(Transition)  There's yet another strategy Satan employs to contain people.

 

C.      Satan contains Christians by creating a "defeatist attitude."

 

The "defeatist attitude" confesses: "God's promises operate for others, but not me."  Or, "I can't outwit Satan, he always gets the upper hand."  Sure Satan is on the loose.  He's after everybody, but we "greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world."

 

God said:  "the righteous are bold as a lion."     

 

Peter said: "Be self‑controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  (9) "Resist him, standing firm in the faith" (1PE 5:8-9).

 

Don't cower like he's barreling toward you in a Mac truck, resist him!

 

(Example)  Look how Jesus personally handled Satan.  Do you realize Judas, the Apostolic treasurer, was a crook? He was an out-and-out thief.  And Jesus knew Judas was stealing from the treasury the whole time.  Turn to John 12:4.

 

"But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, (5) "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor?  It was worth a year's wages." (6) He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it."

 

Do you know what Jesus had to do since Judas helped himself to the moneybag? He had to supply more than enough. He never grumbled about Judas dipping into the treasury, He simply trusted His heavenly Father to furnish an overflow.  If Jesus, our Example, believed His Heavenly Father for supplying more than enough, we can too!

 

Listen, we'll always need more than just enough to pay the mortgage, utilities, insurance, and the necessities because the thief will always plunder our treasury.  We'll have flat tires, busted water heaters, and sickness.   So don't accept the defeatist attitude, believe God for an overflow!

 

I don't care how weak your faith is, everybody is believing God for something. It may not be much but you're believe Him for something.  Your faith could be for God to simply sustain you in a dry place; or to just prevent you from slipping from the bottom, into oblivion. That's faith.

 

But I have a challenge for you.  I'm convinced that God wants you to quit believing Him to just sustain you in the desert and believe Him to part the Jordan and transport you into the Promised Land.  He wants you to increase your faith.

 

(Transition)  But there's another way Satan contains people:

 

D.      Satan convinces some Christians they lack skill.  Skill is wonderful.  We have to have it to succeed.  And the truth is, everybody is proficient in some area.

 

Your skill may be in your intellect, or hand, or finger, or even a foot—like an NFL place-kicker.

 

It could be a verbal skill that motivates, encourages, or instructs others.

 

Some are talented to train animals.

 

Others are skilled in banking or negotiating or directing corporations.  Everyone possesses skill of some sort.

 

But as wonderful as skill is it's limited and often insufficient. That's why God didn't say in Acts 1:8, "You will receive skill after the Holy Spirit comes upon you."  No, He said, "you will receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon you."  The reason Acts 1:8 promises power and not skill is because the Spirit's power is unlimited, and nothing is impossible when omnipotence arrives!

 

Acts 1:8 says, "You will receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon you."

 

Matthew 10:1 says, "He called his twelve apostles to Him and gave them power to dive out evil spirits and heal every disease and sickness."

 

Mark 6:7 says: "Calling the twelve to Him, He sent them out two by two and gave them power."

 

Luke 10:19 says,"Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpent, scorpions and all the authority of the enemy.

 

Luke 24:49 says, [Go to Jerusalem] "and stay in the city until you have been clothed with power."

 

Deuteronomy 8:18 says, "Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to produce wealth."

 

Peter's Power at Joppa  (Acts 9:36-43)

 

What a testimony Dorcas had.  She was a beloved woman whose benevolence brought her renown throughout the First Century.  But when she fell sick all the physician's skill and technique failed to restore her.

 

Thank God for physicians and modern medicine, but it's good to have "power from on high" available!  When proficiency faltered the doctors shook their heads in dismay.  But in walked Simon with God's power!  He looked around that crowded room and said, "Respectfully doctors, it's too late for medicine to make a difference.  You're dismissed!"  So skill dropped its head and left.  But when skill limped out, power leaped in, Dorcas got up, and revival broke out!  Peter had prayed the prayer of faith and Dorcas was revived.  That's what heavenly power accomplishes.

 

(Transition) Folks, let's stop complaining about our lot in life and give God an opportunity to move! Dig in your heels and believe God for great and mighty things!  Let's get determined that God doesn't have any alternative but to bless us!

 

Determine that God Must Bless!

 

Determination conquers containment! I believe most people are born with an innate anti-claustrophobic, anti-containment nature. We don't want to be closed in or contained.  We enjoy soaring with the eagles in spacious places.  But it takes determination to access that dimension.  Blessings don't automatically unfold, that's why it takes determination to access them.

 

(Example)  In 2 Chronicles 20 Israel was surrounded by three armies. The outlook was grim.  But Jehoshaphat determined there was a way of escape.  Notice his resolve in 2 Chronicles 20:3, and it's evident from any version of Scripture:

 

(KJV)  "Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord."

 

(AMP) "Then Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself [determinedly, as his vital need] to seek the Lord."

 

(NAS)  "Jehoshaphat was afraid and turned his attention to seek the Lord."

 

(NIV)  "Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord."

 

Jehoshaphat turned his undivided attention toward God because he understood there was absolutely no victory without God marshalling the hosts.  He resolved to obtain God's lordship.  And God responded to Jehoshaphat's determination by striking panic upon the invading armies.  Somehow mass hysteria ripped through their ranks and they tore apart each other.

 

Have you determined God's power is sufficient to keep you advancing over the enemy?

 

2.       Forcefully opposing Satan conquers the spirit of containment.

 

So many Christians, like those seven Israeli tribes, miss God's blessings because they don't fight for the promises.  They want God's blessings, but they're not aggressive for them.

 

God, through both Moses and Joshua, assured the Israelites Canaan was theirs.  He promised them victory over their enemies but they couldn't simply say:  "Alright Amalakites, Jebusites, Perrizites, Hittites, and all you other ites, sign your mortgages over to us and move over, you have our land."  No, Israel had to advance into Canaan, march around walls, set ambushes, command the sun to stand still, wield the sword, pillage cities, and attack from every angle.

 

And Scripture commands Christians to assume a militant posture today. After all the havoc Satan has wreaked on Christians it's time for Christians to wreak havoc on him.

 

Conclusion

 

Here's what I want to exhort you with in closing: "Attack!  Get spiritually violent and combative!  Possess your possessions!"  That's the word.  Whatever you're doing for God, intensify it.  The enemy of your soul will always attempt to pin and suppress you, so determine to oppose him and employ whatever faith is necessary to conquer the spirit of containment.