No better partnership
Reading from: Exodus 17:8-13
'Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?' 2 Corinthians 6:14
All of us look for partnerships we can trust in. We look for connections, and hopefully, we'll find the best one.
The Best Partner out there isn't a human partner, but God Himself as our Partner.
The Book of Joshua speaks about a partnership between God and Moses that transferred to a partnership between Josua and God.
God directed Joshua on how to take the problem, I mean the promised land, and his people didn't keep by the rule of engagement as directed by God.
So when they entered the promised land, they had to face Jericho… God fought for them, and then the second city they tried on their own…. AI they lost aiaiaiai
When we try on our own, we will fail miserably, but with God in our battle, we will be victorious.
The best partnership is to invite God back into your home. To be a sanctuary unto the Lord. A place of worship. We need the little sanctuaries back. Some always want the big things, but the big things cannot be sustained without the little things. You'll need the smaller dryer sticks to get that nice big bonfire started.
During the summer of 1904, an unlikely partnership was formed at the World's Fair in St. Louis.
The summer was unusually hot, and people searched the fair for something to help cool them off…
A vendor named Arnold had just what they were looking for… ice cream.
People lined up for what seemed like miles to get some of his cool and satisfying ice-cream, but there was one problem.
Arnold was not prepared for the demand and ran out of paper bowls.
Next to Arnold's ice cream booth was a man named Ernest… a pastry chef … who was making a Persian wafer dessert.
Ernest also had a problem; his pastry was not selling.
He noticed the problem Arnold was having and rolled some warm pastry into a cone shape.
He then went over and showed Arnold how the cone could hold a scoop of ice-cream.
On that hot day during the World's Fair in St Louis… the wafer ice cream cone was born because a partnership was formed.
How vital are Partnerships in life?
How important are partnerships to you?
How important are partnerships to God?
1. God keeps working with us despite our failures 📉.
You will keep camping outside of the promised land in disobedience. You'll need to accept your errors because God can still work with your failures. Your failures are like opportunities for a better understanding of what was going on in your life.
The only people who do not grow through failures are the ones who are unwilling to accept them and move on. You will always have something you can learn through it. Your mistakes are your friends and your best learning opportunities.
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." ― Thomas A. Edison
God can use us to help transform the lives of others.
God can indeed use the things and experiences we have failed at to change the lives of others by using them to teach others lessons or prevent them from making the same mistakes we have.
Peter is an example that failure is not fatal and that God can use our failure for our good. We know about the mishap in Matthew 14 when he wanted to get out of the boat like a roaring lion and meet Jesus on the water. He probably thought He loved Jesus so much he would never fail Jesus.
Failure wasn't the end of Peters's story, and it's not the end of your story. This setback arranged the stage for a comeback.
It's a new beginning.
SECRET FOR VICTORY
Speaking to a large audience, D.L. Moody held up a glass and asked, "How can I get the air out of this glass?" One man shouted, "Suck it out with a pump!" Moody replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter the glass." After numerous other suggestions, Moody smiled, picked up a water pitcher, and filled the glass. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed." He then explained that victory in the Christian life is not accomplished by "sucking out a sin here and there" but by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
2. God keeps working with us despite our weaknesses.
Our shortcomings are no surprise to God. When Adam and Eve sinned, it didn't surprise God. God knew it all in the same way the devil tempted Jesus.
'And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.' 2 Corinthians 12:9
GOD DOES THE IMPOSSIBLE
A young boy traveling by airplane to visit his grandparents sat beside a man who happened to be a seminary professor. The boy was reading a Sunday school take-home paper, and the professor thought he would have some fun with the lad. "Young man," said the professor, "if you can tell me something God can do, I will give you a big, shiny apple." The boy thought for a moment and replied, "Mister, if you can tell me something God can't do, I'll give you a whole barrel of apples!"
Jesus works with us even when we have little to bring to the partnership. The more you give, the more you get in the world system, but in God's design, how you give speaks about how you'll receive. It's a matter of the heart and not a point of logic.
God works with what we give…
He asks Moses, what do you have… Elisha asked the widow, what do you have? God will always work with what you give.
Negativity speaks of weakness. The devil will enter into your weakness. He doesn't confront our strengths. He's too much of a coward to do so. So through testing, he will find the weakest spot and enter there.
Anxiety also causes weakness in trust. Many suffer trust issues in many aspects of their lives. Like a spouse. Or a business deal that went sour.
The worst is money! The root of all evil is When people fight not for survival but for money.
We all have a weakness to deal with and strengths to feel with. We may not feel the real deal when we feel our weakness and then let it slip through our fingers.
"God is looking for people through whom He can do the impossible. What a pity that we plan only the things we can do by ourselves."—A. W. Tozer
3. God keeps working with us despite our problems and pain
Do not play the blame and shame game in pain because tomorrow, you will feel different about it.
In Psalm 34, verse 18, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit."
This verse becomes natural to us when we hit rock bottom. I love a children's movie we once saw - "You know the good thing about hitting rock bottom, there's only one way left to go, and that's up!" (Buster Moon in Sing)
In our brokenness, we're more open than ever before. This is the time when God comes and speaks to our hearts. Cleanses us from the hurt of the past.
When you want to plant or sow, you must prepare the soil. It may be tough to break the earth, but it needs to be broken and worked with before the seed is planted.
Through pain, there's much to gain.
We can gain insight.
We can gain foresight.
Through it, all God comes and blesses our mess.
Pain does not define us but refines us to improve with what we've got. We need to be tried and tested because we may also know God is with us through all of that.
Exodus 3:12 - Certainly I will be with you...
God was with Moses. God was with Josua. God will be with you when He sends you to the promised land. There's a promised land in many people's lives that still needs to be conquered. Some have conquered their promised land but then never explored God's wealth on the land. Maybe you think you're all alone in that business. All alone in that marriage. All alone in that crisis.
Embrace it. Don't run away from it, and God will be with you.
He even said in Exodus 14:14 I will fight for you.
Meaning if it comes to a fight for your life. A fight for your work. Maybe a fight for your marriage. He will fight for you. He didn't say with you.
"The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.""
Exodus 14:14 NASB1995
"God will fight the battle for you. And you? You keep your mouths shut!"
Exodus 14:14 MSG
A lady came to the pastor and said for the past 30 years, I tried everything to convince my husband but couldn't. We went to counseling and psychiatry. It cost us thousands to work on our marriage. We exhausted every kind of avenue. I think I better start praying for him.
Closing
We will have better partnerships when we walk with Jesus. When He's in our partnership, no matter what partnership, your sight increases with the Light He brings into our darkness. Let's stay focused on Christ Jesus.
People need the Lord.
When Jesus steps in, healing comes as restoration and transformation. When Jesus comes, we have all we ever need.
A story has been told about a boy who doesn't want to go to church with his family.
Go the extra mile
Apply the Golden rule
Keep order
Yes should be yes…
Good stewardship
ASK for the Impossible.