God is love, and He loves you unconditionally. He has a good plan for your life, and because He is sovereign, His plans will prevail in your life. No matter what difficulty you are challenged with, God’s provision proceeded the problem and He will make sure it works together for your good!
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God Goes Before You (Part 1)
Welcome back, everyone, and thank you so much for joining me here again, on The One Thing That’s Needful Podcast, my name is Dr. Siohnaughn Funches. And today, we’re going to be talking about God as the God who goes before you right every time and in all things. And it’s really, really going to bless you, I’m certain we won’t finish today. But like, always, we’re going to take our time, and we are going to just feast on the bread of life and enjoy everything he has for us. But before we do that, we’re going to do what we always do. And let’s take a moment and acknowledge God,
I thank you, Heavenly Father, for this opportunity to get at the feet of Your Son Jesus, and to do what you promise that one thing that’s needed for God that leads to the floodgates me and open of your blessings and your provisions and even your divine surprises. I pray that you will give to each and every one of us the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Jesus, I pray the eyes of our understanding to be enlightened, that we may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance and us the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power towards us who believe according to the working of his mighty power, I thank You, Lord Jesus, that you are going to expound on the scriptures today. To us about the things concerning yourself. I thank you Holy Spirit, that you are leading and guiding us into all truth. And you are teaching us all things. And I thank you, Heavenly Father, for your promise. That is we seek first the kingdom of God and your righteousness, which is a gift Heavenly Father, I thank you, God, that all these things we need and so desire are hunting us down and overtaking us, God, I thank you that we are dwelling in your house lord forevermore. And Surely your goodness, your grace, God, your loving-kindness, your tender mercies, they also are hunting us down and overtaken us. And I thank you that the fullness of your kingdom has come and your perfect will is being done for us and our whole house and all those things concerning us God that were that are in that we’ll be in Jesus name, we do pray.
God does not just go before us. He declares the end from the beginning
So we’re going to start this series like we start every other series, I’m going to lay a solid foundation, by the Spirit of God with the Word of God. I tell people all the time, you don’t want to hear from me. You want to hear from the God who abides and dwells within me. Because I don’t even want to hear from me. I want to hear from God. Okay. And so let God use me and use you and I pray that even the words that I say, God will expound on those things, even the more after this podcast is over. And I thank God he’ll give us wisdom to practically walk this out. He will lead us in His divine wisdom with these words in Jesus’s name.
So let’s lay this foundation with the Word of God that never fails. God for sure. Always. And in all things he goes before us. Yes, God is with us. He never leaves us and he never forsakes us but God also is the God who goes before us right? God told me this once and often the Holy Spirit brings the words back to me right? He comes in intervenes, panic tries to attack right fear tries to creep up and the Holy Spirit intervenes with these words, God spoke to me my provision always precedes the problem. Always see that’s a promise from the God that goes before so you can test every word by the word of God awful. Show her from God with those words, because the Bible tells us repeatedly in fact, that God is the God who goes before us. Why is this good news? Because Jesus who can’t lie who is the truth told us in this world on this side of heaven, right where we’re at in the earth, you will have trouble but be of good cheer have overcome the world right? So there’s gonna be trials on this side there’s going to be testing right there’s going to be trouble. There’s an enemy right loose in this earth, and it’s up to us to bind him in Jesus’s name. Okay, and bind the worth of his nasty hands. But he tries and he uses people. And then we got our own flesh and the flesh of our neighbors, right? Welcome to Earth right after Adam and Eve fail. This is what it looks like.
And so these are the cards we’ve been dealt, but God has stacked this deck in our favor, right favors my fair game is one already. And he teaches and leads us in how to win it more so out in the outside inwardly, right? So you’re not having lost all your hair when you enter into the promised land because of being so afraid your hair’s not white because you didn’t get scared into white hair. I saw that once in a horror movie many years ago. I don’t know if that’s true. But you just don’t look like right. You’ve been through the fire when three Hebrew boys came out the fire in the book of Daniel. The Bible says they didn’t even smell like smoke. It’s not because outwardly there wasn’t smoke and hot fire turned up seven times hotter. It was enough it was already a place where bodies are in cinah. That’s the place where they’re cremated, so to speak to ashes. And then he turns it up seven times hotter. So the fire was there. Smoke was there that represents troubles and trials and mountains, right opposition challenges. We face difficulties on this side of heaven, but they went through it. And all three of them came out. Not only were they not scorched and burned to death, that’s first and foremost. But they didn’t even smell like smoke. They didn’t look like they had been through hail. But we read our Bible they had been through hail you see what I mean? And I believe that that’s keeping that that inward part of you, your inner man at rest. And in aggressive Shalom from God. That’s what God talks about the peace that surpasses understanding because we have no understanding why you wouldn’t be in full-blown panic. And you just heard this dude say he’s turning up the furnace seven times hotter.
You already know this a cremation station, right? But you’re not panicking, right? That’s what we really want. Because for sure the Lord was with them. He was in the fire guy had a plan the whole time. Because he went before them right knew everything that King was going to do. Before that even King knew his own name right before he was formed in his mother’s womb. Okay, so God has a plan. It’s a plan of victory. That’s why the Bible can say, God always causes us to triumph. But Jesus repeatedly, rin the upper room before He was crucified, was telling us through sermons before that sermon on the mount, don’t worry, then he’s in there. And he’s like, just abide in Me, Let not your heart be trouble, always reminding us to take care of our inner self he’s taken care of the outward part is just that we don’t look like and smell like smoke that he was going to get us through anyway and be glorified anyway. Right. So that’s our part. And we do that by abiding in the vine. That’s not less not like a prescription you write yourself. It’s not like something you try and do you abide. It’s a fruit you bear when you abide in Jesus, which is what you’re doing right now abiding in the Word.
God is the King of Kings
So it matters because we have challenges on this side of heaven that we know and believe. God always goes before us. That means his provision his answers his solution always precedes the problem. God does not come up with something when you start praying God is not like Jesus quick. Give me a clipboard. I need to write this down. What did you say again? What was his name? How much did he steal? Like, that’s not what God is doing. We freak out. Sometimes we panic. We call people in the people are like, what? You know what I mean? But there’s nothing you’ve ever said to God or myself or that we ever will say to God, and his response will be what Jesus? Did you know that you know what I mean? That’s never gonna happen. And God is in control believe that or not, right? He’s in control. And I know there are things that you face probably that try to make you doubt that God is in control, but he is and he does have a plan. And it’s actually good, right? And God has a way of using bad things and working together for your good I cook I bake a lot and so sometimes in a recipe, there are bitter herbs, you know what I mean? God and you can take something bitter and I mean, by the time you’ve worked it together with the other ingredients, it’s a masterpiece, award winning even.
So God knows how to do that if he can give me as a as mankind the gift and work that in and through me how much more when it’s just solely him. And you don’t have man in its in his frailty, as even a part of it working right? How much better would it be then? Okay, so, we began with that truth God’s provision always precedes the problem. God always goes before you and he always works for the believer for the born again, Christian. God always works everything together for your good that includes the good, the bad, the ugly. The indifferent those things that you have an exclamation mark about and those things where it’s like 10 question marks, you just never really understood that. Why did that happen? Right? All those things, God works together for our good glory.
So our key scripture in this series, God goes before you comes out of Deuteronomy 31: 8, and I’m going to be reading from the NASB 1995 version, this particular scription there, and then I want to read it to you out of the Message version, it says, And the Lord is the one who was going ahead of you, He will be with you, He will not fail you or forsake you do not fear or be dismayed or discouraged. In other words, right, let me read it again. And the Lord is the one who was going ahead of you. It’s the Lord who’s going ahead of you, first of all, was good, someone went ahead. But this isn’t just anyone God didn’t send an angel. He didn’t even send a legion of angels. God, Himself has gone before you, okay? And God is not doing this because he doesn’t have anything to do. God’s not bored. He doesn’t have extra time on his hands. That’s not what’s happening. God does everything for a divine purpose and out of who he is, and God is love, and he loves you unconditionally. He has, he is love, and he has love and mine his plans for you are good. And then he goes on further to say and not evil, right? in case somebody thinks they’re good for the most part, but depending on what I do, there’s probably some evil mixed in there I had it come in No, God is love and God is good and the plans God has for you scratch what the evil conscious the devil wants you to have about whether you dotted as in cross T’s, you can even hang up what the law says the law has been fulfilled. And probably most of you listening aren’t Jewish in any way.
What does God say? He says I know. I know the plans I have for you. They are good. Remember, God can lie and not evil to give you hope, a confident, positive certain expectation of good and a prosperity a future right? A future that can’t be cut off. Those are the plans God have for you. And praise be to Jesus at the end of Job the book of Job we see in job 42 is at the beginning of that chapter Joe realize this truth, you know, no plan of God’s right can be canceled, can be stopped can be thrown no plan of God. So I absolutely love that. God talks about how man makes plans and God laughs at them. Okay, but when it comes to the plan of God, nobody, his counsel will not fail concerning your life. No one can make God a failure. Period. It just won’t happen. It hasn’t happened. It’s not happening. And it’s not going to ever happen. I always tell people, God is wise. And even me with the wisdom God has given me, right. I’m somebody who I won’t purchase like a big huge dog. I know people like Rottweilers, and they like those Dobermans and all that sort of thing. And to each his own. Right. But um, I don’t want to buy something and put something in my house that can possibly even listen has the potential that maybe possibly, perhaps, hypothetically speaking, could overtake me, dominate me in any way. I don’t want that. That’s why I like the little dogs. It’s not because I’m stuck up. It’s because I don’t want to look up, right. And one day you realize, right, I like bought Freddy Krueger from PetSmart, so to speak, right? Like, I don’t want that in my house. And I’m just a human being. And I have that wisdom, right? I’m not calling anybody on wise, who’s done it right. Perhaps God led you in that my conviction for my house is? That’s a hard no for me in my house. We like little dogs that if you do lose your mind, right is not I mean, my youngest son can take you down. Those are the kind of dogs I like.
So I’m not putting myself in a position on purpose where I could even possibly be dominated or taken down from the position of authority God has given me in my house. That’s the governing rule. How much wiser is God? Right, he is wise. I don’t believe God has created anything that could possibly potentially hypothetically right, overrule him or snatch him from the throne or remove him from his place of authority. Ah, he hasn’t done that. So you don’t have that worry. The one who sits high. The Supreme Court is not comprised of several justices. He’s the Supreme Court himself. There is no overruling him, and he’s your father and he is loved and he’s the one who went before you. He’s the one who created every player in the game, including you and me, right? He’s the one he’s in control. Everything is going to be all right.
God is love and He loves you unconditionally
Okay. Now let’s look at Deuteronomy 31:8 in the Message version, it says God is striding ahead of you. I love the Message version in different parts of the Bible. It’s amazing. And it’s also hilarious. Right? Then I love to laugh. So God is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down. He won’t leave you. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t worry. One more time. Right. That’s, that’s so nice. We should say that twice. God is striding ahead of you. He’s right there with you. He won’t let you down. He won’t leave you. Don’t be intimidated. Don’t worry, right, like real talk. This is so good. This is why the gospel, everything in light of Jesus and what He has done, makes the whole Bible the gospel when you read it and have revelation in light of Jesus and what he’s done. When you see it through the lens of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, it makes the whole Bible the gospel at that point, right. As far as it being good news, okay. And so I love how God goes ahead of us. But he’s also right there with us, right? And what’s the result of this God going ahead of us, he won’t let you down. There’s no failure and his plan for you. He’s not leaving you. This is what brings you the ability to not fear when you know who’s with you when you know who’s gone ahead of you. And you know who’s with you.
If you are just a human being, and you’re around somebody who’s maybe even a professional boxer, and they’re round up, and it’s they’re trying to attack you physically, right. But if you know, somebody like Mayweather, for example, is with you, right? A professional boxer, I can’t think of another I don’t watch boxing, but or those other people who are really good or possibly even better by now. I wouldn’t know. So those people if they’re with you, and therefore you, something tells me you won’t be intimidated. You hear the other dog barking, you hear his threats to bite you, but you know who’s with you, and you know, who’s fighting for you. So you really can sit back kind of prop your feet up. You might even giggle a couple of times, right? Why not give it a chuckle? This fight is fixed. And it certainly isn’t fair. Good luck, you’re gonna need it. That’s what you’re thinking you’re in full-blown sarcasm, you’re not in anxiety, you’re not in fear at that point. And those are just human beings. But when you know who’s with you, It makes the opposition shrink. Now if you’d have been by yourself in that same type of altercation transpired, I can maybe understand why you like Elvis, are shaking, rattling, and rolling, I get it. But when you know who’s with you, and their professional, the best, right? And even then they can even possibly lose or get beat up real bad skills diminish, right. But God, that’s an impossibility. That’s an impossibility for God. Right. And like I say, God is wise. He hasn’t created anyone or anything that at any time could usurp his authority, or take him off the throne or overpower him. God is wisdom. And even I know not to do that. So he hasn’t done that. And he never will. You can rest and be at peace, knowing who’s with you, and who it is that has gone before you he is wise.
Now let’s look at Isaiah 46 and 10. This isn’t the version I usually read out of if you know, and I’ve been on this journey with us. That’s the New King James Version. It says about God declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things that are not yet done saying My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. See why it’s good to have God on your side. Because God is sovereign. That is why the Bible calls God this is why he is called the King of kings. There are other kings. There are other players on the chessboard called life. I know that I’m not in denial about that. I bind the devil like you do I get it. But when you know who was in control, who created the chessboard, the chess players, and who at any moment can blink an eye and all the players come off of the board and back on it and you know, he’s for you. He’s with you. He’s going ahead of you. This is why you cannot be intimidated. This is why you refuse to worry. This is why you don’t live in fear and constant states of panic or anxiety, right?
God, He doesn’t just go before us but He declares the end from the beginning. I’m telling you, I thank God for the Holy Spirit revealing Feeling God to us opening him up to us. It does bring peace. It does Ignite and like faith on fire, where you just think something and it manifests it gets you like that, When you get at the feet of Jesus real talk, I’ve had these experiences. I know God doesn’t just go before us. He declares he determines he prophesies, he creates and forms and fashions the end all the way in the beginning, the devil is what we call Johnny, come later. I mean, this fool is several steps behind, always, just always, he is always trying to play catch up. Trust me when I tell you. So I love that God doesn’t just go before us. But he determines he declares, and you better know, whatever God declares, is happening. Remember, in the beginning, God said light be light was and it still is. That’s a whole lot of power. Okay, that’s how a lot of power Oh, it was a matter of fact, I say wealth be in my life like never before in unprecedented ways in Jesus’s name. A lot of y’all are saying that right now. I’m just telling everybody like, Hey, man, that’s a good one, That came from above. So God declares, and we know that God’s Word does not come back to him void or empty. It must accomplish what he sent it to do. And that’s an Isaiah as well. 50 something I can’t remember exactly where 55 Maybe. But God’s word never comes back to him void or empty. When he sends his word out, it must do whatever He sent it to do, and then it can come back to him. Which is why when we declare things you’re not Jesus, when he was tempted by Satan, right before he began his earthly ministry, as far as what we know what was recorded in the Bible. It’s it’s just imperative. We walk out who we call ourselves, Christian light, Christ in Christ and like him, right, and just do what he does with following after the master. And so it’s amazing to me that Jesus didn’t respond with any prophetic words, even though he received from God even though God speaks to us prophetically, I was telling you that earlier provision precedes the problem. And you can test the prophetic word with the Word of God, test the spirit by the Spirit, Holy Spirit is the issue. And God will give you confirmation. when I say get the confirmation from the actual word of God. And so when I say the word of God, I mean, the Bible, I’m not going to assume everybody knows that. But God is so good in going before us. And in doing this. And when I say doing this, I mean, declaring this because again, His Word will never return to Him void or empty.
So God goes before us, and He declares, the end of the thing. The result? What is the outcome, right? What is it going to be like? Sports, I sort of come from a family of sports. And so I’ve seen more games than I can count, and largely basketball games. But I’ve seen a ton of them, right? And I mean, I’ve watched them where you are literally on the edge of your seat, you’re losing your voice, because you’ve been yelling at the ref, and you swear you can coach this game better than all the coaches on both teams combined. Right? It always comes over me every time. And so you’re going Netta you’re watching it, it’s touching goes up and down. It’s a three-point lead. It’s a 30 point lead, and it’s the tie game. I mean, like, Oh, this is an emotional roller coaster. Right? And so you’re going back and forth. But the thing is if you have like a DVR like I do, and sometimes you may have to record something, and you get in and you know, the final score, you know, the outcome is you win. We won. Your watch the game just a tad bit different. That’s honest, like, I’ve never lost my voice watching a game that I recorded. Never. I have lost my voice and my calls. I’m watching one that was live, right? So I mean, you just look at it differently. And God’s perspective is he’s telling us the score of the game called life. You’re on the winning team. Look at this, God’s the coach. God is the ref. This thing is crazy God even picked the players on your team. He even picked the losers on the other side. I mean, I absolutely love it right when you think about it, and you see it, the way God sees it, and how can you see it? How can you develop this perspective from God? You got to get in the Word of God. God’s word is his wheel. God’s Word is God. He is the word the Bible says. And John, In the beginning, was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word is God. Right And the Word became flesh Jesus born through Merry and dwelt among us God is Jesus. Jesus is God and He is the living breathing word. He is the written Word made flesh. It’s just so amazing.
When you know who is in control, you cannot be intimidated or live in fear.
So how do we get to know God? How do we get to think like God? How do we renew our minds? Abiding in the word and that’s the Bible directly, opening it up and asking God speak to me, Lord, right? I won’t, I don’t dare to believe I can understand this without you. I watch movies that men make sometimes. And at the end, I’m like, so I don’t get it. Were they trying to say that he was the killer, or like, right? And those are those ones that are so deep, it’s confusing. And like, I can feel like that after a movie made by somebody, a minimal intelligence, how much greater do I need God to enlighten my understanding when I’m getting to know someone is deep and as profound as God, but God is practical. And God comes down like Jesus came out after given the Sermon on the Mount, which is like a very high, very lofty sermon of standards that no one except for him could meet, he came down. And so I love that he did that Jesus, who’s in heaven, sitting on the right hand of God. And I mean, like, oh, at the mention of his name, every knee will bow and like, right, all power, all authority has been given unto him, and he’s got all by himself and King of Kings and Lord of lords. And remind me to get back to that, right? Because that just reminded me of something I was speaking about earlier. And I climbed off on this tangent by the Spirit of God, I’m just letting God flow through me. But he is, and he’s so high and lofty and lifted up yet, he comes down, he gets in the womb of a woman, or write a flawed woman, and he comes down and he dwells amongst us. God is humble, and he will come down to our level God will meet us right where we are.
So knowing this God who goes before us and determines the end and the beginning, we also know right, that He is the King of all kings. There are other kings, there is opposition. There are other people in authority that might not be for you. But he is the king of all these other kings. He’s the Lord of all these other lords. God knows there’s a stupid devil running around and trying to act like he has authority that he’s clearly been stripped of. Right? He knows that the devil was around here bluffing. Night for the devil’s game, I will say is poker because he is always, all the time bluffing. This man doesn’t even have a gun. So he puts his hand under his shirt, so to speak, forms his hand and fingers like the gun. And he’s like, I swear, if you don’t do such and such, I’m gonna shoot. I mean, this isn’t even a man with a real gun, but it’s not loaded, it would still be worthless. He actually has been disarmed totally. The Bible tells us I believe in Colossians, he has no gun. He has no authority. He has no power. That’s what I mean. You see, you see what I’m saying? And so he’s bluffing all the time, he has a losing hand trusting God, when he tells you through me, he has a losing hand and this loss for him. This victory for us is so sure because God has not only gone before us, he’s declared the end of the beginning. And God says in His Word, the outcome basically, is I’m paraphrasing, as you when the Bible says God always causes us to triumph. That means the outcome is you and I as sons and daughters of God, always, in all circumstances, no matter what it looks like, as you watch the game of life plate play out, no matter who scores what baskets, no matter how it looks like the enemy’s leading, no matter how many points it seems like he’s here, the outcome of the game called Life is you win sons and daughters of God. It’s good to be on the winning side. So let’s not lose our hair or our minds. As the game plays out. Let me just Minister myself and don’t lose your voice. Right. So while they’re yelling at the TV, they can’t hear you anyway. Don’t even be yelling at the devil. Like, what are you doing? Don’t waste your time with it. Don’t yell at him. He’s an idiot. You just enforce the law. You see judges sitting on the bench, they’re not going to try to scramble and make the law yelling at the defendant yelling at the plaintiff standing up and they sit down the whole time, like legs crossed and cool because the truth is, I know whatever I decree it’s so won’t be much you can do about it. You see what I mean? That’s authority. That’s power. I’m shaking right now. Fake it till you make it the devil can’t read your mind. He doesn’t know what you’re thinking. Tough to God toughen you up some more. Right? Do that. So I love you all very much. We’re going to end right here pick up next week.
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