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God Goes Before You (Part 5)

God is love, and He loves you unconditionally. He has good plans 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 proceeds the problem and He will make sure it works together for your good!

Listen to the Podcast here:

God Goes Before You (Part 5)

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. Siohvaughn Funches. And today, we’re going to be continuing on with our series, but probably not finishing up, it’s titled God Goes Before You, right. But before we get into that, we’re gonna take a moment and do what we always do. And that’s the wise thing to do. And that’s to acknowledge God.

Deuteronomy 31:8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be dismayed.

 I thank you, Heavenly Father, for the opportunity to get at the feet of your Son, Jesus, thank You, Lord Jesus, that it will be all of you. And none of me, you’ll give to each and every one of us and our entire house, the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of you. Let the eyes of our understanding be enlightened, that we may know what is the hope of your calling, what are the riches of the glory of your inheritance and us the saints? And what is the exceeding greatness of your power towards us who believe according to the working of your mighty power, 

I thank you, I bet that your kingdom has come and only your perfect we’ll is being done in our lives. And even in this message, you have for us today. I thank You, Lord Jesus, that you’re going to open our eyes to see wondrous things in your Word, you are going to expound on the Scriptures to us about the things concerning yourself. We are having a road to Emmaus, not experience but a lifestyle with you, Lord, I thank you that you will cause us to meditate on things from these words that you give us today. I think that you’ll highlight it for your people, you’ll make it stand out, they’ll know that they know that they know that word is for them. I think you’ll give them that thing to narrow in on and focus on and meditate on all day. And I thank you for your word promises and Joshua and we meditate on your word, we have good success. I thank you for all the prosperity that follows the Lord when we meditate on you when we feed on you the bread of life. I thank you, Jesus, that you are transforming us by your spirit into your very same image for your glory and the good of your church in your name Yeshua we pray, Amen

So if you’ve been with us on this particular journey, you know we’ve been meditating on and talking about how God is the God who always goes before us. And we’ve spoken about the significance of that because Jesus who is the truth and who cannot lie did tell us in this world you have trouble but be of good cheer there’s a bud All right, but be of good cheer I have overcome this world. So we say we’re going to have trouble in the world but be of good cheer I have overcome the world that but makes every bit of difference right in our lives is what helps distinguish us the sheep from the wolves, right? Those who are walking in the light and those who are walking in darkness for those walking in darkness are just the trouble in this life. It’s not the being of good cheer and is not experiencing or inheriting that victory that triumph that overcoming that Jesus had over this entire world anything you could face have face we’ll face he’s overcoming that victory he obtained for you and me, he did it ahead of time. And it is our portion simply by faith. Right. 

So we’re talking about, we’ve been talking about and we’re gonna continue on a day just talking about how important it is for us to reflect on this meditate on this be aware of this cognizant of it how God goes before us and how this is the deal-breaker. This is the game-changer. This is what announces to us in the fight you get in the fights fixed right? Oh, Gods went before you and he secured the victory. That way we don’t break out and panic right which can manifest in breaking out in hives literally on the skin. There’s no need for us to do that. Right. We can break out and praise instead of breaking out and panic because we know God has gone before us and he has secured absolutely secure with the blood of his own son. The breakthrough that you need is finished. Sweetheart. It is finished right and is definitely yours and God is leading you right sometimes supernaturally natural, sometimes just supernatural. 

You may not pick up on it. But God is sovereign and he’s leading you even in those so-called mundane things of life. There are people who have just gone to a post office thinking they’re just dropping off a bill in the mail and they meet the love of their life, don’t despise small beginnings don’t despise the little things like the five loaves and the two fish, right? It turned into a buffet right? So don’t despise the little thing, little, always become much in the hands of God. And if you’ve given yourself and your life to Christ, you are in the hands of God, there is no better place, excuse me for you to be. So I tell you now, regardless of the circumstances, this is how I can say this. All is well, it really is for those who are born again. And for those who are not want to give you an opportunity to do that before we conclude today. 

God’s love language is to give

Now our key scripture from this series is taken from Deuteronomy 31:8, and it comes out of the NASB, the 1995 edition. And it says, And the Lord is the one who is going ahead of you, He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you do not fear or be dismayed. In other words, do not fear or be discouraged. Right? Why is that? Why do we not have to fear why should we not be discouraged? It certainly isn’t because of some of the challenges that we face that is in it. That can look very bleak, right? And just on the surface, everyone can understand why someone would be upset or afraid. But God tells us you don’t have to be afraid. There’s no need for you to fear or even be discouraged. You don’t have to be dismayed. You don’t have to throw your hands up or throw the towel in victory is absolutely yours for the sons and daughters of God. And it is the Lord that covenant-keeping God that’s faithful even when we’re faithless, right, that cannot lie that never breaks a promise that’s holy, just in faithful to His word faithful to watch over and performing every time right that no man will make a lie.

The Bible says let every man be a lie. But let God be the truth. Right? Jesus is the truth, right? And if that’s not enough, the word says he cannot lie. And so this is the Lord, right? This faithful perfect no blemish and fall in him is the one who promised I’ve gone before you and is explaining and elaborating to us through this series so far and even more today expounding on it just what that means for us. Let’s know our inheritance and let’s possess every possession because that pleases God. That pleases God, God’s love language is to give and God told me if you want to, you know, do something that negatively impacts someone whose love language is the gift it is to reject the gift right? They come and extend their hands with the gift rejecting it is to pain, the one whose love language is to give and we don’t want to pain God, neither do we want to reject God or the gift in his hand. Because who’s that really hurting? The right let’s be honest, it’d be hurting the one doing the rejecting. Right? So we don’t want to do that. Right? We do not want to do that. 

There are enemies out there that we face challenges that we face, people accidentally do things sometimes people intentionally do things wrong, let’s not create more problems ourselves, against others or ourselves. Let’s not be adversarial towards ourselves, right? So let’s receive God let’s receive the gifts of God and let Him pour out lavishly on us, because that blesses him that pleases Him, that gives him the joy to give to us, so and for us to be in our position as receivers right? God has ordained itself. So let us just say a man is God wants to give and receive it by faith. Simple, right?

So we saw last week that God took care of the biggest problem for us, right? We all just sort of took a minute and acknowledge that sin was the biggest problem we know what sin is brought in death is the reason even for this Coronavirus. Okay, so we know the problems that say in his head, every argument in a marriage, every divorce, that’s been decreed all that stems from seeing every disease, every death, every funeral, you’ve been to start it with sin. That’s what it is. And I don’t mean the person who died and in that cause that I’m simply saying the sin that Adam and Eve committed in the garden got that ball rolling, right? And so here we are, thank God for a wonderful Savior. 

And the Bible tells us that God sent His son, his only begotten Son to die for us. And he did so says the Lamb of God was slain before the foundations of the world. And this was very significant God told us this right before anyone even realized they had a problem with a sand problem and that it would bring forth death and sickness, you know, and disease and divorce and things like that. Before anybody even knew they had a problem. God sent His Son to die before anyone prayed. Before anyone fasted before anyone touched and agreed before anyone saying any worship song before anybody believe God or utilize their faith, anything before anybody decreed a thing, right? You know what I mean before anybody rebuked anything, God himself God all by himself in his love for us on his full knowledge and wisdom, right? And his depth, the depth of his love, this immeasurable love sent his only begotten Son. People wouldn’t send their son if they had 12 sons, you know, if they had 20 songs, they’re not picking out one to Dafa people that are guilty right, but God sent his only begotten son who’s perfect to die for the imperfect right, who sinless to die for the center that we were you and I before me and born again now do we stand from time to time? Yes. But does God see us as sinners? Absolutely not. 

God will always go ahead of you. So, do not fear or be intimidated.

We are God’s beloved in whom he is very well pleased. Old things have passed away. Behold, all things are new. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus. Our role in this movie called life is to agree with God. That’s what God said. God says you are who he says you are. You’re not what you do. Right? Okay, there we have it a man. Our identity is tied to God and the words that proceeded from his mouth. What he said is who you are. It’s not what you do what you didn’t do that are you dotted in the T you didn’t cross that has nothing to do with who you are. That may be what you did, but it’s not who you are. You are a new creature in Christ Jesus, you are the righteousness of God himself. In Christ Jesus, you are the bride of Christ. You are an heir of God, you are a joint heir with Christ, you are kings, you are priests. I could go on. That is who you are. Right, Holly Louie, you’re born again. You will say you know what I mean? You’re the apple of God’s eye. That’s what you are. You’re a child of the Most High God. That’s who you are. Right? Focus on that. Never let your focus be on your, on your fruit. Let your focus be on your root because Jesus is your identity. Your identity is found in Christ. Focus on him. Don’t make yourself a God. Don’t make your behavior of God right. Amen.

I don’t know who that’s for, it Blesses me. No one else has blessed me. So praise be to Jesus. But I love that when God sent Jesus to die for us, the Bible says it was before the foundations of the world. None of us were praying. None of us were touching and agreeing, none of us were ministering to people. None of us was serving God, none of us was worshiping God, it was never any of that. It will never be any of that God is simply good. He’s got all by himself, but he’s good all by himself. And the reason why we want to just park here, put a pin in this and just take a moment and just feast on this aspect of God this truth about God is because the enemy when he can’t get people to do the absolute obvious wrong, you know what I mean? curse somebody out, punch somebody in the face, sleep with somebody else’s spouse when he can’t get you to just flat out do that right sale drugs. He wants to get you in some other kind of way. And that’s usually the religious route, when you don’t won’t go that rogue route, okay, and when you won’t go the absolute obvious road route because all of its rogue, all of its sin, being religious is sin. Anything that’s not faith is sin. And religion is not about faith. Religion is about rule-keeping those and doesn’t, that’s not faith. That’s a formula there’s a difference.

 And God said whatever is not faith is sin. So being religious is a sin. It’s not a faith. It is work. It voids faith. In fact, the Bible tells us that in Romans I believe, so I love how is not the religious rhetoric either, right? It’s not the dotting every I and crossing every t is not the confession of sin and acknowledging God that I was wrong. It’s before you even did any of that before we ever sang a worship song before we ever even had a Bible study attending or conducting. God sent His only Son to die for us. It’s not just what God did is when he did it, and it’s the fact and the truth that it was all God and none of us that was the will of God at the beginning with the biggest blessing and it’s the will of God right now with all the lesser blessings that God told us are always including the greater the lesser always includes the greater.

If I give somebody $100 bill if I tender to you $100 Bill, you can’t say oh Vaughn I’m just standing here praying I show how God touched your heart to give me 50 I gave you 150 is in the 100 there you have it, he answered you you can start to praise him right go from petitioning to praising right now as we speak because the lesser is included in the greater there we have it. Jesus is the greatest gift God has ever given mankind and in Him is all the lesser blessings, everything you will ever need or desire is found in Jesus Christ. I tell people all the time, he is truly the answer. I’m not saying that to simplify things. I’m not saying that to minimize the problems that people go through or face. I know what it’s like to really go through, I know what it’s like to be in the wilderness. Wondering, when will it just in for Christ’s sake, am I. 

Like, you know, at this point, you know, pick your pride, just so we could just get a dead stop here. God, I’d be good. You know what I mean? But it just kept going. So I understand I’ve been hurt, I’ve been in pain, and that has produced this compassion in me. And it has given me a desire. I mean, a God-given desire to see other people free for them to get a revelation of what God gave me. That’s why I’m doing this. This is a labor of love, right? I’m not collecting a salary from this. This is a labor of love for the glory of God, I really want you to have what God gave me because I’ve seen firsthand how it’s transformed my life. I believe it’ll transform yours. And I’m not the small heart jealous type for the glory of God, I got some issues, but that’s not one of them. God keep me in Your Grace, right? Keep my heart from that got enough things I got a free about, you know what I mean? Got enough character flaws here. So let’s not I have that one on the list.  

I just thank God for my desire to want to see you have and hat and see you blessed. And God always works from the inside out. So I’m constantly trying to feed by the grace of God, you’re inside because I know it’ll manifest on the outside and God is so big. There’s more than enough room at his table. It ain’t my table to tell you don’t have a seat. That’s first and foremost. Right? But I know some about God, I don’t know everything. I’m not telling you. All right. But I know enough today to tell you God has more than enough. That’s more than enough room, and we all go out to eat. I mean, it’s overflowing is overflowing. Like, you got to just like, open that top button on your jeans. When you eat a guy’s table. I mean, it gets you going now, right? You’re going there. You’re like trying not to think about the scale at this point, right? Because it’s just so much right. But with feasting on Christ, and of course, that won’t result in being overweight or heart disease, which I strongly encourage, we don’t do, right.

God is love and his love is unconditional 

But to get more into the specific thing that God has for us today, right? We’re going to look at the book of Esther, if you’ve been with me on this journey, you know that that’s one of my favorite books, okay, just, I can just eat it time and time and time again. And I love how like just going through it. It never gets old of the things that God has told me before. And he always just seems to bring out something new. I absolutely love it. I don’t I’m not even really sure as to why I feel like that about that book. But I really, really love it. Perhaps it’s the royalty Christ in me that sort of calls out for that and wants to eat up that I’m not really sure. But I just know that it’s wonderful the Word of God. But that is special to me. So we know that the book of Esther opens up those are people who have read it. If you haven’t, I strongly encourage you to do so for sure you’re going to enjoy that book, right? 

But it opens up with this manmade marriage that ends in this terrible public divorce. Right? And God told me he allowed it right? We’re talking about God going before us. Right? And not only that, but you can even see in the book of Esther how God works behind the scenes. That’s also a huge revelation you want to have going through life. You need to know that because there are times like I said, even passing through a wilderness type of experience, or circumstance, or where you don’t see anything changing or happening, or maybe even seem like it got worse. It seems like that at least right? The path of the righteous gets brighter and brighter. But the enemy always tries to use deception and obvious lies. He’s the father of lies. And so he’ll try to make it appear like it’s getting worse. And sure enough, I mean, this is when you got to dig your heels of faith in deep, okay, and you got to pitch your tent in this truth. God is at work right now. He’s all the while at work and me. 

God is constantly supplying the spirit to us. He’s constantly working miracles among us that’s written. That’s not wishful thinking that’s written. And if God is gonna be faithful and true to something, it’s going to be me and it’s gonna be his self and he is his word he promised. He promised me he’s always working. He’s working right now. Do you need to see everything? Probably not. If you’ve read the first book, I believe it was if not like the second one you got to let God finish but I think it’s that one. You got to let God finish that God gave me that revelation. You know, and just pinning down everything which God was sharing with me and revealing to me to give to this world. And first of all, the bride of Christ, that’s you, right? That’s me. It was that revelation of how God, you know, works behind the scenes. And in doing so he used the Book of Esther, he also use the book of Genesis particular part that book pretty big.

But God was showing me how he just works behind the scenes. And I believe that that may be one of the reasons why I actually really, really love the book of Esther because it also highlights that God also goes before us, yes, but he also works behind the scenes. So wherever need be, that God speaks to me, I’ll bring it out. But it starts off with that divorce. And now like I said, God allowed it, but he didn’t cause it. But God’s pointed this out to me in His Word, the Bible says that whatever God joins together, let no man tear asunder, right? And so it’s not just anybody that gets married to anybody. The Bible says, What, therefore, God joins together, right? So you know, there are people, unfortunately, who have had full-blown wedding ceremonies where they were Satan. I mean, I’m just saying like, just absolute obvious witchcraft, the stuff you will see in like a Disney movie, okay. I don’t watch those Disney movies. Am I right? So that sort of thing, though, actually happens is what I’m saying. 

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD. “Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

And so, of course, we know that God wouldn’t have ordained that marriage and put it together. So if it comes to sunder heaviness, clapping, heaviness, happiness, and so are we right? And so that was a manmade marriage. God showed me torn asunder for the glory of God and the good of his church, God is fighting for his people. And this happens right prior to Queen Esther ever becoming queen and coming into the kingdom. This happens prior to the Jewish people having any problems at all that marriage was gone out, the wife was rebellious, disobeying the law to disobey the king in those days was just directly disobeying the law. So she’s in full-blown rebellion, and she’s in a leadership position. So they’re worried that the other women are going to follow her right? Is this an insurrection that she started, what’s happening here, is just going to be like a civil war in this kingdom, what’s really going on to whom much is given, much is required. And she was given much in that position as queen. And what was required of her is to obey the command of her husband, who was king. 

Yes, he was her husband, but he was king. And you can’t forget that. And so she didn’t, was disrespectful, dishonorable. And she also was a lawbreaker. And so she was cast out. And the king then was told, Come on, cheer up, basically, by his close advisers, let’s just hold sort of like a beauty contest, right? We’re gonna grab all the virgins that are beautiful out here in this whole area, right? That you rule over, going to bring them and give them beauty treatments, and it’ll kind of be like an American Idol. Except no one’s singing this like prancing across the stage, so to speak. Oh, and also going into the king’s bed chambers, right? And then King, you get to pick who’s going to be queen? Can you imagine the number of beautiful virgins that lined up for this and then all the other women were like left than a harem? Right? Except for the one who the king called by name, that one would be crowned queen and ruling power with the king, but obviously not equally, not in those days at least. But she would have some sort of privileges and authority that people who were left to be like concubines would not have. 

So this was a trying time Esther was amongst those women, those beautiful virgins, right? And so I can just about imagine, and so I like to slow down and just let God speak to me when I’m reading it. Even if it means you don’t read a lot, I’d rather get a lot of revelation than have said, I read a lot of pages, right? Like it’s better the revelation than it is, like, you know, keep an account on how much you’ve read it, how many notes you’ve taken, it’s just better. 

So, think about this woman Esther, young, right? Beautiful, right? Jewish virgin, he is a sort of pagan king, he’s not Jewish, they don’t serve the same God. It’s a matter of fact, he probably has a list of God’s books. In fact, you know, it was like probably who can remember that. I’m thinking these people need to know cards back then. And that’s way too many false gods. So anyway, she has to go in and it’s a possibility right that she’d be married to this pagan of Kings excuse me, whom she doesn’t know, and has been made public that his wife’s as far as we know that least the Bible only speaks to her disobeying one time and she’s kicked out and she’s torn away from her family. Suddenly, by the way, this happened suddenly because nobody saw the Kings first. Why is Vashti rebelling and the king going as far as the caster out so it’s happening suddenly she’s you She’s a virgin, she doesn’t get to choose the man she’s going to be with or lose her virginity to. Then on top of that, he’s not even Jewish, right? He’s like a guy that has 100 gods and they don’t believe anything really the same.

So it’s, it’s all happening to her and then to top that off because that’s like every Jewish woman would be in that same position as Esther them. But what made her story even more heartfelt was the fact that Esther was an orphan. She lost both her mother and her father. They preceded her in death already, she was raised by her uncle Mordecai, right. And you can imagine how close they were and what he meant to her and what she meant to him, even for him to take on that responsibility. And to do that, right. And she suddenly snatched, and this is when God gave me this revelation. This happens a lot, not just with Esther, even with Jonah, even when Moses, Esther was sort of pushed into her purpose, right. And God spoke to me about a time you get done reading Esther’s story, you realize, right that what the enemy meant for evil god the all the while, he meant it for good. And so you may say, but I’m not Esther, you don’t need to be Esther, neither do I, we changed. We can be different. There’s a variation amongst us. But the thing about God he is and why Esther and every other thing in that Bible is relevant to us is because God doesn’t change. 

The Bible is all about getting to know Jesus. And he doesn’t change. You see what I mean? He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. And that’s good news for us, right? Because it seems like Oh, my God, where is Esther’s God. Now where is her God, she’s young. She’s in a vulnerable class as an orphan a woman who had no equal rights at all. I mean, we’re still dealing with that today. Because you imagine then, and so she’s taken away from the only family she has suddenly no warning and no choice. There was no court of appeals. There was nothing to say. I think this judge did something corrupted. No, no, there was no such process then. Right. And I know that process has failed people, even in America where there is such process in place. But imagine just immediately, it’d be in like, no hope at all. You know, the father court case, there’s some hope it might go Right. Right. But she didn’t have that hope. It just we know it’s not going right? At least not that avenue because that avenue doesn’t exist. 

Esther had to depend on God. There was no Plan B’s for Esther, none, God help her, or God help her, because that’s it. Even Mordecai couldn’t pipe up and say anything unless he wanted to be executed on-site. Kings ran they were the final authority. There was no congressman, there was no democracy. It was just the King and what he said and even once he said it or decreed it, even he couldn’t reverse it, not in Persian, that’s where they were, that’s where the story takes place. And so on ester 2 you can see, right, our reason for being able to rest knowing that even what man, you know, may mean for evil and evil can be like, right, intentional, the evil things can be done by man. And it’s accidental, you know what I mean? My sister was, unfortunately, and along with her best friend killed in a car accident, it was not. They ruled, you know, negligent homicide. It was an accident.

 And we know there are people who have broken into people’s houses, and they’ve shot them to death. And it’s like, ah, that’s heinous. And it’s hard for the family and I bury their family member, maybe even somebody watching has had to go through that hell right here on the earth, right. And then there are people who are like us, they the person didn’t intend to do it. The pain wasn’t less, the loss wasn’t less you see what I mean? And so whether it’s intentional or accidental, I don’t think the people that may be made this decree were thinking, wow, what about the orphans? What about the people who don’t believe the same thing? What if these virgins don’t want to have sex with this king? Right? And this is more like rape because it’s against their will. This is the will of the king that is doesn’t mean that the women wanted that. And so I don’t think they thought it through. Or maybe they did and didn’t care. Oh, well, so long as we appease the king, right? 

The Bible is silent on that matter, but we see if we take time and just let God speak to us just what these women were going through, and especially Esther she was, especially in a vulnerable position, like I see it being an orphan so but we see how God utilize the fact that he allowed man to do this, not only to bless Esther, but even to bless the entire Jewish nation. That blessing stemmed all the way to Jesus and touched him. So again, you can rest knowing that no matter what happens, whether somebody manifests this unintentional evil, mishandling you or whether they just accidentally mishandled you, if God has allowed it, Beloved, He loves you enough. He’s gone before you in this If he allowed that he allowed it for a reason. And that reason is always for your good, what they meant for evil. God always works together for your good.

 Even Joseph said that in Genesis 50. I think it was he talked to his brothers when they reconcile, you know, don’t be afraid of me. They had, you know, sold him into slavery betrayed him was bad. And he’s like, no, no worries, because now he’s in power. And they’re like, is he gonna pay us back now that he has this power? Oh, no, no, no, I’m so blessed. I can’t be stressed with things like unforgiveness. God has really hooked me up. And so he doesn’t bother with that. And that’s a picture of Jesus with us. We and our Sin betrayed him, we come to him sometimes shaking and trembling in Jesus, like, let’s party, what are you shaking for? You know what I mean? So get yourself then you look nervous. He is good. God has so hooked him up and blessed them. You know, he’s good. And so he loves us and just wants to be with us. And Joseph is a picture of that. But he gives a really good revelation to the church telling us, you know, you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good and to save people. And so it’s so beautiful, our God and how He has our back and the wonder of him going before us. I just don’t get tired of talking about but I have to end it because we’re out of time now. 

So just want to give this opportunity to anyone who’s listening. Who is not born again yet, right? You want to just come on into the family, right? I wish I could hug you right? We’d have to hug in mass. But nevertheless, wish I could hug you and just repeat after me. I want to thank you, God, I thank You, Lord, for your Son, Jesus, I thank you for sending him to die for all of my sins. I admit I’m a sinner, I’ve done wrong. I need your son, I need his blood. I receive him and I believe Him that He is both Lord and Savior of my life. And I asked you not only to save me but to save my whole house in Jesus’ name Amen. Welcome to the family. I love you all so very much. Keep listening. Stay with me on this journey. I love you all so much. I love doing this. I love the fact that God has to give it to me in order to give it through me so I’m well fed as well. And I’m happy about that. And I’m happy about all the comments and the people who reach out and say how it’s transforming their lives for the glory of Jesus right Amen. I love you guys see you next time.

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