Long Enough at this Mountain

Hey, we're in the book of Deuteronomy. Open with us to Deuteronomy chapter 1. In this passage, we're going to see that God's people did not inherit what God had for them, and a lot of that had to do with them having the wrong aim. So, open with us as we consider this together. Amen.

Good morning, everybody! Welcome to Cross Connection Church. While you're standing, please take out your Bibles this morning and open to the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. It's the fifth book of the Bible. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one.

Just looking this morning, I don't know, maybe it doesn't mean anything, but the word "chief" is found 271 times in the Bible. It might mean something; probably not. Also, really important, one of the most important holidays of the year is today: Groundhog Day! Judging by the weather yesterday, we are done with winter.

Deuteronomy chapter 1 is where we are going to pick up our study. Remember, as we're going through the Scriptures today, if you have a question about the message, the Christian faith, or anything, you can text your questions to the phone number on the screen. Pastor Mark and I will do the questions podcast this week.

Deuteronomy chapter 1, verse 1, we read: "These are the words which Moses spoke to all of Israel on this side of the Jordan, in the wilderness, in the plain opposite Suph, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. It is an eleven days' journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea."

Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him as commandments to them, after he had killed Sihon, king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, who dwelt in Ashtaroth and Edrei.

Father, I pray as we once again open the...

Lord, open our ears, minds, and hearts so that we may hear what Your Spirit is revealing, not just in the text but to each of us. As I've thought about this passage this last week, I am very convinced that You have a word that You want to speak this morning to specific people. There are individuals You have brought here today, and You desire to bring a word to them about where they are at this moment in their lives.

We also know that what the Scriptures reveal, and what we have even experienced, is that there is a very real spiritual opposition to the work You desire to do by Your Holy Spirit in our lives. I pray, God, that You would bind and resist the work of the enemy, who has come to steal, kill, and destroy. Even at this very moment, just as Jesus revealed in the parable of the sower, the seed that is scattered is Your word. There are birds of the air, which You said are spiritual entities, that come and try to snatch away Your word. They attempt to disrupt and distract.

So, Lord, I pray that You would disrupt and distract the work of the enemy and that You would speak to us. God, You have a work that You desire to do in each of our lives. I pray that You would continue that work of transformation and sanctification, for we ask this today in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen." You may be seated.

I can remember vividly the message that was delivered during the summer between my sophomore and junior year of high school. I was 16 years old, and it was the first time I had gone to a Christian youth camp just a couple of hours north of here in the San Bernardino Mountains. Our youth summer camps at that point all kind of followed the same format. You would go up on a Sunday afternoon, and Sunday evening there would be an evangelistic, motivational, stirring message. But the real bulk, or the core, of the teaching of the camp would come the next day, Monday morning. For that camp, the theme that year was "In Christ," and the focus of the camp was on the book of Ephesians, specifically the sixth chapter of the New Testament book of Ephesians.

On a Monday morning, I, along with about 400 other high schoolers, piled into the chapel. An older, mostly bald, slightly overweight man came to the pulpit with a big, deep, bellowing voice. At the time, I didn't know who he was; his name was Chuck Smith. For some of you, you may not know who Chuck Smith was. He passed away a few years ago, but for 50 years, he pastored Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa. That Calvary Chapel was the first Calvary Chapel, and during his time there, it grew from one church in Costa Mesa to over 1,700 churches worldwide. God did a really great work in and through the life and ministry of Chuck.

That was the first message I ever heard from him. He delivered three messages that day from the book of Ephesians. I don't remember the details of the message, but I do remember a word that he exhorted all of us high schoolers with: we should not meander in life. I remember it specifically because I think that was probably the first time I consciously thought about that word, "meander." He talked about the importance of not wandering and not meandering, emphasizing the need to make it a point, at that young stage in our lives as 16-year-olds, to determine to walk in God's will.

I remember that message and how I left feeling conflicted. I trusted in God and believed in Him. I agreed with what he was saying; I didn't want to wander through life. I wanted to have an aim, a vision, a goal, and to move progressively toward that goal without meandering or wandering. However, my conflict was this: I wrestled with the idea of submitting, yielding, and surrendering to God's will. At that time, I thought that if I did that, God would make me do something weird. I was afraid He would send me somewhere I didn't want to go. So, it just seemed uncertain.

I remember really wrestling with that for the next couple of years. Yet, that phrase, "don't meander," has lingered in my mind for 25 years.

I was conflicted over it at the time, but now I am grateful that it didn't take me over 20 years to learn to yield to the will and purpose of God and to follow His direction. That's not to say that I don't have a lot to learn about that; there are many ins and outs, if you will, that I think we continue to learn about throughout life when it comes to following the Lord, His will, and pursuing Him.

Though I can look back with gratitude over the last 20 plus years, I know that there are more than a few of you here this morning who, when you look back over the last 20 years or more, realize that there has been a fair amount of meandering and wandering. Some of you, regrettably, have experienced a lot of that wandering, maybe even more than you are willing to admit to yourself.

I was thinking about the concept of meandering and wandering this week because, of course, that's what we're going to be talking about in this passage. I was reminded of the end of 1992, back in the last century, when I was just about to turn thirteen years old. I remember, and some of you may recall this stage in your life when you were younger, deciding and telling everyone that you didn't want presents for your birthday; you wanted money. I wanted money because I had something in mind that I wanted to buy. So, everybody that birthday gave me money. I saved up some more money over the next several weeks and months, and when I had enough, I had my mom take me over to Price Club.

Remember Price Club? It used to be right over on Nord; now it's Costco. We went in there, and I purchased the newly released Sony Discman. It wasn't a Walkman; that was a tiny bit before my time, but the Discman! I don't even think I owned a CD at that time, but I had to have the Discman. Then, one of my dad's co-workers saw that I had the Discman, so he gave me a number of CDs that he had. A couple of those CDs were "Joshua Tree" and "Achtung Baby" from U2. I became a U2 fan right there.

A few months later, U2 released their newest album, and I remember riding my BMX bike down to Sam Goody. Do you guys remember Sam Goody? Once upon a time, you had to go buy albums there.

Goody used to be in the vineyard shopping center on the east end of Escondido, where incidentally this church was located. That building needed to be condemned, and it was torn down. Now, it's an Albertsons. I went to Sam Goody and bought U2's newest album, "Zooropa." I rode home, and I remember putting that in my little Discman, putting my headphones on, and laying on my bed listening to all ten tracks. It was a great album.

When I got to the last track, it was different from the others; it had a totally different sound. The guy who started singing was not Bono. I was like, "Who is this guy?" I opened up the album cover, and it was "The Wanderer" with Johnny Cash. I had never heard of Johnny Cash at that time. Johnny, the man in black, was singing "The Wanderer," with words by Bono but sung by Johnny Cash.

That song, "The Wanderer," says this: "I went out there in search of experience, to taste and to touch and to feel as much as a man can before he repents." Those are some words to think about. I went out in search of experience, to taste and to touch and to feel as much as a man can before he repents. That's the story of some of your lives today. That describes the experience of wandering that you've had, and it describes, in one sense, the experience of this story.

In Deuteronomy 1, verse 2, we read, "It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh." Now, what's Horeb? Horeb is Mount Sinai. The book of Exodus talks significantly about Mount Sinai; it is also called the mountain of God. It is the same territory, the same mountain range, where Moses had an encounter with God through none other than a burning bush. That may sound strange to us, and we'll talk about that more later on.

It is the same place that God told Moses, when He called him there in Exodus chapter 3, to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt to come to Mount Sinai to establish the covenant and receive the law. They were there for two years; that's the story of Exodus. Then the book of Numbers comes along. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers—Numbers is the story of where God said to the children of Israel, "It's time to leave Mount Horeb and go to the promised land, the land that God promised to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." They set out on a journey that could have been eleven days.

Days from Horeb by way of Nazi Ur to Kadesh Barnea, point number one in your outline: God has purposed a path by which to bring you into His promised blessing.

God said to Moses in Exodus chapter 3, as He spoke with him there from that burning bush, "The Lord said, 'I have surely seen the oppression of My people who were in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey.'"

At the time that God said this, Moses was 80 years old. God told Moses, "I have heard the cry of My people. They are down there in slavery and bondage in Egypt, and I am sending you to deliver them and to bring them into the land that I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob."

I don't think it is a stretch to suppose that God has the same plan for you and me: to bring us into what Jesus describes in the New Testament as the abundant life. He said, "The thief has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy, but I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly."

Jesus makes it possible to come into the experience of what we would metaphorically refer to as the land of blessing. God provided a deliverer for Israel thousands of years ago, and He provided a deliverer for you and me. Jesus is our Redeemer, our deliverer. He redeems us from the bondage of sin, the metaphorical Egypt, and He delivers us from that so that He might bring us into the experience of the fullness that He has designed and desires for us.

Now, though He provided a deliverer, there is a way in which we, like Israel before us, can experience deliverance and redemption from Egypt but then find ourselves wandering in the wilderness, not fully laying hold of the life that God desires for us. Unfortunately, some Christians get to a point where they think, "Well, I'm saved, but I think that must come after I die." You even hear some of the old gospel spirituals talk about crossing the Jordan, kind of like a death.

Experience is important, but Jesus said, "I've come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly." He desires that we would lay hold of this life now. In saying that, it's worth noting that God's picture of the abundant life may differ from the modern American picture of the abundant life. I would suggest it does in a big way, as we'll see. Even though His picture of the abundant life is different from what we might think of when we consider abundance and the Promised Land, I have learned—and I continue to learn—that God's path and His plan are far better than mine.

Point number two on your outline: God's path to blessing is far better than any I would choose for myself. That has been my experience over the last couple of decades of walking with the Lord. Unfortunately, we do not always choose the path that God has created for us. He redeems us just like He redeemed Israel, but we can find ourselves walking in a different direction than what He is seeking to set before us. There are many different reasons for that: fear, distrust, unbelief—whatever it may be. There are lots of different things that can keep us from that.

The sad reality is that there are many people, potentially in the church, who experience redemption but do not experience living in the land of rest and blessing. That is the story we are going to be looking at as we go through Deuteronomy, because that has been the story of the children of Israel. It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea.

Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month. The fortieth year, eleventh month, first day of the month—what does that refer to? Going back to Exodus chapter 3, God told Moses to go down to Egypt and tell Pharaoh, "Let my people go." God said to Moses, "He's not going to listen to you," so He knew ahead of time. God said, "I’m going to bring plagues upon Egypt so that ultimately they will release you." After a series of plagues, they come to the tenth one. In the tenth one, God says that He is going to send forth a destroyer, some spiritual being that is going to kill every firstborn son in Egypt.

God did not spare the lives of those who were of the children of Israel in Egypt unless they observed what was called the Passover. They would sacrifice the lamb and take the blood of that lamb to put on the doorpost of their house. Whoever was in that house would be safe, and the destroyer would pass over. Then they would be delivered from Egypt, and that's exactly what happens in Exodus. God tells the children of Israel, "This shall be the beginning of years for you," so they have a new year.

You might even remember a time when you experienced the redemption of God, when you trusted in Jesus. Maybe it happened during a church service when someone shared the gospel. Perhaps it occurred while you sat across the table from a friend sharing the gospel, or you heard it from an evangelist. It might have even happened while you were by yourself in a room with a Bible. You experienced a redemption, and that became a beginning of years for you—a new birth, a new birthday. That's what the children of Israel had.

Now we read that in the fortieth year, the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Israel has wandered in stubbornness, unbelief, disobedience, and fear. They experienced a miraculous redemption, but they failed to move into the true rest and blessing that God had for them. Sadly, I think there are far too many Christians who experience the same.

Writing about this wilderness wandering period in the New Testament, the author of the book of Hebrews has some things to say about it. You can turn there if you'd like. If you're in Deuteronomy, keep a finger there and turn to almost the very end of your Bible to the book of Hebrews. Hebrews is near the end, right before the book of James. If you've gone to Revelation, you're too far.

In Hebrews 3, verse 7, the author writes, "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness." The author of Hebrews is taking us back to Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. "Do not harden your heart as in the day of rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, they tried Me, and they saw My works for forty years." Therefore, God says, "I was angry with that generation."

And said, "They always go astray in their heart; they have not known My ways." So I swore in My wrath, "They shall not enter My rest."

Beware, brethren, the application for us. Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. But exhort one another; challenge each other while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

While it is said, "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt led by Moses? Now, with whom was God angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest? But to those who did not obey. So we see that they could not enter because of unbelief.

Paul, in the New Testament book of 1 Corinthians, says all of these things in the Old Testament were written for our instruction, our learning. It is so much better, and I think you will agree, to learn from the mistakes of others than to have to make the same mistakes yourself.

Point number three on your outline: failure to possess all that God has promised rests solely with me. I want to suggest that probably a lot of us don't like that truth, but though we don't like the truth, it doesn't make it any less true. Failure to possess all that God has promised rests solely with me.

Now, it's worth making the point: redemption is a work of God. He redeemed Egypt; He redeemed Israel out of Egypt; He redeemed us out of sin and death. We could not have accomplished that on our own. He redeems us, and then He takes us out of that by His redemptive grace. He has a target; He has a place He wants to bring each of us. Like Israel, we can find ourselves in that place of wandering. The responsibility to lay hold of that possession is ours. Now, He will work miraculously to accomplish it.

We're going to see in Deuteronomy, and when we go into the Book of Joshua, which is probably ten years from now, we'll see that God is the one who brings about this victorious life in the land of blessing. However, they still had to lay hold of it. This brings us back to a place I come back to frequently: the recognition that God is sovereign, and He has sovereignly given us a responsibility. We see these two things join together in the Scriptures constantly.

One of my favorite verses in all of the Bible is Philippians 2:12-13: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure." So, is it God working, or is it you working? Yes! Where does God's working end and yours begin? I know He redeemed us according to His power and His grace, and now He has called us to lay hold of this possession.

For forty years, Israel wandered because of disobedience, fear, unbelief, stubbornness, and self-reliance. I love that Deuteronomy 1:3 begins with the words, "Now it came to pass." What does that tell us? It tells us that their wandering was not a forever state and that God has something more for them. It took forty years—thirty-eight, really—from when they left Mount Sinai for that unbelieving generation to pass. Sadly, that's what happened: forty years of fear, self-reliance, and unbelief. It took forty years for that stubbornness to be purged from their lives so that they would yield, surrender to God's will, and follow His path.

Redemption from bondage is a wonderful, miraculous work of God's grace, but there is so much beyond just that work of redemption that God desires to do in each of our lives individually, just as He did with the children of Israel at this time in Deuteronomy. Only the Lord knows today, and you and the Lord know what fear, self-reliance, stubbornness, or sin is keeping you in the place that you're at. There are some of you here today who are meandering, and what's fascinating is that meandering has an issue. The issue with meandering is not having a clear direction.

Targeting a name, its aimlessness, and neuropsychology is finding that when we don't have a purpose or an aim, our experience of negative emotion increases. Some of you know exactly what that looks like; you don't need a psychologist to tell you that you experience it. However, when we have a name, even if there are obstacles, at the very least, having an aim and moving toward that aim increases our positive emotion. Science reveals that to be the case.

In the New Testament, we are presented with the story of a self-reliant, stubborn Pharisee by the name of Saul. In the book of Philippians, Chapter 3, he tells us that his confidence was in his flesh, in his own ability. He was self-reliant, and his trust was in his lineage; he was from the right family, a Hebrew of the Hebrews. His confidence was in his keeping of the rules, religious laws, and traditions. That is where he put all of his trust, and by all of that, he had amassed a pretty good life for himself.

This stubborn, self-reliant Pharisee named Saul eventually came in contact with God, the Risen Jesus, who said, "Isn't it hard for you to kick against the goads?" What does that mean? God was saying, "I've got a path I'm trying to lead you in, and you are fighting with me the whole way, and you're not getting it."

After that experience, Paul writes these words in Philippians Chapter 3, years later. He says, "But what things were gain to me, what I had amassed by my self-reliance and my determination, my place in life, what things were gain to me, I have counted loss for Christ. Yes, indeed, I also count all things as loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things. I do count them as rubbish that I might gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but the righteousness which is by faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.

And that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to His death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." Then, in verse 12, note this down.

In your notes, Philippians 3:12 states, "Not that I have already attained, or am already perfect, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me." What is Paul saying? He is saying that God saved him for a purpose; He laid hold of him and rescued him for a reason. Paul wants to apprehend the very thing that God saved him for. This implies that Paul hadn't done it yet, even though he had walked with the Lord for a long time.

But what does he say? "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do: forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of

Being one of them, we are corporately confronted with the shortness of life. This happens every day; people die, but it doesn't always touch us unless it's someone close to us or a high-profile event. We are reminded of the brevity of life, and when we are, I reflect on the many funerals and memorial services I have conducted over the years. In each of those services, I share that when we are confronted with the shortness of life, we must take account of our days.

Moses, the same writer here in Deuteronomy, is believed to be the author of Psalm 90. In Psalm 90, he states that the days of a man's life are seventy years, and if by reason of strength, eighty years. He writes, "So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom." It is wise to remember that life is short. When we acknowledge this, we must ask ourselves: Am I where I am supposed to be in this life? Am I where God wants me to be?

At this point, do you have a lot of "I wish I would have" thoughts? This last Monday, I received an unexpected phone call from a friend who used to attend the church here before he and his family moved to Alabama for his work. He called me because he had some things he had been praying about and some decisions he felt were before him. He didn't know what to do and appreciated some prayer and counsel.

As we talked, he shared, "I just don't want to look back two years down the road and say, 'I wish I would have.'" When he said that, it triggered a memory I hadn't thought about for years. Just before I turned nineteen, I graduated from high school and went to a Bible college just north of here in Marietta for a time. I remember driving home one Friday night with my friend Charles. We were in my 1981 Toyota Starlet. It wasn't much of a car, but it was mine. In fact, I had to get a new carburetor for it once. I went to the carburetor store, and the guy was working on the computer, going through the options. Finally, he took out a big, grease-laden book, opened it up, and started flipping through it. He exclaimed, "Oh wow, there it is! 1981 Toyota Starlet."

Only made it one year. So, we were sitting in my car right out in front of my parents' house about November of 1999. I remember we were talking about the future, and I said to him, "I don't want in 20 years to look back and say I wish I would have." When this guy called last week, it triggered that thought. At this point, there are plenty of "I wish I wouldn't have" moments, but I am glad to say that I can't really think of any. I thought a lot about it after I talked with this guy this last Monday. I want to lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me, and I hope that that's your aim as well.

Back to Deuteronomy. Look at chapter one again. Now it came to pass, in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him as commandments to them. This was after he had killed Sihon, king of the Ammonites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, who dwelt in Ashtaroth and Edrei, on this side of the Jordan. We'll get to all of this and explain it later on this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, modern-day Jordan.

Moses began to explain this law, saying, "Now this is where we get into what I talked about last week: the treaty format of the book of Deuteronomy." The treaty format of the second millennium BCE Suzerainty-Vassal treaty begins with a historic reminder, what we call a historic prologue. So, we're going to talk a little bit about history. He says, "On this side of the Jordan, the Lord spoke to us in Horeb."

He says, "Remember, everybody, when we were way back in Sinai 40 years ago, 38 years ago, the Lord spoke to us in Horeb, saying, 'You have dwelt long enough at this mountain. Turn and take your journey and go.'" Would you underline those words in your neighbor's Bible? "You have dwelt long enough at this mountain. Turn, take your journey, and go to the mountains of the Amorites, to all the neighboring places in the plain, in the mountains, and in the lowland, the south and seacoast, the land of Canaan."

Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river Euphrates. See, I have set the land before you. Go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them and their descendants after them.

Thirty-eight years ago, Moses said God spoke to your parents—the people he is talking to—your parents and grandparents who all died in the wilderness. He spoke to them and said, "Go! It's an eleven-day journey. Go and possess the land that God promised you to lay hold of." You've dwelt long enough at this mountain. What could have been, should have been, would have been an eleven-day journey turned into thirty-eight years of wandering—wandering in unbelief, wandering in stubbornness. Had they trusted and obeyed, it could have been an eleven-day journey.

Why didn't they get to the land? Why did that generation, including Moses, not enter the promised blessing? We will be examining the answers to that question as we go through this text. But for the sake of our study today, let me spin it in a different way, and I'll close.

I mentioned previously Paul's words in Philippians chapter 3, verse 12. He said, "Not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; yet one thing I do: forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize

That purpose, as you have us for a pattern, points to number five: we apprehend only what we aim to possess. Years ago, I was training in martial arts. I had just started; I was in my early twenties. I remember having a very hard time with a certain technique we were working on. It was a combination we were practicing, and I was there on a weekday morning with just my instructor. He could tell that I was getting frustrated, and he said to me, "Miles, you're exactly where you should be for the time and effort you've put in."

Those words were both an encouragement and a challenge. They were encouraging because he was saying, "Listen, you're exactly where you should be. You just started; don't get so frustrated." But they were also a challenge: "You're exactly where you should be for the time and effort you've put in." The implication was clear: put in a little bit more time and effort, and you'll get this. Those words have stuck with me far better than a reverse spin kick, which was one of the things I was working on.

We apprehend only what we aim to possess. Perhaps this morning, you're not where you expected to be at this point in life. Some of you are in what we might call the last third of life, and you feel like it's kind of over for you. It's not. Moses was 80 when he met God at the burning bush. Abraham was 75. Joshua, who would take the children of Israel into the Promised Land with Caleb, was in his 80s when they went in to possess what God had for them.

So, don't believe that lie that your flesh and the enemy are telling you: "It's too late for me." It's not. But it's still worth asking the question: Am I where I should be at this point? You may say, "Well, I'm not there yet." Maybe you thought that by this point you would have that promotion. Perhaps you thought that by this time you would have that degree, or you would have that debt paid off, or you would be further along in your career, or maybe you'd be more ready for the next step.

In this stage of life, you may have thought you wouldn't be struggling with the same issues you've faced for years. Perhaps you believed you would be able to forgive her for saying that or forgive him for whatever he did to you. Maybe you thought you would be further along, but you're not. It may be that your aim is off.

This one thing I do: forgetting those things which are behind and pressing on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus laid hold of me. I was confronted with this again just a few years ago when a challenging word from a mentor came back to me. I have been grateful for all that God has done in my life and for what He has enabled me to do without any formal education. I don't feel any need to pursue formal education; I feel no compulsion that I must have it to move to the next stage of my life.

However, a mentor of mine said, "I think you need to go back to school." I thought that sounded difficult, but for the last two years, I have been back in school. I have five classes that start tomorrow, and I was just looking through the books last night. I have 300 pages of text to read this week. Thank God for Kindle, which reads it to you, but that doesn't mean you don't have to take the best path to get there.

It was just the Lord saying, "Hey, this is what I'm calling you to do, and you'll never accomplish it if your aim is off." You might be oriented in completely the wrong direction, so it may take some reorienting. You've dwelt at this mountain long enough; you've been in this desert long enough. It's time to take your journey and go.

What is keeping you from crossing that border? You are on the border of blessing. What is preventing you from crossing over and stepping in? Is it unbelief, distrust, fear, or sin? The author of the book of Hebrews says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame."

And has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. What do you need to set aside today? I challenge you to think about that today and this week. Consider it, because there may be some things that are hindering you from possessing your possession—all that God has won for you in Christ.

It is my prayer for me and for you that we will hear God say one day, "Well done, good and faithful servant." That's what we want to hear. So, what do you need to lay aside?

Let us stand and pray. God, I do ask that you would challenge us to thoughtfully consider that today and this week. Help us to bring whatever those things are to You and lay them down. We confess if we have had a heart of unbelief, distrust, fear, or self-reliance, or whatever it may be. As we lay those things aside, may we fulfill the purpose for which You have saved each of us.

Let us lay hold of the very thing that You have laid hold of us for, and may we run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to You. Knowing that one day we will stand in Your presence, I pray that all of us here will hear You say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of the Lord."

God, there is so much more land in our lives, in this county, and in this nation—so much more land for us to possess. Would You stir us to lay hold of it? I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.