God's Provision: Strength for Life's Journey
Summary
In today's gathering, we explored the profound message of God's provision and strength, as illustrated in Habakkuk 3:19. This scripture speaks of God making our feet like hinds' feet, enabling us to walk on high places. The imagery of hinds' feet, akin to those of a mountain goat or gazelle, symbolizes the sure-footedness and agility required to navigate life's challenging terrains. Just as these animals are equipped to scale steep and rugged landscapes, God equips us to overcome the obstacles and trials we face.
We reflected on the journey of faith, emphasizing that our spiritual walk is not always on smooth, paved paths. Instead, God often places us in wilderness situations to teach us reliance on Him. In these moments, our prayer should not be for an easier path but for the strength and stability to traverse the difficult one. This is a call to trust in God's sovereignty, knowing that He is our strength and that He orders our steps.
The sermon also highlighted the importance of praise and worship as spiritual weapons. Just as Moses lifted his hands during battle, we are encouraged to lift our hands in surrender and worship, trusting that God fights our battles. Praise is not just an expression of gratitude but a declaration of faith that God is in control, even when circumstances seem dire.
Furthermore, we discussed the significance of forgiveness in our spiritual journey. Holding onto bitterness can hinder our progress, but forgiveness frees us to ascend to higher spiritual places. It is a reminder that love never fails and that we must fight our battles in the spirit, not the flesh.
Finally, we celebrated the milestones and blessings of the church community, acknowledging God's faithfulness in sustaining and growing the ministry. As we continue to walk in faith, we are reminded that God is with us, guiding us through both the valleys and the mountaintops.
Key Takeaways:
1. God Equips Us for the Journey: Just as hinds' feet enable mountain goats to navigate rugged terrains, God equips us with the strength and stability to overcome life's challenges. Our prayer should be for the ability to walk the path He has set before us, trusting in His provision and guidance. [18:30]
2. The Power of Praise: Praise and worship are powerful spiritual weapons. When we lift our hands in worship, we declare our trust in God's sovereignty and invite His presence into our battles. Praise shifts our focus from our circumstances to God's greatness. [24:55]
3. The Importance of Forgiveness: Forgiveness is essential for spiritual growth. Holding onto bitterness can prevent us from reaching the heights God has for us. By forgiving others, we free ourselves to move forward and experience God's peace and joy. [28:55]
4. Trusting God's Sovereignty: In times of uncertainty, we must remember that God is sovereign and in control. Even when we don't understand His ways, we can trust that He is working for our good and His glory. Our faith is strengthened as we rely on His wisdom and timing. [35:04]
5. Community and Support: We are called to support one another in our spiritual journeys. By lifting each other's hands, as Aaron and Hur did for Moses, we strengthen the body of Christ and ensure that we can all stand firm in faith. Together, we can achieve more than we can alone. [46:23]
Youtube Chapters:
[00:00] - Welcome
[15:40] - Praise and Blessings
[18:30] - Hinds' Feet for the Journey
[21:27] - Prayer and Thanksgiving
[24:14] - Thriving in Faith
[24:55] - The Power of Worship
[28:55] - Forgiveness and Freedom
[32:54] - God's Strength and Sovereignty
[35:04] - Praise as a Weapon
[39:37] - Testimonies of Faith
[41:36] - Climbing Higher with God
[42:18] - Spiritual Growth and Challenges
[46:23] - Community Support and Unity
[56:09] - Closing Prayer and Invitation
[57:49] - Final Praise and Benediction
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
Bible Reading:
- Habakkuk 3:19
- Psalm 18:33
- Ephesians 6:11
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Observation Questions:
1. What does Habakkuk 3:19 mean when it says God makes our feet like hinds' feet? How does this imagery relate to the challenges we face in life? [18:30]
2. In the sermon, the pastor mentioned the story of Moses and the Amalekites. How did Moses' actions during the battle illustrate the power of praise and worship? [24:55]
3. According to the sermon, what role does forgiveness play in our spiritual journey, and how can it affect our ability to "climb higher"? [28:55]
4. How does the pastor describe the significance of community support, as illustrated by Aaron and Hur lifting Moses' hands? [46:23]
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Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the imagery of hinds' feet in Habakkuk 3:19 help us understand God's provision and strength in our lives? What does it suggest about the nature of our spiritual journey? [18:30]
2. The pastor emphasized the importance of praise as a spiritual weapon. How can praise shift our focus from our circumstances to God's greatness, and why is this shift important? [35:04]
3. In what ways does forgiveness free us to ascend to higher spiritual places, according to the sermon? How might holding onto bitterness hinder our spiritual growth? [28:55]
4. How does the concept of trusting God's sovereignty, even in times of uncertainty, challenge or encourage us in our faith journey? [32:54]
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Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a current challenge in your life. How can you pray for the strength and stability to navigate this difficult path, rather than for an easier path? [46:23]
2. Think about a time when you used praise and worship to overcome a difficult situation. How did it change your perspective, and how can you incorporate this practice more regularly? [24:55]
3. Is there someone in your life you need to forgive? What steps can you take this week to begin the process of forgiveness and experience the freedom it brings? [28:55]
4. How can you actively trust in God's sovereignty in a specific area of your life where you feel uncertain or anxious? What practical steps can you take to remind yourself of His control? [32:54]
5. Consider your role in your church community. How can you support others in their spiritual journeys, similar to how Aaron and Hur supported Moses? [46:23]
6. Identify a situation where you might be holding onto bitterness. What is one action you can take this week to release it and move forward in your spiritual journey? [28:55]
7. How can you cultivate a habit of praise in your daily life, especially during challenging times? What specific actions can you take to make praise a regular part of your routine? [35:04]
Devotional
Day 1: Equipped for Life's Challenges
God equips us with the strength and stability to navigate life's challenges, much like hinds' feet enable mountain goats to traverse rugged terrains. This divine provision is not about making our paths easier but about empowering us to walk the paths set before us with confidence and trust in His guidance. In moments of difficulty, our prayer should be for the ability to endure and overcome, relying on God's provision and wisdom. As we trust in His sovereignty, we find that He orders our steps and provides the necessary tools to face any obstacle. [18:30]
"The Lord God is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places." (Habakkuk 3:19, ESV)
Reflection: What is one challenge you are currently facing where you need to rely on God's strength and guidance? How can you actively seek His provision in this situation today?
Day 2: The Transformative Power of Praise
Praise and worship are not merely acts of gratitude but powerful spiritual weapons that shift our focus from our circumstances to God's greatness. When we lift our hands in worship, we declare our trust in God's sovereignty and invite His presence into our battles. This act of surrender and faith allows us to experience His peace and strength, even in the midst of trials. By choosing to praise, we align ourselves with God's perspective, acknowledging that He is in control and working for our good. [24:55]
"Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name." (Hebrews 13:15, ESV)
Reflection: In what area of your life do you need to shift your focus from the problem to God's greatness through praise? How can you incorporate praise into your daily routine as a declaration of faith?
Day 3: Forgiveness as a Path to Freedom
Forgiveness is essential for spiritual growth and freedom. Holding onto bitterness can prevent us from reaching the heights God has for us, while forgiveness frees us to move forward and experience His peace and joy. It is a reminder that love never fails and that we must fight our battles in the spirit, not the flesh. By choosing to forgive, we release ourselves from the burden of resentment and open our hearts to God's healing and restoration. [28:55]
"Bear with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgive each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive." (Colossians 3:13, ESV)
Reflection: Think of someone you need to forgive. What steps can you take today to begin extending forgiveness and experiencing the freedom it brings?
Day 4: Trusting in God's Sovereignty
In times of uncertainty, it is crucial to remember that God is sovereign and in control. Even when we don't understand His ways, we can trust that He is working for our good and His glory. Our faith is strengthened as we rely on His wisdom and timing, knowing that He is orchestrating every detail of our lives. By surrendering our fears and doubts to Him, we find peace and assurance in His perfect plan. [35:04]
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV)
Reflection: What is one area of your life where you struggle to trust God's sovereignty? How can you practice surrendering this area to Him today?
Day 5: Strength in Community
We are called to support one another in our spiritual journeys, just as Aaron and Hur lifted Moses' hands during battle. By lifting each other's hands, we strengthen the body of Christ and ensure that we can all stand firm in faith. Together, we can achieve more than we can alone, experiencing the power of unity and community in our walk with God. As we celebrate the milestones and blessings of our church community, we acknowledge God's faithfulness in sustaining and growing us. [46:23]
"And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:24-25, ESV)
Reflection: How can you actively support and encourage someone in your church community this week? What practical steps can you take to foster unity and strength within the body of Christ?
Quotes
"We thank God for bringing us safely over the highways and just being such a good, good God. Amen. We see that you all don't mind praising him because when the praises go up, the blessings come down. Come on, give God a praise for his blessings." [00:15:40] (20 seconds)
"Today I want to share with you what the Lord has laid on my heart in this season I wanted to talk something about title this message hinds feet the Lord is giving me hind feet for the hills heind sviet for the hills and in the book of a backup chapter 3 and chapter 3 verse 19 it sh tells us about the hinds feed and I don't know I don't know if you have ever heard of a hind but a hind is a deer well it was referred to a deer or a mountain goat down the mountain goat and the more I studied it the more I got 근데 the more I studied it the more I did the more it was a good thing studied the King James talks about a deer but as we as I studied a little further, it's really talking about a gazelle or the and these are like antelopes that lived in the area of Israel that climbed mountains and in order to go where God is wanting to take us, some of our feet has to change." [00:18:30]
"Forgiveness is not just for that person, but forgiveness frees me. See, as long as I stay bitter, as long as I stay held up, I can't go to the high place. I can't get my hinds feet together. But when I learn how to forgive my brother or sister, it releases me to go to a higher place. Somebody ought to shout hallelujah. My God. Let me go here. So the number 19 in the Bible can represent faith, the glory of God, or the importance. The importance of trusting God. It can also be used to illustrate the need to have faith in Christ." [00:32:54] (43 seconds)
"Harvest Christian Ministries let me get it right somebody say amen we're going to have to have our feet changed to Heinz feet so we can climb and go through the rough places but also so we can scale the high places because God is taking this ministry higher somebody shout hallelujah you're going higher my God you're already high but he's even taking you higher I see great things in this house Lord have mercy and so as we gave thanks for my daughters both being married in the same year both finishing college getting their degrees she saw all those things as I thank God for my sister helping me in ministry and being a great part and just being a friend just being back home giving God praise and began to lift the burden and God told me we don't all of us have an appointment we don't know when we're going so we all have to be ready and so as I begin to give them over to God how many know you got to give people back to God they don't belong to us I gave them both back to God God began to give me a peace that passeth all understanding now I can rejoice in the lessons that we learned and the things we shared and when I see my grandchildren have two daughters we have two daughters one daughter has three children and youngest daughter has five and so he blessed us with eight grandchildren somebody ought to shout hallelujah and they bring joy and gladness all of them in their unique ways and special gifts that God has blessed them with God tell somebody God is my strength let me get to this point in Ephesians 6 and 11 it says put on the whole arm of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil we cannot fight against the enemy in our own strength but we put on the armor of God and that's how we win the battle we have to take off our old clothes and put on the new man you have to put him on put on Christ put on his way of doing things number two he makes my feet like Heinz feet in Habakkuk 3 and 19 it says and he will make my feet like Heinz feet in other words the writer realized that in Israel there were rocky and rough places there were hills and in the land of Israel you can go from from the sea the dead sea which is below sea level and then a short ride up you can be 4 ,000 feet in the mountain somebody say man and so you have to have the right feet to be able to travel those rocky places to travel the high hills what exactly is Heinz feet Heinz feet as I told you earlier was an eye box some say a female deer in other words a deer some don't believe it really was a deer they believe that's the English translation they really believe it was like an antelope or a" [00:41:36] (0 seconds)
"mountain goat but they're able to they're sure -footed they're able to step and then put their back foot in the same place where the front foot was tell somebody it's time for us to get sure -footed it's time for us to stop slipping and sliding and peeping and hiding and ducking and dodging he said he ordered my steps the steps of a good man are ordered by the lord though he may fall he's not utterly cast down for the lord upholding him somebody ought to give god a praise tell him he's upholding me lord have mercy in in in um let me see here one of one of the things it told it told us about that in this high place there were many psalms in psalm 18 and 33 this was a part of the prayers and the temple worship where the psalmist would write that the psalmist rebecca was trying to say that the psalmist was saying that the psalmist was saying that the psalmist was saying that in this poetic psalm immediately a mental picture comes to us as believers we are standing on a lofty place we are surveying surveying the valley below with god by our side learning first of all although much of israel is very uh arid the topography is extremely rough and rugged the wilderness which covers the eastern and southern parts of israel is the most rugged of all as i told you earlier in a distance of 40 miles the topography changes from 1300 feet below 1300 below sea level near the dead sea to 4000 above sea level around jerusalem this was a judean wilderness that was home to most of the old testament bible characters in other words all of these characters had to learn how to travel in this terrain abraham isaac moses and david were wilderness dwellers that made their living in this harsh environment the main animals let me read this and get out the way the main animals that inhabit these remote and rugged areas are the gazelle which is a small antelope and much larger than the nubian ibox which is a species of a goat although at home in the mountainous areas the gazelle prefers the general terrain and smaller lopes but conversely the ibox lives in the roughest steep terrain that it can find their hooves are built almost like suction cups to help them traverse the steep rocky cliffs they come home to when when what when when then is the hind or the deer uh the writer here believes that some of the translation in the english uh comes from a female red deer that's not native in uh that is native to europe and not in the middle east and so that's why it's believed that this is is a species of goat somebody say amen could it be that something is missing in the translation yes it could be when we pray about the future we always ask god for smooth paved paths with curb and gutter no rocks and plenty of park benches for resting along the way we don't want to face the trials and the tribulation" [00:42:18] (0 seconds)
"tribulations lord have mercy we don't want to face the trials and the tribulations that are often a very real part of this life a sign of a maturing person in the christian faith is realizing that god often puts us in the wilderness situations where the going is tough the path is strewn with rocks to teach us to trust him when our strength and our scheming won't get it done now can you picture the eye box walking through the steep terrain with his feet giving him sturdy footing on the cliffs could this be what this verse is alluding to god give me strength lord have mercy give me the feet of the eye box so that i can hold on and make it through the rough places that you are having me to walk through our prayers should not necessarily be just for smooth paths because we know that there is not much of this life that is flat and smooth but our prayers should be give me the feet to walk the path that you put on me today i trust you to take me through the high and rugged places where the footing is treacherous and i fall would be ruined this is the cry of the writer habaka and psalms give us the feet to traverse the rough places the patches of life that is god's sending us through mold us into the person that completely trust in him the next time you find yourself in a rough and rugged patch of life instead of asking god for a way out ask him for the feet needed to walk this path somebody ought to shout hallelujah somebody ought to give god the praise i want god to help me in this rough place harvest christian harvest you gonna go through some rough places but if god is making your feet like hind feet you're gonna be able to hang on in there you're gonna be able to work it out why are you trying to think it out he's already working it out if you help the pastor lift up his hands because sometimes his hands get tired we can't do it all by ourselves tell somebody i need you you need me we're all apart of god's family we're better together we can do it better together hallelujah well god want us to endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit you got to cast out disunity you got to get rid of stuff isms and schisms stuff that's gonna come between us we might not always agree but let's work together it might not be my idea but we're gonna work with your idea maybe next year we'll use my idea somebody shout hallelujah we can do it better together because god is making my feet like hind's feet i'm going through the valley i'm not gonna stay there" [00:46:23] (0 seconds)
"But I'm up on the mountain, and I won't come down. Somebody is on the mountaintop, you ought to give God a praise. Matter of fact, give God a praise when you're in the mountain and when you're down in the valley. So no matter wherever you go, tell somebody God is with me. He's walking with me. He talks with me. Tell somebody I want Jesus to walk with me. You walk with my mother, you walk with my father, walk with me, Lord, through this trial, through this dangerous land. Hallelujah. I bet I had a problem. He said, God, why do the wicked prosper? Why is things not going right for the righteous? And God let him keep on talking. Then in the second chapter, he started getting a little help. He said, I'm learning that I got to walk this journey. By faith. Faith is the subject of things hoped for. It's the evidence of things not seen. For by it, there is a good report. He wrote in the second chapter, the just shall live by his faith. If you're going to be just, you got to have faith in God. He got a little help now. Now to get to the third chapter, and his attitude changed. He's not blaming God. But he knows. That God is still in control. And although I can't change it, God know what he doing. And he said, the God is my strength. In other words, the sovereign Lord, the sovereign Adonai is my strength. Somebody said, because he's sovereign, he can do whatever he wants to do. He can do whatever he wants to do. How you want to do it? When he want to do it? Because he's God. Somebody ought to get it. Give him a praise. We got to stay in our place and let God be God. I got to close. I got to get up out of here. But I feel like preaching. Lord have mercy. He said, I'm sovereign. I'm God. And I can do whatever I want to do. Because I keep my word. He's sovereign. And so as I back up, began to close in the third chapter, he said, though there be no ox in the store, though there be no nothing in the house, in the storehouse, though there be no grapes on the vine, though there be no olives in the by God store, yet I'm going to praise God. In other words, get your eye off your situation. Get your eye off your stuff and give God the praise that he deserves. Because when praises go up," [00:56:09] (171 seconds)
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