Sermon - I Am, I Can, I Will - Part 1 - Littleby Baptist Church - January 14, 2018

In the Book of Deuteronomy we find the young nation of Israel wandering around in the wilderness. They had spent 40 years wandering around and going nowhere fast. They had seen God perform miracle after miracle in Egypt, crossed the Red Sea on dry land, seen water come from a rock, manna delivered 6 days a week, a pillar of fire or smoke leading them all day and night, but they still fought against God’s guidance.

They had seen things we could only dream of and they did not follow God. We would like to pat ourselves on the back and say if it was us, we would follow God with no problem. Reality is we would most likely do the exact same things. We would revert back to the way things were, doubt that God was really behind the things we have seen, we would rebel just like they did.

Think back to when you first accepted Jesus as your savior. You had the exciting moment in time that you knew Jesus was calling out to you. You knew you wanted what He has to offer. You accepted Him as your Lord. The next day for the most part you acted the same as you did before you accepted Jesus. We revert back to our old ways, we act the same, talk the same, the change comes but it takes time and can be very hard.

I for one can tell you that it took some time for me to turn my life over to Jesus and Scripture shows us that it took the Nation of Israel many years. Due to their actions and lack of belief, God made them wander for 40 years until all who denied Him were gone.

Deuteronomy 2:1-7

“2 “Then we turned back and headed for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea, as the Lord had told me, and we traveled around the hill country of Seir for many days. ² The Lord then said to me, ³ ‘You’ve been traveling around this hill country long enough; turn north. ⁴ Command the people: You are about to travel through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful. ⁵ Don’t provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a foot of it, because I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession. ⁶ You may purchase food from them, so that you may eat, and buy water from them to drink. ⁷ For the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this immense wilderness. The Lord your God has been with you this past forty years, and you have lacked nothing.’”

After 40 years of wandering the Lord said ‘You’ve been traveling around this hill country long enough; turn north.’

God was basically saying, are you tired of doing what you want? Are you ready to follow me? Are you ready to see what I have in store for you?

God was telling them it is time for you to stop walking in circles and see that He has something better for them. All they had to do is follow what He told them.

First step is easy, ‘turn north’… many of us listen to our GPS on a regular basis and trust that it is giving us the correct directions and when it says turn north, we turn north. The Nation of Israel had to decide if they were going to trust God and follow His lead or continue doing it on their own.

He was ready to bless them and give them the land that had been promised to their ancestors, all they had to do was take that step of faith.

Can you imagine wandering around for 40 years waiting for God to show you that next step?

Sadly, many of us are doing exactly that. We get stuck in a rut, get comfortable, or are content with how things are and then we do the same things over and over again. We avoid anything that challenges us, we do what we can to resist change, we hold on to the past, and we let fear drive our decisions. Things are ok right now, so why rock the boat.

Just like those who crossed the Red Sea, when we hold back and choose to not follow God, to not step out in faith, we are preventing us from seeing what God truly has for us. We need to step up to the challenge, embrace change, look to the future, push past our comfort zone, and walk in faith.

Most of us have been walking with Jesus for more than a few years now. If our faith in God has grown, would our behavior be the same as it was when we accepted Jesus?

No, it would not; lack of change shows a lack of faith.

God was telling the Nation of Israel, enough is enough. You have walked in the wilderness for way to long, it is time for a change. It is time for you to grow your faith.

God may be telling someone sitting here this morning, that very same message. Enough is enough, it is time for you to grow your faith.

Stop living in the past and start living in faith.

To often we make excuses; I am not ready, I cannot because it is too hard, or I will not risk it. Things like this prevent us from seeing God truly work in our lives.

Instead of I am not, I cannot, and I will not… God is looking for each one of us to say I Am, I Can, and I Will.

Instead of I am not ready, God is looking for you to say I am ready to take that step in faith.

Instead of I cannot because it is to hard, God is looking for you to step out in faith saying I can overcome any obstacle.

Instead of I will not risk it, God is looking for you to say I will put myself out there and risk whatever is necessary.

Sadly, our default response is I am not, I cannot, or I will not. There always seems to be something we can hold on to in order to justify our choice. Lack of funds prevents a lot of people from doing what God has created them to do. Poor health keeps people from serving in even the simplest of ways. Family struggles and personal ‘stuff’ tends to keep some from feeling they can serve.

No matter what it is, God is asking you to step out in faith. You need to respond to the call on your life and ‘turn north’.

Are you willing to say I Am, I Can, and I Will?

When the Israelites turned north, they were saying they are ready to take that first step.

The first step each of us needs to take, and our focus today, is I Am Ready. Whether it is as a new believer or someone who has been walking with Jesus for years, we need to say‘I am ready’. I am ready to change, I am ready to submit to Jesus, I am ready to follow where He leads.

Are you ready?

Now you may feel unworthy of God’s help and blessing. You may remember that someone told you that you could not do it. You may wonder what you could really have to offer. You may think that the little you could do or give is not worth the effort.

Let me tell you something, those thoughts are the lies of the devil. He wants you to think that you are nothing. He wants you to think that you will fail. He wants you to think that no one will want what you have to offer. He wants you to believe that it is not worth the effort. The devil wants you to doubt you can do any good.

The devil wants you to say that you are not ready, you cannot do it, and that you will not risk it.

But, that is not what God says.

In Jeremiah’s letter to the those in exile he states:

Jeremiah 29:4-9

“⁴ This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon: ⁵ “Build houses and live in them. Plant gardens and eat their produce. ⁶ Find wives for yourselves, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease. ⁷ Pursue the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.” ⁸ For this is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Don’t let your prophets who are among you and your diviners deceive you, and don’t listen to the dreams you elicit from them, ⁹ for they are prophesying falsely to you in my name. I have not sent them.” This is the Lord’s declaration.”

The false teachers had been telling the exiles to not build houses, to not plant gardens, and to not grow their families. They were telling lies to the exiles. Through Jeremiah, God is telling the exiles to not listen to those lying naysayers. God has something better instore… all they have to do is follow Him.  

Jeremiah 29:10-14

“¹⁰ For this is what the Lord says: “When seventy years for Babylon are complete, I will attend to you and will confirm my promise concerning you to restore you to this place. ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. ¹² You will call to me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and places where I banished you”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “I will restore you to the place from which I deported you.”

Jeremiah continues by letting the exiles know that when they turn to God. When they call out to Him and pray to Him, God will be listening. When they seek God, they will find Him and then God will restore what was lost.

The people of Israel had to ignore the lying, deceitful prophets, we need to ignore the lies of the devil.

The people of Israel needed to turn to God, we need to turn to God.

Once we do, we will see the God has plans for us that far exceed what the devil is telling us and we can have a much bigger impact than we can imagine.

Charles Spurgeon, the prince of preachers, accepted Christ at a church with only 15 in attendance and has been a blessing to more than he ever knew possible. Spurgeon went to be with the Lord in 1892, and still today his teachings are impacting people around the world.

Can you imagine the blessings that would have been lost if that preacher had decided it was not worth it, if he thought his contribution to a small church was never going to have an impact. God knew the plans He had instore for that pastor, for Spurgeon, and He knows the plans He has for you.

If you want to hear Jesus tell you ‘well done my good and faithful servant’ when you get to heaven, you need to get past the lies of the devil, and say “I Am Ready’.

What is the next step? That all depends on where you are today.

Your next step may be accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior. It may be re-dedicating your life to our Lord. God could be telling you to take a step a faith to serve Him in some fashion, to give more, or to share the gospel with someone you know.

Whatever your next step is, do not let anything interfere with it. Say boldly, ‘I Am Ready’. Then do it. Step forward and accept the future that Jesus has for you. Accept the fact that He has already given you victory over death, so anything else is downright easy for Him.

Step Out in faith and say I Am Ready…

Are you ready to take that next step?


Thanks for Reading!

Robert