I am having so much fun doing a virtual tour to Israel.
We've put together a tour group for 10 days and we're going through all of the amazing
sites in the Holy Land and right now we are on day three up in the Galilee.
You can join us.
If it's not too late, jump in and join us on our journey.
I've been watching videos and enjoying the content that's in there for day three and
up in the Galilee there's a beautiful area north of Capernaum and there's some cities
up there that Jesus would have spent 60 to 70% of his ministry at, Bethsaida and Chorazin.
And you know when I went to Israel, Chorazin was probably one of those places that I remember
the most and oddly enough it was because it was a city that Jesus cursed.
Now I know a lot of people don't want to think about Jesus cursing anything but he did and
here's why.
See these people had watched him all this time in his ministry.
They had seen the supernatural, they had seen the miracles, they had seen the feeding
of the 5,000, they had seen the blind eyes open and the deaf ears open and they had heard
him preach and they had gotten heart of heart.
They had taken a lot of what they had experienced for granted.
And in Luke 10, it's a kind of an interesting portion of scripture.
It starts in about verse 8 and here Jesus is speaking to his disciples and he's telling
them to go into all the world and preach the gospel and if they don't receive you, shake
the dust off your feet.
But when he gets down to the end of here, he is kind of warning the people, woe to you
and Chorazin and that's actually starting in about verse 13.
Woe to you Chorazin, woe to you Bethsaida, for the mighty works which were done in you
had been done in Tyre or Sidon, they would have repented long ago sitting in sackcloth
and ashes.
And what he's basically saying is you know those people over there that don't believe
in God at all?
If they had seen what you had seen, they would have repented and they would have turned back
from their sin.
Sometimes when you're raised in a Christian environment or in a Christian home or a school
or a church or whatever, you can kind of get to the point where you begin to take all of
that for granted.
And there are people out there all over the world who've never seen God do miracles.
They never got to go on a missions trip.
They never sat in a chapel where the Holy Spirit moved.
They never sat in a church service where the presence of God was so tangible you could
feel it and you knew it.
And he's telling them here, you've really cursed yourself.
Now I know that's kind of hard to hear, but it's Luke 10, okay?
Go check it out.
I want to connect that today with something really good that can happen out of something
really bad, okay?
So don't think I'm stopping there.
See, have you gone through some seasons in your life that have been hard?
Have you experienced some things that have made you maybe doubt God and his goodness
and his reality?
Have you walked long enough with God now that you kind of question things?
Well, first off, how do you get out of that rut?
Well, number one, remember the miracles that he did for you.
Remember the supernatural provision.
Remember those moments when he was doing the abundant and beautiful thing.
He wants to do those again.
You know, at times, in order to really kind of set my own attitude straight, I've had
to go back and rehearse my miracles.
I've had to go back and remember the supernatural things that he did for me.
And I want to encourage you to do that yourself.
Because when you look back on his goodness and you look back on his provision, you know
you can trust him.
The next thing I want to share is out of Jeremiah 29, 11.
You know that wonderful memory verse, Oh, I know the plans I have for you, says the
Lord.
The plans to bless you and give you a future and a hope.
Now stop right there.
Do you know?
that that scripture was given to the Jewish people at a time when they were
in exile? It was. That scripture was not given to them at a time when everything
was so wonderful and hunky-dory. No, they they were in exile. And it's really
interesting when you go back and you look at that, and I kind of went over the
chapter today thinking about that because I'm in my devotional time I'm
thinking about Jeremiah. And in this whole thing here, in this whole chapter
here, the prophet is telling them, don't look at where you're at. Maybe you're not
where you want to be. Maybe you're not back in the Holy Land. Maybe you're not
in Jerusalem. Maybe you were taken captive and taken as a slave and hauled
off to someplace where you don't want to be. Maybe you're in a situation that you
don't really like right now. But you know what? God will often use those places as
the biggest blessing. He will use those places as the biggest breakthrough.
Because what God did in their heart in exile was more important to him than
anything else. He's telling them, trust me, I know you don't like what this king
has done. I know you don't like the situation that you're in right now. I
know this is bad. But put your feet down. Plant your vineyards. Put in your garden.
Build your home. Marry. Have children. Build a life where you are right now.
Because where you are right now, I'm gonna do something beautiful in your
heart. Right there. Don't think about the future. Oh well, if this would only happen
I would be happy. Really? You need to be happy right now. Well, if this hadn't
happened to me, well, you know what? You can take a bad situation and you can
turn it for good really based on your attitude. The exiles here were in, they
were in bondage. They didn't want to be there. This isn't where they wanted to be.
And they had a lot of prophets telling them, oh, you know, giving them these
really wonderful hunky-dory words. When in reality, the Prophet Jeremiah is
saying, hey listen, pray to the Lord for it because if it prospers, you will
prosper. He's trying to tell them, I'm gonna do a good work in your heart. I'm
gonna take where you are right now and I am going to bless you. I'm gonna do a
work in your life while you're in exile. And then it goes down here, for this is
what the Lord says, when 70 years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you
and I'll fulfill my faith, my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.
He's got a promise here. He's gonna bring him back. He's gonna take him back. And
then the verse, for I know the plans I have for you, says, declares the Lord.
Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a
future. And he drops down even further, go down to verse 13. You will seek me and
find me when you seek me with all your heart. And I will be found by you, declares
the Lord. And I will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the
nations and the places where I have banished you, declares the Lord. I will
bring you back to the place from where I carried you into exile. He is
reassuring them in their tough place, in their hard place, in their difficult
situation, that he's in control, that he can be trusted, and that he is good. Go
back. Remember, remember the miracles that he brought you through. Remember the
supernatural moments that he moved in your life. The moments of provision, the
moments of breakthrough. And rehearse those, and then look where you're at
right now, and you might be surprised to see just how good he's been. He's a good
God, and he can be trusted. Thank you for taking the time to listen today. You can
go to www.RestoringWord.com. Go to BibleTouring.com to join us on the tour.
There's more information on Facebook. And guess what? The tour that I had put
together with Noseworthy Travel is still up and going. Pray about it. Maybe someday
you'll come with me to Israel. I would love to have you join me. Have a good day.