We all have a favorite time. It may be our birthday. It may be an anniversary. It may be Christmas or Thanksgiving. Some of us look back on the good old days. For some of us our favorite time is 30 years ago. We will all have a different answer to the question of what is our favorite time. God also has a favorite time. Some would speculate that creation was God’s favorite time. Perhaps it is during the time of men of faith who never saw him, but nevertheless had great faith. The time of Noah, Abraham, and Joseph could easily be speculated to be God’s favorite time. Could the time of God coming to dwell among men as a baby is His favorite time? Calvary could easily be said to be God’s favorite time when salvation was fulfilled. As good as all of these times are, they are not God’s favorite time. As humans we are bound by time. Our lives are governed by time. We say time is fleeting. We say that the clock is ticking. We live in this time and are limited bounded by it’s limitations. God does not have the limitation of time. He is in our past, our present and our future. He does not care what day of the week or month of the year may be. God’s favorite days are not yesterday, or some future season. God’s favorite time is now. He wants us to respond now. He wants us to receive our salvation now. He wants us to move now. When He said in His word now, he meant immediately. Jesus’ first miracle was in the immediate. The wedding was out of wine, and Jesus’ mother told the servants to do whatever He said. He told them to fill the pots with water. The servants didn’t ask when. They just responded. God wants us to respond now. The governor of the feast declared that they had held the best for now. That is the way God works. He may have done some great things in the past, but he wants us to experience the best He has now. Do not wait on a season or a time, respond to God now.

We all have a favorite time. It may be our birthday. It may be an anniversary. It may be Christmas or Thanksgiving. Some of us look back on the good old days. For some of us our favorite time is 30 years ago. We will all have a different answer to the question of what is our favorite time. God also has a favorite time. Some would speculate that creation was God’s favorite time. Perhaps it is during the time of men of faith who never saw him, but nevertheless had great faith. The time of Noah, Abraham, and Joseph could easily be speculated to be God’s favorite time. Could the time of God coming to dwell among men as a baby is His favorite time? Calvary could easily be said to be God’s favorite time when salvation was fulfilled. As good as all of these times are, they are not God’s favorite time. As humans we are bound by time. Our lives are governed by time. We say time is fleeting. We say that the clock is ticking. We live in this time and are limited bounded by it’s limitations. God does not have the limitation of time. He is in our past, our present and our future. He does not care what day of the week or month of the year may be. God’s favorite days are not yesterday, or some future season. God’s favorite time is now. He wants us to respond now. He wants us to receive our salvation now. He wants us to move now. When He said in His word now, he meant immediately. Jesus’ first miracle was in the immediate. The wedding was out of wine, and Jesus’ mother told the servants to do whatever He said. He told them to fill the pots with water. The servants didn’t ask when. They just responded. God wants us to respond now. The governor of the feast declared that they had held the best for now. That is the way God works. He may have done some great things in the past, but he wants us to experience the best He has now. Do not wait on a season or a time, respond to God now.

The purpose of the ark of the covenant was to provide a way for God to dwell among his people. The surest presence of God was at the Ark of the covenant. In our text, David is transporting the Ark back to Jereluseum after it had been held captive by the philistines for some time. While in transport, one of the ox stumbled and it began to fall. Uzzah reached up to steady it and was struck down by God. David consider this and decided to place the ark in the home of Obededom for a time. David was worried having just seen what had happened to Uzzah, about what would happen when the Ark was in his home. If we are to accept the presence of God into our home, we will have to rearrange some things and move some things out to make room for His presence. Some of us have guests into our home. We are on our best behavior when a guest in our home. It is hard to do some of the things we usually do when we have a guest. Obededom had a the presence of God as a guest in his home for three months. The bible says it continued, it stayed in the home, for three months. It wasn’t just there on Sunday after church. It was there on Monday when the work week started. Some would see this as an inconvenience. Some of us would have to do some moving around to allow God to be a tenant in our home. But Obededom’s home was blessed. The presence of God was in his home, and his entire household was blessed. When we invite the presence of God into our home, our attitude will change. We invite God into our church service. But how many of us invite Him into OUR home. Does the presence of God that we feel in church follow us home? It is not enough that we experience God on Sunday in church, but we must continue that experience into our homes and our lives.

The purpose of the ark of the covenant was to provide a way for God to dwell among his people. The surest presence of God was at the Ark of the covenant. In our text, David is transporting the Ark back to Jereluseum after it had been held captive by the philistines for some time. While in transport, one of the ox stumbled and it began to fall. Uzzah reached up to steady it and was struck down by God. David consider this and decided to place the ark in the home of Obededom for a time. David was worried having just seen what had happened to Uzzah, about what would happen when the Ark was in his home. If we are to accept the presence of God into our home, we will have to rearrange some things and move some things out to make room for His presence. Some of us have guests into our home. We are on our best behavior when a guest in our home. It is hard to do some of the things we usually do when we have a guest. Obededom had a the presence of God as a guest in his home for three months. The bible says it continued, it stayed in the home, for three months. It wasn’t just there on Sunday after church. It was there on Monday when the work week started. Some would see this as an inconvenience. Some of us would have to do some moving around to allow God to be a tenant in our home. But Obededom’s home was blessed. The presence of God was in his home, and his entire household was blessed. When we invite the presence of God into our home, our attitude will change. We invite God into our church service. But how many of us invite Him into OUR home. Does the presence of God that we feel in church follow us home? It is not enough that we experience God on Sunday in church, but we must continue that experience into our homes and our lives.

Life is filled with many transitions, changes, and shifts. These changes in life often drive us to distraction. Often it is not the changes, but the swiftness and unexpectedness of the change that trips us up. One day we are on top of the world, and the next we are on the bottom. Life is unpredictable. We like things to be settled. We like to understand our circumstances. It is hard to understand the trial while we are in the middle of it. Often we have to remove ourselves from the situation to understand it. In sports they study game films to understand and learn. It is easy to identify the right way to do something when viewing it in the rear view mirror. The truth is that when we are in the middle of something it is hard to think the way we should. Like with the game films, we can learn from history to try to prepare ourselves for similar situations that might best us. One example from which we can learn is found in the life of John. The angels announced his birth and he was predestined to be part of the gospel story proclaiming the coming of Jesus. He was anointed, fearless, faithful and bold. It is hard to imagine all of that and know that this is the same man in our text who is sitting alone in a prison cell. What changed between the picture of John as chosen and anointed and the John we see in the prison who is filled with doubt? First, John let the external circumstances begin to affect his internal issues. He let what was going on around him, start getting to him. He allowed the events in his life to overcome the experiences in his life. He let is mind talk him out of his revelation. The enemy of our soul wants us to be so marked by what we are going through that it affects the knowledge of who we are. We are a child of God. It is the things in life that will derail us. Paul asks “What shall I say to these things?” Bro. Hughes declares, “I will Llve in spite of life!”

Life is filled with many transitions, changes, and shifts. These changes in life often drive us to distraction. Often it is not the changes, but the swiftness and unexpectedness of the change that trips us up. One day we are on top of the world, and the next we are on the bottom. Life is unpredictable. We like things to be settled. We like to understand our circumstances. It is hard to understand the trial while we are in the middle of it. Often we have to remove ourselves from the situation to understand it. In sports they study game films to understand and learn. It is easy to identify the right way to do something when viewing it in the rear view mirror. The truth is that when we are in the middle of something it is hard to think the way we should. Like with the game films, we can learn from history to try to prepare ourselves for similar situations that might best us. One example from which we can learn is found in the life of John. The angels announced his birth and he was predestined to be part of the gospel story proclaiming the coming of Jesus. He was anointed, fearless, faithful and bold. It is hard to imagine all of that and know that this is the same man in our text who is sitting alone in a prison cell. What changed between the picture of John as chosen and anointed and the John we see in the prison who is filled with doubt? First, John let the external circumstances begin to affect his internal issues. He let what was going on around him, start getting to him. He allowed the events in his life to overcome the experiences in his life. He let is mind talk him out of his revelation. The enemy of our soul wants us to be so marked by what we are going through that it affects the knowledge of who we are. We are a child of God. It is the things in life that will derail us. Paul asks “What shall I say to these things?” Bro. Hughes declares, “I will Llve in spite of life!”

The word champion is only used one time in scripture. The term overcomer us used much more frequently. The root of the word in the Greek means the means (way of) success. The word overcome or overcomer is used twenty eight times in the bible to describe the type of life we should live. In order to be an overcomer, we have to develop the traits of an overcomer. One of the traits of an overcomer is an attitude of success. The choices we make in life determine our destiny. We all have choices we make that can transport us to a totally different life. The phrase let us is used thirteen times in the book of Hebrews. The phrase implies a choice. The writer is encouraging us to make the choice to follow God and His ways. The first choice of a champion described in our text is one of an attitude. “Let us therefore fear…” Fear is something that has been lost in our generation. We pride ourselves on eliminating fear. The spiritual application of fear is something that cannot be missed if we are to be an overcomer. We have to fear the right things. Not fear in a sense of terror, but of respect and reverence. There are some thing about which we cannot take lightly. We must walk in an attitude of reverence toward them. So what should we fear? Unfulfilled potential. We should fear of falling short of what God is wanting for us. We should fear that we do not enter into it. If we do not enter in, we cannot enjoy it. We need to fear that we live with a lack of understanding of what is important. We have to fear living with negative thinking. What we need to fear most is losing faith.

The word champion is only used one time in scripture. The term overcomer us used much more frequently. The root of the word in the Greek means the means (way of) success. The word overcome or overcomer is used twenty eight times in the bible to describe the type of life we should live. In order to be an overcomer, we have to develop the traits of an overcomer. One of the traits of an overcomer is an attitude of success. The choices we make in life determine our destiny. We all have choices we make that can transport us to a totally different life. The phrase let us is used thirteen times in the book of Hebrews. The phrase implies a choice. The writer is encouraging us to make the choice to follow God and His ways. The first choice of a champion described in our text is one of an attitude. “Let us therefore fear…” Fear is something that has been lost in our generation. We pride ourselves on eliminating fear. The spiritual application of fear is something that cannot be missed if we are to be an overcomer. We have to fear the right things. Not fear in a sense of terror, but of respect and reverence. There are some thing about which we cannot take lightly. We must walk in an attitude of reverence toward them. So what should we fear? Unfulfilled potential. We should fear of falling short of what God is wanting for us. We should fear that we do not enter into it. If we do not enter in, we cannot enjoy it. We need to fear that we live with a lack of understanding of what is important. We have to fear living with negative thinking. What we need to fear most is losing faith.

Genesis is the book of beginnings. It is more than an history lesson. There are a great many truths in this book of beginnings. The story of sin and failure has not changed since this first one. There is influence from the outside. Then there is doubt and questioning, and then there is rebellion. Sin did not come roaring in to this story, but is slithered in quietly. It succeeds because it never shows the other side of our failure. We see the interesting and intriguing things, but we do not see the end. When sin is listened to, there is always the same downward spiral that takes place. First is the distortion. Sin willfully distorts it’s true nature and purpose. When sin begins, it begins with that distortion and deception. Once established the distortion leads to doubt. “Did God really say that?” “Did God really mean that?” Once these questions come, we are on a dangerous slippery slope. Once sin gets us to slip a little down that slope, the doubt leads to denial. “God wouldn’t do that to you.” Finally the realization of the result of sin come rushing in. Sin always takes this same progression. There were many things lost on that day. Though they lost the garden, they had not lost the God of that garden. He was still there and still speaking. They had lost paradise, but they had not lost His love. God wants to provide a way to recovery for all of us who sin. There may be no way back to innocence, but He provided a way forward to triumph. We may have been cut off from some things in our past, but we are not cut off from our future. Though we have made our mistakes and faltered along the way, God has made a way for us to recover even from the worst of failures. He tells us that we can rise again. We have an option for recovery.

Genesis is the book of beginnings. It is more than an history lesson. There are a great many truths in this book of beginnings. The story of sin and failure has not changed since this first one. There is influence from the outside. Then there is doubt and questioning, and then there is rebellion. Sin did not come roaring in to this story, but is slithered in quietly. It succeeds because it never shows the other side of our failure. We see the interesting and intriguing things, but we do not see the end. When sin is listened to, there is always the same downward spiral that takes place. First is the distortion. Sin willfully distorts it’s true nature and purpose. When sin begins, it begins with that distortion and deception. Once established the distortion leads to doubt. “Did God really say that?” “Did God really mean that?” Once these questions come, we are on a dangerous slippery slope. Once sin gets us to slip a little down that slope, the doubt leads to denial. “God wouldn’t do that to you.” Finally the realization of the result of sin come rushing in. Sin always takes this same progression. There were many things lost on that day. Though they lost the garden, they had not lost the God of that garden. He was still there and still speaking. They had lost paradise, but they had not lost His love. God wants to provide a way to recovery for all of us who sin. There may be no way back to innocence, but He provided a way forward to triumph. We may have been cut off from some things in our past, but we are not cut off from our future. Though we have made our mistakes and faltered along the way, God has made a way for us to recover even from the worst of failures. He tells us that we can rise again. We have an option for recovery.