Welcome to healing the land with Kevin Mitschelen, brought to us by pure assembly.
This is Kevin Mitschelen with healing the land and I'm grateful that again, you're able to hear another program today is a little bit different. Tonight is a little bit different than than what we normally air. Normally I have a guest with me. And we'll continue to keep having guests and here where God is touching people's lives healing them. Tonight though, I just want to share a few things that I believe God's been giving to me, putting on my heart. And I, when I go back to how this all began, I look at what how God has just continued to move in my life. And how he keeps changing things and moving my, my world and and it began years ago at the Billy Graham crusade at Notre Dame University, University of Notre Dame and Billy Graham was there in the late 70s. I believe 1977. So it's beginning to show you maybe my age a little bit, but I was young, nine or 10 years old. And I went down, they accepted Jesus Christ. And from that point on, my life has been different, it's changed. And and so as the years have gone by, I've often often thought of this as who I am. But God keeps moving that, that barometer, and he keeps changing those lies that I believe and he moves them into truth. And he changes that and which what I thought was somewhat relevant into something that wasn't any moves me into a different area that stretches me into something that which I never thought would take place. And recently, after being a having the opportunity, God has thrown different opportunities at me, in which I always thought that would be for someone else. For most of my life, I thought, Hey, I can do construction or in my family, we moved houses for a living, we would we would take a house and, and go where it was going to be destroyed, we would be able to save it. There's some spiritual implications on that we bring it to a new foundation. Again, there's a sermon right there, I suppose. And, but take me, I was able to see those things that would happen in the natural. And then God would bring me in, he would say, hey, look, I want you to mentor this young man, or to be able to mentor a bunch of people as I eventually got married and was able to walk with a woman who deeply loves the Lord. And he was Rhonda. I'm the as Dave Ramsey would would say. It's more than I deserve. It's absolutely much more than I deserve. And to be able to accept God's grace of that unmerited favor, I say all these things because I want to bring you into something today in which I've, I've worked speed ahead. Without giving you my full blown testimony, I wouldn't be able to tell you of just the ability to be able to even grown before God, because of this life many times will hit us in a way that that we don't expect often. And the ability to go before the Lord and to be able to sit before his presence and to be able to say Lord God, I don't know what the next phase is, I don't know how I'm going to even possibly exist. But Lord, I, I love you. Show me what I need. And I came across this scripture and it's been a part of my life for a long period of time. But I I think it's good sometimes to just sit and and it's in here the nugget from it, because many times as I had an opportunity then to actually be a lead pastor in the inner city church and I, what a blessing that was and what a challenge that was but wow, that was only by the grace of God that that was able to happen and and when I take a look at the groaning of even even during that time, it's like, Lord God, I don't know what I'm doing. Show me how to do this. God would answer and he would answer and he would answer and God I don't know how to be a husband. Show me because I'm imperfect and my righteousness is nothing that filthy.
But you love me. Anyway, I came across this, this passage and you can run right back If I would do it so often, it's actually found in Exodus chapter two. I love the story of Moses. I love the story of how he saved Israel, from oppression from slavery. And so let me read this to you. And I want to put this in the context of prayer, says x is chapter two, verse 23, during that long period, the king of Egypt, let me go back, I think it's important. Verse 21, Moses agreed to stay with the man who gave his daughters a poor, two, Moses in marriage support gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom saying, I have become a foreign foreigner in a foreign land. So let me pause just for a second here and let you understand most of you understand that Moses for about 40 years, he was up in the palace, he was, he was basically treated as royalty. He was, he was at a whim, he could collect and do things and he had power. But then making this as the story short, he was then he was then told, with no uncertain terms, he was told to leave to the point of which they were going to come after him and kill him. If he came back. He leaves that land, escapes from that land, he comes back from that he comes into a zone in which he becomes this shepherd. He becomes basically in the world of that day and age, nothing we kind of look at being a shepherd is Oh, isn't that quaint? Isn't that an incredible thing but Bagley back in that day, it was now you're now you're nothing. He goes from a point of being all a part of a family that was all powerful, to a point in which he's nothing, and everything is stripped away from him. But then, in Scripture, it says that he went to a foreign land. And then let me pick this back up again in verse 23, says, during that long period, the king of Egypt died, the Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help, because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked in the keynotes grab on to this. So God looks on the Israelites, and was concerned about them. I think it's important to pause. I can't imagine, you know, what their groaning would have been like, I have never experienced the slavery. Thank God for that. And the oppression of something like that. I can, I can imagine, even when in my daily toils, and even my daily walk that many times I will even go to God, why is this happening? What is how can this possibly be allowed? Don't you? God, I'm your son, that this doesn't make sense. How can that happen? And there will be this groaning that that will many times happen to the one true God. And here's the incredible, wonderful thing is that God loves me anyway. And let me give you an example. There was a situation in the ministry in which I had been a part of, and God had had spoken to me, I won't give you all the details, but God had spoke to me I was mowing the lawn of all things. God, you said, this is going to happen, and you're no longer going to be the pastor of this church. And that's the short condensed version of it. Annoying the lawn I stopped mowing. And I, I go up and I'm I'm frustrated. I don't know what's why I would have that kind of message given to me. And some of you may say, Maybe he got a bad piece of cheese. No, this was this was actually actually came out to fruit fruition. And I go up into the shower of my home and no one is there and is on a Monday and that's pastors day. That's pastor Sunday, usually their Sabbath and, and so I'm, I'm up in the shower, and I am completely, I'm taking a shower. So I'm naked, and which is one of those times in my life where I'm vulnerable, completely vulnerable before the Lord. I'm like, I am just shouting to the Lord. How could you do this? How could you set me up in such a way? And that is basically this sort of acting like a baby before the Lord, an infant yelling and screaming a god? How could this happen that don't you understand? I'm going to be destroyed. Don't you get that God in God's mercy in God's grace, before my groaning before the Lord
I just remember this God saying Kevin, I love you. You just let me be in control. And I bawled. Because everything seemed to be coming to an end. I just didn't know what to do with. So I said, God, your control, take my groaning. Take those things that are things that I can't control. Take them, use them, for Your glory, not from mine. The house if you need to, if someone needs to take the house, they'll take that whenever you're in control. And I'm not Thank you, Lord, for, for being able to be that God for me in which I can follow. And you lead. And I thank you that you take that groaning. And you're able to make that in something much more powerful. And far better than what I can in my little mind could possibly ever imagine. As we see in, in this chapter is we know the story of Moses. I love the fact that the nation of Israel, the nation of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, it says the, so God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them, they heard them, I can imagine what that groaning probably sounded like being of the human race. It probably wasn't very pleasant at times. But God had compassion on them. God was concerned about his people. And today, he's concerned about you. He's concerned about you. So it's okay to wrestle with this God. Jacob wrestle with him. It's okay. To share your those aha moments. It's okay to be able to go to the one true God in prayer and to be able to say, this is my innermost deepest wound, Lord God, would you heal that? I'm looking for what you're going to do, because it's not, Kevin. It's not? Jim, it's not Sarah. It's not, whatever your name might be. It's about simply following the one true God, the True Father in heaven. On the next side, we have two segments. And on the next side, I want to talk about the scripture in the passage of what we see because of this groaning that takes place. Cut does as a very familiar story. But I think it's a story in which we need to see again, and be reminded of that story of what the amazing power of prayer and what it does in our lives, I would ask that we would not just dismiss prayer, or the groaning of our heart, but that we would truly go to the Lord, knowing that he's the healer of our, of our souls. He's the healer of the land. But we have to first be broken and surrendered to Him. Otherwise, we can't go to him in pride. God hates it. God hates pride. So if you would, if you come on the other side, I would ask that of you to do that with me. We'll see in just a few seconds.
Hi, I'm Dawn, board member of pure and healing the land is brought to you by pure assembly. Pure assembly is a nonprofit with a mission to heal the wounds of A divided and injured nation through prayer, unity, repentance, and edification. To learn more about us, check us out@www.hp your assembly.com or find us on Facebook, just search for pure assembly. While you're there, we'd love you to like us, too. Thanks for listening to healing the land.
This is Kevin Mitschelen. so grateful that you've been able to come back with us. And I want to just express a few things that's been on my heart with healing the land. And I asked that as we go in this time, where we're able to just hear a story that happened 1000s years ago, but I wouldn't be able to express the fact that this God that we serve today is the god that was served 1000s of years ago, he doesn't change. He's an everlasting, unchanging God. And so I'm so grateful that we have that, that kind of God, I want to bring us back we than the last session we were talking about Exodus chapter two. And Exodus chapter two, it talked about the groaning and the, and the prayer that would happen to and the cry, I guess that's the best way I can put is this, this one cry that was happening between God's people and God, and to be able to have God be able to come back. And I, there's a concern that I have for these people. And he was beginning to set things up in which Moses would be called from being a shepherd, and he would come back to be that deliver for the people of Israel. And eventually, we'll see the foreshadowing of this where Jesus Christ is the deliver of not just this rice, but for the, for the Gentile in the Jew. And that includes you and includes me in which he is that deliver for us. But I want us to go back and take a look at Moses. And, and the the answer to those groanings. The answer to that to that prayer. That was that was that was delivered maybe in a totally haphazard way. But here's this god that hears that cry that comes within the heart. I want to we know if you're familiar, you don't even have to go to Sunday school, you've heard these stories, in which you probably if you want to, you can go back and see the 10 commandments Charlton Heston, right, and you can see where God has continually watched over the Israelites, even during the time of oppression. In God's set something up. He sees where Moses then is called in and by that with a burning bush. And Moses says yes, I'll go. Obviously, we know of those of those times in which Moses responded back to God, you know, I'm like, I'm your guy. And you're setting are you setting me up? Lord, you I've got this, all you're gonna do is give me this stick. And that's somehow I'm supposed to I know how big their army is, their armies huge. Did you understand how how vast, they're a superpower. And you're going to send me and somehow I'm going to only have a stick. But God's behind. And God, here's the groaning of the heart and the cry of his people. And so Moses goes back, what seems to buy in the natural would be a suicide mission. But in the spirit, affecting the natural, that's where things change. And so finally, by the time when Moses comes, we know the plagues that happen and that there was just a decimation that of that takes center stage with the nation of Egypt and brings them down to nothing to think about the fact that we had COVID in 2020, and what that disease did, in which we saw a transformation in the economy and all these other things that happened within with even with the body of Christ, all those things that took place. Just with COVID, let alone when you take a look at Egypt in those things that happened with Egypt, what happened there, frogs, you, you have one of the one of the last plagues that takes place was the firstborn, being being killed. I can't imagine that kind of sorrow. I can't imagine that kind of pain.
And so we skip all the way to Exodus, chapter 14. And I want us to grab onto the scene because it's important. And remember the prayer and that was that was brought before God, the one true God, back in the time of oppression back in the time of slavery. And this is where I want to pick this up. It's actually in verse five, of chapter 14 of excess when the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled. Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, What have we done, we have let the Israelites go and have lost their services. So he had his tree made ready and took his army with him. Catch this because this is vital. This is a massive army. He took 600 of the best chariots along with all other charts of Egypt and the officers all over them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he pursued the Israelites who were marching out boldly. The Egyptians all Pharaoh's horses in the chariots and horsemen and troops, pursued his rights and overtook them as they camped by the sea near pi r f o opposite Val, Stefan, as Israel approached, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians marching after them. Would you catch the scene for a moment? It says, as Pharaoh approach Israelites looked up, that's pause there just for a few seconds, take that in the most massive army that you can possibly imagine, and you have nothing. It appears as though Yes, you've been victorious. You've done all kinds of you've seen God move in all kinds of crazy, odd ways. It's destroyed the Egyptian army, I'm excuse me, it's destroyed the Egyptian economy, but their army is still intact. And they are coming after you. You have absolutely no defense, what appears to be and there's going to someone's going to die today. And you know that you can see this, this army that is designed for death. It's designed to take over and not just in a way that is, is going to somehow be peaceful, someone's going to die that day. And someone's going to, it appears as though in the natural, someone's going to go back and be a slave again, and not just be a slave. But there's going to be all kinds of repercussions. But there's going to be death today. And that's the natural, and that's what it looks like. And that's what it looks like, God. Why bring us out to this kind of place? So we can just be destroyed? This makes absolutely no sense. How could this happen? How in the world? And so when the Israelites look at Moses, they said this to Moses, was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, leave us alone? Let us serve the Egyptians, it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert. Watch again, grab on to the scene. There's a lot of speculation here. But can you imagine if this was like in a movie form, if you would see the nostrils of horses, it says there's hundreds and hundreds of chariots and the best of the best. They were out there. You imagine a scene like in a movie with the closeup of a horse we You see that? The coldness of of the day and now the horses breathing out this air. As you're getting ready for battle, the men who are who are soldiers that they have been seasoned for war, and they're going to come in they're gonna destroy you. Because you defied Pharaoh. Not only have you defied Pharaoh, but you've you've been a part of something. You've been a part of a putting Egypt on its knees. And that cannot cannot be tolerated by a prideful people. And who were you? The enemy's working overtime is working overtime. Moses answers the people in verse 13. Do not be afraid. Stand firm. And you will see the deliverance The Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians will see you today. And this gyptians you see today, you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you. You need only to be still me read that one more time because I think we need to hear that I need to hear that today. In today's world in today's language, to not be afraid. Stand firm. And you will see the deliverance The Lord will bring you today
that pause there again. This God that we serve. Then the Lord said to Moses, why are you crying out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea to divide the water. So the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground. harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them and our gang loi through feral and all his army, through his church and his horsemen. The Egyptians will know that I am the Lord. When I gain glory through Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen. I can pause for a minute. The power in that scene, someone's going to die today. It's not going to be the Israelites in the natural to have the Israelite nation to somehow cross the Red Sea would take an engineer it would be an engineering nightmare to figure out how to do that to somehow build boats and you wouldn't have the timber anything. You wouldn't have the time to build do anything of that nature and even trying to do that with you would had 1000s upon 1000s of people die even try to cross something like that. With makeshift boats, ships. It'd be an impossible task. But God through His deliverance, said, I remember your groans and I'm answering your prayer today. As you know the story the waters part and the Israelites walk on dry ground. If you live in Indiana, that's quite the feat. You know what it is to have clay ground and the slop in the in the in the mud that comes from even just a small amount of rain. But to have that kind of miracle that would take place when would you see dry ground before you to get not only yourself and your family but to see walls water right next to you. As you pass through, he imagined that kind of scene. You say this is only from God, only God can do something like this. Only God can answer a prayer because like this. And then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind him coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. throughout the night the clouds brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side. So neither went near the other all that all night long. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. And all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land, the waters were divided and Israelites went through the sea on dry ground with a wall of water on the right and on their left Egypt has pursued them. And all Pharaohs, horses and chariots and horsemen filed them into the sea. During the last watch of the night, the Lord looked down from the pillar of fire and the cloud at the Egyptian army and threw it into confusion. He jammed the wheels of their chariot so that they had difficulty driving Egyptians said, Let's get away from the Israelites The Lord is fighting for them against Egypt. Then the Lord said to Moses, stretch out your hand of the Seas so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians, and their chariots and the horsemen, Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. And at daybreak, the sea went back into its place, the Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and the horsemen, the entire army of Pharaoh had filed his rights in the sea, not one of them survived. I want you to grab on to this. I want to grab on of who it is we serve. I want you to grab on the fact that God has given you a deliver today. And that deliver His name is Jesus Christ. Once you grab on that we serve a powerful God. And it may seem like somehow that that approach, and I've been answered are groans, you're not being answered, but God, He loves you. And he desires to hear your grown desires to hear those areas in your life in which you're a weak, but he's strong. Jesus loves you very, very much. And I want you to take that in maybe as you're driving the car, or maybe you're just hearing this at home or on the internet. I don't know where you're hearing it from. But I want you to grab on the fact that this Lord, this big God loves you. We're going to end with that. I hope you grab on to blessings. Take care. Thanks.
Second Chronicles 714. If my people who are called by my name, humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked way, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land.
Healing the land is brought to you by pure assembly. Pure assembly is a nonprofit with a mission to heal the wounds of A divided and injured nation through prayer, unity, repentance and edification. For more ways to get involved and to be a part of their ministry. You can reach them at WWW dot pure assembly.com that's p u r e assembly.com or look for pure assembly on Facebook.