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Are You Hiding Out?

Gary Keesee • Nov 07, 2018

Going to church is easy.

Well, maybe not the actual getting there part, if you have a job, or kids, or a transportation issue.

What I really mean is that going to church is the easy part of being a Christian. It’s comfortable.

Too comfortable.

Matthew 5:14-16 says,

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

See, people don’t need to see religion. They need to see light. They need to see the proof of God in your life.

They need to see answers.

People want to know how your marriage is no longer falling apart, how you got out of debt, or how you were healed. They want to know how you’re demonstrating results that are different than what the world normally sees.

But too many Christians are hiding out—hiding their light behind the four walls of a church building.

Are you one of them?

Oh, and you can stop thinking you’re not qualified or you’re not much of an example. You’re a child of God. It’s God’s grace that does the work—it’s His light that shines through you. It’s not about you —it’s about you AND God.

It just takes a willingness to step up and say, “I’ll do that.”

Look at Gideon. Gideon was hiding out in a wine press when God called him to do something really important.

“The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”

The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”

“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” – Judges 6:11-14

Gideon wasn’t just hiding out literally; he was hiding his light. He didn’t see himself as anything important, let alone the mighty warrior God was calling him to be.

The enemy was trying to steal Gideon’s future and the future of the Israelites.

The enemy is trying to steal your future.

It’s time to stop hiding out.

Just like Gideon, you are called. You are that mighty warrior. You’re not to hide out or run away; you’re called to confront and release the Kingdom of God into your situation.

You’re called to be a light.

Don’t be afraid. Know that you are sent.

___________________________________________________________

Your victory starts now. Stop hiding out and discover your God-designed destiny.

The post Are You Hiding Out? appeared first on Gary Keesee Ministries.

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