Making a Differencewith Pastor Phil Erickson

Aug 25th, 2011 The Safest Place On Earth

Today’s Passages  – Jeremiah 41 – 45; Proverbs 25

(Second Milers also read – Romans 6 – 9; Memorize – Philippians 4:6)

But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the LORD your God, Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell: And now therefore hear the word of the LORD, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die.”(Jeremiah 42: 13 – 16)

I remember years ago, when I was serving God as a youth director for Lighthouse Baptist Church in Gloucester City, NJ, we used to go soul winning in the city of Camden. Now Camden was a rough town in those days, ranking at the top of the list in many crime categories. At first, we were scared to death to go in there; but God taught me a valuable lesson in those days: if it was His will to serve in Camden, then I was safer there than if I was in Beverly Hills or Palm Springs. Why, because with the will of God comes protection as well as provision. We never did have one problem while we were soul winning there; and we spent  lot of time in that city visiting our bus routes, etc.

The passages that we read today in Jeremiah remind me of those days in Camden. At this time Jerusalem was a rough place. Most of the inhabitants were already taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar into Babylon. No doubt there must have been a great fear of further oppression from the Babylonians. However, God promised the remnant in Judah and Jerusalem that if they would stay there and serve Him, He would protect them and prosper them. Unfortunately, the remnant did not listen. Instead, they decided to move to a place that was without war and famine: a place of wealth, culture, and prosperity. The only problem was that it went against the will of God. Guess what happened? All of the things that they feared about Jerusalem, happened to them in Egypt. They should have stayed in the place of God’s will.

Where is the will of God for you? It may not seem like the best place on earth to other men, but it is the place where you will thrive. Sometimes parents are reluctant to allow their children to become missionaries, because they fear for their safety on the foreign field; but they are safer there in the will of God than in the best place in America out of the will of God.  Are you where God wants you, doing what God wants you to do? Surrender your will to His; lean not unto your own understanding; and He will prosper you and protect you.