Looking Ahead With the Eyes of Faith

Looking Ahead With the Eyes of Faith

Westhill Community Church

9^th Feb 2020

Reading: Numbers 13: 26-33

In our reading today we encounter the Children of Israel about two years after they had had been freed from slavery in Egypt and had set out on their journey to the Promised Land. They were camped at Kadesh Barnea, in hill country at the southern edge of the Wilderness of Zin, and still perhaps 50 miles from the nearest Canaanite settlements to the north. They had experienced amazing works of God’s power on their behalf: protection from the effects of the plagues that afflicted the Egyptians, especially on the night of the Passover; deliverance from captivity; the miraculous crossing of the Red Sea; the total destruction of the pursuing Egyptian army; the undrinkable water of Marah made pure; the provision of manna and quail for food; the provision of water from the rock; the defeat of the Amalekites as Moses lifted up his hands to God; the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai; the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night to lead them and protect them.

And yet, the people were repeatedly overwhelmed by doubt, fear, anxiety and negativity. Time and again they complained to Moses, “Why has God brought us out here in the wilderness to die; we’d be better off as slaves back in Egypt.” What sparked off these outbursts, in spite of God’s promise to take them out of their lives of misery and bring them into a promised land flowing with milk and honey, and in spite of their experiences of God’s amazing deliverance, provision and protection? The answer is: unbelief and lack of faith. For when confronted with a problem that they couldn’t resolve themselves they followed their feelings and emotions instead of relying on God. When they camped in a desert place bereft of any form of food they allowed anxiety to overwhelm them. They focused on their massive problem – they had no food and they could see no way to obtain any. In their fear and anxiety God’s promises seemed totally irrelevant, and His past provision was forgotten.

Does this ring any bells with you? Have you had times in your personal life when anxiety and fear has threatened to overwhelm you? How often have you been tempted to think that God has abandoned you, or that He is indifferent to your needs? Oh, you know His promise never to leave you or forsake you, but how often have you been tempted to doubt those words when faced with a situation you couldn’t cope with? And oftentimes we do trust God, but we have our own ideas about how He is going to come through for us. But when what we had imagined doesn’t happen we start to doubt whether He is there for us after all.

Well in our reading the people of Israel were tested once again when they encountered a problem that seemed insurmountable. God told them to send an exploratory team ahead of them to report back on what they found. This took them over a month. It probably took them the best part of three days to actually reach Canaan, and they had many miles to cover within the borders of that land. They had plenty of time on their return journey to think through what they were going to say to Moses and the people. And what a large majority of them said was essentially this. “We have a serious problem. The cities are large and very well fortified. The people of the land are very strong and well-defended. Moreover many of them are massive in stature, literally giants. There is just no way that we are going to be able to clear them out of the land. They will devour us before we even get started.”

Now these men were not really spies, as we often like to describe them. In fact the Bible record actually describes them as explorers. God had told Moses to select from each of the twelve tribes one of its leaders. These were men of influence, men who were respected and whose counsel was trusted. And ten of these leaders allowed their feelings and emotions to dominate their report, instead of trusting fully in what God had said and reminding the people of what God had already done. Joshua and Caleb alone exhorted the people to view the situation with the eyes of faith.

The letter to the Hebrews tells us that “faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Heb 11: 1). Faith is not forming strategies to accomplish something in the light of what we see and experience. Faith is trusting that what we do not yet see is going to happen. And faith is not a leap in the dark, a hope or aspiration based on our own imaginings. Faith is confidence in what God has said He will do. Joshua and Caleb assured the people that they could most certainly take possession of the land, not because they thought they were stronger than the giants, nor because they had in mind a brilliant strategy for attack. Indeed they had no human strategy in mind whatsoever. Their assurance was based firmly on God’s promise to the people that He “would to bring them up out of [Egypt] into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey – the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites” (Joshua 3: 8). Their confidence was strengthened by recalling their experiences of God’s faithfulness at each stage of their journey so far.

God is still calling his people to take possession of territory for Him. Psalm 2 contains a tremendous promise, indeed more than this it is a decree from the throne of heaven.

I will proclaim the Lord’s decree! He said to me, “You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.” (Ps 2: 7,8)

This psalm is a messianic psalm. It speaks about the Messiah, the Christ. Jesus is the one to whom God the Father gives the nations as his inheritance. As the moving hymn by the Baptist evangelist William Fullerton puts it,

I cannot tell how He will win the nations,

How He will claim His earthly heritage,

…

But this I know, all flesh shall see His glory,

And He shall reap the harvest He has sown,

I have another person in mind who believed that God intends the people of every nation to bow the knee to Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. Five hundred years ago he was a young child living in Giffordgate, East Lothian. Later in life he prayed what is now a very famous prayer, “Lord, give me Scotland ere I die.” He believed that Scotland should be Christ’s inheritance, and accordingly he claimed the nation for Jesus. Before he died he witnessed perhaps the greatest revival and reformation these islands have ever seen, as people great and small bowed the knee to Christ the length and breadth of Scotland. That man, of course, was John Knox, one whom God used so powerfully to preach Christ and form the Church of Scotland.

The land of Scotland today is inhabited by a different generation. Many again now live in spiritual darkness, much as they did in John Knox’s day. And the question to us is this: are we prepared, along with others in the body of Christ, to claim this nation once again for Jesus? Now, lest that seem like too massive or presumptuous a task for us, let me put it another way, closer to home. Are we prepared, along with others in the body of Christ, to claim Westhill for Jesus? That the people living in this place will come to know Him as their Saviour and Lord, that their hearts will be filled with His love, and that the sound of praise to Him will be heard in every street, every gathering place, and every place of study, work and recreation.

God has placed us here, let us be sure of that, just as he has placed the other congregations of His people in this community. The Lord is passionately concerned with local churches, and has a purpose and plan for each one. How can I say that so confidently? Because nine of the books of the New Testament are letters written to local churches, to encourage them to be true to their calling. Because all seven of the letters from Jesus at the start of the book of Revelation are to local churches – to the church in Ephesus, and in Smyrna, and five other cities in Asia Minor. He knew their circumstances and the spiritual opposition they each faced, especially Pergamum where Satan himself had his seat of authority. And to each of these churches he spoke words of encouragement and direction. And in every case he finished with words of victory. Not just to survive, nor just to keep going, but to overcome and be victorious in the spiritual battles in which they were engaged.

And His purpose and destiny for us, too, is to overcome and be victorious against the spiritual opposition that we face. Recall Jesus’ parable of the wise man and the foolish man.

“As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When the flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.” (Luke 6: 48)

When we are faithful to Jesus’ words, when we listen to, proclaim and act upon them, then what we build will not be shaken by the torrent that comes against it.

Writing to the Philippians Paul said, “[I am] confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1: 6). God is committed to completing the work He commenced when this church was planted nearly forty years ago.

Paul also shared a personal note with the local church at Philippi. He wrote, “I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me” (Phil 3: 12). He followed this up by saying, “All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things” (Phil 3: 15). Brothers and sisters, this should be our commitment, too, our vision, our passion.

We will press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of us.

We do not know what lies before us, but God’s word assures us that His purpose goes far beyond our own ideas. Consider the following powerful Bible verses.

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Cor 2: 9 AKJV)

“If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Rom 8: 31-32)

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations.” (Eph 3: 20,21)

As a church we face uncertain times ahead. In some areas the way forward is not fully clear, and often we are having to proceed one step at a time, without the end result being in sight. And the question for us is similar to that which the Children of Israel had to respond to when the twelve leaders returned from their exploration of the Promised Land. Do we proceed boldly in faith to accomplish all that God has planned for us here in this community of Westhill, or do we hesitate and draw back, allowing uncertainty, anxiety and doubt to take charge?

It seems to me the difference between these two positions is quite clear. On the one hand we will feel overwhelmed by the number and magnitude of the issues we face, and allow stress and worry to fill our hearts and minds. On the other hand the bigger the number and size of the issues we face so the more fervently we will besiege the throne of God in prayer to release the power of heaven on our behalf. On the one hand we will discourage one another by reminding each other often that the problems are large, that we don’t have a solution, and that we may very likely fail. On the other hand we will encourage one other by reminding each other often of the way God has answered our prayers time and again, claiming His many promises, and trusting Him implicitly. On the one hand we will hold back in our commitment to serving and giving because we are unsure whether things will work out well. On the other hand we will fully commit ourselves to serving the Lord in whatever way he shows us, because we are convinced that the work He has commenced He will bring to completion and He has called us to be a part of it.

So let me finish with the words of Caleb to the people, slightly paraphrased.

“We should go up and take possession of [all that God has planned for us], for we can certainly do it” (Numbers 13: 30).