"Rebellion"

Well, good morning, church. It's good to see you all this morning. Would you turn with me to the book of Numbers?

! Today, we'll be looking at chapters 13 and 14. That's page 113 in the Pew Bible.

If you turn to page 113 and it's not Numbers 13, that means you have one of the new editions of the Pew Bible. Lucky you,

it's somewhere close to there. You'll find it.

If you're new to the Bible, then the chapters are the big numbers and the verses are the little numbers.

We have a long passage today that we're going to look through. We'll skim through some of the

paragraphs, but just follow along with me as we pick up. Let me pray first as we come to God's Word.

Our Father in heaven, we thank you for these moments that we get on Sunday mornings to gather

together. Lord, throughout our recent Sunday school class, we've been thinking about other parts of the

world where gathering is not so easy. Lord, where there's much danger gathering on a Sunday morning.

So, we're just grateful. We're grateful to be able to meet, to open your Word, to read it, to be edified

by it. And as we do so, we remember that we do so with your people throughout the world,

your people who are coming to your Word,

so that we might hear what your Spirit is saying to us today,

so that we might walk faithfully and worthily of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ

and fix our eyes on Him once again.

So, we pray that by your Spirit, you would allow us to do that, allow us to understand, apply,

and be transformed by your Word today. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

All right, Numbers 13. I'm going to pick up at the end of chapter 12 just for context.

We'll read some of this, and then we'll dive in.

After that, the people set out from Hazaroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel.

From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.

So, Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord,

all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel.

And then, in verses 4 through 16, are the names listed of those men by their tribes.

You can scan over those names down to verse 17. We'll pick up there.

Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them,

Go up into the Negev and go into the hill country and see what the land is,

and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they're many or few,

and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad,

and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds,

and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not.

Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.

Now, the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

And then, in verses 21 through 24, it says how the spies successfully spied out the land

and how incredibly fruitful the land was, and then we pick up in 25 when they return.

At the end of 40 days, they return from spying out the land.

And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel

in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh.

They brought back word to them and to all the congregation

and show them the fruit of the land.

And they told them,

We came to this land to which you sent us.

It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.

However, the people who dwell in the land are strong,

and the cities are fortified, very large.

And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.

The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negev.

The Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites dwell in the hill country.

And the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the Jordan.

But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said,

Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.

Then the men who had gone up with him said,

We are not able to go up against the people,

for they are stronger than we are.

So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land

that they had spied out, saying,

The land through which we have gone to spy it out

is a land that devours its inhabitants,

and all the people that we saw in it are of great height.

And there we saw the Nephilim,

the sons of Anak,

who come from the Nephilim,

and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers.

And so we seemed to them.

And all the congregation raised a loud cry,

and the people wept that night.

And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron.

The whole congregation said to them,

Would that we had died in the land of Egypt,

or would that we had died in this wilderness.

Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword?

Our wives and our little ones will become a prey.

Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?

And they said to one another,

Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.

All right, let's pause there.

On the surface,

doesn't this seem kind of hard to believe?

How could they possibly want to return to Egypt?

Right?

After all they had seen and experienced up to that point,

here they are on the verge of the promised land.

How could they want to turn back now?

The whole story from Exodus 1 up until this point

has had one plot line,

rescuing the people,

God doing everything necessary to take them into the land.

God had fulfilled so many of His promises.

The people were now a great nation, massive in number.

They'd been liberated from slavery and oppression and death in Egypt.

They'd been given His instructions and commandments

so that they might be His people and display His glory in the world.

And now, right when they're at the climactic moment

to enter the land and be settled in their home,

to find rest from their slavery,

rest from their wanderings,

they're right there.

And they turn back.

They fail to enter.

It just seems so hard to believe, right?

Hard to believe,

at least until we start to examine our own hearts, right?

You know, the New Testament often will return to this episode in Numbers.

It often looks back to this critical turning point in Israel's history,

the rebellion of the Exodus generation,

their failure to enter the land.

And it will bring it up as a constant reminder.

It will say things like Psalm 95, for example.

It will say things like,

today, if you hear His voice,

do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion

on the day of testing in the wilderness.

And in the New Testament,

the writer of Hebrews especially follows that same example,

and he applies Numbers 13 through 14 to the church today.

Giovanni read it for us earlier in the service.

Remember what the author of Hebrews said?

He said,

Take care, brothers and sisters,

lest there be in any of you

an evil, unbelieving heart,

leading you to fall away from the living God.

But exhort one another

every day,

as long as it is called today,

that none of you

may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

So you see, according to Scripture,

we too can be just like the people

in Numbers 13 and 14.

When faced with the challenges of the world,

when faced with the seeming dangers

and impossibilities before us

as God's people living on God's mission,

when faced with just

constant and everyday fears

and uncertainties,

our hearts

can give way

to unbelief.

We can become hardened,

Hebrews says,

by the deceitfulness of sin.

When the difficulties at work

seem to mount up,

when the pressures rise

to conform to our peers,

when our own habitual sins

and failings

seem to not be getting any better,

unbelief can start to creep in.

We fear things will never get better,

that maybe we should just give up

and go along with the crowd.

We think that perhaps

it's not worth the effort

to follow and obey Christ.

Suddenly, we start to think

and act more and more

like the Israelites

in Numbers 13 and 14.

Let's just pick another leader,

go back to Egypt.

Now, maybe we wouldn't put it

that bluntly, right?

We wouldn't explicitly reject Christ

or leave the church,

but we start to harden.

Our hearts start to get callous,

get jaded,

get uncaring,

no longer believing

that God's promises are true

and that God's promises

are what really matter

in life and in death

and in everything in between.

So what do we do?

How do we prevent this hardening

that I think all of us

have felt some, right?

How do we combat this subtle unbelief

from growing in our hearts?

Well, Hebrews says,

we must exhort one another

every day.

Thankfully,

this very passage,

Numbers 13 through 14,

shows us a number of things

that can do just that.

There are a number of things here

that come to speak to us

and to soften our hearts.

So let's look at each of them in turn

so that our hearts

might be softened today,

so that we might grow

in our believing,

trusting God,

even in the face

of great challenges

and uncertainties and fears.

So we're going to look at three things

in the rest of chapter 14.

First thing we see is this.

There's a faithful exhortation

to soften our hearts,

a faithful exhortation.

This is found in verses 5 through 9

of chapter 14.

Thankfully,

not every spy that day

was convinced

that they should run away.

Not every spy that day

gave a bad report,

which the Hebrew word there

actually has shades

of a false report.

They started to skew

the report

because they were so afraid,

because they were so unbelieving.

Did you catch how they skewed it, right?

Everyone there is a giant, right?

The land devours its inhabitants.

How could the land

devour its inhabitants

and everyone be these giant,

huge, flourishing people?

That doesn't seem to add up, right?

Thankfully,

not everyone gave a bad report that day.

Two spies, Caleb and Joshua,

exhorted the people

to remember the reality greater

than the challenges

in front of them,

the reality of the God

who had promised to go with them.

Let's pick up in verse 5.

Then Moses and Aaron

fell on their faces

before all the assembly

of the congregation

of the people of Israel.

And Joshua, the son of Nun,

and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh,

who were among those

who had spied out the land,

tore their clothes

and said to all the congregation

of the people of Israel,

the land which we passed through

to spy out

is an exceedingly good land.

If the Lord delights in us,

He will bring us into this land

and give it to us,

a land that flows

with milk and honey.

Only do not rebel

against the Lord

and do not fear

the people of the land,

for they are bred for us.

Their protection

is removed from them

and the Lord is with us.

Do not fear them.

You see, what often happens

when we face trials

is that we do exactly

what the ten fearful spies did.

And what they did was

is they put their however

in the wrong place.

We contend to put our however

in the wrong place.

What do I mean by that?

Look back at verses 27 through 28.

In 27 through 28,

the ten fearful spies say,

we came to the land

which you sent us.

Notice, which Moses,

they're saying,

you sent us here, Moses.

They forgot that it was the Lord

who had sent them there.

We came to this land

which you sent us.

It flows with milk and honey

and this is its fruit.

However,

the people who dwell

in the land are strong

and the cities are fortified

and very large.

Do you see where they put

the however?

The land is good,

they say.

However,

the people are strong.

Therefore,

we're doomed.

Let's give up

and abandon ship.

But notice what Joshua

and Caleb do.

As you read verses 7, 8, and 9,

you don't literally see

the word however

anywhere in there.

But in essence,

don't they say this?

The land is good.

And yes,

the people are strong.

However,

the Lord is with us.

They put their however

in a much different place.

And that made all the difference.

It wasn't the strength

of the inhabitants

that had the last word.

It was the reality

and presence of God.

Just think of the difference

that would make

in our lives.

Think about our mission

as a church.

You know,

if we said,

there are lots of people

in our city

who need Christ,

however,

most of them

don't seem interested

in hearing the gospel.

That begins to make

human realities

the final word.

But instead,

what's really true?

There are lots of people

in our city

who need Christ,

and many of them

don't seem interested

in hearing the gospel.

however,

God has many

in this city

who are His,

and He will make sure

according to His word

that He converts

every single sinner

for whom He died.

So where are you

putting your however

when it comes

to your marriage

or your children

or that difficult relationship

in your small group

or in your friend circle?

is your however

giving God

the rightful

and final place

that He deserves?

Yes,

your marriage may be rocky.

Yes,

you may be in a challenging

season of parenting.

Yes,

there might be

tense relationships.

However,

God has given you

everything you need

for life and godliness

in the gospel.

He can change hearts

and give you patience

and wisdom

and kindness.

He can heal

and restore.

He can instruct

and guide.

The Lord is with us,

verse 9 says.

Don't fear.

Do not harden your hearts,

friends.

Don't harden your hearts

by dwelling

on how great

the problems

or the trials may be

and all the attending

circumstances.

You don't need

to minimize those things,

but instead,

put those great problems

and trials

before the greatness

of the almighty God

who rescued you,

who filled you

with His Spirit

and now promises

to never leave you

or forsake you

as you walk

in trusting obedience

with Him.

Notice how that

changes things.

Notice how it changed

things for Joshua

and Caleb.

You know,

the ten spies

saw the people

of the land

and they thought,

we look like little

grasshoppers

next to these giants.

Right?

Now,

grasshoppers were like,

you know,

they weren't like

karate apprentices,

you know.

Grasshoppers

in the ancient world

were like the smallest

edible creature

you could find,

right?

So the spies

were basically saying,

like, look,

these guys are going

to eat us up

like a plate

of chicken nuggets.

Like, this is not

going to go well.

But notice what

Joshua and Caleb

say in verse 9.

Don't fear the people

of the land

for they're bread

for us.

Putting God

in the center

of their vision,

putting God

in the place

of their however,

it changes even

their self-perception.

The ten spies

literally said,

we seem to ourselves

to be grasshoppers.

We don't stand

a chance.

But that wasn't

what Joshua and Caleb

understood to be

really true.

They couldn't wallow

in self-pity

or despair.

They had found

an appropriate confidence,

not a prideful confidence

in their own abilities

of their own strength,

but a God-centered confidence

because of God's ability

and strength.

The Lord is with us.

Do not fear them.

So here's the first thing

that will soften our hearts,

a faithful exhortation

to put God uppermost

in our thinking,

to end even our sentences,

not with our horizontal

circumstances

or with our present trials

or troubles

or difficulties,

but to give God

the final word,

to put His reality

in front of our fears,

a faithful exhortation.

Now, the second thing

in Numbers 13 through 14

that can soften our hearts

is not just a faithful exhortation,

but a faithful intercession,

a faithful intercession.

We see this in verses 10 through 19.

Unfortunately,

the people did not heed

Joshua and Caleb's exhortation,

and we read this in verse 10.

Then all the congregation

said to stone them with stones,

but the glory of the Lord

appeared at the tent of meeting

to all the people of Israel.

And the Lord said to Moses,

How long will this people despise me?

And how long will they not believe in me

in spite of all the signs

that I have done among them?

I will strike them with the pestilence

and disinherit them,

and I will make of you

a nation greater

and mightier than they.

But Moses said to the Lord,

Then the Egyptians will hear it,

for you brought up this people

in your might from among them,

and they will tell the inhabitants

of this land

according to the greatness

of your steadfast love,

just as you have forgiven

this people from Egypt

until now.

So the people pick up stones

to judge Joshua and Caleb.

That was a judicial act,

right?

As a sign of their total rebellion,

the people are ready to judge

the people who are attempting

to draw them towards faithfulness.

So the Lord comes down

to this people

and speaks a word of judgment

over them.

They've rejected the Lord

and His chosen mediator Moses.

They've declared that they'd rather

go back to Egypt

than go forward into the promised land,

trusting His promises.

So God is ready to judge them

completely for their rebellion

and for disregarding

and dishonoring

all the mercy

and kindness

and power

He's shown on their behalf.

A word of judgment comes.

But then,

the God-appointed mediator,

Moses,

intercedes.

When God threatens

to wipe the people out

because of their sin,

to give them over

to the death

that they've chosen

for themselves,

when God's ready

to give them exactly

what is perfect

and good justice

requires,

Moses intercedes.

And His intercession

has two parts.

First,

He prays

in light of God's glory.

And then,

second,

He prays in light

of God's character.

We see His prayer

in light of God's glory

in verses 13 through 16.

Moses,

in essence,

says,

Lord,

what will the nations think

if You wipe out Your people?

Well,

they'll think

that You aren't actually able

to bring them

into the promised land.

They'll think

that the Lord

wasn't strong enough,

wasn't mighty enough,

wasn't wise enough,

wasn't good enough.

It will result

in God's glory

being defamed

among the nations.

And false gods

will go on getting

the honor and praise

that only the true God deserves.

So Moses prays

for God's glory

to be advanced.

God is God.

Only God deserves

the praise

and honor of creation

because God is

the Creator and Redeemer

of all that is.

So Moses prays,

God,

praise God,

pardon Your people

because such a pardon

will increase

to Your glory.

Then second,

Moses prays

in light of God's character

in verses 17 through 19.

And the central verse here,

verse 18,

is Moses

rehearsing

the self-revelation

that God gives

in Exodus 34.

You remember,

that was the golden calf incident

and God had to

sort of reestablish

His covenant

with the people

after that.

And this is where

God gives

this revelation

of His very nature.

The Lord is unlimited

in love and mercy.

The Lord is slow

to anger

and abounding

in steadfast love,

forgiving iniquity

and transgression.

But at one

and the same time,

the Lord is also

completely just.

He will by no means

clear the guilty,

visiting the iniquity

of the fathers

on the children

to the third

and fourth generation.

That is,

the effects of sin

will go down

into the succeeding generations.

And don't we know

that that's how it works,

right?

That the sins

are passed down

generation after generation.

What do we see here?

God's love

and God's justice.

We see that God's love

is a righteous love.

God's justice

is a merciful justice.

He's all these things

at once.

And so Moses' intercession

appeals to God's

own character.

He appeals to

His righteous love,

to His merciful justice.

And on that basis,

he asks God

to pardon His people.

not because of

who the people are,

but because of

who God is,

who God has revealed

Himself to be.

And you see, friends,

this faithful intercession

should soften our hearts,

should soften our hearts

because we know,

we know in light

of the New Testament

that for the sake

of His own glory

and for the sake

of His own character,

God has forgiven us.

God has pardoned us.

And He has ultimately

done it through

an even greater intercessor

than Moses.

You know,

don't you read

the Old Testament sometimes

when you think,

God's here,

and then Moses jumps in,

and then God changes His mind?

What does that seem like?

Well, friends,

don't you see,

all of that is

God crafting a picture

of what would be true

when the even greater

intercessor came?

Jesus Christ,

the true and better

Moses,

is the one

who offers

perfect intercession

for us.

Jesus is

the very glory

of God incarnate,

the second person

of the Holy Trinity,

the eternal Son

of the eternal Father,

become flesh for us,

who now intercedes

at the Father's

right hand for us.

And the basis

of Jesus' intercession

is not simply

God's character,

but His fulfillment

of that character

in history

through His own life,

death, and resurrection.

Because in the life

of Jesus,

and in particularly

at the cross,

we see

God's character,

His mercy,

and His justice

in perfect expression.

God's justice

is displayed

because at the cross,

human sin

is judged

in the humanity

of Jesus.

And God's mercy

is perfectly displayed

because at the cross,

sinners are forgiven.

Jesus becomes

our substitute.

He pays the penalty

for our sin

and gives us

His righteousness

so that we can be

forever accepted

by the Father.

So you see,

Moses' intercession

buried here

in Numbers 14

takes us right

to the heart

of God's glory

and God's character,

and therefore,

it takes us right

to the heart

of the good news,

the gospel.

And by the power

of the Spirit,

the gospel,

God's mercy displayed

in perfect fulfillment

of His justice

at the cross,

that is what softens

even the most

hardened heart.

Jesus intercedes

for you,

His blood,

His righteousness.

He's offered them

up for you

and for all

who unite themselves

to Christ by faith.

And you know

what that means,

friends?

That means that now

when you reach

the verge

of the true

and better promised land,

that is when your

earthly days

are nearing their end,

and when you stand

on the verge

of the metaphorical Jordan,

ready to cross

into eternity,

when you stand

in that place,

if you are united

to Christ,

then you need not fear

the greatest enemies,

the most terrifying giants.

you need not fear sin.

You need not fear

Satan.

You need not fear

death.

You need not fear

hell,

because Christ

has conquered them all.

He died

so that you might live

now and forever,

so that you need

never turn back

when fear and uncertainty

raise their heads.

If He has conquered

those enemies,

and you can cross

through even death

itself with confidence,

what else do you

have to fear?

Have courage,

brothers and sisters.

The risen Lord Jesus

intercedes for you

with His own life,

His own blood,

His own righteousness.

So this is the second thing

we see in this passage,

a faithful intercession

that takes us

to the heart of the gospel.

But what's the last?

We've seen a faithful exhortation

and a faithful intercession.

But last,

the passage ends

with a firm warning.

A firm warning.

And this warning

is also meant

to soften our hearts.

Let's read the rest

of chapter 14,

picking up in verse 20.

Then the Lord said,

I have pardoned

according to your word,

but truly as I live

and as all the earth

shall be filled

with the glory of the Lord,

none of the men

who have seen my glory

and my signs

that I did in Egypt

and in the wilderness

and yet have put me

to the test

these ten times

and have not obeyed

my voice

shall see the land

that I swore

to give to their fathers.

And none of those

who despised me

shall see it.

But my servant Caleb,

because he has

a different spirit

and has followed me fully,

I will bring into the land

into which he went

and his descendants

shall possess it.

Now, since the Amalekites

and the Canaanites

dwell in the valleys,

turn tomorrow

and set out for the wilderness

by the way of the Red Sea.

And the Lord spoke

to Moses and Aaron saying,

How long shall this

wicked congregation

grumble against me?

I have heard the grumblings

of the people of Israel

which they grumble against me.

Say to them,

As I live,

declares the Lord,

what you have said

in my hearing,

I will do to you.

Your dead bodies

shall fall in this wilderness.

Of all your number

listed in the census

from twenty years old

and upward

who have grumbled against me,

not one shall come

into the land

that I swore

that I would make you dwell,

except Caleb,

the son of Jephunneh,

and Joshua,

the son of Nun.

But your little ones,

who you said

would become a prey,

I will bring in,

and they shall know

the land

that you have rejected.

But as for you,

your dead bodies

shall fall in this wilderness,

and your children

shall be shepherds

in the wilderness

forty years

and shall suffer

for your faithlessness

until the last

of your dead bodies

lies in the wilderness.

According to the number

of the days

in which you spied out

the land,

forty days,

a year for each day,

you shall bear

your iniquity

forty years,

and you shall know

my displeasure.

I, the Lord,

have spoken.

Surely this will I do

to all this wicked congregation

who are gathered together

against me.

In this wilderness

they shall come

to a full end,

and there they shall die.

And the men

who Moses sent

to spy out the land

who returned

and made all the congregation

grumble against him

by bringing up

a bad report

about the land,

the men who brought up

a bad report

of the land

died by plague

before the Lord.

Of those men

who went to spy out

the land,

only Joshua,

the son of Nun,

and Caleb,

the son of Jephunneh,

remained alive.

When Moses told

all these words

to all the people

of Israel,

the people mourned greatly.

And they rose

early in the morning

and went up

to the heights

of the hill country

saying,

We are here.

We will go up

to the place

that the Lord

has promised,

for we have sinned.

But Moses said,

Why now are you

transgressing

the command of the Lord

when that will not succeed?

Do not go up,

for the Lord

is not among you,

lest you be struck down

before your enemies.

For there the Amalekites

and the Canaanites

are facing you,

and you shall fall

by the sword

because you have turned back

from following the Lord.

The Lord will not

be with you.

But they presumed,

they presumed

to go up

to the heights

of the hill country,

although neither

the Ark of the Covenant

of the Lord

nor Moses

departed out of the camp.

Then the Amalekites

and the Canaanites

who lived in that hill country

came down

and defeated them

and pursued them

even to Hormah.

So the Lord,

in response

to Moses' intercession

for the sake

of His own glory

and character,

pardons the people.

He doesn't make

an end to them.

He doesn't give them

what their sins

fully deserve

and completely

wipe them out.

But there are still

consequences

for their sin.

the Lord

disciplines them.

And even in those

consequences,

even in that discipline,

the Lord proves Himself

to be just

and merciful.

Merciful because

God promises

that the people

will live,

their children

won't die,

and that next generation

will inherit the land.

He will keep

His faith

with His people.

But God is also just.

Just because

the generation

that rebelled

will not enter

the promised land.

Instead,

they will get

what they asked for.

They will get a life

outside the land.

They will have to

turn back

towards the Red Sea,

turn back towards Egypt,

and wander in the wilderness

for forty years.

One year for every day

the spies spied out

the land.

Except for Joshua

and Caleb.

The Lord knew

their faithfulness

and they will enter.

They will be the only

two of the whole generation

that was counted

in chapter one

who will enter

the land.

And the other

ten spies,

the ones who gave

a bad report,

who led the people astray,

they're judged immediately.

You see,

those in positions

of leadership

are held accountable

to a greater degree,

and so they bear

the penalty right away

for their unrepentant hearts

and so that their unbelief

doesn't continue

to spread

amidst the next generation.

But perhaps

the most tragic part

of this passage

is the final paragraph.

Some of the people

in presumption

decide

that they will

take the land

after all

and they're defeated

because the Lord

isn't with them.

The people shift

overnight

from faithless fear

to faithless presumption.

And in neither

their fear

nor their presumption

were they accepting

what God said

and living accordingly.

It would have been better

for them at this point

to accept God's discipline

than to presumptuously think

they could go into

the promised land

without God.

So the passage ends

with a warning.

You see, friends,

the cost

of unbelief

is great,

as great as could be imagined.

That's why Hebrews says

exhort one another

every day

as long as it's called today

so that you won't be hardened

by the deceitfulness

of sin.

The cost of unbelief

is so great.

This generation

lost the earthly

promised land

because they allowed

the fear of man

to overshadow

their awe

and trust in the Lord.

They didn't enter,

Hebrews says,

because of unbelief.

And the same

is true today.

Friends,

there's only one way

to face our fears

and to enter

the heavenly promised land,

and that is through faith.

Believing,

ongoing trust

in God's promises

fulfilled in Jesus Christ.

You see,

God would keep

His promises.

In a generation,

Joshua,

would lead the people

into the promised land.

In fact,

the Jordan River

would part

just like the Red Sea.

The people would walk

through on dry land,

and Jericho,

one of those great

fortified cities,

would collapse.

How?

Because the people

obeyed the Lord

and walked around it

seven times.

But it wouldn't stop there.

God would continue

to be faithful

to His people

and His promises.

No matter what enemies

or trials arose,

think of Gideon.

Gideon would defeat

the Midianites

with nothing more

than torches

and clay jars.

David would defeat

Goliath

with a sling

and a stone.

Hundreds of years later,

the exiles would return,

protected and preserved,

though their enemies

abounded.

God would remain faithful.

But the reality is

a true place of rest,

a true home,

would still remain

for the people of God.

Joshua wouldn't be the one

to truly lead his people

to ultimate rest.

David wouldn't be the one

to ultimately defeat

the enemies.

Ezra and Nehemiah

wouldn't be the ones

to bring the people

in to the safety

of the ultimate promised land.

It would be Jesus.

His resurrection

would inaugurate

the new creation

and open the door

to our true rest.

And through trusting in Him,

our real rest,

our real home is found.

So friends,

don't be like the people

of Numbers 13

who stood on the verge

of victory

and instead chose defeat.

Trust God's promises

trust that He's already

conquered our greatest foes.

Trust in Christ.

Yes, your sin is great.

Yes, the wages of sin

is death.

However,

Christ has died

and rose again

for all who believe.

And there's no weapon

formed against us

that can stand.

And nothing can separate us

from the love of God

in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Our Father in Heaven,

we confess this morning

that we do bring with us

many fears.

And we confess

that often

we are tempted

to slide

into obscuring

the greatness

of who You are

in our own hearts.

Lord,

we see the calcification

of our own hearts

setting in

at times.

But we thank You

for the work

of Your Spirit

who through Your Word

comes and softens us.

So soften us today.

Cause faith

to rise up in our souls

as we behold Christ,

our great champion

and King.

Help us, Lord,

to put You

in the uppermost

of our minds,

Your reality

and Your promises

to not give credit

to these earthly circumstances,

but to give all the credit

and all the honor

to You, God.

And Lord,

help us to encourage

one another

with these things.

Hebrews says

to exhort one another.

So give us the words,

give us the wisdom

in our community

to be able to speak

life-giving,

encouraging,

exhorting words

to one another.

Lord,

help it to happen

in conversations

and in small groups,

in marriages,

between parents

and children.

Lord,

between friends.

And Lord,

would how we live

as Your people,

free from fear,

be a great witness

to those around us.

Lord,

we know the uncertainties

in the world are great.

Lord,

the challenges,

the trials,

the fears,

or they abound

in our neighbors.

But,

O Lord,

allow our confidence

in You,

our trust in You,

our boldness in You

to speak brightly

of the matchless grace

of Jesus

that is offered

to all who believe

in which You draw

all people to Yourself.

We pray this

in Your mighty name,

Jesus.

Amen.