The Story: God Goes Before You | Week 6

Good morning. Good morning. Thank you for thank you Evan for leading us in song this morning. I think sounds like the theme is tiredness today. I my sister got married just just outside of Corpus Christi last night and we attended.

And so we got home just just almost 01:30 last night as well. So, if I nod off, just start clapping or something. I'll assume something good has happened. We'll pray and get out of here. Certainly glad to be with you as we as we worship god together and as we go through the story, this is today, we're talking about week six.

So, I need to get better about telling you, hey, next next week is chapter seven. Start reading chapter seven in preparation for next Sunday but scripture goes very quickly, doesn't it? Seems like every week, we're covering a large amount of of scripture and and happenings and the the amount of time that scripture covers in those those few pages is is kind of crazy, right? Today, we're going to talk about forty years like it's no big deal, right? And as I sit here before you, forty four, I know my kids think that's ancient, but but that's that's a long time.

It is a long time. Especially when you're talking about someone's life, right? All the things we go through and we'll we'll say things like the the days are long but the years are short, right? I talk to people every week that that maybe in their upper nineties and I say, did you ever think you would make it this long? The answer is always no.

I said, how fast did it go? Way too fast. Yeah. And and so as we experience this today, let's try to put ourselves in the same situation that these people find themselves. So, last week, we talked about being at Sinai and and Israel has spent nearly a year at Sinai.

God has given him his given them his commands. He's established a new covenant. He's filled the tabernacle with his presence and hopefully, as you went to small group this week, you saw the tie in in the overarching story of god where god begins in the Garden of Eden wanting to, desiring to live with his people. We messed it up and now what we're seeing is god trying to make that relationship right again. So, god keeps going and we keep kind of pushing god off at arm's length, right?

And so now, we've gone from Eden to that's messed up for a long time to now, god's presence lives within the tabernacle and now he's going to guide them in that way and so the cloud lifts, Israel begins moving toward the land god promised to Abraham generations earlier. Now, again, as we read scripture, a lot of times it's it's easy to forget that even though god promises something, that doesn't mean those of us who have kind of this microwave mentality that everything happens quickly, right? And so, Abraham is not around to see the promise fulfilled, right? He followed god in faith that god would be true to his word and I know it's it's frustrating as that can be sometimes. I want to see results now.

Even I I took one time I paid this organization. It was a couple $100 to do an assessment on me and one of the things that came out of it is John, you're you're just fine as long as it feels like things are moving in some way. If you ever feel like there's no way out and we're stuck here in this situation, then, it's a problem. Anybody else feel the same way? Yeah.

I wanna see like there's there's hope, right? There there's something that you can give me but I'm I'm the same way. I wanna see results. I wanna see, is this going anywhere? But I can only imagine that that the Israelites are are wondering where is this going now?

As they've been taken from or you know, taken out of Egypt, out of slavery which they asked for and like many of us, as soon as we get what we ask for, now, that's not good enough and I start complaining. And and so, what we see here is Israel is not alone. God is leading them but again, even though that's the case, even though they witnessed that, they begin complaining about all the hardships. They grow tired of you know, we're hungry, we need bread, they get manna. Well, I don't like that.

Egypt starts to sound a little bit better than what it was before. They remember, alright. Well, yeah, slavery wasn't that great but I had food. Maybe I had a house. I had something to start kind of looking at the past in a different light, right?

Well, maybe that wasn't as bad as I thought but god is leading them into a different place. Israel has seen god's power in Egypt. They crossed the Red Sea. They've eaten the food he provided. They followed his presence and they're about to stand at the edge of Canaan.

One of those promises that Abraham got from god that I will make you a great nation and I'm gonna give you a land to go to and so today, that's where we're going to pick up is Israel getting close here to the promised land and we're in numbers 13 and we're gonna be in verse 26 this morning 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 words to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, we came to the 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 and very large.

And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Anak the Amalekites dwell in the land of Negeb, the Hittites, 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 able to overcome it. When 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, and 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 seem to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them. And so the first picture of the land they get, this this scripture that we just read in verse 26 started out a lot different than it ended, didn't Because it it begins as soon as we see the land, we see the fruits of the land. It's a beautiful place. It's got all the things we need.

Now, imagine that in our context. I told you, I think it was last week. You know, land of milk and honey does nothing for me. I don't like, I can't drink milk and I don't like honey. But maybe for us, that's you know, Texas barbecue.

I don't know. It's it's a land filled with Texas barbecue and Tex Mex, right? Yeah. Whatever that is for you, think that's what the land has. The things I want and and if I was spying out land, that's what it has.

When I moved here, I told you guys, you sold me on the place when I knew you had Buc ee's and HEB, right? There there are things we desire and the people have been following god and come to this land and they see this land is exactly what god has said it would be. Except, there's some people in there that I don't know what to do with. Now, what's interesting is that how they describe the people. We we look like, you know, we we felt like we were grasshoppers in their sight.

You ever stood beside beside someone who was tall? You know, you're talking like six six and, and taller. You know, I'm I'm a little over five foot nine, and what's crazy to me is how this much height on a person feels like they are just gigantic, right? If if somebody Katie's a lot of the men on hers or her dad's side of the family are real tall. Actually, her her dad, I think was the smallest at about, I don't know, six three and so her her grandpa was six five or or or brothers around that and so, when I go up to them, it's weird because you know, I'm I'm average height but when I go to hug them, it's like I'm they're cradling a small child.

That's the way it feels. Right? I don't get in the habit of putting my head on another man's chest, but that's what happens. Right? You've done it, haven't you?

Am I the only one? I'm the only one. You need to have taller friends. Okay? But but it's interesting because, you know, when somebody gets to a certain height, especially you get around six five or something, they always get asked how taller are you?

Especially if you get anywhere near seven feet. We have, one of the men in Katie's family is, what is he? Is he six foot nine? He's somewhere around six foot nine and he walks in a room and you think it just keeps going. That's only a foot taller than me.

One ruler. But it feels like forever. Like you you just you I guess you could just, you know, change the ceiling tiles if you need to. But notice what just just a little bit, that's all it takes and and I don't know what the the size difference was here but to them, it was not something that could be overcome. We're like grasshoppers.

We thought it. They thought it. We're all on the same page. So, this can't be done and so all of a sudden, a little bit of fear is introduced just because they didn't think they could handle this and so, the land is great but the people are really powerful. Caleb believes that, you know, we should be able to move forward.

God has brought us to this point. I think we should go in but everybody else says, can't do it. And so, the report doesn't stay with just the 12 spies that were sent in. The entire camp hears it, and responds. In numbers fourteen one through four, then 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 have died in the land of Egypt or would that we have 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 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.

How quickly do we change and shift? Sometimes you get into, discussions with people and, about faith especially. And a lot of times what what people will get into, well, if God only did this, then I would have faith, or then I would respond in this way. And my first thought is, no. No, you wouldn't.

Because God has given them every every reason to trust in him. And at the moment, a little bit of fear comes into the equation. Now, I'm no longer thinking thinking about what god can do. I'm thinking about what I believe I can handle, right? And and Caleb and Joshua were in the minority in this.

Everybody else is going, yeah. It just just can't be done and so they they move quickly from fear to questioning it all why god has brought them to this place. Now, we get the benefit of seeing the bigger picture, right? We're talking about upper story and lower story as we go through this And so we actually have the benefit of knowing. Now, don't you remember god promised Abraham all of these things?

This is god fulfilling all of it. And I told you here a few weeks ago, you know, you can be on the right path. God can be leading you. God can be giving you exactly what you want, what you prayed for, and you can feel like everything's going wrong. Because often the path to that destination looks very different than I would have it look.

It looks very different than I think, it should look to, to meet all my needs or to get me to where I need to be. And I've asked you, if I've asked you once, I've asked you a 100 times since I've been here. How many of you have lived long enough to go through that terrible thing you wouldn't choose again? But on this side of it, you've seen how God shaped and molded you into a better version of you. Yeah?

We have. And again, I wouldn't choose it. There are things in my life that that that I'm I'm glad I am the person I am today because of those. I do not want to go back through. But god has brought me to this place.

I need to keep having faith in him and so the verse ends with, we need to pick another leader. Let's take somebody else and let's go and verse six, and Joshua, the son of Nun, Caleb, the son of, Jephunah. Anybody got a middle name of Jephunah in here? Who are 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 pass through to spy it out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into the 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 bread for us. Their protection is removed from them and the lord is with us. Do not fear them. Do you see the difference of what each of those groups see? One of them says, they're big, we're small, we can't do it.

The other one says, don't say anything about we. It says, god. Put our trust in god. Don't rebel against god. God will bring us through.

Those are the the biggest moments of peace in my life when I have stepped back from the situation that I put way too much fear and anxiety in and said, God, you got to handle it because I I I now am realizing I'm not in control. Right? I I'm I'm stiff necked and and hard headed and everything else like everyone else in here. But the moments of peace are when I step back and say, you know, it's not about me, it's what God can make out of this situation. Right?

There are, some people in this place today that are here because god is making good out of a situation that was very bad. Yes? And we ought to trust him in that. So, Joshua and Caleb, they've seen the same walls. They've seen the same people but their confidence comes from not themselves and what we can do.

I've trained for this. It is their confidence comes from the Lord is with us. Maybe we need to say the same thing. God is with me. God is with me.

The other spies are measuring Israel against Canaan, but Joshua and Caleb are remembering what god has done for them. That's the difference. That's the difference in outlook and I think of the difference in outcome as well and and so, they are afraid. Israel is afraid but they don't stop with this this fear. They they they continue.

Hey, let's return to Egypt. Let's pick some leaders that are gonna take us there. That's gotta be better than where we are here and so, they interpret the danger ahead as as saying god must have led us to this disaster. Right? Isn't it interesting how we will just kind of see the same situation.

You'll you'll see it one way and I'll see it to We're We're We're Do you see what's going on here? 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 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. God's got some patience that are about up as well, doesn't he?

We read last week where God looks at Moses and he says, your people, right? Just like we'd say, alright, that was your. Yeah, it's your kid. It is an issue now that they keep seeing, and that's why you'll see even in the New Testament, Jesus will get frustrated with the people because they always want a sign. Signs are not the issue.

It's always I want more, or I want it to be my sign in my time in my way. God has shown up over and over and over, but they've chose they've chosen not to remember that. And so, we wanna say this, the the fear was real. I think there there are moments in your life that you can come to something. You can have very real fear and I don't think that means that you have no faith.

Like sometimes you look at something like, oh, this is a scary situation and that is fine. The problem is, what are we going to do with it? Once we have that fear, are we gonna turn it over to God or I'm gonna look at it in the light of what I believe I can do? And so Moses intercedes for Israel, and god ends up forgiving them but he says, the generation that refuses to enter Canaan will not enter it later. So, god is not going away.

He's not leaving them. God is staying with them and he's saying, there are gonna be consequences consequences and god has done exactly what he's promised to do. They've been along for the ride. They've seen all these signs but now, they're going to be consequences because they have not followed god in faith And so forty years have passed. That's easy to say.

Forty years have passed. How many of you are over over 40? Jake, you're almost there. You're almost there, right? Getting there.

Forty years have passed. Can you imagine doing one thing wandering around for forty years? Now, we live in a time where we've got air conditioning. Thank you, Lord, for that air conditioning. Camping now, I don't know about that.

I don't know how some of you grew up with vehicles that didn't have air conditioning in them and I just don't understand it now, right? We didn't grow up with that and so we're not conditioned to it, but I can't imagine doing this and feeling like you're out here suffering without a home for forty years. I would imagine if we all said, hey, the exercise today is we're all going to live homeless for a year. There'd be a lot of fit throwing, wouldn't there? Now, what if we said we're going, let's make it two.

40. There'd be a lot less people here next week, wouldn't Yeah, church isn't for me. That's just not for me. But God is leading them, right? God has not abandoned them.

All their needs have been met, and God God still goes with them, but they're not going to to see the land and so forty years have passed but numbers shows us is this new generation just because it's a new people doesn't automatically mean that everything's okay now with their the way they see things, with their heart. And so near the end of his life, Moses speaks to this new generation. He doesn't tell them to forget anything they've experienced, forget the wilderness, to move on from it, but he does tell them to remember what God was doing through it. In in Deuteronomy eight verse two, and he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know nor did your fathers know that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone. You heard that before?

Man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. I wanna repeat that this week. Right? Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. How many of you, your feet swell, you get to walking around a whole lot?

Something starts hurting. I've been in times of my life, luckily, I'm out there right now. If I walk very far, then my back will start doing something like, no, I'm done with this. Need to lean on something a minute. And and what what we see here is just a reminder.

You have done all of these things. You know what? My shirt didn't wear out. Some of us still have the same shirt we had in high school, don't we? Carrying around some rags.

When Katie and I got married, that's one of the first I guess she had that on her to do list. As soon as we got married, she threw out some of my clothes. The most comfortable of clothes, by the way. But he's reminding him, your feet didn't swell, your clothes didn't wear out. You've been in the desert for forty years.

Like I told you, I went on a little hour excursion out of the air conditioned bus. I know it's crazy but went out into the desert. It was it was beautiful but there's nothing there. It's sand, it's hot. And he reminds him, hey, all of this is is is still been okay.

He says, know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, the lord your god disciplines you. How many of you were disciplined as a kid and you're a better person because of it? Yeah. How many of us would would say it's a good idea to never discipline your kid? In the same way, God disciplines His people.

He there's gotta be consequences for things. He's going to lead them. They have to follow but you're gonna have to be disciplined in this. And so, now, the land is in front of them again with a new generation and Moses prepares to hand leadership over to Joshua. And and so in Deuteronomy 31 and verse six, be strong and courageous like this.

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them for it is the lord your god who goes with you. You notice that. Where is the focus? Is it on Joshua?

Nope. It's on god. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Clap.

Clap. Right? The Lord goes with you. That is the reason. He will not leave you or forsake you.

Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

Now, if anytime you see in scripture repetition, it's there for a reason. Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid. The lord goes with you. Keep saying it over and over.

Remind yourself. I I told you my my favorite scripture, I think right now is Psalm 23. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? Because I'm strong and tough and and no?

Because god is with me. The valley is not the destination. The hard time is not the destination. God goes with you through it. Even though I go, I walk through the valley, right, of the shadow of death.

That is not the destination. God is still with me and he says, the lord goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.

And so forty years earlier, Israel stood before the land and allowed fear to overcome them and turn back. Now, god, I guess, could have handled this in a lot of different ways. You ever had to just persuade someone? Now, I think if god would have said, okay, do you wanna go in now? No?

Okay. Well, it's gonna be forty years. They might feel, well, maybe I should go in. Maybe those guys aren't as big and and and strong as I thought. But he doesn't do that.

He allows them to just make a choice. There are gonna be consequences for that choice and and it was for forty years but god does not force them. He doesn't try to persuade them. He just says, okay, there are consequences but now, after these forty years, Moses tells the next generation, don't make the same decision. You can go into this land because god is with you.

And so Moses is a part of this, people who cannot go into the land. Now, one thing I I do wanna point out is even though he did not go into the land, you don't see Aaron go into the land, that doesn't mean they were lost from god, right? There are consequences that happen that don't separate you from god but there are still consequences that you need. To strengthen you, to mold you, to maybe make an example out of you and, even the leader is not immune from that. Moses is not going to see, the promised land and so they have seen this cost of unbelief.

They have seen that there is a limit to the patience of god and just allowing them to do whatever but in the as we talk about the upper and the lower story. In the lower story, Israel has seen hunger. They've seen wilderness. They've seen fortified cities with powerful enemies. They've gone through consequences.

They've gone through forty difficult years. And if you've ever been through a difficult time, it seems like all of them are forty years, doesn't it? When am I gonna get out of this? When is my relief? In the upper story, God has not forgotten the promise he gave to their father Abraham, has he?

Now, again, we get the benefit of seeing the whole picture, much like we would like in our own life to say, alright, God, where is this going? We get to look back and and and see a different view than they did. God is doing exactly what he has said but their unbelief has delayed what god has, prepared for them And so by the end of this chapter, Joshua's commissioned, another generation is standing ready to go into the land. Well, what do we do with that? Fear can make the the obstacle in front of us feel more important than everything God has already done for us.

Fear can be very, very scary. Yes? I'm talking about anything you might face at work, especially if you have a health issue, if you are wanting to to serve god more, there are always, as soon as you say, I want to serve god more, there are going be a whole lot of reasons that come up and why you're not the right person for this. How somebody else could do it better. Why I I I just can't do it.

The fear comes up. Well, is it fear that I wanna listen to or is it knowing that god goes before me? That god can handle any of my fears. Evan, you've led singing here how many times now? Second time.

This is your second time? When I got here, Tyler had never led singing. It surprised me because first time he led a hall, what have you all been doing around here? Not let this guy lead singing. Not that he didn't let it.

But when you step into something new, there is fear, there is being scared, and I'm guessing Tyler no longer has that as he does it every week for And as Evan steps into ending his second time here, it's gonna get less and less because God goes with you. It's not about me. It is what God can mold me into if I will just put my faith in him. Now, often times, again, as we look at our current situation, we think, the we reframe the past. We look at the past differently.

Again, how would you ever look at slavery and think, you know what? I want some more of that. But they did. Right? Because their current circumstances, they didn't see the way out of, and what they knew was even though it was slavery was something they knew.

What's the saying we've said, we we say a lot? Like, you and someone else comparing illnesses or different things, like you will always go with your own. What do we say? It's the devil you know? Is that what I'm saying?

Somebody help me out. I'm sorry? The devil you never sees the devil you know. Yes. And that fear that comes from the not knowing always loses out.

I would rather have my own issues, I'd rather be going through my own things because I already know those, and that's what we see playing out here. It's I'll even go back to slavery because I know that, I know what's expected, I know what how hard it's gonna be. Well, the conclusion forty years later is, one generation stood at the edge of Canaan and turned back. Forty years later, another generation gets a chance to go in. Moses' final message is not that the road ahead is going to be easy and free from any obstacles or issues.

His final message is, God goes before you. I am certain in the life of this church or in any church that there are days ahead of us that will be fantastic. I am also equally as certain there'll be days ahead of us as a church or you as an individual that will be very difficult. What are we going to do with those? Are we going to put our faith in god?

Are we going to try to trudge through or are we going to run away? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. It's the Lord who goes before you, church. If you don't remember anything from the sermon today, remember that.

Some decisions are difficult because obstacles are real. We have fear about things, but I believe it's what we do with that fear that matters. So I just wanna encourage you today that if you have fear that if that has kept you from something or or maybe you just don't know what's going on in your life. Now, god, I don't know how I'm gonna navigate this. Put your faith in him.

Step back, relinquish the control you think you have on the situation, and give it to god. Can we do that this morning? I wanna pray before Evan comes up to lead us in a invitation song. Our father in heaven, god, we just wanna thank you lord for being our god. Lord for having the patience that you have with us.

Lord that you continue to walk with us though we often doubt that we often let fear just take over and control God, right now, I want to just as a collective, lord, just lift up all the things that lord we're anxious about. Lord, bring to our mind those things that may be troubling us, that may be getting in the way of becoming the people who you would have us to be. Lord, help us to be strong and courageous. To not be afraid because you go before. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.