Surrender | Commitment Sunday | All In

I love that quote, God is blessing and what are we going to do about it? What are we gonna do about it? If you got a copy of scripture today, I want you to go ahead and turn with me to Numbers chapter 13. Numbers chapter 14 is where we're gonna land just for a couple minutes. And we're gonna look at really and truly this idea today as we land this all in series today, we're gonna look at this idea of the posture of being I all in is literally seeing God's plan, seeing God's vision, and then responding to the Lordship that he has in our life by saying yes, Lord. As you're finding the text, I'm gonna bring you in to speed a little bit that actually Numbers chapter 13 and 14 is the first text, the first scripture that was ever preached at an official burn hickory service.

Numbers 13 · chapter mention Numbers 14 · chapter mention Numbers 13 · chapter mention

In November of 1973, this is the passage that those guys studied that morning. When a group of people that actually stepped out, trusted God, said yes and moved into a community to claim that community in the name of Jesus. And I love the relevance of the fact that it was preached on that day and then actually on this day, right? A new movement, a new and a fresh movement for us. It's a passage that we can look at today. Why? Because this passage in Numbers 13 and 14 actually represents where they were on that day and where we are today. The founders of this church stepped into an unknown. They actually sacrificed all that they had to say that this community needs Jesus. And today, what we're doing, what this service and what this weekend is about, it is about us stepping out and saying the light of Jesus that has invaded our lives.

We desire to see it move forward. Now, Numbers chapter 13 and 14, here, let me bring you into the context a little bit. Here's what's happening. The children of Israel have been delivered from Egypt at this point. God, through miracles, right, through all of the plagues, he has over and over and over again, shown exactly what he can do. He brought them out of Egypt. On the way out of Egypt, he's shown his favor on them. Remember, he split the sea. They, they walked through on dry land, and now God has brought them out of bondage, and now they are standing at the door of the promised land. The literal divide from wilderness to the promise that from Abraham on, God has promised them he was going to give them. They're standing ... Let me bring it into our context in the future promise, right?

Numbers 13 · chapter mention

Like we are today. We're standing, looking into the future, looking into what can we do for the generations? What can we do for our kids' kids? And what can we do for this community? Now, the Israelites are at the door of the promised land. And here's what God did for them. God said, "Listen, I've already given you this. I've already prepared this, but God looks at Moses and says this. I want you to pick one guy from every one of the tribes and I want you to send them into the land so that they can get a little bit of a preview of what I've done for you. " And so Moses does that, right? He brings out 10 of us, or he brings out 12 of the spies. He gives them their job. He sends them into the promised land. And for 40 days, these guys wonder in the land, they see what God has done, and they come back after the 40 days to give their report.

Now, the report and their testimony started off wonderful. All right? Wonderful. Here's what they basically said. They were like, "You know what? You, God, have outdone yourself. The soil is good. The land is right. It really does flow with milk and honey. Everything you promised Abraham all the way up to us. It is all there for the taken." So the spies, they're given this report and they're like, "Yes, it's all what God has done." But then something changed. What changed is, is some fears started to get in their hearts. What changed is, is they began to take their eyes off of the provision of God and the promises of God, and they began to put their eyes onto where they thought they could only deal with. You see, 10 out of the 12 scouts, they came back even seeing what God wanted to do, scared, afraid, and timid.

Why? Because from their perspective, from a humanly perspective, right? The problems seemed too big for them to commit. Now, does this sound like a little bit about what's going on in some of our hearts over these last couple of weeks? The problems just seemed a little bit bigger than they were willing to do it. Actually, from a most basic level, they didn't want to follow God's promises for a better future because there were giants. In our context, there were problems, there were issues, there were constraints that just seemed too big and overwhelming and would require them to step from a current reality into a faith of trusting what God has already given them. You know what they were doing? They were doing the same thing that all of us do when it comes to trust in our lives. They were trusting their feelings over the provisions of what God had already done in them.

And we're gonna get to this text in a minute, but a couple of thoughts hit me from this text that I just want you to jot down in your notes real quick this morning. Number one, here's what hit me this week. We all have moments that God asks us in faith to move. We all have moments. Now, some of those moments are just evangelistic conversations. Some of those moments are stepping up and stepping out and serving the Lord. And some of those moments are just like the moment we're having today, where God is asking us to do something very specific, which actually leads me into the second point that I put in your notes, which is actually a question. And that is that even after all that God has done for us, what the reality that they're settling in and that we're settling in today is that we're all asking this question.

And I put it in your notes, and that is, do we really trust in the provision of the Lord? You see, it's one thing to march around in the wilderness, talking about it when we get there, what we're going to do. It's another thing for these people standing at the corner, standing at the very future promise of what God had given them. It's another thing for them to actually do it. Why? Because there's always problems. In fact, I put this in your notes just to remind us this week. Number three, you can write it down, is that every time a God follower makes a bold step of faith, there is always fear and always problems. Listen to me anytime God points you in a direction, anytime God asks something of you. Now that might be walking across the street to tell somebody about the gospel, that might be inviting someone to church, that might be standing for a holy moment in your life where no one else is doing it.

Listen, there's always fear in it, and there's always gonna be problems in it. Now that fear in their case is an external kind of thing that they're looking at, right? But our fears might come from an internal fear. It might come from a fear of control or a fear of not being able to do something or a desire in me or letting someone down or a spiritual deal. It might be a combination of all of those fears. But 10 out of the 12 spies looked at this land that God had said, looked at this vision that God had put in front of them and they were like, "Man, that's awesome." Ooh, I don't know if we can do it. Have you ever been there? Phew, I've been there for months looking towards this day right now, looking towards this day. Do, do, do you see what 10 out of the 12 of them are saying?

Amen, let me read you a verse that just kind of describes what 10 out of the 12 are saying. Numbers 13:32 says this, "They said the land we explored devours those living in it. And all the people we saw there are of great size." In other words, there's just too many problems. I got too much going on. This is gonna take too big of a step of faith, God. Now, here's what I love about the Bible. The Bible will show us the humanity aspect of where we all struggle in the 10 out of the 12 spies, but then the Bible always comes around and it shows us what it looks like to truly trust in God and to truly say, "I'm all in. " Because here's the deal. While 10 out of the 12 said, "I don't know God." There were two of them, our man Caleb and our man, Joshua, that stepped up and said, "Hey, God, yeah, there's obstacles.

Numbers 13:32

Yeah, there's gonna be sacrifice." Yeah, this requires trust. This requires us stepping out in our life, but listen, write this down, number four, "But our God is faithful and our God is with us." In fact, let me read you the account of the two out of the 10, because I don't think you've kind of feel the weight of what's going on here. The people have gotten so mad. They actually started a coup and they wanted to take over Moses. They wanted to wipe out ... They wanted to actually wipe out all leadership and they wanted to go back to bondage. That's how, that's how scared they were. Caleb and Joshua stepped up and watched what they did in the midst of having no other support. Numbers 14, verse six says this, they tore their clothes. "And they said to the entire Israelite assembly, the land that we pass through and explore is exceedingly good.

If the Lord is pleased with us, which I believe that he is, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. Do not be afraid of the people of the land because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them, but the whole assembly talked about stoning them. But then, oh, you might want to circle that word then in your Bibles because this is what God does. This is what God does. Then, the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. And the Lord said to Moses," How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?

"You know what this says in the Matt Petty version? When I wrote this, God's going, " How long will they not see that I am God? That I am in control, that I have done everything for them. How long will they not see that all they have to do is take one step of faith and I'm theirs. "But they didn't. They didn't. Only Caleb and Joshua did. In fact, that God's so bad that Moses has to go before God just to beg God to forgive them, to beg God not to take the whole generation of people out and start over with a generation from Moses. But listen, while God did forgive them, there's consequence for not stepping out. And the consequence was this. Let me read you those last verses in Numbers 14, verse 29. It says this. It says," In this wilderness, this is God telling the people, in this wilderness, your bodies will fall.

Numbers 14:29

Every one of you, 20 years or older more, who is counted in the census and who has grumbled against me, not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home. "Watch this though, except Caleb, the son of Jeff and I and Joshua, the son of none. You know what happened right here? It was at this point that God sends the children of Israelites into the wilderness. Now, which I know what you're asking like, " Matt, what does this have to do with us? It has everything to do with us. "Here's why. Do you remember why God established the children of Abraham? Do you remember why God established the Israelites? It was to do one thing on this earth, was it not? It was to shine the glory of God back to him. It was to be his people.

Now, this land that they were about to walk into was the place that for generation after generation, after generation, that God wanted to give them to shine his light to every people group on this earth. But yet, they pulled up short. They didn't have faith. They doubted. They had fear with no overcoming it. And now, they are no longer the light of the world that God wanted them to be. Who were they? They were nothing but a wondering people in the wilderness for 40 years. Oh, church, listen, I feel like I got a pretty good run here and I have zero desire to wonder in the wilderness for the next 40 years. But do you know how we not wonder? We follow Caleb and we follow Joshua. We follow Caleb. Do you know there's only two things that separated Caleb and Joshua from the rest of the crowd?

Let me give them to you real fast. Number one, they just remembered God's grace. They just remembered God's grace above everything else in their life. The number one thing was the grace of God. But then number two, they were just committed to God's purposes. That was it. Those were the only two things. It wasn't academics. It wasn't the fact they were stronger. They didn't have a better pedigree. They didn't have more money. There was those two things. They remembered what God had done for them, and they remembered that their role on this earth was to be a light of God to all the people. And listen, church, since 1973, that is exactly what this place has been in this community. And now God is asking us to take the next step. So here it is. Bottom line. Are we today going to like Caleb and Joshua be willing to say no to fear and yes to sacrifice?

Are we like Caleb and Joshua today gonna say yes to God's vision, yes to God's purposes? Or, or, or are we going to listen to the opposition? Maybe some of it's inside of us, but maybe some of us is just situational. The reason that Caleb and Joshua said yes is because they knew who God was. They knew what God did and they knew who God would be in the future. And here's the deal. That's exactly what the people that started this place knew. And it's exactly what I have a feeling that we're gonna look back on in generations from now and go, "Do you remember the day that it happened?"