Trusting God more than your eyes can see, Numbers

I don’t disagree with the call to faith over fear… we can find this truth over and over again in the Bible. As a Christian I want to make sure that people are putting their faith in Christ, or else the phrase is meaningless. I also want to make sure that the attitude of faith over fear is consistent in the life of a Christian and not just a veiled political phrase that hijacks the truth of God for social media and political gain.

What I mean by that is that faith over fear is true in all situations. For instance, Isaiah 41:10 (CSB)says, "10 Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.”

Philippians 4:6–7 (CSB) says, “6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Don’t worry about anything! Faith over fear is really a part of the Christian life that applies to every thing we face. But, faith over fear has become a phrase used by Christians and non-Christians over the last couple of years. The circumstances our country has faced and is facing have demanded that we deal with some of our collective fears as a country.

This is not unlike another time in our country when fear was at the forefront of the American consciousness. The time is known as the Great Depression.

On October 29, 1928 the stock market crashed on what is now known as Black Tuesday. From that point forward American and the rest of the world experienced the greatest economic spiral in modern history. Unemployment in the US hit 23%. Farming and crop prices dropped by close to 60%. By 1932 the stock market had dropped from 294 to 41.

During this time unemployment increased by over 600%, Industrial production dropped by 46%, and Foreign trade dropped by 70%. The Great Depression was the context and circumstances for one of the most famous phrases about fear in history.

On March 4, 1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed the country for the first time as President of the United States. When he spoke to our country the economy was failing and the future was uncertain if not seemingly impossible. It was at that time he said to our country and to the world:

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt

He began his speech by saying,

“I am certain that my fellow Americans expect that on my induction into the Presidency I will address them with a candor and a decision which the present situation of our people impel. This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth, frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days. In such a spirit on my part and on yours we face our common difficulties. They concern, thank God, only material things. Values have shrunken to fantastic levels; taxes have risen; our ability to pay has fallen; government of all kinds is faced by serious curtailment of income; the means of exchange are frozen in the currents of trade; the withered leaves of industrial enterprise lie on every side; farmers find no markets for their produce; the savings of many years in thousands of families are gone. More important, a host of unemployed citizens face the grim problem of existence, and an equally great number toil with little return. Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.”

In the face of material collapse and an increasing fear of political and social collapse FDR challenged Americans to find it in themselves to look forward. To work hard and support the leadership and initiatives that were on the horizon. FDR aimed the attention of Americans away from their material losses and toward the potential of their collective efforts.

In modern times our country has faced two world wars, the Great Depression, and many more conflicts and wars along the way to 2020, when fear again rose to the surface of the American conscience.

We have lived through a challenging season in the last two years where fear has risen to the surface, and presently we are praying and watching evens unfold in Europe that cause many to fear the possibility of another global conflict or economic downturn.

We know what it looks and feels like to be afraid of what the future holds. And, that puts us in a similar position to the people of God in the book of Numbers.

The Context of Numbers is God’s Deliverance

God has delivered them from Egypt, established them as His people, made a covenant with them through Moses, given them the law to show them how to live as His kingdom, provided food and water for them as they make their way through the wilderness, and has given them His presence to guide them and protect them through to the promised land.

And, after all that God has done for them we turn to Numbers 13 and find the people of God on the edge of the promised land… afraid.

On the edge of the promised land and afraid

Numbers 13:1–3 (CSB)

The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Send men to scout out the land of Canaan I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.” 3 Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran at the Lord’s command. All the men were leaders in Israel.

Moses sent 12 men, one from each of the tribes of Israel to scout of the land.

Numbers 13:17–25 (CSB)

"17 When Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up this way to the Negev, then go up into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 Is the land they live in good or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications? 20 Is the land fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes. 21 So they went up and scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob near the entrance to Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were living. Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. 23 When they came to Eshcol Valley, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called Eshcol Valley of because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from scouting out the land.”

When they returned from scouting the land they gave a report…

Numbers 13:26–33 (CSB)

26 The men went back to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back a report for them and the whole community, and they showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They reported to Moses, “We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit. 28 However, the people living in the land are strong, and the cities are large and fortified. We also saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites are living in the land of the Negev; the Hethites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.” 30 Then Caleb quieted the people in the presence of Moses and said, “Let’s go up now and take possession of the land because we can certainly conquer it!” 31 But the men who had gone up with him responded, “We can’t attack the people because they are stronger than we are!” 32 So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: “The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants, and all the people we saw in it are men of great size. 33 We even saw the Nephilim there—the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim! To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them.”

The people of God responded with fear instead of faith

Numbers 14:1 (CSB)

"Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night.”

They were afraid of the people of the land of Canaan. It didn’t matter what God had said, they could not see beyond what was in front of them.

Faith leads to obedience, but fear leads to rebellion.

Numbers 14:2-4

“2 All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”

I’ve served in the church since 1998. And, I have seen the effect of fear in the people of God in many different situations. Fear results from a lack of trust. Whether it’s trusting new leaders or new directions I have seen and experienced the effect of a lack of trust in the church. It’s often very similar to the reaction of the Israelites.

Many church-goers respond to their lack of trust with a desire to go back to what or who is familiar. Just like the Israelites who came to the precipice of the promised land and flaked out on God. When you read through the story of Israel you see this isn’t the first time that they reacted this way… but it’s also not the first time that God brought them to a situation that required faith and trust.

I don’t know what they thought the promise land experience was going to be like, but I think they thought it would be easy. When the spies came back with the news the Israelites focused only on the hard part. To have been through all the hard stuff just to face more was not what they expected. They had grumbled against God, Moses, and Aaron before, and now they were doing it again.

But the Israelites missed the continued faithfulness and truth of God in the report. The land was exactly what God had promised. Everything about the land was as good or better than they had heard. But, receiving the promise required faith and trust on their part.

1. Faith means believing that God is who He says He is and that He will do all that He has promised. It’s believing that God will do what only God can do.

2. Trust however, takes faith and puts it into action.

Trust is the act of making a choice or decision to act on the promises of God.

This is a head vs. heart issue.

Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb believed that God would keep his promise.

Numbers 14:6-9 says,

“6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite community, “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us. 9 Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!””

Joshua had faith, and because of his faith he was willing to trust God with what he couldn’t see.

The people of Israel responded by threatening to stone them. But it says that the glory of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.

God declares after this that the generation that came up from Egypt and saw the signs and wonders would not enter the promised land. They would all die in the wilderness, all of them except Joshua and Caleb. Then those who scouted with Joshua and Caleb but came back and gave a negative report were struck down dead by the Lord.

The people of Israel rebelled against God because they feared the nations that waited for them in the promised land.

With all the talk of fear over the last couple of years… we turn to the book of numbers and find that…

“Numbers teaches us that when God is with his people, the only thing they need to fear is their own sin.” - C.W. Faulkner

The greatest fear isn’t fear itself.

Faith over fear isn’t just a political or social message to use when we see fit. Faith over fear applies to all of life, and our understanding of faith over fear is drawn from the truth that is right here in Numbers, that the greatest fear is to be a sinner in the presence of the almighty and holy God.

In the face of all that the Israelites went through and had waiting for them, the most fearful thing in their lives was the Holy God who lived in their midst. Their sin was the most dangerous thing in their nation… because God was also with them and God is holy.

This is true for us today as well. The most serious issue that we will ever face is our sin. The most dangerous situation you can ever be in is to be a sinner in the hands of a righteous and holy God.

3 Reminders from the book of Numbers:

Sin is serious, and there is no more serious way to demonstrate it then through Jesus’ death on the cross.

We are called to be holy and hate the sin that we have been saved from.

Numbers should remind us of the way that God sees our sin. It has become too common for the people of the church to sin and intermingle the body of Christ with idolatry and sinful desires and actions.

Jesus didn’t die so that we could increase our sinful activities. Jesus didn’t die so we could keep sinning in the same way as before we were saved. Jesus died to free us from the bondage of sin and death so that we could live as servants of God.

Living for Jesus requires trusting God further than our eyes can see.

Joshua and Caleb did not know how they would defeat the people living the promised land, but they did believe that God would keep His promise to them. Their faith led to trust which compelled them to action.

Following Jesus means that we trust in the one we haven’t seen to be saved.

John 20:29 (CSB), “29 Jesus said, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.””

The gospel hinges on trusting God more than you can see… So what about you?

Will you trust God and be saved by the grace of God through your faith in Jesus Will you trust God and act on your faith by choosing what is good, right, and God honoring with your words, thoughts, and actions? Will you trust God with the way He is leading and working in your life, family, and church?

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