Sermon series: FROM BONDAGE TO FREEDOM

Subject: LIVING BY FAITH

Numbers 13:1-3,17
"And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among men." 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 children of Israel."

Verse 17 – 22
"Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, "Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there 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. So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near the entrance of Hamath.

Verse 25-
"And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told him, and said: "We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan." Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it."
But 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." And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out,

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saying, "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."
Chapter 14
"So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?"
So they said to one another, "Let us select a leader and return to Egypt." Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. But 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 they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: "The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them."
And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. " (Numbers 14:1-10)
Numbers 14:26-38
"And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, "How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. Say to them, 'As I live,' says the Lord, 'just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you

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despised. But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in the wilderness. And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely, forty years, and you shall know My rejection. I the Lord have spoken this. I will surely do so to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die." (Numbers 14:23-35).

In the passage we have just read, we note that God sends out men as spies, to reconnoiter and assess the land, and to report back to the whole congregation what they observe in the land of promise. Remember, they have been on this journey from Egypt for just a few short months and the promised land is just north of them. Because of the Philistines who were warriors and living along the Mediterranean Sea between Egypt and Palestine, God directed their path down along the Sinai Peninsula and around Mr. Sinai. From Sinai they journeyed north and now the time has come for them to move into that land that flowed with milk and honey.
As concerning these twelve men sent ahead to make their observations of the new land, we must note that the Hebrew really does not talk about "spies" or "spying." The fact is that God is inviting the tribes to see for themselves via representatives who are considered responsible and leaders of their tribes, to see how wonderful the land is that God has prepared for them.
When these twelve men traveled north, the most important place they visited was Hebron, an ancient site twenty miles south of Jerusalem. At one time during David's reign as king, Hebron was his capital. It was in Hebron they met the descendants of Anak. The very name suggest that they were very tall people with a long neck, or that they wore necklaces to symbolize a warrior people, or they possibly wore a form of armour on the upper chest and neck. Whatever it was that set them apart, they brought great fear into the hearts of ten of these twelve spies.
The men passed on to the "Valley of Eshchol" where they gathered a single cluster of grapes to take back to the camp. Eshchol itself means "cluster" and was probably named after the fruitfulness of that area. Then there was the emotional return to the camp of Israel at Kadesh, and the conflicting reports.

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The report starts well, with a claim that they have been in a land of "milk and honey" which was a term that the ancient Greeks used to describe the food of the gods. The Israelites used the term to describe their land of promise which suggested a land of plenty of peace and fruitfulness.
Then comes v. 28 (ch. 13) with its awful first word: "Yet." The difficulties and the risks follow. The Amalekites were powerful nomads from the deserts south of the Negeb. The Hittites were a strong nation of Asia Minor, but some had settled in Canaan. The Jebusites were the original settlers of Jerusalem. The Amorites came to Canaan from Mesopotamia, and their law codes in particular were a mark in the history of civilization. The enemies Og and Sihon were Amorite kings. Formidable odds indeed! Then comes the great word of faith from Caleb: "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it. The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them."
Observation!
Faith and doubt are always in a struggle in our lives. Love and fear both move us and influence us. But when decisions have to be made, then faith must act on its recollection of God's goodness and His promises, and love must put its trust in the Lord. Even when odds are awful and pressures are great, our faltering steps must be steps of faith. We need to focus on the power of God, not on the power of the opposition!
But even after the words of encouragement of Calab and Joshua, they mourn and complain and seek for a leader to take them back to Egypt, the land of bondage and ignorance of the Lord.
Then God passes His judgment on this rebellious and unbelieving people...They will all die in the wilderness except for Joshua and Caleb and all the children under twenty years of age! No promised land! No milk and honey, just death!
After arriving in the Promised Land years later, we find this record: (Joshua 14:6-15). "Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneth the Kenizzite said to him: "You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh-Barnea. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-

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Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart.
Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God.
So Moses swore on that day, saying, 'Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children's forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.'
And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old.
As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and coming in.
Now, therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.
And Joshua blessed him, and gave Hebron to Caleb the son of Jephunneth the Kenizzite to this day, because he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel. (Joshua 14:6-14)
In this ancient story from the Scriptures, we have observed that unbelief has its results and judgments (for the nation of Israel, they were denied entrance into the Promised Land and died in the wilderness) and faith has it's rewards (Caleb and Joshua enter the land that flowed with milk and honey).
We are brought face to face with the great biblical doctrine of FAITH. And in the New Testament, almost on every page we will find the word FAITH, so let's consider this very important truth as it effects us as New Testament believers. That FAITH is a potent force is proven by our Lord's declaration that FAITH is able to remove mountains. FAITH laughs at and triumphs over impossibilities. The importance of FAITH is also indicated by the fact that all men are dependent upon it as the avenue of access to God. Sinners, convicted of their need of forgiveness and a Saviour, must exercise FAITH in God as One ready to pardon them, if they are to be saved. Saints, saved by grace through FAITH in Christ, must keep on believing. "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him (Colossians 2:6). Initial FAITH made us His--continuous FAITH keeps us His.

But what is FAITH? "FAITH is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things

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not seen." Another version of Hebrews 1:1 reads: "FAITH is the assurance of things hoped for, and the conviction of things not seen." God's Spirit makes known in God's Word certain things not seen, and produces within the believer the conviction that these actually exist.
The sum and substance of this solitary Bible definition or statement of FAITH seems to be that by it the believing one is able to penetrate beyond the veil that marks the limit of sense and enters into the region of the unseen, making it tangible and real.
Such FAITH is not mere human wisdom or sagacity. It has its foundation in a spiritual understanding. It is receiving the testimony as true. "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19)
In his monumental work, WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES, Dr. R. A. Torrey gives us this definition of FAITH: "To believe God is to rely upon or have unhesitating assurance of the truth of God's testimony, even though it is unsupported by any other evidence, and to rely upon and have unfaltering assurance of the fulfillment of His promises, even though everything seems against fulfillment."
FAITH is the ear, which refuses to be troubled longer by harassing questions and suspicious doubts, but listens in simplicity to what Jesus says. And what melody there is in His voice!
This FAITH we are considering is not a blind, unintelligent act of the mind, nor is it credulity. It rests upon a knowledge of God as revealed in His Word. FAITH is the hand receiving and appropriating the divine Gift, and grasping all His treasures. Even when all is dark, FAITH does not tremble, seeing the everlasting Hand of the omnipotent Lord holds the frail hand outstretched to Him!
It is that, that FAITH is to the soul, the counterpart of what the senses are to the body, and enables it to have traffic and intercourse with unseen spiritual realities.
BELIEVE!
The word "believe" is found 247 times in the New Testament, and the kindred term "FAITH" occurs 244 times while "FAITHFUL," which simply means full of FAITH, appears 67 times! The Greek word for BELIEVE means to stay, to support, and then, that which forms the stay, its foundation. It is from the Hebrew word that we derive the English term, AMEN, signifying "of a truth," or "so be it."
All through the New Testament we find FAITH

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referred to as attending every step of Christian experience, from its commencement to its consummation.
FAITH in the invisible things of God is not the natural FAITH we grow up with, and which we exercise whether saved or unsaved. It comes as the gift of God. It is a FAITH toward God, seeing it comes from Him. "I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the FAITH in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)
FAITH is a gift of God resulting from His grace. He not only supplies a Saviour, but the FAITH to believe in Him as such. "But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they" (Acts 15:11). "For by grace you have been saved through FAITH, and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God." (Ephesians 2:8). "Without FAITH it is impossible to please Him" (Hebrews 11:6). "For we ourselves, were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But when the kindness and the love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:3-7).
The full realization of the divine gift of FAITH is experienced by us as we strive after a deeper knowledge of the Giver Himself. The Spirit of FAITH Himself, part of whose fruit is FAITH, strengthens our trust and confidence. As He is allowed to have His way in and through our life, He makes the Object of our FAITH more precious. It must be borne in mind that FAITH is both a human act and a divine operation. Man has the capacity for FAITH and is responsible for its use. Daily he exercises FAITH and acts upon it. It is also a divine operation, inasmuch as it becomes effective only as the Spirit of God moves within the soul. FAITH becomes an anchor in the storms of life, when we look away from all crises and circumstances to Him, who is greater than them all. "Therefore it is of FAITH that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the FAITH of Abraham, who is the father of us all.
(As it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations") in the presence of Him whom

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he believed--God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be."
And not being weak in FAITH, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old) and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in FAITH, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what he had promised He was able to perform. And therefore "it was accounted to him for righteousness." (Romans 4:16-22). "FAITH cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17).
FAITH does not contradict reason, but rises superior to it. What reason cannot understand, FAITH accepts. FAITH is not subject to reason, seeing it rises into the realms of the unseen where reason cannot follow.
Man, with all his God-given reasoning powers, cannot find God out, but FAITH accepts Him as a living reality. FAITH enters that unseen world and endures as seeing Him who is invisible. The Christian walks by FAITH, not by sight. Reason may ratify the conclusions of FAITH, but it cannot override them.
Reason, baffled in its guest for God, has to utter Job’s pathetic confession: "Behold, I go forward, but He is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive Him; on the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold Him; He hideth Himself on the right hand, that I cannot see Him; but He knoweth the way that I take, when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." (Job 23:8-9)
Faith, then rises into the sphere where God is all and in all and in which He moves and rules without the limitation of godless reasoning. Reason is full of "whys" and "wherefores." FAITH, on the other hand, asks no questions. It takes God at His Word. In the realm of truth it is not what do reason and experience say, that counts, but what does God say, that counts, and FAITH rests in the assurance that there is nothing too hard for Him!
By FAITH, we enter into a wonderful life of peace and joy in knowing Christ as our Saviour and His Word as our guide and light for our life, or we live on in unbelief which only results in a life without purpose and promise, and an eternity forever banished from the God of the universe! FAITH, unbelief...we choose the path we will take! © Copyright 2004 Church of the Highlands