There’s a Promise in the Land
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
Today being New Year’s Eve, many people will be reflecting on the year that has passed and looking forward to the new year ahead. We often hear of new year’s resolutions like getting healthier or starting a new hobby.
For us as Christians this time of year is a great opportunity to thank the Lord for all of His blessings in bringing us to this point. And also to seek the Lord for renewed vision in our walk and in our ministry. That is something that many people say but at times there is not a lot of information on how to do so. Like most areas of our walk the process of seeking a new or renewed vision starts by prayer and by reading the word of God. And more specifically, we can focus on the promises of God which will not only provide an answer to where He wants us to be headed but also how to get there. You see Jesus does not make us a promise or covenant blessing without telling us our part or what He expects from us. And while the Lord may call us in different ways individually we are all a part of God’s greater plans and purposes to share the hope of Jesus with the world around us. And to be as effective of a witness as possible and also to enjoy the many blessings the Lord provides us with it is entirely appropriate to reflect on the promises of the Lord.
This week begins the first part of a sermon series I am writing entitled the Lord’s Promises and today’s sermon specifically is entitled There’s a Promise in the Land. And my hope is that through God’s word we can see that yes the Lord does make and keep His promises and that we cannot let fear of the future block our promise land blessings.
Anchor Verse:
At the end of forty days they returned 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 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 Amalekites dwell in the land of the 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 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.”
Prayer
What is the Promised Land
What is the Promised Land
In the Bible when we say promised land it refers to a geographic region of the world which God Himself promised as a heritage to His people, Israel.
This promise begins with a covenant. Simply put a covenant is an agreement between two parties. A conditional covenant is when both parties agree to fulfill certain conditions and if either party does not meet their part then the covenant is broken. Conversely, an unconditional or unilateral covenant is an agreement between two parties where only one of the two parties has to do something and nothing is required from the other party.
The covenant God makes with Abraham regarding the promised land is an unconditional or unilateral covenant and more specifically is referred to as the Abrahamic covenant because God is unilaterally promising to bless Abraham not because of something Abraham did but because God loves him and is pleased with Abraham because Abraham had genuine faith and submission towards God. This covenant is a gift of grace so that through the seed of Abraham a mighty nation would form through which the Messiah would come to save and restore mankind to God. We find the Abrahamic covenant in Genesis chapter twelve verses one through three.
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.
2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
God confirms His promise that the descendants of Abraham would have this land as a lasting heritage. And the Lord later confirms this promise to Isaac who is Abraham’s son.
3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with you and will bless you, for to you and to your offspring I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath that I swore to Abraham your father.
Again we can see God confirming this promise as He speaks to Moses at the burning bush when instructing Moses to head to Egypt and lead Israel out of captivity and to the promised Land.
1 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.”
4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
5 Then he said, “Do not come near; take your sandals off your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”
6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 Then the Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters. I know their sufferings,
8 and I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
The boundaries of the Promised Land were from the Nile River to the Euphrates River. This includes modern-day Israel, including Gaza and the West Bank, and Jordan, as well as parts of Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
The Spies Were Afraid and Gave a Bad Report
The Spies Were Afraid and Gave a Bad Report
So now we know what the promised land is and where its borders are located and that the Lord sent Moses to bring Israel out of bondage in Egypt into the promised land.
As many of you know God did use Moses to lead the people out of Egypt but did not enter the promised land so what happened?
The answer can be found in today’s anchor verses. To provide context, the situation is that in numbers chapter thirteen verse one the Lord speaks to Moses instructing Him to send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which He is giving to the people of Israel. So, Moses did as the Lord instructed and sent the spies to provide an accurate report of the land and also to bring back some fruit of the land.
So when the spies returned they did confirm that the land was flowing with milk and honey and fruit, in other words it was a good abundant land.
But then they told the people that the inhabitants were very big and strong and the cities were large and fortified.
Caleb spoke up to quiet the doubters and declare that they are well able to take what the Lord has promised them. But the other spies continued to state that the other countries were too big and strong for them.
This report caused the people to rebel against Moses and Aaron to the point where they said let’s choose a leader to take us back to Egypt.
Joshua and Caleb tried again to reason with the people by telling them that the land is as the Lord promised and that since God was with them that they should not be afraid or rebel against God but should trust the Lord and fight for their promised blessings.
However, the people declared to stone Joshua and Caleb. But then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting.
11 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?
12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”
We can see that the lack of faith by the people angered the Lord. This may sound a bit direct for the modern Christian but you must understand these particular Israelites had physically seen the might power of God on display multiple times. Just a short time ago they were enslaved in Egypt but God unleashed plague after plague until Pharoah set them free. When the armies of Egypt pursued them the mighty hand of God parted the Red Sea so they passed on dry ground and the enemy army was destroyed. They saw the cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. They received Mana from heaven and more. Yet despite all the times that God showed up in a might way they still lacked the faith to trust God and fight for their blessings in the promised land.
Fortunately for them, Moses interceded for them and the Lord did not destroy Israel for His name’s sake. However, there was still a judgement in that the Lord would have Israel wonder in the wilderness for forty years until the wicked generation had passed. Only Joshua and Caleb would remain and lead the next generation into the promised land.
Faith Over Fear for the Promised Land Blessing
Faith Over Fear for the Promised Land Blessing
From today’s text we can see how the people of Israel had a clear promise from the Lord. It started with Abraham and was confirmed through Isaac and Jacob and Moses. There was not a question about where they were going or what they were doing and yet when it came time to receive the blessings instead of seeing the opportunity and being excited and grateful they saw the challenges and disqualified themselves which really means they lacked the faith in God that He would keep His promise to help them and bless them. This displeased the Lord and they never received their promised land blessing simply because their fear was greater than their faith.
Fighting the enemy armies to inherit the promised land was not going to be an easy task and there no doubt would be some sacrifices made however, the Lord still desired the people of Israel to move forward and trust Him that He will not leave them nor forsake them. Without God’s help the armies of Israel would have lost but since God promised them the land they should have trusted Him and not let fear stand in the way.
So let me ask you today what is it that the Lord has laid on your heart and mind? Is it something new for this coming year? Is it something you are already doing that He is growing you in? Is there a hope or a dream that you have but haven’t pursued? Is there a person or people group or place that the Lord has laid on your heart to minister to but you still aren’t connected? Is there an area of your life that desperately needs a blessing from God but you still haven’t let go and given Him complete control over? Is there a gifting or talent you have been given but aren’t using. Is there a relationship that needs restoration but no one is talking? Is there a covenant promise in the Bible that you have read but never operated in?
Said directly, what does your promised land blessing look like and are you actively pursuing it or afraid because the obstacles seem too big and too difficult?
I will tell you that many of the blessings the Lord gives us will still require a lot of work and sacrifice on our part but the difference is when we do what we can God does what we cannot and blesses and multiplies our efforts because of our faith in Him to do so.
If you already know what the Lord has laid on your heart to do or continue doing in this next season of 2024 than please do not be afraid but follow His word and the leading of the Holy Spirit to keep moving forward in faith and do not let fear stop you from receiving your promised land blessing.
If you do not know than I would advise you to pray to the Lord and to read the Bible and ask the Lord for clarity on how He wants to use you to not only be blessed but be a blessing to others and when God gives you that clarity to have the faith to conquer fear and not let fear conquer you.
Closing:
In closing, as we move through this sermon series in the next couple of weeks we will discuss some of the many promises of God. But before doing so I hope that today’s message provides the solid foundation that even when we have a clear promise or a clear calling or a clear vision that we still must trust God, be obedient to put in the work and not let the challenges or obstacles set before us make fearful. Because as I stated before we must have faith over fear to inherit our promised land blessings.
Prayer