On the Edge

The greatest commodity in the world is time. Time my dear brothers and sisters is the one thing that none of us can buy back. For Time for the believer seemingly is the enemy to what God has spoken to you and about you. The struggle for most believers is the space between conceptualization and manifestation. It seems as if this space is filled with ambiguity and we as believers judge the word of God spoken to us based on current context and not the future that it God has already created for us. If we be honest with ourselves this morning my dear brothers and sisters sometimes waiting on God's word to manifest is the one of the hardest this we will ever do. For we have no control over the situation and control is what you and i long for! Yet, rather we are told believe and wait in eager expectation for the invisible, eternal, omnipotent, omniscience God to deliver on the very things that will shift our current context , While holding on to a promise that does align with what we see! For faith is quite oxymoronic in nature.

I would suggest to you today that it’s not God that we need to consider looking at but rather our perspectives on the situation that you and I must examine. For God and his word are inextricably tied together, you can’t take one and leave other. tells us that In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Im going to say it again God cannot separate himself from his word. For God told us tells us that Heaven and Earth shall pass away But God's word will last forever. tells us that for God is watching over word to perform it. So inherent within the word of God is God himself. So no matter how bad or rough your current context maybe there Always something you can rest assure on and that is God is Gods word! For our eyes may bring us the reality of our context but what did God say about your situation? Ask your neighbor what did God say about your situation? God told me that my tribulation has an expiration, God told me that if i am willing and obedient that i would eat the good of the land. I came this morning to increase your faith and allow God to deal with your perspective, because where you are right now is not the end. I declare that There is another dimension of Glory for your life but all we have to do is trust and believe that God has already worked it out! For this is where we find the objects of our lesson this morning and for some of us this is where we find ourselves at in the text. For the children of Israel have now come out of the wilderness and Just like the Children of Israel some of are coming out of the wilderness are moments from going into to the promise the land. We’re at close to Canaan the land flowing with milk and honey, Canaan the land which was promised Abraham’s descendants. Canaan the land of more than enough. I would ask a question this morning what’s your Canaan, what did God say Canaan was for you and your family? Hold that image in your mind for the next couple of mins! But do me a favor write down what Canaan is for you!

(Give the people a chance to write it down)

Now God Tells Moses to send spies out into the land to get a glimpse of what’s going on. Moses gathers one man from every tribe and gives them instructions to go find out if there is any enemies in the land, Moses tell us if there are any strong towers or places where the enemy can have an advantage over us. Then Moses tells the spies to bring back fruit from the land because this was the season of the grape and if the grapes were good Moses knew that the land would be good. Moses gives them instructions, sends them on there way and they come back with the report. Before i tell you their report, I have to give you God’s report.

The first thing that God says is, I Reaffirm my Promises! Look at verse 2 (Read in concert) Verse 2 says 2 “Send out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers’ tribes, every one a leader among them.”

God says to the Children of Israel’s spies, go get a preview of what’s already yours. To understand this line in verse 2 we have to understand what’s already been said by God. Canaan was the land that had been promised the children of Israel before they got enslaved by the Egyptians. This was a promise made to Abraham over 400 years ago in . So, God now is getting ready to keep his promise to Abraham and he’s dead which shows the faithfulness of God to him word. So when God tells Moses in Verse 2 this is the land i’m going to give you, this is affirmation to the people that God hasn’t forgotten his word to them found in . Moses tells the children of Israel exactly what God says in that they would be delivered from pharaoh and all of his hardship & that God was going to make them his chosen people and give them the land of Canaan. This text proves that hasn’t God hasn't forgotten about them and their suffering by God telling Moses to send out some spies to go and get glimpse of what he promised them. For this is the word of the lord to us this morning and that is God has not forgotten about our suffering because he brought us out of the wilderness to edge of promise just so he could a glimpse of what’s next and so he reaffirms his promise! Is anybody other than me grateful that God brought you of that hell and now you feel change happening in your life, i dare you to give God a praise for what the promise that never forgot because you’re on the edge of that Promise!

God says to the Children, go get a preview of what’s already yours. To understand this line in verse 2 we have to understand what’s already been said by God. Canaan was the land that had been promised the children of Israel before they got enslaved by the Egyptians. This was a promise made to Abraham over 400 years ago in . Which would suggest that God is a generational God and that there are some promises of God that we may never see because they’re not for you but for the generations to come. So, God now is getting ready to keep his promise to Abraham and he’s dead which shows the faithfulness of God to him word. So when God tells Moses in Verse 2 this is the land i’m going to give you, this is affirmation to the people that God hasn’t forgotten his word to them found in . Moses tells the children of Israel exactly what God says in that they would be delivered from pharaoh and all of his hardship & that God was going to make them his chosen people and give them the land of Canaan. This text proves that hasn’t God hasn't forgotten about them and their suffering by God telling Moses to send out some spies. And this is the word of the lord to us this morning and that is God has not forgotten about our suffering because he brought us out of the wilderness to edge of promise just so he could a glimpse of what’s next and reaffirms his promise! Remember I told you write down what Canaan looked like for you or draw, i dare you to give God a praise for what you see because you’re on the edge of that Promise!

We’re on the edge this morning, on the edge to the next place, on the edge of breakthrough, we’re on the edge of better because God Affirms his promises by giving you a glimpse of your future (Point 1) But Secondly you know your at the edge of promise is When God gives you Evidence.

Verse 27-28 27 Thus they told him, and said, “We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there.

You know when you’re at the edge of promise when God gives you evidence. The text tells us in verse 23 then they came to the valley of Eshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two men, with some of the pomegranates and the figs. Picture this two carrying some grapes, pomegranates and figs because it was too much for one person to carry. This would suggest (2) things 1. that the land was very fertile! Somebody Shout Fertile! This means that when I sow seeds in Canaan, those seeds will produce for me a harvest, not only will they produce a harvest but they will produce more than enough during harvest season. The second thing that this means is that Canaan is going to be able to provide more than what I need. This might not excite you but it excites me because Canaan is the place where God will affirm my seed. (Disclaimer this isn’t a sermon about money) Stick a pin that thought, i’m coming back to it in a min. But there is a problem in the text, because the same men who brought back the fruit from Canaan, now give antithtical report about the land. They tell the people that they’re enemies in the land the land is vastly fortified and also they’re giants in the and we’re like grasshoppers compared to them. The spies said the land will produce a great harvest but we’re not going to see the harvest because of who is controlling the land. Now, I got a problem with this because these men have no faith! These men have just come back from enemy territory carrying fruit that weighed too much and they carried it in an odd fashion. Typically you and I can pick up grapes, a pomegranate and other fruit with one hand and carry away with little or no effort. But these young men had strap up the fruit to a pole and bring back to the camp. Which meant they weren’t walking at their normal rate of speed and they looked odd doing because what was weighing them down was proof of the promise. In other words This fruit should of been a testament of goodness, mercy and love of God towards those who are carrying the fruit and the fruit should increased the faith of those who would saw it. But this fruit, this evidence of God’s goodness wasn’t good enough for them because what they saw Giants in the land the picture of the Giants out weighed what they were carrying. For this is the context that most Christians live in today. God brings us to the edge of promise and provides us with a glimpse of our future and provides us with evidence of promise and we disrespect God and discredit his word because what we see doesn’t align with what he says! The fruit should have of made them believe more but they forgot that God provided them with more evidence. They forgot that God kept them while they were under the oppression of Pharaoh, they forgot that God kept his promise to freed them, they forgot that moses was the one who stretched out his rod and God used his rod as switch to part the Red Sea open. They forgot that God swallowed up pharaoh and all his minions in the Red Sea, they forgot that God provided manna in the wilderness( It might of not been what they wanted but it was what they needed)! They forgot that God allowed them to slay their enemy at the battle of Rephidim, they forgot that they walked into enemy territory unseen for forty days and came back out with fruit and they weren’t harmed theyyyyyyy forgot! This is just like us in the 21st we have it way better than them and we stand on the edge of promise and we forget what God has done for us because what we see out weighs what he said! We forgot that we were enslaved to sin but he died for us or we don’t really believe it, we forgot that God is the one who keeps us day by day, we forgot that God is the one who led us to the wilderness moments of our lives and the one that brought us out of them we’ve forgot just like they did! But this is the other issue they don’t believe in what God said because of what they see and they release that fear the rest of the congregation. Verse 32 says So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. These spies allowed the enemy warp their perspectives of themselves and their perspective of God. Verse 33 says that they saw themselves as grasshoppers, they’ve reduced themselves down and dismissed the word of God from their lives. May is suggest that faith and fear come by hearing & faith and fear can come by what you see. TCI don’t let people who have devalued themselves, devalue you and dismiss the word of God concerning your life. Because what the enemy wants to do is keep you bound by a burden that’s not yours. The burden of proof in this situation is on God and not on them! God never told them to go fight for the land, he said i’m giving it to you which means that their victory and dominion of this land rests with God. Their Job was to be obedient and follow God’s instruction, for this is context that 21st Christian lives in. We are bound by a burden that is not ours. God made us this promise, God led us to the edge of promise so why would now take the burden back from him and put it on us. That’s what we do though, we get to the place where God wants us to be and we say how am I going to get it done, when God says inherent in my word is already the victory you’re looking for! GIVE THE BURDEN BACK TO GOD AND BELIEVE AGAIN! GIVE THE BURDEN BACK TO GOD AND BELIEVE AGAIN!

You know when you’re at the edge of promise when God gives you evidence. The text tells us in verse 23 then they came to the valley of Eshcol and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes; and they carried it on a pole between two men, with some of the pomegranates and the figs. Picture this two carrying some grapes, pomegranates and figs because it was too much for one person to carry. This would suggest (2) things 1. that the land was very fertile! Somebody Shout Fertile! This means that when I sow seeds in Canaan, those seeds will produce for me, not only will they produce but they will produce more than enough. The second thing that this means is that Canaan is going to be able to provide more than what I need. This might not excite you but it excites me because Canaan is the place where God will affirm my seed. (Disclaimer this isn’t a sermon about money) Stick a pin that thought, i’m coming back to it in a min. But there is a problem in the text, because the same men who brought back the fruit from Canaan, now give antithtical report about the land. They tell the people that they’re enemies in the land the land is vastly fortified and also they’re giants in the and we’re like grasshoppers compared to them. The spies said the land produce a great harvest but we’re not going to see the harvest because of who is controlling the land. Now, I got a problem with this because these men have no faith! What do you mean, let me help us this morning, these men have just come back from enemy territory carrying fruit that weighed too much in an odd fashion. Typically you and I can pick up grapes, a pomegranate and other fruit with one hand and carry away with little or no effort. But theses young men had strap up the fruit to a pole and bring back to the camp. Which meant they weren’t walking at their normal rate of speed and they looked odd doing because what was weighing them down was proof of the promise. In other words This fruit should of been a testament of goodness, mercy and love towards those who are carrying and a faith increaser to those who would see it. But this fruit, this evidence of God’s goodness wasn’t good enough for them because what they saw in the land out weighed what they were carrying. For this is the context that most Christians live in today. God brings us to the edge of promise and provides us with a glimpse of our future and provides us with evidence of promise and we disrespect God and discredit his word because what we see doesn’t align with what he says! Stop, wait, the fruit was just the crux as it pertains to evidence for the children of Israel, they had more evidence they just forgot. They forgot that God kept them while under the oppression of Pharaoh, they forgot that God kept his promise to free them, they forgot that moses was the one who stretched out his rod and God used his rod as switch to part the Red Sea open. They forgot that God swallowed up pharaoh and all his minions in the Red Sea, they forgot that God provided manna in the wilderness( It might of not been what they wanted but it was what they needed)! They forgot that God allowed them to slay their enemy at the battle of Rephidim, they forgot that they walked into enemy territory unseen for forty days and came back out with fruit and they weren’t harmed theyyyyyyy forgot! This is just like us in the 21st we have it way better than them and we stand on the edge of promise and we forget what God has done for us because what we see out weighs what he said! We forgot that we enslaved to sin but he died for us or we don’t really believe it, we forgot that God is the one who keeps us day by day, we forgot that God is the one who led us to the wilderness moments of our lives and the one that brought us out of them we’ve forgot just like they did! But this is the other issue they don’t believe in what God said because of what they see and they release that fear the rest of the congregation. Verse 32 says So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. These spies allowed the enemy warp their perspectives of themselves and their perspective of God. Verse says that they saw themselves as grasshoppers, they’ve reduced themselves down and dismissed the word of God from their lives. May is suggest that faith and fear come by hearing & faith and fear can come by what you see. TCI don’t let people who have devalued themselves, devalue you and dismiss the word of God concerning your life. Because what the enemy wants to do is keep you bound by a burden that’s not yours. The burden of proof in this situation is on God and not on them! God never told them to go fight for the land, he said i’m giving it to you which means that their victory and dominion of this land rests with God. Their Job was to be obedient and follow God’s instruction, for this is context that 21st Christian lives in. We are bound by a burden that is not ours. God made us this promise, God led us to the edge of promise so why would now take the burden back from him and put it on us. That’s what we do though, we get to the place where God wants us to be and we say how am I going to get it done, when God says inherent in my word is already the victory you’re looking for!

For there is a promise land waiting for us but we have to stop being arrested by the things that are seemingly contrary to God’s word. For these Giants will become the defeat Foes if we trust and not doubt, these Giants will be your foot stools .

Close:

I came as your Caleb this morning to push you in God and to tell you that Certainly you can go up and possess the land that God has promised you. I came this morning to drive the devil out of your perspective, for you are more than an overcomer through Christ Jesus. I came to help lift the weight of the burden and to tell you to put the burden back on God and let God be God. I came to tell this morning that these Giants you see in the land will be no more, because the lord made you a promise! And the lord gave you a glimpse and the lord gave you some evidence because you’re on the edge.