Dear Elim Grace,
In the history of the people of Israel, we remember well that they wandered in the desert 40 years. But the pivotal event that led to that wandering is often forgotten.
In Numbers 13, we read that the report of the spies was the difference between entering and not entering the land for 40 years. “Report” means whispering, defamation, evil report (that which glides stealthily). So also, the reports or whisperings we believe can be the difference between entering and not entering what God has prepared for us. Between continuing or not continuing in what God has secured for us.
There are “bad” reports all around us. If we are not to believe and be led astray by them, there are three things we must have.
WE MUST HAVE A PRIOR CONFIDENCE IN GOD
Joshua and Caleb believed God was able, because God had called them and made a promise to them. If you’re going to enter all God has for you, you need a prior confidence in God.
We go back to our favorite restaurant or café, our favorite airline or vehicle company, because of a prior experience. A prior confidence.
How far back did Joshua and Caleb’s confidence go? God had promised this land to Abraham approximately 430 years before this moment.
Theirs was a confidence rooted in their prior attentiveness to God. To His word. To His promise. To His character.
Listen: The time to prepare for battle is not in battle. The time to prepare for a fight is not in the fight. The time to prepare for a race is not in the race. The time to prepare is before the battle. Before the fight. Before the race.
How far back does your confidence in God go? Last Sunday? The last time you opened your Bible? The last time you spent a few minutes in prayer? You need to know that your confidence extends from eternity to eternity. All the promises of God are yes and amen in Christ Jesus, our Lord. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
You need to daily cultivate and practice confidence in the Lord your God! You need to “unsubscribe” from reports (whisperings and persuasions) that hinder your confidence in God. That tell you “GOD IS NOT ABLE!” That block or hinder the fruit of the Spirit in your life. Don’t unfollow or snooze. Don’t delete for a time. UNSUBSCRIBE.
WE MUST HAVE AN UNDERLYING ATTITUDE OF WORSHIP
Long before Joshua was a leader and the Jordan River split and the walls of Jericho fell down, he was a worshipper. He could often be found in the Tabernacle. If you’re going to enter all God has for you, you must have an underlying attitude of worship.
Worship is valuing. Worship is clarifying. Worship clarifies what you value the most.
Once, at the end of a sermon, I was leading the congregation I was visiting to seek the Spirit. And then I heard in my spirit, “Jonathan, the best form of seeking is praising.” I immediately led the congregation in a song of worship to Jesus. We exalted Him, and the Spirit came. In power.
We can get lost in the seeking. In the hungering and the thirsting. In the testing and the giants. But when we praise Him, we find Him, and our hearts are satisfied and sustained in His presence. In His delight in us.
But many don’t know HOW to praise and worship. Praise is “informed, formed and transformed.” It is informed by Scripture. The content of our singing should be rooted and shaped by God’s Word. Praise is formed by our obedience to Scripture. In particular, we are commanded to use your body. (So singing with your mouth, clapping your hands, raising your hands, bowing your knees. It is both my pastoral and personal conviction that until you use your body to worship Jesus, there are areas of your life that will remain unformed in Christ.) And praise is transformed by the Spirit. The glory, knowledge, and presence of Christ is in our hearts and in our midst.
But worship is NOT…seeking greater favor with God. We worship because we HAVE received abundant kindness, grace, and mercy in Jesus Christ!
WE MUST HAVE A FORWARD-LOOKING FAITH
Contrary to the other spies, Joshua and Caleb pointed the people to the promise of God and the God of the promise. What a testimony of faith they gave! And how did the people respond? “STONE THEM!” The result was that God judged Israel by sending them to wander in the desert until the unbelieving generation passed away.
So what happened to Joshua and Caleb’s faith? It looked forward for 40 years by looking backward to that day.
Yes, giants and delays are inevitable, and it seems and feels in those times that it is easier to go back, but God is able. On the basis of what, though? Your faith is only as strong as the object of your faith. So, when you face a bad report, what will be the object of your faith?
A few months back, a “bad report” came to me. I wrestled for days with the report. One Tuesday morning, I woke up at 5:14 a.m. I walked downstairs. I knelt at my couch and prayed, “Lord Jesus, help me to not quit today.”
When bad reports come, we must press on. But we must also press IN to the object of our faith. If we press on without pressing in, over time we will lose strength. Lose sight. Lose direction. Lose faith. Grow weary and give up.
A forward-looking faith is rooted in who Christ is and, because of who He is, in what Christ has already achieved on our behalf!
What are the things that are now “achieved” in the finished work of Christ? Salvation, forgiveness, freedom, healing, newness of life, the indwelling Spirit, transformation, formation, infilling, baptism with power, a new heaven and earth, unity, blessing, the Kingdom – riches and treasures beyond measure! These are secured, promised, immovable.
Psalm 5:1-7 says, “But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house.” This “steadfast love” speaks to God’s covenantal love established on our behalf. Today, Elim Grace, our faith looks forward by looking backward to the completed and finished work of the cross!
WHOSE REPORT WILL YOU BELIEVE
Who is anchoring your faith? Who is the forerunner or the champion of your faith? Your favorite influencers? Preachers? Internet prophets? Journalists? Politicians?
Only ONE has died and conquered in your place and made a way into the very life and presence of God. Only ONE has risen and ascended on your behalf to the right hand of the Father and poured out the Spirit of God into your life. Only ONE, so that no matter what happens, you will never be separated from, but will forever be united to the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. You don’t ever have to go back to Egypt! For God is able. Believe Him.