See God’s Works With The Eyes Of Faith
Genesis 12:5-7, Philippians 4:13, Numbers 13:17-31
May 7, 2006
The Rev. Kong Namkung

It is a amazing thing that God delivered more than 2 million Israelites from the bondage of Egypt and fed them with Manna and quail from above, gave them water to drink from the rock, clothed them that never shrunk and worn out, worn them with sandals that did not worn out, led them with the pillar of clouds during the day because the weather is hot during the day, I guess it is about 130 degree during the day,  and the pillar of fire at night because they needed to know the direction and kept the weather is warm.  It was not the Israelites who provided them with all their needs, but it was God, who provided them all things.  God did everything for them not because they were good people, not because what they had done to God, but because God keeps God’s promise. They did not work for their food, water, clothes, gas, shelter, shoes, and so on in the wilderness for 40 years. Now they are about to embrace the land that God allow them to enter into.  It is called the Promised Land.

1. The Promised Land is full of blessings-   It is the land that God promised Abraham to give it to his descendents. (Gen 12: 5-7, “At that time the Canaanites were in the land,  Then the Lord appeared to Abram, and said, “ To your offspring I will give this land.” 

1. It flows with milk and honey.  (Num 13:27) – During the 40 years in the wilderness I bet what they saw were sands, dry hills, and poisonous insects and snakes. –  As 12 spies went out to explore the land, the land flows with milk and honey.  God promised Moses at the Burning Bush that God led the Israelites into the Promised Land (Ex 3:8)  

2. It bears lots of fruits (Num 13:23), “They came to the Wadi Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between tow of them.  They also brought some pomegranates and figs.”  Grape, pomegranates, and figs were great for the Israelites, for they were in the wilderness for 40 years.  Some adults remember what they were and had not have them for 40 years and children, who were born in the wilderness, did not have any idea what they are look like.

When I saw American watermelon first time, I dropped my chin.  It is about at least twice bigger than that of Korea.  Korea does not have mangoes, and honey dews.  I did not know mango, and honey dew before I came to this country. When I tasted them, I just fall in love with them.   I knew I tasted them, I understood the hearts of the Israelites. I felt that I was in the Promised Land 

However, there were many problems for the Israelites to enter into the Promised Land.

The obstacles of entering the Promised Land

3. The people who live in the land are strong and tall (Num 13: 28) 
    
4.  The towns are fortified and very large (Num 13: 28)
    

It is not the giants that make the Israelites complain and grumble against God, nor is it the obstacles that they complain, but it is giants that they had in their heart.  It is about their faith, it is about their trust to God.  Likewise in our own Christian life that keep us from a fulfilling walk with Christ, it is the giants in the heart.

5. 10 out of 12 bring unfavorable report (Num 13:32) – Negativism. Their negativism stirred up the crowd and reached to the point saying, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt!  Or would that we had died in this wilderness!  Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword?  Our wives and out little ones will become booty; would it not better for us to go back to Egypt?  Let us choose a captain, and go back to Egypt.”  (Num 14: 2-4)  

6. 10 out of 12 see themselves as grasshoppers (Num 13: 33) – under-estimate God’s ability and losing their identity as God’s chosen people.

They see the people in the Promised Land as giants and themselves as grasshoppers.  This comes out of the assumption that the little ones are always losing the battle.  Is that true?  No.  1 Samuel 17: 1- 51- tells us that little boy, who trusted God defeated the giant, Goliath, with smooth stones saying, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defiled.  This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand.” (v 45)

Do you know that Moses already defeated giants before in Deuteronomy 3:3- 11, “Only Kong Og of bashan was left of the remnant of the Rephaim.” In the bible the size of the person does not determine the victory of the battle, the quality of weapons does not resolve the winning the battle, the numbers of people do not verify the wining the battle, but the winning the battle is depending upon how much God’s people trust God and God’s power, how much they obey God and follow God’s instruction. 

Sometimes we feel that we are little and weak, we feel like we are grasshoppers, and the Devil tells us and whispers to us, “You are nobody, you are trash, what you have done is meaningless and hopeless, and what you have not accomplished are countless.”  The devil put you down as much as he can.  You and I know that we do not have any power to fight against the devil.  But I want to tell you that we, God’s chosen people, have Jesus Christ in us, who raised from the dead and who defeated the power of devil, and who won the battle against the world. Because of Jesus Christ, we can defeat the devil. We can defeat the giant of fear, doubt, worries, drug and alcohol addiction. 

How can the Israelites enter in the Promised Land?  Fear, doubt, worries, negativism,  and grasshopper down syndrome or mentality cannot help the Israelites to enter into the Promised Land.  Here are solutions.

Solutions

7. Do not see obstacles only with physical eyes, but find out what God is doing in the situation. In other words, to see the situation and circumstances with physical eyes is good.  But open your spiritual eyes to see what God is doing in that situation.
    
8. Trust God and God’s promise (Gal 4:4, “When the fullness of time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law.”
    
9. Take an action based on what God says.  “Num 13:2, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelite.”

B.     Why would God tell Moses to send out spies to explore the Land if God was going to give it to them? 

1.      God was challenging the Israelites to stretch their faith. 

The devil tries to put down our faith by temptation, and God strengthens our faith by testing our faith.  The Promised Land is before you, are you going to march into it with faith?  Or are you going back to Egypt?  When you see God’s works with the eyes of faith, I know what you will say.

2.      God not only wanted them to have a desire for the land, but God wanted them to take a good look at their adversaries.

3.      God wanted them to turn to God in faith in order to conquer the obstacles. 

God never ever fails God’s people. 

Likewise God challenges us in our Christian walk where we are.  God opened the doors of Cornerstone over 10 years ago.  Then 5 years ago God delivered us from the school building and allowed us to have this holy sanctuary and God has been sending countless people to strengthen the body of Christ. What I have found out from the history of Cornerstone UMC is that we had defeated giants.  Over ten years the congregation had giants.  The giants of uncertainty of the church future, the giants of purchasing the land and building the sanctuary, the giants of negativism, the giants of un-breakable circles, the giants of gossip, the giants of unwillingness of spiritual growth, the giant of illiteracy of the Bible, and so on.  All these giants we had overcame and we are going to overcome, not because we are good people, not because what we had done to God, but because God loves this church, but because God loves God’s chosen people, but because God has plans for Cornerstone UMC. 

God has given us a vision that we will have 100 families at the end of September.  That is what God wants us to be.  We have more than 20 families so far.  We will be there to have 100 families. I think that is our Promised Land. We have been in the wilderness for 11 years and now we are standing in front of the Promised Land. 

However, now we have a giant that is before us.  That is financial situation.  The church needs at least $14,000 a month and we have been correcting about $10,000.  We are facing a big giant before us.  My beloved, brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray to God that God bless the congregation that we have overcome our financial difficult and we defeat the giant by the grace of God.  

10 out of 12 spies that went out to explore the Promised Land forgot God’s promised to them through their father, Abraham.  They forgot God’s works when they were in the wilderness for 40 years.  They forgot God’s faithfulness and God’s provision.  All they could see were the obstacles. They took their eyes off the solution that come from God.  They took their eyes off what they knew about God’s truth and dwelt on the problems.  We see the giants in finance.  This giant tries to put down our faith in Christ.  The devil discourages us.  But we believe Philippines 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens in me.” 

The One, who led the Israelites into the Promised Land, is the Same One, whom you and I worship.  The One, who defeated the giants, is with us.  Last Sunday God spoke to you about offering tithe.  And some of you began to tithe while others put extra offerings to God in order to defeat the giant of finance.  Now I ask you to pray that God may reveal to you the people who have a generous spirit to support the body of Christ.  We have the names of some people who have generous hearts.   I truly believe that “All things work together for good for those who love God.”  (Romans 8:28)  Like Joshua and Caleb trusted and encouraged the Israelites to move forward, I encourage you to have a strong faith in God.  Just trust God and see God’s works with spiritual eyes.  Then we can give glory to God.  Glory to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit.  Amen

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Genesis 12:5-7

5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him. NIV

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Philippians 4:13

13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength. NIV

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Numbers 13:17-32

17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and on 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 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)

21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.

26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan."

30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."

31 But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are."  NIV

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