Just Do It!

There are some people who like to think that they have faith.  They pray; they believe God; they do have a certain type of faith.  I’ve preached often enough that faith is action.  We take action based on our faith.  In other words, we live out what we believe.  Sometimes, though we’re hesitant to take a step of faith and even more than that sometimes we’re resistant to take a step of faith.  Today, I want to post on taking a step of faith:

Exodus 14:10-15 (NKJV)
^14:10 And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord. ¹¹ Then they said to Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt? ¹² Is this not the word that we told you in Egypt, saying, 'Let us alone that we may serve the Egyptians?' For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness." ¹³ And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. ¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace." ¹⁵ And the Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.

God Has Already Moved

Here, we stand with Israel after leaving Egypt.  They have fled the country and are standing before the Red Sea and Egypt’s army is bearing down on them.  It seems pretty dire at this moment, but is it really as hopeless as it seems?  Yeah, the people are fearful.  Yes, Egypt’s army is looking for blood and revenge.  It’s not going to be pretty if they catch them. 

You can’t really blame the Israelites for their terror.  They’re stuck.  There are mountains blocking them from going north around the Red Sea.  There’s only the Red Sea ahead of them and Egypt is coming after them.

You have to remember what God has already done, though.  Look at this list:  He saved Moses as a child in the River Nile.  He brought him into Pharaoh’s household where he was educated and raised to be a leader.  He kept him for forty years in the desert to be the deliverer of Israel. 

He’d done ten major miracles to get them this far.  Water turned to blood, frogs, lice and of course, the death of the first-born.  Through all that He'd preserved them.  They didn’t have to endure the plagues in Egypt.  He’d come to deliver them from bondage.  That was His purpose in the first place.  In this moment, He has placed himself between the armies of Egypt and the people of God as a pillar of smoke by day and fire by night.

God had already moved powerfully to get them to the Red Sea and protect them.  Why would they think that God would bring them out there and leave them to die?  It’s because the problem wasn’t a problem on God’s part.  It was something in the Israelites character – unbelief.  They didn’t see a possible solution; what could they do?  The failing isn’t God’s it’s theirs. 

How many times are we like Israel in this moment?  We testify, “Wow, God has moved powerfully on my part.  Look at all God has done for me so far.”  When it gets hard; when it seems like trouble is coming, all of that faith goes right out the window and we say the same thing to God that Israel did, “Did you bring me this far just to kill me?”

We pray and we say, “God help me with this thing – I need you God.”  I have to tell you something God’s blessing almost always comes through adversity. 

I wrote it last week, “If there’s no battle there’s no victory.”  Look at all that Job endured.  In one day he lost his family, his wealth and his health, but in the end he went on to great victory.  He ended up with twice as much as he had before the calamity.  His wife told him to curse God and die.  Look at his response:

 Job 2:10 (NKJV)
^2:10 But he said to her, "You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips.

When that adversity comes, though, we always say, “What happened to God?  How can I trust God in all of this?”  Then we give up, “I guess it wasn’t God.”  We look for someone to blame.  Israel chose Moses.  Who do you blame – Your husband, wife, business partner, pastor…or God? Or, do we cry out God, DO something – God YOU move! That’s what Israel did and what did God say?

Exodus 14:15 (NKJV)
^14:15 And the Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.

Take a step of faith.  Does it sound to anyone else like God’s a little irritated here?  Have you ever heard someone say, “God helps those that help themselves”?  People always think that’s in the Bible.  It isn’t.  It doesn’t say that anywhere in the Bible.  But in this scripture it does say, “I brought you this far, so trust me and just keep going.”

The Course is Set

Psalms 37:23-25 (NKJV)
^37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. ²⁴ Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand. ²⁵ I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread.

The psalmist is looking back over his life, “I have been young and now I’m old…”  I’ve gone completely through life and I’ve never seen God’s plan for His people fail, because it IS God’s plan.

In my own life I know that what I’m doing in Taiwan is God’s will for my life.  I know that this is God’s plan for my family, but I want you to know that this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.  It’s God’s will and plan for our lives, but it’s still a struggle. 

I feel like Israel sometimes, too.  God, why won’t people lock in?  Why don’t people give?  Why am I always worried that the rent isn’t going to get paid?  “Oh God, move in these circumstances.”  God is saying the same thing He said to Israel, “Just move forward and I’ll take care of the rest of it.”  Just don’t stop going forward, because that’s the place where God can move in our circumstances.  If we quit trusting Him and quit moving forward then He can’t push the obstacle out of the way.  He’s stuck there with us. 

Let’s go back to the Red Sea for a moment, and pick up where we left off:

Exodus 14:15-18 (NKJV)
^14:15 And the Lord said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. ¹⁶ But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea. ¹⁷ And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen. ¹⁸ Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen."

If Israel stays where they are there’s nothing God can do, but if they move forward God can change the circumstance and take away the adversity.  He can open the Red Sea and deliver them…and He will.  God will bring us through the problems, just like He brought Israel through the Red Sea.  Do you want to know why?

Psalms 103:13-14 (NKJV)
^103:13 As a father pities his children, So the Lord pities those who fear Him. ¹⁴ For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.

How many of you were able to trust your own father?  We know that our father has our best interests in mind.  We know that he loves us and wants the best for us.  If our earthly father is able to give good gifts to us, how much more is our Father in Heaven able to do that?  It’s harder to trust God though, because we aren’t always able to see Him moving on our behalf.  We aren’t always able to see what He’s doing for us.  Sometimes, what He’s doing even looks like a problem or like adversity, but God may be clearing a way or causing us to think in a different way.

In our text, Israel is stopped cold by their circumstances and with Egypt bearing down on them this must look like an impossible situation.  They really don’t have any choice but to trust God and go forward.  They can’t go back to Egypt at this point.  The death of the first-born pretty much burned that bridge.  Going forward is the only real choice that they have.

God does move and changes the circumstance.  The Red Sea is opened and they go through on dry land, God causes the Egyptians to follow them into he sea and then closes it on them.

The Struggle becomes and advantage, because Egypt doesn’t have the strength after that to pursue them through the wilderness.  The Israelites make a clean escape.  They’re free to go forward after that.  If that hadn’t happened Egypt could have pursued them all the way to the Promised Land and possibly destroyed them.

This is Where Faith Becomes Real

How easy is it to believe God when you’re not doing anything?  You’re comfortable; everything seems to be working out.  You’re not facing anything, so there are no roadblocks to progress.  It’s always smooth sailing.  It’s when we step out and try to do something that it becomes stressful and nerve wracking.  When we try to do something, that’s when our faith becomes real.  That’s when we really have to trust God. 

If you’re trying to do something, look back at what God has done to get you to that place.  What miracles has God done?  What circumstances has He changed?  What fights has He fought on your behalf?  Did He do all of that to kill you where you’re at now, or do you need just to move forward and let Him bust through the obstacles you’re facing now?  There’s an old Nike Sportswear ad campaign that has this tag line:  Just Do It! 

I’m not recommending recklessness.  You need to be sure that what you’re doing is God’s will.  You need to be “prayed up” and know that it’s God’s plan.  If you’re sure of that, then you need to move forward in faith.  Believe that God will bring you through the circumstances.  That struggle that you’re going through may be the thing that you need to succeed – Just like Israel.  The Red Sea at first, was an impossible problem, but then became the thing that guaranteed their success.

Maybe God is trying to teach you something that will equip you at a later point for a different obstacle.  The whole lesson here is to believe god and step out in faith.  Your faith becomes real in action.  It doesn’t take any faith to talk about what God CAN do, but it takes a lot of faith to move in spite of the circumstances and SEE what God will do.

Gileadites

Is it only me, or does it seem like living for Jesus is like fighting a battle?  We’re constantly waging a war with Satan, in order to find our destiny in Jesus Christ.  Each of us has a destiny that’s worth fighting for.  It’s sad to see people start out and then quit when things get difficult.  As the fight continues some people lose their resolve to continue on. 

Today I want to look at people who quit just before they entered the Promised Land:   People who were content to receive as their inheritance, that portion of land that was just short of the promise that was meant for them.  They stepped out of the will of God because they didn’t see all that God had for them.  We need to be careful to press in, and not give up, so that we can enjoy all of the promise of God.  Today, I want to post a message on quitting too soon.

Numbers 32:1-8 (NKJV)
^32:1 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock, ² the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, ³ "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, ⁴ the country which the Lord defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock." ⁵ Therefore they said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan." ⁶ And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: "Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here? ⁷ Now why will you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord has given them? ⁸ Thus your fathers did when I sent them away from Kadesh Barnea to see the land.

Unwilling to Continue

Here we see the days just before the Israelites crossed over the Jordan and into the Promised Land.  They are poised on the very edge of the promise of God.  They’re set up to step inside their inheritance.  This is the land that God promised to Abraham so many years before. 

This is the land of Destiny for Israel.  This is what God had in mind for them when He delivered them from the bondage of Egypt.  This is the place He planned for them.  They had spent forty years wandering in the desert to finally enter into this land – The Land Flowing with Milk and Honey.

Moses had sent spies into the Promised Land and they came back with a report that was filled with unbelief, saying there are giants in the land and we are like grasshoppers in their sight and in our own.  The people cried all night, forgetting that God had promised it.  So God refused to allow them to enter in until that entire generation had passed away.

These in our text are not the generation who believed the bad report.  They weren’t the ones who had no faith, but there was something in their makeup that said to them, “This is good enough.”  They settled for the land that they were sitting on not even knowing whether or not there was better land in the land of promise.  They settled, they weren’t willing to fight for all that God had for them.  There was some flaw in their character that kept them from pressing in to see all of it.

Look at the life of Elijah for a moment.  Look at who he is:

1 Kings 17:1 (NKJV)
^17:1 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word."

So Elijah is a descendant of the men of Gilead.  He grew up in the customs and society of that people.  His ancestors were the ones who said, “We will settle for this land.” 

Look at one moment in Elijah’s life.  He’s defeated the prophets of Baal.  He’s turned the people to God once more.  He’s just prayed and God brought rain after three and a half years of drought, and Jezebel, King Ahab’s wife has threatened to kill him.  Look at his reaction:

1 Kings 19:1-4 (NKJV)
^19:1 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword. ² Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, "So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time." ³ And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. ⁴ But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, "It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!"

He’s just won a great victory for God but one threat from Jezebel and he wants to die, saying, “I’m no better than my fathers.”  He gave up…just like those who stopped at the Jordan River.  He wasn’t willing to fight any longer.  He wanted to die saying that he’s no better than his fathers.  He’s saying, “I will be like them.”  They wanted to quit rather than continue the struggle.    They fell short of the Promised Land, being unwilling to fight the battle that would give them the inheritance God had planned for them. 

We are also in danger of quitting too soon.  Life can be a real struggle for us, too, because there’s a real devil who opposes what God wants to do in us.  He wants to keep us from the victory of our inheritance and he will bring the battle to us.

Standing Strong in the Battle

There will be a battle for the promise of God to come to fruition in your life.  Look at Paul’s testimony for a moment:

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (NKJV)
^12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. ⁸ Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. ⁹ And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Paul is talking about revelation that comes from God.  God is revealing things to Paul that have, up until then, been kept secret.  They’ve never been revealed before, and what does he face?  A messenger from Satan.  Some commentators believe that this is the stress of the opposition that he faced in Corinth.  Satan had brought the battle to him and he cried out for deliverance three times.  God spoke to him and said, “My grace is sufficient for you.”

So, Paul sees victory in his suffering and struggle.  Jesus will be in him when he suffers.  That’s why he says, “When I’m weak then I’m strong.”  When he’s at his place of greatest weakness then the power of Jesus is strongest in him.  It’s not in his own power that he fights the battle; it’s in the power that Jesus gives him.  He can find victory in Jesus.

How can we continue on when Satan attacks us with persecution and distress?  Not in our own power but in Jesus’ power.  That word that’s translated as buffet means to rap with the fist.  This is a special attack that is set aside just for you.  It’s a personal attack from Satan.

What’s interesting is that Paul doesn’t quit because of these attacks, even when he’s an old man in prison.  He endured to the end.  He fought the good fight.  He has the victory and if we persevere we will also have the victory.  I want you to think about this, though.  Every victory must have a battle associated with it.  There can be no victory if there’s no adversary.  There’s no victory if there’s no struggle.  We have victory when we overcome!

The Gileadites didn’t have victory.  They didn’t have what Paul had; they didn’t see the full promise of God for their lives, because they quit too soon.  They settled for too little.  I’ve known so many people who wanted to see God’s promise.  They came, they believed God…but then the battle begins – You know if you’re just coming to church once in a while, if you’re not involved in what God’s doing in the church’s activities, or you’re not giving and supporting the church – If you’re not trusting God for His help – If you’re not doing those things, there’s no battle with the devil, because you’re no threat to him.  As far a he’s concerned your life has no power.  In that case, you’re a Gileadite, because you’re settling for what you already have rather than fighting for everything that God wants for you.

People like this look at others in the church and see them with the victory, in spite of the battles that they go through, and you think to yourself I wish I had that in my life.  Well, they’ve fought for that victory.  They’ve contended for what God wants to do in their lives.  They grabbed hold of the promise of God, like the Israelites who crossed over the Jordan.  The Gileadites settled, “This land is good enough, why press on.  If you settle you’ll never know the victory that comes fro a hard fought battle.  If you’re not willing to contend for the destiny that He has for you, you’ll never set foot in that land of Promise.  You’ll always be on the outside and wondering, “Why don’t I fit in?”  People settle for what’s easy to achieve and never know what God can do with their lives, because they never give him the opportunity.  They quit too soon.

Finding Destiny

The Gileadites finally agreed to join in the battle for the Promised Land. 

Numbers 32:20-22 (NKJV)
^32:20 Then Moses said to them: "If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before the Lord for the war, ²¹ and all your armed men cross over the Jordan before the Lord until He has driven out His enemies from before Him, ²² and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be blameless before the Lord and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the Lord.

So, the men of Gilead went to war alongside the Israelites and the land that they had chosen was given to them.  When Moses died God took him up on the mountain to show him the Promised Land.

Deuteronomy 34:1 (NKJV)
^34:1 Then Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, which is across from Jericho. And the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead as far as Dan,

Because they stepped into the battle God gave them their inheritance, and Gilead is named as a part of the Promised Land.  The ended up with their destiny, and if you will rise up and fight the battle then you will also know your destiny.