At the Edge of Promise
This Sunday will mark the final sermon in a series that has taken us from the creation of the world right up to Israel standing at the edge of the promised land. Although, I shouldn’t say final sermon, we will just be taking a break for the summer while we spend time in the four gospels, and resume From Creation to Christ in the fall. We have seen how God has used individuals for his purposes in bringing about the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven. We have watched as God fulfilled His promise to Abraham to make him a mighty nation of people. From clans to an entire people set apart for God’s work through history, we now have Israel prepared to enter what God has promised, but will they?
To be so close to the promises of God and yet decades away, to have all your needs met, desires fulfilled, and destiny set, to now, spending 40 years wondering in circles in the desert. It should be a cautionary tale for us today that when God says go, we go! No questions, no murmuring, no fear, but have we learned this lesson? I think at times we can be a lot more like this first generation of Israel than we are the second. We all want to be Joshua, who is a bold and faithful warrior, who gave us one of the greatest quotes in all of scripture, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”
This is not all doom and gloom however, there is much hope to see in the character of God and that during rebellion and fear this is always a remnant of faithful who are pursuing God. In a country and culture that seems to slide further and further from truth, it is a great reminder that we have the choice to be faithful to the things of God, and like the Caleb’s and Joshua’s see promise where others only see death. I encourage you this week to trust the Lord in all things, from politics, to money to our children, be vigilant in what has been set before you and watch see how faithful He is!
Peace,
Nathan Bentley