August 24, 2008
We live and time a place where we are inundated with promises. If you were to believe every promise that the world tells you, what would you believe? Think about all the promises the world throw at you everyday. Men are promised that the right cologne will make women want us. Women are promised more youthful looking skin in just 5-7 days…
All of us, except perhaps our youngest folks here, have experienced the pain of a broken promise. Perhaps it was a malicious lie in the first place. Something someone promised and they had no intention of ever keeping their word. Or perhaps it was just an unfortunate mistake or change whereby someone with the best of intentions couldn’t keep their word. Either way, a promise was broken, and we got a raw deal. Then there is also the situation we have all found ourselves in- we are the one breaking a promise. As we say the words, “I promise that…” we know in our heart of hearts, that we are not going to keep our word, and if we have an integrity at all, and conscious, the words sit in the pit of our stomach like a rock. Or if we make that promise we have all intentions to keep, but we find ourselves unable to hold to our words, we are just sick, and sleepless.
It happens to all of us- in some big ways: The broken vows of a marriage. The promise to be together, in good times and in want, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, until death do us part. The broken promise of a parent, who swore they would al ways be there. The broken promise of a friend who swore they’d be closer than a brother or sister. The broken promise of an employer who sold on a plan for opportunity and advancement, and it the bottom fell out. And in the little things that build up over time.
All of it serves to break our trust and confidence in others, and ourselves. And that is really the two way dynamic. People break their promise to us, which violates their word, our trust, the entire relationship, and we lose a bit of hope. On the other side, we break a promise, we realize how flawed we are, how incredibly selfish we act sometimes, and we instantly project this onto other people. We realize, quite correctly, that if can tell a lie, break a promise, violate a trust, let some one down, then they are certainly capable as well. So we break promises, promised to us are broken, and in the end then, what really begins to happen, is that relationships suffer, and can even be severed. At the heart of every promise is a relationship.
But if you could take a step back from this reality that affects all of us, and if we were promised something incredible, and if we knew the one who made the promise was entirely trustworthy and capable of fulfilling the promise, the question would still remain-
would you believe the promise?
Today I want to tell you a story so big, that you’ll find it hard to believe. Today I want to tell you about a promise so amazing, so wonderful, so good, you’ll wonder, is it to too good to be true? Today I want to tell you about a God who gives us every reason, every proof, to believe he can and will keep his promise. Today I want you to be confronted with the greatest promise you’ve ever heard, so good you wonder is it too good to be true, and then challenge you to believe it.
In our journey into the wild we’ve come to a cross-roads. Moses and the people of Israel are freed from slavery in Egypt. They cross through the Read Sea, they travel cross the desert of Sinai, and come to the Mountain of Sinai. Moses goes up the Mount and there God tells him, you have already seen what I have done for the people. I have initiated our relationship. I have set you free from slavery. And now that you know I love, now that you are free for the first time ever in your history as a people, now if you obey my commands, you will be my people, my treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. And I will be your God. And I will give you the Promised Land.
And the people said- yes! Of course they said yes. And so God revealed to them the top ten ways to stay free. Don’t enslave yourself to any other nation or God every again. Don’t enslave yourself to any idols of your own creation. Don’t work seven days a week like a slave, but take a day off. Do take anyone else’s right to be free. Live free from murder, free from sexual sin that wrecks marriages, free from theft, free from lies, free from coveting what others have. Love God, and love people- this is the best way to live. This is true freedom.
Moses leads the people through the dessert. But it was God who freed them, fed them, lead them, and brought them to the edge of the Promised Land. And here is what happened…
Numbers 13:1-33
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders." 3 So at the LORD's command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.
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 [a] 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, [b] 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." 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."
“We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” I am always amazed at the incredible insight into the human psyche in the bible and in these stories. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.
How do you see yourself? How do you seem to you? How you see yourselves is how the world will see you. How you see yourself will be projected to others, and they will see you through the same lens. Really, they are only doing you the honor, the courtesy of seeing you with your own label. SO how do you se you? Do you see yourself as a grasshopper, an insect, a worm? Young people, what click, what group are you putting yourself into? Is it a niche you like, or one that breaks your hear? What the label you’re putting on yourself- freak, geek, class clown… How do you see yourself- the one born without the brains, the good looks, the talent, the char, the charisma…
The world looked at the Israelites and saw a bunch of slaves, God saw them as his sons and daughters. The world saw them as nomads. God saw them as noble. The world saw them as worthwhile only in what they could do. God saw them as worthwhile no matter what they did. The world saw them as expendable. God saw them as exceptional. Out of all the nations they would be his chosen people, his treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. Do you see yourself as a grasshopper, or a giant killer? Marianne Williamson from her book, A Return to Love, wrote this. It will be familiar to many of you, and potentially life changing for all of you…
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?” Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” ~ Marianne Willamson
You are not a grasshopper, you are a child of God. You do yourself, and you do no one around you any favor by not believing the promises of God. Who are you NOT to have a promised land, a place to call home, a place to belong, a place to be free, a place to flourish. Who are you NOT to defeat the giants in this world? Who are you to say you are too small, and that our God is to small? You do yourself and our world and our God no good when you shrink away from the greatest giants and challenges of our generation, and our world. Who are you NOT to do glorious things that will glorify God? Who are you NOT to let your light shine into the darkest parts of our world. Who are you NOT to be brilliant, beautiful, talented, musical, influential, involved.
I believe that these are some of the saddest words in all of the bible. We looked like grasshoppers in our eyes, and seemed the same to them. After God entered into a covenant relationship with the people- I will be your God and you will be my people, after God saved the people from slavery, after God lead them through the desert, after God met their every need, defeated their every enemy, after all that God had done for them, after all he had done to prove his word, to prove his ability, to prove his promises are trustworthy and true, the people did not have the faith to believe. It wasn’t the hoped for land. It wasn’t the maybe you’ll get it, maybe you won’t land. It wasn’t the, “Go in, check it out, and see what happens” land. It was the Promised Land. And after all that God had done to show he is true to his promises, the people still didn’t believe, they didn’t have the faith, they didn’t have the courage like Caleb, they didn’t trust. And because they didn’t believe, an entire generation was left to wander the desert, to literally walk along the outskirts of the promised land, always looking in, but never going in, always being reminded, until they would be ready, to take what was already theirs.
Folks, how many people out there are walking around the edge of the promises of God? How many folks are walking around in the deserts of this world, looking for an oasis, looking for a cool drink, looking for a promise to believe in, and one who can keep a promise. How many folks are missing the amazing, the glorious, the life giving, the life changing, the world-rocking promises of God? How many of you are missing those promises? How many of you are thirsty this morning? How many of are ready to believe in the promises of God, the promise for freedom the promise for a land to call your own, the promise for a place to belong, the promise for a home?
I want to look at three promises that God offers to us. Three promises that God says if you will believe this, everything in your life can be different. First, Jesus gave to us an unconditional, absolutely guaranteed promise- I am coming again. In John chapter 14 we have the story of Jesus last night with his disciples before he is handed over to be crucified and killed. The disciples don’t know this yet, but Jesus is already giving them a promise they will need. I am coming again. Jesus, you haven’t even left. Yeah, but, I’m telling you, I’m coming again. After Jesus was crucified, dead and buried, he rose from the dead. It was is defining moment to proven he had the power to defeat sin and death. But this wasn’t the coming back he was talking about. This was he resurrection that was also promised, but he was talking about coming again. The first promise that can change your life is to belief that Jesus Christ rose from the grave to defeat sin and death, and to believe that he is coming again.
The second promise is condition, the more common, if/then kind of promise. It is Jesus’ promise if you put your life in him, you will be saved. Again in John 14 Jesus says I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me. Jesus says if we believe, if we put our belief in him, if we put our lives in his, we will be saved. This is the difference between believing in Jesus as a historical figure, as a great teacher, as a moral example and all of that stuff that Jesus was and is. This is about believing that Jesus goes beyond all of that, that Jesus has the power to save our lives. Jesus promises that all who call upon him will be saved. Belief the promise, be saved.
Then third, for those who believe in Jesus, he says, again in John 14, if you love me, obey what I command. Here Jesus comes full circle in his promises. Obey what I command if you love me and believe in me. Then he does the most radical, wonderful thing- he gives them the ultimate command- love one another. As I have love you, so you must love one another. Then the promise- and I will send you the counselor, the holy Spirit, and that way I will live in you, and you will live in me, and whether you live or die in body, you will live with me for eternity.
Folks, you are no grasshoppers in the eyes of God. Don’t make the mistake of seeing yourselves in that light. But believe in the promises of God. Believe that he is coming again. Belief that in Jesus you are saved and free. Believe that he will send to you his Holy Spirit, and you will live in God, and he will live in you, and therefore, you are no mere grasshopper. You are a child of the living God.
There’s a difference between a command and a promise. On God’s part, a command is something we are told to you. Commands are all the “You will…” statements of God. But a promise is God saying, “I will.” But here’s the big difference: a command is something to be obeyed, but a promise is something to be believed. Commands are easy. You obey, or you disobey. But promises are a little tricky, because sometimes it’s hard to believe.
Will you take a chance and believe in the promises of God? What would it look like to live a life of radical obedience, and belief? A life of radical obedience would be a life lived truly free. A life of obedience to the commands of God would be the most freeing, empowering, amazing life any of us could ever imagine. And a life of radical belief, where would that take you? Let it take you all the way into a promised land. Don’t miss it friends. Don’t miss the opportunity. Don’t let yourself be one more generation left to wander the desert. Believe the promise, and enter into a whole new land.
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