(Un)able God
Pastor: Jacob Elwart Series: Miscellaneous Sermons Topic: Expository Passage: Numbers 13:1–33
- When God is small, we fail to believe his promises (vv.1-2)
- They failed to latch on to a key phrase in v. 2 “the land…which I am going to give you” – it was a promise
- They failed to believe God’s promise and power
- When God is small, we fail to see his faithfulness and blessing (vv.3-20)
- The purpose of the spies going into the land was not to create fear and doubt, but to gather info so they could build confidence and a plan of attack.
- Thirteen months prior, God had delivered them from the greatest superpower in the world (Egypt), but now they were fearful of a much less powerful opponent.
- The land was fruitful and ready to supply them with food. It was harvest time (evidence: grape clusters) – no more manna!
- When God is small, our problems are big (vv.21-33)
- How we interpret life’s circumstances depends on how we view God and his character and power.
- The spies were accurate and confident about the prosperity and food (v.26), but they doubted their ability to defeat the fortifications and armies (v. 28)
- Caleb & Joshua saw the same details as the other 10, but they had a very different outlook (v. 30). They focused on the promise God had given.
- But, sadly, people sided with the other 10 spies (vv. 31-33)
- They failed to see that God, the Creator and Lord of Hosts, was behind them, to defeat their enemies. Their evaluation of win vs. loss was factored without God in view.
- They failed to remember God’s previous work in the Exodus and they failed to trust God in their current (and far less challenge) situation.
- Summary: There is an inverse relationship between our perceived view of God and the perceived size of our problems.
- Low view of God = high view of problems
- High view of God = low view of problems (they don’t go away, but they are seen in their proper proportion to God)
- Application:
- Where God is clear about our future, we can be sure that he will fulfil his promises.
- Where God is silent about our future, we can rest in the promises of his faithfulness, his goodness, and his presence.
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