ANAK: mixed race of giant people, descendants of the Nephalim!

Transcription

1 Sunday February 19th 2017 St Denys Church 11am Caleb and Joshua's Continuing Adventures Last week Recap Children of Israel camped on the Southern Border of Canaan - the long promised land which they'd heading towards ever since leaving Egypt some 2 years previously. They'd been promised by God a land of 'milk and honey' and before crossing the border they'd sent 12 spies from the various tribes on ahead to check the lay of the land. After 40 days the spies returned with a report on what they'd seen... and for the Children of Israel it was something of a disturbing one. If you were here last week... what did they find? We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there!!" ANAK: mixed race of giant people, descendants of the Nephalim! They wanted to turn back... Caleb and Joshua saw things differently. We read in verse 30 that Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it. We spent the rest of last week then thinking about what set Caleb and Joshua apart. Why did they see the same obstacles but respond very differently to them. We thought about Caleb and Joshua's faithfulness but also about how their eyes were set on God... whereas the other spies could see only giants. We then thought about how differently the world looks when we keep our focus on God. It's amazing how peripheral everything else can appear when we keep God at the centre of our gaze.

2 Finally we talked about our own relationships with God in that context... but also about how we as a church have seemed to have camped on the borders of the promised land a number of times but to many of us it's never quite felt like we've pushed on taken possession of it. So all that was last week... This week let's take that story on a step further. We'll pick it up where the people have rejected Caleb and Joshua's plea to trust in God and God Himself is not well pleased with them. In fact he rages against the Children of Israel but from verses Moses prays fervently that God will relent READ NUMBERS 14 v Moses replied: With your mighty power you rescued your people from Egypt, so please don t destroy us here in the desert. If you do, the Egyptians will hear about it and tell the people of Canaan. Those Canaanites already know that we are your people, and that we see you face to face. And they have heard how you lead us with a thick cloud during the day and flaming fire at night. But if you kill us, they will claim it was because you weren t powerful enough to lead us into Canaan as you promised. 17 Show us your great power, LORD. You promised 18 that you love to show mercy and kindness. And you said that you are very patient, but that you will punish everyone guilty of doing wrong not only them but their children and grandchildren as well. 19 You are merciful, and you treat people better than they deserve. So please forgive these people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt. And God does relent.. to an extent.. and promises to forgive them but because of their faithfulness vows that they'll never take possession of the promised land. It will be for their descendants to do that. 20 Then the LORD said to Moses: In answer to your prayer, I do forgive them. 21 But as surely as I live and my power has no limit, I swear that not one of these Israelites will enter the land I promised to give their ancestors. These people have seen my power in Egypt and in the desert, but they will never see Canaan. They have disobeyed and tested me too many times.

3 24 But my servant Caleb isn t like the others. So because he has faith in me, I will allow him to cross into Canaan, and his descendants will settle there. The rest of the story pans out elsewhere in the OT but basically the Children of Israel spend another 38 years wandering around in the Wilderness until they arrive back at the borders of Canaan. So what do we take from that? Well I think there are 2 obvious questions here: 1) What does the 'Promised Land' look like to us and how do we possess it? 2) What happened to Joshua and Caleb in the end? Let's take question 2 first 'cos that the shorter answer. They stayed with their fellow men. Despite the critics and the complaining of their fellow travellers; despite the disobedience and their threats... Joshua and Caleb stood by them and remained faithful to them as they continued to wander for the next 38 years. And that tells me something about what it means to live as the people of God. Serving our Father often equates to serving his children, even when the grass is quite literally greener elsewhere. We have a consumer approach to church all too often. If we're not careful we adopt a Starbucks approach. If it's not quite how we'd like it we want it changed or else we look for an alternative. When we worship the 'Servant King' there's an expectation we become servants too. Now the second question Promised Land = The Kingdom of God What does the 'Promised Land' look like to us? And how do we possess it? We often talk as individuals and as a church about being on some kind of journey. Journeys feature heavily in Christian tradition. But we get frustrated because we never seem to arrive there! But let me suggest this morning that 'The Promised Land' is not so much a fabled place which forever seems out of reach. Instead it's about discipleship - about growing ever deeper in relationship with God and ever deeper in relationship with one another.

4 To me the Promised Land is not some mythical place beyond the 'Looking Glass' or something akin to Narnia... instead it's the full realisation of the Kingdom. A place where the gifts of the Spirit operate unimpeded by the obstacles, cares and fears of this world. And what are the gifts of the Spirit? Galatians 5 v But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; So the Promised Land is not a place in that sense just as the Kingdom of God is not a place. It's a way of life. Can I make a statement here? If we all lived in such a way that our lives demonstrated in each area those Gifts of the Spirit in Galatians 5 we wouldn't need to worry too much about where we're heading or whether or not we had a vision for this or a vision for that. We wouldn't need to worry about evangelising or strategies for church growth. I can 100% guarantee you that if we lived according to Galatians 5 this place would be bursting at the seams and we would experience a life with God and with others we never thought possible. The Children of Israel learned that with God the Promised Land didn't come cheaply. It took commitment, it took faith and it took trust in the God who led them by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. And for us the Promised Land doesn't come cheaply either. The Kingdom of God isn't an elusive place just out of reach. The Kingdom of God is already here and in everyone that follows Jesus Christ. But how much we experience it as individuals and as a church depends entirely on how much we let the Kingdom influence our lives. God doesn't come cheap. There are no short cuts as disciples. I've loved looking at Numbers 13 and 14 the last couple of weeks. And I've learned so much taking this quick peek at Caleb and Joshua. Two men who when faced with challenges didn't bid a hasty retreat as so many of their journeymen did but instead kept their eyes fixed on God and saw only opportunities whereby God's promises could be fulfilled. And even then, in the face of such disappointment and heartache when the Children of Israel turned back, they remained faithful to them and walked with them back into the Wilderness. And God honoured that.

5 Not only did they both make it to the Promised Land in the end some 38 years later... but Joshua was even tasked with leading them across the border. Let's pray for God's Kingdom to Come and to grow in us and in our church. God is looking for men and women to serve him in Let's be those people. When God calls us out and asks us to walk upon the waters let's keep our eyes above the waves and look to Him for in Him is our salvation to be found