Today, I want to speak about "Faith." There are many Christians who are happy, smiling Christians as long as everything is going their way. As long as they have good health, a nice balance in their bank account and so on then they praise the Lord. Those are of course good things and we should be thankful for them but that is simply "Gratitude" - it is not "Faith." Faith isn't faith until it's all you're holding on to. When God delivered the Israelites out of bondage and slavery in Egypt they, too, were happy and praising the Lord for His goodness. They were "grateful" to God, but  they did not "trust" God. They had no true "faith." We see the obvious distinction between the two (gratitude and faith) as they reach the entrance to the promised land, the land of Canaan. Let’s examine further this prime example of gratitude versus faith.

We read the story in the old testament book of Numbers chapter 13, verses 17 - 33: "As God commanded, Moses sent twelve men to spy out the land of Canaan and see the land and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many, and whether the land be good or bad and what cities that they dwell in whether they be tents or strongholds, and whether the land was fat or lean. So they went up and searched the land, and they came unto the brook of Eshcol and cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff, and they brought pomegranates and figs. And they returned from searching the land after 40 days. And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel and shewed them the fruit of the land. And they said, we came unto the land where thou sent us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey. Nevertheless, the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great. But then Caleb quieted the people and said, to Moses, let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it. But the other men that had gone up with Caleb said, we are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are. And they gave an evil report of the land which they had searched saying all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature, and there we saw giants and we are as grasshoppers in their sight."

This is a story of great tragedy and failure. It is the story of complete unbelief on the part of 10 men and a story of complete faith on the part of two men. It is the story of a people who saw the promised land but were afraid to enter it solely because of a total lack of faith and trust in God. This is the story of the oppression of God’s people, Israel, who had been in bondage and slavery under the iron hand of the Egyptian Pharaoh. Scripture states that the departing Israelite population numbered some 600,000 men, not counting women and children. God had heard their cries of distress and so He sent Moses to lead them out of captivity and into Cannan. When they came to the border of the promised land Moses picked out 12 men to go and spy out the land. The Bible describes the land as being  wonderful and plentiful beyond the imagination. So much so that it took two strong men to even carry a single cluster of grapes. After a period of 40 days the 12 men returned and gave their report to Moses. The first ten men said, "It is an absolutely wonderful country Moses. Everything that we could possibly ever need is there - BUT - the people there are giants and there is no way that we could ever defeat them. We are like tiny grasshoppers compared to them." Then the remaining two of the twelve men gave their report to Moses. These two were Caleb and Joshua and they said to Moses, "What the others say is true Moses -BUT - they forget that God is with us." Caleb and Joshua then turn and begin to speak to all the congregation of the Israelites and they say to them, "Hear us, the land that we searched is an exceedingly good land, and the Lord WILL bring us into this land and give it to us, but you must not rebel against the Lord, you must not fear the giant people in the land because they are mere bread for us, there is no way that they can stand against us because the Lord is with us." So how did all the people respond to Caleb and Joshua’s show of faith? The Bible says that they all wanted to stone them to death. Why? Because the people were all afraid. Their faith was weak (or in fact non-existent) and they said, "we can not go into that land, it would be suicide, we should have just stayed in Egypt." It was that lack of faith, a complete lack of trust in God that brought forth great tragedy upon the people as God then spoke and said, "Alright, because you have no faith you will go back into the wilderness, you will wonder there for 40 years, and not one of you 20 years of age or older will enter the promised land except for Caleb and Joshua."

For each of us there comes a point in life when we must decide "will we trust God? Will we follow Him? Without hesitation and without question will we take up our cross and follow Him? Will we become "Davids" and stand fearlessly against the giants because we know that God is with us? Will we put on the impenetrable cloak of complete faith as did Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Will we sit as a tasty morsel in the lions den with unwavering faith in God that He will protect and deliver us? These Israelites were quite literally standing on the edge of the fruition of God’s Word that He would lead them into the promised land. But - they refused to cross over. They just stood there on the borderline of a magnificent and incredible land flowing with milk and honey. When confronted by a situation that required faith they were completely faithless. They could so easily have been saved and  spared the torturous 40 years of wandering in the wilderness had they simply had "faith." Even after all of the miracles they had witnessed by God’s hand, the plagues against the Egyptian Pharaoh and his people, the manna, the cloud that led them by day, the pillar of fire by night - after all of this and more they still  had no real faith or trust in God, and they paid the ultimate price. Just why is trusting God sometimes so difficult? The Bible says "Trust in the Lord with all your heart" (Proverbs 3:5) and it also says that "the person who trusts in himself is a fool" (Proverbs 28:26). Still, almost every Christian at some point in their walk with God have difficulty trusting Him. God’s ways don’t always make sense to us. He told Noah to build an ark and it had never even rained before. Such a thing couldn’t have made much sense to Noah but He trusted God and his faith never failed for an instant.

In order to trust God we must totally (not mostly) but totally surrender our will, our ideas, our desires and our future into God’s hands. Many state that they trust God but at the first sign of any difficulty in life our heretofore claim of complete faith suddenly becomes a self-pitying attitude of "God must not love me or else He wouldn’t be allowing this thing to happen to me." But you see God uses the trials and difficulties of life to test the level of trust that we have in Him. In the same way that a diamond cannot be polished without friction, neither can a man be perfected without trials, and as our trust increases so does our relationship with God and our love for God. And so then when troubles do come our way and we don’t know what to do we can take great comfort in the assurance and knowledge that God has all things in control. It is this which the Bible calls "faith." Scripture also tells us that "ALL things work together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28). Do you believe that? As a child of God do you believe that the trials, difficulties, and all the hard times actually work together for good? Well if you are truly saved then your answer has to be "yes" because your life is not your own anymore, you belong to God and you serve the Lord Jesus Christ. Worry, fear and anxiety creep in when we forget who is in control and we take our eyes off of Christ and center our attention on the problem instead of on the "problem solver." Don’t ever believe any preacher who tells you that becoming a Christian automatically "immunes" you to all trouble and heartache. Don't be fooled into believing that simply claiming His Name will get you everything that you want in this life because such is not taught anywhere in the Bible and has no scriptural basis of merit but it will get you everything that God wants you to have. To those who come to Him in true repentance through His Son Jesus Christ He promises that He will supply all of our "needs." Nowhere in the entirety of the Bible does God promise to fulfill all of our selfish "wants" and "desires."  Many however choose to place their trust in other things such as money, possessions, or a high position at work. But none of those things offer the protection plan, the eternal security, or the benefits that we receive when we trust only in God. Anything other than the atoning shed blood of Jesus Christ will fail us every time, but God never fails.It is so wonderfully reassuring to know that we have a God in Heaven Who is so personally concerned about our well-being. As King David said, "Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God is with you, He will never fail you or forsake you" (1 Chronicles 28:20).

Why did people like Job suffer so tremendously? Was he wicked and disobedient to God? No, God Himself said "there is none like Job in all the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil" (Job 2:3). Here was a man who was just and faithful, and yet he suffered. Job's suffering was permitted specifically for the reason of testing his "faith." God does not promise to remove all of the problems in your life. In fact what the Bible does say is this; "We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). What then HAS God promised to those who follow Him?" Does He offer anything at all to help us endure the trials, struggles, and difficulties in our life? The answer of course is an emphatic and resounding "Yes." What He offers is -Himself. He alone is our strength for enduring the trials and difficulties and problems of life. As the apostle Paul said, "I can do all things, I can conquer all things, all trials, all hardships through Christ, Who strengthens me" (Philippians 4:13). As a Christian you and I live for God not because He will remove the problems in our life but because He will provide us the strength to endure them and in the end give us eternal life in a land where there are no problems. But you can not spend your life just standing on the borderline. You must make a decision. The Bible puts the question to each and every one of us - "what do YOU think of Jesus?" Do you think enough of Him to accept Him as your personal Lord and Saviour? Do you think enough of Him to give Him first place in every area of your life? Do you  think enough of Him to tell others about Him? Not only did Jesus NOT say that living for Him would be easy He actually said just the opposite. He pretty much guarantees that there will be rough patches and difficult times in life but you see that’s where the entire concept of our "faith" comes in because He also promises that He will be with us, right there at our side, through each and every one of those hard times. He promises "I will never turn away from you, I will never leave you or forsake you." He said "I am with you ALWAYS, even unto the end of the world!" (Matthew 28:20).

You see in all the world there are only two kinds of people - those who trust God and have stepped (in faith) over that border line into a loving and saving relationship with Jesus Christ and, those who have chosen to remain wandering aimlessly in a wilderness of sin and hopelessness. The question I leave you with today is this: "what about YOU?" God is calling to you. He is urging you to cross over and place your faith and trust in Him. It won’t always be easy living for Christ. Before the little honey bee grows into the full stage of what it is meant to be it is first sealed inside a small cell of wax, and when the time comes for the bee to emerge into the open it must first go through a tremendously agonizing and difficult fight to get through the wax, but while it is going through that hard struggle the bee rubs off the membranes that hide its wings and it is only because of that struggle that when the bee finally breaks through it is able to fly. And even though in this life as Christians we may struggle with trials and hardships we have confidence in knowing that our wings are being prepared for us to soar into the other side of this life into eternity with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

I remember a dear old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky with his young grandson. Every morning bright and early grandpa was sitting at the kitchen table reading his old worn-out Bible. His young grandson always wanted to be just like him and he imitated everything his grandpa did. One day he said to his grandpa, "Grandpapa, I try to read the Bible just like you do but I don’t understand it, and anything I do understand I forget just as soon as I close it, so what good does it do me to read the Bible?" - His grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the old stove and said to his grandson, "Take this coal basket down to the river for your grandpa and bring me back a bucket of water. The boy did as he was told even though all the water leaked out before he could get back to the house. His grandfather smiled just a little bit and said "I guess you’ll have to move a little faster next time," and he sent his grandson back down to the river to try again. This time the boy ran faster but once again the basket was empty before he got home. Panting and out of breath the boy said to his grandfather, " it’s impossible to carry water in a basket grandpapa, I’ll go get a bucket." His grandfather said, "I don’t want a BUCKET of water, I want a BASKET of water. You can do this for your old grandpa you’re just not trying hard enough." As the boy once again picked up the basket the grand-dad stepped out the door and watched as his grandson tried again. By this time the boy knew that it was impossible but he also knew that his grandpa was watching and he wanted to show him that even if he ran as fast as he could that all of the water would still leak out. So, the boy bent down and scooped water from the river into the old coal basket and then ran as hard as he could back to his grandfather but again by the time he got there the basket was empty. After catching his breath the boy looked up at his grandpa and said "See Papa, it’s useless." His grandpa said "You think it’s useless? Look at your basket." The boy looked at the basket and for the first time he realized that it looked different than it did at first. Instead of a dirty old coal basket it was now clean. His grandpa said "You see grandson, that’s what happens when you read the Bible and you accept Jesus into your heart. You might not understand or remember everything in the Bible and you won’t always understand the ways of God, but as your Saviour He will wash away your old dirty sins and He will cleanse you and change you from the inside out." And that’s exactly how God works in our lives. He changes us from the inside out.

If you’re standing on the borderline today about making your decision for Christ, if you’re on the outside edge looking in at God’s promised land for you but you’re afraid of facing the giants, the lions, the fires of difficulties, ridicule, and trials that you may encounter along the way don’t worry about them. Don’t be intimidated when circumstances hover over you and try to make you feel like a tiny grasshopper because God has given His Word the He will help you to rise above them and defeat them. And don’t ever let anyone tell you that you’re not worth loving or that you’re not worth saving because there is a Cross soaked through and through with the atoning blood of God’s Son that says differently. Jesus Christ loves you. There is no greater love than His. Even though the path may not always be a smooth one we must always fully trust and have complete unwavering faith in God. We can never please God without faith, without depending entirely upon Him. When our human eyes see circumstances that seem to shout at us "there is no way to get through"  we have God's promise that He will make a way. The giants are powerless against the grasshoppers when their hope is in God.

God bless you,
Mark Shutts
 

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