Worship
Scripture
“‘See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.’
“Then, as the Lord our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful wilderness that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea. Then I said to you, ‘You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the Lord our God is giving us. See, the Lord your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.’
“Then all of you came to me and said, ‘Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.’
“The idea seemed good to me; so I selected twelve of you, one man from each tribe. They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshkol and explored it. Taking with them some of the fruit of the land, they brought it down to us and reported, ‘It is a good land that the Lord our God is giving us.’
“But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. You grumbled in your tents and said, ‘The Lord hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, “The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.”‘
“Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.’
“In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God.” -Deuteronomy 1:8, 19-32, NIV
Standing at the Promise’s Edge
Camped on the plains of Moab, they can see God’s Promised Land, Canaan, just within arm’s reach. For 400 years, they waited to receive it, and now’s the time! The Word of the Lord is about to be fulfilled. He is finally ready to have His Promised Land handed to His promised people. It probably feels like Christmas morning to the Lord as He’s getting ready to delight His chosen people with His outrageous goodness!
These Israelites had traversed slavery, 40 years in a wilderness, saw an entire generation die, received miraculous supply from Heaven, and now were about to experience the crossing over they had been waiting for. But all of a sudden, fear grips them because of man’s testimony. The promise of God is not secure enough of a promise because what their eyes see and their ears hear overwhelm them entirely, telling them a different story. Instead of glee and delight, terror and fear set in. Once again, they sit there scratching their heads, looking back to Egypt as the good ol’ days.
When Fear Challenges Faith
Fear rises up, and faith is held captive. Somehow there’s not even a splinter of trust remaining in the promises of God. I can hear Satan’s mocking laugh as both the character of God is discredited and the spirit of fear is released on an entire people group.How did they get from experiencing the wondrous provision of God every day to making a heart choice to head back to captivity?
The answer lies in one word: fear. And more specifically: fear of man
Understanding Our Fears
“1. We fear people because they can expose and humiliate us.
“2. We fear people because they can reject, ridicule, or despise us.
“3. We fear people because they can attack, oppress, or threaten us. These three reasons have one thing in common: they see people as ‘bigger’ (that is, more powerful and significant) than God, and, out of the fear that creates in us, we give other people the power and right to tell us what to feel, think, and do.” -Edward Welch, “When People are Big and God is Small”
The Impact of Fear
The land flowing with rich provision and abundance grows very dim in the face of giant people. This fear of man kept them in a bondage even Egypt couldn’t provide. The saddest part of this story is that many failed to go in and receive their inheritance. They only looked at it from a distance or lived vicariously through the testimony of other people.
God’s Call to Action
People of God, it’s time to move out in faith and take the land of your inheritance!
It’s time for the shame and guilt of past seasons to be put under the blood of Jesus—your inheritance is waiting for you.
It’s time for the fear of man to bow its knee to the character of God—your inheritance is waiting for you.
It’s time to shift the meditations of our heart to faith and action—your inheritance is waiting for you.
It’s time to allow Jesus to take your grief and loss so you can cross over into your promised land—your inheritance is waiting for you.
Facing Our Wilderness
Name your wilderness: shame, grief, doubt, giants, fear. The truth is we can stay on the other side of the Jordan and still have experiences with the Lord. But what if we threw off the things that are keeping us from going and taking our inheritance and encountering the Lord in the land of abundance?
I believe the Church has settled for fear of man more than a fear of God. We care too much about what the giants in our land think of us. Satan aims to keep us small and ineffective, pondering past seasons of defeat so we won’t follow the Lord into the battle for Jericho. We are OK if we don’t see victories for God’s Kingdom as long as He still promises to meet us in the desert where He always has before.
Embracing God’s Victory
He has so much more for you on the other side! But fear of man has to be taken down to nothing if you are going to receive your inheritance from the Lord! Why does Satan get to dictate your lack of victory any longer? Why does his testimony of dread sound louder in your ears than God’s roar of victory over your life? Sickness doesn’t have the final word over you—Jesus does! Divorce doesn’t have the final word over you—Jesus does! Your unstable mental health doesn’t have the final word over you—Jesus does! Cancer doesn’t have the final word over you—Jesus does!
Moving Forward in Faith
We can acknowledge our ever-present reality, our battles, our trials, and still, we can fear the Lord and move forward. Still, we can obey God when He says, “‘Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place (Deuteronomy 1:29-31).’” Beloved of the Lord, it’s time to cross over with Him into fullness of faith, having fear of man crucified in our lives. We won’t receive our inheritance if we are bound any longer.
A Prayer of Trust
Lord, we are ready for the crossing over. We are ready for wilderness dwellings to end and to walk boldly into the promises and into the inheritance You have for Your people to take by faith. We are done sitting at the table of fear and feasting on the enemy’s taunts to fear man more than we fear You. We repent of fear of man in every aspect of our lives. Where we have made idols of fear, we repent and ask for Your forgiveness. Crush these idols to dust in our hearts, Jesus. It doesn’t matter if no one goes with us; if You are calling us to cross over, Lord, arm us for the battle and for the journey. It doesn’t matter if we are mocked and ridiculed by the world; it is more important that we trust You and obey You in this matter. If we have to lose our lives to truly find You, Jesus, I pray the cost would not hinder our obedience. If You are saying to go, we must go. We don’t want to forsake our inheritance because of fear. Lord, have mercy on us in this matter. I pray for the Spirit to stir up and move Your people with boldness and conviction today, in Jesus’ name.
A Few Key Notes
- Love your neighbor and join us in sharing about Jesus during Dallas Harvest Day! We will teach you how to share the gospel and then go and evangelize together. Join us on the first Saturday of each month. Meet at La Victoria, 1605 N. Haskell Ave., Dallas, TX 75204, at 9 a.m. for the next Harvest Day on October 7.
- Sign up for the Holy Fire Study to learn who the Holy Spirit is; His role in God’s plan; how He operates; and His work to transform, empower, and activate Christ followers to fulfill the hope of God globally and individually. The study will be led by me and Tracy Edwards, and it happens at 7 p.m. on Mondays from November 6-December 11 at The Hope Center, 2001 W. Plano Parkway, Ste. 3000, Plano, TX 75075. Email me at [email protected] to register.
- Save the date for the Arise December Luncheon at The Hope Center in Plano. Join us on December 12 as we hear from Safeeya Schnaufer, who will share stories of women who risk it all. Tickets and table sponsorships will be available soon!
