Belief Beyond Miracles

Belief Beyond God’s Miracles

If we were to view the spring Holy Days in light of the conversion process, we can look to Pentecost as the day the Holy Spirit was given to enlighten for salvation. But, to come to that agreement with God, one must first become aware of the need to be forgiven and the process of redemption offered ahead of our awareness of that need through the sacrifice of Christ. This process of coming out of sin is witnessed to us in the Days of Unleavened Bread.

For this message, I want you to think of sin, not in terms of the individual acts of it, but in terms of the ignorance of such a way of life; the societal example of living apart from God without knowledge. Egypt was a great human society with hundreds of gods to worship. Every single god was false, and the society of Israel had become a slave to this societal ignorance. Israel was not only subject to forced labor. They were subject to ignorance of the words of life.

The process of conversion of the human heart, we can agree, is MIRACULOUS and all accomplished by the power of God to save! We can also turn to the biblical record of history to see God’s miracles on behalf of Israel so that they, too, could be delivered from oppression, free to worship God.

So, when did this process begin for Israel? Well, the simple answer is, while they were still slaves in Egypt.

Exo 6:1  Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land."

Exo 6:2  And God spoke to Moses and said to him: "I am the LORD.

Exo 6:3  I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them.

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Exo 6:4  I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers.

Exo 6:5  And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.

Exo 6:6  Therefore say to the children of Israel: 'I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

We see, then, that while they were still slaves, the LORD, representing righteousness, began to perform miracles to contrast His power with the power of Egypt, which we can view as representing sin’s power over us.
 

His signs and wonders via the ten plagues should have proved to Israel they could trust in His power, even IF they as yet still did not comprehend the value of righteousness compared to sinfulness.

But how did Israel respond? Israel did a lot of complaining. They complained twice in the midst of those ten plagues, but, then again, they were still only slaves having heard the promise of freedom.
 

Afterward, after all those plagues, and after salvation from Egypt, beginning almost immediately at the Red Sea, God begins to judge their complaints. We find this judgment clarified in Numbers after the ten spies provide an evil report about the Promised Land, and the people complain, refusing to enter.

Num 14:11  Then the LORD said to Moses: "How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?

Num 14:19  Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now."

Num 14:20  Then the LORD said: "I have pardoned, according to your word;

Num 14:21  but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD—    Continue...

Num 14:22  because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice,

Num 14:23  they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it.

Now, concerning verse 22, the LORD reminds Moses of ten separate times Israel tested the LORD with unbelief and rebellion.

1.   At the Red Sea when Israel complained it would have been better to remain slaves than to die in the wilderness (Exo 14:11-12).

2.   At Marah when Israel complained against Moses because they were thirsty (Exo 15:23-24).

3.   In the wilderness of Sin they complained against Moses about having no food, so the LORD provides manna (Exo 16:2-3).

4.   They disobeyed the command of the LORD and attempted to gather extra manna (Exo 16:20).

5.   Again, they disobeyed the command of the LORD and attempted to gather manna on the Sabbath (Exo 16:27).

6.   Again, they became thirsty at Rephidim and complained (Exo 17:1).

7.   At Horeb they gave up on Moses’ return and built a golden calf to worship (Exo 32:7).

8.   At Taberah they complained and invoked God’s wrath (Num 11:1).

9.   At Kibroth Hattaavah, they complained they did not have meat to eat (Num 11:4).

10. And, finally, at Kadesh, here, in Numbers 14,when they rejected the good report by Joshua and Caleb, refusing to enter the Promised Land.

In the closing verses of chapter 14, again they disobey God, now being barred from entering the land for 40 years, they try to enter the Promised Land and get defeated.

In chapter 16, they rebel against Moses and Aaron the very next day after watching the failed rebellion of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram where the LORD opens up the earth to consume them and their families.

We get to chapter 20, and they complain again about water. In chapter 21, it’s about food and water.

So, in the midst of all of God’s miracles, Israel complained, often saying it would have been better to remain slaves in Egypt.

Let us fast-forward a generation for a moment...

Mr. Martens, last Sabbath, provided for you the story of the battle of Jericho, and part of what we learned is sort of like when your computer starts acting funky, so you reboot the computer. Israel, after having failed to trust God and being condemned to 40 years of wandering in the wilderness gets it “reboot” under the leadership of Joshua when they as a nation choose to trust God.

So, let’s turn to the book of Joshua...

Jos 24:5  Also I sent Moses and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to what I did among them. Afterward I brought you out.

Jos 24:6  'Then I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea; and the Egyptians pursued your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.
 

And the scripture goes on to show how the LORD delivered them from Egypt and others. Continuing in verse 13 of chapter 24...

Jos 24:13  I have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; you eat of the vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.'

Joshua requires Israel to choose whether they will serve the LORD or false gods, turning to Joshua 24...

Jos 24:14  "Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD!

Jos 24:15  And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Israel replies to Joshua that surely they will follow God only, yet he says they cannot. They reassert that they can and will, but we see the issue Joshua had when we read in verse 23...

Jos 24:23  "Now therefore," he said, "put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD God of Israel."

As a congregation we see a voice of reverence, but among the congregation we see irreverence in that some were still keeping the idols of their parents. It’s important to remember that the whole nation could suffer for the sins of even only one person. Achan had taken some items from fallen Jericho, but these things had been accursed by Joshua. Because of him the city of Ai defeated Israel, and it wasn’t until he was exposed and punished that Israel was able to take the city of Ai in Joshua chapter 7.
 

It’s not necessarily all that different with the people of God, today. In the book of Revelation Jesus promises rejection of 5 out of the 7 churches if they do not repent of their congregational sins.

I will reference here the letter to Ephesus, reading in Revelation...

Rev 2:4  Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.

Rev 2:5  Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.

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Rev 2:7  "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God."

So, though a whole congregation can become cut off, we as the called-out-ones, have also this assurance, which is made in all seven letters to the churches of Revelation. “To him who overcomes” is an eternal reward. Under the new covenant, though an assembly can become cursed by God, the individual can escape that congregational curse and inherit eternal life because he overcomes.

This is supported by God in other places...

Deu 7:9  "Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

1Co 2:9  But as it is written: "EYE HAS NOT SEEN, NOR EAR HEARD, NOR HAVE ENTERED INTO THE HEART OF MAN THE THINGS WHICH GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM."

Brethren, we are built no differently than any Israelite of old. Whether matters of the flesh or of the Spirit, if we do not believe, we will not overcome. God’s covenant with Israel was provided to us as an example so that we can learn to think differently than they thought. Whether matters of the flesh or of the Spirit, they and we were and are in the presence of the same God. Turning to First Corinthians...

1Co 10:1  Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea,

1Co 10:2  all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,

1Co 10:3  all ate the same spiritual food,

1Co 10:4  and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ.

1Co 10:5  But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.

1Co 10:6  Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted.

1Co 10:7  And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, "THE PEOPLE SAT DOWN TO EAT AND DRINK, AND ROSE UP TO PLAY."

1Co 10:8  Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell;

1Co 10:9  nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents;

1Co 10:10  nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer.     Continue...

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

1Co 10:12  Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

1Co 10:13  No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Addictions, desires, needs, lusts

Anything that takes a priority over our relationship with God or that causes us to sin against God is a temptation we must learn to deny. Anything that takes a priority over our relationship with God is a present proof of our disbelief in God’s promises.

IF THERE IS TIME

Since I have a few moments, I want you to consider something about being the firstborn. The tenth plague in Egypt was the death of the firstborn of man and beast. If Israel had chosen to disobey the LORD’s command, Israel would not have been destroyed and God would still have delivered them out of Egypt. The difference is that all of their firstborn would have been dead, like those of the Egyptians. Without that Passover sacrifice, the firstborn would not survive to take that first step out of slavery to enter freedom.
 

We know that our LORD’s sacrifice was given once for all, but, today, specifically, it applies to you and me. We are able to enter freedom right now, before the Great White Throne Judgment, because Christ has died to redeem the lives of the firstborn.

Heb 3:7  Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "TODAY, IF YOU WILL HEAR HIS VOICE,

Heb 3:8  DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS IN THE REBELLION, IN THE DAY OF TRIAL IN THE WILDERNESS,

Heb 3:9  WHERE YOUR FATHERS TESTED ME, TRIED ME, AND SAW MY WORKS FORTY YEARS.

Heb 3:10  THEREFORE I WAS ANGRY WITH THAT GENERATION, AND SAID, 'THEY ALWAYS GO ASTRAY IN THEIR HEART, AND THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN MY WAYS.'

Heb 3:11  SO I SWORE IN MY WRATH, 'THEY SHALL NOT ENTER MY REST.' "

Heb 3:12  Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God;

Heb 3:13  but exhort one another daily, while it is called "TODAY," lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

Heb 3:14  For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end,

Heb 3:15  while it is said: "TODAY, IF YOU WILL HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS AS IN THE REBELLION."

Heb 3:16  For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses?

Heb 3:17  Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness?

Heb 3:18  And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?

Heb 3:19  So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

The positive converse of unbelief is found in the book of Nahum...

Nah 1:7  The LORD is good, A stronghold in the day of trouble; And He knows those who trust in Him.

Today is the First Day of Unleavened Bread. It’s a day that marks when Israel stepped out of a sinful society under a slave master ruler into freedom in a society ruled by God. Though it is a process to enter the Promised Land, though acts of sin are something to overcome through time, this day marks THE day they became FREE from a life of sin. Redemption in the blood of Christ is full and complete through the act itself. THAT, brethren, is not a process. That is not measured by ups and downs we face in the process of overcoming.

Concluding...

My urge to you, today, is to evaluate the depths to which you BELIEVE GOD. Miracles will not be enough for our carnal selves to believe in the promises of God. We need to rely on the Spirit of God to see God’s promises as have already taken possession of them. They need to be real enough that even drives and addictions of the flesh and heart hold no power or sway over our possession of our Promised Future, and eternal life in the Kingdom of God.