davidbowerkingwood

What Was Different About Joshua and Caleb?

Let’s think about Joshua and Caleb for a moment; as two of the twelve spies that were sent into the land why did they have a different report from the other ten spies? Didn’t they all go together and see the same sights? Did they not also observe “the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large? We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.” “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”

Of course, they saw those same sights but with a different perspective; they saw those sights mixed with faith in God. God had told Israel He was giving them the land and Joshua and Caleb believed God. That is a profound difference that resulted in their going into the land while the others perished in the wilderness. Joshua and Caleb had no idea how God would accomplish this but they were confident He could be trusted and would let them take the land as their new home. They were confident that God would step in and provide the help they needed so the land could be taken and their enemies defeated!

They saw the same problems the ten spies saw but had confidence in the promises of God and believed that God would not let them down; that is walking by faith and not by sight.

You are Faced with the Same Choice Every Day!

As Christian men and women, life will inevitably present us with giants in the land, threats that take many different forms, but we have the same options Joshua and Caleb had available to us every day, we can walk by faith or walk by sight. Each of us face powerful people, some form of large fortified cities, those who are stronger than we are, even giants that make us feel like grasshoppers by comparison; will you see these as obstacles or opportunities?

What happened to Israel when they later entered the land under Joshua’s direction; were they not encouraged and emboldened when they saw those giants fall before the mighty hand of God? Didn’t the fall of those giants demonstrate again the faithfulness and power of almighty God? It became the giants turn to cry all night and grumble!

The Door is Still Open, the Invitation Still Stands!

“Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.” Hebrews 4:1

As members of the true church, the body of Christ, we have a standing invitation to enter into God’s rest; this is a marvelous blessing which all should earnestly seek and find. Israel, on the other hand, lost its opportunity to enter the land and was compelled to wander in the wilderness until that generation died off. You have not and will never be shut out of God’s rest; even if you have failed to enter his rest to this point in your life, you are still presented with the opportunity of entering God’s rest and may do so at any time; the door is open, the invitation stands!

 A Bible Study on Hebrews

My wife taught a Bible study group in our home and was studying the Book of Hebrews with her class one fall. She was using a sermon series on Hebrews and sent this follow-up message to her class.

“I want to emphasize two of the pastor’s illustrations in his sermon last Monday night. (The church where the sermon series was preached had a special place where children stayed while their parents were in the worship service; it is called “The Rainbow Room.’)

A little 2-year-old boy boldly and happily charges into the “Rainbow Room” every Sunday morning at their church because:

He belongs there! He is welcome there! He is loved there! He is happy there! He is brought their by his parents who belong to the church!

The point was; we have a “Rainbow Room”, too, ….a place where we belong, where we are completely welcome, a place of complete rest from our works, our worries, a place of joy, and happiness (and we have been brought there by Jesus to whom everything belongs.)

“There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God. For anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.” Hebrews 4:9-10.

The pastor’s daughter visits Buckingham Palace and sees the Queen of England.

The pastor was not bragging about his daughter. It really happened. While attending a university in London, she was invited to attend a very special event; a family member who works in the Royal household was to be decorated with a high honor. He was receiving this award for his years of outstanding service to the Queen. Because the pastor’s daughter is a member of the family, and was WITH him and his family, she was invited and permitted to be in this relatively small room with the Queen and many other high-ranking officials and visitors. None of her friends back at the university believed her. She was given a video of her visit, and we have seen it. Impressive. One friend told her later, “I believe that you believe you were there!” So funny.

The pastor’s point was; his daughter was admitted and welcomed to that inner circle because of whom she was (a member of the honoree’s family) and who she was with.

We are invited to the “Rainbow Room” (The Sabbath-Rest), because of who we are, children of the King of Kings. We go in with Him; He says “She’s with me!” and we are permitted into this special place of rest and peace…..NOW, right NOW. We enter by complete faith in Him, our Savior and Redeemer. Remember, the writer of Hebrews is writing to believers; he is not talking about our eternal presence with the Lord after death. That is settled; whether we enter His Sabbath-Rest in time is our choice for the here and now.

Do we go boldly into our Sabbath-Rest (the Rainbow Room) and find peace every time or do we stand outside in our unbelief and fear, looking in and continuing in our worries and complaints…always doubting the Lord’s ability, love, and promises?

Pray, believe Him and go on in. You are welcome there!”

I thought this summed up the nature of your opportunity to enter into God’s rest very well and add my best wishes for your successful entrance into your very own “Rainbow Room;” this is God’s promise to Christians and most especially to you!

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4