It seems whenever we take a turn lately we are jumping away from our normal Sunday study in the Sermon on the Mount. To be honest, I intended to do that this week as well, but I did not intend on preaching the message before me today.
As I considered the passages I had actually chosen, and the material there, it also struck me that our Wednesday night services and study are very enlightening as well. This week we began looking at a passage of scripture that has tremendous significance to our country and to the people of the world today. Part of that realization struck me as I studied for the message on Wednesday night. The very next day in my meditations I was hit again by another understanding with the teachings on Wednesday night. It just seemed the Lord kept bringing this to my mind. As I considered my opening comments for that study, I was again stricken that America is so afraid of everyone and everything with a gun (regardless of the size or type). Though it seems to imply so, this does not mean those politicians who are afraid of guns in the hands of the people. Those fears are not the focus of this passage. Their phobia of guns is purely self-serving on their part. However, we have to ask, “Why is America afraid of war?”
I know why men and women are afraid to enter into combat. They are afraid for the same reasons I was afraid at times in my military career. They were afraid because they have no faith. If something happens to them, they fear what is in the next life. If they claim not to believe God, they question their surety of this belief. They do not know their eternal destination. This is also the same reason that our government leaders are afraid of everything and anything. They run from the truth, and fear telling it to other nations, even when those nations are vastly inferior to us, such as North Korea or Iran. They, too, have no faith and have no surety of their eternal judgment. Then it occurred to me that the nation as a whole is afraid of these things (truth and other nations) for a reason as well. They are all afraid of the same things–they lack faith, they do not believe, they are weak, and they run from or attempt to stifle dissent instead of confronting it. This strikes me clearly today then because the Jews were afraid to confront things as well– because they had no faith in God. They were afraid of confronting the desert, they were afraid of confronting Pharaoh’s army, and they were afraid of confronting the Canaanites because there were giants in the land, people much larger than the Israelites themselves. That is as if to say, “Forget the promises of God, and remote ideas about who He is–the reality is, we are the ones that have to go in there and do the fighting.”
In our Wednesday night study in Hebrews, we are looking at Chapter 3 verse 19 where we read, “So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” The Greek word we see translated here “could” speaks of power, ability, or capacity. In Greek, it is the word “dunamai.” We get our words dynamite and dynamic from it. I believe the Jews could not enter, they did not have the ability to enter, they were not strong enough to enter, and they did not have the power to enter into the land of Canaan because they had no faith. Literally, their unbelief denied them the strength to enter into the land. They chickened-out so to speak. It was not that they were precluded because God was going back on a promise. The word indicates there was no faith among them. Their power, strength, ability, and capacity for success was completely dependent upon their faith, and they had none. They permitted their fear of what lay before them to control their lives instead of leaning upon God and His promises to take what was given to them. We will talk more about this very verse, and others, as we study freedom and remember this grand day in our history.
Yesterday was the day we celebrate the signing and adoption of the Declaration of Independence – a declaration of independence from a tyrannical government that was interested only in our money and resources for personal gain – Great Britain, then. The question begs though, especially in “light” of our last discussion and the darkness that is the world– why are we afraid? We will attempt to answer that today.
Has it ever occurred to anyone that the individuals with the most faith in God are the ones who are more likely to take a stand for truth and justice in the world? I know, there are glaring examples that would contest this, however, there are equally sterling examples that support it. Probably the most glaring examples lie in our own national history. First, we have the pilgrims who immigrated to this great land in order to worship God, as they knew He wanted to be worshipped. That meant biblically, and not what was dictated by some churches ideas, which lie outside the scriptures. These folks wanted to teach their children the tenets of God’s word, as it is written, not as the church dictated tenets to them. These folks knew they were individually responsible for these tenets and wanted to be submitted to them, and read them to best implement them in their lives. These first settlers carved out the land here, developed it, and settled it. The first settlers had, for the most part, good relationships with the natives. This is exemplified in the feast of Thanksgiving, which was a wondrous evangelistic outreach to the native Americans in the area. All of these efforts required confrontation.
As their success grew, the King decided to reach out across the Atlantic and attempt to insert himself into their economy and lives. When the people saw no benefit, but only detractions from, dangers to, and destructions in their lives, they saw it as their right, and their duty, “to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.” This bold action by a people so moved by tyranny and over-taxation so as to remove themselves from these efforts, is confrontation. This confrontation is focused upon God as we also see the phrase opening the second paragraph,
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
These were bold times for believers. They separated themselves from tyranny peacefully, only to find themselves again faced with tyranny. Yet, they were set in their resolve because they had a “firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence.” The problem with our nation today is that we have stepped off the page of confidence because we no longer rely on Divine Providence.
“People think we win wars because we are sophisticated, or strong, or bullies; but real Americans know we win wars because we believe in God.” Men and women of our great military, you should know the truth and that is this: “God expects you to fight, but He expects you to believe in Him for the victory, for without Him you will not have it.”
We will look at this scripture in light of this day, in light of the things of today, and consider the Jews and their position. We will consider what we see now, compared to what they saw then. We will consider the word “could” and its weighty enablement or lack of ability to the believer today, and yesterday. We will also consider belief and where it lies. Seeing it, enabling it, and believing it are our topics.
I. Seeing it
The scripture says, “So we see…” This can also be translated “Also we see…” This statement, therefore, is connected to that before it, which specifically talks about disobedient Israelites. We today can say, “So we see” the things of our nation falling away into the world of disbelief as we move forward into man’s “progressivism.” You might ask, how can you hold this scripture (and the plight of the Israelites, God’s chosen people, not being brave enough to occupy land specifically given to them by God) in comparison to our nation today? True, the people of the United States of America are not God’s chosen people. I find that nowhere in scripture. True, the land we occupy on this continent was not specifically promised to us. However, we are not discussing God’s selection, nor are we discussing God’s provision. We are talking about God delivering believers and the strength we can have in that faith. What, then, can we see?
We see a nation today, not unlike Israel, which complains that it does not have enough. Israel in the wanderings complained that they did not have water. They openly chastised God with claims that He was sadistic and just wanted to watch them die the slow death of thirst in the desert. They also openly chastised God with claims that He was some kind of masochist who just wanted to watch them die of starvation. One way or the other, God had brought them out of Egypt just to watch them die some hideous death. God brought the Israelites out of Egypt. He freed them from the tyranny and oppression of a dictator. God gave Israel a new beginning as a free nation. They were going to have to work for it, but with faith in the promises of God for their lives and provision, they could persevere. All Israel had to do was believe.
We see much of this same childlike response from the people of our nation today as they cry for the government to take care of them because they are afraid. In our nation today the people have reason to be afraid. Unlike God and His unlimited power and ability to care for the Israelites, the government is not going to take care of the people– it only knows how to compel them through manipulated and calculated limitations. God freed Israel for His service. The people were not willing to go and do anything for themselves, and had no faith, even after seeing at least 12 specific miracles performed by God personally for them. Folks, government is not capable of miracles and people know it. That is why they are afraid.
Israel too did not enter into the land, which was given to them because they had a greatly misplaced fear. They feared the occupants of the land, instead of the God on their side. Today in our country, the people fear people in North Korea, or those in Iran. We who believe can see this fear for what it is–misplaced. Just as the Israelites should have done in taking the land given to them, so too we should rely upon our all-powerful God to deliver us regarding conflict with any nation around the globe.
If we are forced to go to war again by another terrorist attack, we should not fear the world’s view of our prosecution of the war, but we should decimate the enemy. People are afraid because they see others ridicule the actions of our nation. They fear opinions of people that might get wide acceptance. This sounds like a giant to me, a giant known as the media. A giant just like what the Israelites faced, which caused them to cower.
We studied the Old Testament passages that tell of the Israelites and the extent of their unbelief. The spies in Numbers 13 and 14 gave a report of fear, and the leaders gave a report of reproach unto the Lord. This same instance happens today in our country. Numbers 13:32 says,
“So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size.”
The bottom line, the Israelites knew they were not worthy of taking possession of the land. They knew they did not get out of Egypt without God, and they knew the Red Sea opening, then closing upon the whole of Pharaoh’s army was God’s doing and not theirs. Equally, this country knows it has run away from God. This country knows it was given this land because of God and His providence. This country knows that abortion is murder, that homosexuality and promiscuity is sin, and that they are not worthy to receive God’s grace.
The people of this country know they do not believe and it creates great fear in them to oppose anyone or anything. Negative publicity is a giant that can hurt us. The media will eat us alive. This country is afraid of the people in other lands because Americans know where they stand with God, and it is not in His light, but as far into the shadows as they can get. The people of this country are too interested in entertainment instead of the things of God.
Where we should concentrate on our Great God delivering us from oppression and attempts at totalitarianism in Satan’s Muslim world, we instead say it will become another Vietnam. We cannot go into that land because we have no clear exit strategy. As with the Israelites, there should be no consideration of exit because the land belongs to the conqueror’s thereof.
In studying the Israelites, we also see that they were in a desolate land void of sustenance or water. They could not even fend for themselves. Their reaction then is all the more puzzling as they accuse God of wanting to save them from slavery, only to kill them in the desert. Instead of asking Him for provision, requesting sustenance, or, above all, submitting to His power to deliver them from their plight, they accuse and demean God.
This is exactly again what our nation does today. Instead of requesting from God the things we need, we take things into our own hands and curse God for putting us into the situation. Worse yet, we sin to get ourselves into a spot, then we accuse the very God who can save us of just wanting to torture us. What we need to see as a nation is that God is not in the business of forcing us into believing. He wants us to come to Him. Many take out of context “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.” Folks, this is for believers, not for the unsaved. It is true; the scriptures say that God’s will is that none should die, but that all should come to repentance. However, because those are subjunctives (should) there remains a possibility that it may not happen. Because of the sin of man, and especially the sins of this nation today, death is more a probability than repentance.
We should recognize the worst of all things in hindsight here. It was the leaders of both the spying party, and the Israelites, that exhibited unbelief. The people did cry, but only after their leaders told them to. What are the leaders of our nation today telling us? That we cannot win. We are embroiled in an un-winnable war. We are over extended. We cannot beat the Terrorists in Iraq, and we cannot win over North Korea. The leaders of this nation, folks, are pulling you and me back out into the wilderness away from this glorious land of milk and honey that is the United States of America. They are pulling us away because they do not believe, they have no faith, they are empty shells of men bent upon their own devices, and they are afraid because their devices are failing, have always failed, and will continue to fail without God….AND THEY KNOW IT.
What a travesty it is that, just as the people of Israel did, the people of the United States are now begging for people to lead them. Instead these very leaders (just like Israel’s before them) stand, blocking the truth that the people should know. Most of the people in the United States have heard of the gospel. Yes, many have not, but most have. The vast majority of the people of our nation, therefore, have been exposed to God just as all the people of Israel had been. People, call for the things in scripture, not for the things of men. Make those things the paramount things of this nation, not the immature and childish sociological thoughts of man. Because people do not do this, and instead scream for Government to care for their every need, they place themselves back into the hands of the tyrant, just as Israel wanted to go back to Egypt where at least they would be fed. What they did not realize is that they would be DEAD. Pharaoh would eliminate every individual who presented a problem, and beat the rest into submission. Israel needed to depend upon God for success, and they would not; therefore they were incapable of entering into His rest. For this same reason this nation has no faith. Our nation has no strength because they have no faith. The United States of America exercises no belief strong enough to permit success in today’s challenging world. That is why we, and our politicians, are afraid.
II. Enabling it
We have mentioned ability previously, but we should take a closer look at the meaning of this term in the scriptures. A friend of mine, who claimed to be a Christian, but was opposed to the war (not to imply you have to be pro-war to be a Christian) once challenged me by asking, “Why are you so afraid of Islam?” I replied that I have no fear of Islam, but they serve Satan and we are always at war with his minions. I have since prayed about that. The real truth is, although I am not afraid, we are given strength in faith so that we can fight against Satan. It is not out of fear that we should combat the forces of evil (either spiritually or physically), but in obedience to the commands in scripture to oppose the forces of Satan.
Did you know that the word “war” is mentioned 402 times in all of scripture? It is a very active thing in scripture. Every time in scripture that there is victory, it is in accordance with God’s will. Every time the people of God are victorious, it is because they depend upon God for the strength and ability to succeed. Every time war is called for from God, and the people respond successfully, it is for the purpose of freedom of worship and glory to God. Our Bible records failures in war for God’s people as well. These failures are bleak and always display either a disobedience or lack of faith. In every case, the people of God who failed were not strong enough; they were unable to succeed in their own strength. They failed because they only went with what was in their arms, legs, minds, and hands. There was nothing in their heart or soul that could give them victory, and that is the strength that counts.
Make no mistake– war is condoned in the Bible to drive out any evil. The Canaanites and others in the Promised Land given to Israel worshipped evil, wicked demons that called for human sacrifice and sacrifice of children. Our nation today is on much the same track with our sacrifices to Molech (abortion) and human sacrifice (euthanasia and managed medical treatment). We should also note here that in our lack of strength God would enable another to overcome us. God put Israel in bondage repeatedly over their existence whenever He had had enough of their lack of faith. He is long suffering, but one must ask how much longer will He suffer us. The Old Testament prophets who preached the Word of God to Israel and foretold of their captivity should be considered now for their testimony. We are as Israel was in the books of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah, to name a few. The modern day Chaldeans will overtake us because we are too weak, and our lack of faith further weakens us to a point of vulnerability..
In Amos, we read of Israel falling into judgment because of continued sin and their ignoring God’s call to them. In Chapter 2 verses 6-11, God tells the people of Israel through Amos that He has already attempted correction, but they still do not return to Him. Israel suffered famine and drought. God isolated cities as specific examples of His power. God sent pests to devour plants. God sent pestilence like Egypt suffered in the time of Joseph. God even replaced leaders, to show His power. Folks, the lesson is that in verses 12-13 God tells us He is coming to judge you. You know it, and this is why you are afraid to fight. You wonder if this next engagement will be the one that God will use to judge you, and still you do not return to Him. God commands we prepare now to meet Him. God reaffirms who He is. And still you do not turn to Him.
The answer is found in Amos 5:4 – Seek the Lord and live. Do not seek the evil things, the nations of this world, and the people of this world; seek only the Lord for survival, strength, and ability to defeat your foes. The power of man is limited; the power of God is limitless.
Now, admittedly, this only talks of people with wisdom, for they fear God, even if at the most elemental level. What of the leaders of our nation who have no fear of God? What of the completely foolish ones?
III. Believing it
This passage ends with the word “unbelief.” It is a compound word developed from the word “a” meaning “not” and the word “pistē” meaning one who is a faithful follower of Christ – a believer – a Christian. This word is a derivative of “pisteuō,” which means to believe in something. It is a volitional act to trust in something. It means to believe; that you think it is true and trustworthy. The fact is, the Israelites did not trust God at all. One might ask, did they have reason to trust Him?
God specifically meted out ten plagues on a pagan land of Egypt in order to force Pharaoh to let His people go. He did this because God knew Pharaoh would not otherwise permit their departure. What did this accomplish for Israel? Many Egyptians went with them, and they were given all their livestock and many precious metals to take with them. Not only did God single handedly free the Israelites, He gave them great wealth in their departure. They went immediately from squalor and slavery to a nation of freedom and wealth. That could be one good reason to count God as a trustworthy Savior and provider.
God specifically and supernaturally saved them at the Red Sea. First, He placed a huge pillar of fire, large enough to stop the entire Egyptian army from advancing on the Israelites’ position. Then God laid open the Red Sea right down to dry ground like a sharp knife opens flesh down to the bone. The Israelites passed through the huge sides of water on dry ground. Finally, once all were across and safe, God removed the pillar from before the Egyptians, and, in their foolish unbelief and lack of fear, they charged the Israelites through the Red Sea only to be engulfed within and destroyed. That could be a good reason to count God as a trustworthy Savior and protector.
While they were at Sinai, Moses stayed upon the mountain for 40 days without food or water. They knew Moses went up, they saw God upon the mountain, and they sinned greatly at the foot of the mountain. However, when Moses returned with a face beaming with the light of God and with the 10 commandment tablets, they should have seen the great provision of God again upon Moses. God provided for a man of 80 years old to live without food or water for 40 days and 40 nights and come down again full of strength to be able to throw two stone tablets at them and smash the golden calf into bits and pieces. That could be a good reason to count God as a trustworthy preserver of His people, and giver of strength.
No folks, the Israelites had many reasons to believe God trustworthy. The Israelites had many reasons to see God as a provider. The Israelites had many reasons to be able to lean upon God and His deliverance in times of great peril. This nation too has the same types of examples in their history.
First, we should note that in a 2003 interview with a Palestinian politician, then President George W. Bush said, “I am driven with a mission from God.”[1] Though President Bush was known to have a testimony, the fact remains that his leadership was always questioned in light of it, for better and for worse. President Bush is further quoted as saying God told him to end the tyranny in Iraq. The sad thing is, this is seen as a bad thing in our nation today. Why? Because the nation, whether they claim faith or not, does not believe. This statement by our president is a good reason to believe God is at work in our nation.
Beginning on April 9th 2003, in a fight for Baghdad, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment battling saw a series of miracles take place. A Major, the operations officer and third in command, recorded in his journal that at one point on a major thoroughfare while entering the city he saw a group of 10-12 Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV) lined up on an overpass. This group of vehicles was taking the withering enemy fire and giving his column cover. They were also returning fire into the enemy with a variety of armaments. This provided the Major and his group the cover they needed to get into position and out of the open. As he recorded these things in his journal, a USMC Major noted a few unusual specifics. First, the vehicles on the overpass were unmarked. As operations officer, he would have made sure all his units were combat ready, including markings. Second, they were pristine, as if just rolling off the assembly line at the factory. Third, all of the units that were engaging the terrorists were heavily laden with packs from the Marines inside the vehicles. There simply is no room for the Marine and his pack on the inside of the vehicle. The units on the bridge had no packs hanging from them, yet every other vehicle that was entering Iraq was adorned with the packs of the enclosed Marines. The units on the bridge were pristine in every sense – clean, bright, shiny, unchanged by the units they were assigned to, and nothing external that showed they had anything of the world associated with them. The units on the bridge were completely unique in their uniform lack of uniformity. The final note in the journal that is interesting is that a few days later while conducting an operational review of the area, the Major could find no overpass. It simply did not exist. These events have been corroborated by at least one other marine who was in the Major’s AAV at the time. This is a good reason to believe in God’s protection.
A GYSGT took a direct head shot on his helmet and only suffered a scratch on his skin. An enemy 7.62 round will go right through a Kevlar helmet and kill the wearer. HUMVs took direct hits from RPG’s where the roof was pealed back like a sardine can, and all the occupants lived. This is a good reason to believe in God’s deliverance.[2]
Then there is the story of salvation on the steps of Babylon (Saddam Hussein’s Baghdad Palace). On April 12th 2003, we read this account:
“Sitting on the ramp of a military vehicle on the lawn of Saddam Hussein’s presidential palace, Lance Corporal Jeff Guthrie’s eyes welled with tears that streamed down his muddy face.
He had just stormed the gates of the palace in a gruesome fight with his fellow Marines and claimed victory.
Lt. Carey Cash, a chaplain with his battalion, saw Guthrie’s distraught face and walked up to him.
Cash, in a new book, “A Table in the Presence” released April 7, takes his readers onto the hot, dusty, Iraq battlefield to learn how God worked miracles and answered prayers in individual lives of Marines like Guthrie.
“Sitting down on the grass in front of him, I asked what was wrong,”
“‘Sir … I’m, I’m just so sorry,’ he said, tears welling up in his tired eyes.
“‘Sorry for what, Guthrie?’ I had no idea what he was talking about.
“‘It’s just what I’ve done in my life. All I can think about is that I’ve just been through the worst experience of my life, and yet, God protected me through it all. But why did He do it? How could He do it after all the things — the bad things — I’ve done? I don’t know what else to say, what else to feel. I’m just so sorry…’
“I was looking into the face of a man, who, for the first time in his life, was truly encountering the power of God. ‘Jeff,’ I said gently. ‘Do you realize that God sent His Son Jesus for no other purpose than for forgiving all those things you or I have ever done wrong in life…?’
He nodded.
“‘Jeff, do you believe that God loves you and that He sent His Son Jesus to die for you?’
“‘Yes, I do,” he said, his voice broken and trembling.
“‘And do you want to experience the joy and peace of knowing that all your sins are completely and forever forgiven?’
“‘I do,” he answered.
“‘Then why don’t you bow in prayer with me right here right now? Ask God to do just that — to send His Son Jesus into your heart and life and cleanse you from all your sin and give to you the promise of heaven.’
“We bowed together as twenty watching Marines stared in disbelief.[3]
Ladies and gentlemen, all of these miraculous events– and our leaders still do not believe. These leaders of our nation still seek to demean God, to ignore His great strength, His provision, and His divine presence. Further, they lead millions more into unbelief just as the Israelite leaders did. They condemn millions to wandering in the wilderness and littering the sands of the desert with the carcasses of unbelievers.
This is a day we celebrate the beginning of our freedom as a nation. I also fear that it may be a day that is celebrated in epitaph some day. If our leaders do not seek, find, fear, and believe in the one true God and Father of the universe; if our leaders do not submit to Him and His provision of the Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, then they may be judged. The people of our nation will suffer at the hands of unbelieving leadership.
This is exactly how the people of Israel suffered – at the hands of unbelieving leaders. We must pray for our leadership that they would seek God in all their endeavors. I pray for them, you have prayed for them, and we need to continue to pray for them.
We find our nation at a crossroads, ladies and gentlemen. Our nation will either believe God and gain strength, or shun God and become ever weakened. The whole point to Hebrews is to teach the Hebrews that the Messiah has come and His name is Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ. This means that our nation also has to acknowledge the Son, for if you try to acknowledge the Father but deny the Son you equally deny the Father (for sermon on 1 John 2:22-25 click here). Either you believe or you do not, that is all. There is no other god. There is no other way to heaven. All religions are not the same. Islam is a religion of Satan, which is why we were supernaturally provided success. See it, be enabled and given strength in your belief, and act on those beliefs in the strength of God. Real faith is an active faith where we operate in reliance upon God for deliverance from evil. Believe and be strong.
What will you do then folks? Will you do as all the Israelites did – curse God and be destined to die in the wilderness as your carcass falls back to the earth from whence it came? Or, will you be counted among believers, crying out for us to go into the land, which was given? Will you cry out for our leaders to believe in God– and Him alone– to deliver us? Will you cry out for them to shun their fear of the world and fear only God? What will it be, will you fight for freedom in faith?
[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/oct/07/iraq.usa by Ewen MacAskill, Friday 7 Oct 2005.
[2] All of these were recounted in a book “A Table in the Presence” by Carey Cash, a chaplain that was stationed with the battalion during the engagements. These are excerpts given to me over the phone by a representative at www.militarymiracles.com who is publicizing miracles in our Iraqi engagements.
[3] http://www.bpnews.net/bpnews.asp?ID=18058 – by Kelli Cottrell, 14 Apr 2004.
