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land of the giants
there once was a people who had lived for nearly 400 years as slaves.
if you were born into that class of people, you where born a slave.
there was no chance that you would climb the social, or political, or even the corporate ladder and find yourself in another caste (or level in that society). You where born a slave; you lived the live of a slave; you died a slave; and you would pass on to your children the legacy of being a slave.
then one day, the Lord raised up a man from among the slaves, a runaway slave, who had been hiding in the desert for 40 years.
the Lord brought this slave out of the desert and back to his people.
through many signs and wonders, miracles and displays of the Lord's power this man was able to free all of the slaves from their oppressors.
now, if you've seen the movie "The Ten Commandments" with Charlton Heston playing Moses, then you know all about this story of the redemption of the slaves (the children of Israel) from the mighty Pharaoh led nation of Israel.
you remember how the children of Israel came to the sea's edge and the waters parted for them. they passed through the sea on dry land. when Pharaoh's armies came after them, the waters closed in on the soldiers and drowned them.
more than freedom
the Lord had something bigger in mind for the children of Israel than simply rescuing them from the cycle, bondage and oppression of slavery.
the Lord always wants to do more than just free a person from their sins, their habits, their bondages!
this case was no different. the Lord wanted more than to set the people free from a land of hostility and oppression. the Lord wanted to give these people their own place on earth, their own country, their own land, the promised land.
so, the Lord led Moses and these people to the very edge of this promised land.
and the Lord instructed Moses to pick a representative from each of the 12 tribes of Israel and send them out to spy on the land.
"go and see what the land is like, what the people are like and bring us some of the fruit from the land" Moses told them.
the spies spent about 40 days searching out the new land. the land was so fertile that one cluster of grapes had to be carried on a pole between two spies.
the spies give a report
when the spies returned they stood before Moses and all of the people and gave their report that the land was lush and fertile just as the Lord had promised.
then one of them spoke saying, "but the people there are strong and we even saw giants!"
the people all became afraid.
Caleb, one of the spies, stood up and quieted the crowd saying, "I saw the land, it is good and we can take it, we can do it!"
but, 10 of the spies started expanding the report, "the land is a harsh land that will eat anyone alive who tries to go there. the people that live there are like giants and we looked like tiny little grasshoppers in our own eyes."
the people were really afraid.
then Joshua and Caleb, the only 2 of the 10 that believed they could take the land started speaking to the crowd explaining that the Lord had promised them the land, and that with the Lord they could take the land as their very own.
the people literally tried to stone Joshua and Caleb, but they were prevented from doing so.
the Lord's declaration
and so the Lord declared that not one of the people living that day would ever enter into the experience of the promised land.
that is, with the exception of two people, Joshua and Caleb. they would see and live in the promised land.
the rest would wander the desert for a generation until all had died and then their children could enter the land.
entering into the land
when the day came that all of that generation had died, it was Joshua who became their leader and led them into the promised land.
Caleb stood before Joshua and gave this speech, "when I first saw the promised land, I was 40 years old and now I am 85 and I feel as strong and vital as I did back then. since the day the Lord had promised to me that I would enter into the promised land I have followed the Lord with all of my heart."
and then he said something amazing, "I would like to choose a part of the land as my own! I want the part of the land where the giants live!"
and Caleb was granted that land -- took it -- and the Bible says, "there was peace in the land."
12 ordinary lives
the experience of the 12 spies was much the same, for the most part.
they all saw the promised land
they all sealed their destiny by their own words
they each wandered in the desert for a generation
but, here is where their lives were different
10 of them saw the promised land and thought -- it cannot be done
2 of them saw the promised land and thought -- it can be done
10 of them saw the land of the giants and believed -- no way!
2 of them saw the land of the giants and believed -- there is a way!
10 of the said -- it cannot be done!
2 of them said -- it can be done!
the door of the mouth
with their words all 12 sealed the destiny of their lives.
10 wandered in the desert for 40 years waiting to die.
2 wandered the desert for 40 years with hearts filled with hope, and anticipation and joy as the waited for the promised land to come true.
10 died -- somewhere between slavery and their promised land
2 died in the promised land.
the doors of life
as we have been considering the doors of life, we have looked at the door of the mind and our thinking
we have looked at the door of the heart and our believing
both of those doors are very important
but to enter into the faith experience we must open the door of our mouths, the door of our confessing.
i like to think of it in this way:
you see a car in the paper and think,
"I think I want to own one of those!"
you read up on the car, talk to some owners of the same kind of car and visit the dealership.
"I want one of those cars," you say with your heart !
But you will never experience owning one of those cars until you open the door of your mouth and confess what has been on your mind and in your heart .
the experience of being an owner of that car will never happen until you say to the salesperson, "I want to buy this car!"
the doors of life are the most natural doors in the world and you and i pass through all of them on a daily basis.
but, if we are going to enter into the faith experience we need to apply these doors to the faith experience.
you can think -- there is a God and people can know God
you can believe -- there is a God and people can know God
but, until you say it, "I believe there is a God and I can know God."
then you are miles away from the experience, no matter what you think or believe.
So
each of us can live our lives -- wandering through life waiting to die.
i do not wish that for you.
or we can live our lives -- wandering through life -- and this life is a wandering, a sojourn, a journey,
we can live our lives wandering through this life -- filled with hope, expectation, purpose and destiny
and that begins when we open our mouths
and say what our mind can discover
"there is a God and you can know Him!"
and say what our heart can discover
"there is a God and you can know Him!"
and open the door of our mouth and confess openly and publicly,
"there is a God and I can know Him!"
the Bible says it this way,
"with the heart we believe that Jesus is the Lord and with the mouth we confess and are saved."
this is the Good News for all people
A-men
with the mouth we confess
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Article added to SearchWarp.com on Wednesday, October 15, 2008 View other articles written by amos dettonville(84)
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