FAITH – Deeply believes God will do what HE SAYS – and it subsequently produces WORDS of agreement, and ACTIONS of obedience.
FAITH – Need not understand. It doesn’t look at the natural. But believes GOD WILL do and GOD CAN do what GOD SAYS He will do.
Luke 1:37 says, “For nothing is impossible with God.”
It’s one thing to Believe IN HIM, it is an entirely different matter to BELIEVE HIM. This is where our faith is tested.
Do I take Him at His Word?
Do I truly HEAR Him?
Have I “REALIZED” His Promises?
PRIDE and FAITH are Opposites, just as UNBELIEF AND FAITH are Opposites.
UNBELIEF is really masked, or camouflaged PRIDE.
Let’s consider the 12 spies that returned from beyond the Jordan to report back to Moses and Aaron and the Children of Israel in the wilderness.
The account is in Numbers 13:26-33. Go ahead and read it. It’s not so long a passage…
Now I want to show you something:
10 of these spies
– we, in modern day, would consider “humble”
– for they said “we are as grasshoppers”
and 2 of these spies
– we’d consider “proud and arrogant”
– for they said, “we can take the land!”
YET IN REALITY:
10 were PRIDEFUL
– “relying on their own strength”
– their report was given according to a human perspective…
not according to God’s perspective.
2 were HUMBLE
– “relying on God’s ability” to do as He said
and relying on God’s strength to make it all possible
– their report was given according to God’s perspective.
Do you see, my friends, how pride looks deceiving?
How it is a false humility?
And “appearing humble” is, in fact, UNBELIEF disguised?
True Humility BELIEVES who God is and understands who we are. We maintain hope, and strength….and are more than conquerors! For we know it all has to do WITH GOD, and NOT US, except to step out IN FAITH that He will do as he says. We must do OUR PART to do that stepping into what He says for us to do.
NOT YET CONVINCED? Let’s look at the 10 spies report:
Numbers 13: 26-33 “It truly flows with milk and honey” – what God had promised about the land was indeed true.
These men acknowledge it was as He SAID, and an awesome land of milk and honey, and they revealed its wonderful fruits.
YET THEN THEY SAY THIS:
“Nevertheless”
“nevertheless” means “despite all of that.”
At that moment, Moses, and every man of faith in Israel should have cried out in protest and said, “Nevertheless nothing!”
How can one say, ‘We went to the land, found it good, and God’s promise true,’ and then say, ‘Despite all this’?
The 10 spies continued:
Despite God’s words and His promise… “the people there are strong.”
We will disregard God’s faithful promise… “for their cities are large and fortified.”
Who cares about God’s Words… “we saw with our own eyes the descendants of Anak, a tribe of large men!”
And despite God’s Ability…. “the land is taken up! the Amalekites dwell there, and the Amorites . . . and so do the Canaanites. There is no room for us.”
Their UNBELIEF was revealed in their WORD: “Nevertheless” and then JUSTIFIED in their WORDS spoken thereafter!
It is hard to imagine a report more unbelieving and unfaithful to God than this; a report that recognizes the faithfulness of God’s promise, the truth of His word, and yet says, “Despite all that . . .”
UNBELIEF IS NOT HUMILITY.
FOR IT DOES NOT GIVE GOD HIS PROPER PLACE OF HONOR AND RESPECT.
FAITH IS RESPECT FOR WHAT GOD HAS SAID.
Note in Numbers 13:32 it is said, “And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel…”
Their report of UNBELIEF was Evil, according to this scripture. And scripture is confirmed by scripture, so take a look at Hebrews 3:12 in the New Testament. It says:
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”
It this passage too, God looks on our unbelief as evil!
That may be quite eye-opening, to you. It was to me! Christians often think of evil as sins like smoking, drinking, cussing, adultery, etc…. but God is telling all of us, his children, that he looks on unbelief as evil. Let that sink in…
But now let’s look at Caleb’s report:
It’s interesting to note, that the name Caleb is derived from two Hebrew words, “kal” and “lev,” which when put together mean “whole-hearted.” He, indeed, was true to his name or the name true of him.
We find record of Caleb’s bold report in Numbers 13:30, with Joshua’s concurring:
“Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”
Notice, that Caleb had to quiet the people! This means that they were riled! When people are upset, afraid, worried, concerned, and so on, they get riled! Unbelief will do that. So in wisdom, to try to get the people to possibly hear him, or rather “hear God” through him, He quieted them down. And it was before the presence of Moses, who was the leader of them all. He wanted Moses’ ear as well.
Let us go up at once, to possess it!
For we are well able to overcome it!
These were words of FAITH! There was energy behind his words! God’s energy!
Caleb commanded the people to immediately trust and obey God and to take the land, because God had made them able.
It took great courage for Caleb and Joshua to stand against the tide of unbelief, of doubt and their “despite all that” attitude.
In Numbers 14, we see the camp began to murmur against leadership, wanting to make a captain of someone to take them back to Egypt, when Caleb and Joshua had another go at it…at trying to bring FAITH to the peoples, that is. They rent their clothes and spake onto all of Israel:
Numbers 14: 7b-9
“The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.”
They gave it their all. Theirs was a good report! They BELIEVED the Lord was going to give victory! They had FAITH and were confident! They were willing to go up and to fight themselves! FAITH believes what it is reporting!
However, they weren’t able to convince their nation. In fact, verse 10 says all the congregation wanted to stone them! Yikes!
Those with FAITH, today even, will be met with the anger of those in UNBELIEF!
Anyway, then God was angered and was going to smite them all with pestilence and make Moses into a greater and more mighty nation than they! Yet Moses interceded! (He was quite the shepherd for these people! …always standing in the gap!) God relented, and instead, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years until that generation died out, and only those who had been under 20 years old survived… With the exception of Caleb and Joshua that is!
Their FAITH made a way for them! They had BELIEVED God was able… and they believed in themselves in God, as able, too! Both were willing to go up and conquer then! and Both of them were given the opportunity to go up and conquer again!
Numbers 14:24 describes Caleb and how God looked upon Him:
“But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.”
Yes indeed, Caleb was true to his name! God saw him as whole-hearted! And we know how God looked on Joshua! He made him the leader of the Israelites after Moses!
FAITH is really HUMILITY.
We believe and follow another, ONE, greater than ourselves.
BUT the majority sometimes rules, even if they are all “dead wrong”! …for the other 10 men who had gone up with him “countered” this rally for faith to rise up, with their own declarations of UNBELIEF:
“We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.”
Unbelief often presents itself as being “factual” or “practical” or “down to earth.”
Yet, the most factual, practical, and down-to-earth thing we can to is trust the word of the living God.
Their unbelief was not according to the facts, but despite the facts.
They left out their biggest fact – that what God Says is greater than Man’s abilities or inabilities.
Now listen…
If we do not replace our weakness, with His Strength, we are paralyzed to do what God tells us to do.
Read that sentence above again…and give it some serious thought this time. It’s important for all believers to learn its truth.
God’s ABILITY must be taken into consideration!
FAITH IS HUMILITY… UNBELIEF IS PRIDE.
Significantly, we see that two spies, Joshua and Caleb, could see the exact same sights – the same grapes, the same men, the same land, the same cities – and come away singing in faith and encouraging the others to believe that not only could God do it, but that they could do it through faith and obedience…While at the same time, the others were filled with a sense of certain doom.
Ultimately, faith or unbelief does not spring from circumstances or environment, but from our hearts, which God must change.
To confirm scripture with scripture, let’s look at Jeremiah 17:5-7, and think of what was just shared:
“This is what the Lord says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.”
The UNBELIEF of the children of Israel indeed brought about their desert experience. It led them away from prosperity when it was presented. It took them into a salt land where death is imminent.
Now let’s skip to the New Testament, and talk of Jesus Christ:
What GRIEVED Jesus the most, as he walked this earth?
Was it not UNBELIEF?
Can you not hear his words, “O, ye of little faith!” as he went along life’s way?
Now, tell me, what PLEASED Jesus the most, as he walked this earth?
Was it not BELIEF?
Can you not hear his words joyously declared to the centurion, “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel!”, or the words to the blind men “Do you believe I am able to do this? and then “According to your faith, it will be done for you.”
God sees our need, yet what He responds to is Our Faith.
Jesus responded To Faith!
My prayer for you, my reader, is that faith will arise within you. And you will know God’s ability, amidst your own perceived inability against what the Enemy may be doing in your household, neighborhood, workplace, or your country. WE HAVE GOD!
There is no inability in God.
You can’t go wrong if you will trust Him and follow Him when He gives you his leading to advance forward in obedience to something He has told you.
Do not let yourself be “intimidated” by unbelievers…or should I say, Un-BELIEVE-ers.
I spelled it the new way, because the latter can be God’s own people if they are not actively believing God and walking in their faith.
Stand your ground! Humble yourself before God and walk in FAITH and HUMILITY before GOD.
Yes, even if the World around you labels you as proud!
Just as God knew Caleb’s spirit and heart, He knows yours!
I Peter 5:6
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”
FAITH and HUMILITY go together.
UNBELIEF and PRIDE go together.
What are you operating in on a daily basis?
Let’s examine ourselves as the Word instructs us to do in II Cor 13:5…
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.”
Take the time now to examine yourself.
What are some things “God has spoken” that you know you haven’t fully trusted him in, yet?
What are your areas of Pride or Unbelief?
What was the Holy Spirit whispering in your ear as you read the message of this chapter?
—-
To close this chapter, I’d like to share a single I recorded called “Questions of Surrender”. I’m sharing it as a way for you to “examine yourself”, as I did. There are questions within the song that you can ask yourself. And, somehow music, your spoonful of sugar, makes the medicine go down…
Here is the link:
Questions of Surrender – Elizabeth Ann Smith – Receive From Me
If you don’t have the time or the sound to listen now, please download the song; but so that you won’t miss out on the Lyrics, which make up a lesson in themselves, I will cut and paste them below in bolded letters:
These are questions I asked “myself” when I was led out of the bondage of my own rebellion and stubbornness, and I realized these were “given me” to help others too, to know how to examine themselves. I think if you listen to the song a few times, these questions will come up in your mind, as your life is lived out. We are all “in process”, and never “arrive”, but we can certainly be victorious in increasing regularity, and become alert and aware of when rebellion creeps in, when it comes to our responding to God.
Related Scripture:
– Examine your own selves… II Cor 13:5
-Take the log out of your own eye…Matthew 7:5
-If our heart dos not condemn us, we have confidence before God…1 John 3:21
-Each one examine his own work, and then he will have reason for boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another…Galatians 6:4
-The Prodigal “when he came to his senses” when he realized his rebellion…Luke 15:17-24
-“Now therefore, thus says the Lord of Hosts “Consider Your Ways! You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.” Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider Your Ways” … Haggai 1:5-7
-Let us examine and probe our ways, And let us return to the Lord… Lamentations 3:40
-I considered my ways and turned my feet to your testimonies… Psalm 119:59
-How many are my iniquities and sins? Make known to me my rebellion and my sin. Job 13:23
Lyrics
Will I be humble, not proud?
Will I walk in faith, and not fear?
Will I be falsely submitted?
OR will I be freely surrendered?
Will I surrender?
To Where When and How?
Will I stray?
Or will I stand firm?
Am I Refusing to do?
Refusing to give up?
Delaying my response?
to what the Lord has told me to do?
These are the choices I make today and every day
Will I be rebellious?
Will I be stubborn?
Will I be rebellious?
It’s as the sin of witchcraft
Or Will I be stubborn?
No, this is Idolatry
Is “self’ on the throne?
Or does His Will matter most?
These choices I make each and every day.
I will be humble not proud
I will walk in faith and not fear
I won’t be falsely submitted
But will be freely surrendered
I will surrender
To Where, When and How
I will not stray
No, I will stand firm
I’m willing to do
I’m willing to give up
I’ll quickly respond to the things the Lord
has told me to do
These are the choices to make
each day and every day
I won’t be rebellious
Nor will I be stubborn
I won’t be rebellious
It’s as the sin of witchcraft
Nor will I be stubborn
It’s as Idolatry
Christ is on the throne
His will matters most
These choices I’ll make
each and every day
Dear Lord I ask
Your help to do your Will
For with the Holy Spirit’s help
I will be yours
All yours