The people of Israel would enter the land promised to them. However, this would not happen until a series of events led the nation into slavery with Egypt. Joseph, one of Jacob’s sons became second in command in Egypt and would provide his people a home in the land of Pharaoh. Yet after his death, they would fall out of favor with Pharaoh and become harshly enslaved for 400 years. God raised up a deliverer from among them to eventually free them from Egyptian bondage. Moses, was used by God in a powerful and supernatural manner free the Hebrew people from Egypt and lead them to the Promised Land. The struggle of the Hebrews is similar to the Christians spiritual struggle with the nature of sin.
Hebrews 4:1-6 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. {2} For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it {3} For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. {4} For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works. {5} And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest. {6} Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
The children of Israel had been traveling for two year in the wilderness. God had been instructing them in the ways of worship, government, community living, and family living. They are now ready to leave the wilderness and enter into the land of Promise. They have put Egypt behind them or have they?
God has directed Moses to find twelve men to spy out the land. They were to find out the conditions the children of Israel would be facing. The men traveled though the mountains spying out the land."And they returned from searching of the land after forty days."
The report they brought back went something like this, "We have just returned from the land of Promise and look at what we have, grapes, that require two men to carry one cluster. The land is flowing with milk and honey. But... the people are strong, the cities are walled, and there are giants in the land. The Amalekites dwell in the south, the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and the coast of Jordan."
The ten spies confirmed everything that Moses had said about the Promise Land. But they terrified the people with the great difficultly in obtaining it; the rivers are so deep you can cross, the mountains so high you cannot climb, the cities so strong you cannot conquer; in fact these difficulties are far greater than anything we have face since coming out of Egypt.
There are people who will tell you that you cannot surrender you life, and yield you soul to Jesus Christ, and live free from sin. The whole purpose of the wilderness experience is for God to determine if you will keep His commandments. Jesus says, If you love me you will keep my commandments. This is how we know that the love of God dwells in us. John writes to us saying, Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. {2} Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. {3} And every man that hath this hope in him.
It is time in our Christian experience to start living the life of victory. It is time to put the life of Egypt behind and find victory. This victory is found in the experience of sanctification. Called by John Wesley, Christian Perfection. By Quakers the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Holiness and cleanliness go together. The Lord must have clean vessels through which to work and to pour out His blessings. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is twofold in its nature; namely, it is a cleansing from the nature of sin, and spiritual power to live the Christian life. Some stress the power, but deny the cleansing. Others emphasize the cleansing but do not see the importance of the power. Power without holiness is dangerous.
The Egyptian heart in the believer defeats, hinders, and blights their spiritual journey. There is nothing that blesses, inspires, helps, and enriches the spiritual personality as much as the infilling of the Holy Spirit. This infilling cannot come about until the Christian moves to a higher level of spiritual life. You are no longer in the wilderness at the Mount of the Law but you have come to Mount Zion.
Why would you want to wander in a bare and wasted land? Why would you choose to suffer defeat when you can have victory? You have dwelt here long enough! It is time to move out. I can hear the whiners. “I can't. It requires to much. I need to be in control of my life. I need to be in control of others life as well. I need to be able to plan the life of those around me. So, if I surrender my life I loose control.”
I am here to tell you never had control. You have been deceived in thinking you were in control. The enemy of you soul has you where he wants you. Rebelling against the will of God. Refusing to accept the victory that God had declared for you. It does not require any more than reasonable service. Rom. 12:1
Apart from the infilling of the Holy Spirit, people are self-centered. Their interest are largely centered in themselves. They look out for number one. Human nature desires to have things nice and easy. When the Christian surrenders his life to the Lord, an outpouring of the Spirit will take place. This is essential that each believer follow the way of the cross and yield themselves to Jesus Christ. We can now walk by faith.
The children of Israel had the revelation of the power of God. But revelation is not enough. It take illumination. (Good Quaker doctrine) I may hold the inspired Word of God in my hand, I may have memorized passages of the Word, but that is not enough. I must have the inspired truth in my heart. Truth is more than words.
The children of Israel had the revelation but they lacked the power. Revelation cannot save. Revelation is the ground on which we build our faith. It is what I know to be true in my personal experience with God; but it is not the personal experience of accepting Jesus Christ, and surrendering my will to a life of faith.
You can live the life of a professed Christian. You may join the church, believe the Bible, be faithful in serving the church. Then, one day, under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit, you suddenly feel the terribly need of God in your life, forgetting all your past you fall to you knees and pour out your soul to God.
What happened? You found you were trusting the dead body of truth. The dead body of truth lacks the life of faith. We live and walk only by faith. Moses is not coming down from the Mountain. We are now on our own. It is time to enter the land of Promise and claim the benefits that God has for the victorious Christian life.
Knowledge is not enough. You can quote scripture, discuss doctrine, have all the theological understanding about salvation and yet not be a true child of God. You must first experience repentance---this is where the Light becomes faith. When we decide to follow and do the will of God our true journey into the Promise Land has started.
Why must people continually live in the past? They want to act like Egyptians. You know who they are. They are disruptive, persistently defiant, demanding, unmotivated. They defy authority cause stress, frustration, and anger. They have severe spiritual behavioral problems. Many have come from a spiritual environment, but this has had minimal, if any influence over their behavior.
In Number chapter sixteen when have one with the heart of and Egyptian. Korah got together two hundred and fifty princes. Famous in the congregation, men of renown. He got them together for the expressed purpose of bringing frustration and stress in the life of Moses. And when Moses heard it he fell upon his face. A spiritual challenge was given. If you are a child of God then we will see how God reacts to you tomorrow.
The contest is set and the challenge given. Moses is ready for his trial by faith. He must trust the Lord. “If these men die the common death of all men, or if they be visited after the visitation of all men; then the Lord hath not sent me. But if the Lord make a new thing, and the earth open her mouth, and swallow them up, with all that appertain unto them, and they go down quick into the pit; then ye shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord.”
Well, it was goodbye Korah, and hello Aaron.
Let me just say, the individuals with the Egyptian hearts are not those who occasionally bring frustration and stress into your life. They are the ones who always bring stress, frustration, disruption, and confusion into the life of those wanting to get into the Promise Land. How can you identify them? They are the ones who on the days they are absent from your life leave you feeling happy. These people literally can break your spiritual life. It doesn't matter if it is a frail 90-pound grandmother, or a six-foot two-inch spiritual bully. The outcome is the same. Egyptian heart-ed people keep you from having your spiritual needs met.
Christians can become very frustrated from the insensitivity of these Egyptians. The spiritually deficit disorder Egyptians tend to make you forget the confidence you once had in your salvation. They have gained the potential power over your life to adversely affect your salvation.
Frustrating, no-win confrontations with the Egyptians are not good for you. Your faith is shaken. Think about it. How do you feel about your spiritual life after having confronted an Egyptian? In a moment of anger we know what Moses did. But Jesus warns us that we cannot harbor hatred in our hearts, or we are the same as murders. What do we do?
Get out of the Egypt mentality. Stay away from Egyptians. And move to the Promise Land. The more spiritual you become the less the “Egyptians” will bother you.
What kinds of problems do pastors face while trying to faithfully carry out the message of God in the church? Put any group of pastors together to brainstorm that question and they will come up with a list of behavioral descriptions that look like this: rude, don't care, defiant attitude, highly emotional, verbally abusive, demanding of attention, unmotivated, unloving, unkind, stirring up strife, impatient, hatred, wrath, envying... well you can find the complete list in Galatians chapter five verses nineteen to twenty-one.
Moses had his problems daily with this type of person. The end result was they provoked him to the point he was not permitted to enter the land of Promise with the children of Israel. Moses did however enter the Promise Land. On the Mount of Transfiguration, with Jesus and Elijah.
How much better the trip would have been if all the “Egyptians” were left in Egypt. Jesus tells the story of the sower who after having sown good seed, later found that an enemy had sown tares. He could not remove the tares without damaging some of the wheat. He chose to let them grow together until the harvest. There the wheat and tares will be separated. The same is with our spiritual journey. There are those whom the enemy of our soul places around us and will be here until the Great Harvest, when God separates the Believer for the non-believer. You cannot change or cure these individuals, but you can create an environment so difficult they will not choose to remain.
It is a sad commentary on the life of an individual who has been raised in the church, heard the message of salvation, seen the mighty working of God, and how God has changed the lives of individuals, only to loose their own joy of salvation because of someone else.
We are not exempt from spiritual trials and tribulations. Into each of our lives a little rain will fall--- some more than others. You may feel at time that you are experiencing flood conditions, but you must remain true to Jesus Christ. Remember, He is not the one who is bringing grief into you life it is Satan. The Enemy of your soul. It is his job to bring you down to his level. To allow him to defeat your spiritual life is to defeat Christ as well.
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