I. Recap from Part I.
A. A time of restructuring.
1. Changing thought processes about money and debt, time management and family.
2. We talked about trailblazers, pioneers and settlers.
3. The Lord brought us out of Egypt, but He has to get Egypt out of us.
II. Intro to Part II: From faith to faith.
A. Romans 1:17 From faith to faith
1. Romans 1:17
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel [c]of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”
a. Some scholars say this means from faith in the Law to faith in Christ.
b. It may, but it also means that from salvation to glory, we live by trusting in God.
c. Continuous growth: from childlike faith to mature faith over time.
2. The life of faith is taught all throughout the NT.
a. Galatians 2:20
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
3. The life of faith is not just for preachers and missionaries. Every believer is meant to live by faith.
4. People say that to me sometimes, that as a preacher I live by faith. This implies that only full time ministry workers live by faith, all the other Christians live by their own means. Nothing could be further from the truth. We all put our faith in something.
a. We put faith in our job or career, but what if we are laid off?
b. Faith in our savings, until they run out.
c. Faith in our health, until we get sick.
d. Faith in our education, until no one is hiring those degrees anymore.
B. Our faith is supposed to grow and transform as we mature in the Lord.
1. This is what ‘from faith to faith means’.
2. Luke 17:5 The disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith. Anyone who walks with Jesus will come to see that their faith needs to increase.
3. 2 Thess 1:3 Paul wrote “…your faith grows exceedingly.”
4. 1 Cor 10:15 Paul wrote “…as your faith increases, we will be greatly enlarged by your in our sphere, so that we can preach the gospel in regions beyond you.”
5. So we have to ask ourselves, is our faith growing? Are we growing from faith to faith?
C. Our faith should grow from Exodus faith to Conquering faith.
1. A generation died in the wilderness because their faith never grew from Exodus faith to Conquering faith.
2. They had witnessed the supernatural power of God in the 10 plagues of Egypt. They had walked through the Red Sea on dry land and saw their enemies drown in it as they tried to pursue them. Bitter water was made sweet, God provided manna and quail. They had seen the fire of God on Mt Sinai and received the law of God, the 10 Commandments.
3. But that generation remained stuck in Exodus faith and they died in the wilderness. Their faith never grew into the Conquering faith that was necessary for them to inherit the Promised Land.
III. Exodus faith vs Conquering faith.
A. Both are necessary.
1. Exodus faith is when you trust God to deliver you from some trial, suffering, oppression, etc. Conquering faith is when you trust God to delver your enemies into your hand so that you can kill them. (For ex: debt, mental strongholds like depression, pride, rejection, etc.)
2. Both of these expressions of faith are necessary and needed at different times.
a. Exodus faith: salvation, deliverance from addictions (porn, drugs, etc.)
b. Conquering faith: overcoming barriers to your calling, to financial freedom, etc.
C. Like the Hebrews who were delivered from Egypt, we can get stuck in the wilderness if we are not careful.
1. Remember, there will be times in our walk when we need Exodus faith. These are times when God has to move too rescue us.
2. BUT… there are times when God expects us to kill some giants. He expects us to start using the power and authority that He has given us.
3. Many believers remain stuck in Exodus faith for years and never see their faith grow into Conquering faith. The remain Wilderness believers when they could be Promised Land believers.
a. Wilderness believers: fighting to maintain status quo
b. Promised land believers: fighting to claim what is yours, to increase.
IV. What keeps us stuck in the wilderness? An uncircumcised heart.
A. The Covenant of Circumcision.
1. Circumcision: the sign of God’s Covenant with Abraham and his descendants. (Gen 17)
a. The Hebrews were pagan in Egypt, but still kept the covenant of circumcision.
b. The generation in the Wilderness did not circumcise their children. (Josh 5)
c. In Deut 10:16, as Moses delivered his final words to the people, he said “… circumcise your heart and quit being rebellious…”
2. The first order of business in the Promised Land was to circumcise an entire generation. This shows us that there is no conquering outside of the covenant.
B. Why this interruption in the Covenant?
1. Theories.
a. Wouldn’t have time to rest & heal because of nomadic lifestyle. (Not true)
b. Wouldn’t have time to heal because of enemies. (Worse in Canaan)
c. The desert was too hot.
2. We don’t know exactly why, the bible is silent. But we know that the generation that came out of Egypt was circumcised and did bring their children into the covenant of Abraham.
C. Why our attitude to the Covenant is the key.
1. People stuck in the wilderness never grow out of rebellion. (They never fully surrender their will to God.) A will that hasn’t surrendered to God doesn’t see the value of covenant, so they don’t pass it on.
2. We all go throw wilderness seasons, but we don’t have to stay there. What keeps us stuck in the wilderness is refusing to fight the battles God has given us to fight. When we refuse to fight the battle that God has put in front of us, it’s disobedience, it’s rebellion.
3. We come up with all kinds of excuses and reasons. We hide behind suffering and hope it makes us look holy when the reality is that we are chicken and stubborn.
4. Promised Land believers value the covenant. They are mindful that there is nothing good in them, that Christ died so that they could live, that they have died to this world and live to Christ. They offer up their bodies a living sacrifice.
V. Case Study: Joshua & Caleb.
A. Joshua and Caleb endured the same wilderness as the rest of the nation, but they had a very different experience.
1. They let the wilderness season grow their faith from Exodus faith to Conquering faith.
2. Instead of complaining about the challenges that they faced in the wilderness, they let those challenges prepare them to take the promised land.
3. Do you want to be a Wilderness Christian or a Promised Land Christian? Are you willing to stay stuck in Exodus faith forever or will you allow the challenges to grow it into Conquering faith?
B. Four traits of Joshua Caleb.
1. Honor the covenant.
a. Develop the faith of Abraham, the courage of Joshua and the patience of Job.
b. Even while going through a wilderness season, trust God for a better tomorrow.
c. You have to be an eternal optimist and keep a tender heart.
d. In every season, stay submitted to God and surrender your will to Him.
2. Make friends with a conqueror.
a. Only two were spared out of an entire generation, but at least they had each other.
b. Find someone as crazy as you to stand and hope with.
c. There is no shortage of negativity in the church, so avoid it like the black death.
d. Find one or two people who believe God as radically as you do.
3. Fight your battles one at a time.
a. Instead of trying to take the land all at once, take one city at a time.
b. Identify the first obstacle that needs to be overcome and focus on that.
c. Get some wins under your belt and let you faith and confidence grow.
4. Get a specific strategy for each battle.
a. God gave the Israelites different strategies for different cities. Each battle requires a specific battle plan.
b. The Spirit may lead you to fast, worship, pray at midnight, etc. do it.
c. The Word gives strategies as well, look em up and put em into practice.