Introduction - Covenant Connection (the "you" throughout the passage)

Just to remind you - Deuteronomy chapters 1-4 give us a number of foundational principles for chapters 5-26. They help to prepare the reader to properly and spiritually live out the Ten Commandments without legalism and with the power of the Holy Spirit. And we will see that that is true of this section. This section shows how foundational genuine faith is to the application of God's law - which is what chapters 6-26 is all about. Those chapters will give an exposition of each of the ten commandments and show how the ten commandments apply to every area of life. But we must approach God’s law by faith, not in our flesh.

Why are so many churches in America antinomian? I believe it is because they have a sick and truncated faith. The modern church claims to believe, but it tends to be skeptical that God's law is the Perfect Law of Liberty. In our day and age, the church has tended to slander the law of God. It's a faith issue.

Anyway, this chapter shows how unbelief can manifest itself in very clever ways. Moses is going to be telling the current faithful generation about what went wrong with their parent's generation. They claimed to have faith, but when push came to shove, it was a false claim.

But before we get into that, I want to deal with an issue that has puzzled some people. Despite the fact that the whole generation that he is now addressing proved to be a faithful generation, Moses seems to be throwing them under the bus with the word "you." He uses the word "you" to describe what happened forty years before. That was their parents generation; it wasn't this generation. So why does He use the word "you." We tend to be so individualistic, that we aren't used to thinking that way. But notice that when discussing the unbelief of the previous generation, he keeps saying things like, "I said to you... everyone of you came... Nevertheless you would not go up," etc.

And I believe this is because the Bible treats us as being in covenant solidarity across generations. We can still hold the guilt of previous generations if we have not self-consciously repudiated their evil works, broken off the curse that their unbelief produced, and responded to God in faith like this generation would do.

Second, the actions of parents definitely impact their children. The parents rebelled, but this generation had to wander in the wilderness too. It may not seem fair, but as a nation there is a covenant connection. Even the righteous suffer to some degree along with the wicked.

Third, when citizens understand this, it motivates them to not be passive about their national affairs. Lack of involvement does not exclude us from the consequences of leaders' bad decisions. They are still "our" decisions because we are part of the nation. And this should motivate us to get involved in promoting righteous political action.

So in chapter 5 God has this generation repudiate the unbelief of the previous generation, saying, "The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive." Without rejecting the unbelief of the previous generation, they could easily have continued in it. But this generation breaks off the covenant curses that came against Israel as a whole, and embraced God's new covenant blessings on behalf of the nation. So I just wanted to briefly comment on the "you...you...you...you" found throughout this passage. The implications of covenant theology on an entire nation need to be taken into account. In my morning devotional readings I have been seeing kings who broke off their covenant connection with a father - or in the case of Asa, with a grandmother, whom he deposed from being the Queen Mother. It's just one of many illustrations in Kings and Chronicles of each generation breaking with the unfaithfulness of the past and committing to follow the Lord with their whole heart. OK, enough said on that.

Contrasting the Fearsome Wilderness (the status quo) with the feared Paradise (new challenges) (v. 19)

But let's pick up where we left off last week. Verse 19 highlights God's faithfulness to the previous generation despite their unfaithfulness. It says, "So we departed from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the mountains of the Amorites, as the LORD our God had commanded us. Then we came to Kadesh Barnea." Though they were about to face a formidable enemy, Moses reminded them that God had abundantly taken care of them in the terrible wilderness. Even the parents were preserved by God because of the faith of the younger generation. So it's not just unbelief that negatively impacts a nation; the faith of the younger generation can positively impact an entire nation.

But I want to comment on the meaning of the phrase, "terrible wilderness." Interestingly, the Hebrew word for "terrible" comes from the root word "to fear." God had successfully taken them through a potentially fear-inducing wilderness in order to demonstrate that He could help them face any other fears in the future. And of course, they failed to face their future fears properly.

But as to the nature of the wilderness, Numbers 11-12 shows that it was hot, hard, without vegetation, and providing absolutely nothing to sustain life. And yet God sustained them. He then brought them to Kadesh Barnea, which was a large oasis with abundant springs and pastures. And as they looked into the even more lush Promised Land, it should have stood as a very inviting place to go into. You could not get a more striking contrast than the contrast between the wilderness and the paradise of the Promised Land. But as we will see, the leaders of the previous generation preferred to go back to the known fears of the wilderness (since that was a familiar status quo) rather than exchange it for the as-yet-unknown fears of the Promised Land. And in the same way, it is often easier for us to stick with the status quo (however uncomfortable that might be) than to tackle the unknown dangers of a new venture. It's weird, but it is true.

In any case, God had purposely had them go through that great and terrible wilderness to teach them that He could provide for them supernaturally when there was absolutely nothing they could depend upon in the natural realm. The wilderness was supposed to be a boot camp; a training ground to teach them that they could depend upon Him. He gave them water where there was no water, daily manna from heaven, quail, and other provisions. But now they are facing the prospects of fighting the Amalekites, Amorites, and other ites, and the Israelites were terrified of this new unknown enemy - and other enemies that were scattered through the land.

And fear of danger is natural. But Moses is reminding this generation that how we handle our fears is what matters. And of course, the previous generation did not handle their fears in a godly manner. And we can learn from that. Paul tells us that all of these wilderness wanderings of the Israelites were "written for our instruction" so that we might have hope. If we learn from those previous mistakes, we can be the stronger for it just as this next generation became strong through the Scriptures. Even if the previous generation didn't go through the boot camp very successfully, this next generation did. So the point of verse 19 is that God knows how to sustain His people in even the toughest of times, and He calls us to trust in His faithfulness as we face new challenges.

Standing on the Edge of Promise (vv. 20-21)

Then verses 20-21 go on to remind us that when God gives us a vision for the future, that vision is a good and gracious gift - however many challenges there may be. Those who have faith accept it as a good gift. And it is a good gift. The future challenges are not just our future; it is also God's future with us. Beginning at verse 20:

And I said to you, “You have come to the mountains of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us. 21 Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.’

God's promise was quite clear. He has already given the land to them. If they would take it, it was theirs. It's a big "if" though, isn't it? Yet, based on that assurance, he commands them, "do not fear or be discouraged." You don't need to fear if God has given a promise. Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." Our future is God's future for us, and we never have to face it alone. As these Israelites looked into an uncertain future, they needed to keep those words in mind: "Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you." Since God had given the land, it was not presumptuous for them to take it. And when we have faith in God's promises, it is possible to live out the last clause: "do not fear or be discouraged." So God was anchoring their faith in His past provisions and in His promises for the future. But it is in the present that we tend to hesitate in taking the first steps of faith.

The People’s Proposal: Seeking Human Assurance (v. 22)

And that the previous generation did have hesitation in their faith is hinted at in the next verse, where the people seek human assurance. The divine word was not enough for them; they wanted spies to bring back their own testimony. And interestingly, Moses is OK with sending out the spies. He knows that the spies will be able to totally confirm that the land is as wonderful as God said it was. Verse 22:

And every one of you came near to me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, and let them search out the land for us, and bring back word to us of the way by which we should go up, and of the cities into which we shall come.’

Though they worded this request as if it was a request of faith (just doing reconnaissance for an obedient conquest), their later reaction will show that they were subtly hesitating and wavering in their faith. In fact, Paul Brown's commentary represents the vast majority of commentators when he gives three contextual reasons why this request for sending out spies was motivated by unbelief. First, in the past, Israel had consistently been expected to pack up and move "according to the commandment of the LORD" (Ex. 17:1). Well, God has just given His commandment, and they aren't moving. Second, Moses contrasts the phrase here "let us send men before us" with the glory cloud already going before them in verse 33. So they were lagging behind God's guidance. And then third, despite Canaan being discovered to be exactly as God had promised, the spies give a discouraging report.

As far as Moses is concerned, sending spies will be a confirmation of everything God had promised. As far as some of these leaders were concerned, sending spies would buy them more time. And most commentators agree that though they presented this like a prudent thing to do - to report on the best route to conquer the cities, God had not commanded them to do it. What they were doing was seeking extra assurance from humans before they moved forward in faith based on God's promises. It was a very subtle deviation from faith. And most slides away from faith start out in a subtle manner.

And we need to ask ourselves how often we delay obedience because of our own discomfort? We want more assurance than what the Bible has given to us. But God's Word doesn't need confirmation. It is infallible, and true faith acts on God's Word without needing confirmation. If God has said it, we should immediately believe it. If God has commanded it, we should immediately act on that command by faith.

The Mission of the Spies (vv. 23-25)

Well, verses 23-25 spell out what happened.

Deut. 1:23   “The plan pleased me well; so I took twelve of your men, one man from each tribe. 24 And they departed and went up into the mountains, and came to the Valley of Eshcol, and spied it out. 25 They also took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought back word to us, saying, “It is a good land which the LORD our God is giving us.’

They brought back confirming evidence that the land was every bit as good as God said that it was. They were able to taste and see the reality of God's promise. And if that had been as much as they had said, this could have functioned as a means of stirring up their faith. Scripture says that church fellowship times can be times where we share with each other about God's faithfulness to live out His word in our lives, and those testimonies can be used by God to stir up similar faith in each other. That's what two of the spies (Joshua and Caleb) sought to do - they sought to stir up faith as they reported to the people.

So, in a sense, our Joshua-like fathers and mothers have spied out the land for us and told us that we can trust God's Word just as they trusted His Word and found it to be true. God is always faithful. So it's not like Moses thought it was a bad thing to send out the spies. Indeed, he says, "The plan pleased me well." But here's the thing - hearing and seeing what God has done for others is no substitute for experiencing the reality of God's grace for ourselves. Hebrews 10:24 says that our sharing with each other what God has done in our own lives is for the purpose of stirring one another up to love and good works. But sometimes fellowship times do the exact opposite. And that's what happened here. The report of ten of the spies ended up confirming them in their unbelief.

The Anatomy and Characteristics of Unbelief (vv. 26-28)

And I want to spend the rest of this sermon looking at the anatomy (or the characteristics) of unbelief that can stir up further unbelief in others. Verses 26-28 say,

“Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God; 27 and you complained in your tents, and said, “Because the LORD hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.” ’

Their fear led them to unbelief. Hebrews 3:19 comments on this saying, "So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief." That's God's inspired commentary on this passage. There were seven things in this passage that both illustrated unbelief and strengthened their unbelief.

Failure to act; procrastination (v. 26a)

First, Moses points to failure to act as being the first part of that unbelief that was so displeasing to God. Some people call this procrastination, but procrastination is simply another word for failure to act. It says, "Nevertheless you would not go up..." When God gives a promise, He expects His people to trust Him enough to act on it. The Israelites’ refusal to enter the Promised Land, despite God’s assurance, is repeatedly cited in the Bible as a prime example of unbelief. Their hesitation was not just caution. It was seen as a rejection of God’s reliability and character. The Bible records God’s response: “How long will they refuse to believe in Me, despite all the signs I have performed among them?” (Numbers 14:11)

Maybe the Holy Spirit has been prompting you to do something, and fear is making you procrastinate and to not act. James 2:20 says that "without works faith is dead." In verse 18 of that same chapter he says, "I will show you my faith by my works." Failure to act is the first manifestation of unbelief. True faith always acts.

And don't confuse unbelief with weak faith; there is a difference. And if you are worried about this, you don't need to overthink it. Fearful (but faithful) action is still the obedience of faith. I think of the father who brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus to cast out the spirit. Jesus told him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes." And the man, worried that his faith was inadequate cried out with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). And Jesus healed his son. The very fact that he came to Jesus, shows he was willing to act - fearful as his heart was. So the presence of fear is not necessarily fatal to faith. Fear can be overcome by true faith. And we will look at that more in a bit. But the man in Mark 9 was handling his fear in a godly way - he was acting while asking Jesus to help him to believe. But when you deliberately refuse to act on God's promises or commands, you are starting down the slippery slope of unbelief.

Rebellion; saying "No." (v. 26b)

The next phrase shows how rebellion is another manifestation of unbelief. And some authors claim that all true unbelief is itself an act of rebellion. It says, "Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God." They might have thought, "We aren't rebelling. We are just being realistic. We aren't ready." But God's commands usually are not realistic to the flesh. That's why obedience to God's commands requires faith. If God’s commands were realistic, you wouldn’t need faith. Obeying God's commands for holiness is no more realistic than Christ's call to walk on the water - unless of course God's grace helps us. And in the future (verses 41-46) we will look at the difference between the action of presumption and the action of faith. Presumption can sometimes be a subtle counterfeit to faith. But the point here is that we can have a tendency to think that the gaps in our obedience are far less serious than rebellion. But we need to see lack of action as not just unbelief, but rebellion against God; refusal to trust God for what He expects of us. It's a rejection of God's enabling grace.

Complaining (v. 27a)

The next characteristic of unbelief is complaining. When God calls you to love and nurture your wife (yes, even when she is difficult to love and nurture), or to love and submit to your husband, you might not verbalize your complaint (as they did), but the inner resistance to doing so when you don't feel like it often amounts to the same root issue. And there are all kinds of commands God gives that require us to get past that inner urge to complain that it is too hard. True faith obeys despite the difficulty. And I don't need to outline every example that could be given. You know your own heart-complaints that keep you from the obedience of faith. Philippians 2:14 commands us, "Do all things without complaining." In fact, let me read that passage in context, because that is a call to be godly testimonies in our culture of what it means to live by faith in God's supernatural grace. It says,

Phil. 2:14   Do all things without complaining and disputing, 15 that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

When faith puts away complaining, Peter says you shine forth God's supernatural grace. You look different from the world and you show yourselves to be sons of God. You become a testimony of what true faith looks like. If you are prone to complaining, take this seriously. It may well be an evidence of unbelief or one of the steps of sliding into unbelief. Complaining is an enemy of faith. Treat it as an enemy. Repent of it and put it off. The Lord has convicted me of complaining from time to time.

Doubting God's love for us (v. 27b)

The next aspect of unbelief flows from a doubt that God loves us. Verse 27 goes on to say, "Because the LORD hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us." Not only did they doubt that God loved them, but they thought their difficulties were proof positive that God hated them. But this is really an astounding level of unbelief when you think about all the previous demonstrations of God's love to them. Consider all the ways that God had previously provided for them - and provided rather generously. These were all demonstrations of His love.

1. First, think of how God brought the ten plagues against Egypt. He brought them in such a way that the Israelites were themselves protected from most of those plagues. He showed a difference between His people and the Egyptians.
2. Or consider the massive plunder that the Egyptians voluntarily gave to them. Israelites previously owned nothing. They were slaves. Yet God insured that the Egyptians would give every Israelite lots of riches. Every one of them came out of Egypt wealthy. That was an incredible demonstration of God's love and generosity.
3. Or think of the protection of Israel in the Red Sea and the drowning of the Egyptians.
4. Or think of the Shekinah Glory Cloud providing shade from the scorching sun each day, and the same cloud being a fiery pillar at night that provided light and heat from the cold.
5. God had supernaturally kept their clothes and shoes from wearing out.
6. God had already provided victory over other enemies, etc.

But unbelief makes us forget God's loving provisions and to doubt that He loves us. And when we feel sorry for ourselves and think that God has not blessed us, we need to rebuke ourselves and start a long think-and-thank list of blessings that God has given in the past. I write them out because it is otherwise easy to forget them. If you spend a couple of hours writing down every blessing that God has given you, you will be blown away. In contrast, forgetting God's acts of love to us can easily lead to increasing unbelief.

Exaggeration of our difficulties (v. 28)

Verse 28 shows another aspect of unbelief - exaggeration of our difficulties. This is where we put God's providence into the worst possible light. It may be exaggerating your insomnia, or how bad your kids are, or how awful it is to live in America, or how poor you are, or how bad your health is, etc. Though all God's people face impossibilities that require faith, unbelief hugely exaggerates the difficulties. In verse 28 the unbelieving generation said, "Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, 'The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.'" Yeah, there were giants. And yeah, there were fortified cities. But fortified up to heaven? And making it out like all the enemies were giants? No. That's exaggeration.

Giving in to discouragement (v. 28)

And of course, the same verse shows how giving in to discouragement is another facet of unbelief. They said, "Our brethren have discouraged our hearts." But the point is that their unbelief is what allowed those reports to discourage their hearts. Caleb and Joshua had faith, and their response was the exact opposite of discouragement. They believed that they were well able to tackle the land by God's grace. So don't take discouragement as a legitimate way of life. Some people almost wear their discouragement like a badge because they want sympathy, but discouragement is an enemy of faith. We all have our moments of discouragement, but we must learn to fight discouragement by faith. (And believe me, I have had to repent of this many times. I don't want discouragement to characterize my life. It's a dangerous symptom of unbelief.)

OK, why have I spelled out these things out in such detail? I have done so because unbelief tends to blind us to reality as God sees it. Unbelief often distorts reality, magnifies obstacles, and forgets God’s past faithfulness. And this is why we must make a holy war against any seeds of unbelief that might creep into our hearts. Hebrews 11:6 says, "without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." These stories were not included in the Bible to just satisfy our curiosity. Hebrews tells us that God included these stories in the Bible to warn us of how easy it is for any of us to slide away from a life of faith in God's supernatural grace and to become hardened in heart and in unbelief. We need the rebukes of Scripture. And I hope you take these rebukes against unbelief this morning seriously.

And you might think, "Well, none of this applies to Christians. All of us embrace Christ for salvation by faith, right?" But even believers can have parts of their life characterized by unbelief. The apostles did. Eleven of the apostles initially refused to believe the reports of those who said that they had seen Jesus risen from the dead. And those eleven had a hard time believing that - despite the repeated prophecies of Jesus that He would rise from the dead. Mark 16:14 says, "Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen." It says that He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart. Yes, true believers can have unbelief and hardness of heart in at least facets of their lives. And because they had the seeds of faith, those rebukes produced repentance and renewed actions of faith. But the point is, if unbelief and hardness of heart could happen to the apostles, it can happen to us. Let this passage in Deuteronomy 1 stir up your hearts to do the things that God is calling you to do, and to believe that God will enable you to do so by His grace.

I remember one time when God called me to rejoice, and I briefly thought to myself, "I don't have anything to rejoice over. Being joyful when I am sad would be hypocrisy." But I immediately rejected that thought and started praising God anyway, and rejoicing in a list of things that God had blessed me with. And as I took those steps of faith in rejoicing when I didn't feel like it, the supernatural joy of the Lord started invading my heart. But you aren't going to see God coming through for you until you take those steps of faith.

Fear (vv. 29-30). Moses calls them to cast off fear and to trust in the faithfulness of God (vv. 29-31)

But we do have one last manifestation of unbelief in this chapter. It is fear. Fear of man has in the past been one of my chief besetting sins. And I praise God that He showed me what an enemy it was. In verses 29-31 Moses calls them to cast off fear and to trust in the faithfulness of God.

Deut. 1:29   “Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, or afraid of them. 30 The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.’

Fight fear, don't give in to it; treat it as an enemy (v. 29)

Fear of man is such a powerful enemy against faith that Moses gives several admonitions on how to deal with fear. He spends more words helping you to overcome fear than he does any of the other elements of unbelief.

The first admonition was to fight fear and to not give in to it. He says, "Do not be terrified, or afraid of them." Well, easier said than done if you are a fearful person, right? You might think, "How do I not fear? It just seems to come on me. I can't help it." But if God commands us to not fear, then we can trust that the processes of faith that He gives to us in this chapter will work. Growing up I was a very fearful person. Now, granted, I had no fear of cliffs, or caves, or animals, or bees, or racing a dirt bike through dangerous mountain terrain. I did a lot of foolish and dangerous things in that regard. But my fear was a fear of man. And God helped me to quit excusing my fear as if it was only a personality issue, and to begin treating it as a serious sin. And He gave me victory. But before I could gain the victory, I had to first of all be convinced that fear was an enemy that I needed get rid of. And if you are prone to fear, there are lots of good resources out there that can help you to overcome it. Edward Welch's book, When People Are Big and God is Small is a great place to start. Or you can read Elyse Fitzpatrick's book, Overcoming Fear, Worry, and Anxiety. But wherever you start in your holy war against fear, don't ignore it. For sure don't nurse it and protect it. Fight it. Treat fear as an enemy. Treat fear as the deadly sin that it really is. It is a major contributor to unbelief - or refusing to take God's commands and promises seriously.

Trust your covenant God (v. 30a,etc.)

Second, trust your covenant God. And the reason I speak of God being a covenant God is that God uses His covenant name, Yehowah, in this verse and over and over again in this book. When you see the word LORD in all capital letters in the NKJV (like you see in verses 3,6,8,10,19,20,21, etc.), it is the covenant name, Yehowah. And you see that name in this verse. That name reminds them that God is their God; a God who has entered into covenant with them, and who has revealed His special name to them. He has committed Himself to us. When we become convinced of that fact, it is easier to trust Him.

And as you trust God on tough issues, and you see God coming through for you, it increases your faith to trust Him for more. And faith is incompatible with the fear of man. Faith is an essential ingredient in the fight against fear. That's why I recommended Ed Welch's book, When People Are Big and God is Small. That book helps you to see why the fear of man tends to dominate our minds when our faith is small, and why the fear of God increases faith. When you fear God more than others, your faith grows by leaps and by bounds.

Remind yourself that you don't face troubles alone (v. 30b)

Next, remind yourself that you don't need to face these troubles alone since God has promised to go before us in order to prepare the way for our actions. Verse 30 says, "The LORD your God, who goes before you..." There is no trouble you face where God is absent. We can lean on Him and know that He can change the hard hearts of other people who bother us where we cannot change their hearts; He can improve situations where we cannot; and He can bring good out of unimproved situations, where we cannot. Faith does not depend upon how good the people, situations, or circumstances are. It depends on God's promise that He will never leave us nor forsake us. The fact that God goes before us is a huge encouragement to faith.

One word picture that came to my mind when I was reading this passage was a bully who used to beat me up when I was five or six years old. He was awful. Well, I remember one time walking past this bully when my dad was walking hand-in-hand with me, and having absolutely no fear of this bully. I realized that that bully was no match for my dad, and it removed by fear. I didn't have the same experience with God until I began developing communion with God and the doctrine of God's presence with me became tangible and real. We need to get to the place where we recognize that God is with us and we don't need to face our troubles alone. I've recommended Brother Lawrence's book, The Practice of the Presence a number of times in the past. It was that book that helped usher me into the realization of God's presence with me 24-7. Experiencing God's presence is a key to conquering fear.

Remind yourself that God fights for us (v. 30c)

But more than that, this verse goes on to say, "He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes." God is the same, yesterday, today, and forever, and He is a God who fights for His people. When we run to Him as a strong tower, we find deliverance from the attacks of demons. But even when humans fight against us, we can confidently know that if God is for us, there is nothing those humans can throw our way that God will not work together for our good. We don't even need to fear persecution or even martyrdom. He really does fight for us. That knowledge helps to remove fear.

Remind yourself of God's fatherly care (v. 31).

He goes on to say, "and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son..." Our God is not a distant God. Instead, he is a God who carries us in His bosom; who cares for us with a fatherly care. Of course, we become more and more attuned to that fatherly care when we develop an intimate relationship with Him in our devotional life. When I was in my early twenties, I made it a fundamental goal in my life that I didn't want there to be a moment in any day when I did not sense God's presence with me. When you walk in the presence of God, the bullies of this world become less significant. God has pledged Himself to be a good father to us. That is an answer to fear.

Remind yourself that God's fatherly care never ends (v. 31b)

And His fatherly care never ends. Verse 31 goes on to say, "the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place." It was a persevering father care. Remembering God’s past provision and ongoing care is also an antidote to fear. So those are the some steps that Moses recommends for conquering fear and putting on faith, and I encourage you to daily put those on if you are prone to fear or any of the other enablers of unbelief. You can't cast sins out of your life without putting the opposite into your life. Your life cannot operate on a vacuum. You know how a vaccum operates, right? When you suck something out, the vaccum wants to suck it right back in. Well, in the same way, if you cast sin out in your own strength, it will simply get sucked back in at a later time. But if you have put the opposite graces we have talked about into your life, there will be no room in your life for that sin to dominate you. And if you have already forgotten some of these steps, listen to the sermon again, or read it online once the transcript is posted. Or study one of those two books that I recommended. They actually give additional antidotes that you can put on.

One Consequence of Distrust - Persistent Unbelief (vv. 32-33)

But there is one more point that I want to make - and that is that there are consequences to unbelief. That too can be a motivation to put off unbelief. Though the rest of the chapter will go on to show other consequences of our unbelief, verses 32-33 show one serious consequence of distrust. It is that unbelief begins to become a habit and begins to become a persistent unbelief like that previous generation had. The more times you disbelieve God's promises without resisting your unbelief, the more that unbelief becomes deeply entrenched within your heart. That's serious.

So Moses ends this section by saying, "Yet, for all that, you did not believe the LORD your God, who went in the way before you to search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day." Their refusal to trust led to wandering and loss - such loss that the next verses show that the entire generation would not enter the land except for Caleb and Joshua.

So brothers and sisters, you have your own intimidating “giants” and obstacles. God's Word urges you to stop focusing upon those giants and to more and more begin focusing on God’s faithfulness. It calls you to put off the fear of man and to more and more put on the fear of God. And to put off complaining, exaggeration, and the other seven characteristics of unbelief. Each of those things can easily become the fertilizer of unbelief.

According to the book of Hebrews, the greatest offense was not that Israel sinned on occasion, or even that Israel had occasional lapses from faith (who does not?). Hebrews says that the greatest offense was that they persisted in unbelief. In other words, they didn't repent of unbelief when it manifested itself. Unbelief is a refusal to trust God's Word and His character. It is an insult to God's grace and His promises. It is a slander against God's goodness. So treat it seriously. Let's learn from Israel’s failure and choose to trust God, remembering His faithfulness, care, and guidance. Amen. Let's pray.

Closing Prayer: “Lord, we ask that you would give us the faith to trust Your promises. We no longer want to relate to you as demanding spoiled who want our own way. We want to be faithful bond-servants who can receive your "Well done." We want to hold nothing back from you. And so this morning we offer up our bodies and souls as a living sacrifice to be used entirely by You in this coming week. All that we have is Yours - our health, our time, our family, our successes, our failures, our relationships, our occupations, our times of relaxation, and of work. We release these things and let them go. We surrender our fears, our insecurities, our sexuality, our strengths, and our weakness to you. We want to relate every part of our lives to You as faithful stewards. Please grant us the courage to obey your commands without delay, and give us eyes to see the goodness You have prepared for us. Help each of us to see how incredibly blessed we really are. And as we fix our eyes on Jesus, may You increasingly trust us with more and more of Your blessings. I pray these things in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.”

The Psalm we are going to sing as we conclude this service enables us to agree with God about the seriousness of the unbelief of the previous generation. It is in effect our rejection of that unbelief, and our desire to put on the opposite. May it be so. Please stand as we sing this.