Title: Let's Have the Eyes of Faith
Contents
Let us have eyes of faith (Numbers 13:21-33)
When Israel finally came close to Canaan, which they had dreamed of after the Exodus from Egypt, Moses told them to select a representative from each tribe to spy out the land.
Twelve representatives went into Canaan and spies all over the land. When they returned, they gathered in a place called Kadesh-Barnea and reported it. Ten out of 12 were dismayed when they saw the grandiose appearance of the descendants of Anak and reported that it was a good land, but not enough for us to enter, and criticized the land to justify their claim.
However, Joshua and Caleb, two of the 12, reported that the land was truly a land flowing with milk and honey, and if we went up, God would help us to get it.
The people of Israel believed the report of the ten people, who were the majority, and all wept and complained against Moses.
This lack of eyes of faith angered God, and eventually they all died in the wilderness, and the next generation and only two men, Joshua and Caleb, took possession of the land.
We discover how precious the eye of faith is in this event.
So this morning I would like to talk about the eye of faith.
In the name of our Lord, I pray that all the saints who listen to the Word will have the same eyes of faith as Joshua and Caleb and become blessed saints who surely possess the blessings of Canaan that God has prepared.
1. If you have eyes of faith, you can see good things better.
And when they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut a branch with a bunch of grapes there, and put them two on sticks, and took pomegranates and figs (Numbers 13:23).
The land of Canaan was so fertile that it had to be lifted by two men of grapes on poles. To put it simply, how coveted and abundant would it have been to say that one grape was the size of an apple or a pear?
However, the 10 representatives who did not have the eyes of faith said that the bunch of grapes did not look beautiful.
[Numbers 13:32] And they spoke ill of the land that they had found before the children of Israel, saying, The land that we went through and searched out is a land that devours its inhabitants (Numbers 13:32).
Because they do not have the eyes of faith, even that great bunch of grapes does not look good, and they say that it is the land that devours them.
As we see the moon, we see one side of it reflected in the sun.
The other side of the moon is a dark, cold and lonely place. But no one looks behind it and says that the moon is terrifying, fearful, or lonely. I am happy to see a good place in front of a beautiful place and a bright place.
However, if you do not have the eyes of faith, you will be making the mistake of looking at the back of the moon.
Some people come to church and always look at the bad and complain and complain.
Everyone, let's see good things with faith. There are far more good things than bad things.
Joshua and Caleb, who had eyes of faith, saw the clusters of grapes beautiful and abundant. I had a desire to take Canaan, where such grapes grew. I believe that the eyes of faith have changed into the ability to own the land.
The former Soviet Union saw Alaska as a block of ice. But US President Johnson saw Alaska as a treasure trove. For just $7.2 million, it bought Alaska, more than one-fifth of the mainland United States.
At that time, everyone was sarcastic about buying useless ice cubes.
Now it has become a military base and a blessed land filled with inexhaustible oil and treasures.
L.A. was nothing more than an endless desert. It was a desert land ten times larger than Seoul. But those who had a dream drew water from 400 km 500 km away, planted trees and built a city.
Like a spider's web, a highway was built in the middle of the city, and countless races from all over the world came together to build a happy city and make it a city of angels.
Dear saints!
Please buy with the eyes of faith. So let's always see the good and live. Let's live positively and appreciate the good with the better.
So, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ that you may possess the blessings of Canaan that God has prepared.
2. If you have eyes of faith, you will see possibilities.
The 10 spies had their eyes of faith closed, and everything seemed impossible. So they said the impossible.
The inhabitants of the land were strong, and the city was strong and very large, and they saw the descendants of Anak there (Numbers 13:28), and those who went up with him said, ?쏻e cannot go up against the people; (Numbers 13:31) There I also saw the descendants of the Nephilim, the descendants of the Anak descendants, and we were like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we must have been like them in our eyes (Numbers 13:33).
But Joshua and Caleb, who had eyes of faith, were different.
Rather, it relieved the people who were agitated and began to think and act positively that if we go, God will be with us and we will surely win.
For those who believe, nothing is impossible. Only when we have such eyes of faith can we wait for the hand of Almighty God who makes the impossible possible. We believe that we can possess the power of the great God in heaven and earth.
Dear saints!
Please have these eyes of faith that Joshua Caleb had.
So, I hope that you will always be believers who see the hand of God's power with faith in the impossible.
I believe that the blessings of Canaan that God has prepared will come to all the members of Hanwoori Church, people of faith.
When we look at the world through the eyes of faith, the church, our business, our families, and our children, we have infinite possibilities.
Gideon went to war with Midian, an army of 200,000, and took only 300 men God gave him. The three hundred men, carrying only jars and torches, went out and defeated them. It was possible because of the eyes of faith that could see the possibility of God's power behind the three hundred.
Andrew, who gave the five barley loaves and two fishes he had received from a young child at Jesus' command to feed you in front of a crowd of 5,000, did not see the bread that would be held in Jesus' hands, but the eyes that saw the power of God and the possibilities. It was because he had eyes of faith.
Peter took the hand of a lame man who had never walked in his life, and lifted him up and cried. I have no silver or gold to give, but in the name of Jesus of Nazareth, get up and walk.
Peter was able to do so and worked miracles because he had eyes that saw the potential of Jesus' hands, not his own, that could do anything.
Dear saints!
Please receive this eye of faith as a gift this morning.
And I hope you live with the eyes of that faith looking at the infinite possibilities. I pray in the name of the Lord that your spirit will prosper, that you may prosper in all things, and receive abundant blessings of owning Canaan.
3. If you have eyes of faith, you will receive what you see.
The ten spies looked only at the possibility of failure and defeat because they had no eyes of faith. So they had no choice but to criticize the land flowing with milk and honey.
Also, listening to their words, the people wept and wept all night long, longing for Egypt, the land of slaves from which they left, and had no other choice but to return to it.
As a result, they could not enter Canaan as they had seen them, and after wandering along the full-fledged road of Canaan for forty years, they all died in the desert. They received what they saw and believed.
But Joshua and Caleb were different.
Because they had eyes of faith, they had only a dream to fight and win against a huge descendant of the woman.
There was nothing but the joy of owning a land flowing with milk and honey, and that precious thing that weighed more than twenty kilograms (20 kg) of grapes. So, I proclaim the hope of victory to the people.
Caleb calmed the people before Moses and said, ?쏬et us go up immediately and take possession of the land, for we are well able to overcome it??(Numbers 13:30).
And they became the only two people to enter the land of Canaan, as they had seen. It means that they received the land of Canaan, which they saw with the eyes of faith.
Dear saints!
Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
It is our mission and duty to have eyes of faith.
But with that mission and duty, God has given us everything we have seen with the eyes of faith.
Therefore, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become believers who look ahead to the beautiful things, good things, and blessings that God will give them with the eyes of faith and receive what they see as they are.
For 10 years, there was a man who suffered from two kinds of pain.
One was the ?쁢xperiment on the rubber wheel?? which failed over and over again, and the other was a sense of shame from the coldness and criticism of those around him.
Around 1830, all wooden and iron wheels at that time had no safety devices. So a lot of people got hurt.
Seeing this, he thought intently, 'How can I provide a safety device for the wheels?' But it didn't work out as intended.
Fortunately, his motto was, "If you don't give up and work hard, good results will come." With this creed, he struggled with his weakening self, his research that only failed.
And finally, in 1839, the ?쁵ulcanization process??was developed, making tires the first in mankind. His name is Charles Goodyear. This is a reputation that has been passed down to this day.
To him who endured the years of hardship, the Creator presented him with tires.
?쏬et us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest, if we are not weary??(Galatians 6:9).
Joseph dreamed of having his brothers bow down to his own sheaf of rice, and really received the blessing of bowing down to his brothers later.
Jacob believed in the grace that survived even after facing God and confessed that he was Peniel, and received the blessing of surviving the sword of his brother who tried to kill him.
This is the blessing of those who have eyes of faith.
Dear saints!
Please have eyes of faith.
If you have eyes of faith, you can see good things better.
If you have eyes of faith, you will see possibilities.
If you have eyes of faith, you will receive what you saw.
Let's live by faith. So, as long as you receive all the blessings of Canaan that God has prepared, I pray in the name of our Lord that you will become saints.