How NOT to Enter the Promise Land

Deuteronomy 32:48-52; Numbers 20:2-12


In Change is Coming, one of the most important crossroads in the history of the Israelites happened. They have been wandering in the wilderness of suffering, punishment, and death for 40 years. The left Kadesh-barnea, stayed some more days at the periphery of Mount Seir, then finally God said: “You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north” (Deut 2:3). With much excitement, the Israelites immediately obeyed, and in Deuteronomy chapter 2, we read that their journey to the promise land was quite glorious. They easily defeated Sihon king of Heshbon (2:24-37) and Og king of Bashan (3:1-9).

But when we come to Deuteronomy 3:21-29, we read a very sad passage. Moses declares to the assembly that although they were on the way to the promise land, Moses will actually be unable to enter it. And truly, when we reach the end of the book, we read Moses’ death at Mount Nebo just before the Israelites are about to enter the land flowing with milk and honey (34:1-8). Such a tragic story. Moses’ long career as a leader was brilliant. He is undoubtedly one of the most important people in the history of the Israelites. The book of Deuteronomy ended with a high praise for Moses: “No prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, ¹¹ who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. ¹² For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel” (Deut 34:10-12). And yet this good man was not allowed by God to enter the promise land.

After the mention of Moses’ inability to enter the promise land, the book of Deuteronomy continues to narrate the laws. Basically, Moses enumerates things that they should do and not do when they are already living in the promise land. Then near the end of the book, we come to the fulfilment of Moses’ words that he would not be able to enter the promise land. Deuteronomy 32:49-52 narrates:

“Go up into the Abarim Range to Mount Nebo in Moab, across from Jericho, and view Canaan, the land I am giving the Israelites as their own possession. ⁵⁰ There on the mountain that you have climbed you will die and be gathered to your people, just as your brother Aaron died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people. ⁵¹ This is because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites. ⁵² Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance; you will not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel.”

This is really said, is it not? Deuteronomy 2 was a glorious way to start the book. The chapter exuded hope and good change in the state of affairs. Everyone, including Moses, was looking forward to enter the promise land. They were about to head north. But Moses was denied access.

There are many things that are important here. I believe that all of us want to head north. We do not want to live in the wilderness. We do not want to remain in the place of drought and death. As much as possible, we want to escape from a life of suffering. This is true both in relation to our physical and spiritual lives. We all want to head north, to the land of abundance. We are probably on the way there now. But the question is: Can we get there? Are we among the Israelites who will enter Canaan, or are we like Moses, who only saw the beauty of the land, but was never able to enter it? These are extremely disturbing questions.

Deuteronomy 32:51 says that Moses was not allowed to enter the promise land” because both of you broke faith with me in the presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites.” In order to understand what God meant here, we need to look at what happened at Meribah Kadesh, recorded in Numbers 20:2-12:

Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. ³ They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! ⁴ Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? ⁵ Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!”

⁶ Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them.⁷ The Lord said to Moses, ⁸ “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.”

⁹ So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. ¹⁰ He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” ¹¹ Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

¹² But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

In Deuteronomy 32:51, there appears to be two reasons why Moses was unable to enter the promise land. In reality, however, these two are interrelated, and the first can be subsumed under the second. Moses’ primary sin is summarized in the statement: “because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites.”

How did Moses not uphold God’s holiness among the people? The answer is a bit tricky. The Hebrew word for holiness in the verse was qiddastem, which comes from the root word qoddesh. Literally, qoddesh means “to be separate,” and in the Old Testament, it has three layers of meaning: (1) the separateness of God, referring to His glory as the completely Other, (2) separation for God, and (3) separation from sin. In Deuteronomy 32:51, qoddesh is obviously more related to the separateness or otherness of God. Moses’ sin was that He failed to bring honor to the One God who is exalted among everyone. Moses neglected to bring glory to God. It is important to note that it was God’s holiness that was not upheld by Moses. It was not about Moses’ holiness; the offense is about God’s holiness.

The statement, “you broke faith with me” (32:51) actually explains how Moses did not uphold God’s holiness among the Israelites. The Hebrew word used in the verse is maaltem. The root word of maaltem is ma’al, which literally means “breach of trust” or “treachery.” It is to be entrusted with something but failing to accomplish or do it. In short, at Meribah Kadesh, Yahweh saw that Moses committed treachery against God.

But what are the evidence of Moses’ treachery in the story? Quite simply, in the story, Moses was entrusted a mission, but he used the mission to betray God and use the mission for his own good. His mission was to glorify God. It must be remembered that everything God did for the Israelites was so that God’s greatness will be made known to the world. We see this throughout the Old Testament:

“But this is why I have let you live: to show you my power, and to make my name resound through all the earth” (Exo 9:16)

“Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, so that he might make known his mighty power” (Ps 106:8)

Moses was given the privilege of being God’s instrument of performing a miracle in the midst of the Israelites so that His name is glorified. But Moses took the glory that should belong to God alone. Moses misunderstood when God said, “You will bring water out of the rock” (Num 20:8). When He faced the Israelites, he forgot God entirely. He asked the people: “Must we bring you water out of this rock?” (Num 20:11).

But how did this happen? What tempted Moses to do this? The answer is also found in the story. The story begins with the fact that Moses’ leadership was under attack: “The people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses…” (Num 20:2-5). They blamed Moses and Aaron for their miserable life in the wilderness. They accused Moses and Aaron as incompetent leaders, failing to provide good food for their subjects. And we read that Moses and Aaron became so discouraged. They “went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown” (Num 20:6). But when God gave the solution, Moses used God’s intervention to vindicate himself as the worthy leader of Israel.

As soon as he gathered the people, he rebuked them harshly, as if ridiculing them: “Must we bring you water out of this rock?” (Num 20:11). It was basically a sarcastic question meant to humiliate “rebels” (Num 20:10). He used the miracle to vindicate his own leadership. He forgot that he was only the instrument, not the doer of the miracle. When Yahweh said that Moses “did not uphold my holiness among the people” (32:51), He was saying that he did not give God the glory due His name (see Ps 29:2; 96:7-8; 1 Chron 16:29).

God’s complaint was “You did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites” (Num 20:12). In short, Moses was swept away by the momentary need to vindicate his own leadership so he was tempted to claim the glory that should belong to God. He did not trust God that God would honor him anyway, if he honored God first.

Moses’ temptation is common to us today. People today are characterized by very low self-esteem, maybe because we are prone to compare ourselves with others: with our classmates, friends, neighbors, colleagues, workmates. Because of this low self-esteem, we are prone to develop ways in order to gain recognition of others. Henri Nouwen was right: “The more constricted our self-confidence, the greater our need to be reassured. A low opinion of ourselves reinforces our desire to receive signs and tokens of love. In a world in which so many people feel lonely, isolated, and deserted, the longing for love can often take on “inhuman” proportions. People come to expect more of each other than it is possible to give. When loneliness and low self-esteem become the main source of the longing to be loved, that longing can easily lead to a kind of desperation.”[1]

Humility as a value has become an impractical ideal. Even the people we often admire are actually the mightiest attention-seekers. We admire the popular and the renowned, and we have very little regard and are suspicious about the less popular. This is why people can only compete in the dangerous game of self-promotion. We even have a show business saying: “Bad publicity is still publicity.” 

Indeed, Jesus was right. The kingdom of God does not belong to the haughty and the proud. The kingdom of God does not belong to those who think of themselves more highly than they ought to (Rom 12:3). “Jesus called the children to him and said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these’” (Matt 19:14; Mark 10:14; Luke 18:16-17).

We may be tempted to bring glory to ourselves, but we must always say “Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your name give glory” (Ps 115:1). When people start to give us glory, we should say “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant” (Rev 19:10; 22:9). We must always have the attitude of John the Baptist: “He must become greater; I must become less” (John 3:30).

Self-worth. Self-promotion. Self-worship. All of these are idolatry. What’s the danger? The worst thing is what happened to Moses. God became a tool for his own self-gain. But also, Moses received his earthly reward, which in turn disqualified him from the greater reward. In the words of Jesus: “When you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matt 6:2-4).

The tragic story of Moses’ disobedience is actually quite crucial, because it is alluded in the Scriptures several times (Num 20:1-13; 27:13-14; Deut 1:37; Deut 32:51; Ps106:32-33). It is not true that lifting up one’s self is the only possible reason why people cannot enter the promise land. Moses faced the temptation to glorify himself in the presence of people to the point of blatant disobedience. We all face different temptations based on our current circumstances. I am sure that there are many other sins that would hinder our entrance to the kingdom. Paul was clear: “Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men ¹⁰ nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 6:9-10).

In any case, the story of Moses should prompt us to ponder about our own journeys to the promise land. We must honestly ask ourselves some penetrating questions: What sin would most likely prevent me from entering the land of rest? What sin would most likely hinder me from entering the land of abundance? What sin would most likely prevent me from entering the place where God dwells? What sin would most likely prevent me from experiencing what God planned for me?

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[1] Nouwen, Letters to Marc About Jesus, 56.

The Fatherhood of God

Romans 8:14-17 

This is a Father’s Day sermon.

When I saw Eden Cheese’s Mother’s Day commercial last month, I was both horrified and angry. This is for two reasons. First, it promotes the validity of same-sex marriage. It argues that you don’t have to be a man to be a mother. Men can be mothers too. One of the pictures at the collage at the end of the video clearly says this. Secondly, the commercial presupposes that human fathers are terrible, and that it is abnormal for fathers to be caring and compassionate at home. It shows how crazy it is for fathers to shop toys for their kids, to try nail polish for them, to cook spaghetti for them, and generally to be a great dad. It argues that when fathers do these things, they are not doing fatherly things; rather, they are doing motherly functions. But why do we need to label excellent fathers as mothers, when we can just call them fathers?

The video actually expresses a typical stereotyping of fathers. Fathers are these and that, and these and that tend to include a lot more negative connotations than positive ones. Fathers are often belittled, under-assessed, prejudicially judged, or even undervalued. I do not know where this prejudice came from. Was it the fault of fathers throughout history that brought upon us a very negative view? If we as fathers have erred, then it is high time for us to redeem what fatherhood really means by looking at the original father of all, God Himself.

Let us read Romans 8:14-17: “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.¹⁵ The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ ¹⁶ The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. ¹⁷ Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

God is the Father of those who are saved. We become God’s children when we are saved because we are adopted into God’s family through our relationship with Jesus Christ (Gal 4:5-6; Eph 1:5). John was clear: “To all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1:12-13). Those who are saved are children “of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:26) because God has “predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will” (Eph 1:5).

So who is this Father whom we are in relationship with as sons and daughters by grace? What does He do?

The Father Casts Away Fears

Paul says in Romans 8:15, “The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.” Interesting in this verse is the fact that living in fear as slaves is contrasted to being children of God with promised inheritance (8:17).

To be not the child of the Father is to live in fear. The one who is a slave to sin is constantly afraid. He is constantly afraid of being found out by others, because there is great shame in sin (Prov 14:34). He is constantly afraid of death, because he knows that he would receive judgment (Rom 6:16). He is constantly afraid of the consequence of his sins, for he knows that they will soon arrive (Rom 8:1). The person living in sin is living in fear. There is no peace for those who are in sin. There is always restlessness and anxiety. Quite clearly, the Fatherhood of God means peace for us who are His children. When we are born again, these fears are gone. The Fatherhood of God entails peace, security, and comfort.

We should admit that peace is not something usually associated with fathers. In fact, fathers are more commonly known as the problem of the family—but this might be because of the work of mothers unjustly brainwashing their children. Even in psychological studies, the father is a problematic figure. For Sigmund Freud, who is extremely influential even today, the human father as the mortal enemy number one in the family. Firstly, the father is the greatest source of anxiety for children because in relation to the father, children exist in the tension between respect and dependence and fear of authority. Secondly, the father is seen as the primary competition for love. According to Freud, children have an innate desire to possess their mothers—even to have sexual intercourse with them—but the father stands in the way. The father is not a glue that holds the family together, but is the competitor that needs to be eliminated. (These are things that are taught to our children in college, which is really scary.)

We are being brainwashed by society that fathers are unreliable, are sources of great anxiety, and are to be feared as tyrants. Peace is more associated with a motherly embrace and understanding. But this does not need to be the case. We know that genuine fatherhood is being peace-givers and peace-makers. We should not let society dictate how we should view our fathers. We should allow the Bible to impress onto us what it means to be fathers, patterned after the Fatherhood of God. If our Father in heaven gives peace, then our calling as fathers on earth is to provide the same.

The Father Listens

Human fathers are often looked at as aloof and indifferent. As part of the caricature of men, fathers are emotionless robots incapable of shedding tears and displaying normal human emotions unless under the influence of alcohol. If there is an emotion that fathers find easiness to show, it is anger and impatience. These are the biases of movies. Fathers who are joyful and funny are usually only found in ridiculous over-the-top comedy shows.

But in Romans 8:15, the description of God the Father is quite different. According to Paul, “by him [the Holy Spirit] we cry, ‘Abba, Father’” (8:15). The term Abba is quite an intimate term, and is equivalent to Daddy today. We may call God in different ways. This is because we experience Him in different ways all throughout our lives. We experience Him as Jehovah Jireh, the provider (Gen 22:14). We call Him El Shaddai, because we experience His almightiness (Gen 49:24; Ps 132:2, 5). We call Him Jehovah Rapha, because He is the Lord who heals (Exo 15:26). We call Him Adonai, because He is the Lord and Master of our lives (Gen 15:2; Judg 6:15). We call Him Yahweh-Shalom, because He is our peace (Judg 6:24). We call Him Jehovah Rohi, because He is our Shepherd (Ps 23:1). We call Him Jehovah Shammah, because He is always here with us (Ezek 48:35). We call Him El Elyon, because He is indeed God Most High (Deut 26:19). We sing that He is El Elom, the everlasting God (Ps 90:1-3).

There are many other names we can call Him. But the greatest name that we can call God is “Father.” Jesus Himself preferred addressing God as Father. Jesus called God Father 65 times in the Synoptic Gospels more than 100 times in John. Jesus encouraged us to call God, “Father.” It is no surprise therefore that Paul also used the term Father to God more than 40 times.

The term Father does not deal so much with what He has done for us. It speaks more of who He is to us and who we are to Him. Abba spells closeness and intimacy. It is the term that children use to their Fathers when they want to express their love (or lambing). I do not want my children to call me other description other than Daddy. I do not want to be called Dr Dick or Awesome Dude or Mr Suave or whatever. I want to be called Daddy. It is a term of endearment.

Overall, the word “father” when used to God, means one thing: intimacy. To have a Father in heaven is to have someone to cry to when we need someone. Because we are intimate with God, we are not afraid or ashamed. It is not awkward to ask from our Father. We are able to pray to our Father because we are intimate with Him. When we pray to those intimate to us, we do not need to be eloquent. We do not need to impress him with our vocabulary or syntax or grammar or language. Moreover, we address him as Father, not as someone we are introducing to an audience.

Because God is our Father, He is willing to listen to us. This is what it means to be father to our children too. When I hear my child cry, I panic. Just hearing my daughter cry or seeing my daughter sad already breaks my heart. How much more is the heart of our Father in heaven broken when He sees us, we who are His own children? In fact, the starting point of God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt was precisely because He heard their groaning (Exo 2:24). Even a groan will reach God’s throne. We are not asked to groan to one another, but we can groan to God. And He listens.

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[1] 

Spirit of Prophecy II: Evangelism

Acts 2:17-18; Revelations 19:10

When the Pentecostal movement started in 1906 at the Azusa Street Revival, it has attracted a lot of criticism. Because the services were characterized by dramatic worship services, speaking in tongues, and other ecstatic spiritual manifestations, it was immediately labeled as outrageous and unorthodox. It was simply dismissed as fanatic movement. In a front-page story entitled “Weird Babel of Tongues,” a Los Angeles Times reporter described the revival in the following way:

They cry and make howling noises all day and into the night. They run, jump, shake all over, shout to the top of their voice, spin around in circles, fall out on the sawdust blanketed floor jerking, kicking and rolling all over it. Some of them pass out and do not move for hours as though they were dead. These people appear to be mad, mentally deranged or under a spell. They claim to be filled with the Spirit.[1]

If Pentecostalism had attention in its early years, it was definitely negative attention. But today, Pentecostalism is enjoying an elevated status within the Christian Church. In a 2014 statistics, there were 631 million Pentecostals in the world, which amounts to one fourth of all Christians worldwide. But in 1970, there were only 63 million Pentecostals. In 46 years, Pentecostal membership increased 568 million. In 2014, the Church of the Nazarene had 2.4 million members. In the Philippines, the Church of the Nazarene has been here for 60 years, and our total national membership is only about 30,000.

Because of the rapid growth of Pentecostalism, they are now taken seriously by the Christian Church. The question is this: Why are they growing and not us? Is there a relation between their emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit and their fervor in evangelism? Looking at the growth of Pentecostalism today and their growth, there seems to be a strong relationship between being filled with the Spirit and empowerment for missions.

In Spirit of Prophecy I: Encouragement, we started to look at Acts 2:17-18, particularly what it means to receive the gift of prophecy in the Holy Spirit. It highlighted that the gift of prophecy is the empowered and enabled ability to communicate the Word of God to people. It is the ability to utter comfort to the sorrowful, to light up the burdened, to encourage the weak, to edify the seeker. But the Word of God does not communicate itself. The Word needs to be spoken by the mouths of people who are filled with the Spirit. This is why it is crucial for the church to have people like Barnabas, the “son of encouragement” Acts 4:37). For people who are down-hearted and discouraged by the waves that assail their lives, we need people who can speak words of blessings. Going back to Balaam, who chose to bless Israel and not to curse them even if paid, we should always say: “I have received a command to bless” (Num 23:20).

But the gift of prophecy that the Holy Spirit gives to believers is not limited to our uplifting speech to one another. The gift of prophecy is the ability to communicate the Word of God to the world. This is extremely evident in Acts 2:4-11: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. ⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. ⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” 

Declaring the Wonders of God

Those who are filled with the Spirit declare the wonders of God! We do not know what wonders the disciples spoke of, but I am certain they are wonders that they have experienced. This verse reminds me the actions of the shepherds when they saw Jesus Christ in the manger: “The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told” (Luke 2:20), and the action of the healed leper: “One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice” (Luke 17:15). What is interesting about these verses is that they were declaring the praises of God not within a closed-wall sanctuary. They were praising God in public—with everyone to hear!

The scene in Acts 2 was probably quite chaotic, but imagine 120 disciples talking about the wonders of God! That would have been a mighty force. No wonder why the church during this time grew rapidly. People did not only experience God. They were also filled with the Spirit, and as a consequence, they declared the wonders of God in public!

We must remember that the disciples were ridiculed for declaring the wonders of God. But they were shameless. We need this sort of shamelessness! They were not ashamed to be labeled as fanatics, madmen, or even drunk. Out of the depths of their hearts, they declared the wonders of God for others to hear. Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). We sing this song, thanks to Hillsongs: “I’m not ashamed of the gospel Lord / Your power, Your love / that saved my soul.”

Let me ask you: when was the last time you shamelessly declared the wonders of God to someone?

The Spirit Testifies about Jesus Christ

So if the gift of prophecy is the empowered courage, authority, and ability to boldly proclaim the Word to others, how is this related to the Holy Spirit? Why is it that Spirit-filled people communicate the wonders of God? Why is it that Spirit-filled people are on fire in proclaiming Jesus Christ to others?

The answer is found in the words of Jesus himself. When Jesus promised the coming of the Spirit, He said that “when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me” (John 16:13-14). From this passage, it is clear that one of the appointed divine works of the Spirit is to glorify Jesus Christ. The Spirit, when He comes to the world and dwells among God’s people, will make sure that Jesus is exalted.

There is an inseparable relationship between being filled with the Spirit and a Christ-centered and Christ-glorifying life. The Spirit-filled is one who thinks of Christ, who breathes Christ, who makes Christ at the center of his or her life, who lives in Christ, who lives like Christ, who glorifies Christ, who serves Christ, who honors Christ, who obeys Christ, who worships Christ, who proclaims Christ, who promotes Christ. Because the work of the Spirit is to glorify Christ, when we received the Holy Spirit, our lives are meant to glorify Christ. It cannot be otherwise. To live a life that does not glorify Christ is a distortion of our Christian identity, a betrayal of our God-given calling, and a blatant disregard to the Spirit who is the seal of our salvation (Eph 1:13-14; 4:30).

One of the ways the Spirit glorifies Christ is by making His name known in all the earth. This is why the work of the Spirit in glorifying Christ is closely related to His work of testifying about Jesus: “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me” (John 15:26). The Spirit-filled is one who glorifies Christ by testifying about Him. We can now understand the growth of Pentecostalism. They are growing in number because they are living in accordance with the Spirit who empowered them to testify about Jesus Christ.

The logic is extremely simple. According to Revelations 19:10, “it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.” If we have received the Holy Spirit in His fullness, then we testify about Jesus Christ. This was precisely what Jesus also said to the disciples before His ascension. They will receive power from the Spirit to become His witnesses: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Every Monday since May 27, I have been going to Tandang Sora, Quezon City to teach a class to pastors of the I Am Redeemer and Master Evangelical Church. I leave at 6:30AM, teach 8:00AM to 5:00PM, then arrive home at around 7PM. It is a very exhausting day. Last Monday, because my car has problems, I did not drive. So I took the taxi on the way back home. My plan was to instruct the driver about the way home, and doze off a bit. After all, I feel very tired. But it seems that God had a different plan. As soon as I stepped in the cab and told the driver about my destination—a seminary—I had a very strong conviction that it is really wrong to just end the conversation like that. So I asked about him and we conversed. Jay is 43 years old, separated from his wife, no kids, and is living quite a life. I counseled him to serve God by faithfully serving people as a driver. I told him that I have received my call to full-time ministry as a teenager, and have never looked back since then. What was amazing is that he admitted that a strong conviction about God and his duties to God have been pressing upon him over the last few days. When I heard this, I immediately knew that our meeting was ordained by God. So I counseled him and gave him guidance about what to do. We talked about God, Jesus Christ, salvation, the means of grace, and many others.

It is shameful to admit that while waiting for the taxi, I originally planned not to interact with the driver. But as soon as I went inside the car, I knew deep in my heart that I am not meant to be silent for the whole trip. I experienced what Jeremiah experienced: “But if I say, ‘I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jer 20:9). This was what I felt. I was unwilling to testify at first. I was already exhausted proclaiming the Word of God as a teacher for 8 hours that day. What more can God demand from me? But the Word of God is like a fire in my heart that I cannot contain. It needs to burst forth like pressured water trapped in a garden hose. 

Have you ever had this experience? The Spirit-filled person is one who declares the wonders of God, glorifies Christ, and testifies about Christ. Again, in the words of Jesus to His disciples:  “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:26-27). You also must testify.

Paul admonished the church in Corinth to “eagerly desire the greater gifts” (1 Cor 12:31), which he later reveals as the gift of prophecy: “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy” (1 Cor 14:1). I make the same admonition today. Let us pray and seek for the Spirit’s gift of prophecy. Without this gift, our dream of harvest means nothing.

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[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azusa_Street_Revival#Criticism

Spirit of Prophecy I: Encouragement

Acts 2:17-18; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5

Acts 2 records what happens when the Holy Spirit comes to God’s people. The story says, that in obedience to the words of Jesus (Acts 1:4-5), the disciples did not leave Jerusalem. Ten days after Jesus’ ascension, the Holy Spirit came upon them while they were gathered, and they spoke in tongues (Acts 2:1-4). The people who heard them were amazed because they realized that they heard the disciples speak in their own languages (Acts 2:5-12). Some of the people, however, made fun of them and accused them of early morning debauchery (Acts 2:13). So Peter stood before the multitudes and defended the disciples, saying that the sudden outburst was actually a fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel concerning the promised Holy Spirit. He argued,

This is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

¹⁷ “In the last days, God says,

    I will pour out my Spirit on all people.Your sons and daughters will prophesy,    your young men will see visions,    your old men will dream dreams.¹⁸ Even on my servants, both men and women,    I will pour out my Spirit in those days,    and they will prophesy” (Acts 2:17-18; cf Joel 2:28-29)

What I would like to highlight here is the fact that Peter, along with the prophet Joel, stated that one of the consequences of the coming of the Spirit is that people “will prophesy” (2:17-18). What does this mean? What is the gift of prophecy?

In Paul’s list of gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, the gift of prophecy is included. Paul does not admonish us to desire for any gift, because he believes that the Spirit “distributes them to each one, just as he determines” (1 Cor 12:11). But interestingly, he later on says that we should “eagerly desire the greater gifts” (1 Cor 12:31), which he later reveals as the gift of prophecy: “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy… I would like every one of you to speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy” (1 Cor 14:1, 5).

This high valuing of the gift of prophecy is not only found in the New Testament. Moses once remarked: “I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” (Num 11:29). So, what does it mean for us to have the gifts of prophecy? Why is it highly priced in the Bible?

Quite simply, the gift of prophecy is the enabled and empowered ability to speak the Word of God. The problem is that the world—including Christians—has a very narrow and specific understanding of what prophecy is. Today, prophecy is understood solely or primarily in terms of telling the future. Unfortunately, the world has received so many prophecies from well-advertised Christians that have failed to happen. But surely, the gift of prophecy is not about the ability to know the future, because Jesus Himself, in the context of promising the Holy Spirit to the disciples (Acts 1:4-5, 8), said that “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority” (Acts 1:7). This was just a repetition of what He already told them earlier: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matt 24:36; Matt 13:32).

The gift of prophecy that the Spirit gives to believers is not the gift of insight into future events; rather, it is the capacity to communicate God’s Word to others. The gift of prophecy is the ability, courage, and authority to speak the Word of God to people. This is the power given by the Spirit so that we might become witnesses in our Jerusalem, Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

We can understand this gift in two different ways. First, it is the gift to speak the Word of God to others within the church. This is what we usually call the gift of encouragement. Secondly, it is the gift to speak the Word of God to others outside the church. This is what we usually call evangelism. In this sermon, we will only deal with the first.

When we talk about the ability to communicate the Word of God to others in the church, we might think that this is about rebuking others. This is partly true. We have a God-given responsibility as believers to offer rebuke to our fellow brothers and sisters. Paul admonished believers to “exhort and rebuke with all authority” (Titus 2:15, ESV). It is our responsibility to help each to stay in the right path, and as Paul continued, “if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness” (Gal 6:1).

We know these things, but for us who are Filipinos, this is actually quite hard to do. Because we are very relational, we excel in maintaining friendships by silence. Well, we are silent in their presence, but we talk about them when with other people. We prefer to gossip than to rebuke. We assume that rebuking others will cause them to stumble and be destroyed. But when we gossip, are we not actually intentionally destroying them? Sometimes, when we are in the presence of our erring brother, we put them in high regard, focusing on their strengths and forgetting their sins. But when we are in the presence of others, we put them in low regard by delightfully talking about their failures and completely forgetting about their strengths.

Prophets are highly priced in the Old Testament. They are the communicators of the Word. They guide people, including kings. They remind the people who God is and what He requires. They remind the people of God’s Word. They offer counsel. They rebuke people and call them to repentance. Prophets are God-appointed people to make paths straight for everyone. But speaking the Word to others does not only mean offering rebuke. The gift of prophecy is not solely the gift of discerning other people’s wrongs and pointing them out. This is too negative. The positive aspect of the gift of prophecy is the gift of encouragement.

In the recent Generation Congregation #FaithGoals camp, the organizers gave an opportunity for everyone to be able to receive short messages by hanging envelopes with their names on it. I received several short letters, including very encouraging words. These little notes have reached my heart and touched me. They have encouraged me. There is something uplifting when people give you encouraging and uplifting words. Just a simple statement about our appreciation to people and their lives can make a huge difference. In this regard, I hope that you express your appreciation to the music team for their sacrifice of time, or the Sunday school teachers for their commitment, or to the ushers for their beautiful dresses and smiles, or for those who prepare the coffee. These things seem to be simple, but many people find it challenging to even do them. Instead of high-level toxic wastes being dumped from our mouths into other’s ears, we need to learn to use our mouths in building each other up.

What we need today are experiences like what the prophet Balaam had. Numbers 22-24 narrates the story of the Israelite prophet who was hired by the King of Moab, Balak, to pronounce curses upon the Israelites (Num 22:10-11). Out of disobedience to God, Balaam went to Moab (this was when his donkey talked, Num 22:21-35), but to Balak’s dismay, instead of uttering curses upon the Israelites, Balaam blessed them indeed. This happened three times (Num 23:11-12;

23:25-26; 24:10-11).

This is what we need today. We need Spirit-filled Christians, who, even if they are paid, will not utter curses and evil testimonies against each other. We need people who will only utter blessings, prayers, appreciation, and encouragements. We need people like Barnabas, who saw the best in others. His name actually meant “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:37). He encouraged Paul twice (Acts 9:26-28; 11:25-26) and John Mark (Acts 15:36-41). The description about him and what he did in the Antioch church is very instructive: “News of [persecution] reached the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw what the grace of God had done, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith” (Acts 11:22-24).

If we can encourage, then we must encourage others. “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thess 5:11). The writer of Hebrews even says that we should encourage one another “all the more as you see the Day approaching” (Heb 10:25). Why is it important to encourage one another especially in the last days? Because, “in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Tim 4:1).

This is why Paul preferred the gift of prophecy over the gift of speaking in tongues: “The one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort. Anyone who speaks in a tongue edifies themselves, but the one who prophesies edifies the church” (1 Cor 14:3-4).

The gift of prophecy is crucial in the life of the church. The Word of God is a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths (Ps 119:105). It guides lost travelers. It restores the joy of our salvation (Ps 51:12). It opens the eyes of the blind. It brings freedom to slaves. It gives strength to the weary. It lifts up the broken-hearted. It mends shattered souls. It comforts the sorrowful. But the Word of God does not communicate itself. The Word needs to be spoken by the mouths of people who are filled with the Spirit.

Change is Coming!

Deuteronomy 2:1-7

The Israelites left Egypt and arrived at Mount Sinai after forty-four days of walking. Six days upon arrival at Mount Sinai, Moses ascended the mountain and returned with the Law (Exo 19:3-6). They stayed in front of Mount Sinai for eleven months and five days (Num 10:11), then they left to arrive at Kadesh-barnea exactly two years after they left Egypt (Num 20:1). Deuteronomy 1:19-46 narrates that upon arrival at Kadesh-barnea, God commanded them to start the journey to the promise land. But instead of going straight, the people sent an envoy to explore the land. Upon hearing the report of the spies, the people thought that God sent them out of Egypt to be killed by the Amorites instead (Deut 1:27). So God was furious, and proclaimed that none of them (including Moses who allowed the exploration), except Joshua and Caleb, would enter the promised land (Deut 1:35-37). Because of this, the Israelites spent thirty-eight years at Kadesh-barnea, which is also called “the wilderness of sin” (Deut 1:46).

After the Israelites spent a long time in the oasis in Kadesh-barnea, they set out southeasterly and went around Mount Seir, “as the Lord directed Moses” (Deut 2:1). Going out of Kadesh-barnea is quite symbolic, because it is a place associated with failure, sin, and death. When God commanded them to leave Kadesh-barnea, it was as if God was telling them to leave behind their failures, and it was time to move on. But if we look at the direction they were going, they left Kadesh not northward going to the promise land, but south-easterly going to Mount Seir. They were still heading to the opposite direction. It was as if God was telling them that although they have already left Kadesh, they were still not ready to enter the promise land. Worse still, they seem to be just wandering around Mount Seir, purposeless and aimless. Deuteronomy 2:1 indicates that “for a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.”

“For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir” (Deut 2:1)

If you are a part of the Israelites, what would you feel? I can imagine frustrations and impatience. They were given the promise to take possession of a land flowing with milk and honey, and yet, there they were in the wilderness with barely anything nice to eat. They have left Egypt with high hopes, thinking they have escaped suffering and death, and yet in the wilderness it was precisely suffering and death that accompanied them. They can see the road to the promised land. They know the way to the promised land. But they have been avoiding that route for forty years. They were suffering in the wilderness, when just a few miles away is the land of abundance, where a branch of grapes had to be carried by two grown men (Num 13:23). For many days and years, they were stuck in the stinking wilderness. Their mouths and stomachs were tired of the food they are eating and their feet were weary of walking.

We experience this, right? We feel that we are stuck in a valley of dry bones, and we feel as if nothing is going happen for the good. There has been a long drought, and there is no prospect of rain on the horizon. We feel as if we have been cursed. And we begin to blame ourselves and feel guilty, which then adds to our depression and anxiety. On a personal level, we feel that we have been wandering aimlessly, counting days and times go by without accomplishing any of our goals and aspirations in life.

Even as a church, we feel that we are walking in circles. Church attendance is not growing and is actually dropping. Church programs and advocacies for growth are not finding realization. Projects are canceled and put on hold. Giving is lower than the previous year. The pastor is preaching but there are no tangible responses apart from a few Facebook posts, tweets, and a handshake.

We know that when these experiences come, we need a change.

“The Lord said to me” (Deut 2:2)

It is amazing that only five words are in his one verse. In Hebrew, there were actually only four words: Way-yomer Yahweh elay lemor, which literally means “And God spoke, saying to me.” God spoke. Change is coming! How many of us can testify that their lives have been radically changed because God spoke? This short transition verse in the passage is extremely crucial. It is the in-between moment between Israel's wandering years and Israel's entrance to the promise land. When God speaks, we know something amazing is coming. Change is coming. We know that when God opens His mouth, He is up to something. We know that when God speaks, exciting days are ahead.

What was God’s spoken message to Moses and the Israelites?

“You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north” (Deut 2:3)

From Egypt, the Israelites travelled southeast to Sinai. Then from Sinai they travelled northwest to Kadesh-barnea. In Kadesh, they went around in circles for 38 years. From Kadesh they walked southeast to Seir. And now God was telling them to face north.

Even God was tired of them wandering the deserts. So He commanded them to turn north. These were the words that they have been waiting for. This was the change they have been looking forward to experience. This was their calling. This was their destiny. This was their birthright. This was their aspiration for so long. And when God said, “turn north,” they knew that the days of staying in barren land is over. The days of defeat are coming to an end. The days of scarcity will now be a thing of the past. The days of turmoil are going to be forgotten. Change is coming!

Now is the time to leave the southeast direction in order to go to the direction of the promised land. The time has come to leave the barren deserts and to start the conquest and to receive their rightful inheritance. They have been stuck long enough. They have wandered long enough.  The have eaten trouble enough. They have drunk poison enough. They have had enough hell. They have had enough disappointments. They have had enough shame. They have had enough misery. Enough is enough.

God was telling them that it was time to change directions. There is now enough wandering. There is now enough standing still. There is now enough going the wrong direction. It is now time to change. It is now time to face the north and venture in the way they are have been called in the first place. They have taken a long detour already, but now they have to walk the path that God has originally destined for them. Change is coming. Turn north to the promise land. God is telling us that it is time to change directions.

Like the Israelites, the destination where God is leading us is a place of abundant harvest. It is a land flowing with milk and honey. But we also know that Canaan was also the land of enemies. It was the land of giants. The giants were still there. They still had to face the giants. They could not avoid the confrontation. The battle has been waiting, and every step they took heading north was a step closer to the battle. This is very symbolic for us, because God’s appointed destination for us is full of abundance and harvest, but in order to get there, we have to fight battles that we have never fought before. We have to face our fears. We have to stand our ground against forces that are more powerful than us. We have to fight with one another, supporting those on our left and our right. We have to listen to our army commanders. We have to stand up and walk in faith. We have to trust in God that we can indeed become victors and arrive at the promised land.

Moses said, “The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything” (Deut 2:7). The God who was with them in the past—the God who delivered them from the super nation Egypt, the God who caused the Red Sea to part—He is with them. They should not be afraid.

“Do not provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land” (Deut 2:5)

But God warned the Israelites that on their way up north to the promise land, they should not fight with the Edomites, who were the descendants of Esau. Because the Edomite territory is not the promised land, they are not to engage in war with the residents. They should only fight and conquer what is given them. Instead of fighting with the Edomites, they are to repay all the kindness they are given. They are to pay for everything they consume, including food and water (Deut 2:6).

Basically, God is telling them not to fight the wrong enemy. They are not to address the wrong issues. They should not use their energy and effort dealing with marginal things. They are not to use their resources fighting a battle that they can avoid. These battles can delay them from reaching the promised land. These battles can exhaust them so that they are weakened when they face the true enemies: the giants.

This sometimes happen to us. God tells us to go north, to the promise land destined for us. But on the way there, our attentions are shifted to something else. We realize that we have intentionally changed, only to find out later that the change we experience is something that needs to be changed again. It is like saying to yourself “I no longer want to play video games. I am just going watch television all day.” Don’t waste your time with other things. Do not spend your energy on other things. Just walk north.

Conclusions

What promise land has God shown you at the beginning of the year? What direction has God pointed you to? In the last six months, have you felt that you were actually wandering the desert of Kadesh-barnea, or are heading the wrong direction to Seir? God has spoken today. Listen to Him. Change is coming. Face north. Walk towards your destiny. Walk towards your calling. Walk to where God wants you to be. Be brave. God is here to guide and help you overcome whatever battles you will face.

Most of the times, we look at ourselves and what we have. We look inside our bags and find out that we are not ready to enter a new road. We have conditioned our lives to walk a particular road and are only prepared—physically, intellectually, emotionally, and materially—for this one road. It is time to go to the place we have never been before. The scary place. The new territory. It is time to head towards the land of giants.

Change is coming, but it is coming because you want to fight for the good change.


This sermon is in response to the recent inauguration of President-elect Rodrigo Duterte as the sixteenth President of the Republic of the Philippines. His dictum and his campaign slogan, "change is coming" has been in the lips of all Filipinos for a time now.