Day 77: God is faithful

Numbers 32:1-42 Every tribe participated in the military battles of Israel. The territory called TRANSJORDAN-which was largely within the borders within present-day Jordan-is part of the Promised Land God gave to Israel

Deuteronomy Ch 31-34 The final four chapters of Deuteronomy are at once a moving farewell from Moses and a final and formal preparation to enter the Promised Land. Moses passed along his authority to Joshua, who was to succeed him as leader. Because of their lack of faith at Meribah forty years earlier, Moses and the people of Israel at that time (except Joshua and Caleb) were forbidden to enter the Promised Land. 

Psalm 117 This short psalm captures succinctly the essence of prayer as an engaging conversation with God in which he reveals himself as one who is All-faithful and All-loving. Those who find their strength and joy in prayer are ideal witnesses of the power of faith to those who do not believe. 

“In a technological world menaced by an eclipse of the sacred, in a society that delights in a certain self-sufficiency, the witness of the person at prayer is like a ray of light in the darkness,” said St. John Paul II. “Initially, it can awaken curiosity; then it can induce the thoughtful person to wonder about the meaning of prayer, and, finally, it can give rise to the growing desire to have the experience. For this reason, prayer is never an isolated event, but tends to expand until it involves the whole world,” (St. John Paul II, General Audiences, February 5 and 12, 2003)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

• Psalm 117 is the shortest of all Psalms we got to pray it and it was great

• Psalm 119 is the longest of all Psalms…..man oh man that was a while back

• And that’s all we’ll say about the Psalms today

• Numbers 32: REMEMBER the Israelites have now defeated the Midianites

• The plains of Moab are now theirs

• The Sons of Reuben and Sons of Gad say the land is great for cattle, which they have, so can they have the land?

• Moses’ response is essentially that this was what happened the first time when the spies of Israel went up to Canaan and LOST HEART

• The spies said Let’s NOT take the Promised Land

• Let’s NOT go fight

• Let’s NOT take the land GOD PROMISED THEM

• Let’s go somewhere else, ANYWHERE ELSE

• So Moses is telling them THAT IS THE EXACT SAME THING THAT THEY ARE SAYING RIGHT NOW!!

• When we are NOT WILLING TO FIGHT, then the people around us ARE NOT WILLING TO FIGHT EITHER

• “You do you” (I really despise that saying)

• “You can live your own life and do whatever you want and I won’t comment”

• The reality is that we are NOT JUST INDIVIDUALS, we are not just atoms that are not beholden to each other 

• WE BELONG TO EACH OTHER

• St. Mother Teresa said, “We have so much violence in this life, we have so much distress in this life, we have so much poverty in this world and it’s all because we have FORGOTTEN THAT WE BELONG TO EACH OTHER.”

• So this is what Moses is pointing out

• If the Sons of Reuben and the Sons of Gad are not willing to go up and fight for the Promised Land, then ALL THE OTHER TRIBES ARE NOT GOING TO WANT TO FIGHT EITHER

• This is going to be the SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN

• This is true FOR OUR OWN HEARTS

• We can say we don’t feel like doing what we are called to do right now and it’s fine IT’S  MY LIFE AND I’LL DO WHAT I WANT (How’s that worked out for you? It hasn’t worked out well for me AT ALL EVER)

• And what happens is that people see that and follow our example

• It is a natural, normal thing for us to do when we don’t want to be a role model

• If he’s not going to fight then I don’t want to fight either

• This was what Moses was very concerned about

• So what do they do?

• They make an agreement, a pact with each other

• They say that they can leave their wives, kids, and cattle at this land, the plains of Moab

• But EVERY SINGLE MAN WHO IS OF FIGHTING AGE must cross the Jordan to fight and take the Promised Land so that the OTHER TRIBES WOULD FIGHT AS WELL

• Stay tuned….for Conquest and Judges Era

• ALL THE TRIBES WILL MAKE THE COMMITMENT TO FIGHT

• ALL THE TRIBES WILL FIGHT FOR THE LORD

• This is the land that the Lord God had PROMISED TO THEM

• BUT THEY HAD TO DO THEIR PART

• The spiritual lesson is WE HAVE TO DO OUR PART

• God has a PLAN for us

• God has a PLACE he wants us to go

• The kind of people he has CALLED US AND REDEEMED US in Jesus Christ to become, BECOMING THAT IS A BATTLE

• If you and I are NOT WILLING TO FIGHT, then the people around us WILL NOT FIGHT EITHER (your FAMILY, your FRIENDS, your BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST)

• Deuteronomy 31: Joshua is being named as Moses’ successor

• Moses and Joshua enter the Presence of the Lord in the Tent of Meeting

• God gives such a powerful Word

• When Joshua takes charge of the People of Israel, HE WILL REPEAT THESE WORDS: BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE

• Not because he is amazing, strong or courageous

• BUT GOD SAYS, “I WILL BE WITH YOU, I WILL FIGHT FOR YOU.”

• BE STRONG

• BE OF GOOD COURAGE

• GOD WILL BE WITH YOU

• GOD WILL FIGHT FOR YOU

• Ch 32 we will hear the song of Moses that is sung so that the People of Israel CANNOT CLAIM IGNORANCE of WHO GOD IS or WHAT GOD HAS DONE

• This is important for us too

• We need to be REMINDED OF GOD’S WORD

• HERE IS WHAT GOD HAS DONE

• HERE IS WHO GOD IS

• This is why we are doing Bible in a Year

• We NEED to be reminded of WHO GOD IS….ALWAYS

• It is revealed how thoroughly the Lord and Moses know that the people of Israel, while God is going to fight for them, and be with them, and even giving them a new leader in Joshua, GOD KNOWS THEIR HEARTS

• GOD KNOWS THEY ARE GOING TO BE FAITHLESS

• God will fight FOR THEM

• God will fight WITH THEM

• God will give them the Promised Land

• The Israelites will grow fat and wealthy and have everything they need

• Even after GOD has given them the Promised Land, and EVERYTHING THEY NEED, they will STILL TURN TO OTHER “gods”

• They will TURN AWAY FROM GOD

• That is so powerful

• We are tempted to turn away from God in times of PAIN, times of SUFFERING

• More of us turn away from God in TIMES OF PROSPERITY

• GOD STILL SAYS HE IS GOING TO FIGHT FOR US

• He KNOWS WE ARE GOING TO BE FAITHLESS AND FAIL

• BUT GOD WILL BE FAITHFUL AND HE WILL NEVER FAIL

• It is an INCREDIBLE MYSTERY

• GOD IS FAITHFUL, even though he KNOWS the people he loves (you, me, and everyone we know, and the people of Israel) are going to take His Love and throw it in the trash

• We are going to betray Him

• HE STILL LOVES US

• HE STILL BLESSES US

• GOD STILL SAYS, “BE STRONG AND OF GOOD COURAGE. I WILL BE WITH YOU.”

• I want to be able to LOVE GOD BACK the way that HE LOVES ME

• I know it is impossible

• I know that I can love God better than I have been loving Him

• I can love God better WITH MY WHOLE HEART instead of with a DIVIDED HEART

• I can love God better with a WHOLE HEART instead of a heart that I give to SO MANY DISTRACTIONS AND FALSE “gods”

• But let’s come back to the Lord today and say, “God you fight for us and you are faithful. Please help me when I fail. Help me when I’m faithless. Help me to trust in your love and in your power to lift up and restore.”

• Pray for Fr. Mike

• Pray for each other, we couldn’t keep up with this Bible in a Year if we didn’t pray for each other

• We are not alone in this

• Your willingness to fight and listen to God’s Word and let it shape you helps not only you, but it helps your kids, your parents, your friends, and this community

• Thank you

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise and we give you glory. We lift up our voices to you. We lift up our hearts to you. We know that you are the Lord. You are God. You are good and you call us to be yours, even though you know our weakness, even though you know our frailty, even though you know that we will turn away from you. You still fight for us. You still call us to belong to you. You still love us, even in the midst of our faithlessness. You love us when we do not love you. You are GOOD and you are GOD and we give you praise today. Help us in our weakness. Help us when we have fallen, when we have failed. Remind us of your faithfulness so that we can turn back to you, call upon your Mercy, call upon your Grace, and be restored by your love. We make this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.”