Exodus 3:16-17 (NKJV) Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, “I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’
God told Moses to gather the elders and tell them that He had heard their cry, He would deliver them from the land of slavery and bring them to a land flowing with milk and honey. It is not mentioned that they prayed. Nonetheless, God had seen their plight. Not only did God give them a personal promise through His servant Moses, but He also gave them added confidence by reiterating that He, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had spoken. He is the God of covenant whose promises last through the generations.
A covenant promise is one of the highest unbreakable promises one can ever give to another because any failure to carry out the covenant promise will bring about a curse on that person. In this case, God, the covenant partner to Abraham, would bring to pass what He had promised the Israelites.
At that time, the Israelites were under two concurrent covenants, one of which was the Mosaic covenant—a conditional covenant with blessings and curses. These Israelites didn’t know God, so they had to be schooled by the law to know what sin is and the holiness of God. It would take them some time to know God and His character. However, we can know God because we have the full counsel of the Bible. Trusting the inspiration and the authority of the Bible will help us to have faith in God and His Word because He and His Word are one.
There is a parallel between the Israelites leaving the land of Egypt to possess the Promised Land and us leaving the slavery of sin to take possession of the abundant life. Just like the Israelites had to deal with the land’s inhabitants, we need to make some challenging but necessary adjustments in our lifestyles to walk in the newness of life. It is through walking by faith because this newness of life is through the “new creation” and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Joshua and Caleb believed that God had indeed given them a good land flowing with milk and honey. They had a different spirit from the others—the spirit of faith, which enabled them to inherit the land eventually. Similarly, all of us need to have the spirit of faith to take hold of what rightfully belongs to us—the abundant life in Christ.
Sermon Series: Having a Different Spirit
信心的灵
出埃及记3:16-17你去招聚以色列的长老，对他们说：“耶和华你们祖宗的 神，就是亚伯拉罕的 神，以撒的 神，雅各的 神，向我显现，说：我实在眷顾了你们，我也看见埃及人怎样待你们。我也说：要将你们从埃及的困苦中领出来，往迦南人、赫人、亚摩利人、比利洗人、希未人、耶布斯人的地去，就是到流奶与蜜之地。”
神吩咐摩西聚集长老，告诉他们，祂已经听到了他们的呼求，祂要把以色列民从为奴之地拯救出来，带他们到流奶与蜜之地。 圣经中没有提到他们祈祷过。 尽管如此，神还是看到了他们的困境。 神不仅通过祂的仆人摩西亲口给以色列民应许，而且还通过重申祂是亚伯拉罕的神，以撒的神和雅各的神来加添他们的信心。 祂是守约施慈爱的神，祂的应许直到万代。
带着盟约的应许是一个人所能给予他人的最高的、不可反悔的应许之一，因为任何未能履行盟约的行为都将给毁约者带来咒诅。 在这种情况下，神，作为亚伯拉罕的立约伙伴，必成就祂对以色列人的应许。
当时，以色列人有两个同时存在的圣约，其中之一就是摩西之约, 一个有条件的约，其中有祝福，也有咒诅。 这些以色列人不认识神，所以他们必须接受律法的教育，知道什么是罪，什么是神的圣洁。 他们需要一些时间来了解神和祂的品格。 然而，我们可以认识神，因为我们有圣经的全备教导。 相信圣经的默示和权柄将帮助我们对神和他的话语建立信心，因为祂与祂的话原为一。
就像以色列人离开埃及之地去得应许之地，而我们也需要离开罪的奴役去拥有丰盛的生命，这两者之间有着相似之处。也像以色列人必须面对这片土地上的居民一样，我们也需要对我们的生活方式做出一些具有挑战性但必要的调整，以行走在全新的生命中。 这是通过凭信心而行，因为焕然一新的生命乃是藉着那“新造之人”和圣灵所赋予的能力。
约书亚和迦勒相信神确实已经赐给他们一块流奶与蜜的应许之地。 他们拥有与其他人不同的灵—信心的灵，这使他们最终能够继承这片土地。同样，我们所有人都需要凭借信心的灵来抓住本该属于我们的东西—在基督里的丰盛生命。
讲章系列：有一个与众不同的灵
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