“the Whole Story” Series

“More than Enough?” – Hebrews 11:13-16

Hebrews 11:13-16

“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”

God took Israel from the land of not enough in Egypt, to the land of just enough in the desert. But He wanted them to experience the land of more than enough in Canaan.

We all want more than enough. We all complain about not having enough. We get tired of the enough that we have. But, we all want more than enough and God is offering that to us. 

The land God is ultimately leading us to is Heaven, but we can experience more than enough here. What would be considered more than enough? The abiding presence of God is more than enough. Genuine worship is more than enough. Peace in the middle of struggles is more than enough. There are things that I cannot explain about an authentic walk with Christ that is more than enough.

The Israelites were strangers in captivity and the wilderness. They did not belong in slavery. They did not belong wandering aimlessly. They belonged in the land where God established them and gave them a great name.

You don’t belong in slavery to sin. You don’t belong wandering without a true purpose in life. You belong where God gives you a calling and a journey. You belong in God’s will.

If you are experiencing more than enough, rejoice and enjoy. If you are in the land of just enough, struggling to survive with bitterness, surrender those things to Christ.

It boils down to this. Do you want a walk with Christ that lets you live in more than enough? Then don’t be satisfied with staying in the land of just enough or not enough.

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions: 
  • Do you want to explore further the idea of more than enough? Email pastor@mybelmont.org
  • Do you know someone struggling with addictions or heartaches in the land of not enough? Share this devotion and contact me at pastor@mybelmont.org. I will pray and help.

Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 

Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Pastor Stephen Williams 
Original Photo by sasan rashtipour on Unsplash

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“Never Gonna Let You Down” – Numbers 23:19

Numbers 23:19

“God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?”

In the world that we live in today, there are many lies that people fall victim to. No one likes to be lied to or misled. People are searching for truth that stays the same throughout their life. People need consistency. People need life-giving truth. Not a “truth” that changes over and over because someone feels the need to change it. The world is always trying to change or mislead truths, so people will be able to be controlled. No one likes to be controlled or manipulated into an idea that they find to be discomforting or disheartening. People do not need “truth” that changes all the time. People need simple, straightforward, and saving truth. 

One time when I was younger, I invited a waitress to church from a restaurant that we went to all the time. This waitress told me she was going to come on Sunday morning, so I was excited to see her come. I remember the day very well because I was so eager for her to come to hear about Jesus. I told everyone at church about her and that I was ready for everyone to meet her because I knew the church would welcome her and love her like they had welcomed and loved me. However, I remember that Sunday morning was a very hard morning because she changed her mind and did not come. My heart was crushed because she said she was coming and did not. 

This story is much different from the promises of God, thankfully. God does not change His mind or His truth, thankfully. The Bible gives a truth that comes from the holy God that will never be shaken or destroyed. God is not man, He is much higher than our thoughts and desires. God loves His people and has a deep desire to draw them close to His throne. So much so that He has sent Jesus Christ as truth, so we are able to sit next to Him on the throne. God has made many promises to His people that He will follow through on. Rest easy knowing that God has you. That God is for you. That God will never leave you or forsake you. God will never lie to you. Press on knowing that God has a plan for you because He loves you more than you can fathom.

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions: 

  • Have you ever been lied to by someone you trusted? How did that affect your relationship moving forward? 
  • Did it affect how you trust others afterward? How so?
  • How has the disappointment from being let down in a relationship affected your trust in God? 

Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 

Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?

Macon Jones, Pastor to Students and Young Adults
Original Photo by sasan rashtipour on Unsplash

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“Finding Just the Right Words” – Numbers 6:24-26

Numbers 6:24-26

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

It was my 24th wedding anniversary earlier this week so I made sure to drop by the store to get a card for April.* Greeting card companies stay in business because sometimes you just need the right words for a special occasion. Saying just what you want to say when you can’t string together the words on your own helps justify paying $6 for a folded piece of cardstock. 
Sometimes, “gosh, you’re pretty” will suffice. But sometimes the moment calls for more of a, “But soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.”**I think the wording of my card lay somewhere between those two sentiments. 
God wanted to relate His love to the Israelites in a way that would impress upon them all that it entailed. And He wanted to make sure it was said just right, so he didn’t just leave it up to the priests to shoot from the hip (Aaron had already proved that he wasn’t very good at that). God gave Moses a script for Aaron and his sons to repeat verbatim as a special blessing every time they finished leading the people in worship. And I’ve got to say, He nailed it. 
The blessing was not only a prayer to say over the congregants, but a reminder to them of 
  • God’s PROVISION (manifested in the manna and quail)
  • His PROTECTION (manifested through His covenant with them and claims on them as His chosen people), and 
  • His PRESENCE (manifested by the pillar of smoke by day and fire by night).

This beautiful blessing is used in many churches today as a benediction, just as it was in Moses’s time. So if I may, let me leave this devotional thought with just the right words. 

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions: 

  • What portion of this blessing speaks most to you at this moment? Which element do you need most right now? 
  • How might this blessing parallel the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6? 

Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 

Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?

*my plans did include more than a card
**Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Jon Price, Associate Pastor
Original Photo by sasan rashtipour on Unsplash

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“Grateful” – Numbers 14:30-34

Numbers 14:30-34

“not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’”

How much does God have to bless us before we are grateful? How many miracles does God have to perform before we will believe and obey? Those are the questions we might ask from reading this passage. For others, does the punishment fit the crime? The people were afraid to go into the land God promised, so He said that everyone over 20 years old at the time would die before anyone set foot into the land. Harsh or justified?

If you consider the past few months leading up to this event, you will get a clearer understanding. After the Israelites left Egypt, they complained about dying at the Red Sea. This was right after the 10 plagues. So, God split the sea and they crossed in one night. They complained about food and God dropped food from heaven.

They were constantly ungrateful in the midst of miracles. Their memory disappeared with every struggle. Finally, God was justified because they were never satisfied. They really did not seem to want to go to the Promised Land anyway.

Look at your life. Yes, you have had difficult days, but followers of Christ, God is good – and never forget, gratitude cures misery.

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions: 
  • What is something that you are tempted to grumble or complain about at the moment? 
  • How has God been faithful in your life recently? 
  • Do you believe that being grateful for what God has done helps to cure misery? 
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Pastor Stephen Williams
Original Photo by sasan rashtipour on Unsplash

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“God is Still Faithful Leading Unfaithful People” – Numbers 1:1, 33:2, 36:13

Numbers 1:1, 33:2, 36:13

1:1 “The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt,”

33:2 “Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the Lord, and these are their stages according to their starting places.”

36:13 “These are the commandments and the rules that the Lord commanded through Moses to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.”

Numbers opens with the Tabernacle being finished and each tribe of Israel organized and counted. The next event for God’s people was to enter the beautiful Promised Land. So twelve spies were sent to Canaan to see what the land looked like and if they could overtake it. Two came back excited to go in and ten… not so much. The ten convinced the people that it was too dangerous, so they voted not to go. 

Then God voted. All “no votes” (Israelites over 20 years of age) would not be going into Canaan. So, the Israelites spent 40 years in the desert wandering around until all the “no votes” died off. In 38 years 603,000 men died. 

The rest of the book highlights the process of those 40 years. God structured each tribe and gave instructions for the Ark of the Covenant, Priestly duties, and how the Levites were separated from the people as Priests.  

In the meantime, Israel constantly complained and rebelled against Moses. Remarkably, even though God punished them for it, He was still faithful to lead Israel through the desert. He continued to instruct them and get them ready for another chance. He provided food for them, shelter, clothing, power over enemies, forgiveness, wise leaders in each tribe, and a connection with Him. These were tough years, but God still provided. Numbers could have easily been the last book of the Bible if it were not for God’s grace.

Even when we complain, rebel, and refuse to be led, God is still faithful. He is even faithful to discipline us back to Him. And He cares for us all the way. God is good!

While using the HEAR method (see below) consider the following questions: 

  • What are some times when you doubted that God would carry through on a promise? 
  • How has God led you and shown His care even as you might have grumbled and complained?  
Highlight – what words or phrases jump out at you? 
Explain – what does the passage mean? 
Apply – how does the passage intersect with your life today? 
Respond – how is God leading you to respond?
Pastor Stephen Williams
Original Photo by sasan rashtipour on Unsplash

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“You’ve Been Promoted”

The Priestly system was very important in Israel’s culture. The Levites, one of the twelve tribes, was the designated drawing pool for Israel’s priests and it was a high honor. 
  • Priests had specific rules to follow – they had to keep themselves pure and follow specific guidelines unique to their position. They were God’s standard. 
  • Priests had specific roles to perform- to offer sacrifices, to cleanse, to teach, to perform the ceremonies and rituals of worship, and to set an example of holiness. They were God’s representatives. 
  • Priests had special access to God – they could get closer to the presence of God. They were God’s set apart. (find a better word) 
Many mistakingly think that in the early church era, priests were simply traded in for pastors, and what today we may refer to as the “church staff.” These folks are called by God, have specific rules to follow, specific roles to perform, and have special access to God. But God had actually put in play a much more ambitious upgrade to the priestly system in the new covenant. 
As we saw yesterday in 2 Peter (and what Baptists refer to as “Priesthood of the Believer”), God intended for every believer to now be a priest. In fact, His people would be a kingdom of priests. As with the earlier model, this would mean that every believer would be given certain responsibilities, live according to certain expectations, and have unfettered access to the Most High God! We would no longer be dependant on someone else to act as a go-between in our communication with God.  
As believers, we are elevated to a level that only a select few were under the old covenant. So let’s live in gratitude for our undeserved promotion, and be about the high calling with which we’ve been entrusted. 
We hope you’ll join us tomorrow for worship! Remember that this weekend is daylight savings (the evil one). 
Jon Price, Associate Pastor
Original photo by Kent Banes on Unsplash

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