God is calling us to great things!
NY mission trip recap
We arrived at Laguardia Airport
We could see the Mets stadium on the way to our hotel.
We stayed at the Best Western in Jamaica, NY - Queens
South Asian Center in Jackson Heights, NY Queens to teach ESL
They use the Bible to teach ESL.
Met a fellow from Bangladesh
Met a guy from Tibet and Colombia
Had a fall festival for the kids at Hart Park
Had games, balloons, story time, and candy
Camille the director met with parents to see if they would like ESL
Went to the Brooklyn to meet with Florence
Meet Mommu from Gambia - common name
He had to crawl through the bushes for 50 days to keep from being seen and shot, then went through several countries before coming here and then next he was to go on to South America to see his family.
We then went to the Bronx to go to the community center there to teach ESL.
About 25 people were there for us 5 and 2 to teach.
We broke into groups of 5 or so and each of us took a group and taught ESL
The people were mostly from West Africa
Some were from Columbia and Saudi Arabia and other places.
We saw Yankee Stadium from the train.
We went to LeFrack area in NY to an apartment center there.
The big apartment center had people mostly from South America.
Peru, Argentina, Brazil, etc.
The church was in the basement next to a Jewish temple and a mosque.
Hurricane Ida flooded the church in the basement so they had all of their belongings stacked in the middle of the church so the sheetrock could be replaced.
We moved all of the belongings to the Sunday school rooms, cleaned up the floor, and set up chairs and disinfected them.
On our day off we went to
Manhattan
on the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty so we also went to Staten Island.
So we got to see all 5 NY boroughs! Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Staten Island!
Mission trips can bring a lot of anxiety.
You are going to a strange place and you don’t know what you are getting into sometimes.
It was way out of our comfort zones! For sure!
You can look at it like, I changed my mind, I don’t want to do it, or you can look at it like I’m here to do a job so I’m here to work!
Sometimes when we get nervous we want to back out but then when we realize it’s for a good reason we press on (hopefully)!
So we swallow our fear and step up and do what we were there to do!
Fear and doubt sometimes keeps us from doing great things!
When you overcome fear and doubt, sometimes you are blessed with seeing the great things God is calling us to do!
When you let fear and doubt overtake you, you may miss that blessing and you don’t get to see those great things that God is calling us to do.
Pre Question:
What are you afraid of? What is fear and is it rational? Does fear paralyze you?
When you are faced with a challenge do you shrink away from it or face it dead on?
How do you feel our church would fare in a spiritual challenge?
Does stepping out of faith ever look safe?
How do you know when something is foolish or the right thing to do? God vs feelings?
We will never see great things if we are fearful and doubtful.
Casting Crowns has a song called the Voice of Truth that’s really good.
Oh what I would do to have The kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat I'm in Onto the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone To the realm of the unknown where Jesus is And He's holding out his hand
In Numbers we see where the exiles from Egypt wanted to go into the promised land.
But before they did, they decided to scope it out to make sure all was fine to do so.
So they sent 12 spies into the land to scope it out and report back what was found there.
Numbers 13:27-33
27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Numbers 14:1-10
1 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.
2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!
3 And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
7 And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.
8 If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.
9 Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.
10 But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.
Summary:
Moses sent 12 spies to report on the land.
The report said the land was good, but there are challenges there.
Calab proposed to take the land and saw that God was calling them to great things.
The other spies focused on the negative.
Joshua and Caleb were met with fierce opposition from both the other spies and from the people.
In the end, the people did not go in and wandered for 40 years in the wilderness.
The people only went into the land after many of them died.
Questions:
Where did the Israelites come from? Egypt, Mt Sinai, golden calf.
There were about 2 million Israelites that left Egypt.
Do you feel like these people were strong God followers? Why?
Were the spies, who were leaders, strong God followers?
Do you feel the leaders should be representative of the feelings of the people or like shepherds to give the people a direction to go, or both, or neither?
Why was it wrong for the leaders to reject going into the promised land? Why did they do it?
Did the people feel God could win the battle for them? Why would they think that?
What does Egypt represent and what did the promised land represent? Enslavement/sin, Faith/blessings of obedience.
Devotional:
NY for us was a Canaan of sorts. God was calling us to great things!
Are we focusing on the positive potential or are we distracted by the challenges we face?
Step up to the challenge and don’t back away from it! God is calling us to great things!
God loves you but He also loves others and wishes that none should perish!
Share the love of God this week to those who may not know God’s love!
Are you letting your doubt and perceived failings keep you from great things?
We all are faulty people, that God uses if we let Him!
Prepare and put on the full armor of God!
Keep your attitude of gratitude and go in the spirit and success of Joshua and Calab and not the defeat and fear of the other spies and grumblers!
God is calling us to great things!
Conclusion:
Did you know that after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years everyone over 20 perished in the wilderness except for Joshua and Caleb.
Joshua and Caleb got to enter into the promised land where the others did not get to.
They received a blessing from being obedient and faithful and got to see great things!
Joshua 10:25
Joshua then said to them, “Do not fear or be dismayed! Be strong and courageous, for the LORD will do this to all your enemies with whom you fight.”
