Standing on the Edge of Promise
Standing on the edge of God's promise can feel both thrilling and terrifying. In Numbers 13, the Israelites had witnessed miracle after miracle, yet when they arrived at the border of the Promised Land, ten of the twelve spies allowed fear to distort their perception. They saw the same land, the same giants, and the same fruit as Joshua and Caleb, but they came back convinced that the obstacles were too great. The difference was not in what they saw but in where they chose to focus. Like binoculars that make distant things appear larger, whatever we fix our attention on grows bigger in our minds. Joshua and Caleb kept their focus on God, and God remained bigger than every giant in the land.
Fear also has a way of romanticizing the past. When the ten spies gave their fearful report, the Israelites began longing to return to Egypt, the very place of their slavery and suffering. They were not longing for Egypt itself. They were longing for certainty. We do the same thing when we return to old patterns, old coping mechanisms, and familiar ways of thinking rather than trusting God with the unknown. Romans 12:2 reminds us that God wants to transform us by renewing our minds, not simply relocate us to a better set of circumstances. Old keys do not open new locks, and the habits that carried us through past seasons will not carry us into the new ones God has prepared.
Caleb and Joshua chose differently. They held onto the promise even when the crowd turned against them, and forty years later they were the ones who led the Israelites into the land God had always intended for them. The promise had not changed. God had not changed. Their faithfulness simply positioned them to receive what others had forfeited through fear. Whatever promise God has placed in your heart, do not let go of it simply because you have not seen it fulfilled yet. God finishes what He starts, His timing is always perfect, and He has never failed yet.
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Standing on the Edge of Promise: What It Means to Step Into God’s Promises
Life is full of seasons. Some are filled with anticipation and excitement, and others arrive uninvited and change everything. But every season, no matter how it begins, starts with the unknown. And it is in that unknown space where faith is truly tested.
What Does It Mean to Stand on the Edge of God's Promise?
In Numbers 13, the Israelites found themselves in exactly that place. After years of slavery in Egypt, after walking through the Red Sea, after witnessing miracle after miracle, God brought them to the edge of the Promised Land. They were not 40 days away. They were one step away.
Moses sent 12 leaders into the land of Canaan to explore it for 40 days. They all saw the same land. They all witnessed the same giants, the same obstacles, and the same enormous fruit. But only two of them came back with faith. The other ten came back full of fear.
So what made the difference? What separates the people who step into God's promises from those who don't?
Point 1: People Who Step Into God's Promises Have a Different Perception
What you focus on becomes bigger than everything else
In Numbers 13:30, Caleb stood before Moses and said, "Let's go at once to take the land. We can certainly conquer it!" (Numbers 13:30 (NLT)). But the other ten spies said, "We can't go up against them! They are stronger than we are!" (Numbers 13:31 (NLT)). They went further, saying, "We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that's what they thought, too!" (Numbers 13:33 (NLT)).
The land was the same. The giants were the same. God's promise was the same. But their perceptions were completely different.
Think of it like a pair of binoculars. Binoculars don't change what is out there. They simply make things appear bigger. The ten spies had their binoculars pointed at the giants, and the giants became bigger than God. Joshua and Caleb kept their focus on God, and God remained bigger than the giants.
As Paul writes, "For we live by believing and not by seeing." (2 Corinthians 5:7 New Living Translation (NLT)).
Joshua and Caleb did not deny the giants were real. They simply refused to let what they could see determine what they believed. Whatever you continuously focus on will shape your perception. Your perception shapes your decisions. And your decisions determine whether you step into God's promises or stay where you are.
Where are your binoculars pointing today?
When circumstances feel out of control, it is easy to shift focus to everything that is going wrong. Fear creeps in. Anxiety replaces peace. Hope fades. But God's question remains the same: do you really believe your giant is bigger than He is?
He came back from the dead. He can handle your situation.
Point 2: People Who Step Into God's Promises Let Go of the Past
Why do we want to go back to Egypt?
After the ten spies gave their fearful report, the Israelites responded with grumbling and weeping. Numbers 14:3-4 records them saying, "Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt? Then they plotted among themselves, 'Let's choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!'" (Numbers 14:3-4 New Living Translation (NLT)).
Egypt was not better. It was full of slavery, abuse, and oppression. They had cried out to God to be rescued from it. But fear has a way of romanticising the past. It makes the familiar feel safer than the unknown.
They did not want slavery back. They wanted certainty.
We do the same thing. We go back to old patterns, old thought habits, old coping mechanisms, not because they are good for us, but because they are familiar. They have worked well enough so far. And the unknown requires something different. It requires true trust in God.
God wants to transform you, not just change your address
Romans 12:2 says, "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." (Romans 12:2 New Living Translation (NLT)).
God has not called us to survive on our own understanding and life skills. He has called us to thrive. He wants to speak into the parts of our lives that react with fear and control. He wants to heal rejection, insecurity, disappointment, and shame. He wants us to live in freedom.
Old keys do not open new locks. The old ways and coping mechanisms that carried you through past seasons will not carry you into the new season God has prepared. He is not just changing your address. He is changing you.
The Israelites chose to go backwards, and because of their fear, they wandered for 40 years. Forty years they could have been living in the Promised Land. What are you still carrying from your past that is stopping you from stepping into all that God has for you?
Point 3: People Who Step Into God's Promises Hold Onto the Promise
The promise does not change, even when circumstances get harder
Joshua and Caleb pleaded with the people, saying, "If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the Lord, and don't be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don't be afraid of them!" (Numbers 14:8-9 New Living Translation (NLT)).
The land was still there. The promise had not changed. But the people chose to let fear consume them. And because of that, an entire generation missed out on what God had promised them.
But Caleb was different. Numbers 14:24 says, "But my servant Caleb has a different attitude than the others have. He has remained loyal to me, so I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will possess their full share of that land." (Numbers 14:24 New Living Translation (NLT)).
Forty years later, it was Caleb and Joshua who led the Israelites into the Promised Land. They did not miss out because they chose God over fear. It was not that they were stronger. It is that they chose God.
The prayers of the past become the testimonies of today
Forty years ago, a small group of people believed for a church that would reach people with the gospel. They prayed, sacrificed, served, gave, and planted through seasons of joy and hardship. Sometimes it felt like the wilderness. But they remained faithful.
Today, we stand in the middle of those answered prayers. More people are being baptised than ever before. Lives are being transformed. Communities are being reached. New leaders are rising up. The prayers from 40 years ago are the testimonies of today.
If you have been praying and waiting for breakthrough in your life, in your children, in your relationships, in your health, do not let go of that promise just because you have not seen it yet. So many people walk away and miss out on what God's Word has promised them.
God finishes what He starts. His timing is always perfect. He has never failed yet.
Life Application
Your challenge this week: Shift your focus and take one step of faith
This week, identify one area of your life where fear has made your giant bigger than your God. It might be a health situation, a relationship, a financial pressure, or a calling you have been putting off. Choose to deliberately shift your focus back to God and His promises over that situation.
If there is an old coping mechanism, a familiar pattern, or a way of thinking that you keep returning to instead of trusting God, ask Him to begin transforming that area. You do not have to have it all figured out. You just have to take one step forward in faith.
Ask yourself these questions this week:
Where are my binoculars pointing right now? Am I making my giant bigger than God?
What familiar patterns or past ways of coping am I holding onto instead of trusting God with?
Is there a promise God has placed in my heart that I have been tempted to give up on?
What is one practical step of faith I can take this week to move toward what God has called me to?
God has not changed His plan for your life. The Promised Land is still in front of you. The question is the same one it has always been: will you choose faith over fear and step into everything He has for you?
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A discussion guide for this sermon can be found here.
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You're not done yet. Okay, are we ready for the word? Yeah, let's get into it. I've titled my message this morning. Standing on the edge of promise.
Life is full of seasons. Isn't can be full of seasons that are full of anticipation. Some of you might be expecting a baby or starting a new job, moving into a new house. They're full of joy and comfort and fun possibilities. And other seasons can turn and change everything, can't they?
Sometimes we choose the seasons and other times our circumstances choose for us. But there is one thing that is common with every season and that's each season begins with the unknown. You can't predict it, you can't control it. And I think I've preached to you enough times to let you know that I like planning an organisation. I like control.
I like to know what's going on. I'm the executive pastor. I execute plans. And so when I make a decision about something, it's because I think it's a good thing, It's a good possibility. An organization and planning and disorganization, they don't go together.
They actually collide with each other and it becomes very difficult. So when I make plans for the future, I make them knowing that they're going to be good. I'm stepping into something good and I have got a backup plan, A, B, C, D to Z to make sure that it works properly. Yes. Okay.
How many of you do that too? Oh, lots of you. Oh, okay. This is going to be an interesting service.
Last September Daniel and I felt that it was the right time to put our house on the market. Our house didn't suit our family anymore. Our teenager was growing up. My mature age parents who are here today, can everyone see them? They're shrinking in the seat there.
My mature aged parents, they were aging and we wanted them all a little bit closer. So we put our house on the market and we were genuinely excited about the move. We were excited to make new memories, have more time together. And we knew that God was with us. But the moment we first stepped out into that season, everything went out of our control.
Have you been in a season like that before where everything's out of control?
I know uncertainty looks different for every single person, whether it's a house like it was for us. Maybe in your situation, it's your health or a job or an unemployment situation going on. Maybe it's a relationship with your child. Maybe you're struggling with infertility or something else entirely. The circumstances might be different, but the feeling of uncertainty is the same.
Because standing on the edge is exciting until you have to live there when you stand on the edge, and then you have to live there. On the edge, fear speaks, and it speaks really loudly. Some of you just woke up. But also on the edge, faith is tested. And that's where we meet our scripture.
Today we're going to jump into numbers 13. The Israelites are standing on the edge of a new season on everything that God had promised them. After years of living as slaves in Egypt, walking through the Red Sea, God had brought them to the promised land. And in Numbers 13:2, God tells Moses, send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. Moses doesn't just send anybody.
He sends 12 leaders, people you expect to be wise and clear about the decision. So all 12 of them go into the land of Canaan. They explore the land for 40 days, and they see giants, they see obstacles, and they see really huge grapes that are so big they have to be carried out on a stick between two men. Can you imagine that? Imagine how big those grapes are.
They carried them as evidence back to Moses. But only two of the men came back with faith, and the other 10 came back full of fear. The Israelites are standing on this edge, and they have a choice to make. Would they step into the promised land, or would they step back into everything God had rescued them from? They weren't 40 days away from the promised land at this time.
They were just one step. So let me ask you today, what's the difference between people who step into God's promises and those who don't. Lord, I just pray over every single person right now that you would open their heart and their ears to hear what you are nudging on them, Lord God. What you want to speak to them, Lord God. You know, Lord Jesus, I had a different plan and a different message for this week.
But you dropped this message in my heart, Lord God, because it is relevant and important to your people today. We pray, Lord God, that you would just speak to them as we continue to preach. Amen. My first point today is the people that stepped into God's promises. They have a different perception.
How we perceive something determines how we respond. The Israelite leaders were standing on the edge of the promised Land. The problem was how they perceived what was in front of them. In Numbers 13:30, it reads, Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said we should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do that. Listen to what he says.
We should go up. We can do it. But then the other 10 people in numbers 13, 31, 33, they say, we can't attack those people. They are stronger than we are. And they spread among the Israelites a bad report, a rumor about the land they had explored.
They said, the land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephilim, the giants, and we seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes. And in their eyes, they saw themselves as weak, straight off and smaller as grasshoppers. And they believe the giants saw them that way as well.
Can you see the difference between the thinking and the perception of Caleb and Joshua and these other 10 people? The land, the giants and God's promise was the same for every single one of them, but their perceptions were different. Have you heard the saying, perception is reality?
People act and react based on what they believe to be truth instead of the objective truth. Let me show you this. Everyone know what these are? They're binoculars. That's not a trick question.
They're binoculars, aren't they? Now, what do binoculars do? They help you see better. They don't change what's out there. They simply make things appear bigger.
So if I look. Oh, my goodness me. Last night when I looked, I saw all the way down to the back. And I surprised Jayden by seeing him. And this morning, if you turn around, it looks like Fraggle Rock at the back there.
He's put a lovely red wig on. Anyway, let's get back to the Object lesson. I can look through these binoculars and suddenly the person at the back of the room looks much bigger than they really are. Has Jayden changed size? Has reality changed because I put these binoculars on?
No. They've only changed what appears biggest to me. And that's exactly what happened in numbers 13:10 Spies came out of that land after exploring it for 40 days. Days. And they had only focused on the giants and the obstacles and those things had become bigger than God.
Joshua and Caleb kept looking at God and God remained bigger than the giants. Do you see where I'm going with this church? Paul describes this same principle in 2nd Corinthians 5:7. For we live by faith, not by sight.
Joshua and Caleb didn't deny that the giants were there. They simply refused to let what they could see determine how they responded and what they believed. And isn't that true for all of us? Our perceptions can change from day to day, moment to moment. Whether you're hungry and hangry, whether you're emotional, whether it's raining outside, whether you're going through a difficult situation, whether you're having disappointment or unanswered prayers, or even what we think will happen tomorrow.
I certainly experienced this over the last nine months. If there wasn't people that came through our house for the inspection, I got really flat and my focus became is this place ever going to sell? Where are we going to live? Why is this taking so long? You quickly shift to the negative.
And when we focus, what we focus on eventually shapes how we think and how we feel and how we live. So when we focus on all the things that are out of our control and all the negative things, you feel anxious, don't you? You don't feel peace. You feel fear, not faith. And you very quickly become hopeless, helpless and exhausted.
In Numbers 13, God's promised land was right in front of them. He had not changed the plan. But the explorers perception, their fear did change things. It changed their decision from stepping forward to backward their direction. And not just for them.
It changed a whole generation. Your decisions have an impact on other people.
We all face giants. We face financial issues, we go through health situations, relationships, uncertainty, grief and the unknown. The giants might be different for you than they are for me, but the question God asks is still the same. What is your focus? Do you really believe your giant is bigger than God?
He came back from the dead. He can beat your thing. He's bigger than that, isn't he? We talk about how big our God is. He's bigger than I thought he was.
And during our season, God kept reminding me of that truth through worship and the Word and through incredible pastors and leaders and friends that were around me. Because that situation got so difficult, I couldn't do it on my own. And they reminded me that God finishes what he starts. His timing is always perfect and he had never failed us. Yet he doesn't fail you.
My circumstances, they didn't suddenly change. In fact, they got a whole lot worse. The market got so much worse. But I began to perceive the season differently. My focus shifted to God and how big he is.
So where are your binoculars pointing today? What have you made bigger? Your giant or your God? Because whatever you continuously focus on, it will shape your perception. Your perception will shape your decision.
And your decisions will determine now whether you step into God's promises that he has for you, or whether you stay where you are.
12 grown men all witnessed the same miracles. The Passover, the Exodus, the Red Sea parting water, coming out of a rock. Yet they perceive the same situation differently. Ten with fear and two who said, let's do it. Why were Joshua and Caleb different?
Let's look at point number two. They let go of the past. In numbers 14 1, 4. It's called the people rebel. That night, all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.
All the Israelites grumbled. Who's grumbled against Moses and Aaron? And the whole assembly said to them, if only we had died in Egypt or in this wilderness. Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder.
Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt? And they said to each other, we should choose a leader and go back to Egypt. Why would you want to go back to Egypt? Was Egypt better? No, Egypt wasn't better.
That's obvious to us. It was full of slavery. It was full of abuse and oppression. They had cried out to God to be rescued from Egypt.
Egypt wasn't bad.
Fear has a way of romanticising the past. It makes the familiar feel safer than the unknown. And to the Israelites, the Promised Land felt more frightening than Egypt did. Think about that for a moment. Freedom seemed scarier than slavery.
They didn't want slavery back. They wanted certainty. It's what we want, isn't it? It's what we cry out for. God, show me a plan.
God, show me how this is going to turn out. We want certainty. Egypt was familiar. They knew when their next meal was coming. They knew how to survive there.
And the Promised Land it required something different. It required true trust in God not to survive on the ways and the things they knew from the past.
Right now I can see little light bulbs going across the auditorium as people go. That's what we do in our lives. We hold on to what is known, what's familiar, what we think is safe and comfortable, what we think is better than the unknown and what is actually best for us. We don't go back to Egypt in a literal place, but we go back to our old patterns, our ways of thinking, our habits, our crutches that we rely on in ourself coping mechanisms because. Because they are how we have survived so far.
And they've worked out all right, haven't they?
So we think. And this is why I'm actually excited about this emotional, healthy spirituality course we're doing. Can you just pop that slide up for a minute? God wants to go deeper with you. It's eight weeks of going deeper with him and allowing him to disciple you and transform your life.
You see that above the water iceberg. That's what we allow ourselves and we allow other people to see. But look at all that stuff underneath. We can often say, yes, God, I give my life to you. I believe you are the king and the Lord of my life.
But all that stuff underneath, I'm still going to control. I'm still going to keep doing things my way. God wants to transform you. He wants to speak out to the parts of your life that react with fear, that react with control. The things that we're avoiding.
He wants to speak into your rejection, into your insecurities, into your disappointments and your shame. Because he wants you to live in freedom. Yes. Are you with me this morning? Church.
He wants you to live in freedom. He doesn't want to change your direction. He wants to heal what you are carrying.
Romans 12:2 says, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is. His good, pleasing and perfect will. God hasn't called us to survive on our understanding and our life skills in this life, has He. God has called us to thrive, to trust him and enter into all the great promises he has for your life.
We can't let fear and familiarity be more attractive than the great things that God has for you. Some of you are sitting there now going, oh, my goodness, that's exactly what I do. The pain is too scary. I don't want to go there. But God's stepping you into freedom.
He wants you to step into freedom and to let go of all that pain that's exhausting you. He wants to give you that place of hope. Don't just give your life to him through a decision. Let him transform you. In the last nine months, after refocusing on God, making him bigger than my giants, I began to see this season as preparation.
Because I have coping mechanisms just like you do. I have insecurities just like you do, and I keep going back to them. When I'm challenged to step out, I love to step back into those things. The things that, they're not good for me, but they are comfortable thought patterns, behaviors, things that I thought were working over the last 47 years, but they're not going to work for me in this next season that God's called us into.
God was preparing me. He wasn't just changing my address, he was changing me. Because my old keys were not going to open my new house locks, were they? My old ways and coping mechanisms and behaviors, they're not going to help me in this next season that God has prepared. And I've had a glimpse of it and I can see what's happening.
It's exciting and it's good. But I can't keep doing things the way that I used to.
The Israelites wanted to go backwards. And because of their fears, they made a decision that caused them to wander around for 40 years. 40 years wasted. 40 years where they could have been living in the promised land. What are you still carrying from your past?
What's stopping you from stepping into all of God's promises? All that freedom, all that hope, all that joy that he has for you? Maybe it's a fear of rejection. Maybe it's your insecurities, or maybe it's just plain, right, procrastination, Thoughts that you're never going to be good enough or the need to control everything.
One month after we put our house on the market, we launched Expansion 26 right here at this church. And we really felt prompted to pledge towards that. We want to see this church reach further and do greater things than it has ever before. And so we pledged into that. But honestly, in the natural, I wanted to say to God, can we just wait?
Like, just wait? Can we wait until the house sells and everything turns out okay? That's what we do, isn't it? Just wait, God. I want to know that everything's going to be okay before I actually do that.
But God challenged me and he said, trust me, I'm going to make a way where There is no way I am bigger than your giants. And so we stepped out in faith. I could have just said, nah, I'm going to walk. We didn't. We stepped out in faith.
And last week we got to pay that pledge in full with joy and celebration because of what God had done. No man could make a way, but he can make a way. He opened the door at the right timing.
We sold our house at 3:30 on a Friday afternoon and we bought our new home at 2 o' clock on the next day, less than 23 hours later. It was the perfect house. It had everything that we had been praying for, including the granny flat for my parents. God knows what's going on. He's got a plan.
He's there to look after you. He's got the perfect timing. He came through. He didn't fail us. He didn't leave us.
He finished exactly what he started. And we got to be blessed by giving into the house of the Lord.
God never asks us to step into the future in our strength, but in his strength and the future that he has promised. Which leads me to our final point. And if the band can come up.
Point number three, they held onto the promise. We go to numbers 14, 8, 9.
If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us only. Do not rebel against the Lord and do not be afraid of the people of the land. The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them. The promise hadn't changed.
The land was still there. But they chose to let fear consume them. They chose not to trust God or to step into it. And because of that, a whole generation missed out on seeing the promises of what God had given them. But in Numbers 14:24 it says, but because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land.
And 40 years later, it was Caleb and Joshua that led the Israelites into the promised land. They didn't miss out because they chose God over fear. They were different. They made a different decision than the majority.
It wasn't that he was stronger, it's that he chose God.
40 years ago, God placed a promise in the hearts of a small group of people they believed for a church that would reach people with the gospel. They prayed, they sacrificed, they served, they gave, they planted and through seed. Seasons of joy, seasons of hardship and challenge. Sometimes it felt like they were living in the wilderness as well. It was difficult, but they remained faithful.
And because of their Faithfulness. We're here today where in this church. There's been other churches planted because of it. For the last 40 years, we've had people pray for growth, for baptisms, for salvation, to make a greater impact in the community, for young people to rise up for Jesus. Jesus.
We've seen healings and miracles happen. And today we're not just praying for those things. We're standing right amongst them, watching them happen. We're seeing more people water baptized than ever before. We're seeing people just drive past and walk into this church hungry to know God.
We're seeing people who want to learn and study and grow.
We're seeing community care expand really quickly and really rapidly, reaching more people in this community with over a thousand different people touched by that, every single week, we are raising new leaders. We have launched Connect Academy and we're seeing lives transformed every single week. The prayers from the last 40 years are the testimonies of today. Get excited with me Church. Some of you have been praying and waiting for something.
You need breakthrough in your life, in your children, in your relationships, in your finances, your job, your health, in your spiritual life.
Can I encourage you today? Don't let go of that promise just because you haven't seen that yet. So many people walk away and they miss out on what God's word promise is. Do you know some people have been praying for over 40 years for us to build that big auditorium out the back, yet it's coming. There is some beautiful people who have continually given for the last 40 years into the building fund, knowing that it's of the future.
Mary Ann Clock, you are one of those people.
But I also don't believe this is our finish line. I believe just like the Israelites stood on the edge of the promised land, we now stand on the edge of what God wants to do. For the next 40 years, we can celebrate the past. There are some amazing things that have happened, but we have to decide if we're going to participate and step into the future as well. The values of this church, they don't change.
Love God, love people, change life. Neither does the vision or the direction. We are still called to teach and preach and reach people with the gospel. It's the third time, guys. I am not perfect.
But as we step into the next 40 years, we have to allow God to change, transform us, to direct us, to embrace new ministries, new opportunities and doing healthier things with our lives. Not leaning on the past and the things that we used to use as a crutch. We are the Next generation. I literally am. My parents were the first generation.
I was six years old when I first came to this church. I am part of that next generation with you. And we are called to do more, aren't we?
The question still remains the same. Will you take a step of faith into everything God has for you, into the freedom and for connect for the next 40 years? Will you come with us? Will you allow him to work in your life and step into all that he has for you? Because I tell you, church, church, there is more coming every time I get up here.
It's fear that tries to take me out and take me out from bringing the message that God has given me. But I choose to step in and bring it anyway. For is going through what he's going through. But do you know what he does? He chooses to learn new ways of depending on God.
And he turns up anyway because he believes there is more. There is more campuses, there is more people to reach that don't yet know God. There's people that need to know hope and there's people in this house today that need the shackles broken over their lives.
I don't want you to walk out that door this morning, keep carrying the stuff that you are carrying.
You get decide. You get to choose if you're going to let God be bigger than your giant this morning. Some of you are called you young people. I get so excited for you because we're raising you up as the next generation. But you get to decide whether you step into it fully with God.
Some of you have been called to do college.
Not even for right now. The college is a of prep season for what God has for you in the future. You need to know what you're talking about. You need to know what he wants you to teach.
Some of you need to step into the creative ministry. Some of you have got skills and gifts that God gave you. If he gave it to you, why wouldn't you want to use it for Him? He empowers, he gives authority. Yes.
I don't stand up here and preach in my own strength. I stand up here and preach and I be the executive pastor because he gave me that authority to go and do that. He called me to go do that. I'm being obedient to him by stepping in and making a difference for the future. Why don't you just close your eyes this morning?
We're gonna sing in a minute. This morning, this moment is not about me.
This moment is between you and God.
Will you choose to trust him this morning to Give him all of your life, even the hidden parts that we don't want to deal with. Will you choose to see him as bigger than the giants and the obstacles that are trying to consume your life? Will you trust him to heal and restore and teach you new tools on how to do things from the past?
But will you trust his promises for the future as well? So we're going to sing this song. I'm going to sing it with all my heart. I'm nearly losing my voice. But you know what?
God has got so much more. We are not done yet. Yeah. God is moving in this place this morning. You can see it through what fool spoke this morning.
And from what I spoke, God is moving. He wants to do greater things in your life. The next 40 years are even better than the last 40 years. Do you want to be a part of that? Do you want to plan more churches, Reach more people?
If you're choosing to step in the new stand this morning, you sing that out.
Cannot do.
He is Lord. God is fighting for us.
He has won the battle.
Have faith in what you move all my.
Come on. He's lord.
Come on. Let it go. Let the shackles go off. Giving yourself this morning. God's bigger than that.
He doesn't want you carrying that anymore. There's freedom in him this morning Every battle has been won Praise the one who's overcome Jesus all the shadows not to break all of hell Ben Jesus it is finished, finish done Every battle has been won Praise the one who's overcome Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.
He's fighting for every single one of you. He's already won the battle. He is bigger than your giant. This morning, Before we close this morning, I just want every head bowed.
I asked you to stand if you wanted to step into this next season and step in with faith in God. Choose faith in him. And I'm pretty sure nearly all of you are standing. So I'm going to ask you this morning if you feel called to leadership or to be a pastor in this place, I want you to come over the front. Come up the front right now.
Step out in faith and come up. Don't be afraid. Be courageous. Just like Joshua, just like Caleb. Come on up.
I know that there's people in this place. You guys are the future generations of our churches.
Lord God, I thank you for the courage over these people this morning. I pray, Lord God, that you would just give them a fresh dream and a vision and a passion for your life life, Lord God, that you would speak truth into them, Lord, that their Word would illuminate in a beautiful and perfect way that they see things in their lives and in their heart. Lord God, give them the courage and the power to step in, Lord God, to know what you want to do with their lives. Raise them up as pastors, as leaders. Lord God, people are going to plant more churches.
People who are going to raise up future generations. Lord God, it might be in your workplace, it might be in the youth.
Lord God, thank you for their courage. Just pour your spirit upon them this morning. Mature age people, if you're in this house this morning, I want you to listen up.
Could make a really bad joke about hearing aids.
Turn your hearing aid up if you can't hear me right right now. Because God is not done with you yet either. You might be mature age, but you have so much wisdom and things that you can teach this next generation. If you are still in this place, God is still transforming you. We need you to pass that on to our younger people.
We need you to teach them and be there for them and mentor them. You're not done yet either.
Families. We can get stuck in a way of parenting as a family, can't we?
For families and parents, I want to tell you, you are making the decisions that shape the future generations as well. You need God more than you ever have before. But don't count yourselves out either. Moms and dads. God has gifted you with certain things as well.
And he's asking, will you step into the future with me as well. Some of you need to be going to Connect Academy, going to Bible college, doing an internship. Some of you just today need to sign up for the emotionally healthy spirituality course. Some of you need to step in and start volunteering in the areas and the gifts that God has called you to do. Let's make this next 40 years greater than it ever has been before.
Continuing to change people's lives, reaching more and more people for God. Are you with me this morning, Church? Let's sing that one more time.
Come on. You lift your voice. Let's declare this one more time.
Every battle has been won. Praise the one who overcome Jesus. Oh, the shackles start to break all of hell. Come on. You lift your voice at dimension of his name Jesus.
It is finished. Finished. Every battle has been won. Praise the one who's overcome. Jesus, Jesus.
Jesus. Jesus.
Amen. Amen. Amen.
Why don't we give Pastor Katrina big hands? Yeah. Awesome. Awesome.
Just a quick reminder. All our sign ups from our connect the cat to our baptisms, giving Bibles, whatever it is at The Get Connected desk head there and the team will help you out. I just want to honor someone here. My wife. This is my wife, Alex.
She got worship leading last minute. Actually about 10 minutes before the first service. Service. She jumped in and stuff like that. And I want to encourage you of something before you leave.
Sometimes the Lord breaks you down to build you up for something new. You with me? Is it just me? Yeah. Sometimes he breaks you down because there's something new.
And I'm believing in that for this church, for each and every one of you. So we're going to finish up, I'm going to pray for each other, then we'll close the service. Yeah. Father. We thank you, Lord, for this moment.
We thank you for a real raw and authentic reality that we cannot do life alone.
Do we need others, Lord? We need your presence, Father. We need you to flow in our lives, Heavenly Father. And in our darkest moments and in our brokenness, Heavenly Father, we know that there's a greater purpose ahead of us. Your Word says there is a wonderful joy ahead.
There is a wonderful joy ahead. I can't see it right now. There's some of you here. You can't see it right now, but you're believing in it. There is a wonderful joy ahead.
Sheer faith when you don't hear from God. But that's okay. I have sheer faith because he's moved in my life before and he's going to move again. So. Heavenly Father.
Heavenly Father. Father. Lord, May your blessings and your love and peace and purpose flow in the house, Father. May each of your people leave this place going. That wasn't just a great word.
Those weren't just good songs. I have a purpose. A purpose to see lives change, Father. And I bless your people, Father. Bless this place, Lord.
And we thank you, Lord, for your presence this morning. In Jesus name we pray. Church. Amen. Why don't we give him a hand?
Thank you very much. Thank you for coming out. We'll see you next week. Thanks, guys. He is Lord God is fighting for as he is he has won the battle I think I still want to move.
There's nothing that he cannot do his love he is love.
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I'm new here — what was this sermon actually about?
This message, "Standing on the Edge of Promise," was preached by Ps Katrina from Numbers 13 and 14. God had brought the Israelites to the edge of the Promised Land and sent twelve spies to explore it. Ten came back afraid of the "giants" they saw, but two, Joshua and Caleb, chose to trust God's promise. The big idea is that what we focus on grows bigger in our minds, so when we fix our eyes on God rather than our problems, everything changes.
What did the "binoculars" illustration mean?
Ps Katrina described how binoculars make faraway things look much larger than they really are. In the same way, whatever we focus on becomes bigger in our minds. If we magnify our fears and obstacles, they feel overwhelming; if we magnify God, He becomes bigger than every giant we face.
I'm walking through a hard or uncertain season. Is there anything here for me?
Yes. This message is all about those in-between moments where God has made a promise but you haven't seen it come to pass yet. The encouragement is that God isn't only changing your circumstances, He's changing you, and He always finishes what He starts. You're welcome to come exactly as you are.
Do I need to be a Christian or know the Bible to come along?
Not at all. Connect is a place for people at every stage, including those still figuring out what they believe. You don't need any church background — just come with an open heart, and there will be friendly people happy to chat and answer any questions.
Where and when can I visit Connect Christian Church?
Connect has locations across the Mornington Peninsula and surrounds, including Frankston, Cranbourne, Mornington, Rosebud, Hastings, and Grantville. Head to connectchristian.church to find a service time and location near you — we'd love to meet you.
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Numbers 13:2
"Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders." (NIV)
→ Read Numbers 13:2 on Bible.com
Numbers 13:30
"Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."" (NIV)
→ Read Numbers 13:30 on Bible.com
Numbers 13:31
"But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are."" (NIV)
→ Read Numbers 13:31 on Bible.com
Numbers 13:33
"We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them." (NIV)
→ Read Numbers 13:33 on Bible.com
2 Corinthians 5:7
"For we live by faith, not by sight." (NIV)
→ Read 2 Corinthians 5:7 on Bible.com
Numbers 14:1-4
"That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."" (NIV)
→ Read Numbers 14:1-4 on Bible.com
Romans 12:2
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will." (NIV)
→ Read Romans 12:2 on Bible.com
Numbers 14:8-9
"If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them." (NIV)
→ Read Numbers 14:8-9 on Bible.com
Numbers 14:24
"But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it." (NIV)