The Second Sunday of Lent Consider it Done Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ! Amen. Moses has written an odd thing in today’s Old Testament. Describing the history of Abram’s visit to the land of Canaan, Moses states, “At that time, the Canaanites were in the land.” With these Words, Moses makes it sound as if the Canaanites had all disappeared by the time he wrote this history. “At that time—back then—the Canaanites WERE in the land.” That is the odd thing: The Canaanites were NOT all gone. The Canaanites were actually still in the land when Moses wrote today’s Old Testament. Moses has written AS IF they were already gone, even though they were not. Was Moses mistaken, or was he making a point? Dear Christian friends, You have heard before the common phrase, “Consider it done.” When someone says to you, “consider it done,” that person wants you to know and to trust that he or she will do whatever you have asked. The job is not done yet, but it is so certain to be completed that you may “consider it done.” · A mother says to her son, “Please take out the trash and wash the dishes.” The child immediately jumps to his feet, saying, “Consider it done.” · So, too, employers: “Johnson, I want those reports on my desk by the end of the day.” Mr. Johnson wants to keep his job. “Consider it done, boss!” The words “consider it done” provide a good perspective for today’s Old Testament, where God swears to give Abram’s descendants the land of Canaan. This was only the first promise. Centuries later, when Moses was just about to lead God’s people into this Promised Land, God spoke another promise. “I will drive [the Canaanites] out from before you,” said the Lord. And again, “They shall not dwell in your land” (Exodus 23:30, 33). Here again, the odd thing: When Moses wrote today’s Old Testament, the Canaanites were NOT all gone. Moses and the people had not even entered the Promised Land when Moses wrote (Deuteronomy 34). Nevertheless, Moses makes it sound as if God’s promise to remove the Canaanites was full and complete: “At that time—back then—the Canaanites WERE in the land.” Simply stated, God spoke and Moses considered it done. Moses has written this way because he wants us to know that God’s Word and promises are TOTALLY reliable, even if that Word or promise from God has not yet been completely fulfilled. Today’s Old Testament is a great example of “consider it done,” but that is not the only example God has given us in His Scriptures. · Some years after today’s Old Testament, God commanded Abraham to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22). God had already promised that Abraham’s grandchildren would come to him through his son Isaac (Genesis 21:12). It made no sense to Abraham that God would want him to sacrifice the very person who would complete and fulfill the promise. Nevertheless, Abraham considered it done. Abraham knew God would raise Isaac from the dead, just for the sake of keeping the promise (Hebrews 11:17-19). · God’s prophet Isaiah is another example of “consider it done.” Isaiah wrote many things about our Lord Jesus: how Jesus “bore our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4); how Jesus was “wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities” (v. 5); that Jesus was an offering for our sin (v. 10); how, through Christ you and I both now have healing and peace (v. 5), righteousness (11) and eternal life (v. 12). Isaiah lived hundreds of years before Christ was born. Nevertheless, Isaiah was so certain about the reliability of God’s promises in Christ that Isaiah wrote in the past tense about our Lord Jesus. I would probably have wanted to write in the future tense, if were a preacher living hundreds of years before the coming of Christ. Isaiah did not do that. Isaiah heard God’s promises about Jesus’ future work, and Isaiah felt so confident in the promises that he considered it done—so done, in fact, that Isaiah wrote in the past tense about God’s future promises. Isaiah, Abraham, Moses: why would their “consider it done” attitude be so important for you and me that God would write about these men in His Scriptures? · God wants us learn from these men. God has declared that His Words are written “for our sake” (Romans 4:23-24). “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction,” says the Lord, “that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4). · More than learning from Isaiah, Abraham, and Moses, God also wants us to share their faith and their “consider it done” attitude toward all God’s promises. God wants us to know that He has given to you and to me and to our children His gift of faith. God has also declared that the faith He has given to you and to me is “of equal standing” (2 Peter 1:2) and “of the same kind” (NASB) and “as precious” as the faith He likewise gave to His apostles and prophets; to Isaiah and Abraham and Moses. God the Holy Spirit is one in the same, whether He lives in Isaiah or you or Abraham or me or Moses, the guy who could look at a bunch of Canaanites and still consider it done. “At that time—back then—the Canaanites WERE in the land.” So here we are. Like Abraham before us, God has also given us “His very great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4). Here are a couple examples: · Just as God promised in today’s Old Testament to give Abram the land of Canaan, God has likewise promised you “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4). Consider it done! · Just as Abraham’s life and faith were held afloat by the certainty of the resurrection (Hebrews 11:17-19), God has also promised you that “Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For… the earth will give birth to the dead” (Isaiah 26:19). No, this has not happened yet and it shall not happen until the Last Day. Yet God has promised, and God’s promises are faithful. Consider it done! · Just as God sustained and protected Moses through many days of hardship in the wilderness, God promises likewise to keep you. Thus it is written, o “He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways” (Psalm 91:11); and again, o “God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13); and again, o “Your rod and Your staff, O Lord, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4); and yet again, o “The Lord is faithful. He will establish you and guard you against the evil one” ( 2 Thessalonians 3:3). What do these promises mean for us? They mean that “we do not lose heart” 2 Corinthians 4:16). God’s promises mean that every struggle we now endure can be through of in the past tense, as Moses wrote today, “At that time—back then—the Canaanites WERE in the land.” On account of God’s promises, we do not need to worry or cower or entertain one moment of doubt. Instead, we set our feet, lift up our eyes, and consider it done. _______________________________________________ Sermons mailing list [email protected] http://cat41.org/mailman/listinfo/sermons
