The Vision of what God has promised

‘We are setting out for the place about which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you’. Numbers 10:29

‘I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people and his incomparably great power for us who believe.’

Ephesians 1:17-19

‘Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of God has come with power’ Mark 9:1

When we repent and believe in the Lord Jesus, we are saved, all our sins are forgiven and the Holy Spirit comes into our lives. Every believer can then begin a journey into participating in the kingdom here, now, on this earth, so that we see the kingdom of God come with power in our lives before we die.

Paul’s specific prayer for all believers is that the eyes of our hearts are enlightened so that we perceive and understand just how wonderful and powerful are the hope, the inheritance and the power that is now ours in Christ.

Almost everyone of us has dreamed of winning the lottery and receiving millions. ‘The eyes of our hearts are enlightened’ about the riches of winning the lottery (even though we all know it is exceptionally unlikely).

But in Christ our hope (our certain future in Christ), our inheritance, and the power of being in Christ, is absolutely guaranteed both by the promises of Jesus himself and by the presence of the Spirit within us now. (Jesus said; ‘Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater works than these, because I am going to the Father; John 14:12.)

Numbers describes a journey taken by people who believed that God was leading them into something greater and better. Many of the Israelites never came into their inheritance because they didn’t believe God’s promise and were frightened (Numbers 14), or because they settled for something less, even when they were on the very border of the promised land (Numbers 32).

Jesus’ challenge to his disciples is to ‘deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me’, Mark 8:34, and he promises that ‘there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see that the kingdom of heaven has come with power.’ Mark 9:1

See ‘Numbers in a picture’