My lapel might not be situated.
I promise I'm not going to do any walking today, or I'm going to try not to.
So if you want to just leave that one on, that'll be good.
Numbers 13, verses 25 through 33.
You know, these verses have a very remarkable story in them that I want us to explore this morning.
And the reason I want us to really dive into these verses today
is because I think there are some valuable truths that each of us can learn and apply to our lives
as the Lord may be leading us to serve Him in capacities.
And we think, you know what, I don't have the ability to do that.
That's bigger and beyond me to do.
Or maybe today you're facing some circumstances.
You're facing some challenges.
You're facing some difficulties in your life.
And it is bigger than you.
It's more than you can deal with and get through.
And you don't know how you're going to get through it.
You don't know where to turn except to the Lord.
And so I think there's some valuable truths in the passages that we're going to look at today
to help us to glean from that, to take these truths that are found in this scripture
and really apply it to our lives.
Give us faith.
Give us hope.
Give us trust.
And realize that we have to depend completely, fully, and wholly upon the Lord to see us through.
This is the story of when Moses was used of God to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt.
They've gone for several weeks headed towards the promised land.
And they're right on the border of the promised land.
They're ready to enter into it.
And God said, now is the time.
He gave the word through Moses to tell the children of Israel,
now is the time to go and take possession of the land.
This land God has been working, preparing, and readying them for a long time.
They were slaves in Egypt for 400 years.
And God has been preparing that land for them during that time frame.
And they stand on the edge of the promised land.
And God is saying, go take possession.
But before he does, God tells Moses to give the people, you know,
the message of one individual from each of the 12 tribes to go into the land and spy out the land.
Now, God's not going to tell them to go and spy out the land to have a battle plan
or to figure out how they are going to conquer this land.
It's my belief that God is sending them in so that they will see that the land is everything
that God had said that it would be.
He's told them it's a magnificent land flowing with milk and honey.
It's fertile.
It's a land that they can go in and take possession of and become the people of God
and the nation that God was raising up to be a reflection of Him to the entire world.
And He's sending these 12 spies in for them to see that God's Word is true
and that it is everything that God said that it would be.
He's not sending them in so that they could see in their own power and their own strength
that somehow they can take the land because that's not at all what God is doing here.
Now, most of us, if we grew up in church, we grew up studying this passage,
especially if you're in a Baptist church and use Lifeway curriculum.
The curriculum for the children is written on a two-year cycle.
So you probably studied this passage about every two years growing up.
And we know all the factual information about this story.
We know the historical truths of this story.
But what I want us to do this morning is go beyond the historical truths of this passage.
And I want us to ask God to open our eyes, open our ears,
that we may go beyond the historical facts of this
and see the spiritual truths that God is trying to show each of us,
to lead each of us, that we can take those truths
that God has placed in these passages for us to apply to our lives.
Because I'm quite sure that each of us, if not right now,
at some point, we're facing or will face challenges, difficulties,
hardships, obstacles that are bigger than ourselves,
that are beyond our power and our ability to face.
They're beyond our ability to handle and get through,
and we don't know how we're going to handle it.
Or God may be leading us, and I'm sure at some point He will do this.
If we surrender our lives to Him,
He will lead us to serve Him in capacities that we may think,
I can't do that.
That is beyond me.
That is not my skill.
But God is laying that on our hearts.
And we have to learn that we can step out in faith and trust that if God calls us to do something,
if God is leading us to do it, He's not calling you because you're qualified.
He's calling you because He wants to do the work in you.
And He wants to use you.
Look at Moses.
Moses had every excuse and every argument in the book of why he could not do what God was calling him to do,
to lead a nation.
And yet God kept telling him,
it's not you.
It's not you.
It's God that's going to accomplish that in Him.
So today I want us,
before we look into our scripture,
I want us to take a moment to pray.
And I want us to ask God,
wherever you are today,
whatever circumstances you're facing,
whatever obstacles you're up against,
let's ask God to open our eyes,
to see a truth in this passage
that maybe we have never seen before.
A truth that goes beyond,
you know,
just the historical facts of this passage
and something that we can take with us in our lives
and help us to walk and be the people of God
and apply that to our lives
that we can step out in faith
and trust God to either lead us through or around
those obstacles,
those challenges,
or those difficulties,
or use us to serve Him in ways
that we never believed possible.
Let's go to the Lord in prayer.
Father, we thank You for this day.
What a glorious day to come into Your house
and to stand before Your throne
and to worship You.
Lord, I don't know what each of us are facing today,
what challenges that we're up against,
what hardships we may be facing
or maybe a calling
that You're putting on some of our hearts today to serve.
But I pray, Lord,
that as we study Your Word and Your truth,
that You would open our eyes
to see Your message to each of us.
Open our ears that we might hear
and give us hearts, Lord,
that would be receptive,
that would be receptive, Lord,
to receiving Your Word
and give us faith
that we can face those challenges,
we can face those difficulties
or those obstacles,
or we can step out,
giving our lives
as living sacrifices to You,
that we know that whatever You've called us to do,
wherever You've called us to serve,
that we can do it
in the power and the strength
of Your Holy Spirit,
and that it will be You
that accomplishes the work through us.
And it is in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Let's look together.
We're going to begin with verses 25 through 27 here
in Numbers chapter 13.
And we're going to begin,
just we're going to look,
instead of reading the whole passage all at once,
we're going to look at a few verses here at once.
Again, the spies have gone into the land.
They have seen that it was a land,
everything God said it would be.
And they're ready to come back
and give their report to Israel.
So let's look at verses 25 through 27.
At the end of the 40 days,
they returned from exploring the land.
They came back to Moses and Aaron
and the whole Israelite community
at Kadesh in the desert of Paran.
There they reported to them
and to the whole assembly
and showed them the fruit of the land.
They gave Moses this account.
We went into the land to which you sent us
and it does flow with milk and honey.
Here is its fruit.
When the spies returned
after going into the land for 40 days,
they came back and they told the people,
the land is everything that God said it would be,
maybe more.
It was everything that they had imagined
and dreamed of.
It truly was a very magnificent land.
Verse 23 tells us
that they cut one bunch of grapes
that were so big
that they tied it to a pole
and it took two men to carry.
How many of you grow grapes in here?
Have any of you ever had
a bundle of grapes that large?
Jerry?
You ever had grapes that large
that it took two men to carry?
You can imagine.
Wow.
Here they have been in slavery
in Egypt for 400 years
and now they stand on the brink
of going into the promised land,
a land that was fertile, plentiful,
and a land that they could settle in,
raise families, and be the nation
that God was calling them to be.
However, the report stops there
from being very positive and uplifting
and there became a division
between the 12 spies.
You know, 10 of the spies
began to say,
the land is everything
that God said it would be,
but we cannot go in.
We cannot attack the people
that are living there.
The people are large.
We look like grasshoppers
in their eyes.
You know, they live in very large,
fortified cities,
and the land would swallow us up.
Let's look at verses 28 to 29 here.
But the people living there are powerful,
and their towns are large and fortified.
We even saw giants there,
the descendants of Anak.
The Amalekites live in the Nagib,
and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites
live in the hill country.
The Canaanites live along the coast
of the Mediterranean Sea
and along the Jordan Valley.
10 of the 12 spies,
they, now this is a dangerous ground
they're standing on
because I want you to pay attention
to what they're doing.
They're not just coming back
and giving a report
that these men that live there
are these people groups
that live there
are in fortified cities.
They're larger nations than Israel.
You know, they look like giants.
But what are they really doing?
They're recommending
to the nation of Israel
to disobey God.
You see that?
God has said,
go in and take possession of the land.
And they're saying,
no, we can't.
They're saying,
we need to disobey God
and do what we think
is a better solution
than what God is saying.
Now let me tell you something.
Never once,
never ever,
does anything positive
come from disobeying God.
Nothing ever
has turned out good.
When God lays something on our heart,
God commands us to do something
and we disobey it.
But that's what the 10 spies are doing.
They're telling the people,
we need to disobey God
and don't do what He is saying
that we should do
because they're afraid.
They're scared.
They think that they cannot go in
in their own power
and their own strength.
They're looking at the people
and they're not seeing God,
which is pretty amazing
if you want to think about it
after you think about
all the things
that God had already done
and we'll get into that
in a little bit more in detail.
Let me just say something.
Don't be surprised
in your own life today
when you feel like
God is leading you
to do something
and it's going to take you
stepping out in faith.
It's going to take you
trusting in God.
Don't be surprised
when others around you
try to talk you out of it.
Even Christians.
A lot of times
even Christians
try, oh, don't do that.
You can't do that.
You don't know how many times
I have been tried
to be talked out of
going on mission trips.
You don't know how many times
I've been tried to be talked out
when I felt called
to go into ministry.
People try to talk me out of it.
My, even my own pastor
when I was a teenager
in high school,
when I told him
I was called to ministry,
you know what he told me?
He said, I'm sorry.
People try to talk me out
of doing what God
was calling me to do.
And they'll do the same thing
to you.
When you're stepping out
in faith,
doing what seems
to be crazy
in other people's eyes,
they'll try to talk you
out of it.
Even other Christians,
even your own family members
will try to keep you
away from doing
what God is calling you
to do.
And it's going to take
grit and determination
for us to realize
what's going on
and that they don't
have the faith,
but we're going to have
to have the faith
to stand
and trust God
and move forward
knowing that God
will do what he says
he will do.
You know, Caleb and Joshua
are the only two,
only two,
two out of twelve
who believed
that God would do
what he said
he would do
and they tried
to get the people
to go immediately
and take possession
of the land.
They wanted them
to go immediately
and they tried
to overcome
the ten spies
and talk to the people.
Look at verse 30.
It says,
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.
Now Caleb and Joshua
were not foolish enough
to think
because Israel
was a smaller nation
than all these other countries.
These people
were like giants to them.
They lived
in fortified cities.
Caleb and Joshua
were not foolish enough
to think
that they could develop
a great and mighty
battle plan
and they had better weapons
and all this stuff
and that they could go in
and do it in their own power
and their own strength.
They saw everything
that the other spies saw.
But what were they doing?
What were they seeing
different
than the other ten spies?
They had no faith
and confidence
in their own power
and their own ability.
What they saw
was God.
When they looked
into that land
they didn't see giants
and fortified cities.
What they saw
was God.
Look at verse 2
of chapter 13.
I don't have this
in the notes
so hopefully
you have your Bibles
open but I'll read it
to you.
Start with verse 1
actually.
The Lord
said to Moses,
Send some men
to explore
the land of Canaan
which I
God speaking
I am giving
to the Israelites.
God has already
declared
He was giving
this land
to Israel.
It wasn't
a matter in question
of whether Israel
could go in
and take possession
of the land.
God has already
declared it
that He
is giving
possession
to the Israelites
of this land
the promised land.
He's already
declared it.
And Caleb
and Joshua
were the only
two who were
willing to look
into that land
and see
that God
had already
declared it
and it would be
God who would
win the victory
not them.
But the other
12 spies
they were fearful
and they were afraid
and they were only
looking at themselves.
They were only
looking at
their own ability
and whether
they as a nation
could go in
and conquer
the land.
But Caleb
and Joshua
are fully
trusting God
to go in
and take
that land.
Caleb and Joshua
teach us
that there are
going to be
times in our lives
when we have
to take a stand
for Jesus
even if we
have to stand
alone.
There are going
to be times
when we have
to take a stand
whether it's
in faith
or trust
or defend
the faith
of God
even when
we stand
alone
and no one
else around
us will stand
with us
not even
other believers
not our own
family.
And folks
we need to
teach our
children this.
We need to
teach our
children
our grandchildren
that there
are going to
be times
when they
stand alone
in school
or among
their friends
or others
and they've
got to be
willing to
be okay
because when
we're standing
with God
it's okay.
We're not
alone are we?
We're actually
the majority
and it's better
to stand
in the right
alone
than it is
to stand
with the
multitudes
in the crowd
who are wrong.
But we have
to learn
to stand.
You would
think
after all
the Israelites
had already
seen the
Lord do
for them
they would
quickly move
to take
possession of
the land.
After all
they had
seen God
already do
in a short
window
a period
of time
I looked
it up
and what
should have
taken them
just walking
from Egypt
to the
promised land
should have
taken them
about 11
days.
Now I know
they stopped
at times
and God
gave them
a lot of
commands
so it took
a little bit
longer than that
but we're
only talking
a few
weeks.
And in
that period
of time
I want us
to think
about what
God did
for them
in a short
window of
time and why
should they
have not
had enough
faith to
trust in
them.
Before leaving
Egypt what
did God
do?
You know
he sent
the ten
plagues
didn't he?
Egypt was
the most
powerful nation
in the world
with the
largest army.
Pharaoh was
the most
powerful man
in the world
at that
day and
time and
God sent
plagues upon
them to the
place where
not only did
he free
Israel from
them they
drove them
out and
they gave
them all
their gold
and possessions
and Stan
just said
get out
go.
Then what
happened?
Pharaoh
changed his
mind and he
got his army
together and he
chased them and
what happened?
They get to the
Red Sea they're
trapped.
trapped in
between the
largest army in
the world and
the Red Sea.
Anybody know
what happened?
He departed
the sea.
Who else could
do that?
Who else could
do that but
God?
You know I
heard a story
one time about
a pastor who
was preaching
and he was
trying to
explain away
this miracle and
he was saying
things like it
really wasn't the
Red Sea it was a
smaller body of
water it was
more like a
mud puddle and
this senior adult
lady was sitting
on the front
pew and she
kept going
praise the
Lord!
Hallelujah!
Amen!
And the
pastor finally
said do you
not hear what
I'm saying?
It wasn't the
Red Sea at
all it was
just a really
small body of
water and she
said if God
could drown
the entire
Egyptian army
in a mud
puddle then
praise God!
Amazing!
By the way
if you really
look at
historical
archaeological
truths today
they have
found gold
wagon wheels
around the
Red Sea
in the last
20 years or
so where the
chariots and
stuff it proves
that they were
washed away by
the Red Sea
but God
divided the
sea they
walked around
on dry
ground that's
another miracle
when I was a
kid my friend
and I we
we swam in
ponds you
couldn't see
and we got
out in this
one pond one
time and I
mean we sank
to our knees
in mud and
you think about
they walked
across the
Red Sea on
dry ground and
then God brought
the sea together
and he destroyed
the entire
Egyptian army he
gave them water
in the desert
when they were
thirsty he
provided food for
them when they
were hungry God
led them through
the wilderness by
cloud during the
day and a
pillar of fire
by night the
people had even
heard the voice
of God on
Mount Sinai as
he prepared to
give them the
Ten Commandments
they had already
fought the
Amalekites do
you remember
when the men
had to stand
and hold Moses
arms up and
as long as they
held his arms
up they defeated
the Amalekites
that was in that
time period where
they left Egypt
and they were
headed to the
edge of the
promised land
they had
already fought
them once
and God
had already
won the battle
once but it's
almost like that
old saying what
have you done
for me lately
they had forgotten
everything that God
had already done
for them and they
were simply looking
at what they could
do in their own
power their own
strength their own
resources now
listen are we ever
guilty of doing
that are we ever
guilty of doing
the same exact
thing we look at
our situation we
look at our
circumstances we
look at our
obstacles we look
at challenges and
we look at how we
can handle it and
we turn to God
last as a last
resort over the
years I've observed
a very dangerous
mindset among
believers and
churches it seems
that we're willing
to only try to do
the things that we
feel we can do
God may be leading
us to do something
but I've heard time
and time again we
can't do that
no we can't do
that that's beyond
us it's beyond our
resources so we
don't do what God
has called us to
do and we're
fearful to step
out in faith and
trust God to do
what he's called us
to do but you know
what when we are
only willing to do
what we think we
can do then what
results do we get
when we're only
willing to do what
we can physically do
we get the results
results that only we
can do when we step
out in faith and we
trust God and we
hold tight to his
claims and his
promises and his
word and we follow
him we get a whole
different set of
results don't we
when we trust God to
do what he says he
will do or we trust
God to do what he's
called us to do we
get results that God
can achieve and in that
better and that
beyond what we can do
in our own strength
you know I don't know
about you but I want
to see God work I
want to see God
achieve I want to see
God accomplish far
more than what I can
because I know I'm
extremely limited we
don't get much I'm a
country bumpkin boy from
whitesville Kentucky
smaller than pickens and
I know I'm sophisticated
and suave now but I
was I was a hillbilly
redneck I'm still not far
from it and you're not
going to get much from
what I can do we're not
going to get a whole lot
from what any of us can
do in our own strength
it's what we we want to
see God move don't we
we want to see God stir
us our nation is in
trouble and we've proven
that through our programs
or electronics or
whatever we're not going
to change people's
hearts we're not going
to turn this nation
around we're not going
to bring people to
Jesus it's got to be a
work of the Holy Spirit
working it through us
is that what you want
today do you want to
see God do the miraculous
through us then we have
to step out in faith and
hold tight to him we've got
to step in faith and trust
that what he says he will
do when we're facing
challenging times do we
ever forget what God has
already done in our lives
do we forget his word and
his promises do we doubt
God's ability to work in us
and in our circumstances if
we just stop sometimes and
think back and remember what
God has already done in our
lives if we just stop
sometimes and reflect upon his
word and his promises that he
gives us then our faith would
be strengthened and we would
realize that it's not about
me it's about me being strong
enough to or it's not about
me being strong enough to
handle a situation or
circumstance it's about God
working in me it's about
trusting God to do what he
says he will do and for God to
fight the battles you know a
young David a little shepherd boy
taught us that in first Samuel
17 47 said all those gathered
here will know that is not by
sword or spear that the Lord
saves for the battle is the
Lord's and he will give all of
you into our hands David didn't
go up against Goliath thinking
just because he was at times
killed bears or lions where he
didn't go into that battle
thinking I can win this battle and I
will defeat Goliath no he knew
better he didn't fight the bear he
didn't fight the lion thinking he
could do that a little shepherd boy
that no one even thought to call when
they were looking for a new king how
did he fight the bear how did he
fight the lion how did he fight
Godís doing that in earth right now
and he is the king of the world
that rackets the king of the king of
the king of the king of the king of the
king of the king of the king of theORY
what are you up against today in the
world that's a new king of the kingdom
he is by all right now what are you
yelling at Goliath in complete faith and
you? Are you trusting God to take you and use you to serve him? Are you stuck thinking,
I can't do that. I can't achieve that. The 10 spies were so fearful of what, you know,
they had seen that they forgot all about what God had done already in their lives and that
God would win the battle. And not only did they allow it to paralyze them and cause fear in them,
they began to spread rumors among all of Israel to the point where the entire nation of Israel
wouldn't listen to God and obey God or to Joshua and Caleb. And they struck fear in the entire
nation to where they would not go forward and do what God had called them to do. And as a result,
they missed out on what God wanted to bless them with. They had to wander through the wilderness for 40
years. And he realized this, every man that was military age, except for Joshua and Caleb died
in those 40 years and never tasted the promised land. They missed out completely on what God wanted
to bless them with because of fear and disobedience of doing what God had called them to do. I hope today
that none of us are missing out on God's blessings for our lives because we're afraid to trust him.
I hope none of us miss what God wants to do in us. Ways of service or deliverance from challenges and
obstacles and difficulties that we may face. Are we missing God's blessings and God's best because we're
stepping in disobedience because of fear rather than faith and trust? So I want to ask you today,
as we dismiss, when you look into your future or your circumstances and your situations of life,
do you see giants? Or do you see God? Let's close with a word of prayer. Father, we just thank you for your word and your truth today.
And I pray that you would put faith and trust in all of us to see clearly, Lord, that it is not about us,
it's about you. And it's about you winning the battle. It's about you going before us and fighting the battles
for us and using us to bring glory and honor to your name. And we thank you for this. We praise you,
Lord, always in Jesus' name. Amen. We're going to go into...