GRAPES, GIANTS, GRASSHOPPERS, & GOD
Num. 13:26-14:11
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Tom Eppler and his wife were reminiscing about their dating days when he mentioned how she used to have a “coke-bottle” figure. She said, “I still have a “coke-bottle” figure, only now it’s two-litter!”
2. Louis Shanks said, “Since I am a police officer and my wife is a court reporter, our paths often cross in a courtroom.
3. Once while she was the assigned reported, he was testifying as the investigating officer in a burglary case.
4. After he’d been sworn in and had begun his testimony, the judge handed his wife a note which caused her to smile. Later he asked her what the judge had written.
5. It read, “Is there anything you want to ask your husband while he’s under oath?”
B. SALESMEN
1. ILLUS.
a. 2 salesmen went to a country where no one wore shoes. Both wrote back to HDQRS.
b. First said, “I can’t sell shoes here; no one wears shoes!” The second wrote; “Quick, send me more order forms! No one here has any shoes, so everyone is a potential customer!”
2. We’re going to look at a group of men in the Bible who closely resemble these two salesmen. All of us can be identified with either one or the other.
C. TEXT
26 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. 27 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. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.” 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.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report 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. 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.” 14:1 That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2 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! 3 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?” 4 And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 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. 9 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.” 10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?
I. WE’RE THE SPIES TO OUR GENERATION
1. Do the names Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi, and Geuel ring a bell with you?
2. You know about them for they were leaders among the Israelites. You don’t remember their names because they looked at something and saw all the wrong things.
3. Helen Keller, who was blind, was once asked if there were anything worse than blindness. Replied, “Yes, to have sight but no vision!”
4. How strange that all 12 men saw the same thing, but their perceptions of it were so different!
A. AN EXCITING DAY!
1. God’s people had been slaves in the land of Egypt. They had been beaten, abused and cruelly oppressed for 430 years. God determined to deliver them out of their misery and suffering, by breaking the power of the Egyptians over them, and bringing them into a new land known as Canaan.
2. God chose Moses to be the leader of His people and to lead them out of the land. The people are at the front door of the land God wants to give them.
3. In order to encourage the people of the goodness of what God wanted to give them, God told Moses, choose 12 men, leaders from each of the 12 tribes and have them go out and explore the land.
4. These 10 men whose names we have forgotten, along with Joshua and Caleb were sent to check out the land. They were to report on the number of people, the fertility of the soil, the types of fortifications in the cities, and the number of trees. They were to bring back some of the fruit of the land.
5. When they left, I can imagine the excitement in the air. It was about time for them to stop wandering in the desert. They would give up their lives of living in tents moving from place to place.
6. Finally they would build nice homes, and permanent businesses They could grow crops and have a much larger variety of food. All of what they needed and wanted was right over there in the land of Canaan. They couldn’t wait for God to make good on His promises.
7. Forty days those men were walking in the realm God had for them. Everybody was gathered together when they got back. Somebody said, "Here they come, I can see them."
8. These men walked back into the camp as legends. They were the first to have seen what God had promised. They went directly to Moses to give the report.
9. “Brother Moses, let me tell you. The land does indeed flow with milk and honey.” Somebody said, “OH yeah, oh yeah. Look at the size of the fruit. The grapes, the pomegranates and the figs, don’t get any better than this.”
10. I can imagine people starting to taste to food even though they couldn’t reach it. Then came the ‘but.’ ‘But’ has done more to discourage people and to keep them from going forward than anything else in life.
11. How many of you have missed out on things you could have had, but you listened to somebody tell you, "but you probably won’t be able to do it."
B. PARALLELS TO US. I see these as representative:
1. The Gathered Tribes = Great Mass of Humanity.
2. Canaan Land = not heaven, for it has no giants/ problems, but “The Victorious Christian Life.”
3. The 12 Spies = You & I, who have tasted Christ and returned to indicate to others whether it’s good or not to serve God.
4. The Kind of Life we Lead before the World.
a. Whether dedicated, or not;
b. “ Victorious or Defeated;
c. “ full of Grace or Mean/Selfish;
d. “ Happy or Despondent…
tells the people around whether the Christian experience is indeed a “good land” or not.
5. We have the power, by our words and lives – to turn people to Christ or away from Christ.
6. The 10 Spies’ unbelief turned a generation away from serving God! God forbid we should!
7. Are we bringing an evil or good report?
II. HISTORY OF GRUMBLING & COMPLAINING
Husbands & wives complain about each other.
Kids tell each other how terrible their parents are.
Christians grumble about one another and even about their leaders.
A. SCRIPTURES
1. Phip. 2:14-15, “Do everything without complaining and arguing.”
2. 1 Cor. 10:10; “And do not grumble as some of them did, and were killed by the destroying angel.”
3. Jude 16, “These men are grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires, they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.”
4. 4 TIMES GOD JUDGED THEM FOR COMPLAINING:
a. Num. 11:1, complaining brought FIRE.
b. Num. 11:4-6, 31-33; slain by plagues.
c. Num. 21:5-6; died by snakes.
d. Num. 14:1, 29-32; the report of the spies brought the judgment, “None 20 or older will enter the land, but their bones will be scattered in the wilderness.”
B. WHY GRUMBLING/ COMPLAIN IS EVIL
1. The Root of it is unbelief, not faith.
2. NOTICE THE DIFFERENT RESPONSE:
a. Acts 16, Paul & Silas suffered public shame and injury. Did they ask, “Does God love me? Why would He let this happen to me?”
b. Real faith lays claim to the promises. They submitted, trusted Him, gave Him praise anyway. There was a miraculous answer and the jailor was saved!
3. THE FUTURE IS AS BRIGHT AS THE PROMISES OF GOD!
4. ILLUSTRATION
a. A man was taking flying lessons. The instructor told him to put the plane into a steep dive. The engine stalled. The plane began to plunge out of control.
b. The man figured out the instructor was not going to help him. He got a grip, corrected the situation, then turned to vent his fear & frustration on the instructor.
c. He calmly said, “There is no position you can get this plane into that I cannot get you out of. If you want to learn to fly, then go up there and do it again.”
d. At that moment, God seemed to say to him, “Remember this. As you serve Me, there is no situation you can get yourself into that I cannot get you out of. If you trust Me, you will be all right.”
5. COMPLAINING IS:
a. Charging God with wrongdoing; He’s not taking adequate care of us.
b. It assumes we deserve better from God, contra Psalms 103:10-13.
c. It’s ingratitude for all we DO have.
C. IT BETRAYS WHAT SPIRIT WE’RE OF
1. James 3:9-12.
2. Words are powerful. What is in our hearts will come out our mouths. If we have faith and trust, then that; if we have unbelief and bitterness, then that.
III. THE POWER OF POSITIVE WORDS & LIFE
A. POWER OF POSITIVE WORDS
1. Prov. 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.” 13:3, “He who guards his lips guards his life.”
2. In faith, Matt. 17:19-20, “You can say to this mountain…”
3. Mk. 11:20-24, “You can have whatever you say.” Akin to the creative action of God. God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
4. Rom. 10:9-10, “If you confess with your mouth…you shall be saved.”
5. SEVEN GOOD USES OF YOUR WORDS:
a. To BLESS others, Lk. 6:28, Rom. 12:14.
b. To WORSHIP/ PRAISE God.
c. To WITNESS.
d. To Confess Christ.
e. To affirm to yourself what God has said about you.
f. “Speak of thy Word,” Ps. 119:172.
g. To Bring Healing, Prov. 12:18; 16:24.
B. CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE OPTIMISTS
1. Our God is God; He’s in Control.
2. Rom. 8:28; He’s working everything together for our good. He loves us.
3. His past actions foreshadow His future faithfulness.
4. His promises guarantee a bright future.
5. He is with me. “I can do all things thru Christ!”
6. Not even death can separate us from the love of God!
7. A future life awaits, new and beyond understanding. “Eye has not seen, nor has ear heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for them that love Him!”
8. “May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord!” Ps. 19:14.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. One time Martin Luther got depressed over the state of Protestantism. He was so miserable he refused to eat.
2. His wife came in wearing a funeral dress, all in black. Mourning. “What are you doing, Woman?” he said. “I’m in mourning, because God is dead; at least, according to you!”
3. Luther realized he was leaving God out of his equation and was revived in faith and had his spirits lifted.
B. “GOT ANY GIANTS? WALLED CITIES?
1. Don’t leave God out of your equation.
2. Satan’s dominion over us is ended. He’s a defeated foe.
3. The Blood of Jesus is the basis, the ground of our victory.
4. If God be for me, who can be against me?
C. WHAT GRAPES DO YOU SEE BEFORE YOU?
1. Pardon for sin?
2. Peace of mind?
3. Power for victory? JESUS HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD. “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the wolrd!”
4. Prospective future blessings?
D. THE CALL
1. Receive Victory.
2. Choose to enter God’s land of blessing.
3. Defeat your Giants!
[This is a rewrite of Rick Gillespie-Mobley’s message, “What Do You See?”]
