Three Choices For Us As We Stand At The Edge Of The Promised Land:
1. OUR VISION: Objective or Obstacles?
A. Objective.
- 13:1-2.
- note the balance of “spy out” (what Israel did) and “giving” (what God did).
- also: 13:17-20 - careful investigation.
B. Obstacles.
- 13:28-29.
- not that noting the obstacles is bad - it’s when the obstacles become our focus that we get in trouble.
- what does that trouble look like? It creates the wrong thing in our heart.. .
2. OUR HEART: Faith or Fear?
A. Fear.
- 14:1-4.
- note that 13:28-29 were big obstacles/the argument is not “C’mon, the challenges aren’t that big” but “Remember: God is bigger than our challenges.”
B. Faith.
- 13:30.
- “at once”
- “take possession”
- “well able”
- “overcome”
- how do we hold onto that kind of faith? Actually, it comes from an unusual source. . .
3. OUR CONFIDENCE: Giants or Glory?
A. Giants.
- 13:32-33.
- this is where their lack of confidence came from/the challenges just looked too big for them.
B. Glory.
- 14:11-12 - God’s ready to start over with Moses.
- what is Moses’ counter-argument? It’s not the first one I would have thought of. . .
- 14:13-16 - Moses’ argument: Your Name and Your Glory is tied to these people.
- 14:20-21.
- God has put His name out there because He had identified Himself with these people/therefore, He isn’t just going to answer in order to bring us joy, but also to uphold the glory of His name.
- when we understand this, it becomes an enormous source of confidence: “Of course He’s going to come through - He’s put His own name at stake!”
GOD’S RESPONSE: Delight or Discipline?
A. Delight.
- 14:7-9.
- “delight”
- “bread”
B. Discipline.
- 14:22-23 - not entering the land.
- 14:39-45 - Israel’s efforts on their own led to defeat.
