Whose Report Will You Believe?

WHOSE REPORT WILL YOU BELIEVE?

Numbers 13:25-33

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. Abraham bought himself a fancy new computer and was showing it to Isaac one day. "Look at all the wonderful programs it has on it. And look at all the neat things it can do."

2. Isaac was impressed but a little concerned. "But, Dad, I don't think your computer has enough memory."

3. Abraham said, "Don't worry, Son; the Lord will provide the RAM."

B. TEXT

25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. 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." Number 13:25-33

C. THESIS

1. God has spoken great things about you. He has a gifted you. He has before you a great spiritual heritage He want to you to lay hold of. It may look daunting, but remember, the Lord of Hosts is with you. But as you contemplate how you will serve the Lord, and how complete your commitment will be to the Lord, you will hear two voices; one is the Holy Spirit who gives you faith and encouragement to fully open a God. The other is the voice of the discourager – Satan, who will tell you it is too hard to serve the Lord; who will tell you that God doesn't work with people like he did in Bible days. You must make a choice; whose report will you believe?

2. Examples of situations:

a. You have prayed to God for your son who has been diagnosed with cancer, and God has told you that he would be alright, but the doctors have told you he has only 6 more months to live. Whose report will you believe, the doctor’s report or God?

b. You have no money to do your shopping at Christmas time to buy those things that are needed, your friends have told you to give up because God has forgotten you; but God has promised to supply your needs. Whose report will you believe?

c. You feel a that God has failed you some way, a voice whispers to you, what’s the use, but God told you He will not leave you nor forsake you and everything will be alright. Whose report will you believe? That someone or the word of God?

I. WHY DO PEOPLE BELIEVE THE EVIL/ FAITHLESS REPORT?

A. THEY BELIEVE WHAT THEY CAN SEE. The way things are in the natural is what they accept.

1. Many people see spiritual things as irrelevant, except at religious events. God plays no vital role in their day-to-day living. In our text today we find 10 of the 12 spies giving a negative report. At that moment, they couldn't see God, but they could vividly remember all of the enemies in Canaan. So they ended up telling the Israelites that it was impossible for them to take the land. But what were they thinking? Had they already forgotten that God was with them?

2. It’s easy to criticize them, but when we have problems, don't we panic and think we can't do it either? We must remember who our God is, call on Him and see He is mighty Arm revealed!

3. Proverbs 3:5 gives us excellent armor for our spiritual minds, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not upon your own understanding."

4. “But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14). “Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? (1 Cor. 1:20).