Winning God's Way

Scripture: Numbers 14:1-10; Luke 10:19-20; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11

Theme: Winning God’s Way

Proposition: The Bible reveals to us how to live a victorious life in the midst of our struggles, our trials and tribulations.

INTRO:

Grace and peace from God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit!

I want to talk to you today about being a winner.

I want to talk to you today about having a breakthrough in your life that can lead you to experiencing a life of victory.

The LORD did not create any of us to be losers. He did not create any of us to spend our years here on this earth regretting the very day we were born. He did not breathe life into us for us to live a substandard and marginalized existence.

Just the opposite; the more you read God’s Word the more you read how it is the Lord’s desire for us to live a life of joy, peace and love. The more you read God’s Word the more you now that is the Lord’s desire for us to live a life of victory, prosperity and happiness.

One of the biggest temptations and lies that the Devil whispers in all of our ears is that we are not worthy to be happy or successful. One of the biggest lies that the Devil places before our minds is that God doesn’t care about us and has abandoned us to a life full of fear, of heartache and depression.

We must always remember when we have those thoughts they are never from the LORD. They always originate with the One who wants to steal from us, lie to us and destroy us.

This is exactly where we find the Children of Israel in Numbers chapter 14.

This was supposed to be their coming out chapter. This was supposed to be the first of a series of victories and triumphs. This was supposed to be the beginning of what they had been dreaming for hundreds of years.

Ever since they had left the Promise Land under Jacob and had settled in Egypt they had wanted to come back to the land God had given them. It was a land filled with milk and honey. In other words, it was a land that they could raise their livestock, grow their crops and enjoy the natural fruits of the land. It was a land that was the perfect place to raise their families.

Moses had sent out 12 spies to go and gather some data that they could use to be able to take the land in a matter of weeks and months. Moses had sent out some of his brightest minds and most courageous hearts to come back with a plan to go and take the Promise Land. God had told them it was their land for the taking.

But what happened was that the people who went out to spy the land became overwhelmed. They allowed the Devil to deceive their eyes, weaken their faith and destroy their resolve. They allowed the Devil to magnify the negative around them to the point they could only see problems and trials that looked like giants.

Instead of wanting to go forward the move now was to go backward. Instead of being eager to go into the Promise Land they wanted to return back to their lives of slavery back in Egypt. Instead of enjoying the life God had rescued them from they wanted to go back to a life of enslavement and poverty.

They knew how to be slaves. They knew how to live under someone else’s thumb. They knew how to have someone else tell them where to live and what to do. They knew how to bare their backs for a beating.

That kind of life had become a part of their DNA. For hundreds of years they had been beaten down and trampled upon. That type of life was natural for them.

But God had something radically different for them. He had called Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to be victors and not victims. He had blessed them to men of renown with thousands of sheep, cattle, goats and other livestock. He had blessed them to be leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs.

Now, it was time for their great-great-grandchildren and beyond to receive from the LORD blessings and favor. Now, it was time for their people to take their rightful place in the world and be owners of the Promise Land.

However, in their way were a group of people who for the last 300-400 years had occupied the land that God had given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They were a formidable people. They were strong in wisdom, in knowledge and in military prowess.

Among them lived some of the descendants of the Nephilim. This was a race of people that many believed were hybrid humans; humans that had been genetically modified. This was a race that many believed possessed great statue, supernatural strength and cunningness. This was a race of people that many at that time believed were to powerful to ever conquer or vanish.