The Call and The Challenge (3)
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The Call and the Challenge
The Call and the Challenge
And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
I. Names to Remember
A. Let me give you some names of some people and tell me if you've ever heard of them?
1. Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi, Geuel
2. Alright, let me give you the names of a couple of guys they hung out with for over a month.
3. Caleb, Joshua.
4. Why is it we know the names of Caleb and Joshua, but not the rest?
5. That's what we're going to talk about this morning.
6. It is found in Numbers 13:26-33.
II. This is a familiar story for most of us.
A. The Israelites were nearing the Promised Land.
1. The Lord tells Moses to send some men into the Promised Land to check it out.
2. The ten I mentioned earlier, along with Caleb and Joshua, were selected as the explorers.
3. Moses gave them specific things to look for and report back.
4. So off these twelve men went.
5. It took them forty days to see all they needed to see and report back to Moses and the Israelites.
B. So they gave their report.
1. "It flows with milk and honey" (v.27).
And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
2. "This is its fruit" (v.27).
27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
3. Verse 23 says "And they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs."
And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.
4. That's one big bunch of grapes!
5. So for, so good.
C. BUT...(v.28)
Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
1. Why has there always got to be a "but" with God's people?
2. BUT..."the people who dwell in the land are strong" (v.28).
3. BUT..."the cities are fortified and very large" (v.28).
4. BUT..."we saw the descendants of Anak there" (v.29).
5. BUT...there were all kinds of people there: The Amalekites, the Hittites, Jebusites.
6. BUT..."We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are" (v.31).
7. BUT..."The land...is a land that devours its inhabitants" (v.32).
8. BUT..."all the people that we saw in it are of great height" (v.32).
9. BUT..."we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers"(v.33).
D. Boy, that was great for the morale of the rest of the Israelites.
1. "So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report" (v.32).
2. "Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night" (14:1).
3. "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt" (14:2).
4. "Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword" (14:3).
5. "Our wives and our little ones will become a prey" (14:4).
6. "Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt" (14:4).
E. However, there was a voice with the minority opinion.
1. Caleb - "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it" (v.30).
2. Caleb and Joshua - "The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them" (14:7-9).
And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.
God doesn’t follow the majority opinion. He always sets aside for Himself a remnant. A chosen people. Those who are willing to follow Him. No matter what may come.
F. Why do we know Caleb and Joshua better than the other 10?
1. Because of their faith in the Lord.
2. They believed God.
3. They took Him at His Word.
G. Lets back up to 13:1 and 13:2.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.
1. Do you see it?
2. It's obvious, isn't it, what the Lord said in these verses?
3. "...which I am giving to the people of Israel" (v.2).
4. God had promised the Israelites, more than once, that He was giving them the Land.
5. That land that they had explored and came back whining about was already promised to them.
III. God had made a promise to the Israelites but there would be a challenge in receiving the promise.
A. God had called the Israelites to be His people.
1. They would be the light of God to all nations.
2. He had promised them the Promised Land as their home.
3. They would have the land promised to them since God promised their ancestor, Abraham.
4. All they had to do was take it.
B. But there was to be a challenge to the Israelites.
1. They would have to go into the Promised Land and take it.
2. If there were giants in that land, then the Promise of God included war.
3. If they were bigger, then they would have to trust in the God who promised them the land.
4. If there were things that they couldn't overcome on their own, then it was God's problem.
5. "God would give them victory in the battle, but He would not fight their battle for them" (Erwin McManus, Chasing Daylight, p. 158).
They had to be obedient.
6. They had a calling to go; would they trust God and go?
7. They had a promise to receive if they would go; would they receive that promise?
C. We all know how it turned out.
1. The entire Israelite nation had a choice to make: stay or go?
2. The Israelites rebelled, and all of them but two died in the desert, just like they asked in 14:2.
And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!
3. Forty years later, out of the twelve, only two, Caleb and Joshua, made it into the Promised Land.
IV. What does any of this have to do with us today?
A. We have a similar call.
1. We are to be the representatives, the ambassadors of Jesus Christ, in this world (see 2 Cor 5:20).
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.
2. We are called to go into all the world, making disciples (see Matt. 28:19-20).
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
μαθητεύω (mathēteuō). vb. to make a disciple. Used to indicate the action of causing another to become a disciple; the passive forms indicate being or becoming a disciple.The active forms of this verb mean “to make a disciple.” When Jesus gives his disciples the Great Commission (Matt 28:19), he commands them to make disciples (mathēteuō) of all nations. Jesus clarifies this command by instructing them to baptize these converts in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as well as to teach them to do all that he commanded. Again, the individual who becomes a disciple must alter his behavior as well as his mind.
3. We are called to be His witnesses at home and abroad (see Acts 1:8).
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
4. We are called to reflect the image of Jesus Christ in our lives and to the people we meet.
5. We are to take this world for Jesus Christ.
B. We have a similar promise.
1. "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matt 28:20).
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen
2. "Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you" (Joshua 1:5).
There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
3. "And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth" (John 14:16-17).
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
4. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you" (Acts 1:8).
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
C. We have a similar challenge.
1. Believing God.
++2. Obeying God.
++3. Fighting the battles we'll face answering His call on our lives and believing the promises He's made.
V. Like the Israelites, we have two choices:
A. Choice #1 (The Choice of the Ten, the Majority):
Avoid the Call, Ignore the Promise, and Run from the Challenge.
1. We can act as if God has never called us into the fight.
a. We can pass on the battle to those who are professionals.
b. We can avoid the call by filling up our lives with things that don't have any eternal significance.
2. We can ignore the promise.
a. We can say the task is too big.
b. We can believe that Jesus can't really change the world.
3. We can run from the challenge.
a. We can coop ourselves up with people who feel just like we do.
b. We can make excuses and name reasons why Christians ought not get their hands dirty.
4. We can suffer the same result as the Ten.
a. They were useless to God (see 14:36-37).
b. Their avoiding, ignoring, and running cost them any chance of ever doing anything for the Lord.
B. Choice #2 (The Choice of Caleb and Joshua):
Live the Call, Believe the Promise, and Takethe Challenge.
1. They had to suffer for forty years because of the choices of the majority.
2. But when the time came, they lived the call.
3. We can live the call.
a. We can determine now that we will live the life and share the Word.
4. We can believe the promise.
a. We can choose to believe that Jesus is telling us the truth: WE ARE NOT ALONE.
5. We can take the challenge.
a. We can wade into the battle for the souls of the lost.
6. We can gain the same results as Caleb and Joshua.
a. Joshua led the battle as Moses' replacement.
b. Caleb fought at eighty years old and won.
VI. What's your choice today?
A. Choice #1 or Choice #2?
Avoid the Call, Ignore the Promise, and Run from the Challenge.
Live the Call, Believe the Promise, and Take the Challenge
Will you trust God today or will you turn your back on Him, His call, His promise, and challenge?
Jesus accepted the challenge. He came to earth, lived as a man, suffered and dies on a cross for you. His death was humiliating, agonizing and the sins of the world were poured out upon him.
Because of Jesus, we can accept the challenge and overcome. It’s through Him that we are more than conquerors and it is through Him, that we will have eternal life.
