These Grapes Aren't Sour

Intro

Who here likes grapes?

Green or purple?

The Fox & The Grapes

A Fox one day spied a beautiful bunch of ripe grapes hanging from a vine trained along the branches of a tree. The grapes seemed ready to burst with juice, and the Fox's mouth watered as he gazed longingly at them.

The bunch hung from a high branch, and the Fox had to jump for it. The first time he jumped he missed it by a long way. So he walked off a short distance and took a running leap at it, only to fall short once more. Again and again he tried, but in vain. Now he sat down and looked at the grapes in disgust.

"What a fool I am," he said. "Here I am wearing myself out to get a bunch of sour grapes that are not worth gaping for." And off he walked very, very scornfully.

There are many who pretend to despise and belittle that which is beyond their reach.

The biggest obstacle to God’s promise’s is ourselves.

Text

Numbers 13:17–20 CEB

17 When Moses sent them out to explore the land of Canaan, he said to them, “Go up there into the arid southern plain and into the mountains. 18 You must inspect the land. What is it like? Are the people who live in it strong or weak, few or many? 19 Is the land in which they live good or bad? Are the towns in which they live camps or fortresses? 20 Is the land rich or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous and bring back the land’s fruit.” It was the season of the first ripe grapes.

Numbers 13:25–27 CEB

25 They returned from exploring the land after forty days. 26 They went directly to Moses, Aaron, and the entire Israelite community in the Paran desert at Kadesh. They brought back a report to them and to the entire community and showed them the land’s fruit. 27 Then they gave their report: “We entered the land to which you sent us. It’s actually full of milk and honey, and this is its fruit.

Numbers 13:31–33 CEB

31 But the men who went up with him said, “We can’t go up against the people because they are stronger than we.” 32 They started a rumor about the land that they had explored, telling the Israelites, “The land that we crossed over to explore is a land that devours its residents. All the people we saw in it are huge men. 33 We saw there the Nephilim (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We saw ourselves as grasshoppers, and that’s how we appeared to them.”

God’s faithfulness is bigger than your fear.

Fear is often the reason that we give up on the vision that God has for us.

Numbers 14:11 CEB

11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people disrespect me? And how long will they doubt me after all the signs that I performed among them?

Fear is disrespect of God.

The only respectable fear is the fear of God

Proverbs 1:7 CEB

7 Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Faith and fear cannot coexist. You either have one or the other.

Do not fear it if the Lord is in it!

Numbers 14:8–9 CEB

8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he’ll bring us into this land and give it to us. It’s a land that’s full of milk and honey. 9 Only don’t rebel against the Lord and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are our prey. Their defense has deserted them, but the Lord is with us. So don’t be afraid of them.

Application

1. List all your fears and express them to God.

Sometimes merely listing your fears will reveal the power that God has over them.

2. What are you fearing that may never come to pass?

3. What is the worst that could happen?

Conclusion

Do you desire the good grapes?

What would it look like to live in faith instead of fear?

What could God accomplish if we stepped out in faith?