ADVANCING BEYOND THE AVERAGE

TEXT: NUMBERS 13:1-2

The Hymnologist spoke out of a heart of restlessness and discontent some moving and meaningful words; “my heart has no desire to stay where doubts arise and fears dismay; tho’ some may dwell where these abound, my prayer, my aim is higher ground”.

The piercing and profound lyrics of that song ought to echo the sentiment of every Child of God, and every congregation of the Churches of Christ. Everyone who has ever experienced the goodness and greatness of God ought to have a spirit of conquest. We ought to have an ambitious and audacious faith.

I think I ought to remind us that we serve a mighty God. If we have the faith God has the power. We can:

· Move beyond the mediocre

· Advance beyond the average

· Break free of the lock down of doing the least

· Get out of the jail of doing just enough to get by

· Escape the ordinary and embrace the extraordinary

· Leave the minimum and lock onto the maximum

I come to this incident in the life of the people of God as they stand on the threshold of realizing God’s purpose for them. All they have to do is seize what God has already graciously granted. What was to be the moment of their greatest triumph became a moment of great tragedy. All because they did not trust God enough to go all the way with Him.

In many ways we stand at a critical junction of our history with God. I believe God wants to do mighty, marvelous and magnificent things with us, to us and through us. The question is will we shrink back from the challenges before us? Israel did and ended up meandering in a maze of mediocrity for 40 years.

My prayer is that we will trust God enough to go all the way with God

I. MOBILIZATION (V.1-3)

Num 13:1-3

13:1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them." 3 So Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the LORD, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel.

NKJV

No one has ever accomplished anything by standing still. You can never get anywhere by going nowhere. As the people of God we must be on our way somewhere.

For 400 hundred years these ex slaves had been held in bondage. God in His matchless and measureless grace broke the chains of their Egyptian slavery. He sent them a liberator named Moses. God broke the stubborn will of Pharaoh and Israel went marching forth towards a place that God had promised.

That must have been some sight. By some estimates there were over 2 million ex slaves marching to the rhythm of new found freedom. Look at them they are on their way somewhere.

Now in our text they stand just across the way from what they had long hoped and prayed for. They have arrived here because someone made plans for them to be there. Plans were made, people were mobilized and now victory is within their grasp.

Many congregations fail not because of a lack of talent, money, people, or opportunity. They fail because they never planned to succeed. There are so many congregations that go from one year to the next without any sense of:

· Purpose

· Drive

· Determination

· Goals

· Direction

If we fail to plan we will plan to fail. I think I ought to tell you that aiming at nothing is the easiest target to hit. Planning and goal setting is the place where success begins or failure starts. If you don’t know where you are going, when you get there you want know where you are.

No one has ever accomplished great things for God who did not first attempt great things for God. The sad and shocking truth is that many Christians are:

· Half hearted

· Half interested

· Half involved

· Half stepping

The average Christian hardly ever prays, studies the word or shares their faith. The Average member of the Church hardly ever gives as they proper, is really committed to the cause of Christ, or actively participates in ministry, Ps 116:12

12 What shall I render to the LORD

For all His benefits toward me?

NKJV

To be faithful and fruitful in what God has given us to do we must move forward with calculated and consecrated plans. We must mobilize and move out. We must never become:

· Distracted

· Disrupted

· Dissuaded

· Divided

· Defeated

For many Christianity is doing just enough to get by. I declare He has never let us down, and I think I ought to tell you, He never will. I said He never will, I declare II. DETERMINATION

Within sight of their land of hope and promise these people fail to lay hold on to what was given them by the promise of God. All they had to do was go over and possess what was given them by promise.

Instead of moving forward they decided it would be smart to send out some spies on a reconicence mission. Now there is nothing wrong with committees as long as those on the committee are actually committed. 12 men went out to investigate the land. Upon their return even though they saw the same things, 2 different conclusions were drawn.

When the business meeting was to called to order on the agenda were the majority report and the minority report. The majority report was presented by 10 of the spies, while the minority only 2 spies presented the report.

· The majority said “we can’t”

· The minority said “we can”

· The majority said “no way”

· The minority said “God’s way”

Have you ever noticed that you can always find people who can come up with a dozen reasons why the Church can’t do something? Some people specialize in discovering why things won’t work.

Loan me a moment your sanctified imagination and let’s listen in on this Church meeting. The spies are now ready to read their reports.

A. THE MAJORITY REPORT- The ten men stood up to make the majority report. Let’s listen to them as they summarize:

· First of all it must be admitted that the land is there just like God said

· We must also admit that it is a land plenteous in provisions and rich in resources. It indeed is a land that “flows with milk and honey”

· However there is a problem. What God forgot to tell us is that the land is occupied and the cities are fortified

· It must have also escaped God’s mind to mention the giants of Anak that happens to live over there

· We may as well pack up and go back because there is no way we can win

So they read the report; “WHEREAS WE HAVE SPIED OUT THE LAND, AND WHEREAS WE HAVE DISCOVERED CERTAIN FACTS TO WIT; THAT IT IS OCCUPIED BY GIANTS; AND WHEREAS WE HAVE LEARNED THAT WE WERE MISTAKEN TO THINK WE COULD EVER POSSES THE LAND; BE IT RESOLVED THAT WE GIVE UP OUR DREAMS AND TURN OUR FACES BACK TO EGYPT”.

Upon hearing the majority report with its motion to return to Egypt the people were in an uproar. In fact in chapt. 14:4 tells us a motion was made to declare the pulpit vacant, get rid of Moses, and begin a search committee to find a new leader to lead them back to Egypt. Num 14:1-4

14:1 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" 4 So they said to one another, "Let us select a leader and return to Egypt."

NKJV

B. THE MINORITY REPORT- There was so much commotion that Joshua and Caleb had difficulty getting the floor to give the minority report. The minority report was signed only by these two;

· “your motion brethren is both irrational and illogical

· if we go back who will feed us manna this time

· if we go back who will give us water in dry and barren places

· if we go back who will help us or heal us when the snakes start biting again

· if we go back what are we going to do about the Red sea this time

· God is not in the backward going business

· God was with us as we moved forward guided by His pillar of cloud during the day and a pillar of fire at night

· Under this new arrangement who will guide us, who will provide for us?

The minority report reads, “WHEREAS WE HAVE SPIED OUT THE LAND AND HAVE FOUND IT TO BE AN EXCEEDINGLY GOOD LAND, BE IT RESOLVED THAT WE GO UP AT ONCE AND POSSES IT, FOR WE ARE WELL ABLE TO OVERCOME IT”.

How is it that these two groups see the same things on the reconnaissance mission but they came up with two opposite messages? It has to do with attitudes. Your attitude really does determine your altitude.

“We can’t should never be in the vocabulary of the people of God. I concur with my Preacher from the Gateway city, so often we are crippled by our own “I can’t”. I can’t:

· Get past my pain

· Overcome my obstacle

· Get beyond my grief

· Forgive those who hurt me

· Drop my grudges

· Endure this trial

· Control my tongue

· Break this habit

· Accomplish my goals

· Do God’s will

· Achieve my plans

· Overcome temptation

· Do this job

· Solve this problem

· Handle my hurts

· Do any better

· Be any better

I can’t, I can’t, I can’t! Of course you can’t we an attitude like that. Can’t always can’t, only can can! Success comes in cans. Phil 4:13

13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. NKJV

III. PERSPIRATION (14:24-25)

Num 14:24

24 But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it

NKJV

God calls Caleb His “servant”. The Hebrew word is EBED, and means, “a slave”. It describes one who is a laborer, it denotes one who is engaged in hard work.

God had given Caleb the land but he had to go out and posses it. In order to posses the land Caleb had to deal with the Amalikites. He had to deal with the giants.

There is work involved in slaying giants. I think I ought to tell you there is no triumph without try and UMPH. Success is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration.

God has given us the victory but we must be engaged in the battle. Those members of the majority never possessed the land because of their unwillingness to pay the price.

The book says Caleb had “another spirit”. He believed that if we have the faith, God “sho” got the power! We need more people with the spirit of Caleb. People with another spirit, a spirit that:

· Defeat doubts

· Overcomes oppositions

· Faces down fears

· Solves problems

· Handles hardships

· Tackles responsibilities

· Seizes opportunities

· Moves beyond the mediocre

I declare we need people with another spirit, a spirit of audacious faith in an awesome God. The strongest thing about us as the people of God is not:

· The palatial facilities in which we worship

· The stirring eloquence of our preachers

· The multifaceted talent of our members

No, the greatest thing about us is the God we serve! We can attempt great things for God because we can always expect great things from God.