Whose Report

Numbers 13:26–33 NIV84

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.”

1. The evidence reveals God’s faithfulness

The saw everything God said would be there

They brought back some of the fruit God had prepared for them

The land was flowing with milk and honey

God speaks truth

God is faithful

When God says something, He will fulfill it

His promises are yes and amen

He is the same yesterday, today, and forever more

The evidence tells me that He will bless me

The evidence tells me that He will heal me

The evidence tells me that He will provide for me

The evidence tells me that He will protect me

The evidence tells me that He is fighting the battle for me

The evidence reveals His power

That is a good report

2. The tongue has the power of life and death

There is power in your speech; Prov 18:21 “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

We need to learn to control our speech;

James says, James 3:3-9 “3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. 7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness.”

We need to work on taming our tongue

There is a reason why God gave us two ears and one mouth, James 1:19 “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,”

Listen, then listen again, after you listened, then listen again

There is a saying something like “If people think you are a fool, you can either, open your mouth and prove them true, or prove them wrong with your actions”

If you must speak, then speak life

Speak life over Arise Church, the leaders, the partners, the visitors, the vision, the mission, the ministries; speak life

Speak life over your marriage, your spouse, your children, your job, your future, your finances,

The 10 spies spoke death

Caleb spoke life to the plan of God—Joshua was with him

There is power is what you say and do—especially when you are a leader

Whose Report are you speaking

3. Fear makes you a coward

Fear requires the same amount of strength to believe

Fear believes the worse that can happen

Fear makes the things that are not as though they were

Fear sounds like faith, except it focuses on the negative

Since this is the year to reFOCUS, let’s focus on the positive

Let’s focus on the promises of God

Don’t be a coward—be strong and courageous

Substitute your fear with faith

The Israelites chose to believe the 10 cowards instead of the 2 courageous spies

God is able, do you have the faith to believe it?

4. Faith give you strength and courage

Faith looks at the evidence and encourages you to believe the impossible

Faith is the greatest weapon we have; Heb 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Without faith, we lose

Without faith, we are wasting our time

Without faith, there is no reason to come to church

Without faith, we arrived at our future

We must believe

Faith heals the sick

Faith opens blind eyes

Faith opens deaf ears

Faith causes the lame to walk

Faith brings the dead to life

Faith moves mountains

Faith built the ark

Faith killed the giant Goliath—become a giant slayer

Faith equips you for victory

Whose report

5. Whose report will you believe

Only 12 spies saw the land

All 12 saw that everything God said was there was really there

All the people saw the evidence the spies brought back

At that point, everyone was on the same page

When the going gets tough the tough keep moving

When the going gets tough the week retreat

Heb 10:39 “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.”

10 spies were afraid of the people

2 spies believed God’s promise

10 were coward and made other cowards

2 were courageous

At the end of 40 years, only 2 spies from all the adults entered the Promise Land

The promises are for those that don’t shrink back

The miracles are for the courageous

Have the courage to believe for your miracle

Speak things that are not as though they are

Speak life into your family

Speak life into your bank account

Speak life to your creativity

Speak life to your success

Speak life to the vision of the house

Whose Report