Perspective Matters

Introduction

Today I want to begin a short series, consisting of only a handful of messages, but I believe them to be profound in their subject matter, and absolutely vital for Christians to understand.

The Title of the Series is simply ‘Spiritual Warfare’

There’s a reason why Paul admonished the church in Ephesus to dress for battle! That is because we Christians are in battle. Constantly. Turn w/ me to Eph. 6; (Read Eph. 6:10-18;)

In the Spirit of 2Cor. 2:11 “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

Today we’re going to examine a battle of Spiritual Warfare - in the midst of a battle, some allowed the carnal to get the victory - and all it brought them was defeat. Today as we look at this story of the 12 spies of the COI, we’re going to hopefully give unto you this great Spiritual truth - Perspective Matters. The way you see things, how you view them matters.

Here at this point in the history of the COI, they have been delivered from slavery in Egypt, and are now on the verge of entering the land that God had promised them.

The first thing that I want to examine today is ‘Their Directions’

I. Their Directions

In this first point, I want you give you a few different principles that will be a help & blessing to you if you heed it.

Continue Moving Forward

What I mean by that is this: Egypt was way over yonder. They were in the wilderness, but God wanted them in Canaan’s Land. And in order for them to get to Canaan’s Land, they had to move forward.

So often we Christians get bogged down in the trivial things of life. We get caught in the muck & the mire of things of this world. Trials come upon us & tragedies befall us… and we get distracted. We seem to lose focus of several things:

What matters in this life

Who our God is

What our Purpose is

Because of this, we get to the point in our Christian walk where we come to a stand still. Maybe not a stand still, but a wandering around with no real purpose or destination.

It wasn’t God’s desire for the COI to wander around for years in the wilderness. He wanted them to move forward. However, they ended up wandering around because of the choices they made - and if you’re going to get out of your Spiritual rut, then you’re going to have to see things differently.

God wanted them to Continue Moving Forward

Following God’s Deliverance

One thing that is necessary to point out, is that the COI didn’t START out on the banks of the Jordan river. They started out on the other side of the Red Sea. They started out in Egypt.

The point I want to make here is that this decision wasn’t made in a vacuum. They had history to glean from. They know it & God does as well. (Num. 14:22)

Just prior to this, they saw God move in a mighty way! They, their parents, their grandparents & g.g. parents were slaves in Egypt - YET GOD moved upon the land - in the sight of everyone!

God turned the water into blood.

He brought the plagues of the frogs, the lice & the flies

He brought the pestilence, boils & Hail fire down upon the land

Then the locusts, 3 days of darkness & finally the death of all firstborn not under the blood of the lamb.

God brought them out of Egypt with a MIGHTY hand! This is all still fresh in their minds!

So when God gave them directions, they recieved them with having already experienced the miraculous power of God! They KNEW just how big God was - not from some story, but from their own experience! This is something that had to be taken into consideration.

So church let me just encourage you in this: Whenever & whatever you are going through, if you are struggling or having doubts - just look back & see what God has done!

Their Directions were following God’s Deliverance

Examine God’s Favor (v2a)

They were to examine God’s Favor.

We see in v2 that God instructs Moses to send them to search out the land “which I GIVE unto the Children of Israel”.

So as they are to examine this, they are to do it with the truth in mind that God has already given it to them. It’s a promise of God. It’s one that they can claim!

Church, some things aren’t a possibility - they are a foregone conclusion.

When God makes a promise - it’s something that you can count on! It’s something that you can rely on! I won’t go through the various promises throughout Scripture today, but I want you to know that we have a God that fulfills His Promises!

They were directed to examine God’s Favor

For the Sake of Others (v2b-3)

They were directed to do this, but it wasn’t simply for their own benefit - it was for the benefit of others. Others were going to rely not on what they saw, but what these spies saw. Those that weren’t going were dependent on those spies. They were counting on the leading and direction of those spies.

Church, as Christians this world is dependent upon us! We are God’s instrument - just as these spies were. We are to lead others in the right path - that’s our task! The very souls of others depends on decisions you and I make!

The Bible tells us: 2Cor. 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.”

Their Direction was for the Sake of Others

We see Their Direction - To continue moving forward, Following God’s Deliverance to Examine God’s Favor, For the Sake of Others

II. Their Observations

Next we’re going to look at what they saw.

It was an Exceeding Good Land (v23; 27; 14:7)

One thing that all 12 spies agreed on was that it was an exceeding good land.

It wasn’t barren wasteland. It wasn’t this desert place - it was FLOWING with milk and honey!

Last night I thought about the expression that God uses in Scripture to describe that land. God describes it that way to Moses on the backside of the desert in Ex. 3:8 “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.” Later on in Deut. 32:49 “Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession:” and of course the spies us that term here.

There’s I’m sure a lot to glean, but think on this: It’s a land ‘flowing’ - it’s a place of abundance! It’s flowing with milk - those things that are nourishing. Those things that are good for you and strengthen you. But it’s also flowing with honey - it also is a place of sweet delight! It’s not just a place of sustenance (that which you need), it’s a place of excess (that which brings you joy!) Remember what Jesus said: Joh. 10:10 “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

God will lead you to a place of life - but a place of MORE ABUNDANT life!

It was an exceeding good land - but it also had Exceeding Great Obstacles

It had Exceeding Great Obstacles (v28-29)

‘Nevertheless’… Yes - they all concede it was a good land, but there was also great obstacles as well. They begin to list them:

The people are strong there

Considering the substance of the land, I’m sure that the inhabitants were well fed. They had plenty of nourishment, and so logically they were substantial people. Contrasting that with the Israelites, who had all grown up in slavery were most likely less healthy as a rule.

The cities are walled there

This is of course an accurate report as we’ll learn of a particular place later in the book of Joshua called Jericho. Walls of course are formidable defences for any city.

The children of Anak were there

These were apparently people of renown as they addressed the multitude with them by name.

So while it was an exceeding good land, it also had exceeding great obstacles. But church let me say this: The good things in your life that you desire, there will always be obstacles that you must go through to attain.

That’s because the truly good things in life aren’t bought with money.

They are not physical things. They are Spiritual blessings.

They are blessings of the mind and soul.

They are peace, joy, hope, contentment, satisfaction, delight

And if you want those things, you’re going to have to fight for them. Because great enemies stand in the way.

Your flesh stands in the way

Satan stands in the way

This world stands in the way

There will always be Goliaths standing between you and victory.

We see that it had exceeding great obstacles

We see their Directions, and their Observations. Next we’ll see their perceptions

III. Their Perceptions

We’ve looked at what they saw - now we’re going to examine HOW they SAW IT. Because they all saw the same thing. They didn’t dispute what they saw, they disagreed with how they viewed what they saw.

The easiest illustration that I can give you is that some will see the glass half-full, while others see it as half-empty. They are looking at the same thing, but they view what they see differently.

This is where the rubber meets the road so to speak...

Some Perceived the Obstacles too Great (v31-33)

Out of the 12 spies, 10 came back with an evil report.

After Caleb spoke in v30, the 10 doubled down in their assessment of the land. They begin to double-speak saying that it has these great people in there, but the land eats up it’s inhabitants (v32)

It’s apparent that they were so spooked by those obstacles, that they were willing to say anything to dissuade the people from wanting to go into the land.

But the point I want to make is that these 10 spies were FOCUSED ON THE OBSTACLES! They were looking at themselves in comparison to the obstacles that lay before them. This was their perception. They looked and said ‘there is no way we can take that land’.

Some perceived the Obstacles too Great - while others Perceived their God was GREATER than the Obstacles!

Some Perceived their God was Greater (v30; 14:6-9)

While the others were comparing their obstacles to themselves, Joshua and Caleb were comparing their obstacles unto the God of Heaven! The God who delivered them from Egypt! The God who promised it unto them!

I want to remind you - THEY ALL SAW THE SAME THING! Joshua & Caleb didn’t go to some far corner of the land and looked up and missed it. They saw the SAME THING as the other 10 did - just they just looked at it differently. Joshua and Caleb didn’t have any special insight - they saw the same thing in Canaan’s Land, and they saw the same thing in Egypt.

Church, this is the problem in many a Christian life! They are looking at things wrong! They will examine all these problems & issues of life from a carnal perspective. They will allow Satan and the flesh to direct their eyes on the inferiorities instead of God’s Superiority!

There’s nothing wrong with examining the issues of life and acknowledging ‘These problems are great’, as long as we understand and follow that up with ‘BUT OUR GOD IS GREATER!’

It’s this very reason why Saul’s entire army was sitting on their thumbs on the hillside while Goliath stood taunting them for 30 days in the valley of Elah. They looked at that big man and compared themselves to him and sat there. David comes along and sees the same man, but instead of comparing Goliath with him, He compares Goliath to his GOD! That’s why David didn’t have a problem charging Goliath!

And I want to give you this one thing: I want you to know where the battle truly was. The battle wasn’t across the Jordan against the 31 kings during the conquest. That’s not where the battle was. That battle was a foregone conclusion. The battle was on this side of Jordan, in the minds of the spies. That’s where the true battle lied. Same with David. That battle in the valley where David chopped Goliath’s head off wasn’t the real battle. It was in the minds of the men sitting on the hillside.

Perspective Matters. The way we view things as a Christian matters. And we’re going to see just how much so in this last point.

We see their Directions, and their Observations, their Perceptions & lastly, their Culminations

IV. Their Culminations

When it was all said & done - what was the outcome?

The Ten (v14:36-37)

There were very real consequences for the 10 who God redeemed and then instead of trusting God by faith, they forsook the LORD and believed Him not.

Those 10 died by the plague shortly thereafter

The Two (v38+)

The two - Joshua & Caleb lived. Not only did they live, but God allowed them to reach Canaan’s Land later on. God used them in great ways, especially Joshua, who would take up the mantle and lead the COI into the land 40 years later - conquer it like God intended for them to do 40 years earlier.

The two were blessed for their faith in the LORD

The Multitude (v14:28-35)

These didn’t spy out the land. These were led astray by the people with the responsibility to stand in the gap for God. Because of the evil report by the 10 spies - God’s ambassadors - they ended up wandering around in the wilderness for 40 years and NEVER making their destination.

I pray this is a lesson to us. I pray that we don’t dissuade and discourage the multitude by looking at things carnally instead of Spiritually. I pray we don’t keep people from reaching the place God would have them by our lack of Spiritual Perception.

Perspective Matters - not just for you, but for all those who depend on you as well.

Conclusion

Church, God wants you to have victory over in Canaan’s Land - but you’ve got to first get the victory on this side of Jordan. You have to get the Spiritual Victory and start putting things in the proper perspective.