Introduction:
I Will Doubt... (Numbers 13:1-14:38)
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If I Am Paralyzed by MY CIRCUMSTANCES . (Num 13:25-33)
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If I Choose the Comfort of MY PAST . (Num 14:1-4)
Romans 6:20-21 - For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
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If I Tune Out GODLY COUNSEL . (Num 14:5-10a)
James 1:22-25 - But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
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If I Follow the CROWD . (Num 14:10b-38)
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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Well, please turn your Bibles to Numbers chapter 13. Numbers chapter 13.
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Now, as you turn there, I have a question for you. Have you ever been sent on a spy mission?
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Really, nobody. I was sent on a spy mission in college. Do you want to hear about it?
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All right, so in college, I worked for a pet sitting service. I would walk dogs, feed cats, and stay at people's houses while they were on vacation. And one day, my boss asked me to come into her office, and she sat me down for story time. Apparently, she had a client who was a local celebrity, who I won't name here, but this guy was having romantic troubles, to say the least. He and his girlfriend couldn't even be in the same room as each other anymore. And so he asked her to move out and take her stuff with her.
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And I thought to myself, okay. Interesting, but what does this have to do with me? My boss told me, well, our client doesn't want to go to the house to see if his girlfriend has left or not. He wants one of us to do it. He's going to pay us to do it. And you're the only guy on my payroll, and I don't want to ask the women to do it. Don't worry, you're not breaking and entering. We have his garage code. We have his permission. I know this is a lot to ask, but I'll pay After a lot of reassurance, I would not be arrested or stabbed.
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I drove over to this guy's house, and I sat on his street for a while.
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Just like, what am I doing?
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And there was no car in the driveway.
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So I eventually get the courage to get out of my car, walk up the driveway.
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I peek into the garage.
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It's empty.
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Type in the garage code.
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Slip in.
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And I just keep yelling out, hello, hello.
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Don't worry.
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I'm not a burglar. Your boyfriend sent me over. I don't know if that would have really been helpful. Or not. I don't really know. It's what I said. I was really nervous. I wasn't getting sneak attacked or pepper sprayed. But it became very clear that the woman was not there. But here's the problem. All of her stuff was still there. So I had to go back to my boss and our client with a bad report. The woman is gone, but her stuff ain't.
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I knew that my boss and my client would not be very happy with this bad report from my spy mission. This morning we are studying a biblical spy mission. Twelve Israelite spies are sent on an important assignment and most of the spies come back with a report that won't make Moses or God himself very happy. In my case, I simply reported what I saw all those years ago.
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But when it comes to the Israelite spies, the unfaithful Israelite spies, they report what they wanted to see. They report what they saw through the eyes of fear when they should report on what they saw through the eyes of faith. These unfaithful spies experience doubt. And at its core, doubt is distrust in the character, purposes, and promises of God. They allow doubt to cloud their vision and make their decisions for them.
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What about you? You may not be a spy like me, but can you relate to the 10 unfaithful spies at all? Do you ever experience doubt? Do you ever look at your life through the eyes of fear instead of the eyes of faith?
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Do you ever allow doubt to cloud your vision and make your decisions for you? We are taking a short pause on the book of 1 Corinthians to focus on the books of Exodus and Numbers. This is the second week of our latest series for our example, Ancient Warnings for the Church today. Ancient Israel's history of disobedience should be studied for the sake of our obedience.
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today. Throughout Exodus and Numbers, the Israelites set negative examples for us to avoid, and God provides warnings that we should not ignore. Last week, we studied the golden calf incident at Mount Sinai, and we received the warning to not be idolaters. This morning, we will receive another warning from God. Do not be doubters. Do not be doubters.
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You know, heeding this warning, listening to this command from God may be a tall order for some of you. We live in such a stressed out and anxious culture where worry is normalized and excused. Everyone is worried about something. Politics, gas prices, the economy, house projects, young children inside the home, grown-up children outside the home.
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the home, personal appearance, public opinion, the list is endless. You know, worry and doubt are not just problems out there. Worry and doubt are problems in this room. The outside culture has invaded the church. Many professing Christians are just as stressed out and worried as the unbelievers around them.
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of faithful dependence upon God, we can so often be negative examples of disbelief in God and his plans for our lives. Maybe your worry is obvious to everyone around you besides you. Maybe you justify your worry in saying, well, I can't help it. This is my personality type. There's nothing I can do. Or maybe you are very well aware of your anxiety.
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The doubts pile up in your mind, and you don't know what to do next. You don't know how to handle this serious issue. Thankfully, no matter where you fall on the spectrum of doubt, the Lord tells you what to do next in His Word. In Numbers chapter 13 through 14, the Lord calls you to avoid the negative examples of the 10 unfaithful Israelite spies, and He calls you to follow the positive of the two faithful spies. In these chapters, God shines a light on the potholes and pitfalls that will trip you up and cause you to fall into doubt. So before we continue, let's go to the Lord and ask for his help. Please pray for me. I will faithfully proclaim God's word and I will pray for you that you will faithfully receive God's word. Father, you have never once given us a reason to doubt you.
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But we come before you today to acknowledge that we doubt you all the time.
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We worry, we stress, we give ourselves over to anxiety.
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Father, we repent of this and we ask for your help to change.
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May you use your word to transform us.
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May you use your word to remind us of your past faithfulness.
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So the Israelites have escaped slavery in Egypt. They were delivered from the Egyptian army and they passed through the Red Sea. Last week we learned they survived their horrible act of idolatry at the base of Mount Sinai.
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of disobedience, they're finally at the edge of the promised land. They made it. This journey was a lot harder than it needed to be, but they're finally here. It's like when you're driving on vacation in bumper to bumper traffic and your kids are arguing the whole time. The trip was really painful, but it's going to be worth it, right? The trip's going to be worth it. The destination is going to make all that worth it, right?
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of the Israelites. Not so much when it comes to the Israelite family vacation.
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They botched the trip to the promised land, and they're about to botch the trip into the promised land.
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Twelve spies are sent to spy out the land, scope out the enemies that occupy it, and bring back a report.
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Before they head out, Moses gives them a pep talk in chapter 13, verse 20.
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He says, be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land. As you discussed, only two of the spies listen to Moses. Only two of them are of good courage and bring back a good report. Ten of them are cowards and they bring back a very negative report. These men choose to travel down the path that leads to doubt. And their path to doubt is the same exact path to doubt that you and I willingly walk down all the time.
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So what is the path to doubt?
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There are four attitudes and actions that will lead you to doubting the Lord and His good purposes for you.
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So on your outline, I will doubt if I am paralyzed by my circumstances.
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I will doubt if I am paralyzed by my circumstances.
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Let's read verses 25-27 of chapter 13.
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It flows with milk and honey. And this is its fruit. So far, so good, right? The first section of this report seems faithful. They give a positive description of the land. It's flowing with milk and honey. They even obey Moses' command and bring back some of the fruit of the land. Good job, guys. Well, this thumbs up is about to turn to a thumbs down. Very quickly, this report goes off the rails in verses 28 through 29.
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However, that's when it goes wrong. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large, and besides, we saw the descendants of Anaknir.
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The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negev.
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The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country.
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And the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the Jordan.
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They're doing great until that, however, changes everything.
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Yes, the land has a lot of flocks.
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It has a lot of fruit.
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It's a great land.
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But the people there are really scary.
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They are freakishly tall.
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They have huge cities with massive walls.
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They are way too strong.
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There are enemies everywhere.
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The unfaithful spies overshadow the goodness of the land with their however talk.
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They downplay God's good gift to them, and they overhype the obstacles in their way.
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You and I are great at this kind of however talk as well.
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You think to yourself, yeah, I should be more present at home and engaging with my kids.
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However, I'm just so exhausted when I get home.
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I have nothing left to give.
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Oh, I know I should take part in the New Testament reading plans that they're doing at Harvest. However, I'm just way too busy to commit to something like that. Maybe whenever life slows down. I should lead my family in devotions. However, I don't really know what I would say. I don't really know what I would do, so I'm just going to avoid that. I know I should share my faith and tell people about Jesus. However, I'm an introvert.
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And it really makes me uncomfortable to do that. However talk leads to doubt. Doubt leads to disobedience. And disobedience leads to a denial of the blessings that God wants to give to you. A voice of reason cuts through their however talk in verse 30. Caleb, one of the faithful spies, speaks up for God and tells the truth. He calls people to action. Look at verse 30. But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, let us go up at once and occupy it for we are well able to overcome it. The unfaithful spies are dumping gasoline on the fire and fueling the fear of the people. The Israelites must respond in a loud panic because Caleb has to shut them up. He says, shush them so that they will listen to them.
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And Caleb says, guys, let's stop talking and let's start going. We will defeat them. This is Caleb's epic movie moment. He is rallying the troops like William Wallace and Braveheart or Theoden in Lord of the Rings. If this were a movie, the epic music would blast. They would all raise their swords and storm the promised land. Happy ending. Is that what happens?
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Now, the response to Caleb's epic speech is more however talk. The unfaithful spies ratchet up. They intensify their bad report in verses 31 through 33. Then the men who had gone up with him said, we are not able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we are. A.K.A. they are stronger than God.
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So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out saying the land through which we have gone to spy out is a land that devours its inhabitants and all the people that we saw in it are of a great height and there we saw the Nephilim the sons of Anak who come from the Nephilim and we seem to ourselves like grasshoppers and so we seemed to them. In verse 27 They mix in a positive description of the land. It's flowing with milk and honey. In these verses, they are straight negative. Now on second thought, the land isn't so great. Actually, it's a terrible place that will destroy us, that will devour us, and the people there are way too strong. We will lose if we go. What is their problem? Why are they saying these things?
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making a bad decision you'll say and do just about anything to carry that out you'll exaggerate you'll lie you'll steamroll over others who disagree with you never underestimate the power of fear and its ability to distort your perception of reality the unfaithful spies are paralyzed by what they saw in the promised land and they are too and do what God said.
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Can you relate to the ten unfaithful spies at all?
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Do you ever exaggerate your problems?
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Do you ever catastrophize your life?
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Do you feel paralyzed by your circumstances right now and unable to move forward?
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Maybe you are paralyzed by the difficult circumstances of your marriage right now.
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Your marriage hasn't been good for months, maybe even years, and you've given up hope that it will ever change, so you just sleepwalk through life.
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Maybe you are paralyzed by the difficult circumstances of your children not really caring about Jesus, constantly disobeying you, and you've just given up.
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You doubt that things will ever change. So you wave the white flag. Maybe the difficult circumstance you are paralyzed by right now is a relational strain in your life. You and a family member haven't talked for a long time. Whenever you're in the same room, there's a lot of tension. And you doubt that it will ever improve. So you stop doing your part in reconciling the relationship. Maybe you are paralyzed by the difficult circumstance of a very hard decision that you need to make very soon. And you think to yourself, there's no way there will be a positive outcome to this, so it doesn't really matter what I decide. You're paralyzed. You don't know what to do, so you decide to do nothing. You decide to disobey the Lord. And please hear me, I know that many of you are going through an intense season of suffering. Some of which I know, some of which I don't know. You're experiencing loss, isolation, sickness, deep wounds in your family. The hits keep on coming and you don't see an end in sight. I do not want to minimize your pain, but I do want to maximize your view of the Lord. You will continue to be paralyzed by your circumstances until you choose to focus on the God who is far greater and far stronger than your circumstances. You may have been thrown for a loop by what happened to you, but God wasn't. Instead of being paralyzed by the immensity of your problems, be encouraged by the immensity of your God. When you have a small vision of God, your problems seem unbelievably out of control.
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But when you have a big vision of a big God, your problems are teeny tiny in comparison.
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Small God, big problems.
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Big God, small problems.
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Do that with me.
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Small God, big problems.
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Big God, small problems.
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Remember, I will doubt if I am paralyzed by my circumstances.
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Secondly, I will doubt if I choose the comfort of my past. I will doubt if I choose the comfort of my past. The day after a presidential election is a fascinating social experiment, isn't it? Does the losing side really respond with grace and poise? Almost never. You turn on the TV, no matter who wins, no matter who loses, there is a temper tantrum.
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There's upset feelings. There's even crying. People threatening to leave the country, which never actually happens. I've never seen that. People actually follow through on that. The Israelites react to this bad report in a very similar way at the beginning of Numbers 14. Look at verses 1 through 4 of chapter 14. Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
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The whole congregation said to them, Would that we had died in the land of Egypt, or would that we had died in the wilderness?
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Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword?
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Our wives and our little ones will become a prey.
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Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?
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And they said to one another, Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.
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Wouldn't you know it, it's pity party time.
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The Israelites are feeling bad for themselves. Do you see yourself in this response at all? I know that I do. I had a very bad reaction a few weeks ago. I had a very long and frustrating day, and I just wanted to go to bed. Anybody else, has that ever happened to you? You're just like, I'm just done with this day. I want to start over fresh tomorrow. And I thought to myself, you know what, I'm just going to fill up my water bottle, just in case I'm thirsty in the middle I'm going to go to bed. So I fill it up to the brim. It's a pretty big water bottle. Here's the problem. I didn't tighten the lid. So when I go to grab it, it spills over the entire counter. It goes down into all the drawers and it goes back behind the oven. And I just sit there and be like, what just happened? The water was everywhere. It took me 20 minutes to clean it up. I had to pull the oven out and dry behind there. And then you see all the stuff that's under your oven, which is really gross. So I'm scrubbing. I'm vacuuming. I'm doing all that. I have to pull all the drawers open and towel them dry. All of our pans are soaked. All of our bread bags are soaked. I'm fuming. And I go up to my bedroom and I tell my wife all about it. I have a very bad reaction. I say, why does this stuff always happen to me? I'm like a magnet for annoying and embarrassing stories. And then I proceeded to list all the embarrassing things that happened to me recently.
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Like getting hit by an uninsured DoorDash driver. Who else has that happened to? Breaking my foot on stilts. Who else has that happened to? If you don't know that story, take me to Chick-fil-A sometime and I'll tell you all about it. But anyway, I'm going through this list and I finally finish my monologue. And my wife says, nothing. And she looks at me with the look that only a wife can have.
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This water incident was not ridiculous. My response was ridiculous. Even more than that, my response was ungodly and wrong. The Israelites' response in this passage is ridiculous. It's ungodly. It's wrong. They grumble and complain against their leaders. They grumble and complain against God. They even accuse God of pulling a cruel prank on them.
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Oh, God only brought us out of Egypt so we could die here. He did that to kill our children. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense, guys. God did all that just to zing you. Right. It's ridiculous. Foolish thinking leads to foolish behavior. I don't want to focus too much on their grumbling because we're going to talk about their complaining more at the end of this series. The Israelites not only complain and make accusations, They also openly rebel against God. And they start a mutiny. They refuse to enter the promised land. And they say, we're going back to Egypt. They want to go back to slavery. Why would they want to do that? Why would the Israelites want to go back to slavery? Because it's familiar. Because it's comfortable. Because there are no surprises.
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They know what to expect from day to day. A life of bondage is more comfortable than a life of trusting God. And the same is true for Christians today. This is why in times of trial and uncertainty, you are the most tempted to go back to who you used to be and what you used to do before Jesus Christ saved you. You are the most tempted to slip back into your old sinful patterns.
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And Paul warns against this temptation in Romans 6, 20-21. He says, For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at the time from the things of which you were now ashamed? What good did it do you? For the end of those things is death. There is no upside to sin. There is no benefit to going back. It is pointless.
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You will be disappointed when you slip back into your old self. When you slip back into your old sinful patterns. It's like watching a movie that you used to love when you were a kid, but now it does nothing for you. Just turn it off and move on. It's like slipping into an old jacket that used to fit you so well in high school or college, but now it's way too loose, it's way too tight. Take it off, throw it in the trash, and wear something that's fits who you actually are now.
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I could spend the rest of this sermon listing off all the sinful patterns you are tempted to slip back into.
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But that's pointless because you know exactly what sinful pattern you are tempted to slip back into.
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Maybe you're feeling that itch right now.
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Maybe you've scratched that itch already and you're feeling that urge yet again.
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Well, please consider the answer to these two questions with me. When has sin ever helped you? What's the answer to that question? Never. When has sin ever been the right solution to your problem? Not even once. Going back to your past sin will only hurt you and it will never help you. It will only amplify the fears and doubts that you're already experiencing.
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experiencing. Sometimes it feels like the current of temptation is impossible to resist.
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But that's not true.
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Don't just give up and go back.
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Instead, by the grace of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, dig in and move forward.
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Be honest with a Christian friend or family member.
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Talk to me or one of the elders after service.
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We would love to pray for you.
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We would love to give you the counsel that you need.
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Listen to the warning of this passage. I know that many of you just need to hear from the Lord. You don't have to go back. You don't have to do this. Do you believe that? You don't have to go back. You may feel like you have to give in to your sin, but you don't. You don't have to do this. You I will doubt if I am paralyzed by my circumstances. I will doubt if I choose the comfort of my past. I will doubt if I tune out godly counsel. I will tune out if I tune out godly counsel. At this point, most of the Israelites are packing their bags and typing the address for Egypt in their GPS. They are ready to go.
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But there are four men who are willing to stand in the gap and go against the grain of this insanity. And two of these men are the faithful spies, Joshua and Caleb. They speak up and give godly counsel. In chapter 14, verses 5 through 9.
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and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, the land which we passed to to spy it out is an exceedingly good land.
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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.
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Only do not rebel against the Lord.
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And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bred for us.
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Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us.
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Do not fear them. Caleb is two for two with the inspiring speeches. And this time Joshua, his friend, backs him up. You think, okay, maybe this time the people will listen. Maybe this time they will respond in faith instead of doubt. Look at their response in verse 10. Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Once again, you just want to reach the Pages of Scripture and shake them by the shoulders. Why won't you listen? Why do you keep disobeying? Why do you keep doubting? Those are great questions. Let me answer those questions with questions of my own. Have you ever not listened to God's Word in the past? Have you ever closed your Bible after reading it and not done what it said?
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Have you ever not lived out what you were called to in a faithful sermon? Have you ever tuned out godly counsel from a wise Christian friend? I see a lot of nodding heads. I hear some yeses. But why? Why didn't you listen to God's word? Why did you tune out godly counsel? Because you thought you knew better than God. You trusted yourself.
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when you should have trusted him. That godly counsel from a solid Christian friend wasn't what you wanted to hear, so you chose to go with your own way. You chose to follow your own advice. Like mold, doubt thrives in the darkness. Doubt will continue to spread in your heart and your mind if you do not willingly expose yourself to the light of God's word. But here's the thing.
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It's not enough to just buy a lamp and put it in your living room.
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What do you need to do next?
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Turn it on.
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That's the only way you can experience the illuminating power of the lamp.
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You have to do something.
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This requires action.
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It's the same with God's Word.
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It's not enough just to have the Bible on your nightstand, on your bookshelf.
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You have to actually do something.
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You have to actually read it.
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It's not even enough just to read the Bible. It's not enough just to come every Sunday and hear the Word. You have to actually do something with it. You have to actually have action and follow through. You have to live in obedience to it to truly experience the life-giving power of God's Word. The death-destroying power of Scripture. This requires you doing what it says.
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I stole it from the Bible. Listen to James.
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But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
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For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in the mirror.
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For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.
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But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
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The Israelites hear what God has to say, but they do not do what God says. They are hearers who forget and not doers who act, so they forfeit God's blessing. Are you a hearer who forgets? Or are you a doer who acts and receives God's blessing? Could it be that you are so worried, anxious, and filled with doubt because you know a lot this book, but you're not doing a lot with this book.
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Your knowledge of Scripture is very high, but your obedience percentage is very, very low.
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I have to tell you, that's a very destructive place to be, and you do not want to stay there.
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If you stay in that position of knowing a lot, but not doing what the Bible says, you will doubt that God knows what He is doing.
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You will doubt that God loves you. You will doubt your salvation. You will not have an assurance of your faith. This is why so many believers do not believe in the truth of the gospel, not trust that they have an assurance. They're not living in obedience to Scripture. They're not enjoying that close fellowship that comes with doing what God says. You know the Bible, but don't live it out. You will doubt.
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It's just a matter of time.
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I will doubt if I am paralyzed by my circumstances.
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I will doubt if I choose the comfort of sin.
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I will doubt if I tune out godly counsel.
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And finally, I will doubt if I follow the crowd.
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I will doubt if I follow the crowd.
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Israel is about to treat Joshua and Caleb like human pinatas.
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They're about to stone them.
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Then in chapter 14, verse 10, God shows up on the scene himself and stops the whole thing, and he takes Moses aside for a personal conversation.
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It's very similar to what we studied last week in Exodus chapter 32.
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Once again, God tells Moses, I'm going to destroy this rebellious people and start over with you.
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Once again, Moses pleads for mercy.
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And once again, God responds that plea for mercy and chooses to save the Israelites. God answers Moses' request, but there will be consequences. There will be consequences for the doubters, and there will be blessing for those who remain faithful. Let's look at these consequences and blessings in chapter 14, verse 20 into 38. I know it's a lot, but please stay with me.
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But truly, as I live, as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times, and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers, and none of those who despise me shall see it. But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring him to the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.
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Now since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea. And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron saying, How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel which they grumble against me. Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you. Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness.
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who have grumbled against me. Not one shall come into this land where I swore you, where I make you to dwell, except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in the wilderness, and your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness 40 years, and shall suffer for your faithlessness. And for the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.
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According to the number of the days in which you spy out the land, 40 days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity 40 years, and you shall know my displeasure. I, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this I will do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me. In this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die. And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him, by bringing up a bad report, the man who brought up a bad report of the land died by a plague before the Lord. Of those who went out to spy the land, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive. Let's cover the consequences first. The older generations who doubted and grumbled will never see the promised land. They will die in the wilderness. And along the way they'll have to wander for 40 years.
39:37
One year for every single day the spies were in the land. The younger generations will see the promised land, but they have to wait for 40 years. So if you are 19 when this happened, how old will you be when you see the promised land? 59 years old. These are the consequences for doubting the Lord. These are the consequences for caring about public opinion more than God's definitive word.
40:06
These are the consequences for following the crowd instead of following the Lord. But there is blessing for those who follow the Lord instead of follow the crowd. God says only two of the spies will not die. Only two of the spies will see the promised land. Joshua and Caleb. These men remain faithful when everyone around them is faithless. They choose to trust when everyone else doubts.
40:37
Why? What makes them so special? Well, God tells us. God says it's about Caleb. He has a different spirit than the rest of the Israelites. He says he follows the Lord fully. What does that mean? It means that Caleb does whatever God says, no matter what. When it's easy, when it's not so easy, when it seems impossible.
41:10
He only cares about what God says. He doesn't lick His finger and try to figure out which direction the wind is blowing. He is willing to stand out as different. He refuses to blend in and be like everybody else. Do you have a different spirit than the non-believers around you? Do you have a different spirit than the non-Christians at work, your non-Christian neighbors? Or do you look just like them? Do you follow the Lord fully, or do you follow the Lord half-heartedly? I said at the beginning of this message that many Christians look just as anxious, stressed out, and worried as the non-Christians around them. Is that you today?
42:08
If that's you, you can have a different spirit today. You can follow the Lord fully today. You can bring all of your cares, all of your intrusive thoughts to God, and His perfect peace will guard your heart and your mind today. You can cast all of your anxieties on Him today because He cares for you today. And every other day after that, you can make a change today.
42:36
I really don't want you to mishear me. Please listen carefully.
42:40
You will experience doubt. You will experience worry. You will experience fear.
42:47
These are just the realities of living in a fallen world. But you do not need to be controlled by these things any longer. You don't need to be worried all the time. Do not sentence yourself to a life of stress.
43:02
It may be a badge of honor in this sinful culture, but it will not be rewarded in heaven. Being worried all the time may seem normal by this world's standards, but it is not normal by heaven's standards. Do not follow the crowd and willingly travel down the path to doubt any longer. Be on guard against the four attitudes and actions that will lead you down the path to doubt.
43:31
You will doubt if you are paralyzed by your circumstances. You will doubt if you choose the comfort of your past. You will doubt if you tune out godly counsel. And you will doubt if you follow the crowd. The Lord is so faithful in giving us what we need to fight against doubt. He has given us His word. He has given us prayer. He has given us His people.
44:01
and he has given us the Lord's Supper. You may be wondering, how does communion help me to fight against doubt? Every single time we share in this meal together, we are rejecting the lies of this world and we are proclaiming the truths of God's word. Every single time we take part in this meal together, we are rejecting the lies that Jesus is just a made-up fairy tale or some moral teacher who has nice things to say 2,000 years ago. We are proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Savior and Lord. We are rejecting the lies that we're not sure what happens after you die, or there are multiple ways to God. No, instead, we are proclaiming that Jesus Christ is the only way, the only truth, and the only life. We are rejecting the lies that God doesn't care about us. We are proclaiming that God is our Father, and He adopted us through faith in His Son.
45:00
We are rejecting the lie that we could ever be good enough to earn God's love and we are proclaiming that in Christ we are loved by God. We are accepted by God. We are forgiven. We are made new. Every single time we share this meal together we are rejecting the lies of this world and proclaiming the unshakable truths of heaven. What better way is there to fight against doubt than that? Our communion servers and our worship team can now make their way forward.
45:31
You do not need to be a member of Harvest Bible Chapel to take part in the Lord's Supper, but you do need to be a member of the family of God. There are some of you in this room who do not have faith in Jesus Christ. You doubt what the Bible says about who He is and what He has done. If that's you, I encourage you to stay seated. I encourage you to consider where your doubt has led you. Doubting Jesus has only led to misery, heartache, and pain. I implore you today to be done with doubt and to place your trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. If you are a born-again believer in Jesus, in a few moments you will walk down one of the center aisles and come receive the elements from one of our servers. You will go back to your seat and wait until we take the Lord's Supper together. You can come as you are ready.
Small Group Discussion
Read Numbers 13:1-14:38
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Why has worry become such an acceptable sin in the church? What do you tend to worry and stress about the most?
What circumstances are you paralyzed by and how can you begin to move forward?
What biblical command or godly counsel do you need to apply to your life right now?
Breakout
Pray for one another.
