The Faithful Spies | Sunday, February 12, 2023

Welcome to Cross Connection Church online. I'm Pastor Garrett, and we at Cross Connection Church are so grateful that you are joining us for our service today. If you'd like to know more about Cross Connection Church, please check us out on our website at lifeinconnection.com, where you'll find more about us, upcoming events, and ways to get plugged in.

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Oh, I've got one response. I've got just one move with my arms: I throw up my hands and praise You again and again.

Like many of those who call Cross-Connection Church their home, I try to spend some time every single morning connecting with God through His Word. I open up the Scriptures and read through them systematically, one book at a time. Most of the time, I read a paragraph, sometimes a chapter, and occasionally as small as a verse or a few chapters. I try to spend some time in the Scriptures every single morning.

Most recently, I have been studying through the New Testament book of Hebrews. Hebrews, in many ways, is a powerful word of warning. If you have never read through the book of Hebrews or you haven't read it recently, you might want to put it back on your list. It's a great book with very good exhortations.

In Chapter 3 of Hebrews, we read this, beginning at verse 7: "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. Therefore, I was angry with that generation and said, 'They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.' So I swore..."

In my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

While it is said, "Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt led by Moses? Now, with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter because of unbelief.

Again, as I said, the book of Hebrews is a powerful word of warning. Those are strong words of caution. The author of the book of Hebrews says, "Beware lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God." He also says, "Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion in the day of trial in the wilderness."

The author of the book of Hebrews was writing some two thousand years ago, as the name certainly implies, to Hebrew Christians—those who had turned to faith in Christ from Judaism. They were like most of the people in the early church who had turned to faith in Christ from Judaism. However, at the time that the book of Hebrews was written, something was happening within the early church that was causing Christians, who were formerly faithful Jews, to be drawn back to their Jewish heritage, back to their customs and traditions, and really back to the law—the law of Moses.

You may be surprised at how much of a draw that actually is, even for some of those you would never suspect of being drawn back into the old patterns and trappings of what I might call religiosity. You can be drawn back into those things. If you read the book of Galatians in the New Testament, you'll find that even the Apostle Peter...

I was once tempted by such things, and the fascinating thing is that it isn't only the trappings of religiosity that can ensnare us. If you read through Exodus and Numbers, you will find that Israel's old life of enslaved bondage in Egypt was, at times, something that drew them back. There were people among the children of Israel, after they had left the slavery and bondage of Egypt, who, as they wandered in the wilderness, would say, "We want to go back to Egypt," back to those snares. This is a crazy thing to imagine.

In our studies of the Scriptures, in both the Old and New Testaments, and our observations of life, it can quickly become clear that in this life, we are either taking ground or we are backsliding. We are either moving forward or drifting in the wrong direction. There really is no standing still. We want to be those who are moving forward and taking ground, but there is the very real danger of falling behind and backsliding.

This is why the Apostle Paul, writing to the church at Philippi, gives this great exhortation in Philippians chapter 3. He speaks about himself there, saying in verse 12, "Not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of me." He continues, "Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do: forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."

Therefore, and this is key, let us

Studying for many years here at Cross Connection Church, we have gone through the book that follows Deuteronomy: the Book of Joshua. This book is all about taking ground and moving forward, which is why I am calling this series of teachings "Taking Ground." We are either going forward and taking ground, or we are falling behind and backsliding. There is no standing still.

I think this is a very fitting focus. Just a few weeks ago, I shared with the body here and our YouTube audience that the word I believe the Lord has impressed upon my heart going into 2023, after three years of all the craziness we have experienced in our world and the cultural changes we have gone through, is the word "pivot." As the people of God, we must be moving forward; we must be taking ground, or else we will be falling behind and backsliding.

Sometimes, this means that when we encounter obstacles or hindrances in our way, we need to evaluate where we were going and where we want to be. This might mean that because there are challenges in front of us, we need to pivot and make some new moves; otherwise, we risk backsliding.

As we learn in our study of the Pentateuch, which consists of the first five books of the Bible, and in books like Hebrews, Moses, who has been the leader of the children of Israel through the Book of Deuteronomy, can only take Israel so far. They have come to a point where the promised land is in front of them, with the Jordan River between them and the promised land. They have wandered through the wilderness for 40 years—well, really 38 years—and Moses has been their leader. However, Moses can only take them so far.

Moses is the ambassador of the law of God, and he could not bring the children of Israel into the promised land. This is an important truth because Moses represents the law, and the law cannot bring you into the fullness of God's blessing and rest. Just as Moses could not bring the children of Israel into the promised land, the law cannot bring you into the fullness of what God has for you.

Now, that's not to say that there was something wrong with the law or that the law is bad. We discover in the New Testament, in the book of Romans, chapter 7, that the law is holy; the commandment is holy, just, and good. However, we also find, again, back in the book of Hebrews, which I've been reading through over the last several weeks, that the law makes nothing perfect. It cannot make you perfectly whole or mature, and it will not get you into the fullness of what God has for you. It cannot bring you and me into that place of blessing, abundance, and rest.

The law governed Israel during their wilderness wanderings, and it would govern them even after they came into the promised land. However, the law was not able to get them into the promised land. Moses couldn't bring Israel into the fullness of that place, and for that, as we are going to see, Israel needed another leader to bring them in: Joshua. I introduced you to Joshua in our study last time, if you were here with us for our last message.

The law cannot bring you into God's abundant life; only Christ can do that ultimately. What is fascinating is that we see this shift from Moses to Joshua, from the law to Joshua, who is kind of a representative of Christ in the Old Testament. The interesting thing is that the name Jesus in Greek is "Iesous," which is the Greek form of the Hebrew name "Yeshua," which is Joshua. So, Jesus is really the same name as Joshua.

As we are seeing this move from Moses to Joshua and from the law to Joshua, we discover that Joshua points to Christ. He is like Jesus, not perfectly, but in type. Back to that passage I shared just a few moments ago in the book of Hebrews: the author of the book of Hebrews, 2,000 years ago, reminds his readers of something that is relevant to our study this morning. We are in this space between Deuteronomy and Joshua. Moses, who is the speaker, the preacher in that fifth book of the Bible, the book of Deuteronomy, is given this great message. Almost the entire book is his message to the children of Israel, preparing them to go into the promised land. In Deuteronomy chapter 30, which is where we left off back in November, his message, his sermon, has basically...

Ended, and so now he exhorts the people. I referenced this passage in our study last time in Deuteronomy chapter 31. We read these words: "Be strong and of good courage. Do not fear nor be afraid of them, those who occupy the land that you're about to go into to possess. For the Lord your God, He is the one who goes with you. He will not leave you; He will not forsake you."

After Moses says that to the children of Israel who are gathered there, he calls Joshua before this group of people. We read this: "Then Moses called Joshua and said to him," in Deuteronomy 31, verse 7. He said to Joshua in the sight of all of Israel, "Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people into the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it. And the Lord, He is the one who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you nor forsake you. Do not fear nor be dismayed."

If you skip down a little bit further to verse 14 of Deuteronomy chapter 31, it says, "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Behold, the day's approach when you must die. Call Joshua and present yourselves to the Tabernacle of Meeting that I may inaugurate.'" God says He is going to inaugurate Joshua. So, Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the Tabernacle of Meeting.

In this life, as I have said, we are either taking ground, moving forward, or we are backsliding. There is no standing still. As good as Moses was and as good as the law was, those things could not bring the people of Israel into their ultimate rest and blessing in the promised land. Under Moses, Israel remained outside of the blessing of the promised land; they could not go in. There remained a blessing of God's rest that they had not and could not possess under Moses.

Therefore, as hard as it must have been for Israel to hear, Moses had to step aside. God says to Moses, "Behold, the day's approach that you must die." Now, that seems kind of cold, but Israel's progress depended upon faithfulness and bold steps of faith. The death of Moses and the move from Moses to Joshua was necessary for the children of Israel to cross over the Jordan River and to come into the land that was promised to their father Abraham hundreds of years ago.

Before, Israel's progress depended upon faithfulness and bold steps of faith, and that's always the case. Moses had been a great leader, but like the entire Exodus generation—those who were over 20 years old and were led out of Egypt—he could not enter the Promised Land. This group of people crossed over the Red Sea, and Moses was with them. However, that Exodus generation could not enter the Promised Land.

Interestingly, the man I introduced you to last week, who is now being inaugurated as the leader to bring the children of Israel into the Promised Land, is Joshua. He was a member of that Exodus generation. So, why was Joshua able to go into the Promised Land while Moses could not?

The first reason, or an initial way to begin to answer that question, is that Moses represents the law, while Joshua is a type or foreshadowing of Jesus. The law cannot bring you into the fullness of what God has for you, just as Moses could not bring the children of Israel into the Promised Land. For that, we need Christ to bring us into the fullness of what God has for us. In this journey into the Promised Land, the people of Israel needed Joshua.

The second, and perhaps more practical, reason is something we find in a story in the Book of Numbers, which is another important step in becoming acquainted with Joshua. As I shared with you in our study last time, I want you to get to know a little bit about this Joshua. Last week, we looked into Exodus chapter 17, where Joshua was really like the first general of the Israeli Defense Force, leading the army of the children of Israel against an enemy that came against them as soon as they had come out of Egypt and were entering the wilderness area.

However, we need to get a little more acquainted with Joshua. So, as I did last week, let me provide some context. Israel was delivered from their enslaved bondage in Egypt by the mighty hand of God through Moses. God had called Moses in Exodus chapter 3 and said, "I want you to go down to Pharaoh and tell him, 'Let my people go.'" So, Moses went to Pharaoh and said, "God has commanded, 'Let my people go.'"

I'm not going to do that. He resists, and so through a series of ten plagues, the grip of Pharaoh is released from the children of Israel. Now they are allowed to follow Moses out of Egypt, and they cross over the Red Sea. That whole picture we talked about a bit in our study last time is significant.

He brings them out of the Promised Land and leads them to a place called Mount Sinai so that they could be the covenanted people of God. They could begin to move to the place that God had for them. As I shared in my message last time, this is very important to what God is doing, not just with the people of Israel—the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—but for all of the world. God's redemptive plan for all of the world involves a people and a place.

God is redeeming that people from Egypt to bring them to the place where He will bring about His redemptive plans. The people and the place are very important. God called Abraham to be the father of this people, the children of Israel, and He promised the land that we call the Promised Land to Abraham and his descendants. Through Abraham and his descendants, all the families of the earth might be blessed through the redemptive plan of God.

Israel was delivered from Egypt and brought by Moses into the wilderness. They come to Mount Sinai, and all of this can be discovered in the book of Exodus. At Mount Sinai, God establishes His covenant with Israel. Through Moses, there at Mount Sinai, God gives Israel His law. They construct and build a tent structure called the Tabernacle, and they establish the priesthood. This is the place where God is going to dwell in the midst of His people, guiding and directing them.

God was going to be with His people in their midst. All of that takes place at Mount Sinai. They come out of Egypt, cross over the Red Sea, come to Mount Sinai, receive the law, enter into the covenant, establish the priesthood, build the Tabernacle, and stay there. As you read through the books of Exodus and into the book of Numbers, I'm talking about the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and then we've been in Deuteronomy. They spend basically two years at Sinai, which is how long it probably took them to establish the Tabernacle and all of this sort of stuff.

Israel partakes of the Passover. If you back up a bit, the Passover started while the children of Israel were in Egypt, the night before they left on their Exodus. Two years later, they partake of the Passover meal again, and then they set out from Mount Sinai. They are leaving Mount Sinai to head to the Promised Land.

If things had gone the way they should have, even with the massive logistical challenges of moving the entire camp of Israel through the wilderness from Sinai to a place called Kadesh Barnea, where they were supposed to enter the Promised Land, it shouldn't have taken that long. At the very least, they should have probably entered the Promised Land in the third year after they left Egypt. They came out of Egypt, arrived at Mount Sinai, stayed there for two years, and then moved out toward the Promised Land. At some point in that third year, they should have been coming into the Promised Land, but that's not what happened.

We read this in the Old Testament book of Numbers, chapter 13. If you have a Bible this morning, open to Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, chapter 13, and look with me at this story. I am going to read a large part of it because it's important to understanding who this guy Joshua is, and it sets the stage for the children of Israel coming into the Promised Land.

Numbers chapter 13, verse 1: "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Send men to spy out the land of Canaan.' The land of Canaan is the Promised Land. The children of Israel have been at Mount Sinai for two years, and now they have moved up to a place called Kadesh Barnea, which is right at the border of the Promised Land, just two years and a few months after they came out of Egypt. God says, 'Send men to spy out the Promised Land, the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers, you shall send a man, everyone a leader among them.'"

So what's happening here? God says to Moses that he is going to send 12 spies who will be the representatives of the 12 tribes of Israel. We will see all the 12 tribes listed here, and they will go into the Promised Land to spy out the land.

Numbers chapter 13, verse 3: "So Moses sent from the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the Lord all of the men who were heads of the children of Israel. Now these were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shamua the son of Zaccur; from the tribe of Simeon, Shafat the son of Hori; from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of..."

Jafuna from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshia—keep that name in your mind—the son of Nun from the tribe of Benjamin, Pouty the son of Rafu from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Saudi from the tribe of Joseph, that is, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddy the son of Susie from the tribe of Dan, Amio the son of Gamali from the tribe of Asher, Sether the son of Michael from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahabi the son of Vaschi from the tribe of Gad, and you El the son of Maki.

I know you were probably wondering if I could actually get through those names, and I probably didn't say them the right way, but it doesn't matter.

These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, and Moses called Hoshia the son of Nun Joshua. So here's Joshua again. We were first introduced to him back in Exodus chapter 17 when he was the general leading the Israeli Defense Force version 1.0 into battle against the Amalekites. Now we see Joshua again, and he's like a part of the Mossad version 1.0; he's one of the spies.

Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, "Go up this way into the South and go up into the mountains. See what the land is like, whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; whether the land is rich or poor; whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage." This was the same word that God had given to Moses to give to Joshua: "Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land."

Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes, so this is in the fall. It has taken a few months for them to get from their celebration of the Passover at Mount Sinai in the second year to this place, which would be like August or September. A few months have transpired, and so they went up and they spied out the land.

From the Wilderness of Zen as far as Rehab near the entrance of Hemoth, they returned from spying out the land after 40 days. They spent a month and some days spying out the Promised Land, looking throughout the entire land and gathering fruit and intelligence. Moses prepared and sent these 12 spies to survey the land, and among them was this guy Joshua.

Remember, this is two years and four or five months after Israel was delivered from Egypt. They came out of Egypt and traveled a couple of months.

After months of travel from the Red Sea to Mount Sinai, the Israelites spent nearly two years at Mount Sinai. Now, they are at the border of the Promised Land, ready to take possession of the inheritance that God had promised to Abraham and his descendants 400 years before. The people of the Covenant are now right at the border of the place that God wanted and needed them to be to bring about His redemptive plan—a mission of blessing for all the families of the earth, not just for the descendants of Abraham.

God has a redemptive plan because, as we discovered in our study last week, Genesis chapter 3 and the fall have affected all of humanity. God wants to redeem and rescue us from the bondage of sin and death. The Israelites were in Egypt, and He delivered them. They crossed the Red Sea, spent two years at Mount Sinai, and then traveled four to six months to reach the Promised Land. Now, Moses sends spies into the Promised Land to scout the land.

It is important to remember that in this life, we are either taking ground or backsliding. Israel's progress into the blessing of the Promised Land, where they would experience rest, goodness, and blessing from God, was dependent upon faith and faithfulness. These truths remain relevant 3,400 years later. The Apostle Paul observed in the New Testament that all of these events recorded in the Old Testament were for our instruction and learning, so we might grasp these important truths.

The spies were sent to see the goodness and fruitfulness of the Promised Land. Reflecting on this, I am reminded of a Psalm of David from Psalm 34, where we read, "The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and He delivers them. O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him. O fear the Lord, you His saints; there is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger, but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing."

God sends the twelve spies to explore the Promised Land and witness the fruitfulness of His land. There is a profound truth in that God encamps around His people; He will bless and protect them as they trust in Him.

What happens with these spies? In Numbers Chapter 13, we pick it back up in verse 26. Remember, they have been there for 40 days, going throughout the land. Now they departed and came back to Moses, Aaron, and all the congregation, the children of Israel. Numbers 13, verse 26, says, "In the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh, they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and they showed them the fruit of the land."

Then they told him, "We went to the land where you sent us, and truly it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit." They brought back a big bunch of grapes from the Promised Land, showcasing the fruitfulness of the land. Nevertheless, verse 28 states, "The people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and large. Moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak." As you study the Old Testament, you discover that the descendants of Anak were giants.

Note this: if you were with us last time, this name will ring a bell. In verse 29 of Numbers Chapter 13, it mentions that the Amalekites dwell in the land of the South, the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan. The Amalekites are the same people that we read about last week in Exodus Chapter 17, where Joshua, when he was functioning as a general of the army of Israel, fought against them. We saw how that battle turned out.

These are the same people about whom God spoke to Moses. If you look back in Exodus Chapter 17 or note it down in your notes, God had said about these Amalekites, "Now get this; this is really important." The spies have just seen that there are Amalekites in the Promised Land, and two years prior, the children of Israel had defeated the Amalekites. God spoke this word to them: "Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Exodus 17, verse 14, write this for a memorial. Write it down; remember that you defeated the Amalekites. Write this down for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua. I, God, will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.'"

Moses built an altar and called its name "The Lord is my banner," for he said, "Because the Lord has sworn, the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation." Why did God tell Moses this as they were coming to Mount Sinai and had this battle against the Amalekites, with Joshua leading the children of Israel victoriously?

The Amalekites. Why did God tell Moses to memorialize that battle and that victory in a book? We memorialize things so that we will remember, and those memories often need to be recalled because we will face future enemies and battles. We need to remember how the Lord fought for us. We need to remember how the Lord brings us victory when we face our enemies.

Now, two years after Exodus chapter 17, two years after Joshua led the children of Israel victoriously against the Amalekites, they are standing at the border of the Promised Land. There are Amalekites in the land, and there are other people in the land as well. But they are going to go and fight them, and God has already said, "I will destroy them." Has God ever brought about a victory in your life? I hope that you've experienced that, where God has brought about a victory in your life.

Now, here's the big question: Did you write it down, or did you forget? Maybe you need to write it down and remember. So, two years after Rephidim in Exodus chapter 17, the children of Israel are about to face the very same foe that God gave them victory over. But they are also going to face, as we are told, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites. These are the same people that God, two years before at Mount Sinai, had said this to the children of Israel. It is recorded in Exodus chapter 23, verse 22: "But if you indeed obey God's voice and do all that I speak," Moses says, "then God says, 'I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries. For my angel will go before you and bring you into the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I will cut them off.'"

Victory, blessing, and rest are assured to those that trust in God and walk in faithful obedience. Note this clearly: Victory, blessing, and rest are assured to those that trust in God and walk faithfully in obedience to Him. The children of Israel are supposed to go into the Promised Land. They are going to face these enemies that God, two years before in Exodus chapter 23, had told them, "I will cut them off before you if you walk in obedience and you follow me."

Now, God is calling them to that. I want to pause for just a moment and speak to the...

A Bible student listening to what I just said a moment ago might think that I am talking about works salvation. Nothing could be further from the truth. Let me remind you that Israel had already been delivered from their enslaved bondage in Egypt by God's grace, by His power, and by His might. They had been redeemed and rescued, but their experience of the fullness of God's blessing and their experience of the fullness of rest in God in the promised land required their faithful trust and obedience.

I can't help but wonder how much of God's blessing, victory, and rest remains outside of our reach and grasp because of our own stubborn disobedience. God has rescued you; He has saved you by grace through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Yet, there is so much of God's victory, rest, and blessing that He has for you, and we are not taking hold of it. We are not laying hold of that for which Christ Jesus has laid hold of us because we are not forgetting what is behind and pressing on toward what is before us in faith and faithful obedience. Far too many are content to wander in the wilderness when the promised land awaits.

What happened back in Numbers? The twelve spies were sent into the promised land to spy it out. They came back and said, "Hey, look, the land is filled with fruit. It is a good land, the land of milk and honey." However, they also reported that there were some giants and great peoples in the land. In Numbers chapter 13, verse 28, it says, "Nevertheless, the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak, the giants there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South, and the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan."

Then, in verse 30, Caleb quieted the people as they were restless, hearing this report before Moses. He said, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are able to overcome these foes." I love the heart and mindset of Caleb.

The spies are saying, "Listen, there are some really big enemies and foes before us." Caleb speaks up and says, "All right, it's time for us to go. God told us back in Exodus chapter 17 that the Amalekites would be destroyed before us. He told us back in Exodus chapter 23 that God would destroy the Amorites, the Hittites, the Hivites, and all the 'ites' before us."

Israel's progress depended upon faithfulness and bold steps of faith, just like your progress depends on faithfulness and bold steps of faith. A man of faith from among the twelve spies named Caleb stood up and boldly proclaimed, "It's ours! Let's go! Let's go up into the land."

But in verse 31, the men who had gone up with Caleb said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than us." They gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are great men of stature. There we saw the giants, the descendants of Anak, who came from the giants, and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight."

Please don't miss the very last words of that passage I just read. Read it very, very carefully. Notice what it says: "There we were like grasshoppers in our own sight." Would you circle, highlight, or underline that word "own"?

How do you see the obstacles and hurdles that lie before you? Do you see those things through your own sight? Do you walk by sight and not by faith, or do you see those with the eyes of faith that see the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords over all of these things?

The ten spies, I'll say ten at this point, but Caleb is mentioned as one who stands against the spies. The ten spies say there are huge giants in the land, and they can't go in because they're like nothing before them in their own sight.

In Numbers chapter 14, verse 1, all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. In Jewish tradition and history, this took place in our month of August on what is called the ninth of Av. That's the month of Av in the Jewish calendar, and it's called the saddest day in Israel's history. So they all wept that night, and all of the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we..."

Had they died in the wilderness? Why has the Lord brought us into this land, or unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not have been better for us to return to Egypt? So they said to one another, "Let us select a leader and return to Egypt." Let's find somebody else, not Moses, to take us back to Egypt.

Remember, you are either moving forward, progressing, taking land, or you are backsliding. There is no standing still. Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all of the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. But Joshua, there he is again, Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes. They spoke to all the congregation, the children of Israel, saying, "The land that we passed through to spy out is exceedingly good. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread. Their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them."

I asked the question a little bit ago, before we went to the Book of Numbers: Why was Joshua, who was a member of the Exodus generation, allowed to lead Israel into the promised land? This right here is the answer to the question. Only one other individual, with Joshua from the Exodus generation, would be permitted to enter into the land. Can you guess who that one other would be? Who was the plus one? Joshua plus one.

I began this morning with Hebrews chapter 3, verse 7: "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, today if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." This rebellion was in the day of the trial in the wilderness, this wilderness at Kadesh Barnea, when your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works for forty years. Therefore, I was angry with that generation, that Exodus generation, and said, "They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways." So I swore in My wrath that they would not enter My rest.

The reference that the author of the Book of Hebrews is referencing there is this story from Numbers chapter 13 and 14. God says, "I was angry with that Exodus generation, so I swore that they would not enter into the land of rest." Numbers chapter 14, verse 29 states, "The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered according to your entire number from twenty."

Years old and above, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. Why did that Exodus generation from Israel fail to take possession of the land that was promised to them? In that third year after they came out of Egypt, they failed to take possession because of unbelief. They could not take ground; instead, they would end up wandering aimlessly in the wilderness for thirty-eight years.

You see, their progress was dependent upon faith and faithfulness. Victory was assured if they would trust and obey, but they could only see the obstacles. They could only see the giants and the enemies; they could only see all of the trouble, even though the land was a good land. However, Joshua and Caleb could see differently because the eyes of faith see Him who is enthroned above all earthly powers and thrones. They could see that the Lord had given them the land.

I'm not certain, but I'm pretty sure there's a valuable lesson to learn from Joshua and Caleb. We will see that these lessons that Joshua and Caleb learned in their initial stages of coming out of Egypt, and what Joshua learned when he went to battle against the Amalekites, are significant. He saw that God was his shield, that God was the one who was going to care for him, provide for him, and give him salvation. Now, he is learning another valuable lesson: that God is going to be the one who takes you into the promised land and defeats your enemies before you as you trust and obey. He had the eyes of faith; so did Caleb, the son of Jephunneh.

There is a valuable lesson there for sure, and God help us to learn from the mistakes of others. All these things were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the age have come, as Paul says in First Corinthians chapter 10, verse 11. He wrote these things down; God made sure that they were written down in a book, Exodus chapter 17. Write these things down in the book so that you and I could learn from the mistakes of others—the Exodus generation that did not have the eyes of faith but were walking by sight and not by faith.

Help us to learn from the mistakes of others and not to have to remake the same mistakes ourselves. Learning from the mistakes of others is what they call wisdom, and I hope that we would gain some wisdom as we get to know Joshua. Father God, I pray that you would instruct us.

Teach us. Give us eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to receive what it is that You might speak to us from this text this morning. Lord, in this life, we're either taking ground or we are backsliding. If we are going to progress and move forward and take ground, then it's going to require faithfulness and bold steps of faith.

So, God, I pray that You'd help us to walk in faith and obedience, trusting You for the outcomes and moving forward, because You have so much more for us to lay hold of. We ask this today in Jesus' name. Amen.

Oh, come on, my soul! Don't you get shy of me. Lift up your song and get up and breathe.

Thanks for joining us for our broadcast today. I pray that you were greatly encouraged by it. We here at Cross Connection Church would love to invite you to join us in person next week on Sunday at 8:30 and 10:30 services. If you can make it, again, 8:30 and 10:30 services here at Cross Connection Church in Escondido, California. We'd love to see you there. Of course, if you want any more information about Cross Connection Church, check us out on our website, lifeinconnection.com. God bless you, and have a wonderful week!

Hey there, Cross Connection! I hope you guys are having a fantastic Sunday morning so far. We have one announcement this morning: we are in desperate need of preschool teachers. If you are interested in helping, please visit lifeinconnection.com/serve or stop by the Connect 5 meeting, and we'll get you more information that way.

Our mission today is the Alternatives Medical Clinic Walk for Life. We've partnered with Alternatives for many years here in Escondido. They do great work in trying to save the unborn. If you are interested in being part of the Walk for Life, stop by the Connect 5 meeting, and we'll provide you with good information on how to sign up and where to go from here.