BROADCASTS.com

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.\xa0Stand firm,\xa0then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1 (NIV)\xa0

The\xa0Lord\xa0said to Moses,\xa02\xa0\u201cSend some men to explore\xa0the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites.\xa0From each ancestral tribe\xa0send one of its leaders.\u201d

3\xa0So at the\xa0Lord\u2019s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites\u2026\xa0Numbers 13:1-(3 NIV)\xa0

17When Moses sent them to explore Canaan,\xa0he said, \u201cGo up through the Negev and on into the hill country.\xa018\xa0See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many.\xa0

19\xa0What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified?\xa020\xa0How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.\u201d (It was the season for the first ripe grapes\u2026)

23\xa0When they reached the Valley of Eshkol,\xa0they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates\xa0and figs.24\xa0That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there.\xa025\xa0At the end of forty days\xa0they returned from exploring the land.\xa0

26\xa0They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh\xa0in the Desert of Paran.\xa0There they reported to them\xa0and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.\xa027\xa0They gave Moses this account: \u201cWe went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.\xa0\xa0

28\xa0But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.\xa0We even saw descendants of Anak\xa0there.\xa029\xa0The Amalekites\xa0live in the Negev; the Hittites,\xa0Jebusites\xa0and Amorites\xa0live in the hill country;\xa0and the Canaanites\xa0live near the sea and along the Jordan.\u201d

30\xa0Then Caleb\xa0silenced the people before Moses and said, \u201cWe should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.\u201d

31\xa0But the men who had gone up with him said, \u201cWe can\u2019t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.\u201d\xa032\xa0And they spread among the Israelites a bad report\xa0about the land they had explored.

They said, \u201cThe land we explored devours\xa0those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.\xa033\xa0We saw the Nephilim\xa0there (the descendants of Anak\xa0come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers\xa0in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.\u201d Numbers 13:17-33 (NIV)

1. The Right PERSPECTIVE\xa0

From the fruit of their mouth a person\u2019s stomach is filled; with the harvest of their lips they are satisfied. 21\xa0The tongue has the power of life and death\xa0and those who love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:20-21 (NIV)

1. The Right PEOPLE

31\xa0But the men who had gone up with him said, \u201cWe can\u2019t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.\u201d\xa032\xa0And they spread among the Israelites a bad report\xa0about the land they had explored. \xa0Numbers 13:31-32 (NIV)

That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.\xa02\xa0All the Israelites grumbled\xa0against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, \u201cIf only we had died in Egypt!\xa0Or in this wilderness!\xa0

3\xa0Why is the\xa0Lord\xa0bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?\xa0Our wives and children\xa0will be taken as plunder.\xa0Wouldn\u2019t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?\u201d4\xa0And they said to each other, \u201cWe should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.\u201d

5\xa0Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown\xa0in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there.\xa06\xa0Joshua son of Nun\xa0and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes\xa07\xa0and said to the entire Israelite assembly, \u201cThe land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good.\xa0\xa0

8\xa0If the\xa0Lord\xa0is pleased with us,\xa0he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey,\xa0and will give it to us.\xa09\xa0Only do not rebel\xa0against the\xa0Lord. And do not be afraid\xa0of the people of the land,\xa0because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the\xa0Lord\xa0is with\xa0us.\xa0Do not be afraid of them.\u201d

10\xa0But the whole assembly talked about stoning\xa0them. Numbers 14:1-10 (NIV)\xa0

20\xa0The\xa0Lord\xa0replied, \u201cI have forgiven them,\xa0as you asked.\xa021\xa0Nevertheless, as surely as I live\xa0and as surely as the glory of the\xa0Lord\xa0fills the whole earth,\xa022\xa0not one of those who saw my glory and the signs\xa0I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times\u2014\xa023\xa0not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath\xa0to their ancestors.

No one who has treated me with contempt\xa0will ever see it.\xa024\xa0But because my servant Caleb\xa0has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly,\xa0I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.\xa0

25\xa0Since the Amalekites\xa0and the Canaanites\xa0are living in the valleys, turn\xa0back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.\u201d Numbers 14:20-24 (NIV)

1. Trust His PLAN and PROVISION\xa0

The\xa0Lord\xa0said to Moses,\xa02\xa0\u201cSend some men to explore\xa0the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites\u2026\xa0 Numbers 13:1 (NIV)

Therefore, say to the Israelites: \u2018I am the\xa0Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.\xa0I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem\xa0you with an outstretched arm\xa0and with mighty acts of judgment.\xa07\xa0I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.\xa0

Then you will know\xa0that I am the\xa0Lord\xa0your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.8\xa0And I will bring you to the land\xa0I swore\xa0with uplifted hand\xa0to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob.\xa0I will give it to you as a possession. I am the\xa0Lord.\u2019 Exodus 6:6-8 (NIV)

5\xa0Trust in the\xa0Lord\xa0with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6\xa0in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths\xa0straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)