Whose Report Do You Believe?
Study Text: Numbers 13-14
Philippians 4:8 – " Finally, brethren, whatsoever things
are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever
things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good
report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these
things."
In our study text we find the Israelites on the verge of the Promised Land
(Canaan). Numbers 13 tells us that upon the Lord’s instruction, Moses commissioned
twelve spies (one per tribe) to go out from the camp and explore Canaan-to find
out exactly what the land and its people were like. And they did just that. For
forty days they found out as much information as they could; they even gathered
fruit as evidence of the land’s plentitude. Then they returned to the Israelite
camp with their report. And this is where the drama begins.
You see, when the spies returned, ten of them gave a negative report about
the land. Numbers 13:32 states: "And they brought up an evil report of the
land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land,
through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the
inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature."
Even though these men knew that this God (the same God who delivered them out
of Egypt, the same God who parted the Red Sea, the same God who supplied manna
from heaven) had promised them this land, they couldn’t get beyond what they
saw with their physical eyes. But thank God for Joshua and Caleb.
Unlike the ten "doubting Thomases," Joshua and Caleb saw with
their spiritual eyes and believed that the land was ripe for the taking.
Contrary to what the other spies said, Caleb declared in Numbers13:30,
"Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome
it." And in Numbers 14:7-8 both men declared, "The land, which we
passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the LORD delight in
us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth
with milk and honey."
Like Joshua and Caleb, we need to stand on the promises of God, for
"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he
should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and
shall he not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19). So "yea, let God be
true, but every man a liar" (Romans 3:4).
Our tidbit text tells us to think on those things that are just, pure,
lovely and of GOOD REPORT!!! Your doctor telling you that you have cancer is
not a good report. The stack of bills sitting on your kitchen table is not a
good report. Your friends telling you that you’ll never get that promotion is
not a good report. No, these aren’t good reports; they are evil reports, so stop
believing them. REBUKE EVERY EVIL REPORT YOU HAVE RECEIVED, NOW, IN JESUS’
NAME!!!
If you choose not to, you’ll wind up just like the ones who believed in the
evil report and rebelled. You shall have whatsoever you say. In Numbers
14:28-32 the Lord instructs Moses and Aaron to tell the people the following:
"As surely as I live,
declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: In this
desert your bodies will fall-every one of you twenty years old or more who was
counted in the census and who grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter
the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of
Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. As for your children that you said would be
taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. But
you-your bodies will fall in this desert" (NIV).
If the children of Israel had not rejected the good report of Joshua and
Caleb, they would not have spent forty years (one year for each day of the spy
expedition) wandering in the desert. Instead, they would have moved on over
into that which was promised them-a land flowing with milk and honey!!
You see, the Lord has promised us divine wealth, health, joy, peace, love,
and every other good thing. But when we reject HIS report, we reject HIM. So
don’t reject your inheritance. I repeat, DO NOT REJECT THE REPORT OF THE LORD.
And don’t waste time worrying about the ones who are spreading evil reports;
the Lord will take care of them (see Numbers 14:37). Just do your job: Think on
"whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever
things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely,
whatsoever things are of good report." Hold fast, my brothers and sisters.
Stand firm and BELIEVE THE REPORT OF THE LORD!!!