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Sunday Morning Service, 6/28/09

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Message: What Do You See?

Pastor Paine

We're going to talk today about our perspective. When we see something, the question is, "Do I see it the way God wants me to see it?" Have you ever had something that initially appeared negative turn out to be a blessing, a positive thing? There's a channel I like to watch sometimes; it's called "The Speed Channel." It's racing with cars and motorcycles. There's a show where they steal peoples' cars. They take people's cars who have "lost the race of life," and instead of going to your door and telling you that they're going to take your old junker and fix it up, they steal it.

We're going to look at the scriptures and find that sometims what we see is not what God sees. Sometims we miss the picture that God has for us.

Moses sent men to spy out the land

Numbers 13:1
  1. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

Moses didn't have a plan; the Lord spoke to Moses. When God speaks and says "This is what you're supposed to do," it's not open for debate. We can all agree on this on Sunday morning, but in life, when God says "This is what you're supposed to do," we can choose how to react to the situation.

Numbers 13:2
  1. Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.

Underline those words "which I give". God said, "I give this land to the children of Israel."

Numbers 13:17-18
  1. And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain:
  2. And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;

Listen closely to what Moses is telling those leaders.

Numbers 13:19-20
  1. And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;
  2. And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.

So they're getting the first harvest. These men are told to search out the land, evaluate it, and bring back some of the harvest.

Numbers 13:21
  1. So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.

Did Moses say what God said in verse 2? We don't know whether Moses passed on that message to the leaders of the people. They knew that they were spying out the land. We know that Moses knew that God had a plan to give the land to them, but we don't know that those spying out the land knew about that plan.

Sometimes God has a plan to give us something and we don't know it yet. It is important to remember this. Sometimes when God has a plan that he hasn't revealed to us, all we have is what we have, and it doesn't look good.

Remember the story of Mary and Joseph, and Mary is expecting a child, and she knew what causes that, and she hadn't done it. Joseph knew what causes that, and Mary said, "I'm expecting." This did not look good.

Sometimes God doesn't reveal his plan to us because it's a faith walk. We are told to walk by faith, but really, we walk by sight. Are we really willing to do the tough work of saying, "God, I know what it looks like from my perspective, but I need you to tell me what it looks like from your perspective."

There was a father who was playing with his son in the morning, and when the time came, he said, "I've got to go to work now." The son said,"No, dad! Don't go to work; stay home and play with me!" The father said, "If I don't go to work, then we won't eat." And the son said, "I'm not hungry; stay home and play with me!" Sometimes we're just like that; we see things in the moment.

They all saw the same thing but interpreted it differently

Numbers 13:23
  1. And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.

We're talking about a cluster of grapes so big that it took two men to carry it between them.

Numbers 13:24-26
  1. The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.
  2. And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.
  3. And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.

So they're telling what they saw and showing the fruit that they brought.

Numbers 13:27
  1. And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.

What do you think was the reaction of the people? That was a lot of fruit!

I remember the story of a pastor who was doing a fund-raiser. He started, "Church, this church is called to do a mission for the glory of God!" They said, "Amen, Pastor!". He said, "This church is going to walk!" They said, "Amen, Pastor! Let it Walk!" He said, "This church is going to soar!" They said, "Amen, Pastor! Let it soar!" He said, "This church is going to fly!" They said, "Amen, Pastor! Let is Fly!" He said, "In order for this church to fly, it's going to take money." They said, "Amen, Pastor! Let it Walk!"

Numbers 13:28-30
  1. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
  2. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
  3. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

There are two focal points here. Caleb's focal point was on the prize. The other leaders' focal point was on the problem. Sometimes we see obstacles as stumblingblocks when God wants us to see them as stepping-stones. Let God show you how he sees the obstacles, the challenges, the problems that you have in your life. Is it possible that God is trying to lead you to a higher place? Is it possible that God has a plan for a victory that you have not yet seen? If we were to take a survey of the greatest victories you've had in your life, the survey would reveal that before every victory was a challenge.

I don't know much about football, but I understand that the person getting chased is the one who has the ball. And when the person with the ball gets tackled, they don't say "Why did you do that?" You never see a superbowl where the winners say, "If I knew how hard that would be, I would have taken up chess."

Numbers 13:31
  1. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.

There hasn't been a battle yet. How do we know who is stronger? We have here a matter of perspective.

Numbers 13:32
  1. 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.

What made their report evil? It wasn't Godly. It's not that it was inaccurate, but that it wasn't made from God's perspective. These were leaders of the tribes of Israel. They weren't just foot-soldiers.

We have a battle to fight, and God has a plan for our victory. The question is, will we believe an evil report or a good report?

Numbers 13:33
  1. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

How do you see yourself? Do you see yourself as a winner or a loser? As strong or weak? There have been times when I have seemed so inadequate... Have you ever felt that way?

There's a commercial where parents are talking to their children about drugs, and they don't do a very good job of it, but the children listen. The point is that sometimes you don't have to be good at it; you just have to do it. If we do our best, God will make up the difference. Stop trying to be adequate and start being willing.

Sometimes people have come to me and started to talk about something and I, as a pastor, with my bare face hanging out, have said, "I'm not sure what to say to you, but let's pray that God would give you the answer you need." It sure takes me out of the hot-seat.

We know the story of Gideon. God kept reducing the size of his army so that when he had a victory, the people would know that God did it. He said, "Gideon, you're over-qualified."

I remember when Jay Owens died and his mother was there at the funeral. I prayed to God that when the moment came, I would be able to say the right thing. And the moment came, and I had to say, "Mrs. Owens, I don't know what to say to you. I can't even imagine what you're feeling as you bury your son today." There were five hundred people at that funeral, and this was after everyone had passed through the receiving line. She cried, and gave me a hug, and said, "Thank you for being honest. I'm so tired of people saying, 'I know how you feel.'"

To fulfil a Godly purpose requires Godly passion

Saints, if you try to run this race without passion, you will run out of fuel. This Christian race that we've been called to has prize at the end. If you've lost the passion, that love, that unity with the Holy Spirit, then cry out to God and say, "God, I need it."

My wife Debbie and I have been married thirty-four years this June 14th. There have been moments in those thirty-four years when I lost the passion for my wife. Does that surprise you, Debbie? No, of course not. But I can tell you that I am more in love with Debbie today than I have ever been. I can tell you that when I lost that passion I wasn't unfaithful, but I will also tell you that I had to cry out to God to get the passion back. Some of you are at the point where you cry out to God, "I feel like I'm just going through the motions." It's not enough, saints. It takes God's passion to fulfill God's purpose.

I believe that the difference between the good report and the evil report was passion. I believe that the reason that the men brought back an evil report is because they didn't have a passion to go into battle. It's not going to be easy. Some of you may be saying, "You're a lousy evangelist, Pastor; telling people that it's not going to be easy." Maybe I am. Or maybe I'm just an honest one. But I believe that the reason Caleb brought back a good report is because he was full of passion. In spite of the challenges, he somehow knew what God said to Moses, that it was going to be their land.

Numbers 13:30
  1. And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

I like those words.

I was telling my father that I had asked Debbie's hand in marriage. I was probably twenty years old. He said, "Pete, how much money do you have in the bank?" I proudly announced that I had twenty-eight dollars. He asked, "Are you out of your mind, Pete?" I said, "Probably, Dad, but I'm totally in love."

Caleb had enough passion to say, "Let us go and possess it." I'm asking you today how much passion you have. Do you want to go and possess what God has for you, or do you want to find all the reasons you can't? I don't want to watch someone else get my victory.

God has a plan for your victory.

Jeremiah 29:11
  1. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

The challenges that we face will make us bitter or better. Being bitter or being better is a magnet. If I let myself be bitter, I attract bitterness. I attract bitter people. They stand next to me in the checkout line, and they won't even know why. Better is a magnet, too. You'll attract a better sort of people. So if you find yourself surrounded by bitter people, you might just be the hub of that wheel. The only way to break loose is passion. There's ways to get your passion back. How about just waking up and saying, "God I love you!" You might not feel like saying it, but say it. Why? Because you want to be a better magnet. Because if you draw nigh to God, he'll draw nigh to you.

Proverbs 3:5-7
  1. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
  2. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
  3. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.

God wants to direct your steps to an expected end. He wants to promise the land to you, but you're going to have to go through something to get there.

Hebrews 12:1-3
  1. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
  2. Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
  3. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.

God is saying to you today, "Just take a step of faith and I'll meet you." God has heard your prayer; he's meeting you right now.