Sing—David So
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Well, I keep hearing isn't over yet.
So I trust that I won't take too long. I take that as a hint that it's almost over.
There are many story we could tell by a man, so just I know parents sometimes get embarrassed over that. I would say don't be. It is nice to see children in here.
I just have.
I wrestle with this when I was asked. That is for all. Sometimes it's difficult to address all age groups.
It's not like a Sunday school. We address the children. Actually even that is difficult because we're children. Do you address the four and five or do you address the 10:00 and 12:00? So I find that difficult. So I trust that the portion.
Before us that the Lord can use it, perhaps for encouragement, for each turn with me to the Old Testament, the book of numbers. We don't often go to the Old Testament.
And I believe there are many lessons and applications in there for us and we know too that many principles that we follow, we can find them in the Old Testament. So there are much to talk about in this passage. So I'm only picking on perhaps two or three topics. Tim told me I can't have more than 45 minutes. That wasn't it. So I will have to keep that free. And I trust that with this portion, it was more to exercise your heart.
To search the scripture more, so I'm just going to read a few verses.
To get us going, Numbers, chapter 13 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, oh, by the way, it's interesting to see phrases where it says, And the Lord spake unto Moses, So this is the Lord's word, not just Moses decided to tell us something, the Lord's faith and the voice is saying, send thou man, that they may.
Search.
The land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel, of every tribe of their fathers, shall you send a man, everyone ruler among them. And the following verses tells us who the rulers and so on. And for property we'll leave it there. And verse 16.
And these are the names of the man which Moses sent to spy out on the land.
Now.
The first thing I had in my heart was about search.
They are told to search.
They were told before that they will be going into a land flowing with milk and honey. But now why does the Lord tell them to go search? And I find sometimes with ourselves young people, older ones too, they say I have to search things out.
Have you ever heard that I got a search, Not what's on my heart. Where the word search is this here, They are very specific. We won't have time to go into it. They're the search according to the word of God. Now Can you imagine? We have young people here. Perhaps somebody got lost in the woods. And we go, we're going to start a search party.
That's pretty specific. We're looking for a little Johnny who's 10 years old, lost in the woods.
Now what I find sometimes we use the phrase search is we'll go. You know, I went out searching, I found that puppy dogs. So I brought it back.
What about Johnny?
Oh.
That's not really searching in the sand, is it? So to search, there's a purpose for that search. What are we searching for?
So I just want to draw that as an application for us. Search the scripture. We're told that on way. There are many blessings. Are you searching for more blessings?
No return to the book of Ephesians. All this have any blessings have been given to us. It's not like tomorrow he's going to give us a few more blessings. No, we have it. But it's good to search and be reminded of that. So the first job they had was the search. As if OK, go check it out just to make sure that the word of the Lord is true. OK, so.
00:05:01
Verse 18 and see the land what it is, and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many. Why is that important?
What the Lord told them. Don't worry about it. You can go check it out. It's yours.
But they need to search it now, verse 20 and what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, and so on.
Verse.
22 And they ascended by the South and came to Hebron, and I won't read the rest. Did she notice how specific they follow the instructions? They didn't just hope to find something and bring it back.
And verse 23 And they came unto the brook of Oscar, and cut down from advance a branch with one cluster of grades, and they bare it between two upon a staff. And they brought up the pomegranates and of the figs. The place was called the broker, because of the cluster of grapes, with the children of Israel cut down from thence. And they returned from.
Searching of the land after 40 days wow they searched, they found and they brought back evidence of that search. But Brian please don't take this as a as a complaint. I didn't see any cluster of grapes that you have set out where it required two person to carry it.
I would picture the graves are probably the size of an orange.
I don't know, but it was proof, isn't it? Isn't it nice in today's world? We said, well, show me the evidence.
So search, search the scriptures. What did God promise you? We had before us, and I had thought of my heart for the last little while to God gave us the whole council of God.
Oh, I shall not declare unto you the whole counsel of God. You got the master plan.
You know, it may be sounds kind of bad for young people. It's like, would you like to go to a football game? No, I said it wrong.
Like to see a recording of a football game where you already know they won yesterday?
Would that be interesting?
Stop the saying, is it? But here God has told us this is what's going to happen. Oh, let me show you at the end.
We know the beginning to the end. We don't need to know what's in between in a sense, right? It's like they say you read a book, and I'm not a book reader. I understand the easiest is read the beginning and read the end. You got the gist of what the book is about.
He told us all that searching out for yourself and then we see here.
After you search it out, I'm I'm trusting this for perhaps for my brethren, my older brother and I still consider myself a younger one here.
So it sets here.
Verse 26 And they went, and came to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and to the wilderness of Paran and Kadash, and brought back word unto them, and unto the congregation, and show them the fruit of the land.
And they told him, and said, We came unto the land, whither thou sent us us? And surely it floweth with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it.
Brethren, we are, don't we, to be a testifier of his word, the goodness that we see from the word of God. And actually, I believe the last two days we saw evidence from.
Mandy To give us testimony from the word of God.
So we.
Or you. Or someone who has been enjoying the word of God.
Testifier for others who are perhaps still new in the faith. Now if you notice I didn't read on there. There will always be opposition. There is evidence they brought back and we find that many didn't believe.
00:10:01
They doubted they were afraid. Why are they afraid that there are giants over there, That and so on. It's because unbelief sets it that they did not believe the word of God and what God has said. And you know, often when unbelief comes in, difficulties comes in.
It begins with unbelief. We have the Book of Jude this afternoon. You look at some of these declension, It start with unbelief. I believe the three stages. I won't go into that.
And unbelief and then you see apostasy as a result of that. So be careful. But now one more thing that I think I will stop Caleb. Verse 30 is interesting evidence were brought back.
Unbelief sets in. They were complaining that they want to go home because they don't want to face the Giants.
Verse 30.
And Caleb?
There's so much we can talk about, Caleb, Can we? And Caleb in this case here.
Still that the people before Moses.
And said, let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it.
What are characteristics of Caleb being mentioned here, as there are many in this chapter and the next chapter to show Caleb's faithfulness. But here I thought it's so nice to see that yes, there are evidence, yes, there are problems now.
Big problem.
How nice to see a brother like Caleb.
Not adding to the problem, not taking sides. We didn't see Caleb stood up and told how wrong they are. Did we see that?
What did he do? I don't really understand it, I'll be honest. But he stilled the people before Moses. Isn't that precious?
That still he's still the people before Moses, and we'll find that the word surge is used numerous times afterwards. Caleb, he's one of the one that went out in search for the land afford to to so he can bring back and be a testifier. So just to sum it up.
Is quick to search the scripture.
Ones we enjoy and learn what the word of God have for us Believe is very nice to be a testifier to the word of God.
And perhaps the Lord may use that testifier. And I notice I used to what may, because the Lord used all of us very differently. Just because Steve is sent out to do something doesn't mean that he will send me out to do something.
And just because you want to serve the Lord a certain way doesn't mean that's how the Lord will want you to go. I often say jokingly, as I hope the Lord sent me to Hawaii.
Well, what if the call comes in, say no, you go to Haiti.
Or Haiti, is it? Well, do we argue with the Lord and our Lord? Hawaii is better.
We have to learn to accept it, and when difficulties come, can we be one to be a help to our brethren, and that we to the Lord's help be able to steal the people of God? And we know of His faithfulness and many things afterwards. And I'll I'll leave that with you to enjoy when you get home.