Tag: Spies
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3 things that can help you get your focus back on track.
By Evan Carlson, CEO & President
2 Corinthians 4:13 says, “Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ‘I believed, and so I spoke,’” we also believe, and so we also speak” (ESV).
What comes out of our mouths should start in God’s Word. In Paul’s case, he believed in God. This is the truth that he wanted to speak back into his own heart, into his own mind. What’s coming out of Paul’s mouth?
We are continuing with three things that can help you get your focus back on track. (Click here to read part one of this blog and click here to read part two.)
3. Focus on what you say.
What do you allow to come out of your mouth.? What you’re saying impacts your life as well.
Joshua and Caleb talked differently than the other spies about the situation. They we’re saying –
- We’ve got this.
- God has given us a promise.
- He will allow us to conquer this land.
They were speaking truth. They weren’t speaking their truth; they were speaking God’s truth. They got His truth from His word that He will deliver them.
I was wrestling back and forth, thinking maybe the ten spies were just trying to create a lie to try to stir up the camp but there’s a really small detail in verse 32. “So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: ‘The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge’” (Numbers 13:32 NLT).
They didn’t lie or even give a false report. It says they came back with a bad report. It was not bad in inaccuracy necessarily, but bad in not speaking God’s truth over the situation.
Joshua and Caleb were not deceived about what the real the real situation was. But if you go on to the end of the chapter, truth bleeds into exaggeration. The spies were saying the giants were so big that they felt like grasshoppers. That’s truth, but then the ten spies added, “And that’s what they thought too” (Numbers 13:33 NLT).
How could they know that? They got that stuck in their heads, and then they said it out of their mouths. It not only influenced their own thinking, but also the thinking of the entire nation – except for Joshua and Caleb.
The enemy wants you to be thinking about everything that’s beyond truth. God said this, but is that really going to happen? We tend to add to the storyline before the story plays out. Often you get to the end of a story and realize what you had in your head didn’t play out the way that you thought it was going to play out.
- God is saying to keep it simple.
- He’s given you His truth.
- Don’t add other things on top.
- Keep the main thing the main thing.
God promised the land would flow with milk and honey. The reality is you will encounter giants. You’ll have to battle and tear down walls. These are real. But what’s not real are all of the other things that we add to the storyline in our heads. That’s above and beyond what God is telling us today.
What’s coming out Caleb and Joshua’s mouths? They are speaking the truth. Joshua and Caleb said. “Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, ‘I believed, and so I spoke, we also believe, and so we also speak’” (Number 14:8 ESV).
They’re speaking God’s truth back to the Israelites. They’re speaking the truth, regardless of who was listening. It’s an audience of one in their minds. They want to speak truth back, even if no one else was listening.
If God has given you something … if He’s asking you to overcome something in your life … God’s given you a promise. If it’s in His Word, it will happen. God’s truth will be fulfilled. But we have to continue to say that back to ourselves. That’s why it’s so powerful.
Think about how faith comes by hearing. Right? “Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17 ESV).
We need to hear truth in our own ears from our own mouths.
The byproduct of what happened because of the ten spies was way worse than facing a few giants. The nation of Israel had to wait for an entire generation to pass before they could possess the promised land. Only the two voices that spoke God’s truth – Caleb and Joshua and to the next generation would be allowed to enter the land many years later.
And they conquered the land through God because it was His promise.
What is God sharing with you through your quiet time? What are you hearing in your heart and in your mind?
- Don’t think more than is there.
- Don’t hear things that aren’t truth.
- Don’t speak out things that you’re thinking about that are more than truth.
Hear God’s truth; think God’s truth and speak God’s truth audibly. Take time to put things in your heart, mind and ears that are full of His truth.
Read the first blog in this series.
Read the second blog in this series.
Read Part Two Now!
3 things that can help you get your focus back on track.
By Evan Carlson, CEO & President
You can do three specific things to be intentional and walk with Christ through this journey –
- Focus your thinking.
Israel had no king at the time of their Canaan moment. Moses was a prophet, but he was viewed very much as a king. In Numbers 13:1-2, God very simply gave instruction. “The Lord now said to Moses, ‘Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes’” (NIV).
Now look at what Moses said to the 12 spies.
- See what the land is like, and
- Find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many (Number 13:18 NIV).
- See what kind of land they live in.
- Is it good or bad?
- Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps (Number 13:19 NIV)?
- Is the soil fertile or poor?
- Are there many trees?
- Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see” (Number 13:20 NIV).
God said, do one thing.
Moses told the guys to do about 12 different things. And they got jammed up.
It’s kind of like when my wife Kelly sends me to the grocery store with one assignment – get salsa. That’s all we need for dinner. But halfway into the parking lot, I get a ping on my phone with a message we also need cheese and milk. I get home, and of course, I forgot the salsa.
We start thinking about things that God never asked us to think about.
God gives simple instruction.
God sent the spies into the land because He wanted them to come back and be the encouragement to inspire others about the promise land. Instead, the majority came back and discouraged the people. They did the exact opposite of what God’s purpose was for that tour.
God knew what was going on in the land. He didn’t need the 12 spies to go. He wanted them to come back and demonstrate their faith in Him. He wanted them to come back, celebrate Him and say He’s got this. The ten obviously got sidetracked.
2 Corinthians 10:5 offers a practical answer to this situation. “We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ” (NLT). He’s asking us to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Him.
Our thoughts can go crazy, and we can be thinking about everything other thing than being obedient to Him. When’s the last time that you stopped to think about what you’re thinking about?
When’s the last time you’ve done that? We’re busy people – busy with work, family and activities. We don’t live in a society that encourages us to do this. So, we need to focus our thinking.
2. Focus on what you hear.
The Israelites were not selective in what they heard. The spies lifted up the grapes and said, “Look, you’re right. The land flows with milk and honey, but …” and there’s that little word. And they go on to talk about the walls, the giants, the enemies and all the other things that they allowed them to become jammed up.
So Caleb essentially said, “y’all need to just zip it.” He said, “But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. ‘Let’s go at once to take the land,’ he said. ‘We can certainly conquer it’” (Number 13:30 NLT).
Caleb and Joshua were aware of the giants. They were on the same journey as the other spies. They saw the exact same movie playing out in front of them.
We don’t need people in our lives that are going to speak anything other than truth. I tell my daughters this. Don’t bring people into your life that are going to take you away from God’s truth.
The people you have in your life – either for good or for bad – will dictate your future.
It’s the old adage, “Who you hang out with is who you become.”
I don’t know why, but for some reason we choose to not listen to Mom and Dad, or Grandma and decide not to spend the time putting the right stuff in our ears.
You’ve got to focus what you hear and bolster your faith.
- Don’t let just anybody talk to you.
- Don’t let just anybody share whatever they want to share with you.
Caleb was the minority here. He knew the truth. He encouraged the other 10 to get their act together because this is what God promised Abraham, and He told them to take the land and they knew they could conquer it. God put something in the hearts of the Israelites for a reason. He had a purpose for that.
God has put things into your heart for a reason. He’s putting something into your heart and mind right now. I don’t know what that is. But He’s putting something there. Don’t let anyone say otherwise.
Thinking about the two different people overcoming cancer. Or you’ve got other things where God saying, “I want you to overcome, fill in the blank. Whatever that is. I want you to conquer the land. I want you to be careful and selective with what you’re putting into your ears.”
We have to follow God’s instructions and becomes selective in what we hear. It’s vital that we submit our lives to the words God has spoken. We need people who will stand in our corner. Do you have people in your corner who are speaking truth into your ears right now? If you don’t, find people who can speak truth into you.
Read the first blog in this series.
Read the third blog in this series.