THE BIRTH OF CHRIST

THE BIRTH OF CHRIST

          He didn’t come to Jupiter

          He didn’t come to Mars,

          He didn’t come to the sun or moon

          Or any of the stars.

          Of all the vast created host

          From His own hand unfurled

          By Jesus Christ, His only Son,

          God came into our world.

          He came because He wanted most

          To take away sin’s blight;

          To frustrate every devilish scheme

          And to put our wrong world right.

          His own volition brought Him from

          His throne with splendor pearled

          But only invited will

          He come into my world (Anonymous)

THE LIVING WATER THAT SATISFIES

JOHN 4:1-30

          A drunkard sat at a table in a bar with several of his companions. Soon his wife came in and set a covered dish before him. “Jack,” she said, “You seem to be too busy to come home for supper, so I brought your supper to you.” She then left the saloon (drinking bar), while everybody laughed. Jack invited his companions to share the meal with him. He removed the cover and the dish was empty. Instead, he found in the dish a note from his wife, which said, “I hope that you enjoy your supper. This is just what your wife and children have at home.”

          Yes, Satan’s dishes are always empty in the end, but when you come to Jesus, you will find that all of His dishes are full of good things for this life and the life to come (W. Herschel Ford, Simple Sermons on the Gospel of John).

IDENTIFICATION WITH SINNERS

          This is the great revival must emphasize. Without repentance, the Body of Christ is doom to limp when it was designed to fly, to drag when it was called to draw, to drift when it should set sails to catch every wind of the Spirit of God.

          The innocent Lamb of God took your sins upon His own shoulders and suffered for them. He gave His life for you. It was a life exchanged for a life—the life of the Son of God exchanges for the life of a miserable, hell-deserving sinner. And what response is appropriate to such a sacrifice? (Richard Owen Roberts, Revival).

TRIALS

          God never wastes suffering, He adds, “Trials work for us, not against us. . . . God permits trials that He might build character into our lives. He can grow a mushroom overnight, but it takes many years---and many storms—to build a mighty oak” (Warren Wiersbe).

         

A young man with an incurable disease was reported to have said, “I don’t think I would be afraid to die if I knew what to expect after death” (Billy Graham, Till Armageddon).

WHEN FRIENDS ARE GONE

You may have heard it said that a person does not really know his friends until the bottom drops out. I think there is great truth to that. All of us have experienced the pain of discovering that people we thought would be faithful—no matter what—were simply “fair-weather friends.” You know friends whose loyalty hinges upon the climate of the circumstances. As long as the relationship is enjoyable, they are with you all the way (Charles Stanley, How to Handle Adversity).

WHAT CHRIST DID FOR US ON THE CROSS

Our most merciful Father, seeing us to be oppressed and overwhelmed with the curse of the law, and so to be holden under the same that we could never be delivered from it by our own power, sent His only Son into the world and laid upon Him all the sins of all people, saying: Be you Peter that denier; Paul that persecutor, blasphemer and cruel oppressor; David that adulterer; that sinner who did eat the apple in Paradise; that thief who hanged upon the cross; and briefly, be thou the person who has committed the sins of all men; see therefore that you pay and satisfy them (Martin Luther).

LOVE AND MORALITY

          Love accepts a person as he or she is. But it would equally be a failure of love to accept an alcoholic as he is and be unconcerned about his changing his lifestyle. Love does not leave a person on a path of self-destruction. So with God and His relationship with people. He accepts them as they are but will not leave them as they are—just because He loves them and has in mind for them nothing less than a new creation (Morris J. Niedenthal, Preaching the Story).

THE AROMA OF CHRIST

          How much better to be so infilled and overflowing with the love of Christ, the perfume of His power, the savor of His Spirit, that when men get near us they think of eternity. Sensing our freedom in Christ, they too will choose to be His captives. Make me a captive Lord, And then I shall be free. Force me to render up my sword, and I shall conqueror be (Maxwell, Abandon to Christ).

GOD SPEAKS IN THE STORM

          Yes, when the heart is breaking, and it seems we cannot go on, He will whisper His words of comfort and strength. And that will enable us, as we will see with Job in the end, to turn even catastrophe into celebration (Henry Gariepy, Portraits of Perseverance).

HUMILITY

          It was St. Augustine who said, “God humbled Himself, while man remains proud.”

          If our hearts are right before God, praise ought to humble us not to inflate us (Warren Wiersbe).

          Sermons that flatter sinners will not save sinners (Wiersbe).

          The glory of good men is in their conscience and not in the mouths of men (Thomas A Kempis).

PROPER SELF-IMAGE

          Every human being is born into this world in Adam. That means that we are born with the same nature, inheritance, and destiny that Adam possessed since his fall. We are born spiritually dead with a sinful human nature and unless something changes, that description will be eternal. Someone once asked a prominent Christian leader, “What does man have to do to go to hell?” His answer was, “Absolutely nothing.” Man is born headed that direction. That is the inheritance left to us by Adam (Bob George, Christianity).

          The truth is that the second Adam, who is Jesus Christ can change your direction and destiny. As we will soon celebrate His birth, let Him into your life and He will change you from the inside out.

GOD’S DELIVERANCE: JEREMIAH 1:8

          To look for justice is a sign of deflection from devotion to God. Never look for justice in this world, but never cease to give it. If we look for justice, we will begin to grouse (complain) and to indulge in the discontent of self-pity—Why should I be treated like this? If we are devoted to Jesus Christ, we have nothing to do with what we meet, whether it is just or unjust. Jesus says go steadily on with what I have told you to do and I will guard your life. If you try to guard it yourself, you remove yourself from My deliverance.

INVESTMENT

          There is a story told of a European princess, a fervent Christian, who was burdened to start an orphanage for street children. She did not have any money of her own, so she told her husband she wanted to sell the jewels he had given her so that she could help the orphans. Of course, he was reluctant. “Don’t you appreciate the jewels?” he would ask. “Of course,” she would reply. “But there are homeless children we could help.” Eventually, he gave in. She sold the jewels for many thousands of dollars and was able to build the orphanage. The children came and were fed and shown love. They memorized verses of Scripture and sang songs. One day, the princess returned to her husband, “I found my jewels today!” she said through tears of joy. “I found my jewels, the bright happy eyes of the children who were rescued from the streets. I found my jewels” (Erwin Lutzer, Your Eternal Reward).

THOUGHTS OF THE MIND IN TIMES OF SUFFERING

          One day, far away from home and alone, I seemed to be enshrouded in a cloud of anxiety, uncertainty, and depression. I could not pinpoint the exact source of my problem, but the feelings had to do with my real standing with God. The more I thought, the more exasperated I became. At last, I spoke to God these words, “I would really love to know what you think of me.” The Lord began to communicate with my troubled heart, urging me to go to the Word as if saying, “I have already made clear what I think of you in My word. . . read it” (Jack Taylor)!

SEIZE THE MOMENT

          Francis Bacon said, “A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.”

          Abraham Lincoln wrote, "I’ll study and get ready, and be prepared for my opportunity when it comes.”

          2 Timothy 4:2

          “Be ready”—that’s preparation

          “In season”—That’s taking the opportunity when it is convenient.

          “Out of season”---that’s taking the opportunity when it is not convenient.

JUNE FREEZE

          This story is about a man named Bill. He had never gone to church in his life. No matter how much he was coaxed, he couldn’t be persuaded to attend even on a special day such as Christmas or Easter.” When it freezes in June,” he would say, “then I will go to church.”

          One year there was an unusually cold spring, and it stayed that way into June. The first part of the month the temperature dipped to freezing for several nights. Everyone thought about Bill and what he had said. Perhaps this spell of cold weather would finally get him to attend church.

          It did. One Sunday, Bill made his first appearance in the church building—while the organ played softly. Six men carried him in! Bill finally made it, but he was lying in a casket instead of sitting in a pew. Don’t be like old Bill. Those who think they don’t need church don’t think much of the One who founded it (Our Daily Bread, April 26, 1998).

WORLD PEACE

          There is a sense in which the world can give peace to a man. It is when there is an absence of danger, no financial worries, and a sense of physical well-being and mental contentment.

          But such peace is dependent on exterior circumstances. It is fragile and can easily be lost with the approach of difficulty and danger. But there is a peace that is the deep abiding peace within the heart, irrespective of external circumstances (John 14:27).

GOD’S WORK OF CREATION

          The depths of God’s work of creation call to the depths of man’s soul. Man can manufacture, make something out of raw material, but only God can create something out of nothing.

          Job’s faith in a time of trial was strengthened by his affirmation of the sovereignty of God and His marvels of creation. Beyond the commonplace, Job saw the creative handiwork of God. God’s creation is not only mighty, it is also magnificent; it is not only awesome, it is also adorned; it is not only great, it is also glorious.

          “Two men looked through prison bars; one saw mud, the other saw stars.” Job looked from his scars to God’s stars and that made a difference.

WHO CAN FULLY COMPREHEND GOD?

          God is infinite and mortal capacity has its limits. The finite cannot comprehend the infinite. The human cannot understand the divine. Mortality cannot grasp the eternal. As an ant, incredibly as it is created, cannot enter into an understanding of humanity, so man cannot understand the infinite, the omniscient, the omnipotent, the omnipresent God (Isaiah 55:8-9).

THE STATE OF THE CHURCH TODAY

          Christians should be a foreign influence, a minority group in a pagan world. If the church is acceptable to this present age and is not stirring up trouble or suffering reproach, then it is not the true church that our Lord founded.

          “We are the light of the world”---and light exposes or shows things up. If we are at peace with this world, it may be because we have sold out to it and compromised with it (Billy Graham).

IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS

          O sweet exchange! O unsearchable operation! O benefits surpassing all expectation, that the wickedness of many should be hid in a single Righteous One, and that the righteousness of the One should justify many transgressors. Here is what Luther said when writing to a monk in distress about his sins. Learn to know Christ and Him crucified. Learn to sing to Him and say “Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am your sin. You took on You what was mine; yet on me what was Yours. You became what you were not, that I might become what I was not (Martin Luther, Letters of Spiritual Counsel).

          

PRAISE

          Praise should always follow answered prayer, as the mist of earth’s gratitude rises when the sun of heaven’s love warms the ground. Has the LORD been gracious to you, and inclined His ear to the voice of your supplication? Then praise Him as long as you live. To forget to praise God, is to refuse to benefit ourselves, for praise, like prayer, is one great means of promoting the growth of the spiritual life. It helps to remove our burdens, to excite our hope, and strengthen our faith. It is healthful and invigorating exercise, which quickens the pulse of the believer and nerves him for fresh enterprises in his Master’s service. To bless God for mercies received is also the way to benefit our fellow men. The humble shall hear thereof and be glad. Weak hearts will be strengthened, and drooping saints will be revived, as they listen to our songs of deliverance. Their doubts and fears will be rebuked, as we teach and admonish one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Praise is the most heavenly of Christian duties (Anonymous).

          The Bible is a record of man’s complete ruin in sin and God’s complete remedy in Christ (Barnhouse).

          Jesus can change the foulest sinners to the finest saints

          Many a man lays down his life trying to lay up a fortune.

          God’s grace is infinite love expressing itself through infinite goodness.

          A.W. Tozer said it best, “It appears that too many Christians want to enjoy the thrill of feeling right but are not willing to endure the inconvenience of being right.

          When we change the message of God, we change God of the message (Warren Wiesbe).

          A partial gospel is no gospel at all, for there can be no good news when God has been left out (Wiesbe).

SOUL WINNING

          Who can assure me that I shall before I die, see God’s church as it was in the old days, when the Apostles cast their nets not for gold nor silver but for souls (Bernard of Clairvaux).

JESUS—THE WORD TO BE SPOKEN

          Mother Teresa observed that every Christian should ask himself/herself three questions: “You need only to ask at night before you go to bed, ‘What did I do to Jesus today? What did I do for Jesus today? What did I do with Jesus today?’ You have only to look at your hands. This is the best examination of conscience” (Paul W. Powell).

BEING FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

          Many a minister is praying for the filling with the Holy Spirit, yet he does not really desire it. He thinks he does, for the filling with the Spirit means new joy and power in preaching the Word, a wider reputation among men, and a larger prominence in the Church of Christ. But, if he understood what a filling with the Holy Spirit really involved, he would think less about its rewards. He would think more of how it would necessarily bring him into antagonism with the world, with unspiritual Christians, how it would cause his name to be “cast out as evil,” and how it might necessitate his going down to work in the slums, or even in some foreign land.

          If he understood all this, his prayer most likely would be—If he were to express the real wish of his heart—“O God, save me from being filled with the Holy Spirit” (R. A. Torrey, How to Pray).

THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF ADVERSITY

          The ability to rejoice in adversity depends in large part on our perspective of suffering. Paul looks at adversity from the vantage of God’s ultimate purpose in our lives. Rather than focus upon the immediate gratification of personal peace, and transitory happiness, he calls the Christian’s attention to several important long-range results of adversity (Romans 5:3-5):

Ø Suffering, if perceived from God’s perspective, results in perseverance, the ability to continue in spite of difficulties or opposition, to be steadfast in purpose. With this attitude, the Christian becomes a winner, an overcomer, a living demonstration of God’s supernatural power at work.

Ø Perseverance results in Christ-like character. The believer becomes stable, deeply rooted in Jesus Christ.

Ø Character builds hope—both dependence upon God in the present, and assurance of Christ’s future return (Charlie Riggs, Learning to Walk with God).

         

THANKFULNESS

          “An evergreen is always green despite the changes in weather around it. It is green in the heat of summer as well as the cold of winter. So also, our lives are to be characterized by an enduring thankfulness that is unaffected by the changes around us. When the heat of a pressured week or the deadly cold of pain strikes us, we should stand “ever green,” always thankful, regardless of that which surrounds us” (Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, ed. Michael P. Green), 375.

          A little boy was asked by his father to say grace at the table. While the rest of the family waited, the little guy eyed every dish of food his mother had prepared. After the examination, he bowed his head and honestly prayed, “Lord, I don’t like the looks of it, but I thank you for it, and I’ll eat it anyway. Amen. (Ibid, 375-376).

          One Sunday in church, members were praising the Lord for what He had done in their lives that week. Mr. Segault said that the roof of his house had caught on fire, but fortunately, his neighbor had seen it, and the possible disaster was averted with only minor damage.

          A minute later, a woman stood up. “I have a praise too,” she said, “I’m Mr. Segault’s insurance agent” (Ariana Macksey, quoted in Humor for Preaching & Teaching), 170.

The Masai tribe in Africa have an unusual way of saying thank you. Translators tell us that when the Masai express thanks, they bow, put their foreheads on the ground, and say, “My head is in the dirt.”

          When members of another African tribe want to express gratitude, they sit for a long time in the front of the hut of the person who did the favor and literally say, “I sit on the ground before you.”

          These Africans understand well what thanksgiving is and why it’s difficult for us: at its core, thanksgiving is an act of humility (Dr. Joel Gregory, quoted in Fresh Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching), 206.

          Today is Thanksgiving Day in the United States. How many families came together to bow their heads to thank God for what He has done for us? Many families have forgotten the reason that the United States celebrate Thanksgiving Day. Instead, many cannot wait for “Black Friday” when some roam from store to store shopping for material things that are temporary while they forget to express an attitude of gratitude to God for this day.

         

HUMOR

A story is told about a pastor, a music minister, and a deacon who were traveling. When they reached a certain city, they were attacked at gunpoint by armed robbers who took them to a secluded place and told them that they were going to kill them. They said to them, before we kill you, we want each of you to say your last word. The preacher said, I am a preacher and I have a favorite message I would like to preach. It will take an hour. The music minister said, I am a music minister and I have a song I would like to sing. It would take an hour. When it reached the turn of the deacon, he said, I hear both of them every week, please shoot me first.

PRAYER (ACTS 12:5)

Prayer is the link that connects Christians with God. Prayer is the bridge that spans every gulf and bears me over every abyss of danger or of need.

KING OF KINGS

Jesus is the King of Kings not because He is the Son of David but because He was and is the Son of God. His kingship rests on the eternal foundation of His divinity. His divine right was based on His divine character.

There is another throne that needs to come under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. It is the throne from which there issues all the orders of life---the throne of the human heart (Hundred Portraits of Christ).

SOLITUDE

A.   W. Tozer offers this counsel:

Retire from the world each day to some private spot. . . . Stay in the

secret place till the surrounding noises begin to fade out of your heart and a sense of God’s presence envelops you. Deliberately tune out the unpleasant sounds and come out of your closet determined not to hear them. Listen for the One inward voice till you learn to recognize it. Learn to pray inwardly every moment. After a while, you can do this even while you work (God and Men).

GOD KNOWS

He knows. He knows the storms that buffet our lives. He knows the

trials that we must endure. He knows the afflictions that come into our lives. He knows the cross we are called to carry. He knows the path we must travel. He knows, and He understands, and He will be by our side to help and sustain. It is an incredible thought, that the Creator and Governor of the universe knows me and the way that I take. It is a comforting thought, that the One who holds the stars on their unerring courses holds my finite life in His mighty hands (Unknown Author).

OUR GREATEST NEED

          If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior and His name is Jesus Christ (The Grace Awakening).

THE EMPTY TOMB

          The ancient world boasted of seven wonders; the Pyramids of Egypt; the Hanging Gardens of Babylon; the Temple of the goddess Diana at Ephesus; the Lighthouse at Alexandria, Egypt; the Colossus (huge bronze statue) in the harbor at Rhodes; the statue of the pagan god Zeus at Olympia, Greece; and the tomb of the Persian king Halicarnassus. Of all the wonders only the Pyramids are still standing. All the others have crumbled, along with the ancient world powers whose accomplishments they memorialized. But another wonder from the ancient world is still very much alive today. This wonder is more significant than seven of these ancient landmarks put together. This is the wonder of the empty tomb of Jesus at Jerusalem.

          When the body of Jesus was placed in the tomb, the forces of evil were certain they had won the victory at last. But Jesus was raised on the third day. His resurrection proved that He was more powerful than sin and death and all the other negative forces that Satan uses against us. Wonder of wonders, Jesus lived. And His dynamic power is available to all who place their faith and trust in Him (Anonymous Writer).

THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (PUBLISHED 1787)

1.     The rapid increase of divorce; the undermining of the dignity and

sanctity of the home, which is the basis of human society.

2.     Higher and higher taxes and the spending of public monies for free bread and circuses for the populace.

3.     The mad craze for pleasure; sports becoming more exciting every year and more brutal.

4.     The building of gigantic armaments when the real enemy was within; the decadence of the people

5.     The decay of religion—faith fading into mere form, losing touch with life and becoming impotent to warn and guide the people (Edward Gibbon). Are there lessons in this for our world today?

JUDGMENT

We generally think of judgment in negative terms, but it bears the

idea of vindication as well. The world is quick to condemn but not as ready as the Lord to forgive. So, in the judgment, there will be words of commendation as well as condemnation (Morris Inch, The Saga of the Spirit).

PRAYER

Prayer is much like a check to be countersigned by two parties. I sign the check and send it up to heaven. If Jesus Christ also signs it, it does not matter how large it is---it will be honored (Unknown Author).

THE PRAYER OF FRANCIS OF ASSISI

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love, Where there is injury, pardon, Where there is doubt, faith, Where there is despair, hope, Where there is darkness, light, Where there is sadness, joy.

PRAYER

Are you in sorrow? Prayer can make your affliction sweet and strengthening. Are you in gladness? Prayer can add to your joy a celestial perfume. Are you in extreme danger from outward or inward enemies? Prayer can set at your right hand an angel whose touch could shatter a millstone into smaller dust than the flour it grinds and whose glance could lay an army low. What will prayer do for you? I answer. All that God can do for you (By Farrar, Quoted in Streams in the Desert).

KINDNESS

Charles Allen points out: “In one’s disdain of sin, one can be harsh and unkind toward a sinner . . . . Some people seem to have such a passion for righteousness that they have no room left for compassion for those who have failed” (Billy Graham, The Holy Spirit).

SHRINK OR STRETCH? JAMES 1:4

Why does God allow trouble to come into the lives of those who love Him? The 19^th-century American clergyman Henry Ward Beecher said, “Affliction comes to the believer, not to make him sad, but sober; not to make him sorry, but wise. Yes, the Lord often allows difficulties and heartaches to come into our lives to develop our character and make us more like Christ. If we look to God for strength (2 Cor. 12:9-10) and wisdom (James 1:5) to face our problems, we will become better.” God sends us trials not to impair us but to improve us (Quoted in Our Daily Bread, February 1, 1992).

WORSHIP AND WORRY

“There is no situation so chaotic that God cannot, from that situation, create something that is surpassingly good. He did it at the creation. He did it at the cross. He is doing it today” (Bishop Moule).

MATTHEW 6:26

Said the Robin to the Sparrow. There is one thing I would really like to know. Why these anxious human beings rush about and worry so much. Said the Sparrow to the Robin, Friend, I think that it must be that they have no heavenly Father such as cares for you and me (Anonymous).

CONTENTMENT

A story is told of a king who was suffering from a mysterious illness and was advised by his astrologer that he would be cured if the shirt of a contented man was brought for him to wear. People went out to all parts of the kingdom looking for such a person, and after a long search, they found a man who was really happy. But he did not even possess a shirt.

PRAY EXPECTANTLY (ACTS 12:1-19)

The story is told of a man who got a permit to open the first tavern (drinking bar) in a small town. The members of a local church were strongly opposed to the bar, so they began to pray that God intervenes. A few days before the tavern was scheduled to open, lightning hit the structure and it burned to the ground. The people of the church were surprised but pleased—until they received a notice that the would-be tavern owner was suing them.

He contended that their prayers were responsible for the burning of the building. They denied the charge. At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, the judge wryly remarked, “At this point, I don’t know what my decision will be, but it seems that the tavern owner believes in the power of prayer and these church people don’t.”

When the apostle Peter was put into prison a group of Christians met to pray for him. When their prayer was answered, they didn’t believe it. I am afraid we are like these first century Christians. We pray but we really don’t expect much to happen (Our Daily Bread, August 26, 1992).

SPIRITUAL WARFARE

The story has been told of a mental hospital that many years ago devised an unusual test to determine when their patients were ready to go back into the world. They brought a candidate for release to a room where a water faucet was left on so that the sink overflowed and was pouring water all over the floor. Then they handed the patient a mop and told him to mop up the water. If the patient had enough sense to turn off the faucet before mopping up the water, he was ready to be released. But if as in the case of many, the patient started mopping while the water was still flowing, they kept the patient for more treatment. As Christians, we live in a world where we are confronted and need to do battle with the evil which dominates it. But, like the patients in the mental hospital, until we realize where the source of that evil is, we will make no real contribution. To see less evil in the world means that we must conquer the evil that is pouring forth from our own heart. That is conversion. Then, to deal with the evil around us, we need a “mop and bucket,” the spiritual armor that God has provided for us (Ephesians 6:10-18).

ONE SINNER MORE

“The first link between my soul and Christ is not my goodness but my badness, not my merit but my misery, not my standing but my failing, not my riches but my need” (Charles Spurgeon).

“The worst form of badness is human goodness when it becomes a substitute for the new birth” (Dr. Adrian Rogers).

FORGIVENESS

We cannot live without forgiveness—without receiving it or without granting it. The unforgiving mind becomes a sick mind, and before long it leads to a sick body. The rabbis advocated forgiving a man three times, Peter suggested seven, but Jesus said seventy times seven. It is not a matter of mathematics, but of compassion. Christ intends His church to be a fellowship of forgiveness. If there is a rift there, the infection of sin will find it, and ruin will follow.

Without forgiveness from God we shall live forever in hell; unless we grant forgiveness to others, we shall make a hell for ourselves on earth. We are not equipped to deal with stored up grudges. The resulting bitterness will destroy us. We must turn loose all ill feelings and be free of them, for happiness is impossible for anyone who refuses to forgive (Anonymous).

FOUR STRANDS IN GUIDANCE

1.     God guides through circumstances (Acts 16:10). God closes some doors and open others; our responsibility is to be sensitive to His leading and to follow through the doors when they open.

2.     God guides through other Christians, as He did in Acts 6 when the whole multitude chose seven, or in Acts 13 when the Spirit spoke to the church at Antioch about the need for Paul and Barnabas to go abroad. Personal convictions should be opened to testing by the guidance of other Christians. If our convictions really come from God, others who are in touch with God will confirm it.

3.     God guides us through the Scriptures. The Spirit who inspired their writing is perfectly well capable of taking some of them and writing it on our hearts so that it becomes an inescapable pointer to a particular course of action. Colossians 3:16’’’An increasing broad appreciation of the Scriptures will give us a developing ability to scent the will of God in any given situation.

4.     God guides us in prayer (Colossians 3:15). There is such a thing as praying a situation through until one is virtually sure of the will of God on the matter. One has a deep inner peace about it; not absolute intellectual certainty, but practical confidence, which allows one to proceed to action with joyful assurance. These are some of the ways in which the Holy Spirit illuminate not only the person of God but His will for us. He is the Supreme Teacher for Christians who are growing in grace.

A MESSIANIC PRAYER

PSALM 16:6

Remember that the Psalm is a prayer of Jesus Christ, the One who left the Ivory palaces of heaven to enter a world of woe; the One who laid aside the splendor of a Prince to wear a cloak of human poverty; the sinless One who came to bear the iniquity of a fallen race. Remember that as He prays He is fully aware of the suffering and shame that lay ahead.

Our salvation from the guilt, penalty, and power of sin; our peace and joy in an unfriendly world; our hope of glory—all these blessings and ten thousand beside—were to be accomplished by His servitude and suffering. (Manna, Moody Press)

THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS CHRIST

There is a story about a poor migrant worker in Southern California who stole fruit from the orchards at night to sell the next day for profit. One night he took his son along to hold the bag while he dropped the fruit from the trees. He came to a cross path and stopped to look both ways. After climbing up a tree, he began to drop the fruit. His son, who had been attending Sunday School in a church nearby said, “You didn't look in every direction, Dad; you forgot to look up.” The man climbed down from the tree and never took the fruit again.

Jesus looked up to God the Father when He was being lured by temptation and when He did, God directed His eyes back down to the way of service. It is the way of the cross. The very heart of Jesus’ temptations and ours too is to escape the demands of the cross (Dan Ivins, Be Human Like Jesus).

A NEW HEART

There is an old Indian fable about a mouse who, like all mice, was afraid of cats. A wizard felt sorry for him and offered to help him lose his fear. So with the mouse’s approval, the wizard turned him into a cat. The cat, however, was afraid of dogs. So the wizard turned the cat into a dog. But the dog was afraid of tigers. So the wizard turned the dog into a tiger. When the wizard discovered that the tiger was afraid of hunters, he exclaimed in disgust. “You are hopeless. What you needed was a change of heart. And that I cannot give you.” People too need a new heart.

Rather than being fixed up on the outside, they must be changed on the inside to overcome their sin-related fears. This inner change occurs when we admit our sinfulness and place our trust in Christ for salvation.

We will not gain the upper hand with fear that springs from sin, until we have a heart made new that gives us peace within. Reformation is turning over a new leaf; Regeneration is receiving a new life (Our Daily Bread, November 17, 1991).

REDEMPTION IN JESUS CHRIST

Our Lord always wins for us the opposite of what He suffered. He was bound so that we could go free. He was made sin so that we could become the righteousness of God. He died so that we could live. He bore God’s curse so that God’s blessings will be ours. He endured God’s not answering His prayer; so that our prayers could find an answer. He said, “Not as I will,” so that He could say to us, “If you abide in Me, ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you” (Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer).

YOU NEED THE SAVIOR

In its notes on John 3, the Open Bible describes the encounter between Jesus and Nicodemus this way: “What a shock it must have been to Nicodemus to learn that his religion was not enough! It never is. He came to Jesus addressing Him as a teacher come from God.” Jesus knew Nicodemus, as He knows all men (John 2:24, 25), and Jesus knew that he needed more than a teacher; he needed a Savior. He needed more than religion---he needed regeneration. He needed more than law---he needed life (Billy Graham, The Holy Spirit).

THE SUPERFICIALITY OF MODERN REVIVALS

          One of the great secrets of the superficiality and unreality of many of our modern so-called revivals is that more dependence is put on man’s machinery than on God’s power. His power must be sought and obtained by earnest, persistent, believing prayer. We live in a day characterized by the multiplication of man’s machinery and the decrease of God’s power. The great cry of our day is work, new organizations, new methods, new machinery. The great need of our day is prayer (R. A. Torrey).

CHRIST'S CAPTIVES

Behold Hitler and his accomplice, how they sought to escape degradation and disgrace by suicide or any other means, rather than suffer public exposure. Paul glories in reproach for Christ, rejoices that he is counted worthy to suffer shame for the Name. Did Christ suffer an infamous and ignominious departure? That foul indignity of the cross. He is dignified in indignity. This brings us to consider that those who triumph must first be triumphed over. Those who conquer must themselves first be conquered. The Savior can only save us by subduing us (Maxwell, Abandon to Christ).

OPTIMISM VERSUS PESSIMISM

          A story of two identical twins; one was absolutely pessimistic. The other was very optimistic. They wanted to do a psychological test on them in order to find out why both of them are entirely different. So, they put the one who was a pessimist in a room full of bright lights and toys. This boy began to cry, so the psychologist went into the room and asked him why are you crying? He said, I am crying because I think somebody will come and steal all my toys. He also said, I don’t have anybody to play with. They put the other twin brother with a shovel beside him. The boy picked up the shovel and began to shovel the manure. The people went to his room and asked him why are you happily shoveling the manure? He said to them, because there must be a horse underneath in the manure. People with an optimistic perspective can make the best out of a bad situation.

THE GUIDANCE OF GOD

          God doesn’t call everyone to be a minister or a missionary, but He will guide you into the place of His special choosing if you surrender to Him. He always leads to the calling of greatest usefulness. When you follow the Lord, life becomes a beautiful adventure. He will always direct your steps along the paths of highest blessing.

          There is a Guide who never falters, and when He leads I cannot stray, for step by step He goes before me and marks my path---He knows the way. God may lead you around, But He will always lead you aright (Our Daily Bread April 18, 1991.)

CONQUERED BY CHRIST

          How forcefully this reminds us that the only triumphs worth of the name, the only victories which will outlast time, the only conquests we can ever have which are worthy of mention, are those which begin with Christ’s triumph over you and me.

          “Thanks be unto God who in His victory over us gives us the victory! Thanks be to Him who always leads us in triumph” (Maxwell, Abandon to Christ)!

PRAYER

The leaders of a certain church once came to a young man to criticize some of the theology and vocabulary he uses in the prayers he prayed publicly in the church service. After they had laid their load on him, he turned to them and said, “Are you gentlemen finished? I have just one thing to say. I wasn’t speaking to you.”

CONSECRATED LIFE

          Christ calls us from feasting to fasting, from supper room to the Upper Room, from selfishness to sanctification (Henry Gariespy, Portraits of Perseverance).

"SPIRITUAL WARFARE: DEMOLISHING STRONGHOLDS"

2 CORINTHIANS 10:1-6

          Now, I Paul myself, urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent!

          I ask that when I am present I need not to be bold with the confidence with which I propose to be courageous against some who regard us as if we walk according to the flesh.

          For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. For we are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience whenever your obedience is complete (NASB).

INTRODUCTION

          Have you realized that accusation has become more common today than almost at anytime in history? People are being accused of everything today. Some accusations are legitimate, but others are false. Therefore, we must be careful when an accusation is leveled against people. Some people can conspire to accuse someone.

          Do you know that next to temptation, the most frequent and insistent attack from Satan to which we are vulnerable is accusation?[1] However, in the Christian faith, some believers become the vessel of the devil to carry out his attack on other Christians, especially those who are using their spiritual gifts to serve Christ.

          Apostle Paul had his share of accusations from many angles in the churches that the Lord used him to establish. A case in point is the biblical text that is before us. Therefore, I appeal to you to pay attention as we explore this biblical passage. The title of my message today is “Spiritual Warfare: Demolishing Strongholds.”

I.                  THE ACCUSATION AGAINST THE APOSTLE (VV. 1-2)

An accusation is not difficult to find. You do not need a college degree or

diploma to accuse another person. Neither do you need permission from an authority to bring an accusation. Everyone can level an accusation against another person or persons. However, what we need to determine is whether the accusation is true. What is the motivation of the accusation? What is the source from which the accusation is made?

          In this correspondence, Paul does not want the Corinthians to mistake him for another person as the writer of the letter. Therefore, he states, “Now I Paul myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ.” The phrase, “I Paul myself” is in the emphatic position. He puts great emphasis upon the fact that it is he himself who is writing the letter. Paul is the founding Apostle of this Corinthian church. As an Apostle of Jesus Christ, Paul is vested with divine authority to deal with any insubordination and disobedience in the local church. What has happened to discipline in the Christian Church in the twenty-first century? It is no wonder that our churches have become anemic and devoid of the empowering presence of Christ in our worship. Paul makes his appeal by the meekness and gentleness of Christ (v. 1). Among the various attributes of Christ, Paul chose meekness and gentleness to address his audience. The word meekness (prautēs) carries the idea of “mild and gentle friendliness.” In the ancient culture, this was a highly prized social virtue. It is the opposite of sudden anger or curt and offhandedness. In the Graeco-Roman world, it was virtuous to show mildness to one’s own people and harshness to one’s enemies. In the Gospel of Matthew 11:29, Jesus is depicted as “gentle and humble.” His meekness was not a condescending softness by which the demands of God were lowered. Jesus showed meekness when He dealt compassionately and gently with sinners, but without any way minimizing their sin. It is in the light of the meekness of Christ that Apostle Paul makes his appeal.

          The word translated gentleness (epieikeia) means basically “suitable” or “fitting,” and when used in a moral sense, ‘reasonable’ or ‘fair.’ Applied to rulers it denotes kindness, equity, and leniency (cf. Acts 24:4). When Paul established the church at Corinth, his purpose was to exalt Christ and not himself. Can this be said of you today? What role does Christ play in your life? What role does He play in your ministry? When the false teachers who have invaded the church at Corinth accused Paul, he appealed to the humility and gentleness of Christ. Their accusation was that Paul was bold when he wrote them his letters, but he was timid when present with them. Therefore, they concluded that Paul was walking in the flesh or acting from a human standpoint. These false teachers were overbearing in their attitudes and the people loved them (2 Cor. 11:30). The false teachers were authoritarian in their service, but Paul was humble and gentle. The truth is that Christians grow the way they were born. “If they are born in an atmosphere of dictatorial leadership, they grow up depending on man’s wisdom and strength” (Warren Wiersbe, Be Encouraged, 109). However, if they were born in an atmosphere of humility and love, they learn to depend on the Lord. Therefore, in their accusation of Paul, the detractors and false prophets who have hijacked the Corinthian church were revealing their true nature or character.

          Paul wanted the Corinthians to trust the Savior, not the servant. He wanted them to trust the Master, not the messenger. He wanted them to trust the Lord and not the laborer. Therefore, Paul intentionally or deliberately played down his authority. The Corinthians were ignorant despite what Paul had taught them. They failed to realize that genuine spirituality is demonstrated in meekness and gentleness, not in pride and showmanship. Paul’s attitude in these verses has disarmed his accusers and opponents. Do you realize that the strategy of the devil is to destroy the church from within if he could not destroy it from the outside? Therefore, he sows the seed of discord, disharmony, and dissension among the Body of Christ from within. Therefore, Christians should be concerned about many splits in the local church. I can guarantee you that if a church is split into three or four congregations, the motive of some of the leaders of the splinter churches is not Christlike. Some of them stem from ill-motives, inordinate ambitions, and bad intentions. This is exactly what was going on in the church at Corinth. What is disheartening is that in such cases the accusers or dissenters are few in numbers. However, they use their influence to destroy the beauty of the Body of Christ. Therefore, in these two verses, Paul has exposed the opponents for who they really are.

          Paul was saying if you consider me as a “weakling” then so was Jesus Christ; for Jesus displayed “meekness and gentleness” (Matt. 11:29). However, when you read the Gospels you quickly notice or observe that Jesus was no weakling. He could be strict and angry when the occasion demanded it (Matt. 15:1-2; 23:13-33; John 2:13-16). Paul was warning them in a loving manner, “Please, do not force my hand to come and demonstrate how bold I can be.” The enemies were accusing Paul so that he would lose his cool and come and do something dramatic or drastic so they can tell the Corinthians, “we told you so.” That is the work of the devil. The devil uses carnal believers to do his dirty work for him in churches. Therefore, believers should be vigilant, for we are not ignorant of the devices of Satan and his demons. Do not become a tool in the hands of Satan to destroy the work of Christ. When a false accusation is present in a local church, it a sign that Satan is at work in the church. However, when a congregation gathers and lift the pastoral team in a prayer of intercession, it indicates the Spirit of God is present. Let the church be known for its intercessory prayers and not for accusations of the spiritual leadership.

II.               THE ANSWER FROM THE APOSTLE (VV. 3-6)

The answer that the Apostle Paul provides reveals what Spiritual

Warfare is all about in the local church. Because the Corinthians led by the false teachers judged Paul’s ministry based on outward appearances, they completely missed the power of God that was there. They were judging things according to the flesh (v. 2) and not according to the Spirit. The false teachers of Corinth like some religious personalities today impressed the people with their overpowering abilities and their oratorical skills and their commendations from church leaders.

          Paul, however, took a different approach; for though he was as human as anyone else, he did not depend on the human, but on the divine power, the spiritual weapons provided by the Lord Jesus Christ. This warfare was not according to the flesh, because Paul was not fighting against flesh and blood (Eph. 6:10ff). You cannot fight spiritual battle with carnal weapons. You cannot combat spiritual warfare with human weapons.

          The word warfare (strateia) in verse 4 means, “expedition,” “campaign.” Paul was not fighting a little skirmish in Corinth; the attack of the enemy there was a part of a satanic campaign. The powers of hell are still trying to destroy the work of God (Matt. 16:18). The powers of hell are trying to destroy the work of God from the outside and from the inside. Therefore, do not become a weapon or a tool of the adversary to destroy the church. Do not yield any ground to the enemy. Has your church yielded ground to the enemy’s assault? Has your church become a gossip headquarters? Do you spend most of your time maligning or disparaging your pastor? When was the last time you prayed for your pastor and the pastoral team? There are strongholds in the minds of people that should be dismantled like the walls of Jericho. The word is (achuroma), which means “stronghold or fortress.” In the papyri the word also means “prison.” Paul may have had Proverbs 21:22 in mind. What are these mental walls that must be destroyed? They are human reasonings that are opposed to the truth of God’s word. When the way to reason and act are contrary to the truth of God’s word then you have a mental stronghold. That means the way you reason and act are in direct conflict with the truth of God. Another wall that should be dismantled is the pride of intelligence that exalts itself. When pride rears its ugly head in the life of a believer that person is walking on a thin line just like the devil. Paul was not attacking intelligence, but intellectualism. Intellectualism is the high-minded attitude that makes some people think they know more than they really do (Rom. Rom 12:16). Paul had faced this “wisdom of men” when he initially began the church (1 Cor. 1:18ff) and it has resurfaced at the intrusion of these false teachers (Judaizers).

          The truth is that Paul’s attitude of humility was one of his strongest weapons, for pride plays right into the hands of Satan. Pride originated from him. Watch out for pride in your life. Let others discern whether you are walking in humility or you are inflated with pride. For pride goes before a fall and a fall before destruction. The meek Son of God had far more power than Caesar and Pilate put together during His early ministry. Where is Caesar today? Where is Pilate? They are almost forgotten but the name of Jesus can even be found in the lips of children today. His kingdom is spreading like wildfire, but the kingdom of Caesar is an ancient history. Paul used spiritual weapons to tear down the opposition marshaled against him. He used spiritual weapons to destroy the stronghold of opposition that came at him from any level. Some of these spiritual weapons are prayer, the Word of God, love, fasting, and the power of the Holy Spirit working in the life of the believer. The Apostle Paul did not depend on personality, human abilities, or even his authority as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, he was ready to punish the offenders, if necessary, once the congregation has submitted to the Lord.

          Many Christians today do not realize that the church is involved in spiritual warfare. Those who do understand that the church is amid spiritual warfare sometimes do not know how to fight the battle. They try to use human methods to defeat demonic forces, and these strategies are doomed to fail. When Joshua and his army marched around the walls of Jericho, the people of Jericho might have said or thought to themselves, these people are crazy. They might have concluded that Joshua and his army were insane or had lost their minds. However, when the army trusted the instructions of God and did as they were told at the seventh time, the walls of Jericho came crashing down. They brought down the high walls and conquered the enemy (Joshua 6:1-20). Upon what stronghold are you depending? Upon what fortress are you leaning? The people of Jericho thought that their walls were impregnable until they were destroyed not by human weapons but the weapons of God.

          As I wrap up this message I would like to share my insight in combating spiritual warfare with you. First, you must know who you are in Christ (identity). Second, you should know your position in Christ, and third, you should know your authority in Christ. These are crucial. Finally, you must know the word of God, be filled with the Holy Spirit, pray in the Spirit (I am not talking about speaking in tongues here), and put on the complete armor of God. With these weapons, you can wage victorious warfare against the adversary with his cohorts and help others find freedom in Christ.

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[1]Neil Anderson, The Bondage Breaker, 151. 

WHEN THE MAJORITY IS WRONG

NUMBERS 13

INTRODUCTION

          Segments of his battle line were falling back in disorder and defeat. “Beat a retreat!” shouted Napoleon to a drummer boy. Saluting smartly, the heroic drummer boy said, “Sir, you never taught me to beat a retreat. I can only beat a charge!” The lad’s reply kindled new courage in Napoleon, who instantly gave the command, “Then beat a charge, drummer boy!” He did, and seeming defeat was turned into victory. The Captain of our salvation, the Lord Jesus, commands, “Forward!”

          A missionary society was deeply impressed by the courageous devotion of David Livingstone who worked singlehandedly for God in Africa. The society wrote to Livingstone. “Have you found any good road where you are? If so, we want to send other men to join you.”

          Livingstone replied, “If you have men who will come only if there is a good journal, I never saw the hand of God so plainly shown as here.”

BACKGROUND

I.                  THE SELECTION OF LEADERS AND THEIR MISSION

When the people of Israel reached Kadesh-barnea, the Lord spoke to

Moses to send out men to spy Canaan, the “Promised Land.” How is Moses to send them? Moses is to choose the head of each tribe from the twelve tribes of Israel. Moses sends these men at the command of God from the wilderness of Paran. The mission of these spies is to determine the fertility of the land, the military strength of the people who live in the cities of Canaan, the wealth of the people, and the extent of the natural forces. They are to bring back some of the fruit of the land. You and I serve a wise God. Why are they to bring fruit from Canaan? If they leave the presence of Moses and the people and go to hide somewhere else, nobody would know. But, if they do not return with some fruit then, it would be a sure sign that they did not go to the Promised Land.

          The twelve leaders set out to spy the Promised Land. They spied the whole land. They have even seen the descendants of Anak. The descendants of Anak were giants. These twelve spies have got a good view of the land, the military might of the of the inhabitants, and the richness of the land. I admire the readiness with which they responded to the mission. It seems to me that nobody raised any objection or gave excuses. The twelve spies go to Canaan, the Promised Land by faith. The question is when God asks you to do something do you do it by faith or do you rationalize?

II.               THE RETURN OF THE SPIES AND THE

REPORT OF THE TEN VV. 23-29

          The mission of the twelve men lasted for forty days. They returned with a huge cluster of grapes and some pomegranates, and figs. Indeed, the land of Canaan flows with “milk and honey.” It is a productive country. These spies cannot wait to tell of their adventure in Canaan. Perhaps at their return, all the people were summoned to meet them in a big assembly. They are to give accounts of their mission to the entire community. They say by the way, for you to know that we have been to Canaan, here are some of the fruit we have brought. This is our evidence that we have been in the land. They have established their credibility. They say to Moses and the people, it is true that the land flows with milk and honey. These fruits bear witness to that fact. In verse 28, their report begins to take on a negative twist. They say that the land is flowing with milk and honey but the people in the land are strong and their cities are fortified. The ten spies are overwhelmed by the strength of the people of Canaan. To make matters even worse, they add, by the way, we saw the descendants of Anak there. I imagine that as soon as they mentioned that the descendants of Anak, the hearts of the people in the assembly sank. To make matters worse, they added that not only are the descendants of Anak there, there are also the Amalekites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, and Canaanites. You are talking about discouragement and fear. You could hear murmuring and whispering going on in the camp. You could imagine the fury on the faces of the people and all eyes riveted on Moses. Some of them are shivering with fear and trepidation and saying not again. Let us go back to Egypt and die there rather than to die in Canaan. Others muttered, let us listen to the report of the two spies.

III.           CALEB GIVES AN ENCOURAGING REPORT V. 30

When the ten people were giving their disheartening report, Caleb and

Joshua remained silent and calm. It is now time for Caleb to speak. Caleb takes the floor. He says something like this: ladies and gentlemen, do not be afraid. There is no going back to Egypt. We should certainly go up and possess the land. We will surely overcome it. Maybe the African-Americans got one of the Negro spirituals from Caleb’s statement, “We shall overcome someday.” Caleb says we shall surely overcome. Caleb has confidence in the Almighty God. This is one of the places in the Bible where the majority voice is wrong. Why did Caleb and Joshua see things more different than the ten other spies? Why are Caleb and Joshua positive and confident but the other ten spies being negative and conflicting? It is a matter of the disposition of the heart. Caleb and Joshua have the truth, so they don’t have to spend enough time to argue or convince anybody. The spokespersons for the ten spies may have used one hour to give their report. Caleb on the other hand perhaps used five minutes. When you are deliberating on an issue that involves two parties, observe how both parties express themselves. In most cases, the party that speaks at length and tries to defend everything that is said might not be telling the truth. Caleb’s positive and encouraging report takes only one verse (v. 30).

IV.            THE COUNTER REPORT OF THE TEN SPIES VV. 31-38

As soon as Caleb finishes his report, the ten spies say to the people, Caleb is

lying to you. We cannot go up against the people of the land because they are too strong for us. They also give a bad report to the people. “Bad report” literally means a slanderous report that is meant to deter even the bravest from any attempt of conquest. They begin even to exaggerate to put more fear in the hearts of the people. They say the land devours its settlers or inhabitants. They are saying to the people the land is too big. Not only that, the people of the land are men of great size. To heighten the fear, they say we even saw the sons of Anak—the Nephilim “and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight and so we were in their sight.” Talk about lies and exaggeration! We have a lot of people like these men in our churches and organizations today. Such people throw cold water on every vision that the Lord gives to the church or the organization. Their motto is: “We haven’t done it this way before.”

          Whenever the Lord is leading the pastor to make some changes and bring new things, these people would say, we have not done it this way before. Such people always resist a change. They haven’t done it this way before because they have not tried anything new. Tell them that you want to begin a new ministry in the church. The people would have a panic attack. Caleb and Joshua are saying we can but the other ten are saying we can’t. Where do you find yourself? Are you among the we can’t, or you are with the we can? This passage is a great lesson for you and me. Either Caleb and Joshua are wrong in their over-confidence or the ten spies are wrong. Why do we have two conflicting reports? The ten spies saw God through circumstances; Joshua and Caleb saw circumstance through God. The God of the ten spies was too small for their circumstances. Joshua and Caleb have a God who is too big for their circumstances. The characteristic of unbelief is that it never proceeds beyond difficulties. How big is your God in your own personal struggles? How do you see God in your circumstances? Is there anything too hard for your God? Many people call themselves Christians, but their God is too small for their problems. In this text, we have seen that sometimes the majority opinion is wrong. There are several instances in the Bible where the majority opinion was wrong (example, Noah and the people of his day, the prophet Jeremiah, the Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees versus Jesus).

          It is true that in a democratic society, majority rules but sometimes we need to listen to the voice of God rather than the majority devoid of God. We should make sure that the leaders we follow are in tune with God. What was the motivation of the ten spies? What was the motivation of Caleb and Joshua? What motivates you and I to do what we do? What motivates you to say what you say? What motivates you to behave the way you do? Is it rebellion or is it love? Is it fear or faith? The ten spies were rebelling against God. Caleb and Joshua were obedient to God. You would ask, how do you know? Who spoke to Moses to send the spies to spy the land in the first place? It is God who promised Abraham that He will give his descendants the Promised Land (Gen. 12:6-7). Who brought them out of bondage in Egypt to Kadesh-barnea? It was God. Who was leading them and who had led them thus far? God was leading them through the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night (Exodus 13:21). Who had clothed and fed them thus far? It was God. Therefore, the report of the ten spies was a rebellion against God. What is at stake here is the voice of God supported by a minority, and the voice of men supported by the majority. Here the integrity of God is at stake. The ten spies are making God to be a liar. They are rejecting the validity of God’s covenantal promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen. 15:18). They have magnified the impossibility of possessing the land by their own fear and intimidation to make God a liar. These people are saying we cannot go to possess the land. The majority is saying it is mission impossible. However, the minority is saying it is a possible mission. One thing we need to discern is not only the motive behind what people say and do but also with what spirit do they say and act the way they do. The spirit behind the majority report is outright rebellion and rejection of the will of God for the Hebrew people. The spirit of Caleb and Joshua is one of obedience and acceptance of the will of God for the Hebrew people. Do you have a spirit of discernment? The Bible urges us to test every spirit whether it is of the Lord (1 John 4:1). The disheartening thing is that these ten spies have not sought the face of God. They have not even prayed and out of the blue, they put their own fear into the hearts of all the people. They can persuade the people so they all vent their anger and frustration upon Moses and Aaron who are their spiritual leaders.

          Now Caleb and Joshua have become the enemies of the people because of the ill-advice of the ten spies. Due to this rebellion, a journey that should have taken them 40 days to possess the land, took them 40 years. Because of their rebellion against God, none of these Hebrew people entered the Promised Land. God killed the ten spies first. God later killed all the adults except for Caleb and Joshua. Besides Caleb and Joshua, anyone who was twenty years and above did not enter the Promised Land (Numbers 14:29-38).

          God is looking for leaders who would not contradict or distort His word. He is looking for leaders who listen to His still small voice. God said something very positive about Joshua. God said that Joshua had the right spirit (Numbers 27:18). God also fulfilled His promise to Caleb by giving him a city to dwell. Do you listen to the crowd or do you listen to God? Do you always follow the majority, or do you follow the leading of the Holy Spirit? I believe in consensus, but you and I are to seek the face of God before we give our approval to anything or anybody. Therefore, do not be a people pleaser but God pleaser. Paul advised Timothy not to be in a hurry to lay his hands on anybody. When a person is not living right for God, do not elect or choose him/her as a leader in a church. Choose leaders of vision, wisdom, who are filled with the Holy Spirit.