Walking By Faith

Numbers 13-14

Moses sent out twelve spies to check out the Promise Land.  They should have all seen the same things.  But their spiritual condition caused ten of them to only focus on the fortified cities, the giant people, and their relative size in comparison.

Two men, Joshua and Caleb, were focusing on the "milk and honey."  Their spiritual condition allowed them to look past the giants and fortified cities and see the promises God had made.

God's Word never returns void. It always accomplishes what He sent it out to do.

We have a choice! What are we going to listen to? Who's report will be believe?

Sadly, in our culture we tend to be like the Israelites.  When the spies returned, they ignored the good report of the two and chose to listen (believe) the report of the ten.

Not only did they believe the bad report, they grumbled against God.  Foolish!   They decided to appoint a new leader and return to Egypt.  Things got so ugly that God had to physically show His glory to prevent the people from stoning Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb.

God grew so angry with the Israelites that He wanted to destroy them with pestilence.  Moses prayed and reminded the Lord that He had brought them out and it was His reputation on the line. 

Numbers 14:18 - "God is slow to anger, but abundant in mercy. He will forgive sin, but will not let the guilty go free.  He will visit the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.  (Generational curses)

We have to make a choice - Are we going to follow the sin nature and the garbage passed on through sinful ancestry? Or are we going to take a stand and say, NO  MORE - NOT IN MY LIFE OR THE LIVES OF MY CHILDREN? 

There are giants in all of our lives.  In our heritage we can almost all find areas of stronghold and if no one before us took a stand and made a choice to break that, we must decide, do I want to live and struggle with this or is my faith in God and my relationship with Him more important and worth the battle?

Numbers 14:24

Joshua and Caleb were the only ones from their generation who were allowed to enter the Promise Land. Because their hearts were right toward God and they believed His promises, they were given an inheritance in the Promise Land. 

Numbers 14:26

All the Israelites twenty years and older were going to die in the wilderness.  All the things they had complained about to Moses were going to happen to them because of their attitudes. 

Sadly the children of the whiners were made to suffer for the sins of their parents.  Our sin effects those we love, even when we don't mean for it to.