How Do You View Yourself?

Do you walk around saying, Oh, poor pitiful me???  Woe is me! 




Or do you say, “Where I am weak, HE is strong!!!  HE is my HELP!!!  I am healed because HE IS MY HEALER!!!”




I’M TALKING ABOUT PERCEPTION!!!  You know, the way you see yourself!  I’m talking about the way you view yourself - the way you really think of yourself!!! 




None of us like for folks to think evil of us, but it is NOT what others think of us that matters!!!  It is how we view ourselves-how we see ourselves!!!  IT IS WHAT WE THINK OF OURSELVES THAT MATTERS!!! 





You know, GOD promised to give the Children of Israel, a land of milk and honey!!!  HE gave it to them, but they refused to stand on what GOD had told them (on HIS PROMISE to them) and take the land that HE had given them!!!




You know, I can pull a $20.00 dollar bill out of my pocket and say, “Here, this is yours,” and hold it there in my hand for you, but if you refuse to reach out and take it, then you’ll never have it!!! 




That’s what GOD did for the children of Israel.  HE gave them this beautiful rich land, flowing with milk and honey!!!  But they refused to take it!!! 




Numbers 13:1-3 (KJV)

13 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

² 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.
³ And Moses by the commandment of the Lord sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.



God sent these men of power (these rulers) to search out the land!!!  I truly believe that GOD intended these men to NOT ONLY see how good the land was, but to see what strengths and weaknesses the people of that land possessed so that the children of Israel could out to battle against them and take the land!!! 




Do you see what GOD told Moses in verse 2?





Numbers 13:2 (KJV) Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel…

GOD said, “that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel.”



GOD had already given the Children of Israel this land-the land of Canaan.

When GOD sends spies out, it is always to see what’s going on in the enemy’s camp.  They were to gather information that would help HIS army to win the battle!!!  GOD wants us to be successful in fighting for what HE has given us!!! 




I’ll be truthful to you!!!  I think that Moses messed up when he gave instructions to these men.  This is what Moses told the men that he sent to spy out the land.




Numbers 13:17-20 (KJV)

¹⁷ 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:

¹⁸ And see the land, what it is, and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;

¹⁹ 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;

²⁰ 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.

 

Why do I say that?  GOD had already told them that this land was a good land flowing with milk and honey!!!  If GOD says that it is good, then IT IS GOOD!!!!



Numbers 13:18-20 (KJV) 

¹⁸ And see the land, what it is, and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many…

¹⁹ And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad…

²⁰ And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean…




Do you see Moses’ words? 



Here’s what I want to know.  If GOD says the land is good, then why is Moses telling them in verse 18, “And see the land, what it is?”  Why” Oh, why Moses, are you telling these people to go see whether the land is good or bad?  I just don’t understand.



Now perhaps Moses meant, “See what kind of land this wonderful land is that GOD has given us,” but that’s NOT what it says he said. 



In verse 19 & 20, these are the words that Moses says to these men that he is sending out!!! 



Numbers 13:19-20 (KJV) 

¹⁹ And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad…

²⁰ And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean…




Are you kidding me, “good or bad, fat or lean?” 



GOD said the land was good, a land flowing with milk and honey, so Moses dear…  THE LAND IS GOOD AND THE LAND IS FAT!!!




To be truthful, a spy is one who seeks out information so that he can help his side win the battle or the war!!!




I looked this up just to make sure and here is what I found.  A spy is a person who secretly collects and reports information on the activities, movements, and plans of an enemy or competitor.




So, according to that definition, I can see and understand why the children of Israel needed to know whether the people dwelt in cliffs or in tents, or in an armed fortress.  And I can understand them needing to know how many men there were in each town and whether these folks were great fighting men or goat herders.   

So, why is all this important?  It is very important because some folks are wishy washy in their attitudes!!!  They don’t stand on the word of GOD and say, I believe whatever GOD said!!!  They look all around them at everything that is going on and they chose to believe what they see and hear!!!  Unfortunately, some folks need to be told day-in-and-day-out what to believe!!!  You have to constantly remind them to believe what GOD says!!!




So, with all this having been said, and taken into account, let’s move on!!! 




Here is the first part of the report that these men brought back to Moses and the people. 



Numbers 13:25-27 (KJV)

²⁵ And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.

²⁶ 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.

²⁷ 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.




If they had stopped there, every thing would have been okay, but some folks have to express their doubts about every thing!!! These men were rulers over the tribes of Israel, and they should have been men of faith!!!  By now they should have learned to speak and walk in FAITH!!!

Numbers 13:28-29 (KJV)

²⁸ 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.

²⁹ 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.




These words of doubt and fear upset the children of Israel.  Doubt and fear always upsets people!!! 




Caleb, one of GOD’s men of Faith, spoke up to try to calm the fears and doubts of the people.    




Numbers 13:30 (KJV) 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.

Listen to these words of fear and doubt.  This is truly fear!  These men did NOT even know the men of Canaan or the people round about, so how could they know that these men were stronger than they were!!!  They didn’t!!!  This is fear speaking thru them!!!




Numbers 13:31 (KJV) 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.




Do you see what GOD says about the report these men have given?  Because they chose to speak in FEAR and NOT FAITH, God calls their report evil!!!  



Numbers 13:32 (KJV) 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.





GOD showed me something tonight in verse 32. 




The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof;




Do you see this?  These men literally said, “The land, …is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof?” 




This statement is a lie from the pits of HELL!!!  If you really think about it, it doesn’t even make sense!!!  First, these men list off all the inhabitants of the land and tell how strong every is.  Then they say that the land eats up everyone that tries to live there.



In verses 28-29, these men tell how they saw “the children of Anak there.”  And then they list off the others that live in this land!!!  The Amalekites, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites.
     



Now, you just can’t have it both ways!!!  Either the land eats up all those that try to dwell there or these folks live there!!!  So, which is it???




I’ll tell you what it is.  It’s FEAR!!! 




They listened to the lies of the enemy rather than walking and standing in FAITH with GOD!!!




And here is what happened because they gave into fear!!!




They began to believe what the enemy told them. 




Numbers 13:33 (KJV) 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.




Because of their FEAR, they saw themselves as GRASSHOPPERS instead of as THE GREAT AND MIGHTY CHILDREN OF GOD that they were!!!




Let’s look at one more passage of scripture because I want everyone to see what the people of the land really thought of the children of Israel.



Joshua 2:1, 4, 9-11 (KJV)

2 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.

⁴ And the woman took the two men, and hid them…

⁸ And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;

⁹ And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.

¹⁰ For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were on the other side Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

¹¹ And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.



Did you hear those words???



Joshua 2:9 And she said unto the men, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of you.




When GOD told them that HE had given them the land, HE meant exactly what HE said!!!   



Joshua 2:11 And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the Lord your God, HE is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.





GOD HAD ALREADY MADE A WAY for the children of Israel.    




And HE WILL DO THE SAME FOR YOU!!!




I can hear GOD saying, I have given you the land!!!




Take it!!!




I have given you VICTORY over every situation in your life!!! 




DECLARE YOUR VICTORY!!!  




IT’S YOURS!!!




GOD HAS ALREADY MADE A WAY FOR YOU!!!